Stories about Governance from May, 2007
Latvia: Doctor to Become President
All About Latvia reports on the election of the new president: “And this is the first time in my recent memory, the Parliament voted in a person opposed by so many organizations.”
Russia: Off-the-Beaten-Path Research
Darkness at Noon blogs on his scientific research from “a run-down bus station in a little village about 2 hours outside of Lipetsk, which is itself about 10 hours from Moscow by train”: “Never did I think I would long for Moscow so intensely, but after a week in and...
Russia: Export of Bio Specimens Banned
Russia bans export of biological specimens, Siberian Light reports.
Ukraine: Kyiv Mayor and Orphans
Scenes from the Sidewalk reports on Kyiv City Administration's attempts to deal with the problem of orphaned children in Kyiv.
Bolivia: A Country Unites Behind FIFA Ban on Stadiums at High Altitudes
Stadiums located at 2500 m above sea level are no longer able to host international football matches according to a recent FIFA ban. This move sent the Bolivian government into a full-fledged campaign to overturn this decision, which would jeopardize the Bolivian National Team's chances to qualify for the next World Cup. Bloggers from all across Bolivia and of all political ideologies joined the cause.
Russia, Austria: Raiffeisen, Murder and Money Laundering
Robert Amsterdam writes about the alleged ties of Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB) of Austria to murder and money laundering in Russia.
Zimbabwe: inflation exceeds 10,000%
“The Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s economics spokesperson, Eddie Cross, says that judging from his own bakery business in Bulawayo the country’s inflation rate now exceeds 10 000%. In his regular newsletter on Wednesday, he said that he was told by a supplier that flour for his bakery would...
Syria: Assad for a second term with the “approval” of 97.68%
President Bashar Assad won his second term in office by a landslide. 97.62% voted “Yes” on the presidential referendum this week. Andre of Flight of Ideas, cannot comprehend though how the turnout could reach 95.86% of the eligible voters, as the ministry of interior had said earlier. “in comparison with...
Oman: Shura Questions
Omani blogger Sleepless in Muscat discusses the affairs if the Sultanate here. “Then there is the other side of the story that has so many questions and queries to ask and begs to differ with the situation at hand. The fact that our country has come a long way in...
Oman: Minimum Wage and Omanisation
Omani blogger Suburban questions the effectiveness of setting an Omanization quota for corporations in order to reduce the reliance on expatriate labour and provide greater work opportunities for Omani national citizens. Suburban argues that the stringent rules for laying off non-performing Omani employees along with the proposed increase in the...
Japan: “Thought Check” Screening for Citizen Judges
While news in Japan this week has been understandably fixated on the sensational suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka Toshikatsu, another story revealed in a blog entry by Diet member Hosaka Nobuto slipped by with little fanfare last weekend. In the post, Hosaka outlines the latest step in moves by the government to implement a "citizen judge system" in Japan. This step, he claims, would allow the prosecution to effectively disqualify, through a "thought check" screening process, all citizens judge candidates who express doubt about the trustworthiness of police investigations.
Hong Kong: Migration of Websites
Duke of Aberdeen comments on the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority's advice of the suspected “indecent” photo at inmediahk.net, and points out that one of the consequence is a migration wave of website hosting out of Hong Kong as the government is targeting on local ISP and BSP (zh).
Hong Kong: Censorship Bureaucrats
Roland Snoog has translated the article from Inmediahk.net on the author's encounter with the staff from the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) who gave an “advice” to the website to remove a nude photo. See also ESWN
Panama: Political Season Heating Up, The Return of Noriega, and Crime in Panama: a Love Story
Presidential elections in Panama are not scheduled until May 2009, but bloggers are already keeping a watchful eye out for any developments. Another interesting turn of events that will arrive sooner than the elections is the expected release of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. Finally, in addition to blog entries about visas, travel and food, one blogger's hopeful encounter with a beautiful woman turns out to be something more unexpected and less appealing.
Ukraine: Internal Troops
“When Ukrainians send Troops to suppress protestors they never – thank God – seem to arrive. In Russia (and the remainder of the CIS) they always arrive and, as in Uzbekistan in 2005, they shoot to kill,” writes Taras Kuzio and shares ideas on how to transform Ukraine's “internal troops”...
Russia: Attacks on Gays and a British Diplomat
“This weekend marked yet another not particularly glorious episode in Russo-British relations, as one diplomat and two (well known) British gay rights activists were attacked in separate incidents,” writes Siberian Light.
Iran:Iran just what you would expect
View from Iran talks about how Iran has become the republic of fear.The blogger says it was the first time in our almost four years there that we saw life in Iran the way that people outside the country sometimes imagine it: as repressive and oppressive. The night before we...
Iran:What is going wrong between Iran and Egypt
Mohammad Ali Abtahi,former vice president,says “the issue of relationship between Iran and Egypt has developed several times but every time it has stopped for different reasons. One of the main reasons Egypt disagrees with such idea is the issue of Khalid Islambouli.”Istambouli arranged and carried out the assassination of the...
Corruption in Senegal
Le Blog Politique du Senegal posts data on the incidence of corruption in Senegal and reminds us that the definition of corruption differs around the world; in Senegal, the practice of exchanging gifts is deeply rooted in traditional culture.
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome
If you read nothing else in Global Voices today read this post. I mean it. Everything is here from going to schools in a war zone, review of the latest political scene in Iraq, must-see video blogs, stories of extreme bravery and extreme pathos, a $1000 KFC meal, and if you read to the end, how gays cruise in Amman.
Lithuania: Homophobia
Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about homophobia in Lithuania and a few other EU member states.
