Stories from 8 August 2008
Ukraine: Scary orphan statistics
The Gaws reported some really scary statistics on what happens to “post-institutional orphans” in Ukraine.
South-Ossetia: Appeal to stop the war
Suomalais-venäläinen kansalaisfoorumi [Russian] reposted an appeal to stop the war in South-Ossetia by the Russian human rights’ organisation Memorial, reminding us of what tragedies wars in the Caucasus have brought.
Georgia: Similarities with 1995 Croatia
Gray Falcon compares the current situation of South Ossetians in Georgia with that of Serbs in Croatia in 1995.
Georgia: A few .ge sites down
Colleen of the blog winthrop360 notes that a few .ge websites appear to be down, including the President of Georgia and the Parliament of Georgia.
Angola: Countdown to the long awaited elections
Angola's first parliamentary elections in 16 years will finally take place at the beginning of September. Clara Onofre reports on the local atmosphere during the countdown to the polls, direct from Luanda.
Lebanon: An Italian Lesson for Lebanon
What are the similarities between Lebanon and Italy, other than the fact that they both overlook the Mediterranean? Blogger Antoun Issa, in his latest post at Lebanese Chess argues that his understanding of Italy’s political corruption can certainly be compared – both directly and indirectly to Lebanon’s political corruption as...
Ukraine: Questions about NATO-membership
The 8th Circle discusses some questions surrounding the issue of a future NATO-membership for Ukraine.
Estonia-US: Speeding tickets
cyrsfarivar.com compares the hustle of getting a speeding ticket in the US and Estonia, with the latter coming out on the positive side.
Russia: August Coincidences
In reference to the war in South Ossetia starting on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, Ruslanas Iržikevičius of Lituanica notes that several catastrophes in Russia started while important events were happening in other parts of the world, and that quite a few of those happened in the month...
Russia: Sexual harassment good for babymaking?
Natalia Antonova comments on the case of a Russian judge who dismissed charges of sexual harassment against an empolyer saying that “it is needed for the continuation of the human race”. Eternal Remont also gave his two cents on the strange ruling.
China: Monoplized of Charity
Ｇuo Yu-Kuan from my1510 criticizes the monopolized of charity service in China by government organized NGO.
China: 43 Years Ago
Tiger Temple reminds people that on 8 of August, 1966, the Chinese Communist party has announced “the decision on proletarian cultural revolution”.
Nepal: Ex-Prince in Singapore
IZ Reloaded on the former prince of Nepal getting into trouble at a club in Singapore, provoking a lot of people to respond on his behaviour.
Pakistan: Medals at the Olympics
All Things Pakistan discusses Pakistan's chances at the Beijing Olympics that started today.
MENA: Obama's Muslim Outreach Coordinator Resigns
Mazen Asbahi, the attorney who had volunteered as Barack Obama's outreach coordinator to Muslim and Arab-Americans, has resigned after accusations of ties to Jamal Said, an imam at a fundamentalist mosque in Illinois. Asbahi briefly sat on the board of Allied Assets Advisors Fund with Said in 2000. Bloggers from the Middle East react in this post from Jillian York.
AIDS 2008: Battling AIDS By Battling Homophobia
As the XVII International AIDS Conference wraps up in Mexico City, one of the many issues participants have been discussing is the international failure to adequately address HIV/AIDS among men who have sex with other men, often referred to as MSM. SciDev.Net’s blog points out that: “In the 1980s, when...
Georgia: South Ossetia Update
With local and international media outlets reporting that fighting is spilling over into Georgia proper, the latest military confrontation with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia looks increasingly like war. Bloggers from the region say signs are ominous.
Armenia: Lesbian Environmentalists
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on Russian media reports that a recent exhibition organized by Armenian lesbians in Yerevan focused on environmental issues.
Jamaica: Bleached Beauty?
“What does the current rage — skin bleaching — tell us about our identity?” asks Jamaican Francis Wade.
Haiti: Child Labour
“Child slavery in Haiti may be the ultimate symbol of a state that has failed its most vulnerable members”: jmc strategies says that “key to ending child slavery in Haiti is creating long-term economic options for parents and access to quality education for children.”
Bahamas: Domestic Violence
“According to the radio news the death of my friend Bloneva Bethel was the ‘result of a domestic dispute’. Why was it not ‘an unnecessary death due to the failure of the Police to respond to a serious call for help in a timely manner?'” Weblog Bahamas draws attention to...
