Stories from 11 August 2008
South Ossetia: Georgian Students Analyze International Law
Robert Amsterdam comments on and posts a link to a paper prepared by Georgian students, analyzing the international law ramifications of the current Russian-Georgian crisis.
Georgia: Presidential Pilgrimage to Tbilisi
Osteuropablog [German] comments on reports about the presidents of Poland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania seek to make a common trip to Georgia to try to mediate in the Russian-Georgian conflict.
South Ossetia: The First Victim of War is the Truth
Der Spiegelfechter discusses (GER) the media and information war in the Russian-Georgian conflict with a critical eye on primarily alleged anti-Russian reporting in Western media, and gives a number of examples of erroneous reporting.
Georgia: NGOs Call for a Stop of Violence
A Step At A Time reposts an appeal from Georgian Civil Society Organizations calling for a stop of violence and for a Russian withdrawal.
Brazil: Responsible consuming through freecycle
Lúcia Freitas [pt] discovers Brazil's freecycle groups, a recycling community already present in over 70 countries, and now in 8 Brazilian cities. She explains the main idea behind project: “When giving those things they don't need any more without requesting anything back, not only the participants exercise their generosity, they...
Jordanian Bloggers Mourn Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish
The Jordanian blogosphere has been mourning the great Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, who passed away from complications due to open-heart surgery at the age of 67 this week. For Jordanians, Darwish was more than just a master of words. He is perceived as an ambassador and champion of the Palestinian...
Slovenia: Massive Hail
Una española/gallega en Eslovenia [Spanish] and Piran Café both reported (with photos) on the massive hail storm that hit Slovenia last Friday, damaging cars, windows and even roofs.
Brazil: Debating the online regulation for the elections
Rodrigo Savazoni is organizing a series [pt] of posts in answer to a comment by judge Ricardo Hermann regarding his article on Brazil's online regulations for the elections. “I must thank him for explaining his views publicly. The Brazilian judiciary is not very accountable for its acts. So, I greatly...
Angola: Getting ready for the elections
Edmundo Galiza Matos [pt] reports that 12,000 voting offices workers have been trained in preparation for the legislative elections of September 05. “Up to 22nd of this month it is expected to reach 25,475 workers, fully trained in matters related to the electoral package, procedures for voting, and specific guidelines...
South Ossetia, Georgia: Journalists Killed, Foreigners Evacuated
Reportedly, two journalists have been killed amidst the fighting in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, and several others have been wounded. At the same time, foreigners are being evacuated from Georgia and the situation remains tense, while everyone's holding their breath for a ceasefire.
India: Gold at the Olympics
While India's first individual gold medal winner at the Olympics, Abhinav Bindra hasn't updated his blog about his win, comments are pouring in to congratulate him.
South Ossetia: Russian blogger on foreign blog reactions
LJ user knup_ru [Russian] posts a few reactions by foreign bloggers on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Georgia.
South Ossetia: Russia Rejects Ceasefire
Suomalais-venäläinen kansalaisfoorumi reports that Russia has rejected the EU-brokered Georgian proposal for a ceasefire in the South Ossetian conflict.
South Ossetia: Russia Wants to Bring War to Logical End
Foreign Policy blog FP Passport quotes Putin as saying that Russia would take its “peacekeeping mission” to its “logical conclusion.”
South Ossetia: Russia Risks Losing the Initiative
LJ user malkolms [Russian] advocates for Russia to ignore a ceasefire with Georgia and going on to conquer Tbilisi and to depose Saakashvili before the West has a chance to react. Otherwise, Russia risks losing the initiative and its upper hand in the conflict, malkolms argues.
South Ossetia: UN to Relieve Russia as Peacekeepers
LJ user boris_kogatov [Russian] reports that the United Nations’ Security Council may shortly decide to revoke the Russian peacekeeping mandate in South Ossetia and to replace Russian soldiers with international peacekeepers.
Estonia: Parallels between Estonia and Georgia
Itching for Eestima writes about the historical parallels between Estonia and Georgia and the fear of being invaded from the East, viz. by Russia.
South Ossetia: Gorbachev Blames US for “Georgian Aggression”
LJ user militsioner [Russian] reports that former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has pointed to the US for approving Georgian actions against South Ossetia.
South Ossetia: Russia Prepares to Go to the Hague
Suomalais-venäläinen kansalaisfoorumi quotes Russian news agency RIA Novosti who says that Russia prepares to lodge a suit against Georgia to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for its alleged attack on South Ossetia.
AIDS Conference youth: A force to be reckoned with
One of the most active zones at the Global Village in the AIDS conference was certainly the Youth Action Zone, where youth from many different parts of the world got together to talk about their experiences, their hopes, their dreams and how change should come about taking their participation seriously. Their YouTube Channel has a series of videos from the AIDS conference, interviews and commentary about their role in taking control of the AIDS epidemic.
Ukraine: Elton John + Leonid Kuchma = True?
uaMuzik quotes various sources claiming that the British singer Sir Elton John performed in Yalta last Saturday for the 70th birthday of Leonid Kuchma, former president of Ukraine.
