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China: anger bar · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Richard TPD in Peking duck comments on the “creative marketing” of an anger bar  in Nanjingthat allows customers to beat up its staffs.


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China: english teacher · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief responses to the recent article from AP about English teacher in China: “It has always seemed to me that teaching in English was the job of last resort for people who wanted to spend an extended period of time here. “

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Lebanon · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN has a partial translations of a blog post from Hong Kong and an essay by a famous mainland Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo to show the readers what are the Chinese thinking about the Israel-Lebanon war?


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China: Media “Schizophrenia”  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

DANWEIputs up an original article, Media “Schizophrenia” in China, written by David Moser. The article talks about the impact of digital technology on the schizophrenic split within the mediascape.


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China: online memorial · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An online memorial has been set up for the Chinese UN peacekeeper Lieutenant Colonel Du Zhaoyu, who was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli rocket on July 25 along with three other UN peacekeepers, Jeffery Lyn reports from Virtual China.


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China: Shanghai book expo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shang Neil in Shanghaiist reports on the book expo in Shanghai.


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China: Xiangyin Massacre · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates several reports related to a violent incident at Xiangying in Hunan province and asks “Could they possibly be about the same events?  So what really happened in Xiangyin?“


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Colombia: Blogging and Chatting · Global Voices
David Sasaki

An experiment in “synchronized communication,” blogsColombia has started a chat page to promote interaction among the national blogging community.

author: David Sasaki


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Cuba: Interview with a dissident · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ya No Más publishes an interview recently conducted in Havana with Cuban dissident Martha Beatriz Roque. The interviewer reports that during his meeting with Sra. Roque, a film crew allegedly shooting a tourism promo is hovering around: and “how accidental is it that the author of this article should spend two hours of questioning in customs at the airport?”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Cuba, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel: Cuba and the Middle East · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Blog for Cuba examines what it terms “Cuba's state sanctioned anti-Semitism,” via analyses of headlines from the Cuban news daily, Granma, expressing support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and of the activities, past and present, of Cuban leaders.


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Cuba, USA: Fidel’s daughter and CNN · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

VivirLatino comments on CNN's hiring of Fidel Castro's daughter, Alina Fernandez, as a network contributor: “what this also clearly shows (in my not so humble opinion) is a bias in the media that is clearly pro-U.S. policy around the issue of Cuba. It seems to me that Alina has made a career of being la hija rebelde de Fidel and as such has become a darling of the Miami Cuban exile community.“


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Cuba, USA: Santería, for better or for worse · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Dominican Republic blog Remolacha.net links (ES) to a news article and a series of AP photos depicting Cubans in both Cuba and the US engaging in Santería (an Afro-Cuban religion) ceremonies designed to hasten either the death or recovery of ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro.


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Cuba: What we know for sure · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Babalu Blog posts a lists of things “we know for sure” about what's going on in Cuba.


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East Asia: Asia history carnival · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Frog in the Well runs the sixth Asia history carnival by grouping and reviewing blog posts and internet resources on China, Korea and other Asian countries history.


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Guatemala: Looking for Palladin · Global Voices
David Sasaki

El Blog Diablogico runs into a film crew in Antigua only to discover what will be the first full-length feature to be shot entirely in Guatemala since Green Jade back in 1935


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Guyana: Flawed election list · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Something is very dodgy here,” says MediaCritic, having perused the list of electors and found the names of two relatives who left Guyana several years ago (and who, moreover, had never gone through the registration process) but not his own. General elections in Guyana are set for August 28, 2006.


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Hong Kong: blog research · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Moluiology comments on a award winning research done by a professor in Hong Kong University claiming that blog can become a platform for hate speech. Moluilogy disagrees and points out that the 820 Xanga users in the research only constitutes 0.0164% of the Xanga population. Besides the researcher did not include the number of readers of those blogs and therefore could not estimate the impact of the population. (zh)


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Hong Kong: lights out · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Last night local environmental organizations jointly launched the light outs campaign in Hong Kong; the big white guy comments that “it turns out the power companies has nothing to fear of the Lights Out…” and “Lights Out failed because it didn't appeal to the people with power…”


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India: Pesticides in your drink · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Is environmental campaigning as unbiased as it should be? Varnam points out to the fact that the recent controversy in India wherein Coke and Pepsi appear to have pesticides in their drinks and asks if the issue being raised is limited to American multinationals.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Indonesia: Falung Gong in Jakarta · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesiamatters talks about a Falun Gong meditation session in Jakarta being broken up by demonstrators. Falung Gong supporters see Chinese hand in the disruption while some of the local traders say that they are just fed up with the group's activities that affects their business.

author: Preetam Rai


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Iran: A Popular movie · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Rooznamenegar No talks about Cease Fire, an Iranian film at the top of box office. The blogger says in this movie people watch a rich couple driving expensive cars in rich neighbourhood, throwing away their meals without touching them or breaking their house decorative objects without caring about their price. The blogger explains people are not anymore in mood to read serious books, articles or watch serious movies. They want to be entertained a few hours to forget their economic problems [Fa] .

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Football & Governance · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Dr. Emad Afrough, deputy in Parliament says our country's governance is like our national football (soccer) team's management [Fa]. In both cases too many emotions are involved and rational criticism has no place.


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Iran: Is God out there? · Global Voices
Farid Pouya

Mohammad Masih, a martyrdom seeker & active blogger talks about his own experience to try go to Lebanon. The blogger says imagine the moment that you may have a ticket to Damascus or you can pass the border a question comes in your mind: Is there God out there [Fa]? This question extends its roots deep in your being and you can neither prove it nor deny that. It is the reason that you turn back and return.

author: Farid Pouya


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Jamaica, USA: Independence jam · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Nyasha Lang attends an event celebrating the 44th anniversary of Jamaica's independence: “The vibe was somewhere between a Negril dance hall and an open air roots reggae show, folks wearing white flowing garb bordered with red, green and yellow. Nuff dub poets and singers in the crowd.”


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Kazakhstan: Bowling · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Andrey of neweurasia offers bowling as a summer sport (ru).

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kazakhstan: Volga – Kazakhstan – Braunschweig · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben Paarmann translates a story from German that tells how Volga Germans who were exiled to Kazakhstan are returning to Germany.


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Latin America: United Against Menéame · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Manuel Amador is collecting posts (ES) by bloggers who share his conviction that the popular Digg-like aggregation site Menéame (ES) is worthless.


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Lebanon: 4th Week of Israel’s War · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

