СТЕНГАЗЕТА

ИВЕНТЫ

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:16:23 GMT

Хотим расширить встречи СЕЛА Клуба в Кыргызстане с семи-закрытых на открытые… первая открытая (по приглашениям) пройдет с участием человека, который сделает расклад промо-кампании Барака Обама, это мероприятие планируется на февраль 2009 в Бишкеке!

В это же время пройдет встреча консулов СЕЛА в Бишкеке, следующая встреча консулов пройдет в Ташкенте весной 2009 г.

Маленькая помощь....

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:40:40 GMT

   Воспитанникам детдомов на юге показали магическое шоу в рамках
   благотворительной акции «Ура, детвора!»

   БИШКЕК (АКИpress) - В конце сентября воспитанникам детских домов в г.Ош и
   с.Чекабад показали магические фокусы и танцевальные номера иллюзионисты из
   магической группы «Престиж» и артисты шоу-группы «Тринити».

Как рассказали иллюзионисты группы «Престиж» Ильдар Ягофаров и Алексей
   Гуцев, благотворительную акцию «Ура, детвора!» на юге удалось провести при
   поддержке Central Eurasia Leadership Academy (CELA). Иллюзионисты
   продемонстрировали детям фокусы с игральными картами, шариками, монетами,
   огнем, а танцоры - восточные, испанские и другие танцы.

   По словам И.Ягофарова, главная идея таких акций – общение с детьми
   посредством искусства. «Мы показываем фокусы, при этом дети сами
   непосредственно участвуют в шоу. Для них это намного важнее, чем обычные
   сладости. Ведь это дети, и им очень хочется верить в чудо», - говорит он.

   Добавим, что в рамках акции «Ура, детвора!» инициаторы шоу при поддержке
   CELA купили детям детдомов и подарки: баскетбольные установки, мячи, «умный»
   детский компьютер, ручки, пеналы, тетради, пластилин, краски, фломастеры и
   др.

see pix at: http://diesel.elcat.kg/index.php?showtopic=1295389

Каким Я вижу Кыргызстан?

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:31:56 GMT

Донорское сообщество в КР объявляет конкурс на написание эссе среди молодежи Кыргызстана

Задача конкурса узнать, как молодежь видит развитие своей страны, понять, как она справляется с проблемами в повседневной жизни, а также привлечь молодое поколение Кыргызстана к поиску конкретных решений.

Конкурс начинается с 1 октября 2008 г.

На конкурс подаются эссе (сочинение) объемом до 4-5 страниц (максимум 4,000 слов) на русском или кыргызском языке. В эссе должно быть отражены конкретные решения и механизмы реализации перспектив, описанных в эссе.

В конкурсе могут принять участие молодые люди в возрасте 18-25 лет со всех регионов Кыргызстана.

Заявки принимаются по электронной почте: niosipenko@worldbank.org или kdic2006@gmail.com

Последний срок подачи заявок - 31 октября 2008 года.

Победители будут приглашены на торжественное вручение наград, которое состоится в Бишкеке, в Центре «Информация для развития». Первое место – 7000 сомов, второе место – 5000 сомов, третье место – 3500 сомов

Naming - не по теме блога (но по теме личной)

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:02:08 GMT

Дэвид Н. Огилви, основатель рекламного агентства Ogilvy & Mather и признанный классик теории рекламы, в одном из своих монументальных трудов к главе о нейминге взял такой эпиграф: "Люди преданы своей марке. Возьмите сигареты. Люди курят не табак, а свою любимую марку. Табак они еще могут спутать, марку - никогда!" Вы знали, что бренд “apple” возник потому что основатель этой компании Steve Jobs любил яблоки и после трех месяцев тщетных попыток найти название для нового бизнеса, он поставил своим партнерам ультиматум: "Я назову компанию Apple, если к 5-ти часам вы не предложите лучшего". Прикольно?! Ниже история других имен…

