Stories from 24 December 2009
Turkmenistan: Hip-hop in the country of Turkmenbashi
Turkmenistan's isolation and autocracy hasn’t stopped the global phenomenon of “urban culture”, especially in the form of Hip Hop. Annasoltan explores how Hip Hop can thrive — or die —...
Turkmenistan: TB is a serious problem
Annasoltan writes that drug resistant tuberculosis is a serious problem in Turkmenistan. Yet, the government is doing little to find the solution – even more so, its actions often aggravate...
Kazakhstan: War on Corruption and Political Interests
Alexander_Visotzky reviews the developments in Kazakhstan's uranium industry after arrest of the head of the national nuclear company on charges of embezzlement, and concludes that fight against corruption in Kazakhstan,...
Afghanistan: Comparing the costs of two wars
Peter Marton suggests his readers to compare the costliness of the Afghan vs. the Iraqi campaign, based on the data from several different sources.
Uzbekistan: Bloggers stand for Umida Akhmedova
GV has already covered a story of the Uzbek documentary photographer Umida Akhmedova, accused of insult and slander against Uzbek people and traditions. This fact caused indignation among local and...
India: The Sapling Project
Two Mumbai based netizens have started a campaign to distribute plant saplings across Mumbai and other cities of India. The plant owners will use citizen and social media tools to report the updates of the growth of the plants.
Afghanistan: Taliban Offer
Daffyd ponders on the speculations about an alleged Taliban proposal that it would sever ties with al Qaeda in return for withdrawal of foreign troops, and says it's seems like...
Kyrgyzstan: Critics attacked
Nathan reports that former head of Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Council Bolot Djanuzakov and Russian political scientist Aleksandr Knyazev were attacked near their homes on December 9. Both have been critical...
Uzbekistan: A withdrawal from regional electricity grid
Elina writes that Uzbekistan withdraws from the power grid linking the region in an apparent attempt to put pressure on Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as Uzbek power supplies both these countries.
Japan: Entrepreneurship
Fumi Yamazaki from What's happening in Japan right now? blogs about a gathering in Tokyo, Startup Weekend, among developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists to share their...
South Korea: Fan's culture
James Turnbull from the Grand Narratives wrote an interesting article about the changing fan's cultural in South Korea. Middle-aged people are more active in fan's clubs.
Poland: Language and Identity Abroad
Raf Uzar writes about the Polish language and identity abroad – here and here.
Hungary: Dunakeszi Marsh Rally; Slam Poetry
Belatedly, links to Marietta Le's posts on a recent environmental rally against construction that would destroy the Dunakeszi marsh, and on the Hungarian slam poetry.
Romania: Hungarian Minority Politics
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian minority politics of the recent presidential election in Romania.
Czech Republic: Christmas Carols
Czechmatediary posts lyrics of selected Czech Christmas carols (CZE).
Belarus, Ukraine: British Literary Translator Vera Rich Dies at 73
Belarus Digest writes about Vera Rich, a British translator of Belarusian and Ukrainian literature, who died on Dec. 20 at the age of 73.
China: Chinternet
As a result of a new round of internet regulation policies, such as the ban on individual's registration of CN domain name, Chinese netizens invent a new English word, Chinternet,...
Russia: iPhone 3GS
Profy reports that “two of the three largest Russian carriers have finally reached an agreement with Apple on iPhone 3GS which means that the gadget will be officially sold in...
Russia: “Cyber-Tatars”
Evgeny Morozov reviews the newest issue of Digital Icons (formerly known as the Russian Cyberspace Journal), which includes Dilyara Suleymanova's article that “explores how Tatar groups use Vkontakte, one of...