This week is the fourth week of Israel’s war against Lebanon. The war is still the dominant subject of posts in the Lebanese blogosphere. Many new blogs emerged since the outbreak of the attacks. It is difficult to cover them all in this roundup. The few selected here are just samples of what one might see in the Lebanese blogs, in addition to photos, graphics and media resources.
Rampurple blog has put up a public Lebanon Blog Aggregator  that is very helpful in checking most of the blogs.
JoseyWales criticized this sudden surge of blogs claiming that there is an increase in quantity at the expense of quality.
Have you wondered how Lebanese bloggers spend their day? Take a look at a day spend by Ahmad in Saida watching an Israeli plane trying hard to throw some leaflets on his city:
From where we were sitting, we could see the sea, and during the one hour we stayed there, an Israeli plane made three attempts to throw pamphlets on the city (between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM). Obviously the pilot has a serious vision problem or he is totally inept because all his three attempts ended up with the pamphlets in the sea. Of course, we returned home and he continued to trying (I bet anyone can do a better job on his very first aviation experience.)
Anyway, after many trials, it seems that the Israeli plane “succeeded” (thank God) in dropping the pamphlets on the city and not on the fishes. The stupid pamphlets are asking the people, in Saida, to evacuate.
How are we going to leave, when there is no fuel in the gas stations!? Does the terrorist army of Israel realize that we cannot fill our cars with water?
How are we going to leave, when all the main roads to and from Saida are cut!? I bet no one has a helicopter that he parks on the roof of his building.
Finally, in Saida, there are 150,000 refugees in Saida. In best cases, suppose everyone has a helicopter that he can fill with water, what can we do about 150,000 refugees? Keep them alone??
I am not leaving. And to all the terrorist Israeli army, I want to say, go **** yourself. :)
There are fears that a civil war may be one of the end results of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon.
Lebanon.Profile explained why this may not happen:
The current conflict rests atop a sea of unresolved issues that pre-date even the Lebanese civil war. Racism, sectarian animosity, feelings of oppression and neglect run deep in Lebanon. Christian support for Shia refugees is smoothing out some of these differences. The Shia population is in need and Christian supporters of Michel Aoun are coming to their support. Aoun already had support in the Shia community, but he is now widely respected.[…]If civil war is avoided and if Hezbollah is to be disarmed, it will most likely come about through the person to person bonds being made right now between Christians and Shia.
The last speech made by the leader of Hezbollah, H. Nassrallah, was one of the topics discussed by the Prof. A. Abu Khalil  and it was fully translated into English by Anarchistian.
Sabbah posted a very interesting “Did You Know” exercise which sheds light on Lebanese and Middle Eastern politics today.
Leila at Dove’s Eye View quoted Uri Avnery in Tel Aviv as saying:
“On behalf of this demonstration, I say to the Lebanese people: As an Israeli, I feel deep shame for what we are doing to you! For the devastation we have brought on you. Deep shame! When this madness is finally over, we shall struggle together – Israelis and Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese, Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel – So that we can live a normal life, Each in his free state, Side by side In PEACE!”
Matthew Hogan wrote a mocking letter from Hezbollah to the State of Israel asking them to accept their earnest thanks for making them the most powerful force in Lebanon.
Ms Leventine also posted a letter by M. Kyriakos –Saad to a young Lebanese telling him of the futility of anti-war marches to London’s Parliament Square:
The solution to the problem is elsewhere. It is in Lebanon. Disarm militias, unite people and make them forgive what happened during the war, so that they can forget. Create a nation in Lebanon, rather then a succession of communities who fear and hate each other and battle each other for power and positions. And stop blaming others for the fate of Lebanon. The problem is not in Tel Aviv, Damascus or Teheran. It is in Achrafieh, Ras Beirut and Ghobeiry. And do not force me to go march with a bunch of excitable people; I prefer to smoke my cigar from the sidelines.
Propaganda and the way media presents the news was also discussed by some bloggers. Among them was Bech who targeted CNN with the following criticism:
I come to believe that there a different ways Americans value the lives of citizens.
On CNN today I almost choked on my food when Israeli General Ruth Yaron explained how civilians stayed in targeted areas against their will to serve as shield. Seriously who can buy this talk? So the Khezballah (Israeli accent) is in the same time not letting civilians leave, waging a guerrilla, trying not to make themselves visible, and hiding behind civilians…
By the way CNN spent the whole day talking about Haifa who had accidentally 3 dead today, because of an attack that Khezballah claimed it was answering for the targeting of residential areas in the suburbs of Beirut that kills more than 30 people per day. The whole day interviewing Israeli officials, mayors, truck drivers, people, going into shelters. bouhou demons outside poor Israelis wake up to your condition of spoiled mediatized people. Ask yourself how mediocre your government has been in handling this issue!
EDB cynically wrote about the propaganda efforts of the IDF including phone calls that Lebanese are receiving from Israel:
The Israeli propaganda effort is a reliable source of amusement amidst the incalculable violence and destruction. They drops pamphlets, which inform the Lebanese that “Hezbollah is destroying your country and homes,” followed by a barrage of American-made bombs that level entire villages. They interrupt radio- and TV broadcasts. Sometimes the images are just scrambled. While watching the news on Al Jazeera, the weather reporter morphs into Hillary Clinton– a grave injustice to say the least. During a re-run of Hassan Nasrallah's latest televised address, I gleaned valuable information from a banner obscuring his face that read, “I am a member of Hezbollah”. But they also individualize their efforts by bombarding cellphones with pre-recorded messages[…]
In one of his posted Abu Kais sarcastically explained how Israel is planning to win the war While in another post he criticized Hezbollah:
There is no stopping Hizbullah, and I am sick and tired of their false heroism, popular with the delusional masses of Islamo-Arabia. The Arabs lost their war with Israel a long time ago, and we are the only ones still fighting. And for what? At which point is self defense considered suicide? To me there is more honor in surrendering right now than “winning” by sacrificing everything we have. Nasrallah has committed Lebanese people to life in the dark tunnels of war where he keeps his human farm, the Shia of Lebanon.
Children suffer either directly or indirectly during wars. Perpetual Refugee described in his unique style the agony of the children of Qana:
During times of intense trauma, children look up to their parents. They believe that somehow, those that gave them life should be able to protect life. And they feel secure just knowing that mama or papa are there. A simple touch of the hand is all it takes to releave the anxiety.
When bombs are falling on their heads, they don't ask why is Olmert doing this? Why does Nasrallah say that? They only know that death is a possibility. And it's them against us. And they don't know why. The brainwashing will come later. It's much easier after trauma.
So while bombs fell. And fell. And fell some more. The children of Qana looked up to their parents. Their mothers. For reassurance. Huddled together in a basement. Beneath tonnes of concrete. And they felt safe. After all, lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. Unless the IAF controls the heavens. […]
The real story isn't the image of the dead infant with the pacifier still hanging from her pajama. It's that she was not allowed to walk her first steps. Eat her first bite of solid food. Brush her first tooth. Learn her first word. Sing her first song.
Her life. Along with countless others. Denied the right to live. By some twenty-something in an F-16 way up in the sky. Defending himself from the prospect of what she could one day become.
While JulyWarOnLebanon decided to change the strategy of explaining to the children that the bombs are far away from their school [sheltered because they are displaced] and will never reach them to a new strategy of lying to them about the explosions they keep hearing.
Sophia  presented an argument for an economic and cultural boycott of Israel.
Dr. Victorino blamed the Bush administration and declared that:
Future generations will remember the reign of George W. Bushmert
As the Age of the Missing Leash: from Abu Ghraib’s Arabivorous German shepherds
To the escaped Israeli anaconda now suffocating the Texan snake-oil salesman who raised it!
1TooManyPeaches quoted a study from a research center which claims that the war in Lebanon is part of the battle for oil.
Jij took a shot at the proposed American-French draft resolution for a cease fire:
The French-American resolution draft is an extremely bad development. The resolution fulfils all of Israel’s demands. It is not a ceasefire draft; it is simply a formulation of Israel’s goals. It is an insult to Lebanon. If some uninformed observer was to read the draft, he would think that Hezbollah has been crushed militarily and rendered redundant, which is obviously far from being the case, as today’s heavy Israeli losses would attest.[…]
What is the purpose of this draft? Was it proposed precisely to be rejected, in order to give Israel some more time to finish the business? Was it presented so that Senioura’s seven-point plan would appear as the epitome of objectivity and balance in contrast? Or is it one more attempt to divide the Lebanese?
Raja addressed the Israeli readers who frequent his site:
I am very aware that Israelis visit this site. So my message to those visitors is that you not only destroyed the dreams of an entire generation of Lebanese (i.e. my own, and probably my children's). But, you guys and your government just shot yourselves in the foot! And I don't mean merely with one shot. No! I mean, you guys got an M-16 rifle, put it on full automatic and shot both your feet to smithereens.
Your reckless “shock-and-awe” military campaign ultimately turned a political-military organization that you hate into the Arab World’s hero; and in doing so, you have only increased the influence of your arch-nemesis, Iran. Ultimately, the biggest losers are the Lebanese people, and the hope they manifested in a region characterized overwhelmingly by hopelessness and depression.
Finally, among the blogs showing photos of the sufferings of the Lebanese is the Lebanese Blogger Forum.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Martinique: Homophobia and Tourism · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi] disagrees  (Fr) with local LGBT association An Nou Alle that Martiniquan homophobia explains a recent lag in its tourism industry but agrees with them that certain local dancehall artists –Krys in particular– are going too far with their homophobic lyrics. She points our that Jamaica has a thriving tourism industry despite graver attacks on gays there.

author: Alice Backer


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Nepal: Media Watchdogs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai is upset with the way International media and pundits cover Nepal without quite understanding the context, and urges his readers to be media watchdogs.


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Nepal: No space for Monarchy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! doesn't take too kindly to the idea of having space for monarchy in the new political environment in Nepal.


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Pakistan: Drugs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

How has the changing context in Pakistan contributed to the way drugs are perceived?Metroblogging Lahore on drugs, media and the youth.


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Pakistan: Multan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi on Multan. “While many historic Islamic cities have lost much of their original character during the twentieth century, Multan has survived remarkably intact, retaining the classic form of the medieval city encircled by its rampart and gateways. It is the entire urban fabric of the place that is historic.”


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Philippines: Visiting Basilan · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Filipino travel and heritage blogger Ivan Henares is travelling again.Basilan. “Today, I visited Basilan. Just the mere mention of the name evokes fear among those unfamiliar with the place. Every time I told someone that I was on my way to Basilan, I received a shocked response. Who would want to visit Basilan anyway?”


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Reunion: Whales Passing Through · Global Voices
Alice Backer

In a news roundup, blogger Jean-Paul of Dijoux.re writes (Fr): “Whales are passing through our island to reach cold waters. The females are here to give birth before leaving for Antarctica. It is the first time that we have observed the washing up of a baby whale on our shores. Every year Reunion's marine observatory (OMAR) follows the whales’ itinerary.”


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Russia: Chechens and Navajos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

