Stories from 9 February 2007
Ukraine, Russia: The Pipeline Vote
Foreign Notes posts an account of how the Ukrainian parliament “[spit] in Putin's porridge.”
Poland: Govt Resignations
The beatroot wonders whether the recent resignations mean that the Polish government is falling apart and provides more info on the resignation of the minister of the interior Ludwik Dorn. Traveling Life has more on defense minister Radek Sikorski's departure.
Russia: Gorbachev & Putin vs Bill Gates
Russian Kafe reports: Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin join forces against Bill Gates in the pirated software case brought against a Russian schoolteacher.
Russia: Khodorkovsky's Statement
Mikhail Khodorkovsky's lawyer Robert Amsterdam releases a statement from his client.
Russia: Luzhkov's Skiing Accident
Snowsquare reports on Moscow's mayor's “annual head injury.”
Arabisc: Egyptian Women a Cut Above the Rest
Prostitution, female circumcision and lesbianism aren't vices restricted to Egyptian woman, says Egyptian blogger Tamr Heneh, in an open letter to Egyptian talk show hostess Dr Hala Sarhan. According to the blogger, the Arab world has much more problems which Dr Sarhan could focus on, instead of continuing to drag...
Iran:Iranian History Forum
An Iranian history forum is launched where people can discuss about different topics and periods in Iranian history.I discovered it thanks to Iranian.com.
Kuweit: What's in a Video?
Tunisian blogger Sami Ben Gharbia writes (Fr): “Shams, the Kuweiti singer just released her video “Ahlan Ezzayak” [Welcome, how are you?] which has become popular in Arab countries. The video which caricatures the American administration (Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney) mocks American policy in the middle east arab-style.” The blogger goes...
Afghan Whispers:National Reconcilation and Ashura
Askar Gu Raiz talks about national reconcilation in country.The blogger writes I believe the mere debate around the hostilities of the past three decades, and the indirect confession that parties involved in those wars shoulder responsibility for the destruction and bloodshed, yet are entitled to forgiveness, is a positive start....
Lebanon: So Lebanese
Lebanese blogger Nancy D describes this picture as ‘So Lebanese.’
Dubai: Tourism in Hatta
Lebanese blogger The Human Product visited Hatta, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and posted pictutres here.
Uzbekistan: Dialogue or Sanctions
Nick discusses a condemnation from the International Crisis Group of expanding European ties with Uzbekistan and wonders why there are different standards for European relations with Uzbekistan than with countries like Iran.
Israel: Palestinian Officials Pilgrimage
Aussie Dave at Israellycool ridicules Palestinian officials performing the Muslim pilgrimage rituals here.
Central Asia & Caucasus: Press Freedom
neweurasia reports on recent developments related to press freedom in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Israel: Palestinian Coalition
Jonathan at Head Heeb gives us his two cents on the Palestinian agreement reached in Mecca. “There are, to be sure, some positive signs. The fact that the Fatah and Hamas leadership had the political maturity to perservere despite factional violence, and that they succeeded in reaching an agreement, is...
Georgia: Folk Music on MySpace
Levan continues to mine MySpace for Georgian music, coming up with a list of folk an classical musicians.
Armenia: Election Monitor
Onnik Krikorian posts his latest Armenian parliamentary election monitor at its new home, which will not only monitor online coverage of the election, but also occasionally produce its own original reporting and research.
Armenia: Tax Transparency
The Armenian Economist applauds the Armenian tax service for making information on the top 1000 tax payers more transparent but says that it needs to be explained better.
Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Course
A course on human rights is being held in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, in March 15-16, reports Saudi Jeans. “The course is the first of its kind here, and the seats are limited,” he explains.
Saudi Arabia: Blogging Concerns
Saudi Jeans wonders how can bloggers protect themselves, following Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif‘s incident. “Mahmood's suggestion to arrange a workshop run by professional journalists to teach us how to criticize, but not get legally caught for their efforts is a good start, but I think there is more to do...
Kazakhstan: Money, Kidnapping, Money, Power, Money…
“The headline is not a text from James Bond film trailer. It is how they do business in Kazakhstan”, wrote Jana Zhukova is Livejournal community of Almaty residents (RUS). She referred to mysterious set of events that surrounded “Nurbank”, the seventh largest bank in Kazakhstan connected with the President's son-in-law...
