Stories about Governance from May, 2009
Bangladesh, India: No To Tipaimukh Dam
The Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Project is being constructed near the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers, in Manipur, India and within 100km of Bangladesh border. The project will submerge a huge portion of land, thereby making thousands of people homeless and threatening the habitats of Indigenous population in India. The downstream neighbor Bangladesh will also face severe environmental and economic consequences.
USA: The battle over medical marijuana
In the United States, 13 states currently allow citizens to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, but even these limited rights are under threat. In response, many Americans have created blogs to support and extend the legalization of marijuana.
Sri Lanka: Equality, Justice And Democracy
Rohini Hensman at Groundviews suggests that constitutional reforms should be initiated in Sri Lanka to remove discrimination and ensure real parity for Sinhala and Tamil population.
Mozambique: House of the Flying Azagaias
In Mozambique, rapper Azagaia has continued to fascinate and infuriate bloggers. His critics claim his political lyrics amount to demagoguery. Others defend his music, to which many Mozambicans happily provide the chorus, and say his critics speak in exclusive, academic terms.
Maldives: Controversy Regarding Presidential Arrest Warrant
Mohamed Nasheed discusses the recent decision by the President of Maldives to arrest certain politicians in the country. Some Maldivians were disappointed by this decision and there are unconfirmed reports that former President and Opposition Leader Mamoun Abdul Gayoom may be on the list.
Trinidad & Tobago: Summit Spend
Trinidad and Tobago's The Undisputed Truth links to a story which, to him, “highlights how the Summit [of the Americas] is a total waste of money.”
Iran: Facebook is accessible again
Iranian news sites and blogs report that Facebook is not anymore filtered in Iran. Senoghteh says [fa] that national and international protest forced Iranian government to make Facebook available again.
Taiwan: Comparisons of Chen and Roh
Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyung tragically commited suicide over the weekend. Some have made comparisons between Roh and former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian who is currently in detention on charges of corruption. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato asks if both men were subject to character assassination by the judiciary and...
Japan: Ministry of Health posts YouTube video
Kotori Piyopiyo praises the progressiveness of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for posting a video on YouTube and observes with irony that they have turned off the embedding function. The video introduces preventive measures for swine flu.
Venezuela: Keeping the Internet as a Priority
When the Venezuelan government emitted Decree No. 6649, it raised red flags within the online community concerned about the possible effects to development. The decree seeks to eliminate “luxuries” or “superflouous expenses” among the public expenditure, among which includes the Internet. As a result, the online campaign Internet Prioritaria was created with the opinion that Internet is a basic need and is pushing that research and other educational programs not be affected by budget cuts.
Pakistan: Healing The Wounds Of The Past
Action For A Progressive Pakistan apologizes to Bangladeshis for the atrocities committed by Pakistan army in 1971 and criticizes the Pakistan government: “We find it unconscionable that the Pakistani state has steadfastly refused to acknowledge these atrocities for the past 38 years, leave alone hold those responsible for them accountable...
Trinidad & Tobago: Where's the Integrity?
Transparency and good governance have been popular topics in the Caribbean blogosphere of late. The latest debacle over integrity (or lack thereof?) comes from Trinidad and Tobago, where, in the last few weeks, a second attempt to establish an Integrity Commission has come to a crashing halt amidst revelations that the Chair of the Commission, a Catholic priest, had committed acts of plagiarism. To add even more fuel to the fire, the journalist who drew attention to the plagiarism in the first place, appears to have been fired. Bloggers speak out.
Malawi elections: Upending the pundits’ predictions
With the elections over and the incumbent president Bingu wa Mutharika sworn in for his second and last term, Malawian bloggers (Mabloga) are awed by two developments that went against the predictions of many, especially the punditry. First was the suggestion that the presidential contest would be very close. It...
Russia: North Ossetia's Superstitious Law Enforcement
North Ossetian journalist Liza Valieva writes about an incident that could have prompted a lighthearted reaction had it not occurred in North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, whose people have seen much violence since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the Sept. 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis.
Nepal Has A New Prime Minister
United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal reports that Madhav Nepal, a moderate Communist Leader is the new Prime Minister of Nepal.
Brazil: Petroleum, elections and poverty matters
Discussions of an investigation into the nation's biggest state-owned company and its possible political motivation fill the Brazilian blogosphere. This debate takes place in a Brazilian society which sees 'black gold' as a solution to the country's economic and energy problems.
Brazil: Fighting against cyber surveillance
Brazilian cyberactivists are again taking action against online surveillance in defence of the netcitizen rights. The Mega Não! protest has been triggered by the controversial digital crimes bill which aims to control cybercrime, raising serious issues on digital rights management and the free use of digital devices. There will be...
Influenza A(H1N1) cases in Southeast Asia
Several Southeast Asian countries have confirmed that some of their citizens have tested positive for Influenza A(H1N1) infection. The region is no longer swine flu-free. Bloggers react as the virus continues to spread from one country to another.
Bangladesh: Tipaimukh Dam Threatens Lives
Despite protests from within India and Bangladesh, India is going ahead with the construction of the massive Tipaimukh barrage on the Barack river near the border, which will reduce the water flow in Surma and Kushiara rivers in Bangladesh. Onnesha.tk brings up this concern that by depriving Bangladesh of life-giving...
Ukraine: Russian Ads; PM's Hairdo; Crimea
Russian ads in Ukraine; Yulia Tymoshenko's hairdo; labor minister's text message interaction with her daughter regarding a government job offer for her father; the Crimean Tatars’ situation and the mess in the Crimean capital's city council – at Ukrainiana.
East Timor: Dili stops on Friday mornings for cleaning
There is a new compulsory activity in Dili every Friday morning: the city stops to clean up the public spaces. Wiernie Walshe tells us about it in a guest post called “Limpeza Geral. Or, sweeping dirt by force“.