14 February 2006

Stories from 14 February 2006

Hong Kong Refuses to Be Sales-taxed

Hemlock regards the attempt to implement a goods and services tax in Hong Kong as utopian as IMF asking Nepal to restore peace. For “our visionary leaders can’t do anything...

15 February 2006

In Defense of Piracy

Beijing Loafer defends the role of piracy in media-controlled China. Without piracy, Chinese audiences “would only get the likes of Titanic, Backstreet Boys and Batman with no shoulder exposed, products...

15 February 2006

Costa Rica vibrates with the Central American Music Festival

Feet are fiddling and fingers are drumming as many Costa Ricans wait for the PapayaFest, Papaya Music's tribute to San José as the 2006 Latin American Culture Capital, to begin on February 16th. Papaya Music is a Central American effort to unite musicians, researchers and producers who wish to bring traditional and popular composers into greater visibility and younger generation's attention.

15 February 2006

Cambodia: The Shadow of the Past

In 1970 a boy of ten Nhem En joined Khmer Rouge. He was sent to study photography in China, and six years later became a photographer of death at Tuol-Sleng...

15 February 2006

Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus

Buzkashi in Tajikistan – by Dushanbe Pictures, Erik Petersson, 2006. Welcome to the latest scan of the Central Asian and Caucasian blogosphere, brought to you bi-weekly by neweurasia. While many...

15 February 2006

Caucasus: YC Week Three

The Young Caucasus Women project is in its third week, and a roundup of the initial posts for the week can be found here.

15 February 2006

Central Asia: Message to the Music

Alan Cordova wonders if there is a message behind the music played when various Central Asian teams made their entrances during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.

15 February 2006

Armenia: Diaruntarach

Oneworld Multimedia has a report on and photos of Diaruntarach/Terendez, an annual holiday with pagan roots centered on fire.

15 February 2006

Band Cancels Polish Tour

The Beatroot writes that a Swedish “death metal” band has decided to cancel its Polish tour, fearing legal action. A precedent was set two years ago, when a Norwegian “black...

14 February 2006

Security a Bit Too Tight in Turin

All About Latvia reports how the Latvian Olympic hockey team couldn't leave the arena for 40 minutes this past Saturday – because Laura Bush was somewhere nearby, watching the U.S.-Switzerland...

14 February 2006

Czech Red Tape

Author of the bilingual (English and Belarusian) br23 blog encounters red tape in the Czech Republic and is forced to cancel his trip to Ukraine, where he was to teach...

14 February 2006

Escape into Albanian Countryside

Anna of annasblog shares pictures from a Saturday escape from the capital Tirana to Albanian countryside: sheep, brides, ancient ruins – and modern bunkers, some 700,000 of them scattered all...

14 February 2006