· January, 2007

Stories about Governance from January, 2007

CAFTA and WiMax in Costa Rica

  31 January 2007

Three articles stand out this week: The first describes events that are a glimpse of what we will see once the CAFTA discussions begin, the second denounces the newspapers for failing to report accurately on these same events, and the third stumbles upon a discovery of virtual private network (VPN)...

Trinidad & Tobago: A nation unravels

  31 January 2007

“How do you take back a country that at independence failed to take real responsibility for itself, whose fabric has been slowly unravelling ever since, and which now equates modernisation with a frantic rush towards industrialisation and “developed country status by 2020″?” asks Jeremy Taylor of his country, Trinidad and...

Poland: Politics

  31 January 2007

“This is not a deeply unpopular government at all. It’s supporters appear to quite like it,” writes Warsaw Station in a lengthy post (followed by a lengthy discussion).

Poland: Sex Scandal and Cronyism

  31 January 2007

Traveling Life writes about Poland's ongoing sex scandal and about yet another case of cronyism: “I know that each political appointee has an army of advisers to make sure he doesn't screw up too much. But at some point we have to ask when the sheer incompetence of political appointees...

Poland: LOT Airline

  31 January 2007

“LOT's passenger numbers have risen by less than 2 percent last year at the time when millions of Poles are traveling to work in Irland and Britain.” Polish Matters writes about plans to revive the ailing airline.

Kurdistance: The Kirkuk Referendum

  31 January 2007

While the Kirkuk Referendum isn't expected to take place until December 2007, it is creating waves within Kurdistan, Iraq and their neighbors. Why the flurry of activity now? The Iraq Study Report recommended that the referendum be delayed, citing the the area as a “powderkeg”. The Republic of Turkey wants...

Tanzania: snoozing thinkers

  31 January 2007

Tanzania In Focus blogs about Tanzania's snoozing “thinkers”: I don't want to sound like a genius, but I once blogged on the fact that ours is a snoozing government. I only didn't realize that some day, I will come to witness literal snoozing.

Nepal: Madhesh Is Burning

  31 January 2007

Madhesh is the southern plains of Nepal where half of the country lives. Madhesi are the people of Nepal, roughly half of the country. The Madhesi have been discriminated against for centuries. Now they are in a revolt that feels like the second part of the world shaking April Revolution....

Morocco: Too Many Policemen at Airport

  30 January 2007

Adil, a Moroccan blogger who lives in Washington DC, US, says there was far too many policemen at the King Mohammed the Fifth Airport. “I believe that airport is overstaffed with police. Passengers need more service oriented ppl to guide them through the arrival than a policeman with a moustache...

Sri Lanka: Life down South

  30 January 2007

groundviews goes to a village down south to catch glimpses of life and ask a few questions. “On the ethnic conflict, they said they didn’t want to see the country divided and that they believed the LTTE was an inhuman organization due to the acts of terrorism.

Malaysia: We Are Not Liars

  30 January 2007

Lucia Lai takes offence at her prime minister using the term “lairs” to describe bloggers who write negative posts about his leadership. “anyway, what is a lie? how do you define a lie? how can you tell that we lied? what made you think we lied? when we write something...

Maldives struggles with Chikungunya

  30 January 2007

Chikungunya, a viral fever accompanied with joint pains, is spreading throughout the Maldives. The disease was first noticed in the country in late 2006 and so far it has not been controlled. Maldives Today accuses the government of reacting slowly to this outbreak and not taking appropriate measures to combat...

China: civilized web

  30 January 2007

The China media project has a report on the Chinese government's recent move to develop a “civilized web”.

Ukraine, Romania: Serpent Island Dispute

  29 January 2007

Ukraine List writes about a Ukrainian-Romanian dispute over Serpent Island: “The island itself is just a small chunk of limestone (.17 km sq.) with a layer of topsoil. […] The geo-political history of the island is a bit complex […].”