- Adobe - названа в честь реки Adobe Creek, которая текла за домом основателя компании Джона Ворнока (John Warnock).
- Canon - в честь Kwanon, буддийского бога милосердия. Было изменено на Canon, чтобы избежать протестов религиозных организаций.
- Daewoo - основатель компании Ким Ву Чонг (Kim Woo Chong) назвал компанию скромно, "Большая Вселенная", именно так переводится слово Daewoo с корейского.
- Google - название произошло от слова Googol, означающее единицу со 100 нулями. А Google было написано на чеке, который основатели этого проекта (среди которых, кстати, бывший россиянин Сергей Брин) получили от первого инвестора. После этого они назвали поисковик именно так.
- Hotmail - основателю Джеку Смиту (Jack Smith) пришла идея доступа к электронной почте через web из любой точки мира. Когда Сабир Бхатиа (Sabeer Bhatia) появился с бизнес-планом данного сервиса, он перебрал все слова, оканчивающиеся на "mail" и, в конце концов, остановился на hotmail, так как в названии присутствовали буквы HTML (язык разметки веб-страниц).
- Kodak - K - любимая буква Джорджа Истмена (George Eastman), основателя компании. Он искал слова, начинающиеся и заканчивающиеся этой замечательной буквой. Тем более что во всех алфавитах "K" пишется одинаково. В конце концов, было выбрано слово Кодак, якобы именно такой звук производит фотокамера при съемке.
- Mitsubishi - придумал основатель компании Ятаро Ивасаки (Yataro Iwasaki) в 1870 году. В переводе с японского mitsu - три, а hishi - ромб. Буква "b" оказалась шестой не из-за ошибки, а вследствие того, что японцы обычно "h" в середине слова произносят как "b". Что касается логотипа, то, вопреки мнению, первичен именно он. А выглядит он так потому, что трёхлистник был семейным гербом основателя компании.
- Motorola - основатель Поль Гэлвин (Paul Galvin) придумал название, когда его компания начинала производство радио для машин. Многие производители аудио-компонентов в то время заканчивались на "ola".
- Nintendo - составное из 3-ех японских иероглифов "Nin-ten-do", которые можно перевести как "небеса благословляют тяжелую работу".
- Nokia - начиналась, как деревообрабатывающий завод, разрослась до производства резиновых изделий в финском городе Nokia.
- Sanyo - по-китайски "Три океана".
- Sony - от латинского "Sonus" (звук) и "sonny" (на сленге значит «малолетка»).
- Subaru - по имени созвездия. Оно же и отображено на логотипе компании.
- Xerox - Изобретатель Честор Карлсон (Chestor Carlson) хотел отразить в названии слово "сухой" (так как в то время существовало только влажное копирование). "Xer" - сухой по-гречески».

Четыре события осени

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:00:41 GMT

Байнет 2.2 в Минске 11-12 октября. Полезна тем, кто работает или рассматривает возможность работать в беларуском интернете.

Seedcamp 15-19 сентября в Лондоне. Наверное, самое известное европейское событие, где основатели старт-апов (на ранней стадии) встречаются с инвесторами. В этом году Сидкемп кроме основного события в Лондоне проводил три региональные конференции, одна из которых - Seedcamp Eastern Europe - прошла в Киеве.

OneWebDay, международная сеть конференций 22 сентября. Тема OneWebDay в 2008 году - использование интеренета для влияния граждан на управление страной, - была выбрана в честь президентских выборов в США.

PICNIC в Амстердаме 24-26 сентября. Лидер среди европейских конференций по медиа. Если вам нужно быть в курсе последних мировых тенденций в маркетинге, интернете и медиа вообще, пообщаться с тренд-сеттерами - вам туда.

CELA gatherings

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:20:53 GMT

CELA Kazakhstan is meeting today to talk about GE/RU events and also meet Umida from UZ

CELA Georgia is getting together today as well to develop a plan for meeting their CELA friends in October.

CELA Armenia will be electing their new CELA Consul tomorrow!

CELA Uzbekistan is getting together this week as well to meet Ermek from KG

Georgia Solidarity Trip

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:40:24 GMT

В свете событий в Грузии селавики решили организовать мероприятие в Тбилиси. Все, кто свободен 20-23 октября собираются в Тбилиси, где будет организована неформальная встреча в Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS). В списке уже 20 человек. Предстоит замечательное мероприятие в замечательной стране!

