Stories from Quick Reads from January, 2010
Ukraine: Involvement in Afghanistan
Leigh Turner, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, writes about Ukraine's involvement in Afghanistan, now and then.
Ukraine: “Bring Your Skates”
Greetings from Kyiv posts an update on the situation on Kyiv's sidewalks: “This year, Kyiv City Services decided not to clean up the snow so the snow on the sidewalks turns into a very slippery ice rink. The fact that cars use the sidewalks as parking lots adds to the...
Serbia: “No” to NATO
Belgraded believes that “Serbia does not need to have a military at all, and therefore does not need to join NATO.”
Russia: Consumerism
St Petersblurb sees “the whole EU exactly through the eyes of a Russian” ex-girlfriend: “It’s just a retail chain with branches in different languages.”
Russia: Vladimir Vysotsky
St Petersblurb and Leopolis pay tribute to Vladimir Vysotsky, who would have turned 72 on January 25.
Russia: CJR Piece on the Media
Robert Amsterdam recommends Adam Federman's article on the Russian media, published in Columbia Journalism Review: “[…] Federman focuses on the remaining mechanisms and political dynamics for freedom of press and the conditions in which genuinely good investigative journalism can still occur in today's harshly repressive media environment in Russia.”
Russia: Potential iPad Pricing and Sales
Svetlana Gladkova of Profy writes that “representatives of one of the local retailers that is now negotiating iPad sales in Russia expect to be able to sell iPad at the price that will be twice as high as it is in the US”: “Now can anyone explain me why Apple...
Russia: Opposition Blogger Finally Gets Permission To Leave Country
An opposition blogger Oleg Kozlovsky tells his story [EN] on how his blog helped his to finally receive a passport allowing him to leave Russia. The country's Federal Security Service (FSB) refused to issue a new passport to Kozlovsky but quickly changed its decision after he published a blog post...
Azerbaijan: Democracy is…
Önər Blog [AZ] posts a video [EN] made by the OL! Azerbaijani Youth Movement for the Democracy Video Challenge. OL! has been exemplary in its use of new media in the region and was co-founded by now imprisoned video blogging youth activist Adnan Hajizade.
Syria: A Short Story
Medad blog published a sarcastic short story [ar] depicting a Muslim cleric and a Christian cleric passionately discussing virtue and interfaith understanding as each of them tries to claim a spot that allows them to peep through a crack in the wall of a women's bathhouse.
Haiti, U.S.A.: Donating Breastmilk
Repeating Islands links to a story about the importance of breast milk for the infant victims of Haiti's earthquake.
Trinidad & Tobago: iThink, therefore iPad
“When iHeard Apple called the device iPad, iImmediately thought of tampons and iAm a man. iThink Apple has unwittingly provided fodder for stand up comedians and may have to change the name to something like iTouch-Big, iMoses or iAintKnow”: Trinidad and Tobago's This Beach Called Life has a lot to...
Africa: On Homophobia in Africa
Responses to Homophobia in Africa by Sokari: “I’m writing this post in response to number of articles on the prevalence of homophobia in Africa and to try and give some perspective and historical context.”
Africa:Mocality: Business directory for mobile phone
Mkaigwa writes about Mocality, Africa's business directory for mobile phone.
E.Africa: Mobile Web East Africa Conference 2010
John writes about Mobile Web East Africa Conference: Mobile Web East Africa is a very cool conference taking place in Nairobi of Feb. 3-4. The event focuses on “harnessing the potential of the internet and applications on mobile devices,”
Nigeria: Uzoma Okere wins court case against the army
Nigerian curiosity writes about the case of Uzoma Okere in Nigeria: “Uzoma Okere is the young Nigerian lady whose assault by military officers became a viral video that raised the ire of many.”
Eritrea: Remove current regime quickly
According to Mohammed Hagos, democracy project in Eritrea has to start with the removal of the current regime: “The hurdle preventing the Eritrean people from having their say is the Issayas regime. The path to democracy thus starts with removing the Issayas regime as quickly as possible…”
Africa: African women's struggle for credibility
A discussion about African women's struggle for credibility: “Africans have faced discrimination for centuries, yet women have been marginalized for much, much longer.”
Japan: Sit-In Protest against US Helipads in Okinawa
TenThousandThings from Kurashi blogs about a sit-in protest against the construction of US Helipads in Yanbaru Forest, a mountainous region full of biodiversity in the northern part of Okinawa.
Japan: Micro-gardens
Palmsundae from Tokyo Green Space blogs about the micro-gardening practice in old Tokyo neighborhood.
South Korea: Why do Koreans like cute things?
Ask a Korean! tries to answer the question on why Koreans like cute things.