Stories from February, 2006
Uruguay, France: A Mix of Grapes and Cultures
SaltShaker weighs in with some hidden World War II history between Uruguay and France and how it contributed to Uruguayan Cognac.
Argentina, Chile: More Free Music
Fernando Casale has more free tracks for indie music lovers. Check out Calostro from Chile and Argentine, Sebastián Kramer.
Mexico: New Report Documenting Mexico's Dirty War
Michelle Dion links to resources in English on the soon-to-be released official report of abuses by the PRI regime in Mexico's Dirty War of the late 60's and 70's. RegioBlogs and Olganza have more information in Spanish.
Russia: Moscow's Suburbs and Sightseeing
Snowsquare.com and Two-Zero visit the more remote Moscow neighborhoods – Konkovo and Tyoplyi Stan – and take pictures. Jane Keeler of From Russia With Blog has lots of stories and photos from her sightseeing trip to Moscow, too.
Russia: Moscow's Tverskaya Street
Snowsquare.com writes about Moscow's central street, Tverskaya: the unique way of lighting it at night, and the final days of Hotel Minsk (22 Tverskaya), built in 1964.
Russia: Maslyanitsa
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile writes about Maslyanitsa, a part-pagan, part-Christian holiday, celebrating the arrival of spring and the approach of the pre-Easter fast, and how it is marked in Russia nowadays.
Afghan Whispers
Afghan Reality encourages foreign forces such as Canadian soldiers stay in Afghanistan. The blogger says “Security. Security. Security. This is a persistent call for international assistance from the Afghan government, civil society and most importantly from the ordinary Afghans. How could peace and stability be envisaged without reassuring the safety...
Russia: Photos From Feb. 23 Rallies in Moscow
Marina Litvinovich links (RUS) to photos from Feb. 23 rallies and marches that took place in Moscow: here, here, here, here, here, and here. The majority of the photos are from the rally in front of Russia's Defense Ministry, where people gathered to demand the army's reform and resignation of...
Russia: Krasnaya Polyana Ski Resort
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile reads “the story of a complete ski-wimp on a trip to Krasnaya Polyana” in SKI Magazine. Krasnaya Polyana is Vladimir Putin's favorite ski resort.
Russia: “Salt Crisis”
Two-Zero writes about “salt crisis” in Russia – allegedly, a direct consequence of the “gas crisis” in Ukraine – and the difficult relationship between Russia and Ukraine.
Hong Kong: Horse city
SimonWorld picks up on local media reports surrounding the establishment of a new company specially to organize equestrian events ahead of the 2008 Olympics. Do the 80-strong workforce need offices in downtown Hong Kong, or closer to the stables in the New Territories, he muses.
Russia: “Buratino-the-Pooh”
Konstantin of the Russian Marketing Blog shares a really weird label: instead of a bear, there's Buratino, the Russian Pinocchio, on the cake called “Winnie-the-Pooh Cake”: “No, Russians don’t call Pinocchio Winnie. Why is this picture on the cake’s box? Call “Vega-Nord” Bakery hot line.”
North Korea: Food aid argument
Scott Bruce of NKZone notes an essay by South Korean scholar Wonhyuk Lim on food aid to North Korea. “The end of the Cold War showed that even “an evil empire” was full of normal people and leaders who could bring about an enormous change when it was engaged with...
Russia: More On the Anniversary of Khrushchev's Speech
Somewhat belatedly, links to more posts by Sean Guillory's on the 50th anniversary of Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin: Boris Kagarlitsky on “sacrificing” the dictator in order to save the system; Anne Applebaum on “authoritarian impulse” in countries new to democracy; Julian Evans on the “cult of Putin” in Russia;...
Hong Kong: Writing oneself
Glutter completes a 18,000-word post, seven days after the break-up with her man, and emerges saying she has written her way out of it.
Russia: Anatoly Fomenko and his New Chronology vs David Irving
Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog writes about a respected Russian mathematician Anatoly Fomenko and his controversial “new chronology of world history” – in which, for example, “Jesus Christ and emperor Constantine were the same person.” Alex(ei) cites an anonymous LiveJournal user: “…if David Irving deserves three years in jail,...
Hong Kong: Sexual hoopla
EastSouthWestNorth reports, with pictures, on the opening day of Hong Kong's Sexual Cultural Festival 2006, which featured a demurely dressed inflatable doll and an anatomically correct hoopla stall.
Russia: Chechen and Ingush NGOs Fear the Pressure On Them Will Increase
David McDuff of A Step At A Time has translated an article by Liza Osmayeva on the Chechen and Ingush NGOs’ concern about local law enforcement agencies’ increased interest in their work. Representatives of the Ingushetia-based Information Centre of the Council of Non-Governmental Organizations and the Chechen National Salvation Committee...
Bangladesh: Infrastructure Blues
Bangladesh: Infrastructure Blues
China: Why unenforced laws matter
Chinese Law Prof notes the appearance of a new book by Kevin O'Brien and Lianjiang Li, Rightful Resistance in Rural China, saying it shows how legal texts can be socially meaningful even when they are not in any practical sense enforceable by courts or other state institutions.
Nepal: More violence
Nepal: More violence