J. Otto Pohl reviews citations of his work and runs into an interesting book that compares the Chechens and Navajos: “Both the ethnic cleansing of the Navajos and the Chechens took place during “Good Wars” at the hands of the “Good Guys.” The Union Army marched the Navajos to Bosque Redondo during the Civil War and the USSR deported the Chechens to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan while fighting against Nazi Germany in the course of World War II. Since the victors write history there is of course very little published on either of these atrocities compared to Southern slavery and the Holocaust.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Madonna and the Church · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Madonna is giving a concert in Moscow on Sept. 11, and Russian Orthodox Christian and Muslim representatives have already issued statements criticizing the upcoming show.
Well-known gallery owner and once notorious political consultant Marat Guelman (LJ user galerist) isn't a fan of the clerics’ position (RUS):
And now the popular American singer Madonna hasn't yet arrived in Moscow, but has encountered, in absentia, harsh criticism from the Russian Orthodox Church (RPTs).
[link to a Russian-language news story omitted]
And this is okay – it's the church's duty to recommend its followers not to attend concerts, films and exhibitions. Like, art and the RPTs are incompatible.
In the comments section, there is quite a lot of passion and no unity in opinion – neither on the church's stance, nor on Madonna, nor on Marat Guelman:
warsh: Father Vsevolod Chaplin [head of the Moscow Patriarchy's department for external relations, who issued the Madonna concert statement] also spoke in the news about the not-so-obvious incompatibility of the RPTs and the internet.
[…]
mcparker: Well, Guelman, you folks over there in [Moscow] have gone completely nuts. To call your gallery and Madonna art – that's not even funny. Despite all my respect to Madonna.
aenocyon: This isn't a simple issue. Even La Gioconda's creator couldn't find a home for her for a long time, and there are many other examples – say, Faberge was considered tacky by contemporaries. As for me, I am indifferent to Madonna, but what matters is that the RPTs has remained a loyal branch of the [CPSU's Central Committee], only today they can [kiss] in public with members of the [United Russia] and award them with medals.
[…]
gugomat: Yes, yes. It's also time to start burning artists on the stake en masse. Traitors of the faith!! :)
salnikov_vova: Madonna ain't an artist. Her songs are poo. She herself is a Coca Cola.
gugomat: Oh! Here come the artists. We'll start with you :)))
sergelin: Madonna is the best.
mr_quietest: A silicone fool. There're [plenty] of “artists” like her in any music school.
[…]
gubalance: What makes you feel uneasy? The believers will pay attention, and atheists and people of other faiths will do as they see fit. What's wrong with parents correcting their children's ways, for example, and explaining why?
galerist: Church instead of parents and adult believers as little kids?
kubedinov: For most people this is how it works, more or less: the Church provides reference points, which is normal and good. Most people are, of course, not as smart, successful and independent as you are, Marat. Please forgive them for it.
gubalance: As far as I understand, you don't believe in God?
galerist: I do believe – but without intermediaries.
[…]
narodzash: Oh well, here begins Guelman's new promotion campaign.
Another blogger – LJ user plushev, a radio journalist – understands the church's position, but doesn't necessarily agree with it (RUS):
I don't understand why everyone is so surprised by the [Orthodox Church's] recommendations, announced by Vsevolod Chaplin, to ignore Madonna's concert. This is the church's internal business. It does not ask the government to cancel or ban the show, so we are not talking about interference in the worldly affairs here. And no matter how critical we may be of the RPTs, it's probably not good for us, laymen, to interfere in the church's affairs.
This is an absolutely normal and the only correct practice, for the church to voice its opinion on various issues and to recommend or not recommend its followers to do something or not to do it. Moreover, why the hell should there be the institute of the church if not for recommendations like this? This is basically what a pastor's for: those who for some reason don't have a position of their own, they can adopt the position of their spiritual leader. A person [capable of independent thinking] will, of course, ignore such calls, but the congregation isn't known for critical worldview and needs specific reference points: these ones are good and those ones are bad.
And although, if you count the heads, we have a great number of Orthodox [Christians], baptised as children without consent, this is nothing but a formality and the real faithful in our country are very few. And so Chaplin's call has nothing to do with the majority of the people.
There's some arguing in the comments, too, much of it irrelevant to plushev‘s post. A few bloggers in his audience, though, seem to believe that the clerics’ public criticism of Madonna will only boost her popularity:
boroda_v_nature: This is exactly what Madonna is counting on: the ones who are curious because something's forbidden.
[…]
spiridonov: I think that many suspect that the tour's organizers have this line in their “Advertisement Expenses”: “Negative comment on the concert from [the Russian Orthodox Church] – $N000.”
One commenter recalls another person not welcome in Russia and by the Orthodox Church:
lovekraft: What I don't understand is why the Pope isn't allowed into Russia :-(
(they let everyone but him in…)


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Taiwan: soya sauce factory · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Turton puts up an old article about his visit to a soya sauce factory in Central Taiwan. The vivid depiction tells a lot about the history of development and small business in Taiwan.


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Thailand: Thai Dessert · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Thai and Lao Food blogger Manivan Larprom has a post on how to prepare Thai Sticky Rice and Mango Dessert.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Smelter activity continues · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Rights Action T&T, a blog designed to support the protest against the establishment of an aluminium smelter in a community in southern Trinidad,  issues a press release reporting that preparations for the establishment of boreholes have begun in the area, and deploring aluminium company Alcoa's “continued attempts to psychologically intimidate members of the Chatham village with their scientific mumbo jumbo and their well oiled PR machine.”


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Ukraine: New Government · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine posts a reaction on Ukraine's new government headed by Victor Yanukovych.


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Ukraine: Romance Tours · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Everybody I Love You criticizes a feature on “romance tours” to Ukraine that appeared in Harper's.


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Ukraine: Tymoshenko Interviewed · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LEvko of Foreign Notes reports on Yulia Tymoshenko's most recent radio interview, in which she talks, among other things, about Victor Yushchenko's broken promises.


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Uzbekistan: Gulnora, Pop Star · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net reports that the daughter of Uzbekistan's president has launched a pop music career and speculates on how it will impact pop music in Uzbekistan.


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Venzuela: The 1999 Floods and Climate Change · Global Voices
David Sasaki

David, who continues to ride his bike along the Venezuelan coast, reminds readers of the deadly floods that claimed an estimated 30,000 victims in 1999.


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Vietnam: Street Food · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vietnamese God introduces a street snack from Hanoi. If you don't mind trying street food and you have only 10,000Vnd in your pocket, then this lunch is for you. That's fried tofu with noodles.


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Armenia: Internet Still Spotty · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports that internet connections in Armenia are still spotty after last weekend's loss of service. He says that if the Armenian blogosphere suddenly goes silent, the poor connection is the reason.


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Armenia: Mixed Marriages · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports on mixed race marriages in Armenia, public attitudes against them, and the difficulties that such couples face.


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Bahamas: After Castro · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Larry Smith writes about the potential long-term effects of Fidel Castro's exit on the Bahamas, notably in the area of tourism.


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Balkans: Reading List · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eric Gordy of East Ethnia posts mini-reviews of the Balkan books he's read.


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Barbados: HIV/AIDS messages · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press reports that the Caribbean Broadcasting Company (CBC), Barbados’ national television, network, has committed to running one HIV/AIDS public service announcement during every hour of broadcast, as well as embedding HIV/AIDS messages in the plots and scripts of regular television programming.


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Bermuda: Sustainable Develoopment Plan · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Charlotte Andrews reports on a public meeting convened to dicuss the Bermuda Government's Draft Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan.


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Brunei: The Healing Well · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Daily Brunei Resources relates the legend of a well called Telaga Raden Bisa. The water from this well is supposed to have healing properties


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Cambodia: John Pilger · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Andy Brouver at Andy's Open Door draws attention to  John Pilger, the investigative journalist  who made several documentaries on Cambodia.


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Cambodia: Veteran Actor Dies · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Ki Media blog is reporting the death of veteran Cambodian actor Loto. Loto managed to survive the the Khmer Rouge regime regime and was seen recently on screen in Matt Dillon's 2002 film “City of Ghosts“


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China: Baidu Search Fraud · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Non violent resistance reports on a client protest against Baidu, the biggest internet search engine in China, of its fraud in paid search engine ranking.


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China: Hooker unions, uniting bloggers and qualitative and quantitative data from the Chinese blogsphere · Global Voices
John Kennedy

One stock narrative for MSM reports on China is the untabooing of sex since Mao died. Indeed, a trip to the countryside reveals unsettling numbers of STD treatment posters and abortion hotline ads can frequently be seen on the rear windows of taxis in most cities.
While sensationalist stories about exotic Asian sexuality might help sell WASP-y Western newspapers, China these days is just as kinky a country as anywhere else.
Not the sort of tone found in Chinese media, as seen in a post today from Bokee blogger smilefish which looks at a Guangzhou newspaper's recent report on the gritty life of male prostitutes in the Southern Chinese city, some reportedly as young as seventeen:
“这是一种边缘游戏！”用报料人阿东的话说，这群为社会上某些男同性恋提供性服务的男青年就是一群边缘人，他们有些人是在玩一种他们不情愿的游戏，就像行话里对他们的称谓是“MB(Money-Boy)”，他们纯粹是为金钱在铤而走险。“他们和我们(单纯的同性性取向者)根本不是一类人，这段经历将影响他们的一生。”阿东说。
另据了解，这类组织有着看似温馨的称谓——“家”，为首的叫作“妈咪”，而被操控的男青年也被称为“孩子”。在这温情脉脉的面纱后面，到底藏着一个什么样的群体？社会应该对他们给以什么样的关注？为了弄清这许多疑惑，本报记者对他们进行了深入暗访……
Furthermore, these kinds of organizations sort of match their warm description of ‘home’, led by a ‘mommy’, with the young boys under [‘her’] control known as ‘the kids’. But what kind of group is actually hidden behind this warm and sentimental-sounding veil? What kind of attention should society pay to them? In order to clarify these many questions, this newspaper's reporter carried out a secret investigation into them…… [zh]
The Chinese blogsphere took a substantial step closer to the blogblogrevolution late last month when the very ‘bull’ (Chinese for cool) and well-known blogger Luo Yonghao (罗永浩) rounded up all the hippest, smartest and most progressive of bloggers on his list and launched his Bullog.cn blog aggregator of sorts. Just a few of the names found there: Ran Yunfei (冉云飞), He Weifang (贺卫方), Chai Jing (柴静), He Caitou (和菜头), Lian Yue (连岳), Milk Pig (奶猪) and the blogger some consider the best in China, Wang Xiaofeng (王小峰).
From the Bullog About page, where a very clear picture of the website's slant can be seen in the various (celebrity) bloggers it chooses to exclude:
牛博网不是一个传统意义上的 BSP(Blog Service Provider 博客服务提供商 ) ，我们并不提供在这里自行开博客的服务，至少现阶段是这样。
除了给我们自己邀请的博主提供空间之外，我们也欢迎被读者推荐的别处的优秀博主来这里开博。如果符合我们的标准，不管那些博客开在什么地方，有没有名气，浏览量大不大，我们都会死皮赖脸地去把他们请过来，至少邀请他们在牛博网开设镜像。我们不能容忍那些优秀的博客被埋没在几乎全是文字垃圾的大型博客网站里。
如果您是优秀博客的博主，也可以自荐。如果您自重身份不好意思自荐，也可以冒充普通读者来这里推荐您的博客。如果您有虚荣心方面的需要，比如需要我们在首页上隆重宣布即将邀请您来开博客，比如需要我们敲锣打鼓迎接您，比如需要我们声称我们是八顾茅庐之后才请到了您等等，我们都可以满足您的需要。
我们欢迎的优秀博客的标准：
1 ．首先要会自己写字，不能像李宇春。
2 ．要言之有物，不能像徐静蕾。
3 ．不能剽窃，万一不小心剽窃了，要懂得道歉，不能像郭敬明。（要是多次剽窃，道歉也不行。）
4 ．可以是有钱人，但不能像潘石屹那么讨厌。
5 ．可以幽默，但不要滑稽，可以搞笑，但不要可笑，可以假装热爱人民群众，但不要同时说什么“几十亿愚众”，简单地说，不能像孔庆东。
6 ．长得难看也没关系，做人也不必厚道，但要地道。比如说，不要在前夫正倒霉的时候落井下石，最好不要像洪晃。
最后，也是最重要的，文章一定要写得牛。
And finally, with the release of Technorati's second-quarter statistics report, A-list IT blogger Keso reflects on what the aggregator‘s blocked status means for bloggers in China, and ways the Chinese blogsphere can adapt:
Techonrati是一个非常好的blog研究工具，它每个季度一次的统计分析报告，也是最好的有关blog圈的参考资料。可惜，它被GFW了，实在搞不懂为什么，这些有价值的网站在中国总免不了这样的命运。国内的奇虎正在活的Web搜索上扎扎实实地向前推进，也许将来我们可以通过奇虎的统计数据，了解国内blog圈的情况。但眼下，Technorati还是我们惟一可用的权威数据来源。
—snip—
中文blog。中文blog的发贴量继续排在第3位，4月、5月、6月分别占全部发贴量的14%、10%和12%。
发帖时间。英语语言的blog发帖时间，主要集中在工作时间。日文blog的发帖时间，则主要集中在晚间和早晨上班之前。没有关于中文blog发帖时间的报告，但通过对Donews blog发帖规律的观察，我估计中文blog也是以工作时间写blog为主。
Posting times. For posting times of English blogs, most of them are during work time. For Japanese blogs, most of them are in the evening or the morning before work. Nothing in the report about posting times for Chinese blogs, but judging from a look at rules for posting on Donews, I bet that Chinese blogs are also mainly written during work hours.
Also mentioned recently on Keso's blog is the release of portal website Sina.com's own chat client, Woocall. Or, as Keso put it, 我靠:
Woocall，新浪的新武器。不知道这东东对我的blog是否有点儿价值，试试，在页面的右下角。

