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Global Voices Online – June 23, 2006

China: Revolution’s victims’ stories blogged, not forgotten (2/4)

“Chinese blogger-journalist Ran Yunfei has spent a large part of his life researching the stories of those painted, purged and persecuted as right wing elements during China’s Cultural Revolution; unable to have the stories published in any official media, he’s turned to his own well-known blog.” In this second installment of Ran Yunfei’s recent talk at a Chengdu teahouse, we become better acquainted with some of the forgotten intellectuals and victims of the 1950’s Cultural Revolution. It’s also worthwhile to read Yunfei’s thoughts on his city of residence, Chongqing.

Alaa Is Free

They are the three words we’ve all been waiting to read for over a month and a half now. Elijah Zarwan spoke with the award-winning Egyptian blogger just after his release from detention and has summarized some of the reactions from around the Egyptian blogosphere. Here is a victory for free speech and online activism worth celebrating.

In defense of “the world’s least polite city”, Ukraine’s Orange Coalition gets organized, female suicide rates in China, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 21, 2006

Musique Africaine

I have to admit, it has taken Obi Orjiekwe a few posts to convince me that I am a fan of Ghanaian “hip life.” But now the hybrid genre, which mixes North American hip-hop with West African high life, gets ample attention on all of my playlists. Visit Orjiekwe’s African music roundup to see if you, too, will become a convert.

Ukraine: “The Cars” With Ukrainian Voiceover; Local TV

How does a Hollywood cartoon find resonance among Ukrainian movie theater goers? And for those who prefer to stay at home, what (if anything) does Ukrainian TV have to offer? Veronica Khokhlova has the answers with the help of two translated blog posts.

Echoes from the Tunisian blogosphere

A look at the Tunisian blogosphere inevitably reveals several lamentations over their country’s disappointing World Cup performance against Germany. Meanwhile, off the field: cutting down unemployment, the various contexts of “Sbah El Khir,” and a website that offers downloads of Tunisian movies, plays, music, and more.

World Cup Cultural Treasures from the Lusosphere

It’s a good week for Portuguese-speaking football fans, writes Jose Murilo, as “all three Lusophone countries, Angola, Brazil and Portugal, are still in the contest for the World Cup.” Even the Timorese, in the midst of an anguished domestic conflict, are cheering on their linguistic comrades.

Mexico: Teachers Protest in Oaxaca

Teachers in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca have left their classrooms to occupy the city’s central plaza, where they are demanding a 100% pay raise and improved scholastic infrastructure. Those protests turned violent last Wednesday when the police attempted to forcibly evict the striking teachers and their supporters. Bloggers and photobloggers were at the scene to report developments in far greater detail than packaged news stories could ever allow for.

Alaa finally released, Labour Day in Trinidad and Tobago, social obligations in Tajikstan, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 20, 2006

Polish Blogosphere Roundup

Has online activism reached a sufficiently critical mass in Poland to influence policy decisions? At least one blogger seems convinced, write Jordan & Maria Seidel in their update of the Polish blogosphere. Herein are two distinct online movements expressing Polish public dissent. Also, the blame game following Poland’s dismal World Cup appearance.

This Week In Palestinian Blogs: Fire Dancing

“Gaza is on the brink of implosion, and I’m not sure how much more it can take.” That is how one Palestinian blogger described the state of her homeland as she continues a speaking tour across the United States. Unfortunately, searching through Naseem Tarawnah’s review of Palestinian blogs, it is difficult to find evidence of the contrary.

Football & Presidential Election

Moving on from Iran’s quick elimination in this year’s World Cup, Farid Pouya notes that many bloggers focused on the one year anniversary of President Ahmadinejad’s electoral victory. Or, perhaps better put, they offered several theories as to why reformist candidate Dr. Mostafa Moin lost.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Birthday in Detention

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is spending yet another birthday in detention, but bloggers ensure that neither she nor her message is forgotten.

Remembering Soweto 30 years later, Slovakia’s Sunday election, dealing with Jamaican police, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 19, 2006

Truth and Consequences

More than 40 days have passed since Global Voices first published about the detention of Egyptian bloggers including cyber-activist, Alaa Abd El-Fatah. This is not the first time bloggers in Egypt have been arrested for what they have published online, notes Elijah Zarwan, but unlike last year’s arrest of Abd al-Karim Suleiman, this time around the world is watching. How will the Egyptian government respond to the new online agitators and their globally distributed watchdogs?

China: Blogs for the ladies and the superstars

When you think of the next billion internet users, it’s a safe bet that a large percentage will connect from China. Already, as John Kennedy relates, some of the most popular Chinese bloggers attract readerships of tens, sometimes hundreds, of thousands. But what makes these alpha(female)-bloggers so popular? Kennedy translates three recent posts to give English readers an idea.

Turkey is Typing…

“The global game” has become the focus of global conversation and Turkish bloggers, like most, have their eyes set on Germany and this year’s World Cup. Deborah Ann Dilley has the football rundown and also points us to a campaign by some Turkish bloggers to help an injured countryman return home from the United States.

From Kingdom of Cambodia to United States of America

Long time readers of Global Voices have good reason to stereotype young Cambodian bloggers as intelligent, ambitious, and hard-working. ThaRum Bun gives us even more evidence to support the claim in this interview with Fulbright scholar and blogger, Somongkol Teng.

Haiti: Telecom Wars

What will Jamaica-based, Caribbean telecom giant, Digicel bring to the island of Haiti? Improved coverage? Cheaper prices? More jobs? Regulatory wars? A lack of network interoperability? According to the lucid translations of Haitian blog posts by Alice Backer, the answer could very well be yes to all of the above. And to top it off, in the background of the Caribbean controversy lies the global ambitions of an Irish company and its British competitor. This post is a must read for anyone interested in how a multinational corporation makes waves in a small domestic market half way across the world.

Cricket in New Caledonia, voodoo with a click of the mouse, the World Cup team representing a country that does not exist, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 17, 2006

The Discussion Around the “Argentinean Country Brand”

When we hear “national marketing campaign” rarely do we think of the nation itself, but branding a country has become paramount for countries vying for investment and tourism in the global marketplace. Of course, representing a nation’s essence, and perhaps its hope, is no easy task as Jorge Gobbi relates in this summary of Argentine bloggers’ mixed reactions to a previewed glimpse of their country’s new logo.

Arabisc: The Arabic Bloggers Ken, Media, Anti-Blogging and the World Cup

Could it be true? A specific blogging watchdog office within Egypt’s State Security Offices? If the medium is the message, then the free speech nature of weblogs is obviously seen as a potent threat to Egypt’s authoritarian government. Also in Haitham Sabbah’s rundown of the Arabic blogging community: more reaction to the Gaza Beach Tragedy, “Wallism” in Morocco, and Google News in Arabic.

Indonesia: World Cup Fever & Minister Blog

Indonesia, despite never reaching the tournament as an independent country, is following this year’s World Cup just like the rest of the world. A. Fatih Syuhud summarizes Indonesian perspectives on the games and introduces the country’s first blog by a federal minister.

Ukraine, Russia: Dreams of a Biased Person

I have read that the difference between bloggers and journalists is that the bloggers admit their biases. Veronica Khokhlova translates a post by a Ukrainian blogger who, despite her prejudiced feelings towards Russia, wants nothing more than peace and good will between the two countries.

