Stories from 9 March 2007
Russia: “The Yabloko of Discord”
VeryRussianTochkaNet writes about the election scandal involving the Yabloko party in St. Petersburg.
Russia, U.S.: Specter on Colbert Report
Sean's Russia Blog writes about a U.S. comedy show whose recent guest was Michael Specter, the author of a lengthy piece on political murders taking place in Russia.
Serbia: Belgrade Airport's New Security Rules
Belgrade 2.0 warns travellers about the new safety rules introduced at Belgrade airport.
Russia: March 8
The Turkish Invasion writes about how Russians celebrate March 8 – and posts a hilarious Soviet poster on the subject.
Poland: Anti-Commercials Initiative
Traveling Life reports on the neo-socialist party's initiative to “forbid Polish television stations from inserting commercials into movies and other programming without the consent of the author.”
Poland: College Education
Our Man in Gdansk writes on how Polish college education works.
Poland: New Regulation for Journalists
“From March 15th all journalists born before 1972 working in Poland will have to sign a declaration that they did not spy for the Polish People's Republic. That includes me: Polish law has a very wide definition of journalism and the bill makes no distinction between Poles and foreigners,” reports...
Poland: Politician Against Abortion and Gays
The beatroot reports on a Polish politician who “wants any new EU Constitution (yawn) to include a ban on abortion and rights for homosexuals.”
Poland: Simon Moll Wasn't Political Refugee
The beatroot continues covering the saga of the African man who infected seven Polish women with HIV: the latest news is that Simon Moll was only pretending to be a political refugee.
Romania: Autonomy
Csikszereda Musings writes about the region he lives in and his vision of “a more federal Romania.”
Peru: Music: Pedro Novoa
Thank god it's Friday. Time for some relaxing Trova to wind down for the weekend. Fortunately Creative Commons Peru has posted all of the tracks from Pedro Novoa's latest album “La Estación.”
Bolivia: Profiles of Cochabamba Women
Commemorating International Women's Day in Bolivia, Leny Olivera guest-posts on Blog from Bolivia to profile three Cochabamba women: Maura—mother, wife, cook, business-woman; Sara—wife, mother, vendor; and Alicia—mother, drink vendor.
Bolivia: Profiles of Cochabamba Women
Commemorating International Women's Day in Bolivia, Leny Olivera guest-posts on Blog from Bolivia to profile three Cochabamba women: Maura—mother, wife, cook, business-woman; Sara—wife, mother, vendor; and Alicia—mother, drink vendor.
Colombia: University professor murdered in Cartagena
Andres Duque finds yet another Latin American police investigator who tries to explain a homicide as “promiscuous homosexuality.”
Argentina: Inflation
Robert Wright heads down to his local supermarket and compares costs on basic foodstuffs from March 2002 to March 2007. Take a look for yourself and find out why neither he nor Felisa Miceli are smiling.
Hungary: Pecs
Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes about the town of Pecs, which has been chosen to be one of the 2010 European Capitals of Culture: “In most other countries, this would be a source of minor pride; in Hungary, of course, the award has caused all manner of back-stabbing,...
Estonia: Demography; “Estophobia”
Itching for Eestimaa corrects Itar-Tass news agency and quotes Pravda.
Peru: Regional Politics and Transnational Markets
Penelope Anthias on “how the new political map of Latin America is influencing Peru’s integration into transnational markets and what this tells us about the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries when interacting in the global economy.”
Estonia: Elections
Itching for Eestimaa writes about the recent elections (+32 comments) and their impact.
Estonia: Music Radio
Here's what Estonian music radio does to Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa: “One thing that I have noticed since moving to Estonia is the preference of Estonian radio stations to play 1980s-era pop songs, or, more prevalently, 2000s-versions of 1980s pop songs. […] One second I'm a 27-year-old guy shopping...
Chile: Stop the Groping
Celebrating International Women's Day, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet tells men to keep their hands to themselves.
