[ALST-L] New at TOL

[Lars Nicolaisen]

Transitions Online (TOL) (http://www.tol.cz) is the leading Internet
magazine covering Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former
Soviet Union. If you aren't already a member, fill out our registration
form at http://www.tol.cz/trialsubscr.html to receive your free two-month
trial membership. If you'd like to become a TOL member right away, go to
<http://member.html>. And if you're a citizen of a post-communist country, go to
http://www.tol.cz/trialsubscr2.html to sign up for a FREE annual membership.

NEW AT TOL:

Now online: expanded Country Files! TOL's value as a research and reference
tool just got better. This expanded section contains maps and links for all
the 27 countries in the post-communist world. TOL Country Files also
feature the OMRI/East-West Institute Annual Reports, which give a detailed
year-in-review for every country. Written by top local and Western
analysts, these exclusive Annual Reports are a crucial resource for anyone
interested in the region.

Features: The Thin Blue Line
by Aliaksiej Shydlouski
http://www.tol.cz/jul99/specr02003.html
"I don't give a damn that somebody has been beaten," says Alyaksandr V., a
Belarusian police officer. "Certainly, I wouldn't like to do it myself ...
but if there is an order, what should I do, refuse? Then I'd be sacked and
have nothing to live on and feed my wife." The police force -- who are
given carte blanche in terms of their treatment of civilians -- is one of
the more sinister arms of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's rule. An
exclusive report from Shydlouski, who in August 1997 was sentenced to 18
months in prison for writing anti-government graffiti ("Lukashenka is a
dictator" and "Long Live Belarus").

Features: Independent Thinking
by Zeljko Ivanovic
http://www.tol.cz/jul99/specr02002.html
President Milo Djukanovic is feeling the heat from all sides over the
question of independence -- pressure from Montenegrin politicians,
reluctance from the West, and the atmosphere of increasing panic in Serbia
are making things all the more pressing. But despite the success of the
convertible mark and the growing popular support for independence,
Djukanovic is still playing it safe. The wild card, of course, is President
Slobodan Milosevic, who is taking advantage of the division in Montenegro
to maintain tension.

Opinions: Nowhere to Hide after Haider
by Lubos Palata
http://www.tol.cz/opina/haider.html
Western Europe's uproar over the inclusion of the far-right Freedom Party
in Austria's new governing coalition is also a warning for the EU candidate
countries where similar political groupings hold a strong position. As even
the EU Enlargement Commissioner Gunther Verheugen admitted, the current
conflict with Austria is "preparation" for similar problems that could
occur with the applicant states.

Media: Clashes on the Final Frontier
by Emil Danielyan
http://www.tol.cz/feb00/nagorno.html
"You should have seen what was being done to NATO and U.S. official sites
during the Kosovo crisis," says Vahan Mkhitarian of the Armenian Computer
Center. "That was a war." But though he and other officials and pundits are
quick to downplay the recent hack attacks between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
the recent retaliation from Armenian hackers demonstrate the deep-seated
ire between the two nations over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Books: Shock Without Therapy
by Iulian Robu
http://www.tol.cz/books/bkfeb001.html
"Of the two possible paths for transformation, the slow, Chinese one, and
the Polish 'shock therapy,' we have chosen ... the Moldovan way: shock
without therapy," writes Vasile Soimaru in "Caderea premierilor" (The
Falling Prime Ministers). The collection of essays and articles by one of
Moldova's top economists takes an informed look at the sham transition in
Moldova, with an insider's perspective on the corruption and self-interest
that has plagued attempts at reform.

Opinions: Education in Bulgaria Needs Evolution, Not Revolution
by Boyan Biolchev
http://www.tol.cz/opina/educat.html
The newly elected dean of Sofia University argues that the entire
educational system in Bulgaria should be reshaped to meet the country's
changing needs.

A Czech nonprofit dedicated to promoting independent journalism, TOL is
based in Prague and uses a network of local correspondents to provide
unique, cross-regional analysis. TOL was recently named site of the day
by Central Europe Online (http://www.centraleurope.com), a top information
source.

We encourage you to visit our site, subscribe, and become part of a dynamic
new media project dedicated to building independent journalism in Central
and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the former Soviet Union. And be sure
to also visit our partner sites:

- Central Europe Review (http://www.ce-review.org), the weekly Internet
journal of Central and East European politics, society, and culture

- The Network of Independent Journalists of Central and Eastern Europe
(NIJ), a weekly service run by the Croatian-based STINA press agency. To
subscribe to STINA's NIJ weekly service, giving you timely news of events
in the region, send an e-mail to: stina at zamir.net

- Index on Censorship, the international journal for free expression
(http://www.indexoncensorship.org). Through interviews, reportage, banned
literature, and polemic, Index shows how free speech affects the political
issues of the moment.

WE APOLOGIZE IF YOU WERE INADVERTENTLY ADDED TO THIS LIST, OR IF YOU
RECEIVED  lars at tol.cz


_________________________________________________________________
Lars Nicolaisen                Tel. (4202) 2278 0805
Marketing Assistant            Fax. (4202) 2278 0804
Transitions Online
Chlumova 22                    email: nicolaisenl at ijt.cz
130 00 Prague 3                http://www.transitions-online.org
Czech Republic
_________________________________________________________________

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