Stories from 27 March 2007
China: 500 days
In less than 500 days, Beijing Olympic will begin. Wang Xiaofeng has some wild thoughts (zh) about the Beijing city: 1. half of the population will leave the city to give space to foreigners; 2. the city will become very clean with a mixture of real and plastic flowers; 3....
Martinique: Owing De Beauvoir
Says Blog de Moi[Fr]: “I am not sure that young women of today are fully aware of what they owe an author such as Simone de Beauvoir and to feminism in general given how hard some of them work to distance themselves from it.”
Honduras: World Water Day
“March 22, 2007 was World Water Day. And guess what? Sunday we had no water! How ironic. Or how prescient.” So begins La Gringa's reflections on water resources in rural Honduras.
Japan: Apology Problem
Did or didn't Abe apologize for Japan’s wartime use of sex slaves? Oftenover from Japundit comments on the news about Prime Minister Abe's recent apology on sex slaves issue.
Japan: Mask Idol
Lee from Tokyo Times blogs about Japan fashion and fetishism by refering to the recent “Mask Idol”.
Mauritania: Successful Election
The CRIDEM blog points to a press release by Ould Maouloud stating [Fr}: “The March 25, 2007 election happened in good conditions marked by transparency, civic duty, responsibility and serenity. The Mauritanian people and its democracy are only better for it… In this occasion, I want to pay homage to...
Korea and Japan: Sex Trade
Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole reports that: There are currently an estimated 40,000-60,000 Koreans illegally residing in Japan. Of these, 30,000 are believed to be working in the sex trade. And the number of Korean men in Japanese host-bar is increasing rapidly.
South Korea: FTA
Jamie from Two Koreas has an update about the FTA negotiation and anti FTA protest in South Korea: The march was also able to march into Gwanghwamun unobstructed, which was even more of a surprise.
South Korea: blocking foreign porn sites
Matt from Gusts of popular feeling blogs about the recent government policy in filtering out foreign porn sites in South Korea: We're also told that the government “will block around 180 such foreign sites by the end of May”. Wow. All 180 of them. They really aren't kidding around this...
South Korea: The Value Deflation of Schools
Michael Hurt from Scribblings of the Metropolitician has a lot to complain and criticise about the South Korea education system.
Uzbekistan: Picking Cotton
neweurasia posts photos of children taking part in Uzbekistan's cotton harvest and translates some discussions on LiveJournal blogs of the use of child labor to harvest Uzbekistan's white gold.
Kazakhstan: Green Cover
Ben Paarmann says that the Kazakhstani government's newfound interest in stricter environmental regulation of the energy sector may all be a way for them to justify not meeting stated production goals.
Tajikistan: Implications of -ov
Bonnie Boyd says that the Tajik president's decisions to drop Russian endings from surnames potentially has foreign policy implications for Tajikistan. She says that the decision does nothing for Tajikistan but satisfy a presidential whim.
Kazakhstan: Serbia Defeated
At neweurasia, Leila reports on Kazakhstan's upset win over Serbia in Group A of the Euro 2008 qualifiers. This is Kazakhstan's first victory in a competitive match and second victory overall since joining the Union of European Football Associations in 2002.
Armenia: Something Smells Fishy
At the Armenian Socialist-Libertarian Movement blog, Sasuntsi Anarchist says that the timing of the Armenian prime minister's death is suspicious.
Armenia: Consultations & Mourning
Onnik Krikorian reports on public mourning of Armenia's recently deceased prime minister and the political uncertainty that has followed his death.
Russia: Putin's Article in the Times
Very Russian Tochka Net thinks Vladimir Putin should stop writing articles for publication in the West: “Confused, placatory stuff whose only effect is to make a bunch of smart-arses think we’re trying to suck up to them. At least this time he didn’t say we’re European.”
Russia: Non-Touristy Moscow Pics
The Turkish Invasion posts non-touristy pictures of Moscow.
Russia: Deadly Strip Club Fire
The Turkish Invasion reports on the deadly fire at a Moscow strip club.
Russia: Thaw
White Sun of the Desert reports on the beginning of the springtime thaw in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: “Bereft of any kind of drainage system, the melting snow first forms a brown slush which lies ankle-deep on every pavement, and later turns to lakes of dirty water which straddle entire roads and covers...
Russia: Svyaznoi Prezidenta
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow writes on the latest get-together of the pro-Putin youth group Nashi (the post includes a lovely Russian-language paraphrase of Aleksandr Pushkin).
