Stories from 8 May 2007
Uruguay: Top Ten Things to Hate
Gabo from Uruguay lists in no particular order the top ten things he hates about living in Uruguay. He acknowledges that he is complaining and writes “There's a good graffiti here that reads: ‘Don't complain, emigrate!” He will, however, write a similar post of the things he loves about Uruguay.
The Balkans: VIP Big Brother
Belgrade 2.0 reviews the first “Serbian-Bosnian-Montenegrin VIP version of the popular reality show Big Brother.”
Latvia: Falsification of History
Peteris Cedrins of Marginalia writes: “On 8 May, I always read Peteris Ermanis’ poem about the rejoicing when the War ended — driven into exile (like my parents — my mother studied under him in a displaced persons camp), he wept; he saw and felt how happy everyone in Prague...
Bolivia: Cocalero Film
Sebastian Molina writes in Plan B [ES] that the new documentary Cocalero about President Evo Morales’ rise to the presidency “gives many insights to better understand the character and the process.”
Latvia: Independence Anniversary
Somewhat belatedly, a link to the post on Latvia's independence anniversary, over at Marginalia.
Latvia: Interview with Peters Janis Vecrumba
Marginalia interviews Peters Janis Vecrumba, the founder and maintainer of latvians.com – “one of the oldest, biggest, and best Latvian-related sites on the Web.”
Latvia: May 9
All About Latvia writes on what May 9 will be like in Latvia and how this differs from Estonia.
Estonia: May 9 Rally
Itching for Eestimaa writes on how Estonian authorities should react to the rally that is likely to take place on May 9 in Tallinn: “To let them wear red, of course. Let them lay flowers, let them sing Communist songs. And when their moment of irritating the authorities is over,...
Eastern & Central Europe: Eurovision 2007
Illyrian Gazette writes on the drama surrounding some of this year's Eurovision entries.
Croatia: Composer's Obit
Illyrian Gazette writes about the recently-deceased composer Djordje Novkovic, who was “a pioneer of the Croatian style of pop/folk crossover.”
Croatia: View on the French Election
Neretva River writes on what some Croatian bloggers think of the French election and expresses his own view on the candidates.
Serbia: Roma at Eurovision
Serbia will be represented by a Roma singer at this year's Eurovision, writes TOL's Romantic.
Russia: “Motives & Misperceptions”
Vilhelm Konnander posts a lengthy comment on the West's bewilderment with Russia's motives and actions.
Bolivia: Sidewalk Trouble for Wheelchairs
Josh Renaud wonders how people in wheelchairs can navigate the rough sidewalks and high curbsides in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This is an observation during a visit with a friend during a recent trip to his wife's home country and documents in Amazing Adventures.
Ukraine: Another Chernobyl Employee
Michael Forster Rothbart posts photos of another Ukrainian man whose health was affected by Chernobyl.
Ukraine: View From Russia
Leopolis writes about Russia's distorted view of the events in Ukraine: “As Ukraine resolves another crisis, the hope is that the blue camp is empowered – not by empty Russophilic slogans, but by their own political capacity as citizens of Ukraine. Someday soon, perhaps Russia will take notice.”
Ukraine: The Media's Role
Foreign Notes writes on the media's role in the recent political crisis: “Yush has reason to be grateful to Ukrainian investigative journos. By peeping into letter boxes, following leads, and publicizing leaked documents, they revealed Constitutional Court judge Syuzanna Stanik's 76-year old mum had recently become the owner of real...
Iran:Prisoner of Tehran
ZaneIrani writes about a new book:Prisoner of Tehran.The blogger talks about the story:”Marina Nemat was arrested on January 15, 1982, at about nine o'clock at night. She was sixteen. A prison guard named Ali had fallen in love with Nemat and used his father's connection to the Ayatollah to commute...
Iran:Calls to Execute the Father of Animation in Iran
According to Azarmehr, Baseej pressure groups have called for the 70 year old Nooredin Zarrin-kelk , the father of animation in Iran, to be executed. Zarrin-kelk is accused of having ridiculed a female student's chador, the head to toe Islamic cover, after she drew an angel with no hair. The...
India, Bangladesh: Borders and Fences
Wanabehuman on fences and borders in South Asia. “But concern here is the fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh border, countries which are not only unmatched in size, population and resources but more importantly are friendly states with a solid record of their friendship track. Apart from very localised border shootouts, and...
Sri Lanka: Be Lankan, Buy Lankan
Sampath's Mindspace on Micro Trend, an indigenous car. “Maybe the deep down reason is that we do not trust our local makes. This lack of trust is keeping us away from the Trend. When I saw the Trend for the first time, I thought it was a pretty good looking...
