Stories about Governance from March, 2008
Ukraine: Construction in Kyiv
Ukrainiana writes about undesirable construction that is changing Kyiv – here and here (with photos and video).
World Water Day Ripples Across Videos.
Every year since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, on March 22nd has been the World Water Day. In addition, this year it is the United Nation´s International Year of Sanitation and people from all over have started taking action through their video cameras, raising awareness at the importance of this finite resource.
China: Monitoring of Electronic Communication
Chinese Human rights defenders has a very elaborated report on the monitoring system in China concerning electronic communication [zh].
Afghanistan: Warlord as “Person of the Year”
Joshua Foust reports that Radio Free Afghanistan has named Gul Agha Sherzai, the governor of Nangarhar province, “Person of the Year” for advancing the cause of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and reconstruction, and criticizes this award for shallow insight.
Russia: Two Dagestani Journalists Killed
Ilyas Shurpaev, a Dagestani TV journalist who worked for a state-owned federal channel, was found dead Friday in Moscow. Later that day, Gadzhi Abashilov, director of Dagestan's state-owned broadcasting company, was shot to death in Makhachkala, the republic's capital. Below are a few bloggers' reactions to the murders, as well as the translation of Shurpaev's last blog post.
Lebanon: Presidential Election and Foreign Intervention
Lebanon is now in its fifth month without a president. Political bickering between different parties has reached dangerous levels to the extent that there is a genuine fear of civil strife among people - especially since street fights are breaking out every now and then between supporters of various groups, writes Moussa Bashir, who takes a closer look at the reaction of bloggers towards politicians travelling abroad to rally support for their teams.
Russia: Tandemocracy
Scraps of Moscow reviews the terms used to describe Russia's current political system and its leaders: Tandemocracy, DIMAcracy and more.
Iraq: Five long years … most of them in tears
For me the whole story of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war can be summed up one post. One post that says nothing about the past five years but implies everything as well. We can talk about the lack of security, the number of deaths, the failure of the occupation, but all this talk has become as meaningless as glib phrases like "Collateral Damage." What really matters is how the war is affecting people's lives, writes Salam Adil.
Japan: Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant fuels debate
The village of Rokkasho, situated Aomori prefecture in the north of Japan's main island Honshū, hosts a nuclear facility for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, the first of its kind in Japan. While the scale of this reprocessing plant dwarfs standard nuclear plants, most Japanese citizens have up to recently known little to nothing of its existence. This has started to change recently with demonstrations held in various parts of the country by citizen groups. Bloggers have also picked up this debate, offering varying perspectives on the costs and benefits of the latest development of Japan's nuclear industry.
Kazakhstan: Oddities of the Digital Present
In the most recent counple of weeks the Kazakhstani blogosphere – usually heavily politicized – was focused more on the developments in telecoms sector and Internet-related novelties in Kazakhstan. The country's authorities are still aiming to enter top 50 of the most competitive countries, although the Economist's index of “e-readiness”...
Iraq at Five: The World Reacts
Today, March 19, marks five years of "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Initially a plan to oust Saddam Hussein and "end the war before it started," the war in Iraq continues to this day, much to the dismay of many ordinary citizens around the globe. In that vein, Global Voices Online will post reactions today from bloggers in Iraq, the Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere.
Czech Republic: Ex-PM Fails Bar Exam
The Czech Daily Word reports that former Czech PM has failed his bar exam and will not be able to get his attorney license.
Croatia: Zagreb's New Synagogue
Balkan Baby writes about the opening of a new synagogue in Zagreb.
Morocco: Bloggers React to Fouad Mourtada's Release From Prison
At 11:30 GMT, Sami Ben Gharbia broke the news that Fouad Mourtada had been freed. Mourtada, who was sentenced on February 22 to three years in prison, was released after serving only 25 days of that sentence. So far, no major news sources have reported on the story, but several bloggers have reacted.
Albania: Post-Explosion Protests
Albanian Blogger writes about the protests taking place in Tirana following the explosion.
Ukraine: “NATO Naysayers”
Ukrainiana writes about Ukraine's “NATO naysayers” – “local” and foreign.
Ukraine: Kyiv Mayoral Election
Ukrainiana reports on the yet another upcoming election in Ukraine: “It finally happened! In a long-awaited vote, the Verkhovna Rada Tuesday paved the way for new mayoral elections to be held in Kyiv within 70 days. That means the elections will be held in early June.”
Ukraine: Protesting Yushchenko's March 8 Address
Natalia Antonova writes about an open letter to president Victor Yushchenko posted in a Ukrainian feminist LJ community: “Basically, people are outraged that on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, the President launched into a saccharine speech about how the ladiez are so lovely and admired by men… in...
Russia: Kadyrov, Hijab and Education in Chechnya
Window on Eurasia writes about Ramzan Kadyrov's hijab policy: “Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s requirement that all female students in higher educational institutions there wear hijabs of a particular color and at their own expense in order to be allowed to attend class is backfiring with some students dropping out and...
Kosovo: Rioting in Mitrovica
Balkan Baby writes about rioting in Mitrovica.
Albania: Explosion Aftermath
Living in Shkoder posts an update on the explosion's aftermath.
