10 March 2006

Stories from 10 March 2006

Armenia: Crooked Officials

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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)

Armenia: Kosh Prison

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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...

Bolivia: International Women's Day

  10 March 2006

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.

Ukraine: To Debate or Not To Debate?

  10 March 2006

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: Freedom of Information Campaign

  10 March 2006

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: FedEx Alternative

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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

  10 March 2006

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.