Stories from 10 April 2006
Nepal: Democracy and strikes
Nepal's political environment heats up further says Bahas -“Enraged with the government’s brutal repression of the Seven Party Alliance movement, SPA has decided to continue the four-day nationwide general strike, which ended Sunday, until further notice”
Kazakhstan: A Triumph for Russia
Vilhelm Konnander says that the deal that Kazakhstan recently signed to increase oil exports to Russia is a tremendous geopolitical triumph for Moscow.
India: Caste and Reservations
The issue of extending reservations in certain educational institutions in India has got the Indian blogosphere debating with great passion the issues of reservation, caste and education. Evenstar blogrolls some of the posts emerging on the issue.
Russia: Gorbachev's Intentions
Bob Granico of Publius Pundit points out how the Western media misinterpret Mikhail Gorbachev's intentions: “Gorbachev, in reality, worked hard during his time in power to preserve the Soviet Union, and he never intended for the captive republics to gain independence.”
Poland: Commercial Radio
Following a long bus journey, hgrodsk of Our Man In Gdansk offers a very critical view of commercial Polish radio.
Eastern Europe: Shteyngart's “Absurdistan”
Krzysztof of Respublica Somniorum reviews Gary Shteyngart's new novel, “Absurdistan”: “In the end, it matters less where Shteyngart goes than how he gets there and the sights along the way. These include, non-inclusively: an anti-Semitic dog, an ethnic conflict over Christ’s footrest, a vodka-drenched circumcision in the “mitzvah mobile,” a...
India: Painting Hindu Gods
Blowin’ in the wind attempts to understand MF Hussain's creative urges and motives when it comes to potrayal of Hindu gods and godesses in his art.
Romania: “Alphabet of Curiosities”
Andy H of Csikszereda Musings comes up with a Romanian “alphabet of curiosities“: “[…] an alphabetical list of things in Romania that amuse, baffle, confound and disturb me.”
Hungary: Electoral System
Pestiside.hu cites the crystal ball predictions for the general election that took place in Hungary this past weekend, and explains the Hungarian electoral system.
Armenia: Names
The Basturma Chronicles notices that of the 37 most common names for Armenian newborns, only 14 of the female names are Armenian while 26 of the 37 names for boys are Armenian.
Armenia: Cultural Destruction
Onnik Krikorian notes that Armenian cultural and religious monuments are not just being destroyed in neighboring countries but also in Armenia by Armenians.
Belarus: Lukashenko's Inauguration
TOL's Belarus Blog has a short version of Aleksandr Lukashenko's inauguration; Tobias Ljungvall provides a detailed account. Tobias also has a suggestion for the EU's neighbors: “I also hope the EU will ask other countries, notably Ukraine and some other Black Sea states as well as Turkey where the regime...
Kazakhstan: EU Relations
James of neweurasia writes on Kazakhstan and the EU forging closer ties and says that the West should not ignore Kazakhstan's shortcomings. More importantly though, it should be careful not to do anything that hurt's Kazakhstan's opportunity to create rapid economic growth.
Jordan: Fuel rises again
Starting from yesterday, fuel prices were raised again. The extent of the rise is what is shocking to most people, with the cost of diesel and kerosene going up by 43%. There were also hefty raises in the cost of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas. Khalaf writes that this price...
Tunisia: Censorship Ease?
Sabbah reports via a blogger report from Tunisia that reveals that some censored websites since the WSIS on November 2005 (the website of the Mediterranean Liberal Party and Neila Charchour Hachicha blog) has become accessible in Tunisia since April 8th, 2006. Nelia consider this act as a first step towards...
Israel: Planes, Trains and Automobiles
She envy her son innocence, and she marvel at all he does not yet know about the world outside his door. She imagine a world where the worst things that can happen are not getting another cookie or having a toy taken away, and where both are soon forgotten by...
Saudi Arabia: Flame War
Flame-wars are coming to the Saudi blogosphere, and they are coming very fast and furiously. Ahmed advise the bloggers which adopted this task to think in other ways to make a huge success. He suggest that instead of taking on blogs that they take on some of the many stories...
Palestine: The Earth is Closing in on Us
Laila writes: The shells keep falling. They’ve gotten inside my head. It’s like someone is banging a gong next to my ear every few minutes; sometimes 5 times a minute, like last night. And just when I savor a few moments of silence, it starts again as if to say...
Kenyan Sphere this week
The kenyan blogosphere has grown by leaps and bounds, it is very vibrant and thus this roundup is just but a glimpse of what is going on. An aggregator similar to BlogAfrica was launched to make tracking the kenyan sphere easier, and you can check it out here. This roundup...
Mexico: Missing Journalist
RegioBlogs, Blog.com.mx, and Ernesto are all seeking information about missing journalist Alfredo Jiménez Mota who has not been seen since April 2nd.
Colombia, Venezuela: Targeting Chavez
Oil Wars translates an article from the Colombian news weekly Semana, in which an ex-employee of the Colombian Department of Security Administration (DAS) claims that “plans that were hatched to assassinate various Venezuelan government officials, among whom were the Venezuelan president.”