Stories from 23 October 2006
Serbia, Montenegro: Flag and Constitution
Florian Bieber of East Ethnia has an idea about national flags. Also, he knows the word count of Serbia's new constitution.
Bulgaria: Tripoli Six on WNYC
Declan Butler posts an audio of himself and vice president of Amnesty International USA on the NY Public Radio's show on the Tripoli Six.
Ukraine: News Digest
Orange Ukraine and Foreign Notes both discuss president Yushchenko's relationship with his own party. Foreign Notes also re-posts two newspaper stories from eastern Ukraine: on the ongoing rallies against high utility tariffs and the position on joining NATO.
Russia: Freedom to Blog
Two-Zero, an expat in Moscow, explains why blogging is so popular in Russia and why many bloggers are concerned about losing their freedom to blog.
India, Pakistan: Kashmir and the Indian Army
~Kashmir~ on the Indian Army. “Does a 19 year old boy deserve to be tortured with hot iron rods? Does the brother of a 10 year sister old deserve to be burned? Does the only bread winner of a family deserve death at the hands of an occupational army for...
India: India and India Inc.
Govindraj on the Tata-Corus deal that's doing the rounds and India Inc. “Increasingly, when I am asked by people about what’s happening in India, I say there are two India’s, India and India Inc. There were always two Indias or maybe more but the other India earlier was just educated,...
Pakistan: Podcast on festivals, earthquake and Politics
iFaqeer has a podcast. “This program congratulates celebrants on Ramzan, Eid and Diwali, with some thoughts on the spirit of the season; discusses the first anniversary of the earthquake in South Asia and the role of the blogosphere in helping remember those in need; and throws out some political thoughts...
Nepal: Peoplocracy
United We Blog! on Peoplocracy in Nepal. “It would not be incorrect to state that we may have taken a step forward, only to return to the crossroad again taking two steps backward. It is even more likely that we would never be able to move away from the crossroad,...
Kyrgyzstan: Demand for Reform
Yulia looks at the Civil Society Forum's demands to the Kyrgyz government for reforms and finds some commendable points. Ultimately though, she says, the fact that the group put their demands in the form of an ultimatum shows that they are more interested in the fight than solutions.
Kazakhstan: Borat, the Political Psychology
Sean Roberts explains the political psychology of the Borat-Kazakhstan relationship.
Turkmenistan: The Heart
Peter of neweurasia notes that Turkmenistan's president has publicly admitted that he has health problems and he discusses what this might mean for Turkmen politics.
Armenia: Notes from the Blogosphere
Onnik Krikorian rounds up the Armenian blogosphere.
Kazakhstan: Atyrau Violence
Leila rounds up some of the blogosphere discussion of the recent violence in Atyrau between Turkish and Kazakh workers.
Tanzania: agricultural residues for low-cost housing
African Architecture and Design writes about the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy:”One of the 2006 finalists for using agricultural residues to fire high-quality bricks for low-cost housing is the Mwanza Rural Housing Programme (MRHP), Tanzania.”
Armenia: Critical Mass
At ArmYouth Blog, akhtamar reports on October 22nd's Critical Mass in Yerevan.
Panama Canal Referendum
#1: From Chiriqui Chatter: The Vote for the Big Dig The vote is today for the expansion of the Canal. Voting in Panama is a very serious thing both for referendums such as today’s and for governmental offices. All sides fiercely try to get their vote out. It is interesting...
Kenya: former Attorney General should shut up
You Missed This thinks the former Kenya's Attorney General, Charles Njonjo, should shut up!: “This was the kind of behaviour going on in Kenya when Charles Njonjo was the powerful AG and a member of Kenyatta’s kitchen cabinet. Njonjo more than anybody else promoted the propaganda politics against the Luo...
Kenyan Blogosphere: Debate over social responsibility, freedom of speech, and censorship
A heated debate has been raging in the Kenyan blogosphere over the removal of one blog, My Part of the World, from the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW) aggregator. The aggregator is part of the vibrant community of Kenyan bloggers at home and abroad. The debate has centered around issues of...
Nigeria: $380 billion stolen since independence
Akin writes about emblezzement of public money in Nigeria, “Strangely, none of the Nigerian blogs I visit daily seemed to have picked up on this issue that Nigerian leaders have ‘stolen’ $380 billion cumulatively since independence with the worst atrocities in the 80s and 90s.”
South Africa: do you remember the days of Apartheid?
Black Looks takes us back to South Africa's Apartheid era with a post about Prison Number 4, where Ghandhi and Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan-African Congress, were jailed: “TAUSER was the process of forcing black prisoners to strip naked, jump in the air in a scissor like move...
Russia: Putin's Rape Remarks
White Sun of the Desert writes about rape and Vladimir Putin's sense of humor: “Russian humour, often thought not to exist, is very dry and often exceptionally dark. In many cases, it cares little for the sensibilities of those who are easily offended. This is, after all, a country which...
