Stories from 10 May 2007
Egypt: Sharm for Sale?
Frederik Richter, writing for The Arabist, notes that property worth up to $250million has been snatched up by foreigners over the past three years in Sharm Al Sheikh, Egypt –...
Jordan: New License Plates
Jordanian blogger Roba Al Assi conducts an online poll asking readers for their opinion of the new car license plates introduced in her country. “So what does everyone think of...
Japan: Self-Defense Forces to be Deployed to Henoko, Local Blogger Issues a Plea
On the evening of May 9, Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV broke the news that the Japanese government is planning to send the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to put down protests in Henoko Bay, Okinawa. Local protesters have responded in shock to this move. One local blogger describes the move as an attempt to legitimize the role of the SDF as a national military.
Arabeyes: Jordan's Open Air Toilets
Jordanian blogger Sha3teely is fed up with a new phenomena cropping up in Amman. He catches the violators red-handed here, explains the menace and comes up solutions for it. He also calls upon authorities to make public toilets available.
Korea: Conquered by Spiderman
Korean movies are conquered by a spider man from the U.S.A.! The Movie, “Spiderman 3″ occupies more than 30 percent of all screens of Korean movie theaters, 816 screens. It...
Korea: 90-day girl
“I just live for 90 days” Holding a written sign, a pretty girl stands in the middle of one of the most crowded streets in downtown Seoul. She sometimes walks...
Ukraine: Hutz Documentary Trailer
On YouTube, Olechko has found a trailer to the new documentary about Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hutz.
Ukraine: Politics Update
An update on Ukrainian politics from Foreign Notes: “It's just a few days after last Friday's agreement and squabbling has already broken out.”
Estonia: Victims of Soviet Regime
Itching for Eestimaa writes about the Estonian political leaders who fell victim to the Soviet regime.
Latvia: May 9
All About Latvia writes about the meaning of May 9 for Latvia.
Japan: “Battle in Henoko”: Self-Defense Forces sent to Henoko to suppress protesters
GVO previously reported about a protest against the construction of a new heliport in Henoko Bay, Okinawa last week. Blogger dr-stonefly quotes news broadcast on Nippon TV that the Japanese...
Ukraine, Romania: Bukovyna
Citizenshift travels through Bukovyna, posting pictures and sharing stories of the Hutsuls living in a village on the Ukrainian-Romanian border.
Armenia: Shushi Independence
Notes From Hareinik marks the 15th anniversary of Armenia's capture of Shushi during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
El Salvador: The New Census
Tim's El Salvador Blog writes about the national census that will begin on May 12. An extensive publicity campaign was launched to collect data, the first since 1992, when the...
Armenia: Printing Ballots
Onnik Krikorian posts photos of Armenian election ballots being printed.
Georgia: Street Children
Social Science in the Caucasus discusses a report on street children in Tbilisi.
Uzbekistan: Activist Released
neweurasia says that Uzbek human rights activist Umida Niyazova has been released shortly after she was convicted of illegally crossing the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Former Soviet Union: Family War Stories
For three years, LJ user aurinko25 has been collecting links to family war stories posted by Russophone bloggers. It's an overwhelming collection, full of raw, genuine history, full of life, death and heartbreak. Trying to pick something for translation turned out to be very difficult: so many of these texts deserve to be showcased - and, at the same time, they have to remain part of a continuous narrative. I ended up choosing two brief posts that date back to 2004 and 2005 - both written by bloggers who live in the United States now.
Georgia: Joe Cocker
Joshua Kucera says that Joe Cocker is opening the Tbilisi Jazz Festival and that tickets for his show will be ridiculously high by Georgian standards.
