Bloggers Blog of Blogs

The Daily Gyaan

2005-12-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

I found this blog while random surfing one day a long time ago, resolved to do a review on it, and now am finally getting around to it.

The members of this blog are The Seeker, mad_toothbrush and nonbeing although it seems that The Seeker is the main poster. I find a little humour every time I visit this site, whether it be a snippet said by some famous poet or a witty little comic relating to every day life. I have used many stolen/borrowed bits and pieces to add to my own blog, which I hope is just as amusing *winks*

If you liked Daily Gyaan, check out The Seeker's blog; Seeking and Stumbling, it is also a good read!

Entertainment value: 7/10 in my most boring stages; sometimes I can be amused for hours, going through archives, teehee.

An Average Iraqi- Hassan's Blog

2005-11-28T16:02:00.001-08:00

Hi, as promised I am reviewing Hassan's blog "An Average Iraqi".

The blog can be found at http://aviraqi.blogspot.com and was started in February this year. Hassan is cousin to Najma , HNK and Sunshine . If you don't know any of these three bloggers, then you need to read more Iraqi' blogs because these three are part of the biggest Iraqi "blog family" in the Blogosphere.

Hassan lives in Baghdad and has been writing about the traditions in Iraq and how things change under war since February (2005), but so far the best post on Hassan's blog was the post "From Salam to Sanyora" which is a chronological biography of the ever-expanding Iraqi Blogosphere (written in english).

The post begins obviously with Salam Pax, and goes through every known Iraqi blog created since then, giving the date of creation, and when the last post was and if the author seems to be still active. It also includes a lot of extra details about how relationships between blogs and members of the blogging community developed and thus dragged more bloggers in... It's a great post and you really should check it out.

This individual post would get a 10/10, and since Hassan is a good friend of mine and has added a link to my own blog (Olive Branch Optimism) he gets a 9.5 for blog over-all, missing out on the .5 only for lack of extra functionality like search, dictionary or discussion forum...

Congratulations Hassan, although your English and writing are still a little rusty, your participation in the blogosphere and your reliability and dedication to your blog has earned you the highest rating yet on the Bloggers Blog of Blogs!!!

Higher than Riverbends!

Keep up the good work Hassan, and post more about the up coming elections :)

-Don't forget to go check itg out, it is well worth your time for anyone with any interest in Iraq. http://aviraqi.blogspot.com/

[olivebranch out]

Don't Bomb Us! Al-Jazeera employee's search for support in their struggle for the truth.

2005-11-27T16:31:00.000-08:00

Ok!

I know I had planned to review a couple of other sites, but this is the blogosphere at its best yet again. A newspaper/media company (Al-Jazeera) has been oppressed for its views and ethnic leanings- and it's employee's have turned to the blogosphere to protect its freedoms and fight for the truth to be revealed.

The blog started after a recent article in the Daily Mirror which referred to a memo in which Tony Blair had reportedly "talked Bush out of bombing Al-Jazeera headquarters in Doha (Qatar)"

This is a concerning prospect for the workers at Al-Jazeera, and not just for fear of their lives, but because it shows Bush's contempt for and desire to close the Al-Jazeera media network.

The blog is only small, and is written by 3 employee's from Al-Jazeera, but has quickly become a centre of attention in the Blogosphere. There is debate and argument/abuse being flung around the comments section, some of which is of top quality knowledge, some of which is mindless name calling.

Either way this blog in the short time it has been operational has become a major factor in what may be another "leak in the boat" for George Bush's presidency.

This blog gets 9/10 because it is way to young for a 10/10. Well done, and know that I am support both your blog and its intentions!

[olivebranch out]

"Don't Bomb Us" blog address: http://dontbomb.blogspot.com/

while your there, leave some comments- your opinion and send them some email.

