Stories from 19 November 2008
Afghanistan: Mired in Combat
An interesting pair of stories in the New York Times illustrate brilliantly just how complex the problems facing the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan really are. The first is CJ Chivers' look at an embattled outpost in Nuristan...
Iran: More Than Five millon sites are filtered
Iranian authorities recently announced that more than five million sites and blogs got filtered. Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, a high-ranking judicial official, said[fa] that enemies try to hurt our religious identity by...
Uzbekistan: Alleged HIV Infections in Namangan
Nick writes that a number of international media outlets are reporting that at least 40 young children, mostly babies, have been infected with HIV at a regional hospital in Namangan,...
Uzbekistan: Khiva, the ancient town
Akmal writes a story about ancient Uzbek city Khiva, “a fascinating place – one of the world’s largest open air museums.”
Kazakhstan: Nur Otan TV Ltd
KZBlog reports that in another move to expand the ruling Nur Otan Party's control over Kazakhstan’s politics and society, it is considering creating a media holding company.
Kazakhstan: Fighting Financial Crisis
Patrick Frost analyzes how Central Asia’s greatest economic power, Kazakhstan, is handling economic crisis and how is the economic downturn effecting the stability, security, and development.
Uzbekistan: Tashkent Is Quitting the EEC
Michael Hancock writes that Uzbekistan has decided to withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Community, an inter-state union of post-Soviet countries, patronaged by Russia.
Afghanistan: Schoolhildren Attacked by Acid Terrorists
Patrick Frost tells about a shocking incident in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where some unidentified perpetrators used water guns to shoot acid at a group of girls headed to school.
Kyrgyzstan: A nasty winter ahead
Michael Hancock reports that the situation in Kyrgyzstan is getting worse, with hundreds of thousands of people classed as food insecure and at risk because of electricity and water shortages.
Afghanistan: Evaluating Counterinsurgency Practices
Strategist reviews the paper, written by “counterinsurgency guru” David Kilcullen about the West's strategy in Afghanistan – what's right and what's wrong. The latter prevails.
Ukraine: Interview With A Chernobyl Liquidator
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog posts an interview with a former Chernobyl liquidator – part 1 and part 2 – who now lives in the US and has written a...
Afghanistan: What Obama Should Know About Afghanistan
Azar Balkhi opines that President Elect Obama will be able to do a good job in Afghanistan if he does not use President Bush strategies.
Iran: Cycling around the world for Peace
An Iranian couple is cycling around the world for Peace and Environmental conservation. They started their trip on 29th of April 2007 from Iran to promote peace. At present they...
Iran: A multi millionaire becomes Interior Minister
Sadegh Mahsouli, a former Revolutionary Guard who became a multi millionaire in recent years was appointed as interior minister. Nik Ahang, an Iranian blogger and cartoonist, has published a cartoon...
Russia: Russian March Photo by Drugoi
Scraps of Moscow and Moscow Through Brown Eyes both pick LJ user drugoi‘s photo as their favorite one from the Nov. 4 Russian March.
Costa Rica: Earthquake Felt and Reported on Twitter
Cristian Cambronero of @fusildechispas [es] felt the recent earthquake in San José, Costa Rica and noticed others on Twitter did too, “16 tweets in the first minute after a strong...
China: Protest and Repression at Earthquake Area, Gansu Longnan
According to mainstream news report, around 30 peasants from Wudu（武都） district Dongjiang（東江） town paid a petition visit to the Longnan（隴南） city committee yesterday (17-18 of Nov), but it ended with...
Russia: Tatars Ask UN to Condemn 1921 Famine as Genocide
Window on Eurasia reports: “Tatar nationalists have appealed to the United Nations to recognize the 1921-22 famine in the Middle Volga as a genocide organized by Bolshevik Russia to destroy...
Russia: The Crisis and the Hajj
Window on Eurasia writes: “For the first time since the end of the Soviet Union, the number of Muslims from the Russian Federation making the pilgrimage to Mecca is set...
Russia: “Technology's Threat to Human Rights and Free Speech”
Robert Amsterdam writes that Skype is not “safe from the wiretapping efforts of Kremlin authorities.”
Russia: Lustration
Robert Amsterdam writes that “it is time for Russia to reconsider lustration, no matter how difficult and complicated the politics of memory.”
