Thanks to KZBlog for the heads up on this (check the post here) matter, as many will remember, Rakhat Aliyev fled to Austria to evade the Kazakh authorities, when he was finally accused of a range of crimes. See this search for previous posts that mention him, within this blog. The part about a separate military tribunal for the charges of planning a coup are new to me; though with America having previously proposed this sort of arrangement for terrorists, I suppose the Kazakh government judiciary has an answer ready for those that accuse it again of lack of transparency…
See the RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty article here.
Jan 18 2008
Aliyev Found Guilty, Even If Not Actually Present
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Dec 12 2007
Irina Leaving In 4 Hours
Ira will be driven to Astana airport, where she will fly to London, via Austria, for a meeting KMG has. The kittens have enough food in the cupboard, there is juice and water, the bills have been paid, and I’ve promised to not set fire to anything. Fingers crossed, all will be well 😉
Seriously, although my dearly beloved will be away, I have enough work to do, to keep me occupied, and I’ll be meeting up with David and another Chris this Friday, as David has arrived in Astana. (I say that, but the last I heard, his flight from Almaty was delayed. On a positive note, it turns out Almaty airport has free wi-fi available, so at least I know for the future that I can distract myself next time we fly through there.)
I hope Ira has a safe journey, a not too stressful time in London, a safe return, and that I manage to keep the flat in some semblance of tidiness…
Nov 17 2007
Happy Birthday Dad & Babushka…
Today is the birthday of my Dad, Babushka (Ira’s Dad’s Mum) and also Stargazer (if you don’t recognise the name, I’ll assume you have not been reading this blog for a long time, he is the Austrian author of my favourite plug in, and the man who toured Austria on a moped!).
Anyway, assuming the present and card arrive in time, I’m hoping Dad will enjoy them, though I won’t post what it was until I know for sure he has it, I don’t want to go spoiling the surprise 🙂
Once Irina has finished at work, we should be heading to the in-laws for a meal to celebrate Babushka’s birthday.
Anyway, congratulations to all three people, and I hope your day goes well, with family and friends around you to help share in the joy.
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Sep 07 2007
I Can’t Believe I Missed It!
As long term readers will know, I have been following a blogger’s preparations for a charity road trip in Austria. He is the author of my favourite plugin (WP-Headline Animator, see my “Extras” link at the top of each page), and his trip is to be on a moped.
Except it looks like I have missed the start of it 🙁 Check his site (StarBlog) for more details, but in case he has not yet completed his trip, I wish him the best of luck and a safe journey. All proceeds raised are going to a childrens charity, and the man himself is a bloody nice bloke, to quote a Harry Enfield character (Tim Nice-But-Dim?). I am not sure which logo won his contest in the end, nor when it ends. I’ve just checked the road trip specific section, but as I don’t know the total length of his journey, I can’t figure out when he will finish, even with the 200/300km per day target he has set.
Anyway, I am sure we will hear from him when he gets a moment to relax 🙂
Aug 16 2007
Don’t Vote For Me!
If you remember, I entered a competition over at StarGazer.at a while back. The blog owner (who also wrote the WP-HeadlineAnimator plug in 🙂 ) is going on a road trip across Austria for a children’s charity. On a moped! Anyway, the voting has now started on the various logos that have been submitted. I personally quite like the Arkion.de logo, and have voted for that. I personally submitted an entry at the beginning because there was only one other at the time, and I thought the post looked a little sparse. Anway, head over to the Austrian Road Trip logo competition and place your vote now.
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Jul 14 2007
Design A Logo For A Moped Road Trip
If you remember previous posts I have made regarding a crazy idea to tour Austria in a moped (& a trailer!), you may well be interested in a contest the mopedist is running to design a logo for this activity. You can read more details on the contest at his blog, the rules are simple, and you could end up with your artwork being the official logo.
For any new readers, this is not a sponsored post, long term readers will remember the author of the blog I have linked to is the man behind one of my favourite WordPress plugins – WP-HeadlineAnimator. I’ve written this post in the hope of encouraging a few more entries to his competition.
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May 04 2007
The Austrian Job…
Ready for an interesting idea?
How about a road trip across Austria?
STOP, come back…
PLEASE
thank you 🙂
Ok the unusual part is the choice of transport being used. Nothing as infeasible as a pogo stick or piggybacks from locals.
No, the idea is to traverse the country on a Yamaha Neo. Thats right, a 50cc engine to cross Austria!
The moped of choice is like the one in that picture but, wisely, a windshield has been added, to try and cut down on some of the splatter thrown up by the trucks trundling past.
You can check the project page for the Austrian Moped Trip for details, and see what still needs to be done. Fancy sponsoring the rider and getting some kudos and publicity? Contact him now 🙂
This post is NOT sponsored. The guy riding is the whizz behind my current favourite plug-in – WP-HeadlineAnimator, downloadable from here.