Stories from Quick Reads from January, 2010
Ukraine: Salo
The Pickle Project writes about salo, “the adored raw pork fat enjoyed on its own and in many of timeless Ukrainian dishes.”
Ukraine: UK Ambassador's Ukrainian Vocabulary
Leigh Turner, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, writes on how the Ukrainian phrases he is learning reflect the political, economic and social situation in the country.
Russia: Miss Virtual Yakutia 2010
eYakutia posts an update on the ongoing Miss Virtual Yakutia 2010 contest.
The Balkans: “Six Reasons for Marrying a Balkan Man”
Ruth Platt-Stavrik's “Six Reasons for Marrying a Balkan Man” – at MladiInfo.com (via Belgraded).
Serbia, Russia: Author Awarded for Book on Ratko Mladić
A Slice Of Serbian Politics reports on the award given by the Union of Russian Writers to Ljiljana Bulatović for her book “Report to the General”: “Ljiljana was awarded in the ‘Slav Fraternity’ category with the ‘Imperial Culture’ award for, as it is stated, ‘her courage, commitment, and unswerving dedication...
Belarus: LGBT Issues
BelarusDigest quotes from a chapter on Belarus that was included in the Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide earlier this year.
Haiti: The Homeless Situation
Potoprincipe expresses [Fr] bewilderment at Haitian president Preval's decision to live under a tent in front of the ravaged Presidential palace, in solidarity with his people, when solutions need to be found to relieve the homeless, who will soon have to cope with the coming hurricane season.
Kazakhstan: “Kelin” Shortlisted for Oscar
Mursya writes that the Kazakh film “Kelin” (“The Daughter-in-Law,” directed by Ermek Tursunov) was shortlisted with 8 others for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Tajikistan: Power Plant as a National Idea
TajikVoice posts (and Andrey translates) stories of real people in Tajikistan, telling how they are being forced to “voluntarily donate” money to the construction of the Rogun dam and hydroelectric power plant.
Turkmenistan: Jesus saves Turkmenistan on TV
Annasoltan says that Kanal Hayat (Channel Life), a satellite channel programming in Turkish about Christianity, has launched programs in Turkmen language that are broadcast in Turkmenistan.
Tajikistan: Judges seek to silence press
Alpharabius posts a story of the Tajik high-level judges, who conspired to punish three independent newspapers for publishing a sensational story about unlawful conviction practices at the courts.
Afghanistan: Fresh Data Sources
Nick Fielding reviews new publication on negotiating with the Taliban and recommends a great source of stats on security, governance, socio-economic indicators and polling information.
Kazakhstan: Glutting the Wheat Industry
Joshua Foust reviews the situation in Kazakhstan's wheat industry, noting weak professionalism of the agriculture officials in managing market price fluctuations and food crisis risks.
Afghanistan: Behind the London Conference
Dafydd watches the London international conference on Afghanistan and opines that the organisers’ new strategy for this country involves buying off low level Taliban fighters and cutting a deal with more senior figures via amnesty of relatively senior figures from the pre 2001 Taliban regime.
Kyrgyzstan: Sheeps to receive passports
Noah reports on the striking decision of the Kyrgyz authorities to issue a passport and disaster insurance to every sheep and other livestock.
Iran: Iranian Cyber Army hacked Radio Zamaneh
Iranian Cyber Army hacked Netherlands based Radio Zamaneh. The message on the hacked site says in Persian: “you who betray your country are not safe even when you are with your masters.” Iranian Cyber army recently hacked Twitter and Chinese Baidu but does not claim any direct link with Iranian...
Iran: A cleric blogger was arrested
According to some Iranian sites and blogs Ali Ashraf Fathi, a Qom based religious student and blogger was arrested [fa] on Friday. He used to write [fa] in his blog Tourjan.
Haiti: Where are the 15 missing children?
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the question of international adoption and its legitimacy has been on many mouths: Both Espas Ayisyen and Haiti Recto Verso weigh in by posting a UNICEF statement [Fr] announcing that 15 children are “missing” from Haitian hospitals and questioning the possibility of abduction.
Sri Lanka: ‘Lanka E news’ Banned
Journalists For Democracy In Sri Lanka blog informs that “the office of the ‘Lanka e news’, a prominent news website operating from Sri Lanka, has been sealed off by the authorities. [..] Two days before the elections, another regular contributor to the website, Prageeth Eknalogoda, went missing.”
Tunisia: Language Choices
In this post entitled Arabic, French or English: for “whom” the bell tolls? the Third Ijtihad talks about the use of languages in speaking with others.
Pakistan: Depleting Water Resources
Owais Mughal at All Things Pakistan discusses about the depleting water resources of Pakistan and urges the decision makers to “invest in Pakistan’s Water Resources for the stability of the country and the region.”
