The Archives

• 04.22.08
  Center for Belarusian Studies
  Documentaries (0)

  The WSJ's "Best of the Web Today," one of my favorite daily reads, poked fun at Belarus by putting this headline in its "Bottom Stories of the Day." "Centre Dedicated to Study of Eastern European Nation Belarus Opens in Winfield"--headline, Canadian Press, April 20 I usually like to join in whatever fun James Taranto is having, but it so happens that I have gotten interested in learning more about Belarus, especially after watching Kalinovski Square. So I clicked on the Canadian Press article to learn about this new center. And here is a URL for the Center for Belarusian Studies. ...
  
  
• 04.16.08
  We should not protest like that
  Documentaries (0)

  I watched the 2nd YouTube segment of "A lesson of Belarusia" tonight. The way the students were distributing election campaign leaflets reminded me of "Sophie Scholl: Die Letzten Tage." But I also had to go back and look at one part of the first segment that had stuck in my mind. "Frankek's" father is talking to his underground students, pointing out that, "If you write that things are no good in Belorusia, they will put you in prison." One girl says that as a journalist she would start up a paper called "The Way to the Future." The ...
  
  
• 04.15.08
  A Lesson of Belarusian
  Documentaries (0)

  Michael commented on one of the Kalinovski Square posts, asking if I had seen the 6-part documentary, "A lesson of Belarusian," that had been posted on YouTube by the same person. I hadn't, but I just now watched the first part, even though I should really be working on other things. Already it has helped fill in some gaps in my knowledge about Belorusia, such as the fact that there was a time of greater freedom before Lukashenko came to power. I'll be watching the rest of it, even though I can't kill two birds with one ...
  
  
• 04.10.08
  Kalinovski Square
  Documentaries (3)

  I've been showing my parents some of the things one can find on YouTube and Internet television. Mostly it's been Bach music clips of various kinds that I had been bookmarking in preparation for their visit-- child keyboard prodigies, ancient organs, choral groups, etc. But Dad was also interested in foreign movies. He has macular degeneration such that he can't read words on the screen unless they are very large, but he can recognize faces and seems to be able to make out a lot of other details. There are a few Russian movies on ...
  
  
• 03.07.08
  Alaksandar Kazulin
  Documentaries (0)

  Shortly after watching the 9th segment of Kalinovski Square last night, and learning for the first time about Alaksandar Kazulin and how he had received a 5.5 year sentence for his dissenting activities in Belarus, I read in the WSJ that he has been released along with a number of other dissidents. Luke Allnutt, editor in chief of Radio Free Europe, explains how President Lukashenko desperately needs friends now, and how we would do well to engage him. It would be a tricky business, because he's trying to play Russia vs the west. But this may ...
  
  
• 03.03.08
  More from Kalinovski Square
  Documentaries (0)

  Elsewhere I said that the Kalinovski Square film, with its wry, detached approach, might be like what William F. Buckley would have done if he had been a filmmaker. But the person from Belarus who posted it on YouTube says the filmmaker (Yuri Chashchevatsky) did it in the manner of Michael Moore. Well, I've not seen any of Michael Moore's work, so I'll have to take his (or her) word for it. Can it be, though, that there are similarities between Michael Moore and William F. Buckley? It's hard to imagine such a thing. Here ...
  
  
• 03.03.08
  Kalinovski Square
  Documentaries (1)

  I found this while surfing YouTube, looking for Russian video with English subtitles. It does seem to be useful at my stage in learning the language -- I understand some words and phrases, but I wouldn't understand much of what is going on without the subtitles. And it gives some great shots of people and places, including those in villages in Belarus. The narrator gives us a wry look at President Lukaschenko and the political situation in Belarus. It's entertaining but deadly serious. I suppose this is the direction in which Putin is taking ...
  
  

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