Stories from 6 April 2007
Central Asia: Interview with a Scholar
neweurasia interviews well known American Central Asia scholar Martha Brill Olcott.
Georgia, Azerbaijan: A Border Runs Through It
Steady State discusses the dispute between Georgia and Azerbaijan over which country owns a an important monastery through which the two countries’ border runs.
Kazakhstan: Building Laureates
Kazakhstan's president has determined that Kazakhstan needs Nobel laureates, reports Ben Paarmann, who notes that though initiatives to improve science funding will be good for Kazakhstan, the kind of science Kazakhstan needs is not the type that wins Nobel prizes.
Chile: Bachelet, Transantiago and student protests
Michelle Bachelet has had a difficult time since she was inaugurated as Chile’s first female president just over a year ago. She has endured corruption scandals in her own leftist coalition, student protests expressing angry dissatisfaction with the education system, and now, the collapse of Santiago’s costly new transportation system....
Kazakhstan: Laghman
News from the Caravan takes readers on another culinary adventure, making the popular Central Asian dish laghman.
Central Asia: Climate Change
Bonnie Boyd reports on how climate change affects Central Asia.
Armenia: Pre-election Games
Onnik Krikorian interviews Tamar Palandjian, proprietress of ArmYouth Blog and one of the organizers of a recent even that encouraged youth to discuss and become engaged in Armenia's coming parliamentary election.
Afghanistan: French Following Suit?
Safrang says that France has little choice but to make some kind of bargain to secure the release of two French aid workers and three of their Afghan colleagues who were kidnapped by the Taliban and that such a deal will make such kidnappings more likely.
Africa: the rise of the African aggregator
Ethan Zuckerman writes about the rise of the African aggregator: “Questions about ranking aside, one of the reasons aggregators are so popular is that the African blogosphere continues to grow, adding new voices and perspectives every day.”
Uganda: I'd rather clean toilets in Uganda
Once Upon Ish writes about odd jobs immigrants do in the Diaspora and the need to openly talk about AIDS: “For those of you who don't know, kyeyo refers to the odd jobs which immigrants from developing nations (legal and otherwise) do for a living in developed countries. You know,...
Bahrain: Coming Home
Bahrain's Silly Bahraini Girl talks about what she can expect when she goes back home to Bahrain on holiday: “I will be able to eat without having to worry who cooked the food or who will wash the bloody dishes; go out without having to worry whether there is fuel...
Iran: Lost in Libya
Iranian blogger The Adventures of Mr. Behi tells us how he navigated his way home in the Libyan desert by using the moon.
Iraq: Covering the Al- Jazeera Conference
Iraqi blogger Dahr Jamail gives us a slideshow presentation about the recent 3rd Annual Al Jazeera Conference in Doha, Qatar.
Ethiopian bloggers turn undercover court reporters
Ethiopia's bloggers turned undercover court reporters over the past weeks, giving daily commentary on a controversial trial of more than 100 opposition politicians, campaigners and journalists. Leading opposition figures were arrested and charged with attempted genocide, treason and a range of other serious offences in the months following the country's...
Turkey: Batman and Robin
Start the morning off light with the Turkish version of Batman and Robin given to us by the Turkish blog The Thinking Blog.
Barbados: Cricket Obiutuary
Barbados Free Press reprints excerpts from Mike Selvey's “obituary” for Caribbean cricket: “If I shut my eyes, I can still sense the spirit…that existed here before the International Cricket Council got hold of it, ran it out of town, then sanitised it out of existence.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Good Friday Bobolees
The Good Friday tradition of beating bobolees (effigies of Judcas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Christ) has inspired a call by Rights Action Group T&T for the dedication of community bobolees to any of the traitors “who've sold out our country for thirty pieces of aluminum.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Panday in Full Political Flight
Stephen Kangal at Trinidad and Tobago News Blog thinks that Basdeo Panday is making a mockery of Parliament with his “current tantrums of wanting to serve his constituents of Couva North”.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Good Friday
Some thoughts on Good Friday from Abeni.
Puerto Rico: Education a D-Student
Gil the Jenius compares Puerto Rico's education system with a D-grade student who “can choose to become better…the basic choice that needs to be made, is not about curriculum, or educational theory or de-unionization: It's about totally separating politics from education.”
Malaysia: Blogger's Alliance
A Whole New World writes that several bloggers in Malaysia came together to discuss the formation of an alliance. The bloggers are facing increasing criticism from the mainstream media and some politicians.
