· February, 2008

Stories about Economics & Business from February, 2008

Bermuda: Silo Situation

  27 February 2008

The fact that “the cement company at Dockyard would not be required, at least for now, to relocate the contentious silos” should be raising political questions – at least in the opinion of two Bermudan bloggers, Vexed Bermoothes and A Radical In Bermuda.

Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic

  25 February 2008

A Fistful of Euros writes about Milo Djukanovic, prime minister of Montenegro: “By 1991 he was the youngest Prime Minister in Europe. By 1998 he had squeezed out various rivals to become the most powerful man in the country. Which he still is today.”

Ukraine, Russia: “An Octopus of Cash and Gas Flows”

  25 February 2008

Ukrainiana sums up the results of Yulia Tymoshenko's recent visit to Moscow: “It’s still unclear when and to what extent the current matryoshka system will be redesigned in favor of a more transparent one. The system Ukraine has today — an octopus of cash and gas flows — hinders energy...

Burkina Faso: teachable moments, missing bathrooms and road rage

  25 February 2008

Pity the school teachers of the Peace Corps. While their compatriots toiling in health clinics or with micro-credit programs pretty much work loose hours and come and go from social events in the capital city at their leisure, teachers are stuck at home with a inflexible schedule, classrooms full of hundreds of students and loads and loads of homework to correct each night.

Vietnam: Virtual Worlds for Business

  25 February 2008

Saigon Nezumi points to a press release from the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam where they are trying to network Spanish and Vietnamese businessmen using a virtual world platform.

Tajikistan: Energy Crisis Is Not Enough to Lose Patience

  25 February 2008

The continuing energy crisis is, probably, the worst problem that Tajikistan ever faced since the end of civil war. Neweurasia reports that most of the population is barely surviving this winter – the harshest in several decades – against the background of constant blackouts. The situation is even more desperate...

Hindi: No smoking and Cricket Auctions

  22 February 2008

Amit Gupta takes us on a tour of the latest from the Hindi blogosphere, including bad news for male smokers, good news for cricket fans in Hyderabad, and hopeful news regarding the effort to curb the spread of AIDS.

Afganistan: Story Behind Pictures

  22 February 2008

Mohammad posts a number of pictures of Afghanistan's children in “schools” in remote areas, and says that the current authorities spend billions of western aids on luxurious houses, top model cars and jewelry instead of improving humanitarian situation.

Syria: The Changing Face of Syria

  21 February 2008

Syria, is a country that is still "officially" considered a Socialist country. The socialist policies in Syria date all the way back to 1958, when Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic, under the leadership of Gamal Abd el-Nasser. It was a very short lived republic that ended in 1961 but marked the turn of Syrian politics and economy into the socialist thinking. That continued after the Baath party took power in the March 8th coup d'etat. But all that is changing now.

Georgia: Patarkatsishvili Dies

  21 February 2008

TOL Georgia comments on the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili in London at the age of 52. The blog remembers Georgia's richest man who in recent years has been synonymous with support for opposition groups in the country and who was harshly critical of the Georgian authorities. However, the blog reminds...

Kazakhstan: Clinton's Kazakh Affair Is Spinning

  21 February 2008

Zhanna Zhukova provides an update on the scandal around ex-president of the United States Bill Clinton, his friend Frank Guistra (a Canadian financier & businessman) and Kazakhstan, where Guistra got a lucrative contract in uranium production after a visit to Almaty together with Clinton.