Stories about Governance from June, 2008
Latvia: Economic Crisis and Theft
Baltic reviews some of the signs of economic crisis in Latvia: lamps and veggies stolen from gardens, gas stolen from pumps and trucks.
Bermuda: Hide and Seek
As the list of watchdog organisations speaking out against the Bermudian government's clampdown on a local newspaper continues to grow, Vexed Bermoothes asks: “What is there to hide?”
China: No vlogging the Olympics
Reporter-blogger ProState in Flames writes today of Deputy Director General of China's National Copyright Administration Xu Chao's recent statement that the filming of Olympic events for the purpose of blogging...
The Balkans: Ingeborg Beugel
Say: Macedonia quotes from an interview with Ingeborg Beugel, “a Dutch reporter and author of several documentaries about the crimes committed in Bosnia”: “In an interview for the online site...
Latvia: Flags and Commemorations
Baltic writes about flag-flying and commemoration days in Latvia.
Hungary: Violence Against Roma
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian extreme right and the anti-Roma violence.
Russia, U.S.: Entry Visas
A Budapest-based American writes at Pestiside.hu about the painful process of getting a Russian entry visa.
Estonia: Tax System
AnTyx writes about Estonian economic policies and tax system.
Bulgaria, Romania: Labor Migrants
Nicolaus Mills explains at Comment is Free why Britain hasn't seen the much-feared “‘tidal wave’ of immigrants” from Bulgaria and Romania.
Croatia: Entry Visas for Albanians
Albanian Blogger relates his frustrating experience of getting Croatian entry visas for himself and his colleagues.
China: Beijing students forced out for Olympics?
In ‘Beijing University Students Booted from Dorms for Olympics,’ Truth From Facts blogger nator gets a tip-off to that effect from a friend, in the form of an A4 notice,...
Sri Lanka: A Revolution
Kottu urges that a revolution is the only answer for Sri Lanka's troubles.
Kazakhstan: Living Under Cult
The main discussion this week in Kazakhstani blogosphere was caused by the suggestion that was voiced by a number of MPs to rename the capital city Astana to Nursultan, in...
Estonia: Citizens, Aliens, and the Myths
Itching for Eestimaa writes about the myths surrounding Estonia's Law on Aliens and Citizenship Act.
Poland: Housing Market
20 East writes about Poland's housing market.
Palestine: Obama on Jerusalem as Undivided
Barack Obama's pledge on June 11th to AIPAC that Jerusalem should be Israel's undivided capital has angered Palestinian officials. President Mahmoud Abbas made a statement that Obama's pledge is “totally...
Czech Republic: Legal Age
The Czech Daily Word writes about “legal age” in the Czech Republic.
Russia, U.S.: “Antiquated Kremlinology”
Scraps of Moscow posts scanned samplings of an “antiquated Kremlinology” item, found in one of Washington, D.C., used bookstores: “To be honest, I can't decide whether this book is more...
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia: Top war crimes suspect Župljanin arrested
Stojan Župljanin, one of the four top remaining war crimes suspects from the 1990s Balkan Wars wanted by the International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), was arrested on Wednesday near Belgrade. The ICTY had been seeking Župljanin since 1999, and the US government had even offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Zupljanin's arrest or conviction. The Balkan blogosphere has been abuzz with the news.
Malaysia: “No to handpicked successor”
Tunku believes that Malaysia's next leader should not be a “handpicked successor.” The position should be contested in the polls.
Malaysia: Handover of term
The Brooding Lizard reacts to the report that the Malaysian Prime Minister has agreed to a handover or transfer of power early next year.