Stories about Politics from February, 2006
Belarus: Elections and the Atmosphere of Fear
Tobias Ljungvall writes about the beginning of the election campaign in Belarus, the backlash against the opposition, and the atmosphere of fear reported by Gunnel Arbin, a Swedish journalist who has recently traveled to Belarus. Among the scare techniques used by the regime is a new article in the criminal...
Singapore: Missing Singaporeans
Littlespeck.com wonders where are all the missing Singaporeans. The number of new registered voters has risen slowly, despite a rising population, leading to the conclusion that many Singaporeans are going overseas to work, study or do business.
Ukraine: Party of Putin's Politics
Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes writes about some Ukrainian parties competing in this year's parliamentary race; among them is the Party of Putin's Politics (Neeka's Backlog has more on it) and the Pensioners’ Party.
Jamaica: First Female Prime Minister
Continuing the global trend of more female heads of state, Portia Simpson-Miller won elections to become the first female party leader and Prime Minister in Jamaica's history. Although not his first choice, Leon Robinson says of Simpson-Miller: “she can cross party lines, she has a humble attitude, she's spiritual and...
Iraq in Crisis – The Optimists Strike Back
As the crisis in Iraq rumbles on bloggers are divided on the whether there is civil war and how bad things really are. For the sake of balance here is the reports of those who are looking for lights at the end of the tunnel. If you want to understand...
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying – politics and nostalgia
El Salvador is in the midst of a very spirited campaign season leading to the election of mayors and National Assembly deputies on March 12. The campaigning has produced a great deal of commentary in the Salvadoran blogosphere in the past two weeks. Blogs in Spanish Ligia at El Salvador...
Ethiopia: Role of the Diaspora
Weichegud!ET Politics continues her discussion on the role of the Ethiopian Diaspora in mobilizing and lobbying for a better Ethiopia.
South Africa: Mbeki Interview
South Africa reports on a recent newspaper interview with South African President, Thabo Mbeki in which he covered mistakes by the Government in the first five years of local government, on corrutpion and government poweres encroaching on the judiciary.
Zimbabwe: Demonstrations on Mugabe's Birthday
President Mugabe celebrated his birthday last Tuesday. This is Zimbabwe reports that many citizens took to the streets in protests, demonstrations and sit-ins…“The ongoing countrywide demonstrations by students spread to Masvingo Polytechnic on Tuesday, as police briefly arrested 15 students before releasing them later in the day. The Zimbabwe National...
Ethiopia: Yacob Hailemariam
Nazret.com reports on the continuing imprisonment of Ethiopian professor, Yacob Hailemariam. “Hailemariam left Virginia Beach for his native Ethiopia last year to try and spread the democratic values he’d come to cherish after decades in America. He won a seat in parliament in last May’s elections.”
This week in Israel: election campaigns, a kidnapping in France and more
Israel is now six weeks before general elections, and the campaigning is starting to heat up. Shai Tsur of Shaister has a concise and intelligent roundup of the campaign platforms of the major parties. He writes that he likes the ad campaign of Meretz, a leftist Zionist party, the best....
Lone Haiti-Based Haitian Blogger on Recent Haitian Elections
Yon Ayisyen, the sole Haiti-based Haitian blogger complains (FR) that he does not have an internet connection at home. But that has not stopped him from blogging regularly if not always promptly about the recent presidential elections. Special Rules for Favored Candidate? Riots over the possibility of a runoff in...
A Look at the Syrian Blogsphere
After a tense month of anti-violence campaigns, the Syrian blogsphere seemed to be quite calm this week… Discussions revolved about the new step from the US to give a $5 million to promote democratic governance and reform in Syria. While Joshua Landis of SyriaComment.com sees this step as a good...
From the Jordanian Blogosphere
The Jordanian bloggers are angry over the attack on Islamic, particularly Shi'aa, monument the Askariya Shrine, some of them are comparing the unneeded reactions from Muslims towards the Danish cartoon fiasco to the current apartheid at the ruination of a 1200 year old mosque. Mazen Arafat says, “Where is the...
Update: Samarra Catastrophe
The developing situation in Iraq is moving too fast and filling more column inches than a roundup can satisfy. Here is a summary of the blog events since Thursday. It is at times like this you can see that blogging comes into its own above other journalism. There is no...
Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere
Many different and interesting topics were discussed in the Saudi blogosphere this week, so let's start our roundup right away. What is the difference between democracy and American democracy? Hassan thinks he has the answer (Arabic). “In democracy, those who gain more votes should win. In American democracy, those who...
Indonesia: Mining Politics
Yosef Ardi reflects on the long involvement of U.S. mining company Freeport McMoran in Indonesian politics. Freeport, which operated a massive mine — the largest copper and gold mine in the world — in Irian Jaya (now West Papua) province, is shutting down its operations.
This Week in Palestinian Blogs: Refugees Reloaded
News of the blogosphere… PSM (Palestine Solidarity Movement) Fifth Annual Divestment Conferece has taken place from February 17-19 in Washington DC, US attracting more than six hundred student and community activists from ninety different university and organization from across the US as mentioned in a report by The Hatchet. Witnesses...
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand announced a House dissolution
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced a House dissolution Friday evening after he was granted an audience with His Majesty the King.
Russia: Political Jokes
Sergey Belyakov of RUBLog posts six political jokes, which target Vladimir Putin, Joseph Stalin, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Adam and Eve.