author: John Kennedy


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China: Used book online · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Scott Relyea in Frog in a well introduces the world's biggest online Chinese used book website: Kongfz.com.


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Cuba: Critiquing the right wing view · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Zenia, writing from Pinar del Rio, Cuba, critiques (ES) the ways Cuba is viewed by the right-wing press: “‘In Cuba many people don't have MP3 players or cell phones.’  That's one of the criticisms circulating in cyberspace these days from the right. . . . “


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Czech Republic: Tit-For-Tat At the Border · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Douglas Arellanes writes on how his mother nearly failed to enter the Czech Republic because her passport was to expire in fewer than 90 days: “Her passport expires in October, but apparently in an effort at tit-for-tat over the continuation of visa requirements for Czechs who want to visit the US, Czech authorities are requiring passports to be at least 90 days ahead of their expiration.”


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Death of Joseph Sankara, Drug menace in Ghana, Prof Chike Obi and Prez Election in Gambia · Global Voices
Oluniyi D. Ajao

Under the Acacias writes about Burkina Faso's Independence anniversary and the death of Joseph Sankara, father of former President Thomas Sankara: What a difference a week makes in Burkina Faso
The death of Joseph Sankara, father of former president Thomas
Sankara,this week has added to a week already full of emotive memories
for Burkina Faso.
Yesterday, August 5th, was Burkina Faso's Independence Day. On Aug. 5,
1960, Upper Volta, as it was then called, achieved full independence
from France, and the country is therefore just 68 days older than me!
The new president Maurice Yameogo inherited an impoverished country that
had lacked the kind of investment France had given to neighbouring Cote
d'Ivoire, and he was later deposed in a coup in 1966.
The Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen…of Ghana blogs about three issues: “The Unbearable Lightness of Being West African;  Liberia’s 150-year anniversary;  Menacing Problem of Drugs”. We are however highlighting The Drug Menace
Like a scene right out of Hollywood, the drugs affair exploded into the
consciousness of Ghanaians a few weeks ago when some drugs disappeared
off a boat, MV Benjamin, when it docked at Tema. Unlike in the 1995
gangster thriller, The Usual Suspects, where $91 million of cocaine in a
boat, docked at a pier in South Pedro, just south of L.A., exploded
along with the boat, in Ghana, the boat, containing many millions of
dollars worth of cocaine, simply disappeared—without a trace.
That is until the revelation of complicity over the drugs, followed by
the swift arrest (on the orders of Attorney-General/Minister of Justice
Joe Ghartey) of four putative drug barons two days ago at a public
hearing under the aegis of Justice Georgina Woode’s eponymous committee
that had been set up to look into the disappearance of the 77 parcels of
missing cocaine.
Scribbles from the Den introduces a new Cameroonian blog “Introducing the Imhotep Blog“
The author also shares some thought about renowned-mathematician, Professor Chike Obi.
You  most likely  do not know the distinguished looking man on the right, but perhaps you should. If you are a Nigerian or English-speaking Cameroonian who has tried to exercise academic excellence, he has influenced you directly or indirectly through people whom he has influenced. He is the legendary Nigerian  mathematician, Chike Obi. Growing up, the name Chike Obi was synonymous with superhuman mathematical ability. I did not even believe that he was a real person until my aunt and I went to visit the late Professor Obenson at his office at the University of Lagos. Next door or a few doors down were the magical words: “Professor Chike Obi, Head of Department of Mathematics”. I nearly fainted.
The man was real! You must understand, I was and am still in awe of good mathematicians, because my own math has always been mediocre at best. Furthermore, the great man walked in his office as I stood there. As a
well-raised African teenager, I did not go disturbing my elders even though I was a fan. Besides, I thought, if he was anything like Dr Bokossa, I did not want to be disturbing his peace.
And Gambian blog Home of the mandinmories shares an opinion about the up-coming Presidential elections in Gambia: So they write letters…
With barely a month before the September presidential polls, leaders of the two opposition political alliances in the Gambia exchange letters on the way forward, vis-a-vis a grand alliance to take on the APRC. After reading through the missives, I am pessimistic that the parties will ever reach common ground within the limited time frame they have. The letters are devoid of pragmatism. The parties to the talks are taking a defensive stance and trying to protect their turf. I hate to say this, but in my humble opinion the game is up and reconciliation between the UDP/NRP alliance and NADD ain't gonna happen. The winner of this untenable and obtuse behavior is Yahya Jammeh and his APRC.

author: Oluniyi D. Ajao


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Ecuador: Undecided Voters · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Boz asks “what's the matter with… Ecuador?” as 60 to 80% of surveyed voters remain undecided just two months before elections.


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Egypt: Nasrallah warns the Arab in Haifa · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“In all the previous wars of Israel with the Arabs countries , the Arab countries usually blocked the media from covering the news and Israel usually showed all what it got ,now Israel is blocking the media from covering the news and we are showing everything,” Zeinobia quoting Hezbollah leader in his recent televised speech. She also lists almost all points of his speech in order.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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El Salvador: Memories of La Bajada · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guest author Carlos X pens his memories of the 1990 Bajada, a religious observance which culminates the week of August festivals in El Salvador. “It was my first return to El Salvador more than a decade after leaving the country on the eve of the Civil War as a ten year-old child …”


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Guatemala: Why Are The Doors So Big? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo explains why a country not known for its citizens’ height has such gigantic doorways.


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Guyana: Eight killed by gunmen · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Living Guyana posts five short entries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) linking to and commenting stories about the brutal slaying of eight people, including four journalists, by gunmen in Guyana yesterday evening. The journalists were killed in the newsroom of the Kaieteur News. Guyana has a general election scheduled for August 28.


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Hunger strike, a filtered journal & a banned NGO · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Many Iranian bloggers are worried about Ahmad Batebi, activist student who is on hunger strike in prison for about ten days. Many compared his case to Akbar Mohammadi’s, another student activist who died in prison while he was on hunger strike. Several bloggers have written that Mohammadi is gone we should save Batebi’s life. Ahmad Batebi was first arrested during the student protest movement in 1999 and he was rearrested about two weeks ago.
Looking for help
Fm Sokhan blogger & journalist quotes  a letter from Ahmad Batebi’s father [Fa].
Come and reveal your crimes and we reveal ours, and then we see who the criminal is. You should know this fact that Ahmad Batebi is not alone, he is son of Iran. Iran is full of Ahmad Batebi. Have courage to talk with us face to face. What is our fault?
Man Iranyam, in his turn quotes Ahmad Batebi's wife who is desperately trying to meet her husband [Fa]. The blogger says
Ahmad Batebi’s wife says we had Zahra Kazemi’s death, we had Akbar Mohammadi’s death and now Ahmad Batebi is in a bad condition…Some say he is in Evin’s (prison) clinic, some say he is on hunger strike. In these past few days I was just insulted and humiliated. The Ministry of Intelligence threatened me because I am giving interview about my husband.
Roozmarigiha writes about students gathering in the memory of Akbar Mohammadi. The blogger says this protest gathering has also another message: Ahmad Batebi is on his sixth day of hunger strike and if we do not pay attention we shall witness another crime [Fa].
Alpar reminds the Iranian authorities that Akbar Mohammadi as a prisoner was Iranian State’s guest and authorities were responsible for his life. He adds Ahmad Batebi is on the sixth day of hunger strike and nobody has heard anything about him. If you want to kill him there are more fair ways to do that! The blogger says, open your eyes if another prisoner dies do not mention heart attack as the cause of the death [Fa].
The rearresting of student activists is only one element that shows freedom is under more pressure in Iran. The blogs inform us about more filtering and more pressure on human rights activists.
Freedom under more pressure
Bijan Saf Sara, editor & blogger says his online Irane Ma journal was filtered and is not available any more for Iranian online users. According to the blogger Irane Ma, the first online journal inside country was filtered on journalist day. The blogger adds in the Islamic Republic there are so many red, black and violet lines that what ever you do your foot can slip [Fa]… The journal appeared for 310 issues before being filtered.
According to the media, Iran’s Ministry of the Interior has banned the activities of the country’s major human rights watchdog founded four years ago by a group of lawyers that includes Nobel Peace activist Shirin Ebadi who is its current director. In Webgardian we read Shirin Ebadi's open letter to ask for help:
This center is a member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and has been registered there. It has also been awarded a human rights prize by the Human Rights National Commission in France. This center is very well known and credible in Iran. Two days ago the government of Iran announced that this center is illegal and provided we continue our activities, they shall arrest us. Of course me and the other members of the center do not intend to shut down the center and we shall continue our activities. However, there is a high possibility that that they will arrest us. The government's action in this regard is illegal.Therefore, I kindly request that you broadcast this message by all mean and gather spiritual support for our center.
Aknon says the conservative Keyhan journal pretended that Ramin Jahanbegloo, jailed philosopher confessed to try to get classified information through web [Fa]. Jahanbegllo was accused of cybernetic journalism and contact with Iranian internet activists via yahoo and Google. Keyhan concludes even though there are already special committees to encounter internet related crimes, Jahanbegloo’s confession makes it necessary to take specific decisions. The blogger considers this kind of articles and news irrational. He says
What does it mean being an activist in yahoo or Google? Probably these activists check their emails on Yahoo or Google. He adds what does it mean cybernetic journalism?