Ex-Soviet states wary of Russia's actions in Georgia

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:47:05 GMT

By Maria Golovnina

Интересная статья от Reuters по поводу реакции стран СНГ на действия в Грузии. Обратите внимание слова Н.Назарбаева: "Complex inter-ethnic issues should be solved through peaceful means, through negotiations. There is no military solution to these issues," сказал – как будто ничего не сказал, понятно, что не военными действиями надо решать вопросы. Непонятно какие страны и какие действия «некоторых стран СНГ» ослабили так называемый «союз» -- "Unfortunately, due to actions by some CIS states, our community has become weak and has no levers to intervene in such conflicts."

MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Some of Russia's closest allies in the former Soviet bloc have distanced themselves from Moscow over its conflict with Georgia, heralding a possible rift with the Kremlin.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and others in the Commonwealth of Independent States remained silent for days after the fighting erupted last week as they scrambled to formulate positions.

As Russia grew uneasy over the silence, its ambassador to Belarus chided Minsk for failing to offer open support. Belarus eventually offered condolences for the victims almost a week into the conflict but kept it statements neutral.

Georgia then announced it was pulling out of the CIS -- a Russian-led grouping of former Soviet states -- and urged others to follow suit.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has skilfully balanced strong ties with both Russia and the United States, broke the silence on Wednesday, offering unusually strong words and saying CIS unity was under threat.

"Complex inter-ethnic issues should be solved through peaceful means, through negotiations. There is no military solution to these issues," he said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, due to actions by some CIS states, our community has become weak and has no levers to intervene in such conflicts."

Russia-friendly Turkmenistan, courted by the West as a new source of energy for Europe, likewise said "conflicts must be solved only through peaceful, diplomatic efforts".

The United States said this week that Russia, its ties with the West already strained over a number of issues, risked deeper isolation because of the violence in Georgia.

The conflict over South Ossetia has already given rise to further disagreement between Russia and Ukraine, which has sharply criticised Moscow's military incursion.

In a gesture of support, Ukrainian leader Victor Yushchenko, along with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Poland attended a mass rally in Tbilisi this week.

Russia's traditional allies were more restrained and some, like Uzbekistan, have preferred to stay out by saying nothing.

Azerbaijan, keen to regain control over its own rebel region of Nagorno-Karabakh, avoided sharp words and called for peace.

"We support the territorial integrity of Georgia and support efforts to avoid the escalation (of violence) in the region and restore peace," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Independent Azeri media, however, have criticised the government over its ambiguous position. The widely read Zerkalo newspaper described Russia's actions as "fascism".

Commentators in Russia said Moscow was caught off guard by this reaction from its ex-Soviet neighbours.

"Everyone in Moscow thought: 'We are in the right and the enemy will be destroyed', but in Minsk and other CIS capitals everyone was in disarray," Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily wrote.

"This has totally paralysed the CIS leaders including Belarus. Moscow did not expect this from its closest ally."

«Это была не спонтанная, а спланированная война»

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:05:03 GMT

Сегодня мне совершенно очевидно, что российское вторжение в Грузию было заранее спланировано, причем окончательное политическое решение завершить подготовку и начать войну в августе было, похоже, принято еще в апреле.

И осетины намеренно провоцировали грузин, и любой ответ, жесткий или мягкий, был бы использован в качестве повода для нападения. А если бы грузины терпели безропотно, то абхазы бы начали, как сейчас, давно подготовленную операцию по «зачистке» верхней части Кодорского ущелья. Если война запланирована, предлог всегда найдется.

The Georgian – Russian Conflict through the eyes of Baku

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:26:45 GMT

Article by CELA fellow in AZ, Fariz Ismailzade, on situation in Georgia.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The escalating conflict in Georgia--with its unexpected military developments and great humanitarian losses--seems to have caught Azerbaijani officials and the public off guard. Azerbaijanis are not new to the world of Russian political games in the Caucasus. Baku itself suffered greatly from Russian intervention in 1990 and after that from the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Yet, the rapid and aggressive style of Russian intervention in Georgia in the past few days has created far greater security and economic dilemmas for Azerbaijan than even the most pessimistic analysts in the country could have predicted only a week ago.

