Stories about Governance from October, 2009
Ukraine: Swine Flu (and Some Election Politics)
On Oct. 30, after a few days of alarming reports on an outbreak of respiratory illness in western Ukraine, the first swine flu-related death was confirmed, and PM Tymoshenko ordered Ukraine's schools closed and public gatherings banned for at least three weeks.
Bangladesh: Daylight Savings Time Confusion
Last June Bangladesh implemented Daylight Savings Time for the first time in the country. Expat blogger Meandering Memos writes about the confusion created among the citizens as the government has...
Trinidad & Tobago: National Pride?
Trinidad and Tobago bloggers react to news that a massive flag erected at the National Stadium may have cost TT $2 million.
Russia: “Twitter Against Tyrants”
Oleg Kozlovsky links to and quotes from the text of a briefing held by US Helsinki Commission/Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which included “a few recent examples of...
Russia: Riot Police vs “Senior Citizens”
Oleg Kozlovsky reports on a scandal that broke out after riot police used – during a drill – “water cannons, shock grenades, and tear gas” to disperse “a group of...
Slovakia, Hungary: “Linguistic Discontents”
Edward Lucas writes about the Slovak-Hungarian relations, including the “linguistic discontents.”
Slovenia, Croatia: Updates on Border Dispute
Sleeping With Pengovsky posts updates on the recent developments in the Slovenian-Croatian relations – here and here.
Egypt: The top 10 most influential people
Gamal Mubarak, son of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak -- who is expected to succeed his father -- was among the 2009 TIME 100 Finalists. Egyptian bloggers have their say in this post.
Maldives: The Price Of Environmental Activism
Maldives hosted the first underwater cabinet meeting to make people realize the threat of global warming and its effect on the country. Applauding the intention and activism behind this initiative...
Anguilla: No News is Bad News
“Six members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force arrested in the last five years. Traditionally, the Anguilla public administration operates under the assumption that any bad news is better not...
Jamaica: Police Corruption
“News of police corruption is sadly no surprise”: Letter from Jamaica wonders whether “we get the constabulary we deserve.”
Russia: Khodorkovsky's Case, 6 Years On
In The Huffington Post, Robert Amsterdam writes about Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case, six years on.
Ukraine: Charity
Scenes From the Sidewalk writes about an encounter with one of Kyiv's many homeless children – and posts photos from actress Olga Kurilenko's visit to a CrossRoads Foundation/ChildRescue's rehabilitation center....
Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia: “Dumping Grounds for People”
Dumping Grounds for People is a blog devoted to the results “of a four-months long journalistic investigation, conducted mostly undercover in ten institutions for adults with intellectual disabilities or mental...
Ukraine: Interview With A Drug Addict
David Sasaki shares thoughts on “engaging, not exoticizing human rights” and posts a video interview with Pavel Kutsev, a self-described “average drug addict” and “the co-founder of Drop-In Center, a...
Hungary: 1956
Hungarian Spectrum writes about an online collection of testimony (HUN) on the events of 1956, which “helped the western powers understand the Hungarian situation, not just events that occurred during...
Hungary: Dual Citizenship
Hungarian Spectrum writes about “a recurrent theme in Hungarian politics”: dual citizenship.
Hungary: Update on ‘Nap-Kelte’ Talk Show
Hungarian Spectrum posts an update on the situation around the Nap-kelte political talk show – and is “trying to make sense of Hungarian legal thinking.”
Cuba: Contemplating Change
“I think that for Cuba to transition to an open society from a society ‘with some emergency exits’, some of the people now occupying positions of power in the government...
Martinique: Debating over the statutory change
Martinican MontrayKreyol discusses the popular debates [Fr] over the change of institutional status of Martinique as a French overseas department.
Reunion: Creole becomes second official language
In the midst of the International Creole Month, Guadeloupean blogger CaribCreoleOne discusses [Fr] the now official use of Creole language alongside French in all the administrative procedures and places, in...
