Stories about Governance from December, 2009
Sri Lanka: The Mouthpiece Of The Ruling Party
A Voice In Colombo criticizes two state owned TV channels for being biased to the “governing party” and discusses how it can affect the upcoming presidential elections in Sri Lanka.
South Africa: Truth without venom is impossible when it comes to Manto
Truth without venom is impossible when it comes to South Africa's former Minister of Health: “To be honest, I did not wish to reflect on the life of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, as I have been taught that it is not proper to speak ill of the dead. But as the crocodile...
Iran: Death of Top Dissident Cleric, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri
Iranian citizens posted photos and videos of clashes with pro-government militamen during the funeral of the country's top dissident cleric, Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.
Copenhagen summit: Nepalese Ministers Miss The Point
The Nepalese cabinet held a meeting near Everest base camp days before Copenhagen summit to emphasize that effects of global warming on Nepal. However, bloggers are criticizing the bulky Nepalese ministers delegation to Copenhagen and questioning their effectiveness.
China: White-listing the Internet
DANWEI has translated the Beijing News’ report on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)'s plan to white list websites on the Internet. More background can be found in GV advocacy: Online protest against CNNIC and White-listing the Internet.
Bangladesh: Home Grown Solutions
The lunatic is on the grass proposes some home grown solutions to mitigate Bangladesh's traffic woes.
Bhutan: Looking Back At 2009
Whatever matters looks back to assess the Bhutanese government's performance this year.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Political Climate
Discuss SVG shares her take on the island's political situation: “I believe this is how our leaders want us to feel…powerless so they can be strengthened…”
Australia pushes internet censorship; Twitter erupts
Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy declared his determination last week to push through mandatory internet censorship of a government-defined blacklist of websites, sparking an online frenzy in blogs and on Twitter. News of the proposed internet censorship propelled the issue to a “trending topic” on Twitter for several hours, under...
Qatar: Critiques bristle; calls to shut down popular online forum
A series of scathing posts on Qatar Living, an popular online forum, prompts locals to call for site's demise. Campaign not against all expats, says founder of anti-QL Facebook group.
Russia: Popular Blogger Would Be Glad If Russian Authorities Restrict Internet
Popular Russian blogger and activist Roman Dobrokhotov talks to GVO about the Internet and online activism in the country.
Russia: Yegor Gaidar, Russia's Economic Reformer, Dies at 53
Yegor Gaidar, a Russian economist and politician who initiated the 1992 "shock therapy" reforms, died in Moscow on Dec. 16 at the age of 53. Russian bloggers' responses serve as a vivid reflection of how divided people still are on Gaidar's legacy and on the direction the country has taken since the demise of the Soviet Union.
American Petitioner in China
Julie Harms, an American and a Harvard graduate, hit the news as she becomes one of the few, or perhaps the first, foreign petitioner in China. Her case was a grievance against the government that her fiancé, Liu Shiliang, was jailed on a charge which she says is not true....
Haiti: Marching for Aristide
Repeating Islands reports that “supporters of former Haitian President and liberation theologian Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched through Port-au-Prince…this week calling for his return from exile and protesting his [Fanmi Lavalas] party’s exclusion from upcoming elections.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Climate Responsibility
Blogging from Trinidad, Coffeewallah says of the climate change talks: “In Copenhagen world leaders debate over what they will and will not sign, but truthfully, it is all about commerce and making money…we are given the gift of life and the loan of the earth but we have yet to...
Trinidad & Tobago: Poor Packaging
Trinidad and Tobago's This Beach Called Life is livid that a brand of silicone is being sold in bottles best known for packaging a popular children's soft drink: “I have no idea if the OHS Act in Trinidad and Tobago covers household chemicals and food but Act or no Act,...
Bhutan: Salary Increase For MPs Is Wrong
Bhutanese blogger at Whatever Matters! thinks that the decision to raise salaries of Bhutanese parliamentarians is wrong; especially in these dire times.
Sri Lanka: Evidence Of War Crimes
A new debate on the war crime allegations against Sri Lankan army has surfaced as the former army chief and presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka had mentioned that he knew that unarmed people were shot dead, in cold blood, “pursuant to a premeditated decision by government leaders.” Kumar David at Groundviews...
Iran:Twitter hacked by ‘Iranian Cyber Army’
Twitter was hacked overnight by so called Iranian Cyber Army. Neersy tweeted [fa] that this group is a pro Islamic State one and its mission is attacking green movement's (opposition) sites and blogs.
Bermuda: Of Crime & Injunctions
As the spate of violence continues in Bermuda, bloggers are further troubled by news of the government taking out an injunction against a newspaper, allegedly to prevent the publication of a news story.
India: Federalism
Hari at India First-Hand comments on the proposal of the Indian government to separate Telangana region from Andhra Pradesh and form a new state: “the answer definitely is not forming more states and thereby increasing the overhead.”