29 December 2007

Stories from 29 December 2007

Russia: Holiday Charity (via Egoism)

Russia is embarking on a 10-day national vacation: from Dec. 30 to Jan. 8, the country will be celebrating the New Year's and Orthodox Christmas - and should also have enough time to rest, relax and sober up in between. Charity isn't among the most popular subjects in the Russian blogosphere during the festive season, although some bloggers do discuss ways of helping the poor and needy this year. Below is one blogger's musings on charity and selfishness, as well as a perfectly explicit call to action.

29 December 2007

Georgia: Election Polls

Comparing the situation with Armenia and Azerbaijan, Christine Quirk at Asking Tough Questions in Tough Places comments on the value that opinion polls might have during elections in the South...

29 December 2007

Egypt: Bidding Farewell to Bhutto

Egyptian bloggers couldn't stop themselves from writing about the assassination of one of the bravest women in the Muslim world, and may be the whole world. Carmen – Diasporic Discontents...

29 December 2007

Jordan: Film Festivals, Citizenship Law and More

From a film festival in Dubai, a Jordanian film maker is making his debut at Sundance. Mohammad Al Azraq reports on that as well as the citizenship law in Jordan, babies born out of wedlock and a book feast in the Netherlands.

29 December 2007

Mali: Old map of Timbuktu

Sociolingo posts an old map of Timbuktu, Mali: “Here is an old map of the ancient city of Timbuktu from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas.”

29 December 2007

Kenya Elections 2007: Should Raila Supporters Celebrate?

Although the official presidential results have not been announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya, Kenyan blogger, Gerald Baraza, has already declared the winner on his blog, “Kenya has a new President: Hon.Raila Amolo Odinga!… Congratulations Your Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga, 4th President of the Republic of Kenya!”

29 December 2007

Georgia: Voter Lists

TOL Georgia says that in just four years the electorate has apparently grown by 2 million people even despite negative population growth. The blog says that in advance of the...

29 December 2007

China: Official Olympics channel's unveiling ceremony crashed

How did a couple's marital issues become today's top sports story? She's a prominent Beijing television broadcaster, he's one of Chinese sports news' top official faces for the Olympics; she just crashed his high-profile unveiling of China's new Olympics channel, and someone's put the video online.

29 December 2007

Poland: Bhutto's Tractor Scam

the beatroot writes about a 1990s Polish-made Ursus tractors scam, in which Benazir Bhutto was allegedly involved: “Benazir had launched the Awami Tractor Scheme for the welfare of poor farmers...

29 December 2007

Ukraine: Tymoshenko's Budget

Foreign Notes reports on the article in a Ukrainian daily that accuses Yulia Tymoshenko of going against her election promises and approving the 2008 budget that includes “a multimillion INCREASE...

29 December 2007