BO18

Hi everybody,

Finally I can resume regular posting. But not here, oh no we all have to go to http://maghrebism.com now! My new domain-name/blog/whatever.
So please, please update your bookmarks and rss-feeds and stuff.

So go here: http://maghrebism.com
(feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/Maghrebism )

See ya there!

If you have internet (duh) you've probably read something about Conservapedia, the new conservative Wikipedia-like encyclopedia.
It was founded as an alternative to the liberal, America-hating, atheist Wikipedia.

Nothing wrong with that, right? I mean conservative, bible-belt, religious nutjobs have internet as well and want their own little bubble on the internet. Just like in the real world.
Because it's so conservative and biased, it makes fun reading! Seriously, go make yourself some nice cocktail (or just coke if you don't drink), get popcorn and enjoy! I did!

But be aware of entries like this:

Besides 6 million Jews dying, 3 million Christians were killed also along with many priests and nuns. This is a very touchy subject for the Jews and is not often discussed amongst them.
Link

I was just reading this article on BBC about the art of story-telling in Morocco and how it was disappearing.
Most young Moroccans don't care anymore about story-telling, they just love all those south-american telenovellas like the one of Maria-Guadaloupe! She was so cool!
A couple of summers ago when I went to Morocco all the market-ladies were selling t-shirts with the imprint of Guadaloupe's face on it!

Anyway, the BBC-article ends with saying that the Moroccan government blocked Google Earth in Morocco!
I know this happened in Bahrain but I never heard of a block in Morocco.
I tried googling it but couldn't find anything.
Does somebody know more?
And it is blocked in Morocco right? So that means that the maps of the palaces are not blurred? Its just that the whole device is blocked but the maps are still normal and there?

Update: Oh oops, I couldn't find anything on Google because I misspelled Morocco.....
Anyway lets change the subject quickly, can somebody tell me where all the palaces are located? I know in which cities but where exactly?

Well they aren't really made in Morocco but one of the designers is a Moroccan-Dutch girl.
She designed a couple of shirts with another Dutch designer, the shirts are being sold at their e-shop Collectionarab

But the shirts are hot. They all have an Arabic-print design on them with tacky words like "Peace" and "Music". But they really look nice! Especially the one with "Peace" in Arabic and a fighter-jet printed on it.
The shirts cost €29.95



(h/t Houtlust)

(ps. do expect a longer post this week. I've been too busy lately to write a long post. But now I have more time)

I have been addicted for a while now to Magharebia.com
It is a superb English-language news-site, especially after Morocco-times closed down.
The design of the site is OK, not the usual "mystic north-african" design that is so common nowadays (ie no moroccan lamps, weird letter-fonts etc.)
I also love the fact that they have a weekly report on what was/is happening in the Maghreb-blogosphere.
And the quality of their own articles is just good (most of the times)

But as you all might know, the site is sponsored by the US European Command (USEUCOM)
I didn't know this, I just started actively using it when I started this blog (just over a month now)
Anyhow, I wondered how well received this site is in the Moroccan and Maghreb blogosphere?
The site caters news in Arabic, French and English. So I guess that its accessible for every blogger out there.


I know that some (if not most) of the more literate maghrebi's are allergic for everything thats sponsored by the US government. (think Sawa, Al Hurra etc)
They mostly believe in this big conspiracy of brainwashing and preparing us for a new military intervention blablabla. The usual.
So I guess that Magharebia.com won't be their first choice as news-site. They'll probably rely on other news-sources (like for instance their own governments or government-sponsored France24, BBC-World etc etc)
French-language bloggers have a big choice of "independent" news-sources. So I guess they dont give a damn about Magharebia and its background.

But for us English-language bloggers it a different situation.
We have almost no other options then Magharebia. We can use news-wires like AP, AFP, Reuters etc, but that is such a hassle. Magharebia is more convenient.
But do you keep its sponsors in mind when you read the content? Just wondering you know.

I actually dont care who the site is sponsored by. As long as they are the only ones who bring me daily Maghreb-news in English, I'll stick by them.
And last time I checked I had brains and I could evaluate things independently. The site is good for basic news and blogosphere reviews.
I just wish that the site could be a little bit more organized.
Separate country-pages, more categories in the sidebar (instead of only news and sport)
And it couldn't do harm either if the person behind the podcast actually stops when there is a full-stop in the transcript.
Sometimes it sounds like the podcast is one big sentence, while its not.

But the fact that there is a podcast, is very admirable. Loooove the podcast!

No need paying big bucks to board an airplane to Morocco.
Just install Secondlife and visit Casablanca/Morocco.

Secondlife, a virtual world, is addictive. So beware.
Virtual Morocco was build by students from the Johnson-Wales University and the Moroccan ministry of tourism.

Here are some impressions, can you spot the differences between virtual and real?

Well, for the 2007 Weblog Awards/Bloggies that is.

My Marrakesh has been nominated in the category "Best African or Middle Eastern weblog". Along with Healing Iraq, Secret Dubai Diary, Botty Rhino and Raising Yousuf.



But you don't need to think which is the best one, we all know that My Marrakesh is just the best one in this category.

OK actually you should decide on your one. But as a common practice in the Middle East I'm trying to manipulate you or bribe you ( you know, reshoua, bakshish, zu'ama and stuff) I hope it works.

So vote or die! (after P. Puff Piepie Didi Dada in South Park)

A new site launched today, called "Sexual Terrorism".
The site will focus on forced prostitution in the region and raise awareness about this subject.

We all know secretly what happens but there is clearly still a taboo. And thats why this site is going to turn into a must-read. At least for me.

The founders are the members of Mideastyouth.com. Another good website "dedicated to eliminate extremist ideologies and ignorance from the Middle East." Build up and funded by Arabs, Iranians and Israelis.