Uzbekistan, stand up!

[SobaViolence]

Observer (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1484252,00.html)

The violence that has reportedly killed hundreds of protesters in eastern Uzbekistan appeared to be spreading to neighbouring towns last night, raising fears that the volatile Central Asian state could erupt into a full-scale revolution.

[Whois]

Sounds like they are standing up, it's the bullets that keep knocking them back down.

The Uzbeks are a great people, they'll win in the end.

[Ali]

The Uzbeks are a great people, they'll win in the end.Do they have oil?

[ms.peachy]

Do they have oil?

They have an airbase right next to Afghanistan that they let us use.

The people of Uzbekistan (not all of whom are Uzbeks, but they are the majority) are, from what mr.peachy tells me, indeed interesting. He has tremendous admiration for the ordinary Uzbekis that he is working with. The daily tribulations that some of their most educated, professional people endure are sometimes startling. It does make me nervous that he has to travel in this region of the world though.

[Funkaloyd]

What does he do?

[ms.peachy]

He's an architect. His company is involved in a big project outside of Tashkent at the moment, so he goes there about every 3 months to meet with the local architects, engineers and builders.