Stories about Governance from October, 2007
Russia: Sochi Land Conflicts
Perspectives on the New Russia writes about the brewing conflict between the Russian state and individual property owners in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Ukraine: Political Urine
Ukrainiana writes about “a duel of urine samples” between one of the leaders of the pro-presidential bloc and Kyiv's mayor.
Ukraine: Construction in Kyiv; Catherine II in Odesa
Ukrainiana writes about “sardine-packed construction” in Kyiv and the dedication of the monument to Catherine II in Odesa – and posts videos of the related violence.
Ukraine: Svyatoslav Vakarchuk
Ukrainian Musical Matters writes about Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, lead singer of Okean Elzy band, his political views and political involvement.
India: All for a passport
30 in 2005 on applying for a passport at the Indian High Commission in London – the long queue, clueless people and the general bureaucracy.
Iran:Student Protest
According to[Fa] Salam Democrat blog, students demonstrated today in Alameh University in Tehran.The students asked that jailed students get freed.The blogger says seven other students were arrested today.
Bahamas: That Special Time of Year
Find out why Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com isn't so much into the Christmas spirit.
Russia: Remembering Victims of 1937; Podcasting Their Names
Seventy years since Stalin's Great Terror of 1937, many Russians are ignorant of their country's horrible past, Windows on Eurasia reports. Nevertheless, hundreds of people came to Lubyanka yesterday to read out the names of thousands of victims – and PODstantsiya, a podcasting project of the Moscow-based Foundation for Independent...
Russia: Dmitry Kozak's Replacement
Window on Eurasia writes about “Putin’s new man in the North Caucasus” and his methods.
China: Province scraps Hukou system
Jeremy Goldkorn at Danwei with breaking news of southwestern Yunnan province's plans to abandon the hukou system, implemented in the 1950s, making it the first province in China to do so: “This is significant news. The hukou system is one of the biggest problems migrant workers face in getting urban...
Russia: Artists for Khodorkovsky, Against Putin
Robert Amsterdam reports on a classical music concert in Paris in support of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other political prisoners, and on the anti-Putin part of the Russian community of “cultural figures.”
Russia, Ukraine: Corrupt Traffic Police
Mark MacKinnon writes about a recent encounter with corrupt traffic cops in Moscow and links to a New York Times story on one man's attempt to stand up to the law enforcement's unlawful behavior. English Russia reposts a Ukrainian blogger's cell phone pictures of how Ukrainian drivers “express their disagreement...
Poland: Roman Giertych's Out of Politics
The beatroot is wondering who he is going to “write about for the next two years,” now that Roman Giertych has been forced out of politics, along with his party, the League of Polish Families, which “got a miserable 1.3 percent in Sunday’s election.”
Poland: Islamic Cultural Center in Krakow?
The beatroot writes about plans to build an Islamic cultural center in Krakow.
Armenia: Gender Politics
With several examples in mind elsewhere around the world, Unzipped: Gay Armenia wonders if Armenia shouldn't have a woman president. Despite the patriarchal nature of Armenia and the Caucasus itself, the blog says that a female head of state might succeed in easing “tensions in our society and act as...
Bangladesh: General Moeen at Harvard
Voice of Bangladeshi Bloggers on General Moeen's “mysterious Harvard Seminar”.
Bangladesh: Changing Dhaka
a bengali in TO goes to Dhaka and observes some changes for the better.
Kazakhstan: Four Billion Dollars
Adam Kesher reports on the clarification on the recently announced government's measures to sustain the economy. Surprisingly, the explanation has arrived from the commercial bank's top officer, not from the government (ENG).
Philippines: Bribery scandal
Political analysts believe the Philippine government is desperately trying to cover-up an alleged bribery incident which happened inside the Malacañang presidential palace two weeks ago. Mong Palatino covers Filipino blogs commenting on this.
China: Culture and Salary Standard
Xueyong argues that the extremely low salary standard in China is a result of the degrading morality (zh). The planned economy has cultivated a de-personalized morality that lacks basic sympathy on other individuals.
Touring Libyan Blogs: October 26 -The Black Day and the Security Council
Why is October 26 called "Day of Mourning" or "Black Day" in Libya and how is it commemorated? Libyan bloggers tell us more about the occasion in this post by Fozia Mohamed.