Stories from 12 February 2008
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Rally Against Juvenile Crime
Pure Intent reports that 20,000 people rallied in Sarajevo against juvenile delinquency that's “becoming an epidemic”: “This fact has been well known to our beloved government. They have been too busy fighting for their respective thrones to bother to notice the 26 violent crimes committed by underage boys in Sarajevo...
Moldova: VIPs
Public Policy Watch – Politici Publice in Moldova writes about “a relatively recent fashion of identifying and ranking Moldovan VIPs, practiced by local mass media outlets.”
Poland: Tusk's Visit to Moscow
The beatroot writes about the issues surrounding PM Tusk's visit to Moscow.
Poland: Who Would Poles Vote For in U.S. Election?
The beatroot reports: “So Poles are Democrats, interestingly, and they are rooting for Hilary.” And adds in the comments section: “But it is interesting that Poles in Poland are going Democrat, while Poles in the US often than not vote republican.”
Albania: Trip to Shkoder
Stepping Stones writes about her trip to Shkoder and posts some pictures: “No trip to Shkodra would be complete without a stop at the Venetian mask workshop where they are busy making almost 80% of the masks which are sold in Venice! Everything is done by hand here, the end...
Albania: Renovation of the Lead Mosque
Living in Shkoder writes about plans to renovate the Lead Mosque: “Built towards the end of the 1700’s this is one of the few mosques that were not destroyed around 1967, when Enver Hoxha’s communist government declared Albania an “atheistic country” and banned all religious meetings and literature.”
Lithuania: Music Education
Viola in Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009 writes about the sorry state of Lithuania's music education.
Romania: Investing
An excerpt from the U.S. Ambassador's speech on investing in Romania – at Transatlantic Politics.
Mozambique: Yet another social protest
After Maputo, Chókuè, Bobole and Maracuene, the next Mozambican city to go under cost of living protests was Chibuto, this morning, according to Carlos Serra [pt]. The sociologist blogger says that these social protests seem to be a new phenomena in Mozambique history.
National Sports: unique expressions of countrywide pride.
Whether by government decree or by popularity, national sports are part of the cultural makeup of every country. People from many walks of life come together to participate, watch or root for their favorite athletes or teams. Check out which unique national sports Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have.
Brazil: Live streaming from Campus Party
Ricardo Cobra [pt] is going to live stream Campus Party Brazil at his blog. He has also met the mysterious blogger who sold her body (rather blogs’ adverts space in her body) to be able to attend to Campus Party.
Georgia: Increased Tensions, Misinformation
Steady State reports that increased tension in the breakaway territory of Abkhazia is reported daily, but says that reports aired by the Georgian media are often inaccurate or simply attempts to disseminate misinformation.
Georgia: Imedi Saga Continues
TOL Georgia asks what is happening to the independent Imedia TV following its closure before the January presidential election in Georgia. The blog also examines the continuing saga of the TV station.
Georgia: Political Culture
Writing on his This is Tbilisi Calling, the BBC's Matthew Collin comments on accusations made by Irakli Okruashvili, the former Georgian defence minister wanted on corruption charges and currently seeking political asylum in France, that the newly re-elected Georgian president is wasting public funds by staging musical spectaculars in Tbilisi...
Armenia: Blogging Competition
The Armenian Observer comments on a new competition to find the best blog post in the Armenian blogosphere. While the number of Armenian blogs increases, quality is deteriorating and the blogger suggests that such a competition might help the situation.
Armenia: Spelling Bee
Posts from Armenia, a Peace Corps Blog, reports on attempts to introduce Spelling Bee competitions in the country.
Armenia: Political Assassination?
Following accusations made at a recent pre-election campaign meeting by the radical opposition that the 27 October 1999 assassinations in the Armenian Parliament were linked to attempts to broker a peace deal with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, Nazarian asks if the current president and prime minister...
USA: Armenian, Azeri Lobbies Prepare for Election
Marilisa Lorusso's blog turns its attention to how the ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani lobbies are attempting to influence the position of candidates for the U.S. presidential election.
Armenia: Heritage Supports Ter-Petrossian
Blogian also comments on the latest development in the presidential race ahead of next Tuesday's vote in Armenia. However, the blogger warns that while the party's leader, Raffi Hovannisian, is considered an honest politician, his support for a former president considered synonymous by some with the “cold, dark years” of...
Armenia: Opposition Party Supports Former President
Unzipped comments on news that the opposition Heritage party formed and led by U.S. born Raffi Hovannisian has decided to support the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, in next week's presidential election in Armenia. The blog concludes that the news is the most significant development ahead of the 19 February vote.
Armenia: Presidential Election Monitor 2008
With the prime minister campaigning for next week's presidential election in Armenia, a significant opposition party declared its support for a former president running for the vote who reportedly paid a visit to Moscow the night before probably to drum up support for his bid to return to power. All...