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India In Blog Posts: Cola, Newly Weds, Travel and Bollywood · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

The cola affair, wifi, newly weds, travel, and Bollywood are some of the themes that we look in this week's round-up about India.  Pepsi and Coke have been feeling the heat or should I say some really chilling  response from its customers in India. Why is that? Tests reveal that both the beverages have very high amounts of pesticide in them.
This so called pesticide cocktail in major colas is a cocktail indeed – a cocktail of politics, psuedo science, posturing and bad economics. Arjun writes in The Indian Economy Blog that "This so called pesticide cocktail in major colas is a cocktail indeed – a   cocktail of politics, psuedo science, posturing and bad economics." Read his post "Cola Can," to find out what he has to say on this subject.
Jacob of the Great Indian Mutiny  in his post titled, Pesticola, dare for more? writes, "However, I do wonder why is ‘drinking’ water is never tested in India, as it   is within the span of control (and responsibility) of our bureaucrats and   politicians? We drink so much more of it than soft drinks, which are mostly out   of reach for the average Indian? Why are Indian brands of ‘mineral’ water never   tested? And what about milk and BEER???? Doesn't it smell more of cheap   xenophobia than pesticides?"
“First Cadbury's peddles you the “fruit and worm” then coke pepsi dispense you the antidote. wash down with some grade a pesticide. gotta love them multinationals. JK of Indian Idle takes a swipe at the multinationals in India and writes, "First Cadbury's peddles you the "Fruit and worm" then Coke and Pepsi dispense   you the antidote. Wash down the worm with some grade A pesticide. You gotta love   them multinationals." Find out why he nursed a non-cola drink instead of a Pepsi or a Coke all these years.
From the cola war we move to the world of wifi. Ravi Kumar of Bangalore Metroblogging wonders what this fuss about wifi is all about? Bangalore apparently is going to be the first Indian city to be completely wifi enabled and Ravi wonders "how many would really take the risk of lugging around / using a laptop in a   public place where people can really throng?" Read his post to find out what else he has to say on this subject.
From wifi connectivity, we move away from India to the USA. There is a pretty sizeable Indian community in the USA, and Suyog of Stupendous Man writes about an important aspect of the community. Newly weds. How can you spot the newly married couple? A quick visit to Wal-mart or Costco might reveal some surprising results. What are the pros and cons of hanging out with newly wed couples? Read his post to find out. Suyog, of course, is footloose and fancy free at the moment.
We remain in the USA and look at two topics that Indians love to talk and blog about: travel and film. Recently both these topics have created quite a bit  of buzz in the world of blogs. One is a post by Xeni Jardin of BoingBoing and the other is KANK, a new Bollywood film.  Xeni Jardin's blog and audio post is about a nomadic group called Gaddhi located in the North India.  Xeni traveled up to Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh to speak to a group of Gaddis. You can read Xeni's blog post here, and listen to the NPR audio post, which is in English. Dharamshala is also the home of the Dalai Lama.
We love acronyms, and boy do we love our acronyms for our films. So "Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna," which means Don't Ever Say Goodbye is better known as KANK. Hindi movie fans, aka Bollywood film fans, are gearing up for the release of KANK this week. New York-based Maria writes in her blog Filmholic that " When tickets went on sale last week for KANK, I heard rumors that there was   going to be a midnight showing on Thursday night at Cineplaza 13 in North   Bergen, NJ, on six of their screens, but since then cannot get anyone at the   theater to confirm or deny that." I was taken aback to read that tickets for this film went on sale a week ago!
Sweta Mogra writes in her blog that she and her friends have been fabricating a whole bunch of storylines for KANK.  Read to find out what their combined verdict is about this yet-to-be released film.  The film, by the way, was shot extensively in New York state.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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India: Lentils in the US · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The rising cost of lentils in the US has quite a few people of Indian origin more than just a bit worried. Arzan on why lentils are such an important part of the Indian diet and why loopholes will be found.


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Indonesia: Hungry Ghost Festival · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Blogger Christine Susanna Tjhin, an Indonesian student in China describes the Hungry Ghost Festival. “The Ghost Festival is said to be the time when ghosts roam the world every year. In some areas of China, visitors can see small roadside fires, where believers burn paper money and other offerings to appease the restless spirits, who have temporarily been released from Hell.”


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Indonesia:  Toilet with a View · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Maya, an Indonesian blogger in France finds an open air toilet on an ancient wall by the Mediterranean sea  and wonders if anyone ever uses it.


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Iran: New wave of filtering · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Jomhour says his blog has been filtered and it seems a new wave of filtering is on the way [Fa]. According to the blogger,  the new wave of filtering concerns a few ISPs and not all of them.


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Iran:  Stereotypes · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mr.Behi, Iran based blogger says now with so many slogans about Iran from both Iranian leaders and world leaders, it will come a day when people look at explosions in Tehran, eating their breakfast, hoping for a better world without nuclear Iran while the world of children without their parents will never be better. Either the world should stop calling us “terrorists” or we should stand up and shout that we are not.


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Israel: The big offensive · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

It's clearly begun. The big offensive. Channel 2 news just did its midnight update. The defense correspondent was reporting live from Metulla on the northern border… He did say, though, that it sounded “very aggressive.” allisonks Said. Shortly after the blogger prayed for minimal IDF casualties and as few innocent civilian deaths as possible, he got an update reporting that 15 Israeli soldiers were killed.


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Jordan: Israel Create A Biodiversity Disaster · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“WHY is the oil spill in Lebanon not receiving prominence in the media? Israel have destroyed the majority of Lebanon's infrastructure, Lebanon's economy, murdered Lebanon's civilians and now Israel has created an environmental disaster that threatens the sea, marine life and coastline of Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Cyprus,” nourahayaam said.


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Kazakhstan: Doing Business · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Leila of neweurasia writes about doing business in Kazakhstan and interviews a manager from a firm supplying IT equipment to Kazakhstan for additional perspective.


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Latin America: Bilingual Gossip Videoblog · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Loogic introduces (ES) Fresa.tv, a bilingual gossip blog with regular broadcasts in Spanish and English.


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Malaysia: Leader’s Rivalry · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Ktemoc looks at the recent speech by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir critisizing the current Prime Minister Badawi. The blogger also makes a point about Internet censorship. “Maybe AAB[Badawi], having anticipated the MM[Mahatir]-escalation, had called for the tightening up of media outlets, especially those on the Internet as Mahathir would relying on this medium to send his message of criticism and condemnation.”


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Nepal: Koirala and Monarchy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook on the political choices in Nepal and why it would take quite some effort to sidetrack the issue of reinstating monarchy.


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Pana-Blogs Report · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Tatiana Salazar visits Chicá, Parque Nacional de Campana (ES):
Chicá is close to the Parque Nacional de Campana, a national ecological reserve with excellent weather, great roads, and a marvelous landscape. ANAM (Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente) has cabins for rent and the area is excellent for camping. Anyone interested?
Read the complete post and admire the views by visiting Tatiana's blog.
#2: PanPan‘s exposition of the military badges from the extinct Fuerzas de Defensa  (ES) is a historic review of the military times in Panama. All of those companies were active when the 1989 invasion to Panama took place. The thoughts and comments to this post by the readers are mixed. One group cries out a complaint for the long gone military days, especially because of the street violence that takes so many lives every day. People want justice, and they do not see a satisfactory response from the police right now. The second group rejects even the thought militarizing Panama, and the third group just loves the colorful showcase of badges and names that remind us all the military days.
#3: ColterYahn visits the Sarigua Desert (El Desierto de Sarigua)
Scorched by the relentless sun and twisted by the salty wind that erodes away the precious little topsoil there is, trees with their roots left exposed quickly wither and die.  Rain then erodes away more of the the salty earth, which dries rapidly and is swept by the wind into new forest, devastating the sensitive ecosystems that surround the Sarigua desert. Continue reading and admire the amazing photography!
#4: Roman Sainz (ES) spends some quality time with his dad. While reading his post I had the urge to call mine. You know, time flies…let's hug and love the people we care about. Do not be afraid to HUG the one you love :-)
#5: FashionCHICA on the health benefits of  "massage with chocolate" (ES)
This is  paradise for the chocoholics like you! Isn't it beautiful that now you have yet another excuse to aquire all the chocolate you have been thinking about these days? Well,   according to the girls at FashinCHICA, by masagging your favorite treat onto your skin, the high antioxidants in it will protect the skin against free radicals, which cause wrinkles. An increasing number of scientific studies support the value of applying antioxidants directly to the surface of the skin to combat free radical damage.
#6: Heidibella in the Tropics  visits the "Rincón Alemán"
Last night we had our monthly Cusqueños get together. The venue this time was "Rincón Alemán".
It was the perfect backdrop for the occasion. I had never been there before and I can say with certainty that I'll visit again. The atmosphere was intimate yet with an obvious German cheer in the air. Among the winning dishes were the Lauch Quiche or Leek Quiche (amazing!) and the Champignons mit Knoblauch or Garlic Mushrooms (so tasty!). Head over to her blog to read the complete post and take a look at the tasty photos!
#7: Art and Rants on Tattoos:  My body is my temple and I will do with it what I please!
Allow me to elaborate on that last point. My mom is a firm believer that she owns me, and therefore I cant do anything with myself that she dissapproves of, that includes but is not limited to tattoos, piercings, and any other things she might consider self mutilation (yet she has no problems with me drinking…) So she has already warned me that if I ever get a tattoo that she will proceed to cut off whatever limb or part of my body its on. Usually one would take this as an empty threat but I dont doubt for a moment that my mother is in fact capable of crippling her own son. My brother has 3 tattoos and a piercing, my sister has a piercing and a thing for writing on herself. The only
difference is that they are in Chicago and Im still living at home… Continue reading
#8: Ericiglesias.com reports what happened in a College Football encounter between a team from Panama and a team from Nicaragua…Really exciting!!!
Days ago, 22 of the ULACIT Warriors (former Villa Catalina Warriors) from Panama, played against the Guerreros-Aló from Nicaragua (57 in roster), in the Nicaragua National Stadium. (Saturday July 22, 2006)
The game ended TIED 28 – 28, and was decided in overtime in favor to Nicaragua 34 to 28.The Nicaraguan press defined the game as the best football game EVER HELD in Nicaragua. Read more and check out the photos now!
I'll be back soon with MORE!

