Stories from 11 September 2006
Cuba, Various: Non-aligned with what
The members of the Non-Aligned Movement are meeting this week in Havana, prompting Jeremy Taylor to wonder whether the Movement's ideals might be more workable in theory than in practice.
Moldova: Language and Life
Peter Myers of Adventures in Moldova writes about Moldovans’ tardiness, shares his new understanding of Moldova's language politics, and posts a letter by a Moldovan teenager, OIga: “It's hard, really and if somehow I will escape from here I will just come back to see my relatives and that’s all....
Estonia: Tips for the British Queen
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa offers suggestions for Queen Elizabeth II on how to “get to know everyday Estonians” during her visit to Estonia on Oct. 19-20.
Czech Republic: “You Get Nothing If You Don't Ask”
NvB: Bored in Brno? writes about a Czech proverb about assertiveness – “you get nothing if you don't ask” – and its “unCzechness”: “Czechs are some of the quietest people in public that I've ever met. Sometimes this is carried to a fault.”
Czech Republic: State Returns Cathedral To Church
My Czech Republic Blog writes that Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral has been formally returned to the Catholic Church.
Belarus: Ban List
TOL's Belarus Blog reports that soon foreign journalists, politicians and others banned from entering Belarus may also be automatically banned from entering Russia.
Belarus: Praising Hitler
TOL's Belarus Blog translates an article about former interior minister of Belarus praising Adolf Hitler's Code of Honor of the Officer.
Belarus: Chinese Language in Minsk Schools
TOL's Belarus Blog reports that the Chinese language has been declared a priority in Belarusian schools by the country's president Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Serbia: “Symbolism”
Eric Gordy of East Ethnia writes that Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs agrees to this two-letter symbol for Serbia: SS.
Russia: Photos of Churches
Taking Aim links to a collection of pictures of Russian churches, taken in 1910 and recently.
Hungary: Devaluation
Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes that the Hungarian currency, forint, “lost about 10% of its value in a month,” so it's a good time to travel to Hungary now – because everything is “about 7% cheaper.”
The Kannada Context: Post-modernist. Post-9/11. Concerns.
Firstly, let us remember the victims of 9/11. Let us wish that the world leaders gather enough sense and courage to fight the root cause of terrorism, and not just resort to paranoiac ways like “racial profiling”. Like they say do not attribute malice to that which can be sufficiently...
Iraq: Blaming the victim!
Mohammed is disappoint. He says, “the media is keen to disappoint me every single time because after the short friendly introduction that leads into the main coverage of the terror attack I find a flood of blaming, condemnation, chastising and scorn directed against (guess who?)…the victim of course, the victim...
Iraq: A day to change history
Five years ago some people imagined that the time has come to attack America and teach the whole world a lesson. Those people divided the world to “us” and “others”….I refuse to link between what is happening in Iraq right now and the War on Terror. If Iraq now in...
Bermuda: Hurricane Florence
The Limey reports on the situation in Hamilton, Bermuda the morning hurricane Florence was scheduled to have passed by, and posts some photos.
Saudi Arabia: Five Years After 9/11
Rasheed wonders: “High unemployment among Saudi youth and the lure of religious extremism make them perfect targets to be enlisted in Bin Laden's war against the West. All Saudis must now reflect on what happened and try to find answers to the question: Why did happen? If we don't try...
Palestine: Blair was not unwelcomed enough!
The Lebanese showed more guts and were more principled in their opposition to Blair than the Palestinians. Only a handful of protestors protested in Ramallah while thousands of angry protestors gathered in Beirut, Tony said.
Palestine: The Fifth Anniversary of September 11
While the anniversary will inevitably be exploited by Bush and Co. to further thier case for more bloodshed in the name of “freedom”, September 11 can also be a means to send an alternative messege; a message in support of our universal humanity. As humans we are all equal and...
Syria: What were you doing, America?
Brian Anthony wonders: In the decade before the 3,000 innocents died on 9/11, over 100 times that many innocents died in Iraq through UN-imposed sanctions…So perhaps a more introspective question, a slightly tougher one than ‘What were you doing on 9-11?’ is this: What were you doing, America, for the...
Israel: Legacy
It's unfortunate that is takes commemoration of a mega-tragedy to bring people together and focus their thoughts on the same issue. I see the same process in Israel, when it's only during war that the country becomes less fractured and more united for a brief time. Imagine if modern societies...
Morocco: To the victims…all over the world
Foulla prayer: “To those who died for no reason To those who lived and still live through the pain To the victims of hatred, injustice and tons melted steel not just under the sunny skies of New York, but also the sunny skies over Darfour, Baghdad, Ghaza, Madrid, Amman, Kabul,...