Deadly anti-mining protests in Mongolia, Reunion’s Cirque de Mafate, implications and origins of Japanese Kawaii, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 16, 2006

Interview with Leo Prieto

If you haven’t yet heard of Chilean blogger Leo Prieto then it’s about time you did. The internet superstar is responsible for a small army of some of Latin America’s most popular weblogs including FayerWayer and his own personal site. In this interview with Rosario Lizana, Prieto meditates on the growth and talent of Chile’s blogging community as well as the obstacles confronting Chile’s place as the regional leader in communications technology.

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

The surprise visit by US President George Bush and the death of Al-Qaeda leader Zarqawi continue to elicit an assortment of reactions by Iraqi bloggers. Salam Adil presents them all clearly in this week’s review of political probing and pessimistic realism.

Tamil: Blog aggregators, education, middle east and manslaughter

Tamil blogs have matured considerably from a handful of early adopters to a lively community of aggregators, podcasts, and a directory. And the use of Tamil language on the internet is only likely to increase as Bharat writes of the decision by Tamil Nadu’s new government to make Tamil compulsory in public schools.

Kurdish oral history in Armenia, national identity in a global era, the EU’s response to Polish homophobia, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 15, 2006

West African blogs round-up

They are the small recurring events which serve as bookmarks and measuring sticks for our lives: the arrival of the rainy season, the nostalgic memories of previous World Cups. There are new ideas in evolving democracies like the participation of independent candidates. And there are the unspeakable atrocities such as torture, which has somehow managed to persist into the 21st century. David Ajao covers them all in this review of West African weblogs.

China: Revolution’s victims’ stories blogged, not forgotten (1/4)

What is the history of China’s conservative right wing? Under-researched, certainly. Which is why Ran Yunfei from Sichuan province is leading a movement to better document the right’s legacy in China, especially during the Cultural Revolution. John Kennedy has translated a presentation by Ran Yunfei, which offers a revealing look into Chinese intellectualism, forgotten history, and research methodology. As the victims of China’s Cultural Revolution delve into old age, an inspired group of researchers and bloggers is ensuring that their stories aren’t forgotten.

Kurdistance: Wednesday?

Video lovers will appreciate Deborah Ann Dilley’s most recent review of the Kurdish blogosphere, which includes links to video clips that pick you up, make you think, and make you laugh.

The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs

Bolivia is less than three weeks from electing its first 255-member constituent assembly, but bloggers in the country see little evidence of active campaigning. Will the new exercise in democracy give greater voice to all sectors of Bolivian society or merely cause more conflict between them? Eduardo Avila gauges bloggers’ positions.

Global Voices in Chinese!

Global Voices has long excelled at bringing the world’s diverse and dispersed conversations to one central meeting place. Unfortunately, those valuable exchanges take place mostly in English. So it is a milestone achievement when Rebecca MacKinnon announces that Taiwanese blogger Portnoy has launched Global Voices in Chinese, bringing our content to readers of the most understood language in the world. It is our highest hope that Portnoy’s project may serve as a model for future efforts to translate Global Voices content into other languages.

What had been Lahore’s only Hindu temple, China’s iPod sweatshops, Amman on Zarqawi, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 13, 2006

What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — about Tony Saca

President Tony Saca recently presented a report to the Salvadoran National Assembly summing up the first two years of his administration’s term. At least two bloggers lament the partisanship with which the report was received while others found the familiar rhetoric to be short on numbers and concrete proposals. While most of Latin America is referenced for its move to the left, Tim Muth’s most recent post examines a measuring point of one of the region’s conservative governments.

World Cup: Iran and Mexico

Commentary leading up to both teams’ opening match concentrated on Iran’s luke warm reception in Germany amid offensive cartoons and controversial statements, but once the whistle blew, bloggers in both countries concentrated on the game.

Latest in French-Speaking Blogs of the Caribbean and Oceania

Not even a table of contents could cover all of the goodness that Alice Backer has managed to translate in her review of francophone blogs from Oceania and the Caribbean. Avid readers will remember the newlyweds Sebastien and Annoella of New Caledonia and enjoy their most recent multimedia offerings. A Guadeloupean blogger stars on a talent show, Port-au-Prince goes global for the World Cup, and a rare earthquake shakes French Guiana.

Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes

The Zimbabwean “Monitoring and Interception of Communications Centre” is not something that rings with optimism for supporters of free speech. Zim Pundit points us to a post about how the center and its founding Interception of Communications Bill are likely to inspire “self-censorship.” Also: Burundi’s brutality towards journalists, “newspaper gazing” in Uganda, and a frightful journey in a “bodaboda.”

World Cup: Running with the Ronaldos in the blogosphere

“Brazilians love to talk, and now nothing is more important to talk about than the World Cup.” So writes Jose Murilo and the conversation he refers to couldn’t possibly get much more heated. First, trash talking between the country’s star player, Ronaldo, and his president, Lula. Then the prodigy, Ronaldinho, whose quick feet are made for YouTube’s remix culture. And finally, from Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo, who helped his team to a 1-0 victory over Angola. Can’t keep your Ronaldo’s straight? This entertaining post will help.

Doubling class sizes in the Philippines, life in Serbia after Montenegro’s independence, buying and selling lives in China, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 12, 2006

India buzzing

No respite for Indian bloggers writes Kamla Bhatt as a week full of Bollywood, a celebrity court case, fuel hikes, cricket, and the World Cup has bloggers pecking away more furiously than ever. Your good news tidbit of the day: carpooling encouraged by the internet.

The Global Voices Show #2

I’m not one to be easily entertained by new technological gimmicks, but I must admit that Georgia Popplewell has won me over with this week’s enhanced AAC version of the Global Voices Show podcast. If you listen to the global showcase in iTunes, each audio excerpt presents its own embedded link, which will take you to the blog of the podcast being featured. From your headphones to Singapore to Kazakhstan to Jordan and beyond: this is a 23 minute journey worth taking.

China: Google’s China Problem

Google’s censorship of search results in China was intensified during the recent 17th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, writes Frank Dai, which has led to more blogger scrutiny over the company’s place and business objective in the Chinese market. Some bloggers have gone so far as to resort to virtual voodoo.

To have GCE O’Level English, or not to have?

An op-ed from Brunei’s only English-language newspaper recently suggested that the ubiquitous O Level English Exam, a requirement to enter the country’s main university, was an outdated “relic of colonial times.” Maurina H, describes the varied reactions inspired by the suggestion.

China: Freethinking young writer takes on the cultural establishment

When is the last time you came across a blog post with more than 6,700 comments? That is the unbelievable avalanche of commentary that follows an inflammatory post by a popular, young, Chinese author lashing out against three prominent, middle-aged artists. Nothing draws a crowd like a good fight and John Kennedy’s translations bring us to the center of the spectacle.

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

Salam Pax has become a household name for much of the international blogosphere. His descriptions of Iraq, equally full of lighthearted sarcasm and poignant purposefulness, have painted our own visions of what it must be like to be in the war-torn nation. Recently, while searching for willing interviewees, he stumbled across what he describes as “the future of Iraq.” Also in Salam Adil’s weekly review: the missing attribution by a British journalist, a blogger’s imprisoned brother, Iraqi LGBT’s claim that life was better under Saddam, and continuing violence.

Global Food Blog Report #21

We have already seen the weekly African Music Roundup embrace World Cup mania whole-heartedly. Now it is time for in-house chef, Melissa De Leòn Douglass to do the same with her weekly Global Food Report. The best place to watch the games in Panama and a devotional risotto tricolore for the Italian team await you.

