· August, 2008

Stories from Quick Reads from August, 2008

Georgia: Unfrozen Conflicts

  31 August 2008

Marilisa Lorusso's Blog comments on the conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and says that the military solution has brought the world closer to a new Cold War. However, the blog notes, while the Georgian president continues to survive defeat on the battlefield, a political solution would have...

Turkey: Questions on Their Nuclear Program

Kurdish blogger Rasti questions the motives behind Turkey's nuclear program: “Although there has been no official proof that Turkey is actively building a nuclear weapons, some experts on Turkey's nuclear program have recounted their support, suspicious that the energy program is a cover for a weapons program.”

Georgia: Security in the Caucasus

  31 August 2008

Security in the Caucasus, a new blog established by a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics currently undertaking field work in the region, says that the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia was largely the result of a major miscalculation by Tbilisi. The blog also says that the...

Russia, Georgia, U.S.: Michael Lee White's Passport

  31 August 2008

LJ user olegpanfilov2 links (RUS) to a newspaper story (ENG) on Michael Lee White, a China-based U.S. citizen whose passport was allegedly stolen “during a flight from Moscow to New York” in Dec. 2005. Last week, “a Russian general […] displayed a blown-up photo” of the passport and claimed that...

Russia: New LJ Ads

  31 August 2008

LJ user tema is one of the many Cyrillic bloggers who are unhappy with how the new LJ ads interrupt the flow of their posts; he shares a screenshot (RUS) of his blog to illustrate his point. Others are sharing a way to get rid of LJ ads in their...

Pakistan: On the Hijab

  31 August 2008

Degrowchyowl from Pakistan on the intricacies of wearing a hijab – as an assertion of identity or as a reminder of one's faith.

Georgia: Behind The Poti Lines

  31 August 2008

Behind the Poti Lines, a blog by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, reports on the recent visit by the Georgian president to the Russian-occupied port. The blog also notes that Russian soldiers are keeping interaction with residents to a minumum and no longer buying bread and vodka from local...

Zambia: A costly constitutional blunder

  30 August 2008

Cho identifies a costly constitutional blunder in Zambia: “A simple requirement in the constitution to have a presidential running mate would have saved Zambia (and its donor partners) a staggering $70m dollars – that is the estimated administrative cost of the upcoming bye-elections.”

Zimbabwe: Dirty Politics

  30 August 2008

Dirty, dirty politics in Zimbabwe: The MDC has unearthed a plot by the Attorney General’s office and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to secure convictions against MDC MPs in a bid to reverse the MDC majority in Parliament.

Russia: How to Spell ‘Blogger’ in Russian

  30 August 2008

There are two ways to spell the word ‘blogger’ in Russian – with two g's or with just one. The former seems to prevail among Russian bloggers, according to LJ user oleg_kozyrev (RUS), who has posted a screenshot of the Yandex Blogosphere Pulse search and also examined spelling preferences of...

Georgia: Photographs of Tskhinvali and Gori

  30 August 2008

Regional Reporters [RU] posts photographs from Tskhinvali, capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, and Gori, the strategic town until recently under Russian occupation, in the aftermath of the recent military conflict and war of words between Moscow and Tbilisi.

Audio slide of Bangkok rallies

  30 August 2008

Newley Purnell has uploaded an audio slide about huge anti-government rallies in Bangkok. The protesters are demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister.