Stories about Governance from March, 2010
Trinidad & Tobago: On Corruption
“On the day the Uff Report was submitted to a happy looking President, the Prime Minister suddenly realized the people needed more hospitals and Summits”: This Beach Called Life takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Trinidad and Tobago's political landscape.
Bermuda: Overspending
“It’s so simple that only a politician could miss it”: Vexed Bermoothes says that the Bermudian government must reduce its budget.
Sri Lanka: On April 2010 Parliamentary Elections
Devanesan Nesiah at Groundviews opines that the April 2010 Parliamentary Elections in Sri Lanka will be an opportunity for the voters in the North and East to engage themselves in the democratic process.
Bangladesh: Air-Conditioners Banned During Evening To Tackle Energy Shortage
Tacitaeterno at In The Middle Of Nowhere informs that the Bangladesh government has imposed restrictions on the usage of air conditioners during evening to control the stifling electricity shortage in the capital.
Brazil: “Sao Paulo, shithole of world”
In a post called “Sao Paulo, shithole of world”, Adriano Cintra from the band CSS, publishes a set of amazing pictures showing what happens when it rains in the biggest Latin American city, portraying the chaos the population has lived with since the beginning of the year.
China: Google.cn search blocked
Several twitterers, including @williamlong @geekinmedia @aHexie @terryxxy and @mranti, confirmed the blocking of google.cn's search in major cities, such as Beijing and Shenzhen in China. According to @mranti: Google search is blocked in Beijing. Any search will trigger reset.
Bermuda: Political Power
Politically, says 21 Square, “Bermuda is on the verge of either destruction or greatness.”
Afghanistan: Where all the donor money went
Nick Fielding analyzes the Afghan Finance Ministry's latest Donor Financial Review. The really interesting question is how much of all those billions is still in Afghanistan, he says.
Afghanistan: Government websites review
Nick Fielding reviews the Afghan governmental websites and finds that they are mostly moribund.
Uzbekistan: They Cancelled Navroz
Nathan Hamm informs his readers that public Navroz celebrations were cancelled in Uzbekistan – allegedly because of bad weather, but no official announcements were made about the cancellation.
Kazakhstan: Bloggers claim lack of state aid to flood victims
After a mudflow killed dozens of people in the villages south-east of Kazakhstan on March 11, many fear that other dams across the country may cause much harsher disasters in case of bursting.
China: The potential of Microblogging
Toadi from interlocals.net has translated a Beijing News’ interview with Hu Yong on the potential of micro-bogging in China.
Chile: New Government Makes Strong Presence on Twitter
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and his Cabinet are all on Twitter, which captured the attention of Chilean users of social media, but some are skeptical and cautious about how effective the communication will be.
University of the Philippines Controversies
The U.P. ISSUES, an alternative weblog that looks at the “view from the other side that never sees print in UP's official website,” posts commentaries, statements, and news reports on the controversial issues hounding the University of the Philippines, the country's premier state university.
Russia: Degrees and Dimensions of “Scandalous”
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog comments on the recent bribes/coke/girls video scandal: “Also, catching them bribing cops is hardly scandalous. If they offered the cops bribes and the cops refused now that would be scandalous! Anyway, isn’t the more important issue not Yashin, Oreshkin, and Fishman giving bribes, but...
Russia: Two Video Scandals
In Russia this week it has been hard to miss the two scandals that, at first, appear to have only one thing in common: both are centered around amateur videos published online. Heated discussions in the blogosphere and in other online venues are taking place on quite different orbits - which nevertheless do have one or two overlap points.
Bhutan: State Funding For Political Parties
Tshering Tobgay, the leader of opposition of the National Assembly of Bhutan, writes in his blog why it is dangerous to provide state funding for political parties.
Global Pulse 2010: An invitation to talk to decision makers online
From March 29 to 31, Global Pulse 2010 aims to gather over 20.000 people in an online conversation dealing with topics ranging from human development to science and technologies.
Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating Women in Technology and Transparency Worldwide
In celebration of Ada Lovelace Day we profile several women based around the world who use technology to to make government more transparent and accountable.
Sri Lanka: The Akon Controversy
A recent video of R&B singer-songwriter Akon featuring a group of scantly clad women dancing at a pool party in front of a Buddha statue caused much uproar in Sri Lanka. This became a hot topic in the Sri Lankan blogosphere.
Trinidad & Tobago: Money Done
“I yawned last night when the news on all local TV stations reported that the police, famous for being loyal to our incorruptible leader, raided UDeCOTT offices, Sunway International’s offices and the home of Calder Hart, possibly looking for remnants of The Treasury”: This Beach Called Life says that Trinidad...
