Stories about Governance from January, 2011
El Salvador: Court System Employees End Strike
Judiciary workers have concluded a week-long strike requesting higher salaries. Voices from El Salvador's Weblog summarizes how the strike ended and its impact.
Poland: Blogger Prosecuted for Criticizing Local Mayor
Jakub Górnicki writes about the case of Łukasz Kaprowicz, a Polish journalist and blogger who was sued for defamation after he had criticized the mayor of the town of Mosina in his blog posts.
Trinidad & Tobago: More Questions About Ramnarine
Of the ongoing controversy over the appointment of Reshmi Ramnarine, Jumbie's Watch says: “The failure of the PM to apologise for misleading the country is not merely a stalling tactic....
Cote d'Ivoire: Lessons for international community
Laura's thoughts and links on Cote d'Ivoire: “After a nearly two-month stand off between former President Gbagbo, who refuses to admit defeat, and newly-elected President Ouattara, who is sequestered in...
Taiwan: Ma Ying-jeou on Facebook
President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan(Republic of China) opens his official facebook fan page today. At the “About” session it says that the goal of the fan page “…is not to...
Ukraine: YouTube Helps Discipline Traffic Police
Tetyana Bohdanova reports on how Ukrainians are using the Internet to expose unlawful actions committed by traffic police.
Egypt: An Internet Black Hole
Over the past few days, as protesting Egyptians have utilized social media tools for organizing and disseminating information, they've also come across numerous obstacles to access. Tonight, the biggest barrier yet as the country's Internet access is cut off.
Ukraine: Police Treatment of Foreigners Raises Concerns Ahead of Euro 2012
Tetyana Bohdanova reviews the netizens' reactions to a recent episode of ill-treatment of foreigners by the Ukrainian police, a trend that is especially alarming since Ukraine is currently preparing to co-host the 2012 European Football Championship together with Poland.
Ecuador: Blog Competition Focusing on Public Safety
Ecuadorian bloggers are encouraged to participate in a Blog Competition [es] organized by the Guayaquil Canton to, “encourage the use of blogs as a platform for expression of ideas by discussing proposals related to public safety in the canton.” Visit...
Israel: Bloggers Eye Gaza as Egypt Unrest Spreads through Sinai
This is a summary of Israeli perspectives, blog posts, and media shared online over the last two days, in reaction to the unrest in Egypt. Referenced by Israeli sources as the 'Egypt Intifada', bloggers are looking closely at the spread of the violence into Sinai and the possibility of igniting violence in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank.
Ecuador: Netizens Discuss Referendum on Constitution
President Rafael Correa has presented 10 questions in a "popular consultation," a referendum which amends several parts of the most recent Constitution drafted in 2008. Ecuadorians are using blogs and Twitter to discuss the proposed changes.
Jamaica: Wikileaks & “Dudus”
Jamaica Salt says that Wikileaks only confirmed what people already knew about the Christopher “Dudus” Coke extradition, which “pretty much makes this whole Jamaican govt enquiry completely redundant (at a...
Sudan: What will be the new name for Southern Sudan?
A referendum took place in Southern Sudan from 9 January to 15 January 2011 on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become Africa's new independent state. As of 27 January 2011, preliminary results showed that 98.81% of voters are in favor of secession while 1.19% are in favor of unity. Final results will be announced early February. This is our latest roundup of posts related to the referendum.
Russia: Domodedovo Bombings Expose Imbalance Between Traditional and Social Media
Social media played a significant role in the coverage of the terrorist attack in Domodedovo International Airport near Moscow. Russian bloggers and journalists discussed the consequences of increasing role of blogs and Twitter in emergency situations. Gregory Asmolov analyzes the roles of the government, traditional and new media in the coverage of the attack.
Lebanon: ‘Day of Rage’ Shocks Bloggers
Thousands of supporters of disposed Sunni Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri took to the streets in a 'day of rage' on Tuesday to protest the fall of their leader. The worst of the scenes were in the predominantly Sunni city of Tripoli, where protestors burnt tyres, vehicles, offices, and attacked the media. Bloggers of all political persuasions expressed dismay at the violent behaviour and openly sectarian nature of the protests.
Russia: “Anonymous Bomb” and “Random Scapegoats” of Domodedovo
In the aftermath of the Jan. 24 suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, which killed at least 35 people and left over 100 wounded, some Russophone bloggers are once again discussing the ominous patterns that grow more and more obvious with each new major terror attack in Russia.
Russia: Students Launch Online Map of Illegal Gambling
Students of Saratov University of Technology launched gdecasino.ru, a crowd-sourcing website dedicated to map illegal gambling sites. A representative of Russian police said [RUS] to “Komsomolskaya pravda” newspaper that the website has already helped...
Mexico: Indigenous Rights Advocate, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, Dies
On January 24th, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia passed away at the age of 86. He was known for his work as an advocate of the rights of the indigenous Mayan people in the state of Chiapas.
Nigeria: The new face of politics
Robinson Tombari Sibe shows how the Nigerian President has changed the face of Nigerian politics: “President Jonathan has enlarged the political workspace in Nigeria by not only playing by the...
China's Campaign Against Corruption
Steve Dickinson from China Law Blog looks into 2 reports published by the PRC National Audit Office that address the corruption problem of government officials.
China: A Subversive New Years’ Video Card
C. Custer from ChinaGeek translates and analyses a subversive New Years’ video card, “Little Rabbit, Be Good!”. The video addresses most of the social conflicts happened in the past few...
