Taking offence, Turkish style

Offending Turkishness and common sense

October 14, 2009 — Istanbul

Writer: Matthew Brunwasser

Turkey is schizophrenic about human rights. The country has made important steps towards protecting minority rights at home and reducing conflict in the region. But at the same time it continues to brutally silence critics – unable to tolerate either political opposition or those who challenge the myths of the Turkish nation. Continue reading →

Socialist Coalition Loses in Bulgaria Election

July 6, 2009

Socialist Coalition Loses in Bulgaria Election

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Mayor Boyko Borisov of Sofia, a burly former black-belt bodyguard with a penchant for tough talk, cigars and leather jackets, led his center-right opposition party to a larger-than-expected election victory on Sunday over Bulgaria’s governing Socialist-led coalition, which was weakened by a severely deteriorating economy and voter fatigue with chronic corruption. Continue reading “Socialist Coalition Loses in Bulgaria Election” →

Kosovo Ex-Prime Minister Arrested on War Crimes

June 25, 2009

By DAN BILEFSKY and MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

PRAGUE — The former prime minister of Kosovo, Agim Ceku, a former rebel commander wanted in Serbia on war crimes charges, has been arrested in Bulgaria, Bulgarian officials announced Wednesday.

Continue reading “Kosovo Ex-Prime Minister Arrested on War Crimes” →

Discovering Walrus Sexuality

Not much is known about the walrus since the animals inhabit some of Earth’s most remote places. But researchers are beginning to observe some remarkable things about walrus behavior: not only are they very musical, but they are also very gregarious and sexual. Matthew Brunwasser reports. Continue reading “Discovering Walrus Sexuality” →

California Community Declares War On Woodpeckers

Broadcast on NPR – All Things Considered

Woody Woodpecker, the screwball cartoon character, is famous for his constant pecking. His creators modeled him on the real-life acorn woodpecker, and for good reason.

The residents of Rossmoor, an upscale retirement community east of San Francisco, have for years tried peaceful means to make the pesky birds go away. But now, it’s war. Continue reading “California Community Declares War On Woodpeckers” →

Of Bears and Men

For centuries, captive bears have made money for their gypsy owners by dancing in the streets of Europe. But thanks to the efforts of actress Bridget Bardot and an Austrian animal rights group, the last of the dancing bears have been placed in a cushy retirement home in the mountains of Bulgaria. And, as reporter Matthew Brunwasser reports, that isn’t sitting well with some of the local humans. Continue reading “Of Bears and Men” →

Memo From Pravda: In Eastern Europe, Lives Languish in Mental Facilities

January 5, 2009

Memo From Pravda

In Eastern Europe, Lives Languish in Mental Facilities

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

PRAVDA, Bulgaria — The name of this isolated spot in the lush Danube plains means justice or, in Russian, truth.

But little of either seems to have penetrated the home for men with mental disabilities and illnesses here, a bleak establishment reached most easily by a bone-jarring, six-hour ride from Sofia, the capital.

In the Communist era, this is where authorities hid the mentally ill from public view. Today, the Pravda Social Care Home for Men with Mental Disorders, a small complex of scrappy, two-story buildings, is still a favored destination for city folk to send away relatives with a mental illness or disability — and not worry about hearing from them again, employees and residents here say. Continue reading “Memo From Pravda: In Eastern Europe, Lives Languish in Mental Facilities” →

A Bulgarian care center for disabled children excels

VARNA, Bulgaria — State institutions in Eastern Europe devoted to the care of children and the disadvantaged are most often the subject of negative news stories in Western media.

So after the British Broadcasting Corp. aired an upsetting documentary last year about conditions at a home for mentally impaired orphans, advocates for the disabled were relieved they could focus attention on good practices and all point to Karin Dom, a nonprofit day care center for children with mental and physical disabilities. Continue reading “A Bulgarian care center for disabled children excels” →

Macedonia dispute has an Asian flavor

SKOPJE, Macedonia — It is one of Europe’s most bizarre – and stubborn – international disputes, and certainly the only one that invokes an argument about Asian tribes stretching back to Alexander the Great. Continue reading “Macedonia dispute has an Asian flavor” →

A Book Peels Back Some Layers of a Cold War Mystery

September 11, 2009

Sofia Journal

A Book Peels Back Some Layers of a Cold War Mystery

By MATTHEW BRUNWASSER

SOFIA, Bulgaria — It was one of the legends of the cold war: a Bulgarian dissident writer, Georgi Markov, dying in a London hospital of a mysterious fever after being injected with a poison pellet from a specially adapted umbrella as he walked to work across Waterloo Bridge.

A prominent novelist in his native land when he defected to the West in 1969, Mr. Markov had become a journalist at the BBC’s Bulgarian service and an unflinching critic of Communist rule and Bulgaria’s longtime leader, Todor Zhivkov. Continue reading “A Book Peels Back Some Layers of a Cold War Mystery” →