Stories from 31 October 2008
Ukraine: “A Lawyer and a Ukrainian” Joke
Russia Blog shares a joke about “a lawyer and a Ukrainian.”
U.S.: Ivanov for Obama
Massachusetts-based Eugene Ivanov of Ivanov's Report explains why he is voting for Barack Obama.
Russia: Chinese Laborers
Window on Eurasia writes that “ethnic Chinese working and living in the Russian Far East find their surrounding social and political scene far more congenial than do their co-ethnics living in Moscow or other cities in European Russia but are far less interested in remaining there permanently than the latter...
Ukraine: Update on the Economy and Politics
Leopolis explains in detail the current economic and political situation in Ukraine: “The stakes are high: Ukraine's economic health, its image for international investors, and a risk of default. Just as the Ukrainian stock market has seen 75% of its value wiped away, the current political crisis may undo every...
Serbia: Underground Fashion
“[…] In a dingy underground passage that connects two sides of one of Belgrade's main streets,” A Yankee-in-Belgrade discovers someone who could possibly become a promising fashion designer and posts a picture of this person's work: “Whoever created them should consider a career in fashion and literally move up, I...
Albania: “Sworn Virgins”
Balkan File links to a BBC story on “Albanian women who became men, not as transsexuals, but because the man of the house had died, leaving a mother alone with her daughters.”
Serbia: Courageous Mothers
Belgraded contributes an article on what it's like to be a mother in Serbia to the Women's International Perspective, becoming “one of the rare men blogging there.” Showcased in the article is a Serbian blog called Majka Hrabrost (“Mother Courage”), whose author, Krugolina, blogs (SRP) about childbirth issues and has...
India: World Champion in Chess
Baithak reports that the Indian master chess player Viswanathan Anand retained his FIDE World Chess Championship title in 2008.
Serbia: The Lessons of Miladin Kovacevic's Case
Belgraded discusses Miladin Kovacevic's case and the lessons that can be found in it for Kovacevic himself and his victim, as well as for Serbia and the United States.
Serbia: Belgrade Bus Drivers
Stories about Belgrade's eccentric public bus drivers – at Belgraded.
Pakistan: Baluchistan Quake
On Wednesday morning an earthquake shook the eastern section of Pakistan tipping the Richter Scale at a massive 6.5. The most devastated region was Ziarat, a remote location in Baluchistan. It resulted in more than 300 deaths, hundreds were injured and thousands were left homeless out in the open in...
Corporations Agree to Standards for Internet Freedom
The Global Network Initiative has been launched. The Initiative is a code of conduct for corporations on privacy and free speech created by a coalition of human rights, media development and research organizations, and Internet and communications companies such as Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft. Its goal: to ensure that ICT...
Frightful Facts or Fantastical Fictions?
This third part of the "Lore, ghosts, demons and frights" series has arrived, and we are looking this time a bit beyond the Latin American borders. With this last installment, we seek out the Chupacabras, stick our heads into Voudou rites, observe examples of exorcism and inquire after a cannibal murderer who has become a Venezuelan legend.
Sri Lanka: Tea industry in crisis
Serendipity reports that the Sri Lankan tea industry is in crisis because the international buyers of tea have stayed away from the auctions due to credit crunch.
Ukraine: Hryvnia Exchange Rate Cheating
Ukrainiana posts and translates a TV news item on how some Kyiv banks are manipulating hryvnia exchange rate to earn some cash.
Georgia: McCain Endorsement
Ahead of next week's presidential election in the United States, This Is Tbilisi Calling says that while most people would prefer a Obama victory, Georgia is firmly behind McCain and posts a photograph of the country's Minister for Refugees to prove it.
Zambia: Allegations of Vote Rigging
Was there rigging in yesterday's Presidential election in Zambia?: “Meanwhile, allegations of vote rigging and administrative chaos have dominated Zambia's presidential by-election. Concerns of vote rigging reached fever pitch with opposition candidate Michael Sata pointing a finger at the police and the army.”
Zambia: Photo of Main Opposition Candidate Voting
Flickr photo of the main opposition candidate in the Presidential election in Zambia, Michael Satta, voting on October 30, 2008.
South Africa: The Impact of Mobile Active '08
A video podcast shot at Mobile Active Conference in South Africa: “In the first interview, David Barnard, Executive Director of the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT) and organizer of MobileActive08, talks about the event and how it will impact activities at SANGONet.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Online Info
“I always tell my friends to be careful what they write in cyberspace. One rule of thumb I use is to ask myself if what I post online I would tell to the world at large. If the answer is no, then I refrain from posting it”: Blogging from St....
Trinidad & Tobago: Building Walls
As the government of Trinidad and Tobago begins construction on a wall they say is part of a beautification project, but which many view as a tactic for hiding the squalor of a disadvantaged community, Attillah Springer says: “Build walls because, yes, this is what the nation needs. More division....
