Stories about Governance from January, 2011
Wanted: More Babies Needed in Singapore
Singapore’s total fertility rate has decreased to an all-time low at 1.16 percent. To increase population, the government proposes to increase the number of foreign workers and residents in the prosperous city state. Here are some reactions from the blogosphere
Gabon: Opposition Leader Takes Oath as New President
The double presidential power struggle in Côte d'Ivoire seems to have inspired Gabon's political opposition as well. This afternoon on January 26, 2011, former Gabonese presidential election candidate André Mba Obame - regarded by many as the probable winner of the 2009 election - has taken oath as President and formed his own 'unofficial' government.
Latin American Presidents to Follow on Twitter
Christian Espinosa in Cobertura Digital [es] ranks the top 5 Latin American presidents with the most followers on Twitter. He also shares other information on the use of Twitter by...
India: Government Official Burnt Alive by Miscreants
In a gruesome incident, an additional district collector was burnt alive today - allegedly by petrol and diesel mafia while investigating fuel related irregularities. As the news broke, netizens reacted with shock and outrage.
Taiwan: Dacheng Wetland, not a wetland?
Citizen journalist Zhu Shu-juan(朱淑娟) reports that even though all reviewers from the Wetland Review Committee of the Ministry of Interior suggested Dacheng Wetland in Changhua County to be listed as...
Brazil/Tunisia: Cartoons on the Tunisian Revolution
Provos Brasil [pt] shares a series of cartoons by the Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff on the Tunisian Revolution, in two blog posts: The Fall of the Dictatorship in Tunisia and...
Brazil: Neo-Colonialism in Africa
Leonardo Sakamoto refutes [pt] the statement of the foreign affairs adviser to the Brazilian presidency, Marco Aurelio Garcia, that “A neo-colonial relationship is only established if neo-colonizer and colonized are...
Brazil: Micro Grants for Transparency Hackers
Esfera [Sphere, pt] has launched the second round of micro grants for transparency hackers in Brazil. Find out what they are looking for and apply until February 5.
Brazil: Belo Monte Dam returns to the spotlight
The Brazilian government expressed its wish to start building the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in 2011. Immediately, a virtual mobilization against the project broke out. In spite of the intense flow of information on the Internet and other media, clarifications on the socio-environmental impacts of Belo Monte are still to be provided by the government.
El Salvador: Transparency Law Stalled
A law that, “would have required government institutions, and private entities tied to the state, to make information available to the public without, necessarily, a formal request, by establishing an...
Africa: Dear First Ladies of Africa
First Ladies of Africa, you have failed us!:”As Africans, we know of our individual First Ladies. It is either their eccentricities, extravagance or total lack of decorum that reminds us...
Brazil: Salary increase for parliamentarians in discussion
As every end of the year, the Brazilian federal deputies legislated for themselves and approved another salary increase to approximately 52 times the minimum salary earned by most part of the population. In 2011, the expected ripple effect of wages has been confirmed causing a sparked discussion in the blogosphere.
Lebanon: Fears of Instability
“I want the stress of my day to revolve around how much heart-clogging saturated fat was in my lunchtime sandwich, not around whether there are going to be a few...
Lebanon: Fears of Escalation
“So again I tell you, I am not a political analyst nor a fortune teller; however, I am strongly pessimistic when it comes to our political situation. In the end,...
Afghanistan: A journalist attacked with acid
Suffering City, an Afghan blogger, writes that Afghan journalist and author Abdul Razaq Mamoon, who wrote a book about Iranian security forces in Afghanistan, was attacked by acid. The blogger...
Russia: Why Skype Worries The FSB?
While Russian President Dmitry Medvedev urges government officials to get hip to technology, Russia’s Security Service, the FSB, has begun to clamp down on officials’ use of email and Skype, in a measure some are arguing is meant to stop possible ‘leaks’ of governmental information.
Eritrea: Isaias Afwerki comes out dead last in African Presidents Index!
Asmarino reacts to first annual “African Presidents Index” released by the Nation Media Group: “Obviously our own totalitarian leader Isaias Afworki didn’t disappoint us. Not only did he make it...
Brazil: Protest for quality transportation is a crime?
While Leonardo Sakamoto wonders [pt] if protesting for quality transportation is a crime, Conceição Lemes interviews [pt] one of the organizers of the demonstration against the price increase of bus...
Maldives: No Plan To Combat Terrorism
Hassan Ziyau complains that a full proof plan to combat religious terrorism has been absent during the tenure of successive governments in Maldives.
India: A Public Park In Chennai
Vivek at Sepia Mutiny writes about Semmozhi Poonga, a newly opened public park in Chennai, India fulfilling demand of its citizens.
El Salvador: Court System Employees on Strike Demand Higher Salaries
Court system employees have been on strike demanding raises for five days. Tim explains that, “As a consequence, more than a thousand court hearings have been cancelled, bodies have gone...