Russian jet fighters have bombed both civilians and military airports in Georgia, forcing all airlines, including Azerbaijani Airlines (AZAL), to stop flights. Moreover, for several days in a row the Russians bombed the Black Sea port of Poti, which serves as the main terminal for the export of Azerbaijani energy products as well as other cargo. With the explosions on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline last week, Azerbaijan was looking for Georgian railways, ports and pipelines as an important alternative for the export of Caspian energy supplies to Western markets. All of this has stopped, putting both Georgia and Azerbaijan in economic difficulties. Nonetheless, there is little fear in official circles in Baku that Russia will bomb the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and other energy-related infrastructures to destroy the successful East-West transport and energy corridor between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Azerbaijan is Georgia's strategic ally. Both countries are united not only by geopolitical interests and world-class pipelines, but also by the regional security organization GUAM. GUAM, although passive for most of the decade, has lately been re-energized and even played with the idea of establishing its own peacekeeping and security forces. Under such a situation, it seems like GUAM would be a convenient venue to express support and solidarity with the Georgians.

Azerbaijan, however, finds itself in a very difficult situation. On the one hand, there is enormous public support for Georgia throughout Azerbaijan. In private conversations, almost all Azerbaijanis blame Russia for aggression and express frustration with the imperialist policies of the Kremlin in the South Caucasus. A group of intelligentsia went to the Russian embassy on August 10 to protest against the military actions in Georgia (http://ilgarmammadov.livejournal.com). This was repeated by members of youth organizations (www.day.az, August 11). The main opposition party Musavat issued a statement on August 11, calling for "respect of the territorial integrity of Georgia and an immediate stop to the aggressive policy of Russia" (Musavat party press release). The party called on the Azerbaijani government to show a "principled position" on the conflict. A similar statement came from the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan.

For its pro-Georgian coverage of the events, the most popular Azerbaijani news website www.day.az was attacked by Russian special forces on August 11 and had to cease its activities temporarily (www.day.az press release, August 11). Elnur Baimov, the editor in chief of www.day.az said on August 11 that "we all saw the diplomatic loss of Russia."

Government officials have been relatively calm about the situation, considering the fragile relations between Moscow and Baku and the desire of the latter not to ruin bilateral relations between the two countries. The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Khazar Ibrahim told journalists on August 8, however, that "Azerbaijan favors the solution of the South Ossetia conflict based on the territorial integrity of Georgia and we consider the actions of Georgia corresponding to the international law" (www.day.az).

On August 11, ANS TV reported that 50 Azerbaijanis had gathered in Georgia's Azerbaijani-populated provinces to go to the war for the defense of their country. It is noteworthy that Russians have bombed Azerbaijani populated areas of Georgia for three days in a row, killing four and wounding dozens. The possibility is not excluded that this was done in hopes of fomenting strife between Azeris and Georgians.

The present situation in Georgia presents huge security concerns for official Baku. If Russia manages to squeeze Georgia, then it would put an end to the economic independence of Azerbaijan as well. Many analysts in Baku believe that the real purpose of the pressure on Georgia is the Kremlin's desire to control Azerbaijan.

Thus, it is vital for Azerbaijan to provide all necessary assistance to its strategic ally. Considering the political realities between Baku and Moscow, it is unlikely that the Azerbaijani government will provide any military assistance to Georgia. Economic and humanitarian assistance, however, is definitely an option. Azerbaijan remains the only viable international outlet for Georgia, and many Georgians have already started using the territory of Azerbaijan to travel abroad.

Azerbaijani political analysts believe that the war in Georgia is a long-term loss for the Kremlin. By showing its neo-imperialist face, Russia may have lost the Caucasus forever. The political analyst Ilgar Mammadov says that "If Georgia stays strong for few more days, we will all see the defeat of Russia from the Caucasus." Another analyst Vugar Seidov says "The departure of Russia from Abkhazia and South Ossetia is historically inevitable" (Regnum, August 10).

More links from Vanda (CELA 4/GE):

This is an article by Aleksey Venediktov from Echo Moskvy, which I beleive provides an unbiased analysis of the crisis in Russian (it was blocked by Russians, by the way)

Those who are interested in the consequences of the war in Tskhinvali (and I do hope this will not be the case with other cities) please watch:

South Ossetia: The ugly face of war

S. Roberts: The Georgia Factor in Central Asia

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:45:44 GMT

The only leverage the US has ever had in Central Asia relates to our implicit counter-balance to Russia. The Central Asians have lived under Moscow’s shadow for decades, and they have constantly sought ways to slowly distance themselves from Russian control. With the fall of the U.S.S.R., the U.S. presented itself as the obvious source for counterbalancing Russia in the region.

