Stories from 19 December 2007
Russia: Putin's Year
Vladimir Putin has been in the news a lot lately. If it's not the overwhelmingly overwhelming majority of Russians voting for his party, then it's Time Magazine naming him as its Person of the Year. Below are some initial reactions to today's piece of Putin news from Anglophone Russia bloggers.
Romania: Health Care
Transatlantic Politics writes about the disastrous state of Romanian health care.
Russia: Some More on Medvedev
Streetwise Professor writes about the man some (or many?) believe will succeed Putin as Russia's president in 2008: “I have not commented about Putin’s anointing of Dmitri Medvedev because I don’t do Kabuki theater or puppet show reviews.”
Russia: Yegor Gaidar's Book
Streetwise Professor reviews Yegor Gaidar's new book: “I believe that Gaidar is right that down this path lies ruin. I fear, however, that Russia will have to find this out the hard way. So Yegor Gaidar is a prophet without honor in his own country, among his own kin, and...
Lithuania: Coffee and Health Care
Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about Vilnius coffee houses and health care costs.
Russia: Middle Class
Dr. Sean's Diary writes on Russia's middle class, a subject that has inspired “a lot of informed journalistic comment – […] – but seemingly little in the way of academic research. How can you research something that doesn’t exist – and perhaps historically never did?”
Czech Republic: Jan Švejnar
Czech president is due to be elected Feb. 8 by a joint session of both chambers of the parliament, and Dr Sean's Diary writes about a likely contender for the post: Jan Švejnar, who “emigrated to the US in 1970 (where, as a dual-national, he is still based) taking a...
Panama: Holiday Hand-outs
During the holidays, the streets seem to fill with more children begging. Chiriqui Chatter provides thoughts on this practice and deciding to whom to give that coin.
Panama: A Look at How Coffee is Picked and Processed
The Boquete Guide provides a look at how coffee is manually picked and processed in Panama.
Ecuador: Nomination of Jefferson Pérez as Best Athlete of 2007
Nelson Piedra [es] and Cronica Cero [es] both highlight the nomination of Ecuadoran track and field athlete Jefferson Pérez as the best Ibero-American athlete for 2007.
India: Children, violence and guns
karmickids is shocked by a shootout in a school in India – and why she isn't likely to buy her kid any toy guns.
Sri Lanka: Three years after the Tsunami
Chuls Bits & Pics on the tsumani, after three years – remembering those who died, and asking where all the money went.
India: Delhi from the sky
synchroni-cities has a beautiful post on Delhi as seen on wikimapia.
Morocco: Eid al-Adha
In my last post, I shared the thoughts of foreigners on Christmas (or a lack thereof) in Morocco. This week, we'll change focus to the celebration of Eid Al-Adha, the holiday which Muslims celebrate as a commemoration of Ibrahim's (Abraham's) willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael for Allah (God).
Sri Lanka: GK3, Meek and Geek
Moving Images, Moving People with impressions of the Third Global Knowledge Conference or GK3 held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Bolivia: Two Regions, Two Documents
December 15 marked a pivotal day in Bolivia, when two regions celebrated their newly created documents. In La Paz, members of the ruling party formally presented a controversial Constitution. On the other side of the country, in midst of hunger strikes, members of a provisional assembly in Santa Cruz approved an autonomic statute that sits in opposition. Bloggers participated in both celebrations and also hope that there is still an opportunity for the country to close this divide.
Trinidad & Tobago: Wet Christmas?
Now is Wow is dreaming of a wet Christmas.
Jamaica: Blogging
Francis Wade thinks that blogging changes everything.
Bahamas, Barbados: Island Time
Both WeblogBahamas.com and Barbados Free Press blog about “island time”.
Bahamas: Hail to the Chief?
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit agrees that The Bahamas 2007 Special Report, a book published with public funds in order to help attract foreign investment, is really a “hail to the chief book.”
Iran:A Court Considered Three Jailed Students Innocent
According to Daneshjoo blog[Fa],an Iranian court considered three jailed university students,Tavakoli,Ghasaban and Mansouri, innocent.These students have been in prison for 9 months and were forced to confess about publishing anti regime articles.Now an Iranian court says they never published such articles.
