Stories from 21 June 2006
Belarus: Bracing For Gas War
“Volkswagen” reports on preparations in Belarus for possible natural gas price increases.
France, Various Africa, Middle East: France goes easy on mercenary
“The French again have demonstrated that crimes committed abroad in developing nations shouldn't necessarily be punished,” writes an outraged Fontaine, who reports that a French mercenary, who has also been implicated in several coups or coup attempts in other countries, has received only a five-year suspended sentence after having been...
Russia: Comparing the Chechen War to Iraq
Sean Guillory analyzes whether the war in Iraq can be compared to the war in Chechnya: “And I’m sure American politicians and policy makers would be delighted to have the problems Putin has in Chechnya. But as the current moment shows both Iraq and Chechnya are worlds apart. Still, a...
Russia: Books On Muslims In Russia
Sean Guillory examines English-language literature available on the subject of Muslims in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.
Poland: Terrorism Risks
the beatroot discusses the risks of terrorism in Poland.
Russia: Mandelstam and Tyutchev Translations
Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog translates Russian poetry: Osip Mandelstam's Lamarck and Fyodor Tyutchev's Insomnia.
Albania: Posters & Banners
Our Man in Tirana offers a selection of posters and banners from Albania.
Russia: Vacation Destinations, Home & Abroad
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the myth of the hordes of Russians vacationing abroad, and about Sochi, “the only opportunity to enjoy the “Riviera” for many Russian businessmen and officials who either do not have enough time to go abroad or cannot leave Russia, because they will be...
Russia: Marilyn Monroe Moles Ad
Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog posts an ad of a Russian “Clinic of Aesthetical Medicine” that uses Marilyn Monroe – and her moles – as its model.
Zimbabwe: New episode of news podcast
Zimbabwe News Update has released a new podcast. Among the topics covered in this episode are “Mugabe Buys Luxury Vehicle For Army Officers” and “Chinese Planes Grounded As AirZim Cancels London Flight”.
Russia: Causes of Death Statistics
The Poster of Ruminations on Russia cites Russians’ causes of death statistics from 1980 to 2004: “Delighted to see that less people are dying of “accidental alcohol poisoning” – that would be drinking themselves to death to you and I.”
Belarus: Two Activists Awarded in Sweden
Vilhelm Konnander reports on two Belarusian human rights activists who have been awarded Swedish prizes for their work.
Kenya: The future is not what it used to be
In a lengthy post, Rombo muses on her own relative career success and the lack of employment opportunities for Kenyan university graduates, including some of her former classmates. “What happens to all the people for whom the future is not what it used to be?” she asks. “Where do they...
South Africa: SABC blacklist
Politics.za notes that there have been reports of “further self censorship” within the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and that a list of those no longer welcome to appear on SABC's current affairs and news shows has been drawn up by SABC's Head of News.
Iran: UN Human Rights Council
Azadeh 7 says that Mr. Saeed Mortazavi, General Prosecutor of Tehran, will be present in UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The blogger adds more than 100 newspapers & magazines were shut down in Iran because of Mortazavi's order (Persian)!
Malawi: The Atcheya of software
Soyapi Mumba seems to have his tongue firmly in his cheek as he riffs off Thierry Henry's nickname (“Atcheya” or chairperson) and compares the soon-to-retire Bill Gates with Dr Bakili Muluzi, former President of Malawi.
China: Internet access in Tibet
Virtual China has a guest blogger today, Kathrine Hoersted, who brings us a post looking at the young Tibetan woman with whom she lived during her graduate research in a small village in Tibet, and how despite severely limited internet access there the two have managed to keep in touch.
China: University students riot
In response to backpedalling administrations and denial of access to watching World Cup games, students at two universities in China rioted this week, leaving widespread and costly damage. Translations [#061] from EastSouthWestNorth‘s Roland Soong and some perspective from OneManBandwith‘s Lonnie Hodge, looking at the conditions under which many students—and professors—end...
North Korea: Holocaust-style camps
As North Korea prepares to test-fire an inter-continental ballistic missile—”The US and Japan have warned the North Koreans not to test-fire their ICBM; but the lunatics in charge of the failed Stalinist state, led by the Hitlerian tyrant Kim Jong-il, have insisted on their right to fire away.”—China Confidential‘s Confidential...
Japan: Motorbikes, scooters banned
When Rising Sun blogger GaijinBiker walked out onto the streets of Tokyo this morning, the first thing he noticed was the missing motorcycles and scooters, as described in his post ‘A law meant to be broken.’
Japan: Smoking minors penalized
“No Smooking,” says a misspelt sign posted by JP at Japundit, preceded by a post telling of a mother in Japan charged for neglecting the law which makes her two sons’ smoking illegal.