Georgia - Russia

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:23:40 GMT

«В Цхинвали вошли подразделения российских войск. Это сегодня признали и в Тбилиси. Представитель МВД Грузии сообщил также, что грузинские войска полностью выведены из Южной Осетии. Между тем, по данным российских миротворцев, грузинские военные по-прежнему там остаются.»

«…России же очень хочется, чтобы Грузию не приняли в НАТО, значит, нужен не ослабевающий военный конфликт. Просто Россия немножко забыла, что ей к Олимпиаде не очень нужен этот конфликт, слишком близко к Сочи…» (Интервью с В. Новодворской)

“Как сообщает Day.Az, сегодня представители гражданского общества Азербайджана по инициативе политолога Ильгара Мамедова пришли к посольству России в Азербайджане, чтобы выразить протест против политики Кремля в Грузии….”

Links on video provided by from Vanda (C4/GE)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqP8gNbtMyI&feature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it9hLyzN2tc&feature=related

Памир и пр.

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:11:02 GMT

Памирский реюнион в разгаре, как говорит Адам “pamir reunion is going great”.

Шорена (С5) и Нина (С4) летели на Памир через Бишкек и Алматы. Рано утром мы позавтракали и отправили их в Алматы с Бакытом (С4).

В Алмате к ним присоединился Рати (С6), который летел на Памир через Коч и делился потом впечатлениями о седьмой СЕЛА, они конечно же great but CELA 6 was much better : )

Кстати, Мехри (С6) прилетела по работе из Ашхабада в Бишкек – будем сегодня вечером ужинать-с....

CELA is so short, and so long

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:47:16 GMT

Another year, another CELA gone by!

Unfortunately, I departed before I could get any photos of graduation off of Bill's camera. I guess you will have to scour the network for someone with those photos!

Adam is already looking forward to CELA-8. It's true that being a visionary is easier when you have a couple great pairs of glasses.

But really, graduation is less about the sights than it is about the words. Adam made a speech divulging his "secret"--that CELA is actually a prison camp--until we were nearly convinced that we should rejoice about leaving. But then Bill started handing out diplomas while accompanied by the usual clapping, shouting of descriptive words, and roaring laughter (and the perhaps more unusual phenomena of an Afghan participant inviting several of the female participants to his country). Anyway, we soon remembered that we were actually sad to see CELA end. I would like to paraphrase one part of a speech which one of the participants gave at graduation (I think Eka said this, but please correct me if I am wrong):

Before I came to CELA, I thought that I was great. During CELA, I realized that we are great. Now, I know that life is great.

Pulod's birthday happened to be on one of the last days of the program.

And we all thought that Mansur's hair NEVER got messy!!

Aynabat and Eric had a quasi-marriage at the barbecue during the program, but their real wedding is happening soon, on 16 August in Washington, DC.

Ipek organized a fantastic volleyball tournament.

The winning team.

Shukria let us see her beautiful smile more and more as the program progressed.

Hello and goodbye!

Please note that Obaid's photos are online at my web album: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cassondrapuls

Another note to CELA-7 people: If you add me as a friend on Facebook, I promise to tag you in some photos! My name on Facebook is Cassondra Puls.

Many thanks to Elvira for letting me use this blog, and I look forward to meeting everyone again someday!

More about CELA-7

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:04:10 GMT

It has been a busy, fun-filled past couple of days at CELA. We held the barbecue at the university president's house where we watched a series of great cultural presentations; we held the infamous beach exercise; and of course we danced the nights away...

Cheers from Ata and Aliya!

Anyway, I have posted some more photos at the same place as last time: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cassondrapuls

CELA-7 ends the day after tomorrow, but I will continue collecting photos until the end and will keep posting them online throughout the next week until the internet is filled with CELA faces and places. (Well, maybe not that much.) Also, a couple of participants have asked me how they can obtain movies that have been recorded during the course of the program. I do not have any movies, so if you want to see any--for instance, you probably already want to see again the amazing group dance which the Kyrgis performed--you should find a facilitator or fellow participant with a video camera (try Bill Starnes, Zaland, or Ermek).