World soccer, world music, the possibility of secession in the D.R. of Congo, Chinese weapon sales to Nepal, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 10, 2006

Zarqawi: More Blogger Reactions

Iraqi bloggers continue to react to the death of Zarqawi. But beyond their personal reactions, we are also afforded a glimpse of the atmosphere at a press conference near the Iraqi parliament as well as the streets of Beirut.

60th Anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

“Long live the king” seemed to be a nearly unanimous expression of devotion last week in Thailand on Friday where King Bhumibol Adulyadej celebrated the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne. Don’t miss the English translation of his speech.

DRC Roundup: Elections, Mining Corruption, Peacekeepers & More

Jen Brea sums up her incredible collection of translated excerpts best: “With July 30th elections fast approaching, the blogosphere’s attention remains fixed on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s uncertain political future. Congolese opposition bloggers continue their criticism of the elections and a political transition process they see as unfair, while Western bloggers and expatriates in the Congo write about Western media coverage of the DRC and an international peacekeeping force whose mission is to help maintain stability that some say is wholly inadequate to the task.” All this and a horrid picture of a young boy electrocuted while attempting to wire a house.

Russia: G8 Security and Domestic Issues

Further translations, but of a lighter note, come from Russia where Veronica Khokhlova describes the random apartment checks by St. Petersburg police in preparation for July’s G8 summit. As Global Voices readers have come to expect, the Russian bloggers respond not with fear or hysteria, but rather some very funny jokes.

The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs

There is skepticism among several Bolivian bloggers about the involvement, if not interference, by the Cuban and Venezuelan governments in Bolivia’s domestic affairs. Eduardo Avila links to their specific concerns.

Relations between Kazakhstan and Iran, World Cup fever in Trinidad and Tobago, Ethiopian ethnic relations, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 9, 2006

The Kannada Context: Hear the nature of voices

The emergence of a successful community online always requires the right tools and the right leadership. Sanket Patil reveals that South Asia’s Kannada-speaking blog community has both and the result has been the mushrooming of something fantastic. English readers fear not, a bilingual post about India’s engineer of the White Revolution, Dr. Verghese Kurien had me glued to my screen.

Interview with Allamezadeh & Ezati, Iranian Famous Movie Directors & Bloggers

Farid Pouya mixes media delightfully this week by interviewing two Iranian blogger/filmmakers. If you’re interested in Persian cinema or if the intersection of blog, film, and print fascinates you, don’t miss this post.

Exploding at the Iraqi Blogodrome

Salam Adil begins, “finally a piece of news that mainstream media and blogs generally agree with.” You probably guessed it already: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed on Wednesday in an American airstrike. But will his death usher in peace to the volatile region and new political capital to the government? Iraqi bloggers sound off.

China: New news anchors for a new decade

National news anchors: they are the faces and voices that package the news for us night after night. And, after time, they can become representative of entire generations. It’s no wonder that bloggers reacted excitedly to the changing of guard for the prime time newscast at “the surreally socialist China Central Television (CCTV).” But will these fresh faces stave off a fleeing audience attracted by stations willing to take more risks? John Kennedy translates the perspectives of Chinese bloggers.

Playboy Indonesia and Two Contradictory Opinions

Playboy Magazine made waves back in April when the first ever Indonesia edition hit magazine stands of the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Issue two was just released, writes A. Fatih Syuhud, inspiring commentary from the country’s bloggers.

Storms and rain in Chile

The season’s first rains have hit the Chilean capital of Santiago, but bloggers don’t seem to mind the poor drainage so long as the valley’s smog is cleared. Rosario Lizana links to the water-logged posts.

Nepal’s Maoist leader speaks out, blogs from Myanmar, World Cup versus work in Ukraine, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 7, 2006

Afghan Whispers: Crash & Riots

What do Afghans have to say about the violent protests that erupted in Kabul after a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic there? Farid Pouya gives us the perspectives of three local bloggers.

This week in Israel: what goin’ on?

“In the absence of major events like elections, suicide bombings and important holidays, local bloggers are turning to more prosaic issues” says Tel Aviv-based Lisa Goldman. But, as it turns out, some of those prosaic posts make for some poetic pondering about Israel’s place in the 21st century. Did you know, for example, that the Jerusalem municipality must help fund the city’s main gay pride parade? We also hear from an Israeli businessman who recently returned from living in Japan and a Lebanese businessman who has been recording his impressions of Israel.

Global Food Blog Report # 20

For several months now Panamanian chef, Melissa de Leon has been curating the most delicious food posts from around the world. This week that list includes “real deal Tamales Panameños,” a Japanese and Chinese plant sometimes called “devil’s tongue,” and a new blog project that combines cooking and gardening. Why not help make Melissa’s job easier by suggesting a tasty new food blog in your country?

Belarus: Memories of the Soviet Past

Was life in the USSR good or bad? It’s a question that can’t be answered with a nod of the head; perhaps it cannot be answered at all. But a St. Petersburg journalist and blogger offers an intimate glimpse into what it was like to grow up in the Soviet Union’s westernmost corner where two Easters were celebrated and where, “when the bread vanished from the stores, people began to bake it by themselves.”

On Peru’s Election

By now you should be used to them. Another week, another paramount election in Latin America, this time in Peru, where two competing leftists faced off on Sunday. For Peruvian bloggers, however, the vote was a choice between stepping on feces or pogo-sticking on the control panel of a nuclear power plant. Or, as another blogger puts it, “a choice between cancer and AIDS.”

Ukrainian mayor declines paycheck, HIV in Japan, a reason to forget Tiananmen Square in Barbados, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 6, 2006

This Week In Palestinian Blogs: Behind The Walls

Just as President Mahmoud Abbas announces a referendum on the recognition of Israel, Naseem Tarawnah describes the recent content of Palestine’s blogs better than I ever could: “From barber shops and strawberry fields to politics and the lives of students behind walls, the Palestinian blogosphere this week has many stories to tell.”

Czech Republic: Election Ends in Stalemate

The Czech Republic braces for uncertainty as last weekend’s elections failed to produce anything but political deadlock. Veronica Khokhlova has the reaction from Eastern Europe.

African Vibrations

I am making the bold prediction that over the next few weeks World Cup mania will infiltrate and then dominate Global Voices. Obi Orjiekwe starts us off with the intersection of football and music in his tenth African music roundup.

World Cup Fever

Mounting evidence of football frenzy comes from the country favored to win the entire tournament, Brazil, where Jose Murilo Junior reminds our global community that “we have never before had so prepared an environment for the expanded internationally networked exchange about the games as we have today.” In other words, get ready to defend your team. And if you have yet to prepare yourself for the biggest tournament of the world’s most popular sport, then this is the post for you.

Global Voices, Caribbean Accents: report on Caribbean blogging roundtable

What does the Caribbean mean? That’s the question that Nicholas Laughlin and Georgia Popplewell put to delegates at the annual conference of the Caribbean Studies Association held last week in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The delegates’ answers are as varied and captivating as their many accents. Laughlin posts the audio of their responses and describes the special panel, “Global Voices, Caribbean Accents: A Roundtable on Blogging in the Caribbean.”

Egyptian blogger Alaa to be detained 15 more days, Peru’s no-longer-ex-president, silence in numbers in Nepal, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 5, 2006

Chileans Students Still Stand for their Rights

Chilean students continue to use web technologies such as photoblogs to coordinate their nationwide protests, seeking smaller class sizes, free matriculation, free public transportation, and infrastructure improvements in public schools. President Michelle Bachelet offered a compromise on Thursday night, but the students rejected the proposal and protests are scheduled to continue today writes Rosario Lizana with links to many of the groups’ weblogs.

Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

North American and Western European news outlets were saturated this weekend with stories and op-eds on the Haditha massacre in which a squad of U.S. marines allegedly opened fire on 24 Iraqi civillians last November. But those of us who have been following Salam Adil’s weekly dispatches from the Iraqi blogosphere can understand why the latest disgraceful scandal did not raise a single eyebrow amongst Iraqi bloggers inside the country: as Adil explains, “the issue of violence from US soldiers has been reported again and again and again, this is no longer news for them.” Rather, one blogger describes the deaths of 22 of her neighbors when a motorcycle exploded in a nearby market and another describes the funeral for his neighbors who were killed in an explosion last week. Away from the carnage, this post is also a must read for food and ice cream lovers.

Journalism 3.0 in Cuba: A Utopian Wish?

Cuba. It’s a word, for much of the world, more symbolic of ideological contention than national identity. And so it is no surprise that Cuba and its blogosphere are at the center of a heated debate between two communications professors (one from the University of Havana and the other based at the University of Victoria in Spain) on the realities of citizen journalism and internet access on the socialist island. By presenting each side of the debate, this post aims to give context to Cuba’s emerging community of journalist-bloggers.

China: June 4th:Silence, Memorial and Blogger’s Saying

Yesterday marked the 17th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, an “incident,” which to this day does not exist in the Chinese government’s official memory and certainly is not commemorated in the domestic mainstream media. But as Frank Dai reveals, the decentralized nature of the internet ensures that the atrocity won’t be forgotten. One glance at a particular del.icio.us tag shows that commemoration is indeed alive and active.

The Week That Was in Bahrain

Everyone in Bahrain just got a free upgrade to their internet service. Or so telecommunications monopoly Batelco would like to convince them. In reality, monthly bandwidth limits will be introduced; a move which has been met with almost unanimous disapproval by Bahraini bloggers. So far the response includes a boycott, online demonstration, blog banners, bumperstickers, and my favorite, a rap song (the second verse is in English).

Latest in the Francophone African Blogosphere

And we end the beginning of the week with Alice Backer’s review of Francophone Africa. A call for pan-Africanism, Ivory Coast’s preparations for the World Cup, the Western press’ awakening in the D.R. of the Congo, and much more await you.

Understanding Ahmadinejad’s popularity with Iran’s youth, the threat to Haitian mangos, media coverage in Montenegro, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 3-4, 2006

Arabisc: Arabic Bloggers Ken

Women’s suffrage has been granted for the first time in the upcoming Kuwaiti elections, but are women really free to vote for their preferred candidate? Haitham Sabbah, in his review of the Arabic-language blogosphere, reveals the potential limiting effects of a fatwa issued by the dean of a Kuwaiti college. Also: a meditation on an x-ray from Iraq, broadcast exclusivity and the World Cup, and
the suitability of what could and should be published on weblogs.

Mongolian Mining and the Blogs

As the prices of natural resources skyrocket around the globe, the governments of developing nations are hoping to get a larger cut of the profits from what are typically foreign-owned mining and drilling companies. Ben Paarmann exemplifies the trend with his post on Mongolia’s May 12th decision to pass a windfall profit tax of 68% on gold and copper. Will the controversial new law bring the country needed revenue or scare away foreign investment? Paarman gauges the analysis that has propagated throughout the blogosphere.

Indonesian Bloggers on No Smoking Day

An anti-tobacco campaign has entered Indonesia’s blogosphere and A. Fatih Syuhud notes that some of the signatories are even smokers themselves!

China: Old festival, new name

It is a universal tendency, one could argue, that the stimulus of a festival is always transformed from its historical origin to the human need to merely be festive. John Kennedy explains the largely forgotten origins of last Thursday’s Duan Wu (端午) festival in China, which officially commemorates anti-graft poet Qu Yuan (屈原), but has since been transformed into what one blogger describes as “a chance to eat zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings.” Here is an intriguing look into sticky rice dumplings, poetry, dragon boats, and Chinese queer identity.

Russia: Limonov and Copyright

What happens when 21st century, global “remix culture” intersects with the 20th century, antiquated copyright and licensing laws? Veronica Khokhlova conveys the paradoxical irony by translating a post of Russian professional photographer Sergei Maximishin who finds that one of his most popular photographs was used without his permission for the cover of a newly published book by one of Russia’s most controversial politicians. The irony? Maximishin produced the photograph with a pirated copy of Photoshop. This post is a must read, not just for its insight, but also its humorous tone.

Trafalgar Falls, Dominica

Those of us in the northern hemisphere are either enjoying or enduring summer’s warm temperatures. I doubt that anyone would decline an offer to visit these cool, tropical falls in Dominica photographed by Barbadian blogger Titilayo.

Citizenship and economics in Cameroon, Iranian women encounter football violence, outsourcing a blog to India, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 2, 2006

We reach: Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad

Last week Trinidad and Tobago celebrated Indian Arrival Day, the annual commemoration of the first wave of Indian indentured laborers to arrive to the Caribbean nation shortly after the abolishment of the slave trade by the English parliament. Jonathan Ali rounds up the reactions and reflections by Trinidadian bloggers.

Pornography Fear Sparks Cambodia 3G Ban

Porn in your pocket: that is the worry of government officials in Cambodia who have decided to formally ban a planned 3G network that would have enabled users to send photographs and videos with more ease than traditional mobile networks allow for. ThaRum Bun tells the story with the help of Cambodia’s bloggers.

An interview with Tel Aviv-based blogger Lisa Goldman

Kamla Bhatt sat down with regular Global Voices contributor Lisa Goldman at the WeMedia conference in London where they talked about Lisa’s childhood in Canada, blogging from Tel Aviv, and the Israeli blogosphere in general. But why not sit in on the conversation yourself by visiting the post or subscribing to the Global Voices podcast?

Police arrogance in Malaysia, student protests in Santiago, Chile, anime fans in Pakistan, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – June 1, 2006

Demystifying Tamil as a language and a person

It is so easy to make exotic that which is unfamiliar. Luckily for Global Voices readers, Bharat – with the help of many Tamil bloggers – demystifies the Tamil people, their language, and its many variants. I’m sure you’re dying to find out what a “Mary” refers to in the “Madras baahshai” dialect.

Indonesia: Java Quake Help Wiki Needs Online Volunteers

The Java Quake Help Wiki has been making major strides in coordinating disaster relief operations over the past two days, but Angelo Embuldeniya says the team is still in urgent need of online volunteers to help organize and machine-translate the content. Just a couple hours of your time could help make a difference.

Jailed Cartoonist, Riots in Universities & Anniversary of a Victory

Persian Language Editor Farid Pouya tackles two main topics filling the bits and bytes of Iranian blogs. First we are given greater insight into the arrest of a cartoonist and his editor for a cartoon deemed offensive to Iran’s Azeri community. Then, student protests have overwhelmed the country’s universities, but what is at the root of the dissension? Ethnicity? Religion? Politics? Pouya links to the low down.

Indonesia: IM Conference Room for Quake Relief

In addition to the wiki, Preetam Rai informs that the World Wide Help Group is also using a live, around-the-clock IM conference chatroom to coordinate quake relief efforts on the island of Java in Indonesia. If you’ve been hesitant on who to donate money to, why not sign in and ask one of the relief volunteers.

