Stories about Governance from October, 2010
Puerto Rico: Violence & Corruption
Repeating Islands draws attention to the issues surrounding “another violent weekend ended in Puerto Rico”, while Gil the Jenius maintains that “we can and have but will not survive as a society with widespread corruption.”
Venezuela: Reactions to the Law of Military Service
At the beginning of October, the government declared that those not enrolled in the military record before October 21, 2010 would face penalties. The government's decision to "reactivate" the Military Conscription and Enlistment Law has generated an attitude of resistance from civil society, stronger than usual for orders coming from President Hugo Chávez.
China: Fujian villagers fight against forced demolition
The youtube video shows how villagers from Minhou county, Fujian province fight against forced demolition.
Venezuela: Crime and Violence ‘Staring you in the Face’
“As crime has increased, not only does it get closer to you, but your self-imposed curfew grows and gets earlier. Your paranoia increases” explains Miguel Octavio from The Devil's Excrement, in the post “When street crime and violence stares at you in the face in Venezuela.”
Mexico: Mexico City as Example for Making Latin American Cities More Livable
In Mexico Unmasked, Tim Johnson writes that, “Major cities in Latin America […] have become more livable, friendlier places,” because of “a revolution in urban governance.” He uses Mexico City as an example, describing what happens every Sunday when “Paseo de la Reforma [is] shut down to vehicle traffic and...
Vietnam: Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday festivities
Hanoi is 1,000 years old. The festivities to mark the historic occasion in Vietnam lasted for ten days from October 1-10. Bloggers share their observations and reactions about how the events were organized.
Anguilla: Not Quite Ready
“The airwaves and the local newspapers this past week have been filled with talk of the need for Anguilla to seek independence from the United Kingdom”, but Corruption-free Anguilla says that “Anguilla will be ready for full internal self-government, and subsequently for independence, only after we have put in place...
Trinidad & Tobago: Contract Questions
Know TnT.com‘s Edmund Gall has a few questions for the Minister of Works and Transport regarding a multi-million dollar contract being awarded at the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.
Brazil: first Dilma-Serra debate in presidential runoff
Dilma Rousseff and Jose Serra met in São Paulo yesterday for their first televised debate in the second round of Brazil's presidential elections. Rodrigo Vianna at Escrevinhador [pt] has analysed the discussion.
Myanmar: Video message campaign for human rights
Pro-democracy Myanmar activists who are based in Japan have launched a video message campaign which aims to pressure the United Nations to make a concrete action about the “serious human rights violations by the ruling junta” in Myanmar.
Serbia: Belgrade Pride Takes Place, Rioting Reported
Reports from the Belgrade Gay Pride – at #bgpride (SRP, ENG). Despite extremely tough security measures, some rioting did occur. “Lot of vandalised cars around the #bgpride route,” @Belgrade reports.
Iran: “Blogger sentenced to 15 years”
Iranian blogger Hossein Maleki Ronaghi has been reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison. Hussein Rongah Melki (also known as “Babak Khoramdin”) was one of the key cyberactivists behind Iran Proxy against web filtering. He used to blog about human rights and civil society.
Iran:”Ahmadinejad's 2.2 billion comments “
Fars News, a pro Islamic Republic web site, claimed that Ahmadinejad's speech on France 24 received 2.2 billion comments.PersianUmpire writes “unfortunately it didn’t take long for France 24 to confess to receiving a measly 31 comments.”
Serbia: Belgrade Gay Pride To Take Place Sunday
The Belgrade Gay Pride Parade is to take place in just a few hours, on Sunday, Oct. 10; the official Twitter hashtag is #bgpride. Belgraded (@Belgrade) gives “the lowdown on how things are going so far regarding the Serbian society’s reactions in the media and everyday life”: “Most of the...
Hungary: Chemical Waste Reservoir Still Dangerous
Marietta Le translates a firsthand account from the area affected by the the caustic red sludge spill in Western Hungary and provides information on how to help the victims.
Russia: Moscow Mayor's Dismissal and Some “Kremlinology”
The dismissal of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov on Sept. 28 inspired Anglophone Russia bloggers to write about Putin, Medvedev, Sechin, the 2012 presidential election, Luzhkov's wife and her business, and even Chicago mayor Richard Daley.
Bangladesh: Increase In Cost Of Living
An Ordinary Citizen wonders whether the Bangladesh government should “take necessary steps to keep the inflation controlled and to reduce the cost of living” to avoid loss of faith among common citizens.
Pakistan: Judiciary Is The Lifeline
Fatima Saleem at Change-Dignity-Prosperity opines that in Pakistan the “only possible change is through judiciary now”.
China: The Nobel Prize and the CCP’s Ignoble Response
Jottings from the Granite Studio comments on the Chinese Communist Party's response to the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award.
Trinidad & Tobago: Honesty
Plain Talk “would like to suggest to the current Administration that they return to the Parliament and use the forum of a revised Budget to level with the people on the exact nature…[of] the anticipated financial hit we are going to take regarding the CLICO crisis.
China: Where Wen Jiabao's political reforms should begin
Post-secondary education and an open Internet are where one academic suggests Wen Jiabao begin political reforms, the need for which the Chinese Premier emphasized in his recent interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.