Adam + Irina = Adamira!

Discussion centered around the question, What kind of leader does the world need now?

Another table of productive discussion...

Barack's intern senses are tingling!

Yana wonders, Why is everyone clapping for me???

After dark...

Me (Cassie) on the left and fellow intern Tory Grubbs.

Meral Egeman gave a charming presentation... And apparently she has many husbands??

Dildora in Uzbek traditional garb poses with Alice Lynch in American cowboy attire. Intern William Snyder said, "A picture like this has probably never been taken, ever."

Mehriban and Eka: "Look, stop arguing with us, you know we're right!"

Sergey and Gurgen with the president of Koc University.

Vusal practices his pose in front of the flag in preparation for his campaign to become the president of Turkey.

The "Celalympics" featured a very competitive volleyball tournament. The "Inturnz" team may not have made it past the first round, but we were certainly the best dressed!

TTFN!

Lunch discussion in Bishkek

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:42:53 GMT

CELA – Kyrgyzstan had a lunch meeting today with Nourilya from CELA 3 who came back to Bishkek from London (where she is based) for a vacation. She also visited Tashkent several days ago where she met with Nadira and Elbek from CELA Uzbekistan.

Seaside Dinner, etc. (CELA-7)

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:23:58 GMT

Thanks to everyone for volunteering your photos! I uploaded photos of yesterday's presentations and last evening's fish dinner. You can find them here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cassondrapuls
I am also putting photo pages in the Storybook, so please keep providing your pictures.

The restaurant we ate at last night afforded a great view of the Bosphorus. Notice that Vusal Huseynov (front row, second from the left), who was a bit late in arriving, has now joined us.

A true leadership choice: should we use play-doh or crayons?

Peek-a-boo!

Good posterboard presentations require true artistry and teamwork...

...and fortunately, CELA-7 has that in abundance.

Ahmet Bozer, CEO of Coca-Cola Company in Turkey, gave a great speech on the subject of--you guessed it--leadership.

Atanazar, Hemra, and Jennet have an intense discussion on the difference between "Yes" in Indian and English.

Tory caught in the act!..of taking photos.

Uluk says: Peace out!

Pulod's Pics

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 09:40:47 GMT

The last few entries have been fun, but unfortunately I cannot upload all of the photos I would like onto this journal. To surmount this limitation, I am now uploading larger numbers of photos to a web album which you can access here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cassondrapuls/CELA19July02
CELA-7 friends, please provide me with your photos so that I can add them to this gallery (hopefully we won't run out of space too fast). Otherwise, you should check and see what the CELA staff (i.e., spies) have captured you doing!

(Intense concentration during a breakout session.)

Many thanks to Talgat Imangaliev (who helped me find a batch-editing program) and Pulod Amirbekov (who provided his photographs).

First, some shots from the first night of partying at the Alumni Club:

Armen Matirosyan dominated the dance floor when he arrived.

Dancing, dancing...

Armen, Rita, and Raihkan dance while Samir looks on.

I wanted to get more photos, but someone dragged me into the dancing fray.
Some random shots...

Interns Tory and Lindsey hitting the hard liquor (i.e., water) after a long, slow day in the office.

Saodat acquaints herself with Mr. Koc...

...although he and Sam Norwood are already close friends.

Cheers from Cassie the Intern!

Class Picture and Banquet (CELA-7)

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:41:54 GMT

Last night, CELA-7 congregated for a long night of photos, wine, and dancing. After much shuffling, giggling, squirming, and blinking, we even managed to take the group photo--with the incentive that cocktails would be served after it was taken.

The group photo. Tell me (Cassie) if you find anyone blinking!

First, some photos from the daytime:

CELA invades Koc campus: Talant, Zaland, Wardak, and Obaid

Armen and Teona enjoy lovely Istanbul weather... It is hard to believe that just a couple days ago it was pouring rain!

Talant tells Malika and Wardok about his "defining moment."

Another story session.

Finally, everyone departed from their breakout groups to wash up and dress up. Then, we met up in front of the Clock Tower.