The Next POST - [sick of waiting]

2005-11-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for MIKE to post his review of Salam Pax's dear_raed, the blog that made him famous, and of his new blog Shut Up You Fat Whiner! (justzippit)

But he is taking to long and I do not want this blog to go idle! So I will be posting 2 reviews in the coming week- one of Iraq The Model, and one of Hassan's blog "An Average Iraqi".

they are both top-quality and very different blogs, I will enjoy reviewing them! :)

The Return of Riverbend [Baghdad Burning]

2005-09-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I find it amazing, the patterns of activity and inactivity and the promises to return by bloggers. Riverbend, whose blog "Baghdad Burning" was once one of the most popular recounts of the Iraq war available had recently become one of those 'every month or so' bloggers.

Here's the link : http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Then she dissappeared alltogether after Khalid was capture, until just a few days ago. Come to think about it, I don't know why she wasn't the first person I reviewed.

The story of Riverbend is close to my heart, because she was the reason I became a blogger. It was her, Salam Pax and Raed that first caught my eyes and first gave me the desire to write a blog.

Come to think about it, I think they were probably some of the first blogs I ever bothered to read aswell.

Anyway, Riverbend has been blogging from inside Baghdad since August 2003.

Her blog details many changes seen in the streets, and many emotional occurances that will leave you in tears. She tells stories of near-death, of fear and of rejoice. Her blogs are generally well thought out and equally as well written and researched.

Riverbend is a professional Iraqi woman, a computer engineer I believe. Either way, she has finished University studies, was employed in a highly competitive job in computing before the war, is certainly by no means pro-violence, and is certainly against the presence of an Occupying Force in Iraq.

Her writings have been the inspiration I required for many of my own posts, and indeed have been the sources for much of my knowledge about Iraq, including being the first source I ever saw mention of the names "Badr's Brigade" and "SCIRI".

Before I found her blog I had only indymedia and mass media's opinions to go on, both of wich are highly biased one-way-or-the-other and often inaccurate in describing Iraqi traditions.

It was Riverbends writing and selection of words that made me melt. I fell inlove with her and her Iraqi blogger friends at first sight so-to-speak. In her prime time of blogging I would have given her blog the highest ranking I have given out yet-

a 9 and 1/2 out of 10!

But, due to her long pauses between writing and her not responding to my recent emails I will have to down-grade this mark to an 8 1/2, that'll teach her!

Anyway, I am going to post a few of my favourite quotes from her blog, because I feel so strongly about some of them that they must be seen here aswell as on my own blog and hers.

Some Up of Christmas 2004 in IRAQ ---

Saturday, December 18, 2004

Christmas Wishlist...
I have to make this fast.

No electricity for three days in a row (well, unless you count that glorious hour we got 3 days ago...). Generators on gasoline are hardly working at all. Generators on diesel fuel aren't faring much better- most will only work for 3 or 4 straight hours then they have to be turned off to rest.

Ok- what is the typical Iraqi Christmas wishlist (I won't list 'peace', 'security' and 'freedom' - Christmas miracles are exclusive to Charles Dickens), let's see:

1. 20 liters of gasoline
2. A cylinder of gas for cooking
3. Kerosene for the heaters
4. Those expensive blast-proof windows
5. Landmine detectors
6. Running water
7. Thuraya satellite phones (the mobile phone services are really, really bad of late)
8. Portable diesel generators (for the whole family to enjoy!)
9. Coleman rechargeable flashlight with extra batteries (you can never go wrong with a fancy flashlight)
10. Scented candles (it shows you care- but you're also practical)

When Santa delivers please make sure he is wearing a bullet-proof vest and helmet. He should also politely ring the doorbell or knock, as a more subtle entry might bring him face to face with an AK-47. With the current fuel shortage, reindeer and a sleigh are highly practical- but Rudolph should be left behind as the flashing red nose might create a bomb scare (we're all a little jumpy lately).

The weapons never existed. It's like having a loved one sentenced to death for a crime they didn't commit-
having your country burned and bombed beyond recognition, almost.
Then, after two years of grieving for the lost people, and mourning the lost sovereignty,
we're told we were innocent of harboring those weapons.
We were never a threat to America...

