Stories from 10 March 2006
Armenia: Crooked Officials
Oneworld Multimedia reports on illegalities in the office of the Armenian president. About 60% of government officials have received appointments to positions despite not having done military service.
Kazakhstan: Dariga
Registan.net and Democracy Rising discuss Dariga Nazarbaeva, the daughter of the country's president (a biography can be found here), and the ongoing fallout from the murder of a leading opposition politician in Kazakhstan.
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — pre-elections
National elections for mayors and deputies to the National Assembly will be held on March 12, so much of the commentary in the Salvadoran blogosphere was political in the past two weeks. Blogs in Spanish One theme of bloggers was a plea for voters to disregard propaganda and television advertising...
Uzbekistan: Politics & NGOs
Seidenstrasse says that political pressure is causing difficulties for his organization's work in Uzbekistan. In particular, pressure from the government is leading to hesitance of local organizations to partner with foreign NGOs. (Link in German)
Turkmenistan: Journalists Arrested
Peter of neweurasia reports on the arrest of two Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists in Turkmenistan. The location of and charges against the reporters are unknown.
Armenia: Kosh Prison
Onnik Krikorian has photos from Armenia's Kosh Prison in the Aragatsotn Region. Last week, he reported that he was pleasantly surprised by the conditions at the prison.
Colombia, El Salvador: Sunday Elections
Both Colombia and El Salvador are off to the polls on Sunday for congressional elections. This prompts Adam Isacson to post a translation of a who's who chart of Colombian candidates, their parties, and their main positions. Hunnapuh, on the other hand, has a far less serious list of “tips...
Brazil: Porto Alegre, Leftist Hotbed?
Luís Afonso Assumpção is not happy with leftist protesters that gather in his city of Porto Alegre during various conferences and summits.
Bolivia: International Women's Day
Melissa Draper guest-blogs at Blog from Bolivia with her thoughts on International Women's Day in Bolivia and what level of participation women have achieved in the new Movement Towards Socialism administration.
Argentina, Uruguay: Diplomacy and Celebrity
Diego is back with his semi-annual post from Buenos Aires. Just back from a trip to Uruguay, he explains how actress Tara Reid plans on saving the world, one party at a time.
Ukraine: To Debate or Not To Debate?
Oleksandr of Messages From Canada explains why he thinks Ukrainian politicians have to take part in pre-election debates and why many aren't willing to. He concludes: “Dear leaders of political parties of Ukraine, debate now, when you have the chance and have to do so. Otherwise, one beautiful day you...
Ukraine: Election Pancakes and Hot Dogs
Stephan Clark of Everybody I Love You compares free pancakes served in Kharkiv on Maslenitsa in order to advertise Ukrainian political parties to “that great American political tradition, the parking lot hot-dog give-away.”
Ukraine: Demographic Situation
LEvko at Foreign Notes writes about the demographic situation in Ukraine, an ever depressing topic.
Ukraine: New Customs Rules For Transnistria
Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine writes about Ukraine's relationship with Transnistria: cracking down “on smuggled goods out of a country whose economy is based on smuggling” – and the reactions this new policy is getting.
Ukraine: Freedom of Information Campaign
Maidan: An Internet Hub for Citizens Action Network in Ukraine reprints Stephen Bandera's report on Ukrainian freedom of information activists and their campaign to publicize secret governmental documents “that bear the ‘not for publication’ stamp.” So far, the justice ministry has agreed to provide the dates and titles of nearly...
Russia: Reckless Driving in Moscow
W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile links to a video featuring a number of car crashes that allegedly took place in Moscow's newly-constructed Lefortovo Tunnel. Pretty wild.
Russia: FedEx Alternative
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about a cheaper Russian alternative to FedEx, UPS and other such services – and a faster and more secure alternative to the local post service: passenger trains.
Russia: Reuters and Wall Street Journal Coverage
Charlie Ganske of Russia Blog criticizes Reuters’ coverage of Russia's Middle East policies and responds to Richard Pipes’ Wall Street Journal piece (“emblematic of a deeper problem in how the West views Russia”) with shallow remarks summarizing earlier arguments presented on the blog.
Indonesia: Rice's Visit
Yosef Ardi explains what lies in wait for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice when she makes her first official visit to Indonesia. In particular, he talks about the possibilities of Indonesia tilting more toward China.
Indonesia: Fewer Tycoons
Jakartass comments on the drop in the number of Indonesian billionaires on Forbes’ magazine's list of the world's 50 richest individuals: from ten in 1996 to two a decade later. “You've got to feel sorry for them.”
Malaysia: Covering the Fuel Protests
Worried that the local traditional media will ignore the action, bloggers in Malaysia are covering protests against a recent hike in fuel prices. Jeff Ooi at Screenshots is compiling some places on the Net where you can find more grassroots journalism.
