14 March 2007

Stories from 14 March 2007

Georgia: Seven Year Itch

  14 March 2007

Social Science in the Caucasus examines divorce rates in Georgia, noting that at least there, the popular belief that marriages break up after seven years is simply not true.

Armenia: Construction & Growth

  14 March 2007

The Armenian Economist examines growth in Armenia's construction market. Growth in construction accounts for much of Armenia's recent economic growth, and the blogger argues that the new construction will spur other growth.

Senegal: A Report Card for Reporters Without Borders

  14 March 2007

Le Pangolin posts [Fr] a press release by the Syndicate of Information and Communication Professionals of Senegal stating that a recent Reporters Without Borders report on the Senegalese elections was “selective” in its interest and “approximative”. The report goes on to say that the RSF report used “nebulous methodology” and...

Liberia: floating hospital

  14 March 2007

Liberia Ledger blogs about a giant floating hospital in Monrovia: “giant floating hospital has arrived in the Port of Monrovia, carrying 400 staff for the purpose of repairing cleft upper lip & palate, crossed eyes, flesh-eating diseases, and other important surgeries that most Liberian hospitals can't do. Of course, this...

Russia: Regional Elections

  14 March 2007

This past Sunday Russians voted in regional elections for legislative assemblies in 14 of Russia’s 86 regions. Although their choices failed to surprise anyone, bloggers did find much to write about. Andy of Siberian Light: It probably won’t surprise you to hear that pro-Putin party United Russia came first in...

Lebanon: Hummus Day

According to Lebanese blogger As'ad AbuKhalil, today is Hummus Day in Lebanon. “On this auspicious occasion, I am providing Hummus to my readers–for free. To enjoy, please pour olive oil generously over your keyboards, and you shall have Hummus oozing from the monitor,” he suggests.

Russia: Who Lost It?

  14 March 2007

Russia in the Media disagrees with the Washington Post's Op-Ed Columnist Fred Hiatt on his assessment of Russia's current problems: “[…] who's to blame for losing Russia and what's to be done about it? While he did not manage to come up with any coherent answer to the first question,...

Russia: “The Duality of Free Speech in Russia”

  14 March 2007

Darkness at Noon guest-blogs at La Russophobe about the distinction that has to be made between powerful and powerless critics of Putin's regime: “If you are a critic of the state and possess enough power (whether measured as money, influence, actual political power, readership, or sensitive information) to make the...

Russia: House on the Embankment

  14 March 2007

Darkness at Noon visits the “House on the Embankment” Museum in Moscow and shares his thoughts and observations on the history of Stalin's Soviet Union: “The Great Terror of 1937-38 took an enormous toll on the upper echelons of the Soviet hierarchy, and nowhere was that toll more apparent than...

Bolivia: Constitutent Assembly in Cobija

  14 March 2007

Bolivia's Constituent Assembly is traveling around the country to collect the opinions of everyday citizens on how the constitution should be re-written. As Miguel Buitrago explains, they were in for a surprise on their first stop at the small border city of Cobija.

Bolivia Cochabamba Post-Rainfall

  14 March 2007

Every cloud has a silver lining. Or, in this case, a rainbow. Following Bolivia's devastating floods, Eduardo Avila posts a photo of a rainbow arching over Cochabamba's attractive skyline.

Pakistan: block on Blogger has been lifted! Until…?

  14 March 2007

According to Dr Awab Alvi, co-founder of the Pakistani “Don’t Block The Blog” campaign, the block imposed on blogs hosted on Blogger has been lifted for about a week. The Don't Block The Blog campaign was launched in response to the blanket ban on the Blogspot.com blogging platform instituted by...

Argentina: Passenger List of Italian Immigrants in 1961

  14 March 2007

Upon discovering the passenger list of the ship Federico that sailed from Genova, Italy to Buenos Aires in March 1961, Jeff Barry asks his readers for personal accounts of anyone who immigrated by ship from Italy to Buenos Aires. Luis Cella, the Argentine grandson of Italian immigrants who now lives...