30 January 2009

Stories from 30 January 2009

Tajikistan: Terrible Tajik-Uzbek relations

  30 January 2009

Vadim says that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have chronically had bad relations since early history of the two countries, and the most recent actions of Uzbekistan made these relations even worse.

Ethiopia: What a Difference Water Makes

  30 January 2009

At the end of last year, five families decided that visiting Ethiopia with their daughters would be the best way for them to see what their donations to provide fresh, clean and safe water sources were doing to change the lives of families and complete villages. Through their blog and videos, they have been able to share the importance of charity:water in making this possible, and hopefully raise more donations and engage more people to help.

Japan: Blurry Lines Between Buzz and Truth – McDonald's Quarter Pounder Debut

  30 January 2009

Cultivating imported products into megahits is a big part of creating consumer trends in Japan, and food is no exception to the rule. Last year, it was the American donut shop, Krispy Kreme. The year before that, it was the American ice cream shop, Cold Stone Creamery. Both are Western foods that are familiar to the Japanese, with a unique twist. Both gained fame for long lines in front of their stores. And both were carefully cultivated hits.

Ukraine: KGB Archive

  30 January 2009

Sean's Russia Blog writes this about Ukraine's plans “the entire KGB archive dating 1917-1991″: “These materials will certainly be employed in the further crafting of Ukraine’s ‘imagined community’ of victimization by, rather than a participant in, the Soviet regime. Sadly, using these documents for this purpose has little to do...

Moldova: A “Stable” Economy

  30 January 2009

Moldova's economy has been declared “well-protected […] from the slowdown” by London-based magazine The Banker. Eternal Remont comments: “This one gets filed under, ‘I've been down so long it looks like up to me’.”

Poland: Maanam

  30 January 2009

the POLSKI blog writes about Maanam, a Polish band that, in the early 1980s, was “the epitome of cool, largely thanks to their unique sound and the distinctive voice and fiery personality of their lead singer, Kora.”

Latvia: Snap Election?

  30 January 2009

All About Latvia thinks the country is “heading for snap elections” and this may be a good thing: “While the IMF sees an election as a liability because it ushers in an uncertain future, for the people of Latvia an election under new updated election laws appears to be a...