Just before war erupted this spring, Joe Galloway, one of the best correspondents of the Vietnam War, mused about who the next Ernie Pyle might be. Now we know. The new Ernie turned out to be blogger from Baghdad.
The mainstream press generated some fine reporting during the war. But IMHO the consistently best on-the-ground reporting came from an Iraqi architect who wrote the blog “Where is Raed?” under the pen name Salam Pax. He became a web sensation for his colorful, informative, sarcastic and highly readable postings from a city under seige. Some of his in-depth reports on life outside Baghdad after the war are available here. And he now writes every other Wednesday for the British newspaper, The Guardian.
Some war blogs whined about Pax’s anonymity (his two names mean peace in Arabic and Latin) and suggested he might not even exist – probably because Pax opposed the U.S. invasion (as well as Saddam’s thugdom). But since the war, Pax himself has disclosed considerable information following this story from Slate.
Individual bloggers are also posting illuminating stories from other places news people refer to as “trouble spots."
Zimbabwe for example. Until quite recently, this nation was among the wealthiest in Africa. Today it is in ruins, its economy laid waste by the corruption and incompetence of Robert Mugabe’s regime. Unemployment is 70 percent. Inflation is 300 percent per year. At the official exchange rate, a gallon of milk costs the equivalent of $46, a gallon of gasoline $180. There is no money in the banks. There is no food in the stores and starvation is becoming a real possibility for many. The human rights of dissidents have been trampled by intimidation, arrests, beatings, torture and executions. A general strike intended to bring the government down has failed, so there is no end in sight to the suffering.
There is plenty of news coverage of all this, particularly in the British press (Zimbabwe used to be Northern Rhodesia, a British colony). But as in Iraq, the most interesting writing comes from a local, Cathy Buckle. She writes a blog here and a column for a newspaper in Harare, the nation’s capital, here. The Christian Science Monitor profiled her in 2001.
For a broader view of African issues, check out AfricaPundit.
It is difficult to find a more intractable dispute than the one between Israel and the Palestinians. The last few days of terrorism and retaliation have planted a big "Dead End" sign on the Bush administration's "roadmap for peace."
There are many Israeli bloggers and if you look around you can find numerous perspectives.
Judy Lash Balint, who writes at Jerusalem Diaries, will be familiar to many in the Seattle area. She has written for the Seattle Times and the P-I and is an occasional guest on KIRO’s Dave Ross show.
Tal G. in Jerusalem has a newsy blog and analysis of what’s in the headlines.
I’ve been unable to locate a blog by a resident Palestinian (and if anyone knows of one, I’d appreciate a pointer). Electronic Intifada’s Diaries appear to be written primarily by foreigners who sympathize with the Palestinian cause.
There are, however, many Muslim bloggers and a number of Muslim web sites that are well worth visiting.
A good site is alt.muslim, which runs a lot of news with a Muslim perspective and also covers arts, culture and other topics.
And here's a blog by a muslim woman that I visit regularly.
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