Stories about Governance from May, 2008
Russia: Medvedev and 1999 Apartment Bombings
Lex Libertas links to an op-ed calling for president Dmitry Medvedev to start a new investigation of the 1999 apartment bombings in Russia.
Brazil: PeBodyCount joins Brazilian Disarmament Network
PEBodyCount blog [pt] is now officially a member of the “Brazilian Disarmament Network”, which brings together more than 40 entities. “The network will stimulate and strengthen the idea that carrying...
Ukraine, Russia: Personae Non Gratae
On May 12, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was declared persona non grata in Ukraine, following his calls for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. On May 15, Russia denied entry to Vladyslav Kaskiv, one of the leaders of the 2004 protests in Kyiv and member of the Our Ukraine/People's Self-Defense faction in the Ukrainian parliament. LJ user varfolomeev66, a Russian journalist, compares the two cases.
China: Earthquake Propaganda
Lao Sun from my1510 criticized the post-earthquake propaganda in creating a savior image of the Chinese Communist Party [zh].
Bangladesh: Compromised Media
Ever since Bangladesh was put under a state of emergency by an interim government supported by the military it was a testing time for Bangladesh media. The credibility of Bangladesh’s Bangla and English-language press is in question as their recent role seems biased and appeasing. This post discusses the degrading situation of the Bangladeshi media.
Paraguay: The Creation of a People's Union
Edgar Ruiz Díaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] writes about the change in power in Paraguay, and how many public workers will now try to convince the new administration...
India: Information and Terrorism
A former head of India’s external intelligence agency on strengthening institutions fighting terrorism. More at Vikram Sood's Perspectives.
Nepal: The monarchy's gone
The monarchy has been dismantled and Nepal has been declared a republic. More at Nepal Monitor.
Bermuda: Freedom or Manipulation?
Bermudian bloggers are incensed about the Premier's statement that making certain information public is “akin to asking a neural surgeon to come out of the operating room in the middle...
Europe: More on Eurovision
Belatedly, a link to a Eurovision report by BBC's Mark Mardell – and over 150 comments to his post.
Romania: Corruption
Transatlantic Politics writes about corruption in Eastern and Central Europe: “A survey made amongst Romanian judges showed that most of them don’t consider corruption as being a serious crime.”
Czech Republic: Cabs and Buses
The Czech Daily Word writes about cab drivers and public transportation system in the Czech Republic.
Hungary: Ferenc Szálasi
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Ferenc Szálasi and Hungarian nationalist politics – here and here: “Perhaps no one will be surprised to discover that the man who came up with “Hungarism”...
Greece: Macedonian Party
Say: Macedonia writes about the first congress of the Macedonian “Rainbow Party” in Greece.
Russia: “Medialogia”
Scraps of Moscow writes about Russian politics and the media: “Sometimes, though, mediologists, not meteorologists, are the best way of trying to figure out which way the political winds are...
Peru: Rate of Poverty Reduction Difficult to Believe
Juan Sheput of Mate Pastor [es] and other analysts are doubting the Peruvian National Statistic and Information Institute's announcement that poverty has decreased 5.2% over the course of the past...
Russia: Kaliningrad Region
Raf Uzar writes about the history of Kaliningrad region.
China: Chinese Red Cross on corruption watch
Bloggers continue to monitor earthquake corruption, as they wait for the truth to come out as to why so many school buildings collapsed so easily in this month's massive earthquake....
Armenia: Public Chamber
The Armenian Observer reports on plans to create a public chamber of NGOs, businessmen and public figures to help facilitate dialogue between the authorities and society. However, with most of...
Kyrgyzstan: Police Fighting Crime
The Azamat Report analyzes a recent news story about Kyrgyzstan's police effort to fight crime and particularly on its alleged “operation to expel” a notorious criminal leader, and says that...
China: No Corruption in Building Schools
The education ministry has denied corruption in the construction of school buildings in the Sichuan earthquake zone. The comments in Zhaomu's blog showed that no one believed in the official...
