Stories about Governance from May, 2010
Guinea-Bissau: Political Situation still Unstable
With the imminent approval of a law which will determine major reforms in the Armed Forces of Guinea-Bissau, Blog Pessôa [pt] reflects on the political instability in the country eight...
Iran: “We are unemployed”
Several Iranian protesters at an outdoor speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday shouted their concerns about unemployment in Khoramshahr. Here is a video film where we can hear...
Azerbaijan: Democracy is…
Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the U.S. State Department “Democracy is…” online video challenge and shares some of the entries with its readers. The blog is especially pleased...
Sri Lanka: Productivity Of The Ministers
Serendipity blog questions why the ministers of Sri Lanka are frequently summoned to the presidential secretariat and whether there could be more effective means of communication between the president and...
Kazakhstan: Bloggers condemn the “Leader of the Nation” project
The parliament in Kazakhstan came out with the initiative to give a “Leader of the Nation” status to incumbent president Nursultan Nazarbayev. The former Kazakh Communist party’s secretary, a strongman...
Tajikistan: President moves to ban cell-phones
Tajikistan’s President Rahmon is seeking to ban mobile phones from the country. The government claims it’s for reasons of health and taxes, but neweurasia’s Dushanbe is suspicious.
Trinidad & Tobago: Changing the Mindset
Barbados-based B.C. Pires says that “nothing good…can emerge in the long run” from Trinidad and Tobago's upcoming elections: “Trinidad's whole problem is that it thinks only in the short term,...
Trinidad & Tobago: On the Issues
Know TnT.com blogs about “four issues arising on the campaign trail this year.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Right & Wrong
“Clearly something has gone terribly wrong. Who are these people who feel they can just start lecturing us on how to live our lives? We pay THEM. They should be...
Technology for Transparency Review, Part VI
This post concludes the first phase of our research into the role of technology in the transparency and accountability movement by offering conclusions and recommendations related to projects of crime mapping, extractive industry transparency, local government, private sector transparency, and advocacy.
Egypt: Ask and ElBaradei Will Answer
In the Presidential succession race, and after Gamal Mubarak's Sharek Initiative, Ayman Nour's Facebook activism, Omar Soliman's blog, now you can Ask ElBaradei. From May 17 to 26, you will be...
India: Manipur In Peril
“The entire north east is in the grip of an unprecedented wave of Christianization with the help of foreign money,” comments Tarun Vijay, while discussing the problems in the Indian...
Pakistan: Banning Social Media Sites
“It is unfortunate that the government is taking staunch steps in banning social media websites across Pakistan in response to a campaign,” comments Sana Saleem Malik at Mystified justice.
Kyrgyzstan: Bloggers seek stability amidst a frenzy of rallies
“People of Kyrgyzstan, regain consciousness!” – such was the cry issued by Kyrgyzstani Kloop blogger Kadam [kyrg/eng] on May 15. His country descended into a cataclysmic cycle of rallies and...
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch
Zimbabwe Inclusive Government Watch from Sokwanene: “The results – from the month of April 2010 – are staggering. Twenty-two articles (27.8% of the total) detailed cases of violence, intimidation, hate...
Trinidad & Tobago: Politics
gspottt looks at the two main political parties’ stance on “same-sex unions, homosexuality [and] sexual orientation”, while KnowTnT.com asks: “Does the PNM led by Mr Patrick Manning morally deserve to...
Bermuda: More on the Media Bill
Wishful Thinking says “it's really hit the fan over this Media Council Bill”, while Politics.bm adds: “So, the PLP during the election were against locking up violent criminals but are...
Jamaica: Double Cross?
“Approving the extradition order for Dudus was the cross… Now we’re waiting to find out what’s the DOUBLE CROSS”: Jamaica and the World reads between the lines.
Jamaica: Logan Act?
My View of JamDown from Up So thinks that “it should be clear in the aftermath of the Prime Minister's revelations about the Jamaica Labour Party's retention of a lawyer...
Brazil: 5XFavela: Art Breaking Social and Cultural Barriers
5X Favela is a social and cultural project that resulted in a feature film about the country's favelas being presented this week at the Cannes Film Festival. It is the first Brazilian feature film of its kind to be made by slum-dwellers themselves. But before traveling to the festival, Felha, one of the directors was randomly humiliated by police, showing that we still have some way to go in altering this stigma of Brazilian society.
Egypt: No Longer Jewel of the Nile
Four of the seven upstream Nile Basin Initiative countries have decided to sign a new Nile deal. Despite strong Egyptian and Sudanese opposition, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia signed a new water-sharing agreement. Egyptian bloggers react to the news in this post by Marwa Rakha.