Kurdistance: NGO Project Update

It’s time for Kurdish bloggers to get pro-active, reveals Deborah Ann Dilley, as they comment on campaigns by NGO’s like Kurdistan Save the Children and Kurdish Human Rights Watch. This post is a pearl of optimism in what is largely a territory of tribulation.

China: Don’t learn Chinese for business opps, learn it for this book

It is probably something most bloggers have thought about: collect all your old posts, cut a little, add a little, and presto, publish a book. Iraqi blogger “Salam Pax” was one of the first to do exactly that, but John Kennedy tells us that China’s infamous Wang Xiaofeng is now also a member of that select club of bloggers turned print authors. Here is a collection of translated posts responding to the new book and the intersection of online and page print in the first decade of the 21st century.

The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs

“Bolivians have long resigned themselves to the fact that their football national team will also be home watching the upcoming World Cup on television” writes Eduardo Ávila. But such resignation hasn’t stopped some Bolivian bloggers to nostalgically relive the good old days of 1994 when the Bolivia’s first World Cup qualification “cut through any ethnic or regional lines and united the entire country.”

Madraka Day in Kenya, the history and significance of a bus argument in Hong Kong, hunger strikes in Egyptian prisons, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 31, 2006

Colombia: President Uribe Reelected in Landslide

In what has already been a massively busy year of elections throughout Latin America, Colombians went to the polls on Sunday and reelected President Álvaro Uribe for a second term. Though Uribe won in a large landslide, many of Colombia’s bloggers chose to reflect on the unexpected gain by the leftist party and the legacy issue of high abstention.

From the West African Blogosphere

David Ajao, sampling the blogs of West Africa, gives us a glimpse of exams in Ghana, Bird Flu in Burkina Faso, politics in the Gambia, and more. Find out what will most likely cost the third poorest nation US $10 million.

Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus

Far too much goodness in Ben Paarmann’s delayed cyber-review of Central Asia and the Caucasus to summarize in just a few lines. This one was well worth the wait as we are let in on aggressive hospitality in Georgia, media restriction in Armenia, the militarization of the Caspian Sea, continued protests in Kyrgyzstan, springtime photos of Tajikstan, and much more.

Indonesia: Earthquake Relief

In the first of two blog posts today on how you can help make a difference for the tens of thousands affected by the earthquake in Java, Indonesia, Preetam Rai explains the Java Quake Help Wiki, which is seeking volunteers to help with content, translation, and publicity. Also, photos of the relief operation by an Australian exchange student.

Russia: “And You Call It A Gay [Pride] Parade?”

A controversial gay pride parade took place in Moscow’s streets this past weekend to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia. That commemoration, however, turned into violence when “Orthodox Christians, Russian ultra-nationalists and skinheads attacked a handful of gays who showed up by the Kremlin to put flowers to the Unknown Soldier Memorial.” The incident was captured dramatically by one Russian photoblogger and then inspired an active online conversation about the riots and what can be done to increase tolerance in Russian society. Veronica Khokhlova has all the links and translations.

India: films, cricket and monsoons and more…

One Indian blogger’s post title seems to clearly sum up the pace of conversation taking place in the subcontinent’s blogosphere: “coffee can inspire the crap out of you.” Kamla Bhatt condenses the graphomania into a digestible portrait of admittance quotas, Da Vinci Code controversy, cricket speculation, and an early monsoon arrival. Not to mention, the strange Italian theme in this rundown of all things Indian.

How to Help Indonesia Earthquake Victims

The death toll from the Indonesian earthquake now exceeds 5,000. A. Fatih Syuhud points readers in the direction of updated blogs and relief organizations where you can donate money and stay abreast of humanitarian news.

Latest in the Francophone Caribbean Blogosphere

Alice Backer finishes up another prolific day on Global Voices with a collection of translated excerpts from the Francophone Caribbean. Guadeloupe feels the tensions from a strike by the General Union of Guadeloupean Workers. Haiti sees the inauguration of President Preval. Martinique has mixed feelings on the marginalization of lesbians. And French Guianese who fought against the Germans in WWII are remembered by a Martiniquan filmmaker in his newest documentary.

Privatization in Saint Lucia, a fire burns through historic Armenia, Latvia’s upcoming gay pride parade, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 30, 2006

Echoes from the Tunisian blogosphere

Tunisian bloggers have put forth some controversial ideas in the past fortnight. Among them: implementing tuition in higher education, normalizing relations with Israel, and how to really get a job in Tunisia. Don’t miss Mohamed Marwen Meddah’s post for all this plus: thoughts on a fully Arabic operating system, a Tunisian musical podcast, and a feature on the World Cup team.

Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes

The one year anniversary of Zimbabwe’s “cleanup” known as Operation Murambatsvina, which rendered thousands homeless, has inspired the country’s bloggers to commemorate and reflect. Also in Zim Pundit’s review of Africa’s Great Lakes region: Tutsi activists arrested in Burundi, elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the violent tactics of Rwanda’s FDLR, and Uganda’s uncensored cinema.

African women’s voices this week

Nish Matenjwa is in charge of this week’s rundown of what African women have been blogging about. We find an open letter to “UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown who has demanded an end to corruption in developing countries” as well as two incensed posts on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s decision to bear a child in Namibia.

Indonesia Earthquake

Via the Indonesiahelp blog, Preetam Rai posts a photo from Yogyakarta, Java where relief efforts continue as do, unfortunately, more earthquakes.

Nepal Moving Towards Peace Talks

Though paradox it may be, staging a revolution is usually easier than building a democracy. Nepalese bloggers, according to Paramendra Bhagat, feel that the pace of change has been too slow since the country transitioned from monarchy to democracy in April. What is revealed is a puzzle of consensus building between old royalty, a new parliamentary, Maoist rebels, and the nation’s army.

East Timor reported by the Lusophone Blogosphere

Rio de Janeiro-based Lusophone Editor Jose Murilo Junior looks half way around the world where one of the planet’s newest countries finds itself saturated with escalating, factional violence. Digging deep into Portuguese-language blogs he discovers how oil exploration and a political divide between Prime Minister Alkatiri and President Xanana Gusmão have contributed to the strife. Also interesting are Murilo’s own reflections on the similarities between East Timor’s native Tétum language and the “slang and dialect the Brazilian kids are creating in their instant messenger quick typing.”

China: Raising fuel prices, raising tempers

As African and South American bloggers debate China’s interest in oil exploration in their regions, John Kennedy has translated two thorough posts from Chinese bloggers on their country’s petroleum industry and how it is managed. In a question we now all repeat like a mantra, these bloggers ask “when will gas prices ever stop rising?”

Be irrepressible! a campaign for global internet freedom

Finally, Rachel Rawlins informs us of a new campaign by Amnesty International to highlight and condemn filtering and censorship by both restrictive governments and unrestricted IT corporations. Read on to discover the campaign’s three main points of action and how to put a dynamic badge on your blog or website.

The risks of political party blogging from Barbados, Tiananmen anxiety in China, Russian homophobia in black and white, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 29, 2006

Special Indonesia Earthquake Blog

Whether you cite God or Mother Nature, we can all agree that Indonesia has been dealt an unfair deck of cards in recent times. Weblogs helped instigate a new era of online compassion and charity during the Asian tsunami. Now A. Fatih Syuhud writes that Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Java has set up a comprehensive blog with constantly updated news about Saturday’s deadly earthquake and information on where and how money can be donated effectively. And if there are any Bahasa speakers on this list, translations would be helpful in connecting donors with humanitarian groups.

