13 December 2007

Stories from 13 December 2007

Russia: Oka, the Car

  13 December 2007

The Turkish Invasion writes about Oka car: “In Moscow, Oka cars are widely used by pizza delivery (since it is basically warmer than driving a bike in winter) and only a handful of enthusiasts remain who continue driving this car (Many Russians prefer taking easy bank loans and drive luxury...

China: Bullog's top stories of 2007

  13 December 2007

Is it top ten year-end list time yet? Bullog International blogger Song Shinan gives us eight choices [zh] in a vote for blog story of the year at Bullog, the small but growing blog service provider (BSP) which hosts some of China's most progressive blogger voices, centered around hope to...

Kenya: The 3 opiums of Kenyan voters

  13 December 2007

Kumekucha highlights three main problems of Kenyan voters: “Tribalism. Corruption. Short-term memory. These are the three opium’s we must exhale out of our body system before you go vote on the 27th.”

Malawi: William Kamkwamba in the Wall Street Journal

  13 December 2007

Erik writes about the Malawian young scientist, William Kamkwamba, on Afrigadget: We’ve written about young Malawian William Kamkwamba a couple of times here on AfriGadget, so it’s great to see him getting recognition in the WSJ! The article is titled “A Young Tinkerer Builds a Windmill, Electrifying a Nation“.

Armenia: Banditocracy

  13 December 2007

Nazarian comments on the bombing of a minor opposition newspaper in Yerevan with the 2008 presidential election just two months away. Although the damage was slight, the blogger says that the attack in itself is representative of the continual harassment of the radical opposition press.

Georgia: Populist Politics

  13 December 2007

TOL Georgia is less than impressed with the populist politics of opposition politician Shalva Natelashvili. The blog says that promises from the candidate for the January 2008 presidential election usually sound crazy and often sound “crazy.”

Azerbaijan: Media Freedom

  13 December 2007

Leigh's new adventures in Azerbaijan says that the authorities in Baku reacted quickly in releasing an imprisoned Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist after comments from the U.S. Ambassador on media freedom in the country.

Russia: Kasparov Withdraws From Presidential Race

  13 December 2007

Garry Kasparov has withdrawn from presidency race because of the failure to find a venue for an initiative group meeting. Siberian Light is “a little disappointed that Kasparov used this as an excuse to withdraw”: “The real reason behind Kasparov’s decision to pull out of the race, I suspect, is...

Russia, Belarus: Putin's Visit

  13 December 2007

TOL's Belarus covers an attack on protesters against Putin's visit to Belarus and explain what could be the reasons for the visit: “That means that it is the Russian side that will ask for something.” Being Had writes about Russian-Belarusian relationship over the years.