Stories about Governance from July, 2010
Taiwan: Manhattan”s” in Taipei
Pomelo(鉑鎂鑼) criticizes the vacuum promises(zht) made by Taipei mayor Hau Lung-pin who promises to build one Manhattan in Shezi region, yet another Manhattan in the basin of Danshui river before the coming election.
Ecuador: Leader of Citizen's Revolution Has an Economics Blog
Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has been known for promoting Open Source Software. To prove this, he has created a blog where he explains economic matters didactically, so that people can understand the economic analysis, charts and concepts. He has been posting since May 29, 2010 in the multimedia blog Economía en...
Egypt: Is Egypt Sinking?
The Economist has published a special report on Egypt and its future after President Hosni Mubarak, who has now been recognized as the 21st century sick man of the Middle East. Egyptian bloggers have their say.
Bangladesh: Minimum Wages Raised In Garments Sector
After long protests and bargaining with the employers and the workers, the Bangladesh Government has decided to raise the minimum wages to Tk. 3000 per month ($44) which is approximately double of the current minimum wages. Bloggers discuss how this impacts the workers and the industry.
Zimbabwe: Constitutional Outreach
Bev Clark reports that constitutional outreach meetings held by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition in Zimbabwe.
Russia: Reginal Court Blocks YouTube for Extremist Content
Komsomolosk-on-Amur [ENG] city court, at the Russian Far East, ordered local Internet provider “Rosnet” to block access to Youtube and four other websites (including web.archive.org), Cnews reported [RUS]. The decision was made due to a request by the city prosecutor's office. YouTube had been blocked because of the nationalist movie...
South Korea: A Politician’s ‘Emperor’s Dish’ Enraged Struggling Koreans
A South Korean politician's effort to experience the minimum wage earner's life went backfire due to poor understanding on the severity of the working poor's life conditions.
Poland: Nowy Sacz Logo Controversy
the POLSKI blog reports that the pastoral ministry of the southern Polish city of Nowy Sacz thinks that the city's new logo “promotes Satanism and homosexuality.”
Russia: “Putin's Pee Joke”
At The Huffington Post, Simon Shuster explains Vladimir Putin's “manner of winning the public's support”: “Find an issue that annoys a lot of people, find somebody to blame for it, and lace into him, publicly and with some classic village wit. Show on state television how the problem gets fixed.”
Russia: “Putin-Jugend”
Simon Shuster writes for The Huffington Post about a summer camp for Russia's “group-think generation.”
Belarus: Election 2011
Notes and updates on the upcoming 2011 presidential election in Belarus – at BelarusDigest (here, here, and here).
Serbia: More on the Beating of a Journalist in Belgrade
Anegdote comments on the recent beating of journalist Teofil Pančić in Belgrade: “The government needs thugs, and thugs need the government. The cycle goes on.” (A GV translation on the attack is here.)
India: RTI Activist Murdered
On the 20th of this month, 33yr old Amit Jethwa, a prominent environmentalist and Right to Information (RTI) activist was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen opposite the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad, India. Netizens react with shock and anger.
Sri Lanka: A King Or A CEO
Going Global thinks that Sri Lanka needs an administrator like a King or a CEO at the nation's helm who will implement a long term plan “with no incentive to engage in short-termist crowd pleasing development”.
Trinidad & Tobago: 20 Years Later
“For twenty years, successive governments ignored calls from citizens both prominent and ordinary for a formal probe”: On the anniversary of the 1990 attempted coup d'etat, The Caribbean Review of Books believes “it’s time to face the truth and its consequences.”
Azerbaijan: Presidential tweets
A Twitter account for the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has been set up at @AzPresident [AZ] and @PresidentAz [EN]. The account will tweet links to presidential speeches, events attended, and video material.
Iran: Campaign to Free Jailed Photo-Blogger Hamed Saber
More than 70 Iranian university graduates and academics are calling for the release of Hamed Saber, an Iranian photo-blogger and computer scientist who was arrested for unknown reasons on 21 June 2010 in Tehran.
Bermuda: Media Code
“I do believe that whether we like it or not, blogs are now part of the media. By definition we publish publicly and with that freedom comes responsibility” – which is why Breezeblog has voluntarily adopted the Media Council of Bermuda’s Code of Practice.
Côte d'Ivoire: Journalists accused of document theft are freed
The three journalists of Le Nouveau Courrier d'Abidjan arrested for refusing to reveal their sources have been finally released [Fr] this evening after a two-week ordeal. The journalists were found not guilty of theft but the newspaper is fined and suspended for 15 days for publishing information under legal consideration.
Venezuela: Foundation for Urban Culture Shut Down
The Foundation for Urban Culture - a fund that promoted culture through books, photography, music and ideas - was recently shut down, allegedly due to financing from the brokerage firm Econoinvest which was raided by the government in May. Bloggers who support the Foundation, accuse the closing of being illegal and unrelated to the company.
Honduras: Criminal Rule
Aaron Ortiz is critical of the government's approach to fighting crime, and shares his sister's experience: “Just last night, armed robbers broke into my sister’s house and pointed a gun at my nephew and niece. My brother in law, and his mother arrived minutes later and were also robbed.”