Congratulations Bush- we are a threat now.

Sometimes I'll be watching the news and the volume will be really low. The scene will be of a man, woman or child, wailing in front of the camera; crying at the fate of a body lying bloodily, stiffly on the ground- a demolished building in the background and it will take me a few moments to decide the location of this tragedy- Falloojeh? Gaza? Baghdad?

Condolences and heartfelt tears-
You get Bush for four more years!

or

Sympathies in advance
For when they reinstate the draft!
We hope (insert_name_here) stays as safe as he/she can
And writes frequently while in Iran!

or

Bush and Cheney- what a pair!
Who said life isn't fair?
While Iraq gets tanks and occupation-
You have idiots to run your nation!

or

Cheer up...
Your son was too young for Afghanistan.
And it's still a bit early for Iran-
But there's plenty of time for Syria...
And he'll definitely serve in North Korea!

[olivebranch] Ache- isn't she just too funny and too clever? [/oliverbanch]

Americans, the name of your country which once stood for ‘freedom and justice’ is tarnished worldwide. Your latest president has proved that the great American image of democracy is just that- an image. You can protest, you can demonstrate, you can vote- but it ends there. The reigns were out of your hands the moment Bush stepped into the White House. You were deceived repetitively and duped into two wars. Your sons and daughters are dying, and killing, in foreign lands. Your embassies are in danger all over the world. ‘America’ has become synonymous with ‘empire’, ‘hegemony’, and ‘warfare’. And why? All because you needed to be diverted away from the fact that your current president is a failure.

September 11… he sat there, reading the paper.
As he reached out for the cup in front of him for a sip of tea,
he could vaguely hear the sound of an airplane overhead.

It was a bright, fresh day and there was much he had to do… but the world suddenly went black-
a colossal explosion and then crushed bones under the weight of concrete and iron…

screams rose up around him… men, women and children… shards of glass sought out tender, unprotected skin
… he thought of his family and tried to rise, but something inside of him was broken…
there was a rising heat and the pungent smell of burning flesh mingled sickeningly with the smoke and the dust…
and suddenly it was blackness.

9/11/01? New York? World Trade Center?

No.

9/11/04. Falloojeh. An Iraqi home.

[olivebranch] And just to finish of on a moment of shear brilliance [/olivebranch]

The Definition of Terror.

Terror isn't just worrying about a plane hitting a skyscraper…
terrorism is being caught in traffic and hearing the crack of an AK-47 a few meters away because the
National Guard want to let an American humvee or Iraqi official through.

Terror is watching your house being raided and knowing that the silliest thing might get you dragged away to Abu Ghraib
where soldiers can torture, beat and kill.

Terror is that first moment after a series of machine-gun shots,
when you lift your head frantically to make sure your loved ones are still in one piece.

Terror is trying to pick the shards of glass resulting from a nearby explosion out of the living-room couch
and trying not to imagine what would have happened if a person had been sitting there.

AnaRki13's blog - Come Get Some

2005-09-12T00:39:00.000-07:00

AnaRki13 is a 23year old male engineering student. Blogging from Iraq and sometimes Jordan(recently in particular), the focus of his blog tends to be on Iraq and its affairs. He loves music, plays guitar(or tries to) and has found love, though it is thousands of miles from him.

This blog Come Get Some is popular, and 13 is a contributor to IraqBlogCount also, and good friends with Najma, Sunshine and many other Iraqi bloggers, you may have seen his name pop-up in the comment sections :)

The posts are nicely written, reasonable though often emotional and self doubting.

13' writes about his life, playstation games, studying in Iraq and living in Jordan. His stories are sometimes funny, often sad but always enjoyable to read.

13' has been blogging for just over a year, though at some stages he was too busy and electricity to sparce for him to write much.

