Stories from 11 December 2009
Ukraine: “Bumpy Road to Democracy”
At OpenDemocracy.net, Andreas Umland writes about two books that “cast light on what the Orange Revolution was really about, and review its significance against the background of developments in Russia.” At Jamestown Foundation Blog, Tammy Lynch covers the issues brought up during the recent EU-Ukraine summit – here and here.
Belarus, Russia, Ukraine: Borders and Identity
A poll on how Belarusians view themselves ethnically, and the problems of demarcating the Russian-Ukrainian border – at Window on Eurasia.
Ukraine: Emotions and Politics
Emotionally charged Ukrainian politics – at Ukrainiana: a “shocktivist” women's movement FEMEN on a popular TV talk show; and a televised quarrel between the Ukrainian president and the interior minister.
Russia: Kremlin Plans To Create ‘Party of Bloggers’
The Kremlin will create a new “Party of Bloggers”, reports [RUS] luberblog.ru. The party will function on the basis of electronic signatures and forums. This initiative shows the virtuality of the whole party system in Russia.
Five Americans arrested in Pakistan: Following the story
Kalsoom at Chup Pakistan provides a detailed round-up of the news of 5 Americans recently detained in Pakistan in connection with an alleged raid on militants.
Dowry deaths – when will it end?
Reflecting on a case of recent dowry death in Bangladesh, Basira wonders if dowry deaths will ever be a thing of the past.
COP15 and the dreams of a Nation
Bangladeshi blogger Fakir Elias writes a moving poem about the indigenous needs of a Nation and how it is perhaps getting overshadowed in the COP15 buzz
Friending is easy, unfriending easier
Blogger Charukesi at A Time to Reflect expresses her reservations about the ease of online ‘friending’ and ‘unfriending’.
The perils of paid-for news
Soumyadip at Cutting the Chai talks about the dangers of sponsored news and why he has come to rely more “on the opinions of individuals who are unassociated with the media: the bloggers, the twitterers, the forums”.
Chile: Leading Candidates for Presidential Elections
On the road to Chile's presidential election on January 2010, four candidates lead the first round of voting on December 13: Alliance for Change's Sebastián Piñera, Concertación's Eduardo Frei, independent candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami, and from the left wing Juntos Podemos Más party, Jorge Arrate.
Chile: Social Networking on Presidential Campaign
An interesting summary of Sebastian Piñera's use of social networking [es] to support his current presidential candidacy for Chile (with information up to September 2009) can be found on the blog E the people.
Russian Google Books Site Launched
Google launched its “Books” project in Russian language [RUS], reports Russian radio “Mayak” [RUS]. The corporation will face serious competition from other 10 large Russian e-libraries with lib.ru [RUS] being the oldest and most popular.
Japan: Graveyards, Golf Courses, Forests Or Farmland?
Martin J Frid from Kurashi blogs about the land use distribution in rural Japan.
China: The implication on the termination of Sun TV broadcast
Qian Gang from China Media Project discusses the implications in ending the transmission of Sun TV's signal to the mainland through the government-operated Asia-Pacific Six satellite.
China: Government shuts down BitTorrent sites, netizens distressed
Chinese Internet users are scrabbling for downloads from BitTorrent (BT) websites following speculation that authorities will completely shut them down. The largest BitTorrent websites in China like BTCHINA, VeryCD and the Garden of Eden have been closed down or ordered to delete all links to downloaded films or TV series in the...
Russia: Three Stories of Extreme Poverty
Russian photojournalist Oleg Klimov shares three stories of extreme poverty that he happened to overhear while waiting for a train at the train station in Syzran, a city in Russia's Samara region.
