Stories about Governance from May, 2006
Bermuda: Parliamentary alibis
The Limey cites several examples of equivocation on the part of Bermuda's MP's over their failure to debate an important amendment to the Human Rights Act last week, and reports that a rally is being organised to protest the lack of debate among the MPs. Christian Dunleavy reproduces on his...
Canada: A legal on illegals
Jdid, a Barbadian immigrant living in Toronto, has very mixed feelings about the protests against the deportation of illegals which took place recently in Canada. “I feel badly for someone who built up a life here and then had it cruelly plucked from beneath them but at the same time...
Barbados: Labour party blogging
Barbados's incumbent Barbados Labour Party seems to have taken to blogging like a fish to water — at least for now. Four posts in the last four days, on topics such as why the “two major media organizations” in the UK and the USA contacted blog Barbados Free Press for...
Bahamas: Development proposal
Residents of a small community in the Bahamas vote against a proposal which would have helped “preserve the character of local communities”. Larry Smith says the proposal's “scope, bureaucratic complexity and level of detail” may be to blame, “and, of course, we should not overlook the ever-present influence of party...
Mongolia: Defining Corruption
Luke Distelhorst writes that Mongolia's parliament had quite a hard time making any progress on their anti-corruption bill as they got bogged down in trying to define corruption.
Iraq: Incomplete cabinet
Observers and Mohammed do not expect any considerable progress to happen soon and it seems that there will be more obstacles to deal with before the cabinet is complete. It makes Mohammed feels that the sound and smoke of explosions in Baghdad were not enough to wake up our politicians...
Egypt: Hunger Strike Escalates
Hossam el-Hamalawy report that the Egyptian prison authorities cracked down on the hunger-striking detainees in Tora, as the strike escalated, with 13 activists in total taking action on its second day. The strike started on Saturday night/Sunday morning, with six detainees refusing to eat. The prisoners made it clear to...
Serbia & Montenegro: Referendum's Potential Consequences
Srdjan Cvijic of The TransAtlantic Assembly writes on potential geopolitical consequences of the Montenegro vote: “Independence of Montenegro, inevitable nourishes independence aspirations of other territorial entities across Europe and the World.”
Indonesia: Quake Proof Housing
SarapanEkonomi wants the Indonesia government to make people aware of the importance of building earthquake proof houses. The blogger also asks the government to encourage people in quake-prone area to buy disaster insurance by giving them tax breaks.
Singapore: All Talk, No Action
Lionel is irritated with armchair politicians – the people who find it easy to complain but shy away when it comes to doing something. “I'm sure you have encountered your fair share of the Singapore armchair politician: standing on a pedestal on an ivory tower and espousing nuggets of information...
Latvia: Second Gay Pride Parade
All About Latvia writes about the politics of this year's gay pride parade (to be held in Riga on July 22): “For political parties who objected the march last year, this will be a chance to win over the hearts of the skeptical public for the fall parliamentary elections by...
Russia: “Moscow Has Lost Its Pride”
Vilhelm Konnander and Ufa Blog discuss the failure to hold the first gay pride parade in Moscow.
Czech Republic: Montenegro Vote and the Split of Czechoslovakia
Dana of My Czech Republic Blog is reminded by the recent vote in Montenegro of the lack of a similar vote in what used to be Czechoslovakia: “We were not asked whether or not we wanted to be divided from each other at all. The politicians decided for us. I...
Slovenia: President's Book Review
AlesS of A Little Blog For a Restless Mind reviews a book written by Janez Drnovsek, Slovenia's president: Thoughts on Life and Awareness. “To me the president with this book seems like a freshman that hasn't even yet passed the first grade of buddhism, yet already wants to teach (preach...
Russia: “And You Call It A Gay [Pride] Parade?”
This past Saturday marked the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia, and a number of people attempted to take part in a gay pride parade in Moscow – despite the ban by a city court and mayor Yuri Luzhkov's words from the day before: “As long as...
Indonesia: Earthquake Relief
The World Wide Help team has set up Java Quake Help Wiki. The team is looking for online volunteers to help them with content and translation on the wiki as well as helping spread the word about the wiki. If you are interested you can email javaquake (at) worldwidehelp.info.
China: Memo attacks FLG
In ‘Talking Point: Chinese statement on the banning of the FLG spiritual movement,’ the AngryChineseBlogger posts a memo sent out by Chinese embassies earlier this month in a bid to further discredit the spiritual group, as well as the part of China's constitution which this blogger says protects them.
From the West African Blogosphere
A student in the University of Ghana blogs at Africa Update and is painting a brief sketch of what final exams are like, in the university. now, do remember that the university of ghana is considered to be one of the best universities in africa. one of my profs went...
Colombia: President Uribe Reelected in Landslide
In a landslide decision (66% compared to runner-up Carlos Gaviria's 22%), Colombians went to the polls on Sunday and reelected President Álvaro Uribe. Here is a selection of what Colombian bloggers had to say about his victory. Gabriel Goldo is ecstatic [ES]. La Democracia habló, esperemos la pronta paz en...
Martinique: Boat Parking in the Way of Beach Enjoyment
Bien Vu complains (Fr) that a Martiniquan municipality is prioritizing the parking of catamarans along a local beach over the comfort and enjoyment of bathers in order to generate revenue.
