Stories from 6 December 2006
The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs
Tension continues in Bolivia. Civic strikes as signs of protest took place late last week in several departments. Bolivian bloggers continue to state their displeasure over the state of affairs. Many opposition politicians, civic leaders, and other private citizens have started their own hunger strikes in order to draw attention...
Kyrgyzstan: Death at Ganci
Tolkun Umaraliev reports on the shooting of a fuel truck driver by a US Air Force guard at Manas Airport in Kyrgyzstan, which he says could spark anti-American sentiment.
Georgia: New Passport
Kaukasus gives a glowing review of Georgia's new passports.
Kyrgyzstan: Democracy's Failure
Registan.net says that criticizing the supposed adoption of “US-style democracy” for Kyrgyzstan's ills overlooks much more realistic sources of the country's problems.
Armenia: No Anthem
As of today, Armenia has no national anthem. Onnik Krikorian explains why.
Malawi: language, politics, and development
Afrika-Aphukira writes about the intersection of language, politics, and development in Malawi, “The twin issues of language and politics are extremely important, and have consequences that affect the long-term development plans of any society.”
Sudan: UN peacekeeper in Darfur
A South African peacekeeper and blogger in Darfur responds to questions from Sudan Watch : Question: How can you tell who is a bandit and who is a janjaweed? Answer: I wish I knew. The one is politically motivated and the other is not.
Russia: Fortochka
The Turkish Invasion writes about the Soviet idea of air conditioner: fortochka.
Russia: “Poisongate”
An update on “Poisongate” at Sean's Russia Blog.
Russia: Litvinenko's Last Name
Very Russian explains the origin of last name ‘Litvinenko.’
Nigeria: Nigeria bashing
Naijaman is pissed off with people who label all Nigerians ‘fraudsters’, “If all Nigerians committed fraud, the UK economy will probably collapse.”
Russia: BA Polonium Planes Passenger
Ruminations on Russia discovers a personal connection to Litvinenko's case: turns out he flew “back and forth to the UK three times on planes that have, or had traces of Polonium 210 on them.”
Argentina: Music: Los Alamos
Fernando Casale publishes the new video of the Argentine band Los Alamos [ES]. They'll be playing a free show this Thursday at Radio Set in Buenos Aires.
Russia: Novgorod Street Art
Copydude posts photos of some weird street art in Novgorod.
Russia: Sakhalin Photos
Photos from Sakhalin at White Sun of the Desert: here and here.
Russia: Stunt Protests and the Law
On Nov. 17, the Russian Duma approved a bill that abolished minimum voter turnout (20 percent) for all elections in Russia. Today, president Vladimir Putin has signed it into law. On Nov. 23, two young political activists – Ilya Yashin and Maria Gaidar – protested the imminent change by spending...
India: To be fair
The Straitjacket Diaries is rather annoyed with adverts run by fairness cream companies. “I mean, we're all supposed to buy that if a woman isn't possessed of a flawless, clear, peaches-n-cream, FAIR complexion, she is to be denied everything good in life, like a career and marriage and dates?”
India: Staring Back
Blank Noise Project compiles some testimonies from participants at a recent intervention aimed at increasing awareness about and combating sexual harassment on streets in a railway station in Mumbai. “At first, I found myself reflexively looking away when a man caught my eye. But once I got used to the...
Guatemala: Popular Papers According to Technorati
“Cvander” asks his readers which newspapers are most popular in their country according to Technorati [ES]. In Guatemala the most linked-to online papers are ElPeriodico.com.gt – 1,506 links, PrensaLibre.com – 1,128 links, La Hora – 114 links.
Bolivia: A Teleton for Bolivia
Noting the importance of Teleton in uniting Chile, Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas argues that divided Bolivia is in need of its own Teleton [ES].
Costa Rica: High Abstention in Municipal Elections
Bob Glass says that only 23.7% of the eligible voters participated in Costa Rica's Sunday municipal elections. Election results here.
