Stories about Politics from June, 2007
Trinidad & Tobago: Midnight Robber
“Ah does bade in acid and scrub meh teeth in the ashes of Caroni and grease meh foot beyond petroleum jelly…and when I laugh a roar more terrible than Ivan tumbling over Grenada to make politicians scamper like pot hounds in the gutter.” Thebookmann posts a speech from The Midnight...
Cuba: Bye Bye Blair
Child of the Revolution acknowledges former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's departure from office and shares why he's sad to see him go.
Anguilla: Slave Labour?
As imported Indian labourers marched against unfair wages on a high-profile resort project, Corruption-free Anguilla writes: “Our government has lost its way. It was the compassion of the ordinary Anguillian that redeemed our government today.”
Russia, U.S.: Comparative Presidential Popularity
As Putin and Bush are about to meet on Sunday, Sean's Russia Blog discusses a survey comparing the two leaders’ popularity.
Croatia: Marko Perković Thompson
Illyrian Gazette and Balkan Baby write about the controversial Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson and his recent concert in Zagreb. In the same post, Balkan Baby also writes about Tito's birthplace and football.
Russia, Belarus: Blaming Putin and Lukashenko
Adam Goodman of Being Had admits that life is tough in Belarus and Russia, but disagrees with La Russophobe‘s perspective: “[…] I refuse to believe, just as I have since I started writing about Belarus, that it is appropriate to place the blame solely on Lukashenka or Putin.”
Poland, Germany: “Stepmother of Europe”
Publius Pundit quotes from a BBC piece on the Polish-German relations and reproduces the controversial cover of the Polish weekly Wprost, featuring a computer-generated image of German Chancellor Angela Merkel breastfeeding Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and President Lech Kaczynski.
Central & Eastern Europe: Political Parties
Dr Sean's Diary fails to come up with “two or three examples of parties in CEE that might plausibly resemble the ‘radical right wing populists’ (as opposed to old-style neo-fascist or integral-national extreme right)”: “Plenty of successors to blood and soil national traditions, now somewhat tamed by post-1989 realities of...
India: Not her for President
As India gets ready for a new president, here's a take on why one of the candidates is unsuitable at India Uncut.
Russia: CNN International's “Eye on Russia”
Sean's Russia Blog is disappointed that it's CNN International – not CNN in the United States – that's broadcasting a whole week of daily half-hour series called “Eye on Russia: The New Dawn.”
Moldova: Development Strategy
“Moldova's development concept lacks any connection to the external environment, perpetuating isolation and self-centeredness,” Public Policy Watch writes about Moldova's “Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (EGPRSP), developed with the support of the World Bank.”
Estonia: Interior Minister
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's interior minister.
Croatia: “Feral Tribune” May Return
East Ethnia reports that the Croatian weekly Feral Tribune may be “returning through the good graces of, of all corporations, the prodigal monopolist WAZ. That would be half-good news, I suppose.”
Latvia: Economy
Edward Hugh of A Fistful of Euros posts a thorough examination of Latvia's economy, complete with some policy proposals.
Russia: PwC Withdraws Yukos Audits
PricewaterhouseCoopers “now believes that information and representations which was provided to PwC by Yukos’ former management may not have been accurate.” Siberian Light comments: “If some of the biggest, and supposedly best auditors in the world can be so easily deceived, then there is absolutely no reason why anyone should...
Serbia, Russia: “What About the Russians?”
Jasmina Tešanović guest-blogs at Boing Boing about what may appear as Serbia's misguided trust in Russia: “Back in 1999, Russians didn’t veto the bombing of Serbia. The Russians are using the Kosovo issue in order to reclaim ex-Soviet territories with Russian populations. Serbs know that the Russians have their own...
Tunisia: Divide and Conquer
Subzero Blue from Tunisia shares his ideas on the divide and conquer situation in Palestinian politics here.
China: Boycotting Beijing Olympics? They have ill intentions.
From Mia Farrow to François Bayrou to US Congressmen, every news or report about boycotting Beijing Olympics has provoked rounds of anger from China's netizens. In a widely cross-posted blog post Boycotting Olympic: A farce doomed to failure, Wang Chong, a political commentor, grouped the boycotting Beijing Olympics advocators into...
China: The China Opportunity
Fons tried to address the question: “Are you positive or negative about the effects of China on the world?” put forward by international delegations at China Herald.
Uzbekistan: Electioneering
Uzbekistan's president has been making numerous trips to various regions of Uzbekistan in what Jamiyat of neweurasia calls the launch of a re-election campaign.
Russia: “Completely Different Other Russias”
There was no police "overreaction" during the opposition's latest Dissenters' March in Moscow - possibly, because the organizers decided not to follow up the rally on Pushkinskaya Square with the actual marching. Everyone made their speeches - or so it seemed, until the blogosphere offered a not-so-pleasant revelation: opposition activist Maria Gaidar was prevented from addressing the crowd by Eduard Limonov, leader of the National Bolshevik Party and Garry Kasparov's close ally in the Other Russia anti-government coalition.
