Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from October, 2005
Kyrgyzstan: Being Muslim
Damian Wampler, a Fulbright Scholar studying Islam in Kyrgyzstan discusses what it means to be Muslim and who decides who is and is not Muslim.
Kyrgyzstan: Demonstrations
Claire Wilkinson has photos and a report on demonstrations for and against Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister.
Georgia: Orphanages, Social Workers, and More
Onnik Krikorian has more photos and brief reports from his recent trip to Georgia.
Poland: Opinion Polling Scandal
Polish opinion pollster predictions for both the first and second rounds of the presidential election were way off. the beatroot discusses what it all might mean.
Russia: 15 Years of McDonald's
Russian Marketing Blog reflects on what has changed at McDonald's in Russia after 15 years.
Hungary: The Tragedy of '56
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar reflects on the real tragedy of '56 on the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising.
Hungary: Avian Flu
Hungarian Accent rounds up the latest buzz on avian flu from the Hungarian blogosphere.
Poland: Twins
The twins are in after Lech Kaczynski’s victory in this weekend's presidential election in Poland. His twin brother, Jaroslaw, is the head of the Law and Justice parliamentary faction.
Georgia: Deinstitutionalization
Oneworld Multimedia has photos from and a report on an orphanage for special-needs children in Georgia that is making great strides in deinstitutionalizing its residents.
Kyrgyzstan: American Football in Bishkek
Mental Wanderlust has photos and a brief report on the charity game of American football held in Bishkek over the weekend.
Azerbaijan: Election News Roundup
neweurasia rounds up the week in Azeri political news.
Effect Measure on Facing the Global Bird Flu Threat
With recent reports of avian flu in Western Europe, the disease is clearly no longer East Asia's problem. It's a dilemma for the world. Last week I emailed Revere, the pseudonymous leader of Effect Measure, a public health group blog. Since its inception in late 2004, Effect Measure has been covering the global response to avian flu. My goal was to discuss the pandemic fears and what the world -- and ordinary people -- can do to prepare for it.
Revere, an environmental epidemiologist in a senior faculty position at a major research university, has 40 years of experience in medicine and public health. He is also one of the individuals behind the Flu Wiki, an Internet-based experiment in community mobilization and knowledge-pooling to face the feared epidemic. He paints an alarming picture. "If a pandemic is going to happen (and we don't know how to predict if it will or not with certainty), it will happen whatever we do," he writes. "There will be no "outside" for help to come from, so each community needs to prepare to cope on its own." In previous flu pandemics, hundreds of thousands of people went sick or died, leading to massive disruptions as workers failed to show up to work and instead surged into ill-equipped and ill-prepared hospitals ill-prepared.
Revere sees two big tasks ahead: managing the consequences of a potential pandemic, and building (or rebuilding) the world's rotting public health infrastructure.
Images from Afghanistan: Winter Streets in Kabul
“Winter Streets in Kabul” by TKnoxB Cabs share the snow-covered streets with men on bicycles in Kabul last winter.
Armenia: Voter Apathy
Watts up in Armenia reports that there is very little public interest in voting in Armenia's local elections.
Poland: Down to the Wire
the beatroot reports the Polish presidential run-off is a nail-biter, and comments on yesterday's bomb hoax.
Poland: Bomb Scare
In its latest blogcast, PolBlog interviews Newsweek journalist Wojciech Rogacin about yesterday's bomb scare in Warsaw.
Poland: Bird Flu
the beatroot discusses the Polish reaction to avian flu appearing in Europe.
Russia: Wheat Beer
The Russian Dilettante reports on the growing acceptance of weissbier in Russia and why Baltika must rebrand every few years.
Ukraine: Junk Mail
Notes From Kiev reports that junk mail has arrived in Ukraine, specifially in the form of the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes. However, such endeavors have some history to overcome.
Hungary: Pecs=Euros
Pestiside.hu says that it's not clear what the selection of Pecs as a European Cultural Capital really means beyond loads of euros.
Armenia: Treeless Hills
Voch Me Ban comments on Vanadzor's lack of trees, phony municipal elections, and the disconnect between the Armenian diaspora and the people of Armenia.
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