author: Melissa De León


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Philippines: Second Oldest University in Philippines · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Senor Enrique in Philippines looks at one of the oldest universities in Asia – the University of Santo Tomas that first opened in 1611 and started granting degrees in 1624.


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Poland: Israel’s Best Friend · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about Poland's attempts to look like “Israel's best friend in Europe.”


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Poland: Pessimistic Financial Forecast · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Warsaw Station writes about Poland's “budget blues” and other financial matters.


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Romania: Hotel Casablanca · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mat Savelli of Roma Roma posts a Romanian tourism commercial and, as if to illustrate how inaccurate it is, follows up with an account of his stay in the town of Satu Mare.


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Russia: A Tuk Tuk Journey · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tuk to the Road is a blog about “the trials and tukulations of Jo, Ants and Ting Tong the tuk tuk and our three-wheeled odyssey from Bangkok to Brighton…in aid of the mental health charity Mind. […] On May 20th we're off on the trip of a lifetime, a 10,000 mile road trip from Bangkok to Brighton in a tuk tuk. Yes, you read right, a tuk tuk. One of those noisy, slightly uncomfortable machines you get catapulted around Thailand and India on.” Jo and Ants have just finished the Russia leg of their “tukathon” and are on their way into Ukraine.


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Sri Lanka: Bomb Blast · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

In Sri Lanka yesterday, there was a bomb blast. Roam Digital on how life goes on and with links to photographs.


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Sri Lanka: Conflict and communication · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Deshapalana on the escalating conflict in Sri Lanka, and why the people of Sri Lanka must make themselves heard and communicate to the conflict actors.


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Syria: Hamas Official Abducted and Tortured · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“While the whole world is preoccupied with the situation in Lebanon, Israel has been taking this chance to kill more civilians in Gaza, and kidnap the odd cabinet minister from the democratically elected Hamas government. Israel's latest victim is the speaker of the parliament, Aziz Dwaik, who was abducted from his home and tortured in an Israeli prison. In fact, Dwaik was beaten so badly, he had to be taken to a hospital. To add to that his lawyers were not allowed to visit him in the hospital,” Omar said.


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Syria: Reasons Syria must be Included in a Lebanon Solution · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The debate over whether to find a diplomatic solution to the Lebanon conflict or to press for a total military victory is becoming ever more heated. More and more analysts are pressing President Bush to talk to Damascus. Joshua Landis sums up the arguments for and against.


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Bolivia celebrated her Independence Day on August 6th complete with the usual fanfare and outward displays of civic pride.  Many Bolivians marked this 181st birthday with family and friends, while others were miles away in other parts of the globe far from their loved ones.  Isabella Fuente did not hide her melancholy around this date.  She currently lives in Spain and maintains the blog Ergoth (ES).
Willy Andres Ortega, a Cruceño (from Santa Cruz) remains very hopeful and this day stands out to him as a new beginning, “Today, history begins.  Today, we would like to start anew.  Looking out at new horizons, we want to show a different Bolivia, one that has not been seen, one that knows no boundaries, and one that is not afraid of change for a brighter future.” The national holiday was different this year because it coincided with the launch of the Constitutent Assembly.  Rolando Lopez of Rocko Weblog (ES) looks forward to this process to rewrite the country’s Constitution because it will “create a new, inclusive nation of those that have been relegated for thousands of years and to give decision-making power to those people during a time of socio-political phenomenon that has never been seen before.”
The assembly will begin on August 15th because the hall where the congress will take place is still under construction.  The 255 delegates elected on July 2 have been debating rules of order and also elected the presiding officers.  The President of this Assembly is Silvia Lazarte, from the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS). Jaime Humérez Seleme of Boliviscopio (ES) identifies some bad, early signals. Lazarte is a close confidant of President Evo Morales and goes back to the early 1980s during their days of syndicalism in the Tropics of Cochabamba (Chapare). There have been some concerns that the Assembly will simply be an extension of the MAS government, especially because the President of the Assembly is so close to Morales.  There has also been speculation that some want to give the Assembly extraordinary powers, which could mean the closing of the current legislature.
Sergio Asturizaga, a Paceño (La Paz resident) living in Brazil, also has high hopes for this new process, but hopes that some of Morales’ mistakes do not play into the final Constitution.  He is troubled about some of Morales’ statements, which reflect resentment and confrontation between the different groups in the country.  He hopes that a new, inclusive country is created, as he writes in his blog, Así Como me Ves Me Tienes (ES):
I hope that it does not become a country with only one ethnicity or one nation, but one of multiple nations and cultures.  As we saw in the parade in Sucre with the representation of many cultures, we must see that Bolivia is not only Occident and Orient. It is much more than that, it is a country, a grand country that demands that it finally becomes the grand country that it is..”
The location of this historic gathering takes place in Bolivia’s other capital, Sucre.  Far from the seat of government of La Paz and the economic hub of Santa Cruz, this city rarely gets much attention throughout the year.  It is, however, the site of the Supreme Court and it is a frequented destination of tourists because of the attraction of dinosaur tracks.  Citizen K (ES) writes about the opening of a sort of Jurassic Park, which is being built with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank and local governments. The park will be ready on August 25 and has already drawn rave reviews from visiting journalists.
Bolivia’s seat of government and other capital city, La Paz, is also hoping to increase tourism through the construction of an urban train, a type of elevator up from the center of La Paz, which sits in the middle of a sort of crater.   Sebastián Sánchez of Palazos a la Piñata (ES) thinks that this construction is a bad idea citing the loss of many public transportation jobs and the elevated cost, which is likely to go over budget.
On the streets of La Paz, the blogger named Luna, who writes at Lunovampella (ES), talks about a newspaper written and sold by street children.  The cost is a mere Bs. 3 ($ 0.40) and she says the money goes directly to the kids keeping them away from drug addiction and alcoholism.
Finally, Mario Duran from El Alto and the blog Palabras Libres (ES), found himself as an involuntary victim of police brutality.  During the recent holiday, a backed-up traffic jam caused tensions to rise between a local transit cop and a taxi driver.  When the driver emerged from his car to protest the treatment of his vehicle, it only caused the policeman to increase the ill treatment of the vehicle and of the driver.  Duran and his fellow passengers began to complain about this rough treatment, when the inside of the taxi was sprayed with tear gas.  He soon went straight to the Public Ombudsman and local transit authority to register an official complaint.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Uzbekistan: Renewing US Ties? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net speculates on the possible reasons for today's meeting between Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher.


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Argentina: The Fake Gynecologist · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ian Mount on the Bueno Aires expat scandal involving a soon-to-be extradited sex offender who claimed he was a gynecologist in the US and then pretended he was with Doctors Without Borders in Argentina. Tango in her eyes, another expat blogger, is thankful she listened to her gut feelings: “This person emailed me extending his offer help me with my medical needs, because my “cold” just may turn into a bronchical infection. He was just a bit “too” interested in helping me. And then when he mentioned the method of ingestion of the antibiotics he was going to perscribe, the ALARMS really went CODE RED!”


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Armenia: Screen Scene · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nareg of Life in Armenia wants to know what is up with the sudden appearance of large, flat-panel screens in various locations around Yerevan.


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Armenia: Sex & Virginity · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna carries a fictional story composed out of many elements of truth about virginity and attitudes towards sex. Onnik Krikorian and Ani have related posts.


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Bangladesh: Canada and the immigrants · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Bengali in TO has a discussion with a Bangladeshi woman in Canada who doesn't quite like the fact that Canada has a lot of immigrants and wants to push for a Canadian culture.


