Stories from 24 December 2008
Cuba: Be Part of the Solution
Generation Y‘s Yoani Sanchez has the solution to Cuba's problems: “Let everyone speak, no matter whether in complaint or in support of a proposal designed to address the problems…only freedom of opinion will allow those who can advance remedies to dare to do so.”
Barbados: Journalists Appear in Court
Barbados Free Press is keeping an eye on the case of the two arrested journalists, calling the open court hearing “a stunning victory by the dozens of local news media people who showed up to support”, while at the same time denouncing local mainstream media for not making an issue...
Jamaica: Bailout Plan?
“It is indeed a sorry state of affairs. Usually in times of downturn, alcohol sales increase as people look to drown their sorrows!”: As employees of a rum manufacturer are laid off, Jamaica Salt wonders whether “the government of Jamaica should be considering a bailout plan.”
Guyana: Bridge Opens
Living Guyana congratulates the government on the opening of the Berbice bridge, but reserves the right to ask a few questions.
Gaza/Sderot: Israel and Palestine together on video
The Gaza/Sderot: Life in Spite of Everything Project is one of the prime examples of the variety of ways a bridge between different cultures and world-views can be created through online media. In this project created by ARTE.tv, a French-German cultural television station, twelve people going on their day to day business on either side of a violent border were exposed on a website for ten week project which ended on December 23rd. The two minute videos documented snippets of the lives of 6 characters in Gaza, Palestine and 6 characters on the other side of the border in Sderot, Israel during two months.
Taiwan: Pandas arrive at Taipei Zoo
Two pandas arrived in Taiwan yesterday from China and are now in quarantine at Taipei Zoo. They will go on public display in late January. Michael Turton explains the pandas are likely to be a fad. The Foreigner in Formosa writes that accepting the pandas means sacrificing Taiwan's sovereignty.
UAE: On being white and speaking Urdu
Lucky Fatima is a white American who lives in Dubai – and speaks Urdu. In this post she writes about how white privilege affects the way her language skills are viewed by Urdu speakers.
Central and Eastern Europe: A Christmas Roundup
A holiday season roundup: Tanja of Czechmatediary recalls family Christmas celebrations of her childhood, writes about the Czech Christmas Mass, and shares a recipe of Vanocka (“Christmas bread”); CzechFolks.com writes about a calorie-free yet mouth-watering way of decorating a holiday table with crocheted Czech Christmas cookies; The Foreigner's Guide to...
Guatemala: Nativity Scenes Around the Holidays
Alfa of Guate 360 [es] writes about the evolution of the Nativity Scene in Guatemala, and how it has become much more colorful and full of scents due to the use of pine leaves as its base.
Guatemala: Mincemeat Pie
Christmas in Guatemala often means celebrating with food. Luis Figueroa of Carpe Diem [es] is especially fond of the dessert “Mincemeat pie.“
Venezuela: Telling the Country's History Through Film
A group of young Venezuelan filmmakers have succeeded in illustrating some of the country's history or adapting famous pieces of literature through films that have been well-received by the general public. Many Venezuelan movies in the past are considered extremely violent, and the emergence of these new kinds of films are showing new expressions of creativity.
Czech Republic: A Politics-Free Roundup
Politics-free posts from the Czech Republic: a charity project to help orphans organized by Czech model Tereza Maxova, bankruptcy of one of the largest Czech glass companies, and Karel Gott's lasting popularity – at CzechFolks.com; the winner of the Bravest Czech of the Year award, and tips on how to...
Ukraine: Hutsuls and Crimean Tatars
My Simferopol Home writes about her dissertation plans to compare histories of exoticism in the Ukrainian Hutsul and Crimean Tatars cultures: “So, why these two groups? While distinct in ethnogenesis, history and territory, Hutsuls, the superstitious, hard-drinking subsistence farmers to Poland and Austro-Hungary’s urban intellectuals, and Crimean Tatars, the perceived...
Romania: Revolution's Anniversary
A note on the anniversary of the 1989 revolution in Romania to overthrow Ceausescu – at Eternal Remont.
Ukraine: Yushchenko's Press Conference
Tetyana Vysotska of What's Up, Ukraine? writes about the Ukrainian president's annual press conference and his response to one of the most popular questions posed to him via the internet: “Mr. President, how much money should the people of Ukraine pay to convince you and other top authorities to leave...
Ukraine: Holiday Season Update
Ukrainian holiday season update: music – at Natalia Antonova's blog; sights – at Greetings from Kyiv; politics – at Ukrainiana.
Moldova: Transnistria Updates
Updates on Transnistria – at Scraps of Moscow and Eternal Remont.
Russia: South Ossetia; Relations With the U.S.; Sheremetyevo Ceiling
Some of the recent posts at Scraps of Moscow: a translation of a part of “a lengthy interview with former Russian army general and former South Ossetian de facto Minister of Defense which puts the region's president, former wrestling champion and phys. ed. teacher Eduard Kokoity, in a rather unflattering...
Bulgaria, Russia: “Open Source AK-47″
Eternal Remont writes: “Apparently, Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport is livid that Bulgaria would violate the sacred principles of intellectual property and trademark protection to produce an, um, we're going to call it an ‘open source AK-47′.”
Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin's Legacy; Protests
A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students...
Russia: Gas News
Siberian Light and Robert Amsterdam's blog write about “the annual Russo-Ukrainian gas crisis”; the latter also writes about the fledgling “gas OPEC.”