Stories about Governance from April, 2008
Soviet History: Samizdat Anniversary
Window on Eurasia writes about the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Soviet samizdat publication, the Chronicle of Current Events.
Estonia, Russia: Bronze Soldier Crisis Anniversary
Vilhelm Konnander posts an extensive analysis of the issues surrounding the first anniversary of the Estonian Bronze Soldier crisis.
Brazil: Homicide counter on the streets
Recife is the first city in Brazil and in the world to have a homicide counter installed on the streets. Since January 1st only, there have been 1,511 deaths in the city, 11 of them today. “Now, the public can monitor our blog's data not only on the Internet but...
Bangladesh: women's equality vs. religion
Tahmina Shafique writes on the recently announced women’s development policy in Bangladesh which has triggered religious protests by Islamist groups and forced a retreat by the government on rights issued by the constitution.
Special report on Vietnam censored
Saigon Blues writes that the current issue of The Economist which has a special report on Vietnam has been subjected to censorship in Vietnam.
Malaysia: Parliament begins session
My Life My Stories comments on the opening session of Malaysia's Parliament: “Parliament is like a wet market. Shouting everywhere, speaking without raising hand to get approval and of course calling each other nickname.”
Philippines: Civilian supremacy in Cabinet
A Filipino lawmaker-blogger hopes that the next defense chief of the Philippines will still come from the civilian sector.
Kyrgyzstan: An Anxious April
A next to last week of April started from the unexpected fall of temperature. A lot of bloggers posted the photographs of the frozen greenery and the trees under snow. Yanagi presented the beautiful photos of the leaves under snow in her blog. red_ptero called [ru] this fall of temperature...
Iran:Protest against Persian Gulf “renaming”
Tribun Azad says[Fa] that about 500 Iranians on Tuesday gathered in front of the United Arab Emirates embassy in Tehran and protested against renaming of the Persain Gulf by several Arab states.The blogger has published several photos of this event. He adds that security forces arrested several people.
Russia: May 9 Parade Rehearsal
LJ user m_i_s_t_e_r_x_1 posts pictures of some of the fighting vehicles that will be displayed during the May 9 parade in Moscow. LJ user zaxarman posts a picture from the parade rehearsal in downtown Moscow tonight; some people in the crowd seem to have mistaken Russian-made cars for Hummers. (Text...
Ukraine: Privatization Confrontation
Orange Ukraine posts a roundup on Ukraine, which includes an examination of the confrontation between president Yushchenko and PM Tymoshenko over privatization. A close-up on an earlier privatization case is here.
Hungary: Opinion Polls on Economy
Hungarian Spectrum writes about how, according to two polls, “Hungarians perceive their own and the country's economic situation and prospects.”
Egypt: The New Governorates
Sandmonkey, from Egypt, wrote here about the presidential decree to create two new governorates, 6th of October and Helwan.
Touring Libyan Blogs: Pride, Patriotism, Nationalism and Chastity
There obviously is a link between patriotism, nationalism and pride but where do the women figure in this equation? If you are curious, bear with me and let's dissect the situation that has brought all this out on the Libyan blogs, writes Fozia Mohamed, who connects the dots in this article.
Ukraine: Chernobyl
Belatedly, a link to Ukrainiana‘s extensive post on the 22nd anniversary of Chernobyl.
Slovakia: Hotel Kyjev
The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia writes about plans to demolish Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava: “Though I agree that buildings like the Hotel Kyjev are part of Slovakia’s history, I disagree that they are part of true Slovak culture. Are the communist principles, good or bad, embodied in socialist-realism...
Russia: Moscow and NYC
Two-Zero explains why Moscow is not “the new New York.”
Lithuania: Bicycles in Vilnius
Babel in Vilnius writes on how to turn Vilnius into a bicycle-friendly city.
Indonesia: Rice laws
‘Sarapan Ekonomi, quotes a scholar who says “Asian rice laws and regulations are going in the wrong direction.”
Southeast Asia: Rice and food price crisis
The Southeast Asian region, home to several emerging and developing economies, is also struggling to cope with the global food price crisis. Bloggers discuss the impact of the crisis in the region.
Afghanistan: Learning from PRTs
Josh Foust opines on the Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan and takes a critical view on their effectiveness.