What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — violence and generals

Salvadoran bloggers seem relieved that President Tony Saca has finally acknowledged the country’s unfettered violence. But what are the root causes of the violence and how can they be stemmed? Also, is El Salvador’s government ready to open up its military archives “to provide information about the assassination of archbishop Oscar Romero and other crimes of the Salvadoran civil war”? Are Salvadorans ready? And … don’t miss the freshly updated photoblogs.

Turkey is Typing…

Despite a busy news week, Deborah Ann Dilley writes that Turkey’s anglophone bloggers have been relatively quiet over the past few days. She takes advantage of the lull to describe some of her favorite Turkish-language weblogs. The links are well-worth the click as many of the bloggers express themselves in the universal languages of music, film, and photography.

Up close with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

An article in The Independent featuring Dr Ngozi Okonjo, the Nigerian anti-graft and pro-transparency finance minister, has inspired a handful of Nigerian bloggers to offer their own opinions about her. Is she, as the article’s title suggests, “the woman who has the power to change Africa”?

What do Bloggers say about Rural India?

The content on Indian blogs tends to reflect the urban and middle-class realities of the authors. It was such an observation that inspired Mridula Dwivedi to ask what bloggers say about rural India and those who dwell there. Here is a brief portrait of childhood marriage, urban migration, village schools, and how to reduce poverty.

Senegal: Conversations on Drowned Migrants

It’s a conversation that is taking place all over the developing world: how to ensure the safety and human rights of departing emigrants? How to curb emigration with domestic employment? Why do young men and women feel compelled to leave in the first place? Now, thanks to the internet, migrants abroad and their countrymen back home are able to discuss the issues together. And thanks to Alice Backer’s translations, non-French speakers are also able to understand the debate.

Global Food Blog Report

First, the standard advisory: if your stomach is grumbling with hunger, then best to save this post for later. However, if you’ve already returned from your lunch break and you’d like to learn how to make some Philippine coconut leche flan or papa a la huancaina from Peru, then click away.

Guatemala prepares for hurricane season, Mother’s Day in Haiti, Ho Chi Minh City versus Hanoi, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 27 – 28, 2006

Russia: Ethnic Uzbek in Moscow

I recall an analogy made at the Internet and Society Conference where the Global Voices Manifesto was first written: the blogosphere was described as a space where conversations take place that had formerly occurred in taxi cabs and neighborhood cafes. Veronica Khokhlova melds those two universes together with her intriguing translation of a conversation between a Russian blogger and his Uzbek taxi driver.

Arabisc: Arabic Bloggers Ken

If the Egyptian government was hoping to silent its opposition bloggers by imprisoning some of the group’s most vocal members, they couldn’t have been more mistaken. Haitham Sabbah describes that solidarity that has formed in the Arab blogosphere around freeing detained peers and translates the first post of a blogger after being released from jail. Also, media bias in Kuwait’s parliamentary elections, celebrating independence in Southern Lebanon, and Saudi Arabian censorship.

DRC: Coup Attempts and More Questions on the Upcoming Elections

According to the nation’s bloggers, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a lot of obstacles facing it before free and fair elections might take place on June 30th. Among them, according to Jennifer Brea’s translations: an attempted coup by foreign mercenaries, the surveillance and kidnapping of opposition candidates, violations of electoral laws, Belgian interference, the presence of foreign peacekeepers, and German neocolonialism. And if your weekend reading demands a bit of escapism from the dreary electoral realities, a Canadian ex-pat offers a lesson in eating foufou and how to best greet a stranger on the streets of Kinshasa.

East Timor: More Violence

Factions continue to fight in East Timor writes South East Asia Editor Preetam Rai. When army soldiers opened fire on unarmed police officers and UN advisers, one Timorese blogger was at the clinic where they were taken and describes the scene.

The garments industry riots in Bangladesh

Mayhem broke loose in Bangladesh last week when a garment worker was shot in the city of Savar as police tried to contain angry protesters. According to Rezwan, “The death sparked more violence as thousands of garments workers took to the streets, creating chaos and huge traffic deadlocks around the capital. A section of 800-1000 violent protesters with sticks lead by motorcycle processions resorted to widespread damage of vehicles, attacked about 300 garments factories, and torched many of them.” Bangladeshi bloggers have responded with mixed reaction as blame is passed from the workers to the unions to the political parties to economic globalization.

Public School Students Coordinate Strike by Photoblogs

A massive boycott by more than 40,000 Chilean students, mostly based in Santiago, is calling for free public transportation, free matriculation, and a revision of what constitutes a full time schedule. Rosario Lizana writes that they are organizing their protests and getting their message out by using photoblogs. The next major step: a national strike scheduled for May 30th.

Taiwan’s “decade of democracy”, a Ukrainian blog bibliography, Somalia’s disenfranchised developers, Indepedence Day in Argentina, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 26, 2006

Musings from Nigerian Blogs

Rounding up the week of Nigerian weblog activity, Imnakoya touches on several important topics including: the mysterious genesis of corruption, Chinese-Nigerian relations, developmental economics, the exploration of national identity, and finally, unwanted pregnancy.

Grazing Elephants

If you’re like me, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the Nasalot National Reserve. Sokari Ekine introduces us.

Global Voices podcasting update

Clarifying any potential confusion, Georgia Popplewell writes that yesterday’s audio collage was not the only, nor the first, podcast to be featured on Global Voices. “In acknowledgement of this, we’ve decided to rename the magazine-style podcast ‘The Global Voices Show.’” And don’t if you have a suggestion of a podcast to be included in the show, don’t be shy.

China: Christians and democrats forced to take sides

A seemingly minor tiff among some visiting Chinese activists (and friends) in Washington D.C. has transformed into a significant rift between what John Kennedy describes as “China’s two largest forces for social and political change: Christians and democrats.” Through Kennedy’s comprehensive translations of Chinese bloggers we come to understand the most basic differences between the two leading agents of political reform in the world’s most populous country.

Argentina: Music and Misinformation

Following a strategy which has been tried with mixed success in North America and Europe, Jorge Gobbi explains a move by the Argentine record label representative, CAPIF, to seek compensation by internet users found guilty of downloading illegal music. But do those guilty parties actually exist or do Argentine media outlets have an interest in scaring away users from downloading copyrighted content? Gobbi has the story with plenty of links to other bloggers’ opinions on the matter.

Chile, Argentina, and Latin America’s Two Lefts

The cover stories of the most recent Economist and Foreign Affairs magazines show that more and more commentators are seeing the emergence of two distinct leftist movements throughout Latin America. This hasn’t been lost on the region’s bloggers as an interesting and impassioned conversation instigated by an Argentine native living in Spain reveals.

Textile workers’ strike in Bangladesh, the Pope visits Poland, Beijing’s most beautiful blogger, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 25, 2006

Global Voices Podcast #1

The global voices have become audible! Literally, thanks to the excellent production work of Caribbean Editor Georgia Popplewell, we are able to travel around the world in less than 17 minutes and listen in on podcasts from South Africa, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and beyond. Undoubtedly, the best 17 minutes you’ll spend today.

Pakistan: Blog-o-Aggregator

Omer Alvie, one of Global Voices most humorous and self-admittedly laziest contributors, has just made his job much easier by developing an aggregator of Pakistani blogs. And for those who prefer recommendations to happenstance, Alvie offers his hand-picked links for the week.