One of his more recent posts was about Othman Ali Abdul-Hafedh al-Obaidy, A brave 18yr old iraqi who died after rescuing 7 people who could not swim, after the bridge stampede.

Because he has been known to be a bit lax with his posting, I will have to give him only a 7 out of 10, despite his active participation in the Iraqi Blogosphere!

Here is the link to his blog!@

http://come-getsome.blogspot.com/

Iraq Blog Count

2005-09-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

This blog is basicly the centre of Iraqi blogging in English with links to over 150 blogs.
There are twelve contributors to this blog and it is updated regularly (daily most of the time), so it is worth checking it out often!

Iraq Blog Count

In my opinion it is a must see blog, if you only have time to quickly visit a few blogs, make sure this one is included!
I myself only recently discovered this blog, about a month ago (have i been living under a rock?).
Most new Iraqi blogs are announced on Iraqi blog count once they are discovered, so if there is a new Iraqi blog, chances are you will find it there.

Important posts from other Iraqi blogs are usually mentioned, so its a great place for finding out news from, especially if you have limited time and cant visit all the blogs you want.
If you havent yet visited Iraq blog count, then go there now! Right this minute!!

Sunshine & Mama

2005-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

These blogs I will enjoy reviewing very much! I have just for the first time found a way to contribute physically to the future of Iraq and its people, thanks to my illness, Asthma.

Sunshine posted recently about her terrible Asthma and the effects that rising pollution is having on her. She also posted that she had run out of her asthma medication "terbutaline" and "pulmicort" inhalers, the non-spray kind.

These are impossible to obtain in the Mid.East, because the more popular "turbo-inhaler" has taken over. To make a long story short, I can and did get a hold of these drugs, and am sending them over to Dubai to Rose , Sunshine's aunt, who will then ensure it arrives safely to Sunshine in Mosul.

Sunshine is a 14year old girl of extremely high intelligence. Her english compares with my own, and her maturity does also. The war is having its toll on this little angel, but she insists she must continue to "shine brightly".

I have no doubt that in the future of Iraq, she will play a major role of some sort, and if she did not, then Iraq would not be as good a place as it could be.

Sunshine has many fans, gets many comments and updates regularly with both factual and emotional events. I give her blog a 9/10 for content, but it does not quite better than the previously mentioned blogs, YET, because it is still relatively new.

Mama her mother explains her struggle to raise Sunshine since Saddam decided to invade Kuwait, the year Sunshine was born. This caused all sorts of hassles for those raising children, that we outside of Iraq can not begin to imagine.

Imagine having no toys, no money and barely any electricity/water. Imagine not having a constant food supply or 'well paying' jobs. Imagine not being able to import medicines when you needed them. Imagine watching relatives dissapear and hoping you are not the next. Imagine fearing for your daughters life every time she leaves for school.

Then imagine your country is occupied by another force, which does all the same and then worse. Imagine terrorists spring up from under your feat and start shooting in your street, waking your children up in terror.

This is the life that faced Mama and these are her stories. Mama gets an 8/10 so far, but there is still much for Mama to say.

Mama's blog can be found at http://youngmammy.blogspot.com/

Sunshine's blog can be found at
http://livesstrong.blogspot.com/

Aunt Najma and HNK

2005-08-21T01:12:00.000-07:00

These two young sisters, Najma (19 [my age]) and hnk (1988 [slightly younger]) are both from Mosul in the North of Iraq. Both are against violence and both are religious, the center of their lives/happiness is the gorgeous Aya who they often help to raise and look after.

The girls both study hard, and Najma has many outside of school lessons, on the way to which she often see's the bad state of things in her town and its surroundings....

Hnk' occasionally gets depressed and worried, but her readers who value her so much seem to keep her bouncing back with their supportive and selfless comments :)

Both girls provide great insight's into what life is really like in Iraq, and they both reply to e-mails if you want to talk with them! Their english is very good, and improving every post they write on their blogs!

