Ever since the Soviet Union's collapse, the region of Central Asia, flush with newly minted states, has struggled to come up with a regional water arrangement to suit all those involved. In recent weeks, the region's governmental leaders have been working on a short-term water sharing deal, and it now appears their work has come […]
This weekend, the liberal think tank INDEM issued a new warning that the country was headed towards a ‘developmental dictatorship’. But Russia wasn't in the mood: it was mourning Muslim Magomayev. Magomayev was the original Soviet mega-star. Throughout the 1970s, he routinely filled stadiums and garnered scores of hysterical groupies, not an easy feat […]
Continuing yesterday's thread, I would like to highlight one major aspect of progress in Afghanistan; the role of women in the workplace and in society as a whole. To do this I will showcase the stories of a few particular women, and unfortunately in their stories there is great suffering and too visible of signs […]
With Russian and American top brass talking again, it looks like the two countries have kissed and made up following the whole Georgia thing. Or, if you’re US ambassador Beylre, kissed and made out: not only did he recently deny any US intention to punish Russia, but also put a nice gloss on the […]
If you read most of the news and editorial pieces I posted on Monday, you probably have a negative outlook on the stability and chances for progress in Afghanistan, and for the most part, rightly so. But there are positive things going on in the country, things that before 2001 probably seemed impossible to most […]
Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek, which just last week hosted a Commonwealth of Independent States CIS summit, was the site of a meeting between US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and President Bakiyev and a following news conference. Boucher stated that the two sides discussed security and energy relations and issues. Specifically, the US sponsored […]
The ways the world's leading newspapers have covered NATO's efforts in Afghanistan and the situation on the ground there have morphed several times in recent years. After taking a backseat to the War in Iraq for nearly 4 years, the Afghan conflict came back into the mainstream about a year ago, mainly with statements that […]
How does one reconcile the governmental promotion of atheism in a society with strongly entrenched religious beliefs and customs? The Chinese communist government has tried to square this circle for years now, and the Xinjiang Province's Uighur Muslim majority has proven its greatest challenge. Edward Wong of the New York Times explores this societal conflict […]
Most of you have probably heard the reports of Christian-targeted violence in Iraq in recent weeks. Religious minorities face many uphill battles, some higher and harsher than others, in most societies. Just this last week we heard people, though on a very marginal scale, at McCain rallies shouting derogatory Muslim references toward Barack Obama. It […]
In recent weeks the Mediterranean states of Greece and Turkey have pushed to strengthen their diplomatic ties to the Central Asian region and its states. In the case of Turkey, it is the continuing of a growing relationship, and in the case of Greece, it is an attempt to reinvigorate what has in recent times […]
Whenever my girlfriend goes home to her native Milan, it does wonders for her Russian. Wading through the swarm of Slav fashion slaves on Via Montenapoleone packs more listening comprehension than did her entire grad school course. Last week, she went shopping with her older sister, who wanted to celebrate a recent promotion by […]
“Every blog has the commentariat it deserves”, observed sad young literary man and post-Soviet film critic Konstantin Gessen. For a long time, this axiom was clearly borne out by many cryptic, subtly menacing, and downright bizarre comments on this blog (eg. “Wasn't easier (sic) to get rid of Saakashvili by buying him a stove made […]
On October 6, Federal Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the release of 17 Uighurs imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the US government had no evidence and no right to hold them as ‘enemy combatants.’ The Bush administration has already stated that these 17 prisoners are not a security threat and conceded that they do not […]
I apologize for the lack of posts since Wednesday as I am in the middle of a move from New York to California. Today I would like to go over a few important stories that have occurred in the last week. Ahmed Wali Karzai a Drug Dealer? – The New York Times ran an article […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/y4XqaIWchQE” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]The 2nd Presidential Debate and the 2nd time each candidate failed to inform the American public of the fight ahead or layout a clear strategy for victory for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here is the transcript and video. Regarding military force and strikes in Pakisani territory, Obama emphasized this as a […]