Stories about Governance from April, 2009
Russia: Teen Curfew; Police Officer's Shooting Spree
President Dmitry Medvedev approved changes to children's rights law, allowing regional authorities to bar unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 from public places from 10 PM to 6 AM. Below are some reactions from the Russian blogosphere, including a few mentions of Denis Yevsyukov, a Moscow police officer who shot three people to death and wounded six at a supermarket on the day he turned 32.
Cayman Islands: Same Old
“This election has the potential to again be nothing more than ousting current politicians who do very little and replacing them with politicians who are entirely incapable of bringing their generalizations to life”: The Cayman Islands’ Blog Man is afraid it's politics as usual for his country's upcoming elections.
India: Not On The Voter List
“There are many I know who won’t be able to vote because their name is not on the electoral rolls”, wrote Rajesh Jain in his blog. Later during the day when the blogger went to vote in South Mumbai, he found that his name was missing in the Voter list.
Bhutan: Flood Threat
Tshering Tobgay reports that the river Gotu-chu, a tributary of the Pho-chu river had swollen which could trigger a possible flood downstream along the Pho-chu and Punasang-chu rivers in Bhutan. The blogger comments: “We now know that we are ‘not prepared’ to handle a flood in Punasang-chu.”
China: The Beijing Consensus
Few are calling China's overseas investment strategy a Consensus comparable to the Washinton/IMF model, so how then best to describe it? Tom Orlik at China Translated explores a few alternate understandings.
Morocco: Praising Al Jazeera
Cinema and Movies praises Al Jazeera for its excellent documentary on Ahmed el Marzouki, a former prisoner in Tazmamart, and the author of the memoir Tazmamart: Cellule 10.
Kazakhstan: Internet Regulation Amendments
Adam analyzes possible outcomes of the law on internet regulation, which is currently passed through the lower chamber of Kazakh Parliament.
Uzbekistan: $67, a price for heroism
Musafirbek informs from Uzbekistan that the country's president decreed to award veterans of WWII with a one-time pension of $67.
China: Ongoing urbanization
With the Olympics long gone, the gentrification of Beijing neighborhoods continues. “Still, the signs go up, the schools and shops close down, and jobs, education and the prospect of permanent residence are suspended,” writes changing china blogger Ray Deng in his two-part photo essay.
Azerbaijan: Police
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the continuing saga of Parviz Azimov, a youth activist recently expelled from his university. The blog notes that whereas the police usually concentrate on preventing serious criminals from carrying on their activities, in undemocratic countries they usually focus on youth and political activists...
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.
UAE: Torture video sends shock waves around the world
Last week, a grainy video from 2005 made headlines, shaking up viewers around the globe. The video, first shown on U.S.-based ABC News, showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan - brother of UAE's crown prince torturing an Afghan grain farmer, attacking him with a cattle prod then literally pouring salt on his wounds. Jillian C. York brings us reports from the blogosphere.
Egypt's First Independent Union Formed
Egypt's real estate tax collectors have formed their first independent trade union since 1957. In addition to local recognition, the union has won international legitimacy after being accepted in the international body Public Services International. One blogger follows the developments from their start until the moment of triumph - with hundreds of photographs.
Ecuador: President Correa Wins Reelection
With the majority of votes counted, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa appears to be headed towards re-election without the necessity of a run-off. His party, PAIS Alliance, also captured the majority of seats in the National Assembly giving it increased power in the country. However, there are a lot of still unresolved problems facing the nation, and Correa hopes his "21st Century Socialism" will help address these issues.
Mexico and Hong Kong: Fears over the fatal swine flu virus
I know I cannot affect your decision, but I understand your feeling at this moment as we are all Hong Kong people now on exchange in Mexico…..I really believe….we should leave now!!
Fiji: New rule creates thousands of retirees
A recent government decree in Fiji orders all civil servants 55 years and older must retire Thursday, April 30. The new rules affect any person working within Fiji’s government, police force and prisons service. Previously, those workers would be employed until turning 60.
Bermuda, Turks & Caicos: Better Representation
Vexed Bermoothes is disappointed in his Premier's performance at the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas: “I wish he had stuck to working for Bermudians’ benefit rather than playing cheerleader for the discredited TCI administration.”
Trinidad & Tobago: What's Happening?
Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is not pleased with recent developments in his home country: “Have criminals become so hardened that they wage war on children now?”
China: Tracking swine flu on Twitter
Swine flu for China so far is a chance to reflect [zh] on how SARS was prevented from becoming a pandemic, and the steps being taken now in Mexico and elsewhere. Wang Jiadong has a post [zh] looking at how social media have been used to track the spread of...
Central & Eastern Europe: Racism Roundup
The beatroot writes about Poland's boycott of the UN conference on fighting racism; Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian Guard and Holocaust denial; coverage of Slovenia's neo-Nazis – here and here, by Sleeping With Pengovsky, as well as here, by Piran Cafe; Borut Peterlin posts photos from an anti-fascist rally...
Russia: Sochi Election
Sean's Russia Blog writes about the results of the Sochi mayoral election.
