Stories about Politics from May, 2008
Russia: Medvedev and 1999 Apartment Bombings
Lex Libertas links to an op-ed calling for president Dmitry Medvedev to start a new investigation of the 1999 apartment bombings in Russia.
Ukraine, Russia: Personae Non Gratae
On May 12, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was declared persona non grata in Ukraine, following his calls for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. On May 15, Russia denied entry to Vladyslav Kaskiv, one of the leaders of the 2004 protests in Kyiv and member of the Our Ukraine/People's Self-Defense faction in the Ukrainian parliament. LJ user varfolomeev66, a Russian journalist, compares the two cases.
China: Sharon Stone on Earthquake
Lam Kay pointed out that the mainstream media had mistranslated[zh] Sharon Stone's comment on Sichuan earthquake and caused a lot of misunderstandings in the Chinese world.
Lebanon: The Doha Agreement
Lebanese political leaders who met in Doha under the patronage of the Emir of Qatar Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani reached an agreement last week. The full text of the agreement was posted by Blogging Beirut among others. As a result of the Doha Agreement the Lebanese parliament convened...
Colombia: FARC Leader “Sureshot” is Confirmed Dead
After countless false claims of the death of the FARC's top leader Manuel Marulanda Vélez aka "Sureshot," the Colombian government confirmed that he passed away in March of natural causes. Colombian bloggers were quick to react and provide their thoughts on what this means for the future of the guerrilla group, the future presidential elections, and Sureshot's legacy.
Georgia: Opposition Protests
Following the recent parliamentary election in the country, Resistance Georgia has posted photographs of the protest demonstrations which followed the landslide win for the ruling government party. The pro-opposition blog also posts some updates on the situation.
Thailand: Websites closed for “talking” about monarchy
Absolutely Thailand writes that the Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that two websites were illegally blocked while 29 sites face closure in Thailand for allowing an open-forum discussion about the Thai monarchy.
Singapore blogger dares Lee Kuan Yew to sue him
Blogger Gopalan Nair dares Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew to sue him. IZ Reloaded thinks it could be “the most daring or foolish act ever in the history of the blogosphere.”
Egypt: Styill Building Pyramids
Tom Gara says the Egyptians are continuing to build pyramids – in this sarcastic post.
Kazakhstan: Politics and Tractors
These weeks the bloggers have been chewing upon traditionally prominent topics on the Kazakhstani blogosphere — politics and economy. Megakhuimyak says [ru] – “without aspiration to make a global-scale conclusion” – that 80 percent of the political public officials at the age older than 50 have obtained their current position...
Bahamas: Education Consequences
Christopher Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com blogs about the consequences of an ineffective education system, saying: “We are reaping that which we have sown.”
Puerto Rico, U.S.A.: Imagine That Conversation
Puerto Rican blogger Liza asks: “Can you imagine having to talk to your kids about the potential assassination of their father?”, adding: “What people don't get is how deep the wounds of political and social violence run in this country. To have people like Hillary Clinton dismiss political assassination as...
Paraguay: The Creation of a People's Union
Edgar Ruiz Díaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] writes about the change in power in Paraguay, and how many public workers will now try to convince the new administration that they belong. He also suggests the creation of a “People's Union,” which will help control the public administration.
Guyana: Identity Crisis?
Signifying Guyana blogs about her “personal struggle with a hyphenated identity”.
Bahamas: Social Breakdown?
Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit believes that the country's escalating violence, especially among youth, “is not crime. It is impending social breakdown.”
Bermuda: Freedom or Manipulation?
Bermudian bloggers are incensed about the Premier's statement that making certain information public is “akin to asking a neural surgeon to come out of the operating room in the middle of an operation to answer about costs and procedures”: IMHO.bm: “This is not progressive, this is regressive”; Vexed Bermoothes: “The...
Europe: More on Eurovision
Belatedly, a link to a Eurovision report by BBC's Mark Mardell – and over 150 comments to his post.
Romania: Corruption
Transatlantic Politics writes about corruption in Eastern and Central Europe: “A survey made amongst Romanian judges showed that most of them don’t consider corruption as being a serious crime.”
Bulgaria: Stoev's Murder and Anonymous Blogging
Maya's Corner quotes a passage on Georgi Stoev's murder and the dangers of writing under one's real name in Bulgaria.
Hungary: Ferenc Szálasi
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Ferenc Szálasi and Hungarian nationalist politics – here and here: “Perhaps no one will be surprised to discover that the man who came up with “Hungarism” wasn’t an ethnic Hungarian. His original name was Szalosján. His fraternal ancestors came from Armenia and settled in Transylvania […]....
Greece: Macedonian Party
Say: Macedonia writes about the first congress of the Macedonian “Rainbow Party” in Greece.