Here we see the Koc University mafia: Sardor, John, and Pulod

A large group photo with facilitators, storywriters, and participants Atanazar, Pulok, Teona, Armen, and Shukria

Ipek, Susan, Tory, Saodat, Lindsey, Shukria, and Anna

Breakout Group 3.

Buck, Malika, Barok, Saodat, Rita, Lindsey, Tory, and Sergey

Raikhan, Lexo, and Yana

Faculty member Clark Plexico is right where he likes to be: between two tall, beautiful women Rita and Irina.

As it was becoming dark outside, we moved into Founder's Hall to eat our buffet dinner...

Everyone admired the CELA-1 rug in Founder's Hall. It was this rug in which Aynabat was purportedly "delivered" to Adam (or so says Adam).

Then we took our seats in the beautiful dining hall.

Group photo!

A "clink" between Sardor and Stewart Dansby.

Armen does not let the camera distract him from enjoying his dessert.

Shukria, Obaid, and Cassie (yay, I am finally in a photo instead of behind the camera!)

Staff photo: Lindsey, Tamer, Tory, and Barok

Shelby Grubbs, Atanazar, and Jennet

Facilitator Peter Gans says, "Enough pictures!"

Again, sorry for any mistakes I may have made in the comments. Look back here again for photos of the dance party in the Founder's Club bar (three words: Facilitators Gone Wild) and other fabulous CELA adventures... TTFN!

Bill's Photos (CELA-7)

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:09:54 GMT

Thanks to Bill Starnes (the faculty director), we have more photos from yesterday's event and a few from today's activities.

(This is not Bill, this is Satkyn Beketaeva.)

First, some portraits from last evening:

Faiz Zaland

Saodat Asanova

Zaur Mammadov

Ermek Niyazov

Yana Lokteva and Eka Grigalava

Adam with Dame Barbara

Obaid Nejati

After Dame Barbara Hay's speech and the question-answer session, she showed us the medals she received from the Queen of England and posed for photos with CELA people including...

...Dildora Abidjanova and Guzal Kamalova...

...Zaur Mammadov...

...Muzaffar...

...and Pulod Amirbekov, Rita Kurbonbekova, and Uluk Kydyrbaev.

Finally, the participants were sorted into groups of two in order to prepare paired introductions--each partner introduces the other. Satkyn introduced us to Armen Matirosyan...

... and Raikhan Sabirova introduced us to Teona Mikadze.

The next day, participants enjoyed cookies, pastries, and tea between break-out sessions.

An intense discussion?

Laura Stoddard (facilitator) and Mehriban sit next to a CELA bag. The bags this year are stylish and sturdy; however, as Muzaffar complained, the zippers are sub-par.

Tamer and Aynabat present Lindsey and Tory, amazing napping interns.

Tonight is the buffet dinner in Founder's Hall, so look forward to photographs of CELA people drinking cocktails and wearing fancy dresses...

TTFN! (Taa-taa for now!)

CELA-7: Day 1

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:13:30 GMT

This year's CELA had its usual triumphant start. Networking is already achieving great results. For instance, a productive synergy resulted when Barry Crossman (facilitator) provided his surplus laundry detergent to Obaid Nejati (participant, Afghanistan), who reciprocated by offering his fabric softener. We're sure that other fruitful laundry-cleaning partnerships will be formed throughout the course of CELA.

Without further ado, here are the photos. Advance apologies for any mistakes!

First, the staff, facilitators, faculty, etc.:

Above: Facilitators, faculty, and storywriters during a competitive and stimulating game of Country Jeopardy.

Our staffmember and friend Muzaffar Atamirzaev looking cheerful.

Interns William "Buck" Snyder, Ipek, and Burak in the CELA office.

A characteristic Adam Albion gesture. "And there, my friends, are the eight reasons why striped shirts are fabulous."

Aynabat Yaylymova and Tamer Yilmaz--or "The Boss" and "The God" as they are known by the staff.

Ipek Benek, our intern extraordinaire from Koc University, can not only answer two phones at once but can also solve any and all baggage, food, and internet connection problems.

Three of the five intern girls. From front to back: Lindsey Hallock, Susan Dansby, and Tory Grubbs.

Burak, another Koc University intern, says "I went through hell to get this fan."

