Stories from 4 October 2005
Poland: Who Speaks Blair's Language?
Far fewer leaders in Poland's new ruling parties speak English than do members of the outgoing government reports the beatroot.
Panama: Here's Where I Live
Jorge Yau offers a stunningly close-up view of his house in Panama by way of Google Earth.
Russia: Opposing Reputations
Konstantin of Russian Blog discusses why Russian culture has a repuation for both rudeness and extremely warm hospitality.
Russia: Explosion of Political Youth Groups
Sean's Russia Blog analyzes the explosion of political youth groups in Russia across the political spectrum.
Trinidad and Tobago: What it Means to be a Republic
Jonathan Ali reflects on what it means to be a republic for the typical Trinidadian.
Russia: Marketing Pelmeni for Free
The Russian Marketing Blog reports on how one Russian pelmeni maker launched their brand for free.
The Devil's Excrement
The Devil's Excrement comments on Sumate's most recent report on illegalities that took place during the last Venezuelan regional elections.
Ethiopia: Marxism in motion
“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.” Which is just as well if you're trying to make sense of the Ethiopian constitution, writes Ethiopundit.
South Korea: Tough weekend
It was a tough weekend for Koreans, writes The Marmot's Hole, referring to those injured in the Bali bombings and the 11 people who died in a crush at a pop concert.
Indonesia: Why Bali is quiet
Bali Blog says that while the MSM will say tourists have fled following the suicide bombings, the Kuta and Seminyak tourist areas of Bali are quiet because of Galungan, a period of 10 days when the ancestors return to earth and are feted with offerings.
China: Yannan archive saved
China Digital Times reports on the closure of the popular online Chinese discussion forum, Yannan.com, and points those interested in the direction of archived posts from the site dating up to May 15, 2005.
China: 50 years of Xinjiang
Musing Under the Tenement Palm posts a digest of China's English-language news media's coverage of the 50th anniversary of Communist Party rule in the northwestern, mostly Muslim, region of Xinjiang.
Zimbabwe: The school run
Sokwanele Civic Action tells a tale of ambulances that won't respond to emergency calls where lives are at risk because they have “no fuel”, but which are later spotted picking up employees’ children from school.
Sudan: African Union statement
“I read and hear descriptions of killings, rape, indiscriminate shooting and burning of houses or shelters just like the ones in the African Union (AU) statement on a regular basis,” writes Darfur-based aid worker Sleepless in Sudan in response to the AU statement. “It's just that I cannot share them…in...
Morocco: Prisoners Hunger Strike Ends
saad of The World from Rabat reports that some 30 prisoners, who have been on hunger strike for almost two months in Western Sahara, have agreed to take food again. They ended their hunger strike because of their families’ fears for their lives, the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) said....
Oman: Road Blocks
The Muscatis says that 20 years ago, Sultan of Oman waived to him while he was stopping next to him at a traffic light in Muscat. However, last week, The Muscatis got stuck in traffic because the roads were closed in Muscat while the Sultan was going to address the...
Cambodia: $100 laptop
ThaRum answers Beth Kanter's query about cheap laptops with this post about MIT Media Laboratory's plans to unveil a Linux-based, hand-cranked U.S.$100 laptop in November, inspired by a visit to a Cambodian village.
Uganda: Night commuter documentary
UgandaCAN recommends that anyone interested in learning more about the GuluWalk awareness event, as well as night commuters and child soldiers in northern Uganda watch the documentary film Invisible Children.
Palestine: Wedding under fire
scott of Angry White Kid post a photo of an Israeli bride posing for a wedding photographer next to an Israeli army mobile artillery piece at a staging area near Gaza and says, one thing we didn't do at our wedding; posing in front of Israeli artillery that was actively...
Armenia: Pop Culture Roundup
Blogrel rounds up the week in pop culture touching on the welcome arrival of meaningless, entertaining television shows and pop music acts.
Kenya: God and democracy
“If there was an election for God, would you re-elect the incumbent?” asks What an African Woman Thinks, calling for comments on a post entitled “Diablog”.