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Bloggers Opinion of Sanfic Film Festival in Chile · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Sanfic is an international film festival in Santiago held from the 8th to the 12th of august. Countries from all over the world participate in the exhibition, such as the Philippines, Canada, France, Germany, Thailand, Mexico and others. More than 100 productions can bee seen. This is the second year of the festival, and it has gotten extremely popular.
Penelope Glamour, posts in Zancadas (ES)  about opportunity of having this type of festival:
Regarding independent films, always is novel to see these movies that, because of cultural and political reasons, don’t arrive to our country we end up missing a good amount of non-commercial films.”
About the difficulty of execute an independent film festival, Daniel Olave (ES)  writes in her blog an interview with one of the directors of the Festival, Carlos Núñez. In his introduction he emphasizes:
They closed the doors. They asked them ‘where are you from? Who do you think you are? A lot of times it was planned to do an important film festival in Santiago, but that haven’t come about. Because of this, no one believes in two young people, who where unknown in the local film “scene” could execute the ambitious project to give to the city of Santiago the film festival that was missing”
One of the Chilean movies to participate is “The Daughter of the General,”  a documentary about Chile's new president, Michelle’s Bachelet. Ideas Públicas (ES) wrote her perspective on the movie:
This documentary is a private view into the biography of a woman, which tries to explain all the complexities of the human being through a deep search into her past.
Analizame (ES) a film blog, posts about the movies he had seen (mostly all in Spanish), and also really good news for film addicts:
I didn’t know … I don’t know if this was something that had always been planned this way or just happens all of a sudden. Sanfic has a lot of free movies every day, more than 40 showing”.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Bolivia: The Wonders of Google Earth · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Buitrago is amazed by the “The Wonders of Google Earth” and its potential in Bolivia: “I got another message from a reader (Sergio) who located the compound of Manfred Reyes Villa, the Prefect of Cochabamba. Now, every public person in Bolivia has to make a “public” declaration of income and property. Where he lives is public knowledge. With a tool like Google Earth, one can even pay him a visit. Take a look. Also, I do not have 100% assurance it is in fact Manfred's Villa. But, even if its not, you can clearly see the reach of Google Earth and, of course, its potential uses.”

author: David Sasaki


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Brazil: “São Paulo Under Siege” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Made in Brazil says this week saw the third wave of attacks by the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) in São Paulo. For more background, read Jose Murilo Junior's recap of the first violent riots in May.


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Children on BBC talks about Israeli-Lebanese Conflict · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The BBC World Service program World Have Your Say has turned itself over to children who have experienced the Israeli-Lebanese conflict. The show has live blogged the episode.


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China: blogspot unblocked? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Keso reports that blogspot is unblocked in China. However, people can never tell know how long it would last (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: cultural revolution reminder · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The cultural revolution started 40 years ago on 8th of August. Jeremy Goldkorn puts together bloggers’ reminders in DANWEI.


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Cuba: Portraits of a people · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Daniel Mauermann has a wonderful Flickr photoset comprising images of Cubans from all walks of life, including one extensively pierced individual smoking a cigar.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Cuba, USA: Misinterpreting Bush · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Henry Gomez accuses Joe Garcia, the former executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation, of deliberately misinterpreting statements made by President Bush during a television interview and playing playing “divisive political games”. According to Gomez, Garcia claimed that Bush had made statements to the effect that US-based Cubans would  be excluded from participating in the eventual transformation of Cuba.


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Egypt: The Games Regimes Play · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Baheyya describes Gamal Hosnie Mubarak (son of Egyptian President) visit to Lebanon as adding insult to injury by pretending to care for the Lebanese people. She says: “But why should I be surprised? What else should one expect from the Mubarak regime but grovelling to the Israelis, using the Lebanese for a photo op, and keeping one nervous eye on the outraged Egyptian public and another on the demanding American bosses? A despised, depleted regime desperately clinging to power should never be cause for wonderment. A despised, depleted regime seeking to salvage some paltry war profits should not be cause for surprise.”


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Guatemala: Huehuetenango Theatre · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Chapinadas notes the projected jump in tourism for the month of August and describes one of the lesser-known tourist attractions, the Municipal Theatre of Huehuetenango.


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Hong Kong: dead of intellectual newspapers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Richael Li finally bought up to 50% of Hong Kong Economic Journal. Following ESWN's earlier post analysizing media conditions in Hong Kong, duke of Aberdeen shares with ESWN's optimism that bloggers can take up the intellectual tradition in publication (zh).
Kong-chan comments that most of the owners of Hong Kong newspapers are educated people, the issue at stake is not “who” runs the newspapers but whether they consider newspapers as a pure business (zh).


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Hong Kong: domestic helpers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

BWG comments on the exploitation of domestic helpers in Hong Kong by employers and recruitment agences.


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Hong Kong: mainstream media’s choice · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Learnedfriend wrote a citizen report in inmediahk.net comparing the two demonstrations he had attended and helped organized in the past few days (zh). One was a series of anti-war protests against the killing of innocents in Lebanon; one was an action outside Japanese Consulate, demanding compensation for the comfort women during WWII. The anti-war protests were better organized and many local people joined in; the latter protest was more an ac hoc action, with little mobilization and public annoucnment. However, the media attention given to the WWII action was four times more than the anti-war protests (with mainstream T.V news report team). He wondered why?


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India: Popular Indian Bloggers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A recent post musing over popular bloggers, provokes an interesting reaction from Patrix – who then looks at other popular Indian bloggers to see how much Technorati ranks reveal.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Why the Muslims? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims questions why law enforcement agencies target Muslims, and why the community is the usual suspect.


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Israel: Face to Face · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Well, face to face it is, and the question before all of us, particularly government and military leaders, is whether reserve forces, who only a few days before were sitting in their high tech offices and work stations, or relaxing after completing final examinations at the country’s colleges and universities, are ready to engage an enemy who not only has spent years of training and preparation, but for personal and religious reasons is not afraid to commit the ultimate sacrifice on the field of battle, Picow said on the 30th day of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict.


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Jamaica: Corporal punishment & crime · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Francis Wade wonders if the widespread acceptance and practise of corporal punishment in Jamaica might be linked to the country's high crime rate.


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Japan: rock on the torii · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP in Japundit shows some pictures of rocks on the torii: a custom in making wishes by tossing rocks.


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Japan: western business practice · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP in Japundit hightlights a report claiming that a majority of Japanese workers are suffering from “high anxiety” and “mental illness” resulted from western business practice.


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Lebanon: Call for Action! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

A new blog called, Civilian Resistance in Lebanon – www.lebanonsolidarity.org has started a campaign for Lebanon; ‘An Open Country for Civil Resistance.’ The campaign is calling upon the local and international community to join a campaign of civil resistance to Israel's war against Lebanon and its people and declare Lebanon an open country for civil resistance.
The campaign is endorsed by more than 200 local and international organizations. More information can be found here.


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Lebanon: Shiyah · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hilal Chouman describing what he saw on TV: Yesterday, a man was seen on a TV channel. He survived from Shiyah massacre. All his family members died. He was seen carrying some papers covered with dust. Those included passports and other official documents. He was smiling in a strange way and repeating:
“Here are the papers. Nothing is gone. Come look.. Nothing is gone.. I still have them all!”


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Mexico: Recounts and Protests · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As the partial recount of disputed votes gets underway, Ana Maria Salazar says that Sympathizers of the Coalition for the Good of All, blocked major banks across Mexico City. Ceci Connolly describes two articles on the violent birth of a baby and the death of a middle-aged man sleeping among Obrador supporters on Reforma Boulevard as “the entire life cycle.” Bianca J. Ulloa says that 100 Obrador sympathizers marched to the capital airport to block vehicular access (ES). Karin's description of la Reforma jibes with the earlier description by Ricardo Carreon: “Seriously – WHAT A JOKE! The whole road was shut down because they had giant tents (think, outdoor banquet types) covering the whole road, and also a few tents for people to sleep in. But there were, like, NO PEOPLE!!!?!?!? Where the hell were they all? The city has been in chaos because the this road has been closed, and there is not even anyone there chanting or holding signs or anything. I was througoughly disappointed.” Jose Sanchez Zolliker says that Obrador's supporters can learn from those protesting in front of the Secretaría de Hacienda (ES): “they didn't block traffic, nor throw trash, nor impede the passage of any person … they simply protested and made their voice heard; they exercised their rights. Mark in Mexico has an update on the recount and says that not much has changed. The partial recount should be completed by Sunday at the latest.


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Pakistan: Dhabas in Islamabad · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad on the changing culture of road side eateries in the city.


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Pakistan: Maula Jatt · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan on why Maula Jatt is an icon film in Pakistan.


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Russia, Ukraine: “A Russian Looks at Western Democracy” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert disagrees with a post by Konstantin of Russian Blog “on the failure of western democracy.”


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Russia: Competing for Airbus Crash Victims · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog writes about the competition between U.S. and U.K. law firms to represent those who suffered in the Airbus A-310 crash in Irkutsk in July.


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Russia: Hermitage Thefts · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog reports on the theft of 221 exhibits from the Hermitage.


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Russia: Moscow Misunderstood · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude writes on how Moscow is misunderstood by the Lonely Planet travel guide and the Guardian.


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Russia: Russian “Chochkas” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Michael Averko of Russia Blog writes about toy Soviet tanks, hammer-and sickle-and-red-star jerseys, two-headed-eagle sweatshirts: his favorite Russia-related “chochkas.”


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Singapore: Editor or People · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Singapore's metablog Tomorrow.sg is asking its readers if it should continue as an editor moderated system or move to a system where the readers can vote to promote articles.

author: Preetam Rai


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Singapore: In the Land of Clouds · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Singapore's famous adventurer and traveller Popagandhi writes from the edge of South East Asia in the Indian state of Meghalaya. The name Meghalaya means the land of the clouds. Popagandhi observes the local taste in music “Yes.. The Killers, playing in Shillong. The Rolling Stones were here recently, and Iron Maiden is also coming in August. Aoky Nandon, my driver in Cherrapunjee, says some rap acts try coming over but “Shillong tells them to go home.”


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South Korea: union activist died · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jamie from two koreas tells his readers some background about the recent death of union activist in relation to 1001 riot police unit.


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Tajikistan: Said Abdullo Nuri · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ataman Rakim writes briefly about Said Abdullo Nuri, the leader of Tajikistan's Islamic Rennaissance Party who recently passed away.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Rock band music video · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Caribbean Free Radio posts a music video by Orange Sky, one of Trinidad and Tobago's premier rock bands.


