Stories about Governance from February, 2008
Serbia, Kosovo, U.S.: Diaspora Serbs
Reluctant Dragon and Gray Falcon offer two different perspectives on what it feels like being a Serb in the United States following Kosovo's declaration of independence.
Russia: Prince Harry and Local “Elite's Offspring”
Window on Eurasia writes about the Russians’ reaction to the news of Prince Harry's military service in Afghanistan.
Russia: Election Roundup
A roundup on Russia's upcoming presidential election: Mark MacKinnon writes on the 72 percent “target” for Medvedev; Megan Case writes about the reasons NOT to vote; Robert Amsterdam writes about betting on the Russian election, writer Victor Erofeyev's pro-Putin and pro-Medvedev op-ed in the New York Times, and more election...
Serbia, Kosovo: Lack of Trust
Balkan Anarchist writes at length about “the utter lack of inter-ethnic dialogue between Serbs and Albanians” in Kosovo.
Czech Republic: Foreign Minister
The Czech Daily Word writes about the Czech foreign minister, whose full title is “His Serene Highness The Prince of Schwarzenberg, Count of Sulz, Princely Landgrave in Klettgau and Duke of Krummau.”
Serbia: Window For Slovenian Embassy
East Ethnia reposts a photo of a new window presented to the Slovenian embassy by “the students of Belgrade.”
Kenya: Thank you Annan and team
After the power-sharing deal was announced, a caller to a local radio station was ecstatic and invited Kofi Annan and team to "nyama choma" (barbeque), another caller offered him two beers and another pronounced that Annan was the best angel God had sent to the people of Kenya. The level of excitement in the streets of Nairobi and Kisumu demonstrated that the worst is over, and that Kenya will possibly not tilt over the edge like it did in the last two months. The Kenyan blogosphere also paints a similiar picture.
China: Country with the world's biggest income gap
According to the latest Outlook Weekly, the Gini coefficient of China is growing up to 0.47, which is above the international warning line and much higher than that of most developing countries. It means the income gap between urban and rural residents is getting wider. Chenyuan26 [zh] thinks that the...
Barbados, Jamaica: Political Accountability
Living in Barbados thinks that the arrest of a former Jamaican Minister implicated in the Cuban lightbulb scandal “should shed light on what kind of government Bruce Golding is leading and what kind of democratic country Jamaica really is.”
Ukraine: Tymoshenko's Illness
Foreign Notes writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's illness and other problems.
Serbia: “Ray of Light in Tough Times”
Belgrade 2.0 posts a selection of photoshopped Kosovo-related parodies and writes: “If there’s one thing I always appreciated about Serbia and it’s turbulent times, it’s the people’s strenght to find something humorous in all that, no matter how bad the times are. It was like that during the sanctions, during...
Russia: Unaffordable Health Care
Window on Eurasia writes about the Russians who can't afford medical care.
Russia: Middle Class
Sean's Russia Blog writes about the Russian middle class.
Czech Republic: Health Minister Rescues a Pedestrian
The Czech Daily Word writes about how the Czech health minister's saved a pedestrian's life.
Kenya: Dear Kofi Annan…
Following the decision by Kofi Annan to suspend peace talks in Kenya, Kenyan blogger, wheremadnessresides decided to write a letter to him: “Dear Kofi Annan: There's a rumour that you're thinking of leaving Kenya. That you're fed up with our leaders and their madness. That you're up to here and beyond with all this nonsense. I can certainly understand why you would be sorely tempted. But please please please don't. Leave Kenya that is. You can't anyway. You promised, remember?"
Bermuda, Cayman Islands: Constitutional Change
Bermudan blogger Vexed Bermoothes, on learning that the Cayman Islands is updating its Constitution following “rigorous public consultation”, asks: “Are we just so used to corrupt governance that normalcy seems unusual?”
Jamaica: This and That
Jamaica and the World puts in her two cents’ worth on everything from a Minister being charged with fraud to the island's roller-coaster crime rate.
Ukraine: Public Education and the President's Kids
Ukrainiana writes about president Yushchenko's views on Ukrainian public education.
Poland: Giertych's Fear of Feminism
The beatroot reports on Maciej Giertych's fear of feminism.
Czech Republic: Czech Soldier Blogging From Iraq
The Czech Daily Word links to a Czech-language blog of a Czech soldier stationed in Iraq.
Russia: Ethnically-Motivated Violence
Moscow Through Brown Eyes reviews the coverage of a recent surge in ethnically-motivated violence in Moscow: “A month ago in my relatively sleepy bedroom community, a young Tadzhik citizen was stabbed thirty-six times. He died in the courtyard that my bedroom window looks out onto. I read about his attack...
