Stories from 18 July 2006
Mexico: Election Update
Ceci Connolly has a thorough update on the state of Mexico's contested election including a recent poll which found that “about 60 percent of Mexicans do not think there should be a recount, while 37 percent believe one should be conducted.” Ana Maria Salazar has a more general update of...
Mexico: “Publicidad a Huevo”
“Publicidad a huevo” (ES), which means both “publicity, of course” and “egg publicity” is an exceedingly clever pun by Raúl Ramírez about the news that several companies including the American TV network CBS will begin advertising on egg shells.
Guatemala: “A Difference Of Perspective On Guatemala City”
Patrick comes to the defense of Guatemala City.
Ecuador: Eruption of Tungurahua Documented by Citizen Media
Christian Espinosa has compiled the abundance of citizen photography (ES) documenting the eruption of Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador. The comments section has become a forum of citizen reporting.
Americas: Googlear
The English translation of “googlear” should be easy enough to guess: “to google.” According to one article, the first reference in a Spanish paper belongs to Spanish blogger Enríque Dans (ES).
Argentina: Rappers on Skateboards
Tired of reading about Tango? Adam takes a look at some of Argentina's lesser known musical sub-cultures.
Argentina: Music: ElectroKant – Vol. 1
Santiago Candegabe has released a new album of electronic music called ElectroKant – Vol. 1, “centered around the image of the german philosopher.” The 13 song album can be downloaded for free and is published under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 license.
Bolivia: “Pink Floyd at the US Embassy”
Pink Floyd's “I Wish You Were Here” at the US Embassy in La Paz and an homage to Che Guevara requested by wealthy bankers: Ben Dangl's latest dispatch from Bolivia is description by juxtaposition.
Kazakhstan: Internet Development & Regulation
Leila reports on internet regulation and development in Kazakhstan. She notes that e-government is being explored in the country.
Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar
Stacey of soupy says writes about how different Ulaanbaatar is from other places in Mongolia.
Central Asia: Eurasian Islam
Ataman Rakim argues for a Eurasian Islam that would unite Muslims of the former Soviet Union under a common identity and serve not so much as a formal set of religious and political ideas but instead as a catalyst for social initiatives.
Uzbekistan: Happy Uzbeks
James explores how to explain the happiness of Uzbekistan's citizens despite the host of problems they face. Could it be relatively equal income distribution?
Mexico: Folklore Festival Postponed
Mark in Mexico has an update on the teacher's union standoff in Oaxaca, noting that “the annual Guelaguetza Festival has been “suspended” but would be re-initiated once the labor problems with the teachers’ union is settled.”
Belarus: Music and Censorship
TOL's Belarus Blog writes about music and censorship in Belarus, and about an upcoming Belarusian music event – to be held in Poland, “not so far from the border, in ethnically Belarusian territory.”
Russia: Lyudmila Putina's Style
LJ user plushev is wondering (RUS) who is responsible for the tacky dresses of Putin's wife (photos attached): “I've heard a fantastic version that this is the work of Kremlin's imagemakers – this way they are said to win women's sympathy for Putin: women unconsciously pity the president who's got...
Russia: “Senseless Brutality” in the Army
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about “senseless brutality” that keeps occuring in the Russian army: “This time one of the victims is 19-year old Radik Habirov from Kazan, who was brought in to a local hospital weighing only 65 pounds and is now in a coma. This is the...
Russia: G8 and Coverage of Crackdown
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog reports on results of the G8 Summit and criticizes the coverage of crackdown on protesters: “The methods that are being used in St. Petersburg—preemptive arrests and detention, restricting protests and protesters, caging them in, preventing foreign activists from entering the country—are not new in...
Russia: Failure to Join WTO
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog writes on why Russia hasn't joined the WTO.
Ukraine: Hutsul Wedding Video
Stefan of Dykun offers his readers a break from Ukrainian politics: an annotated video of a Hutsul wedding. “The wedding was that of a cousin of a friend, Anna. Much of Anna's heritage is Hutsul. Hutsuls and their descedents have lived in their part of the Carpathians for some 500-600...
Ukraine: Sheshory Folk Festival
The Humble Observer reports on a trip to a folk music festival in Sheshory, a small town in West Ukraine's Transcarpathians: “Imagine Pete Seiger learns Ukrainian and plays with an instrument that you crank (no kidding) and you have something like what I was at last weekend.”
Serbia: Symbols of the 1990s (2)
Viktor of Belgrade Blog posts part 2 of the series about the 1990s in Serbia: “Walking down some streets all you could hear was buzzing and see money switch hands, dinars for deutch marks, deutch marks for dinars, depending on peoples needs. Why buzzing, you may ask yourself. Well, Dileri...
