The Shanhai Cooperative Organization. ^[wiki] When Moscow and Beijing engineered the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) six years ago, I am not sure if they foresaw its emergence as an important actor in the international order. Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia, currently observers, are lobbying hard to get accepted into this club. The US request for membership was rejected two years ago.
posted on Aug 23, 2007 - View this thread

Kyrgyz Music.
posted on May 19, 2007 - View this thread

Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig provides a fascinating glimpse of the people and places of 5 of the "-stan" countries of Central Asia. You can see more work and current projects on his flickr page. Noteworthy photo essays: Arsan Baths in Almatry, Soviet Roadside Bus Stops (seen here before), and his recent The Wheelbarrow Operators of Monrovia.
posted on Apr 11, 2007 - View this thread

"The groom confesses he has had some difficulty finding a bride, but he is hopeful that 'this one will stay.'"
If you were a young man looking to settle down with a girl, what would you do? Let friends or family set you up? Try the bar scene? Match.com? If you lived in rural Kyrgyzstan, you might skip the courtship and just kidnap whatever girl catches your eye. This fascinating Frontline/World piece explores a strange but shockingly common practice. According to one study, more than a third of ethnic Kyrgyz women are married by kidnapping.
posted on May 25, 2006 - View this thread

Kyrgyzstan, ever heard of it? The place is quickly going down the toilet, so no worries, you aren't missing much.
posted on Jan 14, 2006 - View this thread

What's going on in Kyrgyzstan? Remember what happened in Georgia and Ukraine? Now it's Kyrgyzstan's turn. Unimpressed with February's Parliamentary election, Kyrgyz stormed across the country and drove President Askar Akayev and his buddies into exile. Can Kyrgyzstan's heretofore weak and divided opposition hold together enough to make real improvements? And who's next?
posted on Mar 29, 2005 - View this thread

Mutant Rats are Here! Farms in Kyrgyzstan are being overrun with rats that do not respond to the usual poison and target people. It was created in a (mad scientist's?) lab. Apocalypse Now?
posted on Sep 22, 2003 - View this thread