Stories about Governance from January, 2007
Ukraine: A Roundup
From Orange Ukraine, a roundup of Ukrainian political happenings.
Ukraine: Negative PACE Report
Foreign Notes quotes from a PACE report on Ukraine: “The political reality in today's Ukraine shows that, apart from the conduct of free and transparent elections in March 2006, the promises of the Maidan to introduce clean, honest and competent governance and promote the rule of law and transparency at...
Russia: Moscow's High-Rises
Russia Blog drives through Moscow's posh neighborhoods and posts the pictures.
Iran:Anti Iranian Government Ad on American TV
Haji Washington says that AFP,the American Foreign Policy Council,has sponsored and launched two ads against Iranian government on USA TV.One ad starts with Ahmadinejad's declaration against Holocaust and continues with the images of Iran-Iraq war.Then at the end, you see a key slogan:Iran ignores nuclear deadline. Ad invites you to...
Bangladesh: Drugs, Sex Education, Freedom of Press, Winter Fruits and Vegetables and Man-Eating Tigers
There seems to be no stopping drug frenzy once it takes hold of a nation. Drishtipat Group Blog tells how Yabba, a speed/amphetamine derivative from Thailand is taking on Bangladesh. It started a few years ago as experiments of the upper class. It has penetrated deeply into the working class...
Zimbabwe: latest on Zimbabwe
The Bearded Man's update on Zimbabwe, “After a few exchanges, one of the women digs deeper into her handbag and fishes out some cash that she discreetly hands over to the police officer. And with that, she buys her freedom.”
Kenya: courage is not enough
Mental Acrobatics on why courage is not enough, “Courage is not enough. We saw it from the youth, we saw it from Githongo. To succeed in your goals, you need strategy as well.”
Bangladesh: Demolition Drive
Adda on cleaning up the mess in Bangladesh. “For almost a week Bangladesh is undergoing a huge demolition drive. Bangladesh Police, the Army, and the Municipal Authorities across the country are working very diligently to demolish all illegal structures erected inside the cities and along the highways.”
Iran:Bus Drivers under Pressure
According to Otoobos2,Fazl Mazaheri,a bus driver was fired because of his participation in bus strike [Fa].
Iran:”Khatami has no plan to go Israel”
Mohammad Ali Abtahi,Khatami‘s friend and reformist politician, says “tonight one of the news agencies sent a text mail stating that the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot Has claimed that they have interviewed Mr Khatami in Davos and Mr Khatami has sent regards to Moshe Katsav, the Israeli president, as a fellow...
Chavez Plans to Revoke Station's Broadcast License in Venezuela
Los Amigos Invisibles con Patricia [at RCTV] by Alfredo Izaguirre F. Hugo Chavez, shortly after his re-election in December for a term of 6 more years of governance, announced that the license of a television channel, whose editorial line tends toward opposition, will not be renewed. Channel RCTV, with 52...
Romania: EU Residency Permit
Csikszereda Musings has just received his third residency permit for Romania in two years: “Because now, of course, Romania is in the EU, and my ability to stay here is determined by that new status. (Romanians can't stay in the UK longer than 3 months, but fortunately for me the...
Slovenia: Hospital Experience
The Glory of Carniola is forced to spend one night at a Slovenian hospital with his daughter – and ends up hating the experience: “Unfortunately, the boy had pissed all over himself in the meantime. I felt bad for not having gotten the nurse sooner, but in a way he...
Former Yugoslavia: Intermarriage
Halfway Down the Danube writes on “intermarriage, Yugoslav versus American style.”
Russia: Cops vs Tourists
Russia Blogs warns tourists of some of the dangers of Russia travel: “But there is also a dark side to the extended holidays for unsuspecting travelers visiting Russia’s cities – namely, Russian cops shaking down foreigners for bribes because they lack valid stamps on their visas.”
Senegal: Flooded by Chinese Products
Blog Politique du Senegal is worried (Fr)about imports from China “flooding” local markets: “China has extremely low production costs … By opening its doors wide to Chinese products, Senegal is preventing itself from developing a national production. Meanwhile, the country's industrialization is the only means of providing work to thousands...
India, Latin America: Bangalore, a Role Model?
Kamla Bhatt, a resident of Bangalore herself, is intrigued by an argument set forth by Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenheimer who calls the Indian tech metropolis a “role model for Latin America.” Boli-Nica, who usually writes in English, this time addressed [ES] his Spanish-speaking readers with a comparison of Oppenheimer's...
Russia: “Kremlin, Inc.”
Robert Amsterdam scans and posts a 14-page New Yorker article on Russia, which is not yet available online (“Kremlin, Inc.: Why are Vladimir Putin's Opponents Dying“).
The Iranian Nuclear Crisis
The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to impose sanctions against Iran over its failure to halt its uranium enrichment programme on December 23, 2006. Despite the gravity of the situation, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described the UN’s decision as unimportant and vowed to continue uranium enrichment. As a result,...
Latvia: Border Dispute
Marginalia writes about Latvia's border dispute with Russia and about “putting things in order”: “When a state “puts things in order,” it has a sad tendency to forget real people and real places, methinks.”
Former Soviet Union: Cockroaches and Living Conditions
Russian Marketing Blog writes about cockroaches and life in the former Soviet Union: “I don’t know if there’s any other country outside the Soviet block where doctors, drunks and mad babushkas live side by side.”
