Stories from 7 February 2008
India: Etiquette for Migrants
A proposal in the U.K to educated migrant communities on etiquette doesn't sit very well with The Brat, The Bean and Bedlam.
Kazakhstan: Elites Getting Younger and Bleaker
Reshuffling of elites and higher officials in Kazakhstan is rarely a consequence of open political debates. Quiet resignations and appointments in the conditions of shady politics provide a fertile soil for commenters and observers to ponder on the reasons that are underneath this or that shuffle. However, there is a...
Kyrgyzstan: Echos of the Parliamentary Elections
The results of the Parliamentary elections of December 2007 and distribution of seats among deputies from each party have spurred lots of discussion and criticism among various human rights activists, heads of international organizations and foreign governments. According to them, during the elections there were huge violations such as discrepancies...
Kazakhstan: Ethnic Tensions and Underestimated Identity
Kazakhstan is a country that often boasts with inter-ethnic and religious tolerance – in tsar epoch it accepted many labor migrants from Ukraine and Russia. In J. Stalin's times it was a destination for deported nations and political prisoners. In late Soviet period thousands of industrial and agricultural professionals came...
Colombia: March in Washington, DC
Plan Colombia and Beyond provides some thoughts from the Center for International Policy Associate Paola Castro, who writes, “As a Colombian-American citizen I feel really glad that the pro-peace and anti-FARC rally went well today in Washington D.C. Around eight hundred people came together in Freedom Plaza [15th and Pennsylvania...
East Asia: Early Modern Periodization
Morgan Pitelka from frog in a well blogs about a symposium on “early modern” periodization in East Asia. There is an interesting debate about comparative history.
Mongolia: Mongolians at electronic gaming event
Radigan Neuhalfen reports on the Mongolian team's performance at the Second Asian Indoor Games, which now include e-sports and videogames in its program.
China: Bullhorn Moment
Enka compares the bullhorn photo of Premier Wen Jiabo with a bullhorn photo of Bush.
Bolivia: Rapid Deforestation in Santa Cruz
Bolivida [es] writes about the continued deforestation in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia and provides a video of satellite images showing the difference in forest coverage from 1984 to 2000.
Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyz Ombudsman elections
GenderStan looks at the three candidates for the position of Kyrgyzstan's Ombudsman, all of them seemingly unpromising in terms of facilitation of the civil society's work.
Kyrgyzstan: American Military Presence
Asel informs readers that the presence of U.S. troops in Kyrgyzstan costs $17.5 mln a year, according to the Kyrgyz Minister of Finance.
Afghanistan: ECFR's Afghanistan paper
Péter Marton analyzes a new paper out from the Europan Council on Foreign Relations calling for a major shift in terms of commitment to the ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.
Argentina: Anti-FARC Protest
Grito Argentino [es] writes that approximately 300 people assembled to protest against the FARC in Argentina.
Afghanistan: Wikiscanning Afghanistan
Afghanistanica reviews Wikipedia's articles on Afghanistan and says that many Afghanistan-related articles on Wikipedia are problematic.
Egypt: Twitter Messages from Gaza
Nora Younis from Egypt writes about her visit to Gaza and shares her Twitter messages in this post.
Egypt: Syrian Blogger Still in Prison
From Egypt, Elijah Zarwan writes: “Syrian blogger Tariq Biassi, 22, is still detained, apparently without charge or trial, in Damascus’ notorious Palestine Branch detention center. Syrian Military Intelligence officers arrested him from Tartous on June 30 after he insulted the security services in a blog post.”
Bahrain: Scam Alert
Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif exposes a scam .. he just escaped from.
Bahrain: Crackdown on Protesters
Bahraini blogger Dr Abdulhadi Khalaf reposts an article on Bahrain's crackdown on protesters.
Bahrain: Ash Wednesday
Bint Battuta from Bahrain marks Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
Algeria: Khomeini on Islam
Nouri the Moor from Algeria posts a quote by the late Iranian spiritual leader Ayatullah Khomeini in this post.