· August, 2006

Stories about Governance from August, 2006

Trinidad & Tobago: Independence Day

  31 August 2006

“Does anyone really ‘celebrate’ our Independence as a nation?” wonders Elspeth Duncan, as Trinidad and Tobago observes the 44th anniversary of its independence from Great Britain.

Guyana: Face of the nation

  31 August 2006

By analysing the facial expressions of Guyana's incumbent president Bharrat Jagdeo, Andy is “100% confident that he is the new president-elect of Guyana“.

Guyana: Ministerial reconstruction

  31 August 2006

Guyana's “ministries [of government] and their portfolios are outmoded, irrelevant and obscure,” says MediaCritic three days after the country's general election, as he reconstructs government and puts forward his own ministerial wish list.

Ethiopia: Ethiopian Politician hospitalised

  31 August 2006

Tale of corruption and official high-handedness is re-echoed by Ethio-Zagol, who seems rather pleased that Bereket Simon, “one of the most detested EPRDF politicians” in Ethiopia, is defraying the cost, via divine punishment, having been rushed to hospital in Israel. Even in a close shave with death their kleptomaniac fingers...

India: Linux and Coke

  30 August 2006

Nanopolitan on the recent move in Kerala on promoting open source and Linux in public institutions and how the issue is being fused with a rather disconnected one of the ban on Coke and Pepsi in the state.

Bermuda: Education & sustainable development

  30 August 2006

Christian S. Dunleavy congratulates an old schoolfriend on his decision to repay the scholarship funds granted him a decade ago; and questions the Bermuda government's decision to pave over a piece of parkland to create a location for a hospital.

Bahamas: The future in health

  30 August 2006

Sidney flashes forward to 2012, after the Bahamas’ government has implemented the National Health Plan towards which they are “proceeding with undue haste.”

Bahamas: Flat-earth policies

  30 August 2006

Riffing off of Thomas Friedman's bestseller, The Earth is Flat, Larry Smith discusses the Bahamas’ unpreparedness for participation in the current and future world order.

Venezuela: Expropriation of Golf Courses

  30 August 2006

Miguel Octavio, Daniel Duquenal, Feathers McGraw, Katy, and Publius Pundit on the expropriation of two Caracas golf courses by Mayor Juan Barreto. EGG says (ES), “while at least I never liked golf,” though he remembers that Che Guevara did.

Argentina: History of Utility (Companies)

  30 August 2006

Robert Wright has a fascinating reflection on the history of utility companies in Buenos Aires: “Wouldn’t it be great to see 3-D city maps (á la Google Earth) based on each particular utility? Eliminate everything but electric lines & take a look. Or just see gas lines. Or only water...

Dog attack opens up a can of worms

  30 August 2006

    AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD boy, mauled by a pack of stray dogs, told of the attack in an exclusive interview yesterday and demanded that strays be cleared off the streets. - Brunei Times, 30th August, 2006 Will the Government policy makers succumb to the wishes of this little boy? It...

Cuba: Between the lines

  30 August 2006

The Cuban news daily Granma reports that a Syrian ministerial delegation has been received in Cuba by Raul Castro — and Luis M. Garcia (and, presumably, other watchers of the Castro regime) try to figure out what it means: “We are a sad, pathetic bunch, I know … A bit...

Serbia: Unemployment and Low Salaries

  30 August 2006

While Serbian citizens are preoccupied with bare survival, the country's media and politicians focus on the need to extradite individuals wanted by the Hague tribunal. A few days ago, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica announced he would not put up with people like Mladic, who is accused of committing atrocities...

Rwanda: Public Transportation Problems in Kigali

  29 August 2006

From Rwanda, expat blogger Guillaume is worried about the state of public transportation in Kigali now that motorcycles are scarce (Fr): “To my great surprise (I only thought it partially possible), there are no more motos downtown nor on any of the main highways of Kigali since last monday. Secondary...