Stories from 18 October 2010
Russia: New Video from Primorsky Krai Guerrillas
The story of the cop-killing gang in Russia's Far East continues, and Masha Egupova analyzes the new content.
Uruguay: Images of Montevideo and Uruguay
Since 2005, Julio F. has been sharing photographs of Montevideo and other parts of Uruguay in the blog Images of Montevideo and Uruguay.
Chile: The 34th Miner
Roberto Arancibia from El Mundo Sigue Ahí [es] writes about “the 34th miner”: the other miners that got out of the San José mine and did not get trapped. He thought about that 34th miner when the news broke that the 33 miners were alive, and when the rescued miners...
El Salvador: Demanding Local Food
Colleen O'Brien begins her post “Growing Local Food Demand” asking, “Local food in El Salvador? It certainly exists, even though farmers markets, CSAs and advocates don’t abound in this country.” She later writes, “Fresh food for the urbanites, steady incomes for the campesinos. Is it just a pipe dream? I...
Europe: EU and LGBT Rights
Katerina Todorovska wrote [MKD] on the Macedonia in the European Union blog about EU's imperfect record on LGBT rights and its positive influence in relation to starting the debate and improving tolerance in the Western Balkans, as Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia strive to join this supranational structure.
Trinidad & Tobago: Code of Silence
Afra Raymond says: “The Code of Silence is deep and powerful in the case of the CL Financial bailout.”
Barbados: Back in the Saddle
“Wuhlossssss. A day is a long time in politics in Bimshire. It's official, y'all….”: Cheese-on-bread! reports that former Prime Minister Owen Arthur is back at the helm of the Barbados Labour Party as Leader of the Opposition.
Jamaica: A Year of Blogging
“Using social media has provided us with [a] very rewarding and effective way to communicate with existing and new audiences…”: National Gallery of Jamaica Blog celebrates its first birthday.
Guyana: How Time Passes
The Signifyin’ Woman takes comfort in Guyanese poet Martin Carter's “startling look at how time can be measured” as she mourns the sudden passing of her sister.
Haiti: Camp Conditions
Nine months after the January 12 earthquake, Haiti Grassroots Watch examines the conditions in the country's “1,354 squalid refugee camps”.
Africa: Growth, Innovation and Transport
Stephen writes about growth, innovation and transport in the development of Sub Saharan Africa economies: “Many people recognize that access to adequate transport services is vital for development. Since 1987, the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP)—a partnership driven by 36 countries—has been working with governments and regional organizations to...
Angola: The Origin of Angolan Kuduro
What is the origin of Angoln Kuduro?: “It all started here: an Angolan amputee, a car, and a dream. Okay, Kuduro, a genre of Angolan dance music, started long before that, but for me, it started here.”
Sierra Leone: Meet Bajah and The Dry Eye Crew
Africa is a Country music monday features “the super crew from Sierra Leone, Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, remix Vampire Weekend and Paul Simon, who are well known, of course, for remixing (appropriating?) sounds from across the African continent.”
Zimbabwe: Mugabe tests the credibility of the world
Can the world and the region trust Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe?: “One of the longstanding disputes between Zanu PF and MDC-T through the implementation of the Global Political Agreement has been over Robert Mugabe’s unilateral appointment of governors.”
Kenya: My Life as a Transgender Girl in Kenya
Lindsay is a transgendered woman living in Kenya who shares her life and her journey to womanhood on her blog Living Lindsay- My life as a transgender girl in Kenya. She describes herself as “I'm a normal girl with not-so-normal traits. I am transgender, or transsexual if you like.”
Russian Newsweek Closes
Closure of Russian Newsweek provoked a lively reaction [RUS] among bloggers. One of the reasons for it is that the majority of Russian Newsweek's staff had blogs. Photomans posts [RUS] his press passes, Anticompromat complains that the whole archive of the magazine is inaccessible now, BFM explains why the closure...
Russia: Photos of Children's Camp Decorated as a Social Network
Habrahabr user goodsprite posts pictures of the children's summer camp. Author, who worked at the camp, claimed that children had to register in Russian social network Vkontakte.ru. Photos depict camp's wallpapers decorated by hand-drawn illustrations of Vkontakte.ru interface and various applications like “Happy Farmer” (analogue of “Farmwille”).
Kyrgyzstan: Elections, a view from within
neweurasia’s Bermet toured 12 polling stations in Kyrgyzstan to observe the balloting procedure and shares impressions of what many experts say were the nation’s most important elections since independence.
Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan: Counter-insurgency campaign faces fuel supply pressures
Eugene Iladi reports on the decision by Kyrgyz authorities to investigate fuel supply contracts to the Manas Transit Center and how this could detriment the American campaign in Afghanistan
Tajikistan: The bitter truth in Rasht
Tajikistan’s government has offered rebels in the Rasht Valley an amnesty in exchange for a cease-fire, but neweurasia’s Botur doesn’t think they’ll take the offer.
Afghanistan: Peace strategy based on flawed assumptions
Nick Fielding analyzes a new report by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, which reveals that the Afghan government's Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme is based on flawed assumptions.