Stories about Governance from June, 2011
Peru: Peace Restored in Puno Following Agreements
Through the enforcement of recent statutes put in place by the executive, little by little peace is being restored in the Puno region after recent conflict and social unrest (both related to mining) that resulted in the death of 6 and more than 30 wounded and millions in material losses. Social networks are buzzing with commentary.
China: Local government budget, land seizure and social unrest
C. Custer from China Geeks explains the relation between local governments’ budget, forced demolition and social unrest in China. To pay back the 1.6 trillion debt, the blogger anticipates a...
India: Innocents Being Killed By BSF
Anshul Tewari at Youth Ki Awaaz highlights some examples which shows that innocents are being killed at will by Indian Border Security Force. The blogger opines that the Ministry of...
Spain: Hundreds Protest Against the Syrian Regime
Hundreds of people in Madrid, Spain demonstrated in support of the Syrian people. They demanded the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador in Spain, and that the Spanish government sanction the Syrian government, amidst the biggest crackdown against Syrian activists in decades.
Iran: Solidarity with Hunger Striking Prisoners
Protests were organized in at least 25 cities around the world on Saturday June 25, 2011, to show solidarity with the approximately 18 political prisoners who are on hunger strike at two Iranian prisons. The prisoners began their hunger strikes to protest the death of two political activists, Reza Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi.
Russia: Propagandist Videos Against Alexey Navalny Flood RuNet
Anti-corruption blogger Alexey Navalny publishes [ru] examples of propagandist videos against him. One video claims [ru] (150,000 views) Navalny is mentally ill and needs help from a Dr Kurpatov, famous...
Guinea: “Democracy, Backwards”
Guinean novelist Tierno Monénembo, who won the French literary award Prix Renaudot in 2008, examines the early record of the new President of Guinea, Prof. Alpha Conde, writing [fr] in...
Armenia: Animal Activists Demand End to Stray Dog Killings
In the last few days animal activists are making unprecedented use of social media in the South Caucasus by demanding that the inhumane killing of stray dogs end by flooding the Yerevan mayor's Facebook page with requests and appeals.
Ecuador's Growing Problem with Organized Crime
Bloggings by Boz, explains that “Ecuador is experiencing more violent and organized crime because of an increase in drug trafficking”, and points out: “The most recent surveys I saw in...
Azerbaijan: Photojournalist detained, deported
whatwaswritten, the blog of Global Voices author Leyla Najafli, translates a story from RFE's Azeri service reporting that Diana Markosyan, a photojournalist from Bloomberg, was detained at Baku airport earlier...
Cuba: Methodist Pastor Replaced
“When Cuba is free, those who accommodated, appeased and apologized for the Castro regime to preserve their own standing will not be absolved”: Uncommon Sense blogs about the actions of...
Bermuda: Fiscal Mismanagement
Vexed Bermoothes is appalled at the country's debt.
North Korea's Fragility in the Face of the Rainy Season
Open Radio for North Korea, a Seoul-based radio station founded and runs by North Korean defectors, reported that North Korean citizens have been mobilized to bolster constructions as rainy season...
Turkmenistan: The Tower of Media and Totalitarianism
Emerson writes that a 137 million euro television tower – both state-of-the-art and hypocritical – is set to be inaugurated in October in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. neweurasia’s Emerson...
South Korea: Typhoon Opening Doors to Nature's Revenge
A typhoon hit South Korea on June 25 and 26, bringing heavy downpours and gusts and signalling the start of the rainy season. At least nine people were killed and a bridge and a levee collapsed. Moreover, a leakage was reported on a landfill where livestock was buried during a recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
China: Canadian expat's reaction to the real-name registration for train ticket
Lost Laowai posts a video showing how a Canadian expat lost his temper when the train ticket office demanded him to show his passport when buying a train ticket.
Dominican Republic: The Ubiquity of Violence
Blogger Luijo comments [es] on how violence and crime have become a daily reality in Dominican Republic.
Puerto Rico: Fortuño Campaign vs. Al Jazeera Documentary
Technology and news blog Qiibo [es] launches an interesting debate [es] by comparing a video of governor Luis Fortuño's 2012 campaign and Al Jazeera's Fault Lines documentary “Puerto Rico: The...
Azerbaijan: Bakhtiyar Hajiyev Video Campaign
Supporters of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the Harvard graduate, parliamentary candidate, Facebook activist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience recently sentenced to two years in prison on what human rights groups consider to...
Haiti: BBBC Benefits in Question
An interesting post on Bill Clinton's housing initiative, Building Back Better Communities (BBBC), which “seeks to construct housing projects across the nation of Haiti”, but upon closer examination, “seems as...
Thailand: ‘Vote No’ Campaign
Thais will troop to the polls next week and although the opposition is leading in some surveys, there is still no certainty of any group clinching a landslide victory. Unusually, the election ballot has a ‘no’ option provided to voters, and a movement has been orchestrated by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), or Yellow Shirts, to encourage citizens to 'Vote No'.