Action-Packed Week in India

A range of issues were competing for the attention of India’s bloggers this past week writes Kamla Bhatt in her rundown of commentary on stock market meltdown, school quotas, and Da Vinci Code debate. She will also let you in on why the police department was put on “suicide watch” and how a certain detective was able to bridge Baker Street and Bangalore.

Kurdistance: What’s Montenegro Got to Do With It?

Many watched and read with interest as Montenegro, the former republic of Yugoslavia, became the world’s newest country earlier this week. But Kurdish bloggers viewed the self-proclaimed independence with what Deborah Ann Dilley describes as “mixed feelings,” comparing the development to their own struggle for an independent state.

The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs

It wasn’t long after Evo Morales’ May 1st nationalization of Bolivia’s hydrocarbons that another presidential decree was penned; this time promoting land reform. Eduardo Ávila has Bolivian bloggers’ reactions as well as an unfolding controversy involving Bolivian gas sold to Chile through Argentina and a hung-over football team who will be watching this year’s World Cup from the living room.

India’s collaborative, blogger-musicians, video’s of village life in Ukraine, Evo Morales’ bid for reelection, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 24, 2006

Riots in Sao Paulo: Prison cells and cell phones

One week ago South America’s largest city, Sao Paulo, was consumed by gang violence coordinated via cell phone by prison inmates. Jose Murilo Junior gives us the appropriate context and analysis to understand both how the violence developed and how it was dealt with. One blogger explains, for example, “in Rio de Janeiro there is close contact between privilege and poverty which does not happen here. What differentiates São Paulo is its urban expansion model, which left the poor crowds on the margins of the city. It created a central privileged zone kept orderly by the control of public authorities and a periphery that was invisible. INVISIBLE… Until now!!!!”

Afghan Whispers: Parliament Talk & Media

In a story that has yet to enter the international press, Farid Pouya presents us with translations of two bloggers’ descriptions of a tirade by Afghan MP Malai Joya on Monday against Mujahedeen deputies who have gained unjust wealth while other war veterans are left handicapped.

African Music #9

From a Swahili song featured on a computer game to the Central African Republic’s ban on misogynistic lyrics to a compilation of music by Ugandan Jews, Obi Orjiekwe impresses once again with this, the 9th edition of the African Music Roundup.

Edible Blog Report

Moving from music maestoso to global gastronomy, chef Melissa De Leòn Douglass puts pangs in our paunch with a post full of delicious items including Indian food in Malaysia, pre-Colombian vegetarian food from Mexico, and Chinese food in Panama.

Arabisc: Update on Detained Egyptian Bloggers

Haitham Sabbah, updating readers on the status of the Egyptian bloggers and activists who were detained a month ago during a peaceful protest, is able to offer some relatively good news: two of the bloggers have been set free. Visit the post to find out who they are and what’s being done to get the others out.

Cartoon, Insecurity & Media

A sensitive cartoon has once again inspired anger and protest in the Middle East, but this time the cartoon was published by an Iranian state-controlled newspaper and offended the minority Azeri community. See Farid Pouya’s excellent collection of opinions for the story. Also, who’s behind the recent violence in Southeastern Iran? And will religious minorities have to adopt distinct colour schemes to make them identifiable in public?

Muscovites in Kyiv: Pizza Delivery Fiasco

In Kyiv, pizza delivery service is absolutely undeveloped. At least according to Russian emigre who recently set up a LiveJournal community for the many Moscow natives living in Ukraine’s capital. Veronica Khokhlova has the complete translation.

Chilean Bloggers Update

Rosario Lizana reports that a common thread was missing from Chile’s cyber-conversation this week, but she is able to come up with an interesting hodgepodge of links nonetheless, including one blogger’s documentation of Chile’s largest daily paper use of bloggers’ photographs without attribution.

Pessimistic thoughts on Montenegro, China’s muslim-dominated Xinjiang province, Jamaican and Haitian mangos, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 23, 2006

The Kannada Context: Exclusive Identity and Other Stories

Sanket Patil begins his lucid and exhaustive introduction to India’s Kannada-language blogging community by translating a poetic meditation on the conundrum of identity: “The search for a Kannada identity is like peeling an onion. As we go on excluding the layers, what we will be left with are tears alone!” Identity aside, what follows is a satisfying peek into the conversations of a group of bloggers that non-Kannada speakers would otherwise never be privy to.

Brunei: Blog report from the Abode of Peace: Bloggers vs Borneo Bulletin

Sometimes, just as interesting as what bloggers discuss is what they choose to ignore. According to Maurina H, weblogs in Brunei “are seen as an avenue for public rants about one’s personal love/school/family life, not a place to have rife discussions about the country’s progress, politics, education and economy.” The one exception would be reaction to a sensationalist article published in a local newspaper which claimed that bloggers could face libel lawsuits.

Ethiopia: Disappearing blogs

Following a worrisome trend, Blogspot-based weblogs are currently blocked in Ethiopia without any official explanation. But as the comments following Andrew Heavens’ post reveal, there is no shortage of unofficial theories.

The state of the Argentinean Blogosphere: Rosario, Santa Fe

Jorge Gobbi continues his series on Argentina’s provincial blogging scene, this time with an introduction to Rosario, Santa Fe, which boasts an impressive quantity of weblogs focused on education.

Francophone Africa: Bloggers On Colonialism’s Enduring Influence

Post-colonialism is alive and well in Francophone Africa writes Jennifer Brea in her thoughtful compilation of posts by African bloggers (including a Togolese former presidential candidate) examining France and Germany’s legacy in Gabon and Togo.

The First Internet Party ever Held in Cambodia

When summarizing a cutting edge website like Global Voices, it is tempting to describe every post as a “sign of the times,” but that is especially true of ThaRum Bun’s portrayal of Cambodia’s first “internet party” as he reminds us that just a decade ago “not many people could spell and capture the term and the meaning of ‘the Internet’ well, except expatriates working in Phnom Penh offices and a few Cambodian staff in aid organizations.”

Syrian Blogsphere in a Week

Syria’s government has stepped up its campaign to silence internal opposition including the arrest of popular opposition activist Michel Kilo who recently signed a declaration described by one bloggers as “a mild-mannered, balanced and reasoned declaration replete with politically correct pan-Arabist lingo.” Yazan BADRAN has the story.

Images from South Asia

Sometimes a picture really does speak a thousand words – and in a language as universal as the smile. New contributor Akshay Mahajan takes us on a tour of South Asia – from Kerala to Tibet – through the lens of the region’s photobloggers.

Montserrat volcano watch and West Indies cricket

Cricket and ash crossed paths this past weekend in the Caribbean explains Nicholas Laughlin as the lava dome of Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills Volcano collapsed after more than a decade of dormancy.

Montenegro: “It Looks Like Europe Has a New Country”

Veronica Khokhlova ends a busy day on the site with a survey of reactions to Europe’s newest country as “55.4 percent of the voters of Montenegro, the smallest of the six former Yugoslav republics, decided in favor of independence.” And find out why beer alone was reason enough for one blogger to protest the decision.

Criticizing the new West Indian anthem, Phnom Penh’s livability, quota commentary from India, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 22, 2006

Zimbabwe: Remembering Murambatsvina

This is Zimbabwe, a blog of the Sokwanele Civic Action Support Group, ensures that the misery spread by last year’s Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe won’t be forgotten. Sokari Ekine explains in words and pictures.