I would give them both a really high rating on their blogs, an 8or9 out of 10! Probably an 8/10 for most of the time, but ocassionally they post some 10/10's.

Najma' does a monthly "carnival of the relatives", where she posts on her own blog and Iraq Blog Count the posts of all her relative's that blog. There are many of them including her cousins, aunts, father and sister! They both have links coming off their blogs to other Iraqi and non-Iraqi blogs (like my blog!).

DEFINATELY check these on a daily basis, because they bring news regularly and are often one of the first to know about a lot of things (like Khalid....)

Najma's blog can be found at http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com/

Hnk's blog can be found at http://iraqigirl.blogspot.com/

Next on the list of reviews will be "Sunshine" and "Mama", their blogs will be reviewed by ME tommorow!

Also, watch for Mike's review of Iraq Blog Count!

The Jarrar Family (Khalid, Raed, Faiza)

2005-08-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

To those who are new to the blogsphere, particularly those new to the Iraqi blogsphere, you will not know who Khalid & Raed are.

Their family started a 'wardiary' years ago, featuring Faiza(mother), Raed (oldest son), Khalid (middle son) and Majid (teenage son). Majid has since moved internationally, and Raed now lives in neighbouring Jordan, where it is much safer to work and live.

Raed's blog is one of the more popular Iraqi blogs, with over 1.1million page-hits, you could say it close to being the center of the Iraqi (english)blogsphere. The center, in my opinion for English Iraqi blogs, the biggest attraction would be Iraq Blog Count which can be found at http://iraqblogcount.blogspot.com

Raed is anti-occupation and anti-violence. He does not support terrorists, he does not support the current Iraqi administration, or the occupying force. He has witnessed many of the tragedies now facing Iraq, and many of those from the past. Raed is an architecht by proffession and has very fluent english.

I give this blog a 7/10 and here is a link: http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/

Recently, Khalid was abducted and wrongfully detained by the Iraqi Mukhabarat (Secret Police). The full story about his abduction can be found on his blog. Khalid is not related to violence in any way, is a religious and reasonable man who is against the oppression of any human being. When Khalid was detained, a major campaign was launched by bloggers from all over the world, this campaign infact was the beginning of a friendship for me[olivebranch] and Mike the other contributor to this blog.

After thousands of people wrote emails and signed petitions, said prayers to their own gods and to Khalids, he was finally released free of charge 13 days after his abduction. The story of his abduction should not be the defining factor for Khalid though, his open and inquisitive personality and free-style of writing makes his blog an extremely enjoyable read, and allows for his emotions to flow freely into his writing, increasing your reading pleasure!

I give his blog an 8/10! here is the link http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/

Faiza, the mother is a feiry and intelligent woman. An Engineer from a prominent Shia family in Baghdad, she writes with passion and shows contempt for terrorists and the occupying force for making Iraqi's endure such suffering. She recently travelled to the USA for a 'peace building' course. Faiza's blog is written in Arabic and then translated into English by a friend. This blog is very moving, written from both a proffessional view and from a mothers view, it often shows how situations can shape a persons perspective.

Faiza and Family are the kind of people that is required for the rebuilding process to be successfull in Iraq. Kind hearted, hard working and intelligent people who are unfortunately becoming alienated about the whole rebuilding proccess, because so much negativity has come from the occupation.

I expect them to play their role with their entire hearts and every ounce of energy or penny they have, because thats the kind of family they are. Faiza's blog gets also an 8/10 bordering 9/10 sometimes. Check it out for yourself and read back to the contributions made by Raed and Khalid years ago.

http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com/

Watch for the next update about 17 year old Moslawi girl Najma and her sister HNK.

Will add more blogs to this list later, and give reviews on them also! The purpose of this blog will be to effectively act as a 'link page' of blogs that both myself and Mike find worthy of note. So far our favourite blogs come almost entirely from Iraq, though not exclusively.

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2005-08-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

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