Stories from 6 August 2007
Singapore: A Country Worth Fighting For
Singapore celebrates its national day this week. Gerald Giam says “Our country might have its flaws, but if we take an honest look at the state of our nation, most of us will agree Singapore is still a wonderful place to live in, and little red dot worth fighting for.”
Iran:Asian basketball
Razeno informs[Fa] that for the first time Iranian basketball team won Asian basketball championship.The blogger says basketball is less popular than football in Iran and it is a reason why,politicians, are not interested in that.The blogger adds basketball team is lucky that politicians do not put their nose in its...
Russia: North Pole Flag-Planting
The Accidental Russophile posts a detailed entry on the Russian North Pole flag-planting; Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert writes that though the Russians he knows are proud, North Pole shouldn't be this country's priority right now; Siberian Light calls Russia's recent behavior “little more than expensive grandstanding”;...
Russia: Sakhalin Earthquake
White Sun of the Desert writes about a 6.4 earthquake that has recently hit Sakhalin.
Russia: 1937
Sean's Russia Blog writes about one of the orders that marked the beginning of Stalin's Terror.
Iran:528 bloggers support jailed students
14 Mordad reports that 528 bloggers have announced their support for jailed student activists.
Romania: Cemetery and Church Pictures
Romerican posts cemetery pictures from the northwest of Romania (where they “[greet] death with a smile”) and church pictures from the northeast (where they paint “demons, death, and killing”).
Uzbekistan: Pop music everywhere
Don't like pop music? Don't go to Uzbekistan in the summer, advises Joshua Kucera.
Romania: “Gastronomic Globalisation”
Andy H of Csikszereda Musings writes about “gastronomic globalisation”: “certain food items” that were not available in Romania when he settled there three years ago.
Kyrgyzstan: SCO summit
Kyrgyz Report reports that the guest houses built to host the heads of states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have been finished, dearly costing the average taxpayer. Meanwhile, Mirsulzhan Namazaliev lists several of the strange and silly regulations put in place to ensure the SCO summit will proceed smoothly.
Iran:Government shutdown a leading journal
Zannevesht reports [Fa] that Shargh,a leading pro reform journal was banned by government. The journal was accused of interviewing a homosexual poet.
Tajikistan: Drug trafficking
Having just toured the Afghan-Tajik border area, Ian at Beyond the River has some thoughts on the cross-border drug trafficking so rampant in this area.
Afghanistan: Six years on
Six years after its invasion of Afghanistan, the United States has announced it will curb aid to the war-torn country. Bonnie Boyd thinks this does not make much sense at all; and Joshua Foust again disagrees with The Economist, arguing that things in Afghanistan are not as bad as they...
Armenia: Buying underwear
Nareg shares his experience of how difficult buying underwear can be in Armenia.
Armenia: Election update
Onnik Krikorian provides a comprehensive update of new developments in the run-up to next year's presidential elections in Armenia, including the opposition's inability to rectify past mistakes.
Iran:Soheil Assefi,a journalist and a blogger,arrested
According to media and RSF,Soheil Assefi, a blogger and a journalist,was arrested yesterday. In his blog,he has asked government to free Mansour Osanlou,a syndicate leader.He has also published a painting of,Bijan Jansani, a late Marxist leader.
India: Being a Soldier
Blogeswari remembers a poignant moment when she witnessed a coffin being taken on board a flight during the Kargil War, and spares a thought for the armed forces.
Afghanistan: Relevant or not?
Afghanistanica develops two arguments: One that says that Afghanistan's importance is exaggerated and the other which argues that the country should not be forgotten.
Afghanistan: Hostage crisis
Mohammad Fahim Khairy translates passages of an article by local Afghan media claiming that four female Korean hostages have been sexually assaulted by their kidnappers.
Uzbekistan: Google censoring opposition?
Jamiyat reports that the website of an Uzbek opposition party has been filtered by the Russian version of Google: “Visiting this website may harm your computer.”
Pakistan: Bhutto and Power
The Pakistani Spectator on the ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's lust for power.