Flying over the Iraqi Blogodrome…

Salam Adil presents us with one very convincing and bleak portrait of today’s Iraq: “There is a common theme flowing like a whisper through the Iraqi blogs. In a phrase: ‘Where is the government?’” Whether it’s security, electricity, or health care, these everyday citizens are without the basic standards that governments are meant to provide. And worse if you are female – as we are told of militias shaving heads of women found not wearing headscarves, shooting a woman for driving, and killing three others for wearing trousers. Also, the “relatively good news” for gay Iraqi men that curiously does not apply to lesbians.

China: MSN users locked out, speak out

Previously reported on Global Voices by Frank Dai, Chinese MSN users continue to have problems logging onto both their MSN Spaces weblogs and instant messenger due to technical problems after Microsoft shifted its Passport login process to Live.com. Applicable to the debate on net neutrality, John Kennedy brings us translations of posts by frustrated Chinese internet users.

Image from Ukraine: “Waterbottle Football”

Football fever is heating up across the globe as this year’s World Cup approaches. Veronica Khokhlova has posted a heartwarming photograph of a very improvisational game of “waterbottle football” in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains.

The Movie “Da Vinci Code” in South East Asia

It’s so easy to forget that the world of weblogs is still in its nascent infancy. Only now is the tech-centric focus giving way to a more representative discussion that mirrors what a teahouse eavesdropper would hear in Kinshasa, Minsk, or Montevideo. And only now do we experience real time reactions to global events by an emerging community of everyday internet users eager to share their perspectives. We saw it in the days following the 2004 Asian tsunami. To some extent, a global conversation also took place a year ago with the release of Star Wars Episode III. This weekend it happened once again as bloggers the world over reacted to international release of the Da Vinci Code. Preetam Rai has the response from South East Asia.

Turkey is Typing….

Turkey’s fragile balance between Islam and secularism was tested once again last week when a gunman entered the country’s high court and killed a judge. Deborah Ann Dilley explains the debate that it has inspired.

Volcanic activity in Montserrat, Nepal’s revived democracy, Hungary’s Prime Minister side steps the Da Vinci Code, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 20 – 21, 2006

Around West Africa

David Ajao takes us on a fascinating tour of West Africa this past week. What happens when your view of God is transformed by a Western aesthetic? What does the Gambia’s opposition have in store for October’s presidential elections? And who wouldn’t want an Akuafo Bar right now?

Arabisk – The Arabic Bloggers Ken

Controversial and sensational diva Haifa Wahbi continues to make waves in the Arab blogosphere with her new hit “the Wawa.” Haitham Sabbah, translating from Arabic, also brings us news of a new recruitment effort by Iraq’s Ba’ath party, the stirrings of Kuwait’s own “Orange Revolution,” and worsening discord in Egypt.

Blogging, The New Journalism Frontier

Unraveling a theme that has become nearly universal among blogging communities around the world, Iria Puyosa takes a look at the divide between professional journalists and bloggers in Venezuela and what could be done to bridge it.

Grenada’s Chinese Village

The arrival of more than 500 Chinese construction workers who are building Grenada’s new National Stadium have transformed the site into a small Chinese village says Georgia Popplewell.

Russia: Blogger Dies on Mount Elbrus

Blogs have not only changed how we live, but as Veronica Khokhlova documents, how we are honored when our time comes to an end. In the case of 26-year-old Russian blogger Aleksandr Antonov, his time came far too early on Russia’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus. Khokhlova translates the climber’s last post and some of the nearly 300 comments that have followed it after Antonov’s death was reported.

An engineer’s accolades in Nigeria, Polish cheat sheets, Bangladesh’s loss of secularism, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 19, 2006

Podcast: An interview with Eduardo Avila

Kamla Bhatt sat down with Global Voices Bolivia contributor, Eduardo Ávila at the WeMedia conference in London where they discussed the Bolivian blogosphere, Evo Morales’ nationalization of hydrocarbons, and Eduardo’s time in Bolivia, Oklahoma, and Washington D.C. Here’s a chance to get to know one of Global Voices’ regular contributors while listening to the podcast as you sit in traffic, jog in the park, or type away at your computer.

Nigeria’s Failed Constitutional Amendment

Chippla Vandu describes a controversial constitutional amendment which would have lengthened the presidential time in office from two to three four-year-terms. “Few issues in Nigeria have generated as much debate in the blogosphere as that of amending the constitution to allow the incumbent president contest an election that may have seen him serve an extra term in office.” Though the majority of bloggers argued aggressively against the proposal, Vandu links to some interesting arguments in favor of a potential third term by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Mexico: Violence and Backlash in San Salvador Atenco

On May 3rd, in a small town just an hour and a half from Mexico City, violent riots broke out resulting in 200 arrests, 50 injured police officers, and one dead 14-year-old boy. But the obvious questions remain: what started the confrontation? What were federal police doing in the town to begin with? Why did the English-language press barely mention the story? This post hopes to expand on these as-of-yet unanswered questions by linking to the various and conflicting explanations of journalists, bloggers, and government officials.

Advocacy: Help protect global bloggers

For three months now we have been writing with increasing despair about the detention of East Asia Regional Editor Hao Wu by Chinese authorities. More recently, Egyptian blogger Alaa Abd El Fatah was also imprisoned during a peaceful protest in Cairo. As Rachel Rawlins reminds many of us who take our freedom to blog for granted, others are at risk of running into trouble with their governments for what they write. With the aim of greater advocacy for bloggers – current and future – who are unjustly detained while promoting freedom of speech, Global Voices has created a new page dedicated to tracking current cases and a wiki to brainstorm new projects. Please help spread the message by putting our new advocacy badge on your own blog.

Blogspot blogs blocked in Ethiopia, an erupting volcano in Indonesia, remembering Zimbabwe’s devastating Murambatsvina, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.

Global Voices Online – May 18, 2006

Banned White-Red-White Flag of Belarus Travels Abroad

It is probably only global trivia for the majority of us, but for Belorussians, an 11-year-old referendum to reintroduce a variation of the Soviet era flag was the start of a controversy that continues today. The prolific Veronica Khokhlova has translated a post by a Belorussian LiveJournal user who proudly donned his country’s “other flag” while traveling in Ukraine. Check out the post to see how Ukrainians reacted.

China: No lawyer for Hao Wu

“After pushing for so long, it seems that any efforts to seek the law’s help have been stifled.” Those are the defeated words of Nina, sister of Hao Wu, a documentary filmmaker and Global Voices Regional Editor who is being held by Chinese authorities without charge and without access to a lawyer. John Kennedy has the full translation of Nina’s post, which ends with determined hope: “Even though I don’t have a clear plan, if everyone could understand each other, couldn’t we all work together? We must be able to find a way.”

Kurdistance: Finding Rebirth in Grief

Our condolences to contributor Deborah Ann Dilley who recently lost her uncle to cancer of the esophagus. As chance would have it, a Kurdish blogger and his colleague also wrote online about the recent loss of their uncles; men who worked for, but never saw the realization of a Kurdish state. Here is a post that reaffirms the universality of death and the hope that lies in dialogue and working together.

The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs

Bolivian students, journalists, and musicians have been much more quick to adopt the benefits of blogging than their governmental institutions. The one exception would be the Constitutional Tribunal, which has been posting its decisions and general press releases on a WordPress-based blog since September, 2005. And most notably, those posts allow comments by readers. Ávila explains the extraordinary case ruled against government intervention in the bankrupt Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) airline and how user comments prompted a clarification by the nation’s highest court.

Ghanaian chocolate, a horrific video of Egyptian police abuse, a not-so-horrific video of sheep in Georgia, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.

Get the blog buzz from East Asia, South Asia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia & the Caucasus.