The Iriyamas and other facultymembers in the lecture hall.

Facilitator Meade Sutterfield decided to check his messages on Facebook rather than listen to Bill Starnes' administrative lecture.

Meanwhile, Joel Cowan took a little nap.

Storywriters Noriko Iriyama and Alice Lynch munch on pizza while...

...storywriter matriarch Donna Starnes leads the storywriting orientation meeting.

The participants just arrived yesterday, so look for some more photos of them in the coming days as we become more familiar with each other. For now, here are a few shots:

All participants take their seats in the lecture hall.

Mehriban Rahimli's birthday landed on the first day of the program (16 July), so CELA presented her with a lovely bouquet of flowers.

She was overjoyed!

Atanazar Akatov, Faiz Zaland, and Mansur Bustoni.

Lexo Khubulava, Fazel Wardak, and Saodat Asanova discover their break-out room for the first time.

Lecture hall again.

Berry Crossman and Talgat Imangaliyev.

Talgat Imangaliyev (Kazakhstan), Gurgen Potikyan (Armenia), and Sergey Vardanyan (Armenia) enjoy fish dinner in Sariyer.

Everyone gathers for an evening event featuring...

...Dame Barbara Hay, who gave a great speech that night. Here she is posing with the Kyrgis contingent. (In no particular order): Uluk Kydyrbaev, Aliya Turumbekova, Ermek Niyazov, Satkyn Beketaeva, Talantbek Omuraliev.

Check back here soon for more updates from CELA-7!

СЕЛА 7 и всяко..

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:57:22 GMT

СЕЛА – 7 движется полным ходом. Народ уже прибывает в Стамбул. Улук из Кыргызстана немного «застрял» в аэропорту, но новые технологии помогли ему красиво выбраться. Туркменов будет только трое, казахов четверо (один не смог поехать), вот, казахи кстати с кыргызами пили кофа в понедельник. Кочевые народы пью кофе, и беседуют о планах на лето…

Незапланированная тусовка ожидается в следующие выходные (25-27 июля) на Иссык-Куле, по всем вопросам обращаться к: http://larissapak.blogspot.com/ небольшая группа грузинских красавиц прибудет 27-го в Бишкек на завтра и потом в сопровождении нашего консула направится в Алматы на обед и затем на Памир. Такие вот у нас новости!

Glimpses of CELA

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:06:36 GMT

Интервью с селавиком из Баку - Айбениз Мамедовой. Замечательное вступление:

Айбениз Мамедова - интересный собеседник. Закончила университет "Хазар" по специальности "Международные отношения". Училась в Манчестерском университете и получила степень магистра по международному развитию. В настоящее время работает в проекте USAID (Агентство международного развития США) - "Азербайджанская парламентская программа" (АПП), отвечает за направление "отношения парламент-гражданин". Одновременно готовит книгу о парламенте. В беседе с ней чувствуется ее желание видеть отечественный парламент более динамичным, близким к народу, совершенным. Есть у А.Мамедовой, как говорили раньше, и общественная нагрузка. Она председатель Объединения азербайджанских выпускников английских вузов. И все-таки наш разговор в основном строился вокруг парламента Азербайджана и деятельности наших депутатов.

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? (Humor)

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:09:11 GMT

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

-- Yogi Berra, N.Y. Yankee Hall of Fame baseball catcher

When I returned from my monthly travels, the following came across my desk from an ML2 reader. As I've observed that the U.S. political election has captured international attention, I felt it quite apropos. Here are responses to an age-old question by some U.S. politicians, followed by other authorities. The point: Your perspective on life, on whether something is an opportunity or an obstacle, determines more than you might realize…

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us or for us. There is no middle ground here.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure– right from Day One! – that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me...

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth?' That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

AL GORE: I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but also will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C% ...reboot.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

"There are three kinds of intelligence — human, animal, and military."

-- Aldous Huxley, futurist author

Glimpses of CELA

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:06:54 GMT

CELA folks (Aybeniz, Vahan, Kadyr, Aynabat, Gauhar) had a special session in Washington DC. They are sitting in a circle, silently meditating on the picture of a cow. This is what leaders really do! The cow meditation will be incorporated into CELA 7 program.