Stories about Governance from October, 2010
Latvia: More on the Election Results
A note on the results of the Oct. 2 elections in Latvia – at Baltic.
Russia: “Siberian Nationalism”
Window on Eurasia writes about “Siberian nationalism” – here and here.
Russia: “The Aftermath” of Luzhkov's Dismissal
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical and PBN's The Pipeline write about “the aftermath” of Yuri Luzhkov's dismissal from the post of Moscow mayor.
Trinidad & Tobago: Code of Silence
Afra Raymond says: “The Code of Silence is deep and powerful in the case of the CL Financial bailout.”
Tajikistan: The bitter truth in Rasht
Tajikistan’s government has offered rebels in the Rasht Valley an amnesty in exchange for a cease-fire, but neweurasia’s Botur doesn’t think they’ll take the offer.
Afghanistan: Peace strategy based on flawed assumptions
Nick Fielding analyzes a new report by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, which reveals that the Afghan government's Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme is based on flawed assumptions.
Armenia: Blog Action Day
Writing on his official blog, the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale, marks Blog Action Day by writing about Lake Sevan. Situated 1,900 meters above sea level, it is one of the largest high altitude lakes in the world. However, the diplomatic blogger notes, mismanagement and policies during the Soviet...
China: Riot Against Land Acquisition in Guangxi
On 13 of October, a riot broke out in Longxu town in Guangxi province. Around one thousand villagers confronted armed police against forced land acquisition. Citizen reports on the riot were originally posted at local online forums within Guangxi, but quickly deleted by web censor authorities. In order to spread...
Jordanians Tweet about Election Campaigning
Jordanian parliamentary candidates are now allowed to post campaign materials for the November 9 elections. Posters now cover main roads, and the topic of these campaign materials has been hotly discussed among Jordanian Twitter users. Almost unanimously, these tweets express disgust with the posters.
Iran: President Ahamdinejad's trip to Lebanon
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has just concluded a two-day visit to Lebanon. It was his first official since 2005 when he first took office. He held talks with Lebanese officials and visited strongholds of Iran's ally Hezbollah. He received a hero's welcome. Several Iranian bloggers reacted to this trip.
Caucasus: Women as a reflection of nationalism
Motherhood, Repatriation and other fictions comments on a recent event staged in Istanbul, Turkey, which women activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Russia attended. The blog particularly examines the role of nationalism and patriarchal societies in peace-building and cross-border initiatives in the South Caucasus.
Iran: Khazali,blogger and physician was arrested
Mehdi Khazali, head of Iran's Medical Data Bank and son of hardliner, Ayatollah Abolghassem Khazali, was arrested on Wednesday by Iranian authorities. According to [fa] Sedaye Zendani, says Khazali wrote posts against Iranian government.
Russia, U.S.: Schwarzenegger in Moscow
More on Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent visit to Moscow – at The Putin State Chronicles, The Russia Monitor, Robert Amsterdam's blog, and Russia! (here, here, and here).
Serbia: More on Belgrade Gay Pride and Riots
Posts on the gay pride and the rioting in Belgrade this past Sunday, as well as on football hooligans – at CAFÉ TURCO, Gray Falcon, A Yankee-in-Belgrade, and A Slice Of Serbian Politics.
India: The Grand Secret OS
Greatbong takes a hilarious look at the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) proposal to create a “closed source operating system” to protect Data.
Bangladesh: The Saga Of (Not) Recognizing ‘Sex Worker’ As A Profession
Wasfia Nazreen criticizes the saga of introducing ‘sex worker’ as a profession in the national ID card and voter list of Bangladesh by the Election Commission and their subsequent removal of the category on the basis of moral grounds.
Russia: Blogger Calls for Help to Expose Corruption in Public Procurement
Blogger Navalny calls [RUS] IT-specialists for help in exposing corruption in online projects of different government structures. The last case led by Navalny helped prevent stealing over $1,8M from the government's budget. He presents screenshots of 9 similar projects worth $17,7M at the state procurement website zakupki.gov.ru.
Bermuda: Runaround?
Breezeblog comments on the media roundtable hosted by the outgoing Premier: “More like the media getting the runaround.”
Azerbaijan: Satirical site blocked?
Quoting local media, Azeri Report says that a satirical site, Eqreb.com, has been blocked in Azerbaijan. Covering political developments in the oil-rich country, the site has been reported inaccessible since 8 October. On 7 November, Azerbaijanis go to the polls to elect a new parliament and so far users contacted...
Brazil: Research and Advances in Renewable Energy Sources
In recent decades, Brazil has received acclaim as a country of clean energy, with alternative and renewable sources playing a major role in the country’s energy mix. The inclusion of these sources, which has been made possible thanks to research conducted by various social players and to the government’s adoption, is being discussed in many Brazilian blogs.
Serbia: Gay Pride Parade Used as Excuse for Riots
Gay Pride Parade held on October 10 2010 in Belgrade brought out the worst and the best elements of Serbian society in the open. The police had to suppress about 6000 rioters who, in a very organized manner, wrecked damage in the city center, while pro-democracy forces hailed the event as big advance for the freedoms of speech and association, guaranteed by law.
