Global Voices Online

Elina Galperin says that the economy of Kazakhstan has been hit hard hard by the worldwide drop in demand for energy supplies, and the government is increasingly worried about protests here.

Recent Links also in Central Asia & Caucasus

AdnanEmin's Blog, Prison Diary, a new blog from Azerbaijan, has been set up to republish letters sent from prison in the oil-rich former Soviet republic by Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, two detained video blogging youth activists sentenced last week and considered by Amnesty International to be prisoners of conscience. The first post carries a message from Milli after his sentence.

Brave New Foundation posts a petition and YouTube video with young veterans asking Obama not to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Musafirbek says that the president of Uzbekistan officially thanked the cotton-growers for gathering the harvest of this strategic product for Uzbekistan. However, those who sweat away, collecting this cotton (including children) were not mentioned in the president’s address.