Stories from 20 December 2007
Georgia: Authoritarian Tendencies
Resistance Georgia comments on the latest report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) which concludes that Georgia is veering towards authoritarianism. The pro-opposition blog thanks the ICG for using such words when the international community is reluctant to do so.
Armenia: Robinson Crusoe in Kurdish
Kurdistan and Hayastan — Hand in Hand posts a scan of the front page of the Kurdish translation of Daniel Dafoe's classic book, Robinson Crusoe. The book was translated and published in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish in 1936.
Armenia: Media Protest
The Armenian Observer reports on a protest staged to support a regional TV station in Gyumri, Armenia's second largest city. The station is facing continued pressure from the local authorities as next year's presidential election draws closer.
Armenia: Dram Politics
The Armenian Economist is unhappy with the way the media and other bloggers have reported on the appreciation of the Armenian Dram against the US Dollar. In particular, says David, the issue is instead hijacked for political purposes.
China: Fixed Price Begging and IPO
Mr zhang ran into a beggar doing RMB6 dollar begging in the street. The blogger feels that such kind of begging method is similar to the IPO in the stock market (zh), if the company don't fix a price, people would just give a penny.
Taiwan: Gtalk Translation
PipperL is checking the accuracy of Gtalk translation from English to Chinese (zh), e.g ‘He looks fine’ is translated into ‘he is looking forward to have a fine’ in Chinese.
Japan: UFOs Do Exist
James from Japan Probe picks up an interesting local news: a top government official believes that the existence of UFO is definitely real.
South Korea: A Black Day for Progressive?
CINA describes the winning of Lee Myung-bak in the presidential election as a black day for progressive movement in South Korea.
Japan: The battle of HCV victims
Stories about tainted blood products are nothing new in Japan. In the 1980s, patients with hemophilia contracted HIV from tainted blood products, the result negligence on the part of the government and pharmaceutical companies about an earlier FDA decision to withdraw its approval of the products.
Russia, Moldova: Interview With Natalia Morar
An interview with journalist Natalia Morar by Grigory Pasko – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.
Russia: Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Russian Blog writes about Lyudmila Ulitskaya's latest – and, possibly, her last – novel, “Daniel Stein, translator”: “After being such a prolific writer for many years, and after the huge work she put into her last effort, she of course deserves a break. Anyone who has read this masterpiece would...
