Stories about Governance from April, 2008
Japan: Nagano red for Olympic torch relay
The Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay came to an end on Saturday without serious incident, but many Japanese bloggers who attended the event were left with lasting -- and often bitter -- impressions. With all the red flags, many bloggers pointed out how Nagano, for one day, seemed to transform into China.
Iran:Toilets and Nuclear technology
Kaghz Pareh (means a piece of paper) says[Fa] that according to news sites Spain signed a contract with Iranian government to construct 1000 toilets in Iran. The blogger says I got surprised by this piece of news because each day government announces new inventions and progress in nuclear technology but...
Angola: The voting weapon
Cazimar [pt] echoes the news that the Chinese An Yue Jiang ship was allowed to dock in Luanda only to unload merchandise destined for Angola. The blogger asks Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos why he wants weaponry and call people to react: “Be careful with this delivery of weapons....
Indonesia: Food and agricultural policies
Youthful Insight reviews the food and agricultural policies of Indonesia
Cambodia: Rice production
Im Sokthy reports that Cambodia could be the world's largest rice-exporting country in the next few years
Malaysia: Squabble over welfare funds
NotaRazi asks whether it is correct to transfer out the money of a Malaysian state organization a few days after the state fell to the Opposition.
PangeaDay: Videos to change the world on May 10th
On May 10th 2008 at 18:00 GMT, 24 films will be broadcast during a 4 hour event. What makes this different is that this event, PangeaDay will be broadcast from six locations worldwide in seven different languages worldwide to be viewed through internet, television or cellphones with one unique purpose: to make each other know about the lives of others and focus on what makes us similar, instead of what makes us different and let us work together towards peace.
Cambodia: Where is social justice?
Carrie Martin asks: Where is justice in Cambodia?
China: Different Voices on the Upcoming Talk with Dalai Lama
The Xinhua news agency reported Friday that "In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai private representative in the coming days.” The report has provoked another new round of controversy on Dalai Lama among the Chinese netizens.
Russia: “Chernobyl's Other Victims”
Window on Eurasia writes about “Chernobyl's other victims” – “the thousands of people who exposed themselves to extraordinarily high levels of radiation while taking part in the clean up” and who now “find themselves not only sick as a result but largely forgotten by the successor governments to the regime...
Russia: Anti-NATO
Streetwise Professor writes about Russia's anti-NATO stance: “Fighting the last war is dangerous if you really have one. Preparing to fight the last war is not so deadly if no conflict is in prospect. The Russian leadership acts as if that is the case, and feels just fine about living...
Slovakia, Romania: Media Freedom
Edward Lucas of the Economist re-posts his piece on the “shrinking” of “media freedom” in Slovakia and Romania.
Estonia: “The Rubik's Cube of the Soviet Legacy”
Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia: “This country is complicated, but attempts to explain it to the outside world often fail. […] Estonia is closer than you think to solving the Rubik's Cube of the Soviet legacy. Let them work it out by themselves.”
Iran: Iranian Leader and mountain climbing
Khbarnegar Osoolgara has published a photo of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian Leader,in mountain.
China: City Control Team
Ceng ying commented that the city control team acted like an anti-government propaganda team when they rid the street vendors out of the city [zh].
Ukraine: Labor Migration
Ukrainiana explains why a social ad against labor migration currently being aired in Ukraine is actually no good: “Forget it, say millions of skilled blue-collar and thousands of white-collar Ukrainians who work abroad. Known as zarobitchany, they sent an estimated $8.4 billion worth of remittances to Ukraine in 2006, a...
Lithuania: Economy Update
Lituanica posts an update on Lithuania's economy.
Russia: Lenin's Mausoleum
Window on Eurasia reports on a Moscow clergyman's appeal to turn Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum into a “museum of the victims of Soviet power.”
Russia: Oil and Gas Industry
Two extensive posts on the Russian oil and gas industry – at White Sun of the Desert, here and here.
Russia: Kasyanov and Kremlin's Populism
Scraps of Moscow writes about Mikhail Kasyanov and the Kremlin's “populist rhetoric.”
Iran:Journalist under fire
According to Kamangir, Masih Alinejad, a female journalist, is under fire in Iran after she wrote about the similarity between dolphins dancing to their instructor and the crowd which gathers around when president Ahmadinejad goes to his numerous trips to under-developed areas.
