Stories Central Asia & Caucasus
Armenian Bloggers Hail Power Return
While most people know Samantha Power as an Obama adviser who has called Hillary Clinton a “monster,†many genocide awareness and prevention activists consider the Harvard professor a hope they can believe in. The Associated Press has noticed that Power, who officially resigned from Obama’s campaign during the Democratic primaries, is on US President-elect Obama’s transition team. This news has encouraged several Armenian bloggers who now feel assured that the author of “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide†(2002) will remind President-elect Barack Obama to keep his promise of officially recognizing the WWI Armenian Genocide committed by Ottoman Turks.
Sarkozy to Putin: “Do you want to end up like Bush?”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Russian president Vladimir Putin are known for having a colorful and unpredictable relationship. Has Sarkozy's warning to Putin not to behave like the American president George W Bush been a factor in not escalating the crisis in Georgia? Bloggers from around Europe weigh in.
Armenia: Bloggers React to Obama Victory
With ethnic Armenians spread worldwide, the reaction to Barack Obama's victory was not just confined to the Republic. U.S. citizen Nazarian, for example, even voted. Artur brings us the story.
Today's Faves: Three cheers for McCain
Voices without Votes continuously aggregates interesting links about the election from world bloggers. Our authors take turns picking their top 3 personal favorites every weekday. Nervous about the election yet? Here's a triple dose of McCain favoritism brought to you from bloggers around the world.
US Elections: The Armenia Effect
With the world anxiously watching the U.S. presidential elections, a tiny country in the former Soviet Union with a small voice may have a strong vote. Excitement about the election among Armenia’s 3-million residents, though, is not showing through local blog posts. But more Armenians live outside their country, and enough of them in the United States to actually make a difference. This could translate a marginal voice to a decisive vote.
What the World Thinks of America
More and more Americans are looking outside the box to see what the rest of the world thinks about the their country and the role it plays in the lives of millions worldwide. Here are two projects which ventured outside the US to poll international citizens for their views.
Dear American Voter: An International Perspective
Americans will soon be going to the polls to make a decision on behalf of the entire world. At least this is what international folks say. To shed light on what ‘foreigners' think and feel, Link TV has launched Dear American Voter, a pioneering project in which people from outside the US send video messages to Americans. Here is a cross-section of reactions, focusing on international affairs.
Georgia: Peace Corps Volunteer Blogs
Although Georgia was not the first country in the South Caucasus where the U.S. Peace Corps started working, it was until recently the most active in terms of blogs. However, the situation has changed considerably since war with Russia saw volunteers evacuated to Armenia with no prospect for return.
Azerbaijan: Peace Corps Volunteer Blogs
The U.S. Peace Corps started working in Azerbaijan in 2002. Since then, over 190 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Azerbaijan and a number set up blogs from the beginning of 2006. Operating outside the capital, Baku, the blogs detail life in the regions of an oil-rich country that few would otherwise experience.
Armenia: Peace Corps Volunteer Blogs
While the number of blogs on or based in the South Caucasus is often put in the tens of thousands, the actual number of bloggers is significantly lower. Moreover, the vast majority based on the ground are usually situated in the capital cities of the three republics making up the region. Low Internet penetration standing [...]