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Trinidad & Tobago, UK: Views on the bomb plot · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidadian bloggers Jeremy Taylor and Seldo offer their two cents’ on today's thwarted airport bomb plot in England.


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Voices from Central Asia · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Kids from near Batken in southern Kyrgyzstan wave you welcome to the latest roundup of blogging activities in Central Asia brought to you by neweurasia.
Let's go through the countries alphabetically:
Kazakhstan:
Leila of neweurasia has taken over the roundups from the Kazakh blogosphere on Global Voices. Keep your eyes peeled for the freshest conversations from the largest (and arguably most cyber-active) Central Asian country which appear on this site every second Thursday.
Kyrygzstan:
A well-known cleric from southern Kyrgyzstan, who has been known to allow members of the outlawed Hizb-ut-Tahrir into his mosque, died in an anti-terror raid. CXW has the whole story and Ataman Rakin provides background in the comments.
Tajikistan:
Dans le meilleur des mondes possibles has a great discussion of the decline of the Russian language in Tajikistan.  Learning Russian is much less strictly enforced in Tajikistan, with much less emphasis on the language in education and standardized testing.  This has led to a decline more rapid than in neighboring countries, as well as a variety of jokes about Tajiks speaking poor Russian; this post has some amusing examples of such anectdotes. Is flying with the Tajik national carrier really that bad? Vadim thinks so and his readers share his opinion.
Turkmenistan:
Turkmen blogger Paikhas has assembled an exhaustive list of Internet sites on Turkmenistan. Among the listed sites, are Turkmenistan's small handful of largely Russian-language blogs, news  and opposition sites, and sites on archeology, horses and contemporary culture. The content spans across a number of languages, including Russian, Turkmen, English and Farsi (RUS).
Uzbekistan:
Afisha reports that on the 12th of August in Uzbekistan the UN will be hosting an International Youth Day, an event that will garner participation throughout the world.  Youth can go to the site www.you.doda.uz to exchange ideas and discuss current problems in Uzbekistan and elsewhere.  Do check out the forums on that site – there really is a lively discussion about real issues facing Uzbekistan.  Elyor writes, “It's time we move toward the European system of education,” to which another responds, “Uzbekistan has its own path to development!”  The debate is thoughtful, lively, and fierce, and all hosted on an Uzbek website. Vseyusnyi Blog has a photo shoot showing the beautiful side of Tashkent.  The weather in Tashkent has been both beautiful and strange this year, says Afisha (all links RUS)
Regional:
Grace E. Jackson is traveling through Central Asia, and she makes you wish you were too.

author: Ben Paarmann


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Bangladesh: Movies and landscapes · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Dhristipat Group Blog on the changing (or not) landscape of Bangladesh that appeared in a movie fifty years back – “Around the world in 80 days”.


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Bangladesh: Via London · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Or how I learnt to stop worrying reflects on his predicament as his wife and child are due to arrive in the US via London. He also pauses to wonder about the concept of Islamic fundamentalism and what consequences Bush's actions have had.


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Barbados: Airport chaos · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press posts a brief report on the “airport chaos” in Barbados after yesterday's foiled bomb plot in the UK.


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Bermuda: Gang activity · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Edward Rance analyses the rise of gang activity in Bermuda and suggests some solutions.


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Cambodia: First free wi-fi service · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Details are Sketchy talks about what may be the first free wi-fi hotspot in Cambodia.


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Caribbean: Colonial artifacts · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jeremy Taylor ponders the appropriate uses of colonial forms and artifacts in the Caribbean context.


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Costa Rica: Chileans and Ticos Remember Embassy Massacre Victims · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Uri Ridelman and Sergio Pacheco (ES) remember the two year anniversary of the Chilean embassy massacre in Costa Rica.


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Cuba, Venezuela: Leftist Latino leader love notes · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

VivirLatino reveals the contents of the notes reportedly exchanged between Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying: “don't you love leftist Latino leader love notes?”


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East Timor: Broken ATM and Restaurant Scene · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Dili-gence in East Timorese capital Dili has the latest on the restaurant scene in East Timor. The blogger also talks about the latest target of vandalism in the city.


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East Timor: DIY Swimming Pool · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Tumbleweed at Timor Lorosae discovers a swimming pool right in the middle of a road in East Timor.


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Flying Over the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

I am holiday and in a flat with no Internet and no telephone. Yet I still get that urge that keeps drawing me back to the Internet café. My one-hour a day fix to feed my blogging habit. And the Iraqi bloggers are keeping me hooked.
Hacked
After an anonymous hacker temporarily brought down IraqBlogCount Konfused Kid is speculating about conspiracy theories.
As one blogger bows out…
I am sorry to see one of the most active of Iraqi bloggers leave the ‘drome. In a short post Ladybird says goodbye..
Cyber-Life finished, Real-Life continues
I apologize if I said anything bad to anybody here.
These are the last words.
Bye all
And the best blog-bituary comes from her arch-nemesis Mister Ghost:
I didn't often agree with Ladybird. Our political philosophies were radically different. I winced at her constant proliferation of posts critical of the United States. … But I always had a soft spot in my heart for Ladybird. She had high hopes for a better Iraq, and grew disappointed like many Iraqi bloggers, which may have fueled her distrust, …
And that Ladybird was a tough gal who made something with her life as a member of the International Red Cross in Africa and parts beyond, helping a wide range of people. She survived wars, being shot at, snakebites, was kidnapped, I believe, more than once. Ahhhh, what a book she could write about her life and experiences.
Lets hope that new life involves writing that book!
…another steps in
With a name that will probably blow a hole through all but the best Unicode convertors, ĒL DELILÂH gives us her Not-So Humble Opinion about other Iraqi bloggers. Her blog reviews tear through the victims blog with keen wit that has others waiting in fear of the day she notices them. “i am in anticipation of being reviewed by El Delilah, i hope i will not be found wanting” writes aNarki-13.
El Delilah's first target was Meemo
In the July 20th post which is the most recent, titled “Midnight Chitchat”, he goes on as though he's got ADHD. I realize it's a chitchat, but it's one of those things where you lose interest after the first…there are no paragraphs but say chunk. He starts off with how he can't think of anything to talk about, and how they found a decapitated man near the house and all of that. As I read through, I found it no more than “blabber”. You would expect a person to be slightly more affected by the fact that a decapitated body was at their door.
And then she lays into The Mesopotamian fists swinging wildly.
He's the All-Knowing Oracle, he warns and warns and people just never listen. Media's the green serpent that is sometimes mean and sometimes plain idiotic, while his majestic self carries on warning…et cetera. You should go to this blog if you've got low self-esteem issues, but you should go with a bucket, because there you can collect some of the bloated ego which drips from his lines.
Ouch. Her review of Meemo also provoked a counter-review from Asterism (that's me). “People are getting beheaded on Meemo's doorstep and Dulilah is moaning about him to grow up. Get a perspective little girl! What is you problem? Were you potty-trained too early? Did your parents force you to study instead of playing. Are you harboring deep grudges of a lost childhood?”
Reading blogs just became more fun!
Word from the streets
Hell on earth would be an understatement for life in Baghdad these days. Baghdad Treasure just moved to Amman and explains the difference between living in a peaceful city and Baghdad:
My life has changed now. I can breath, walk, laugh, joke, cry, run, have fun, and meet with friends and relatives. I missed these things for years. For the last three years, I was like a robot. Living and working for the sake of work and nothing else. No kind of life was represented in my previous life. Fear was my companion. Wherever I go I feel worried and whatever I do I feel cautious. I thought about each step I walked in Baghdad several times before I took its risk.
For those that remain in Baghdad, life is a mixture of dealing with day to day crises…
Anyway, what made me extremely worried was the news that spread like lightning in the neighborhood, the news (or the rumor) says that leaflets were found in the neighborhood carrying threats to Sunni families and telling all Sunni residents to leave.
What the….!!
Do I and my family have to leave our home now? Impossible! That was the first thing I thought of…No, I'm not running away, I'm not leaving the home I was raised in and I'm not abandoning my country…what do these people want from us?!
… or saying sad goodbyes to friends and family who are leaving Iraq indefinitely. Miraj's favourite aunt is trying to leave Iraq. She writes, “Once they are gone from Iraq, we won’t have any family left in Iraq, just another reason that keep us hanging on to Iraq is being dissolved, like every other reason.” Or just reacting to the daily horror of it all:
I just wonder how can we continue doing our jobs and go to schools or to work?! A week before, my father came home terrified! He said that some gunmen stop their office bus on the highway that leads to “Albayaa area” in Baghdad. He added and mentioned that those hirelings obliged the driver to pull over and grabbed that poor driver out of the bus and aim their AK47s over his head. One of them ordered the passengers to show their ID cards! The other gunmen yelled: “Fuck them, let’s move on from here quick!”. They took that poor driver with them and quickly drove their four wheel drive Toyota.
And finally…
Iraqi bloggers are still meeting in Amman. The latest discussion have gone from the price of Iraqi petrol: “While I was enjoying the time with my new friends last night, I got a call from an Iraqi friend here in Amman. he told me that the prices of oil products in Baghdad have reached a point where when it’s become impossible for the average Iraqi to buy them.” to singing “the famous Phoebe [of F.R.I.E.N.D.S] song, ‘Smelly Cat, smelly cat. What are they feeding you?’ “.
And finally, finally…
Here is the best blog post I never read:
I wrote the longest post and best post I ever have. And it just dissapeared, I am so dissapointed right now.
Sorry.

author: Salam Adil


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Guadeloupe:  Musical Year for Rotary · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Guadeloupe Attitude writes (Fr): “Not less than 7 concerts of classical music were announced for Rotarian year 2006-2007. (…) Truth be told, the President of [Guadeloupean capital] Pointe-a-Pitre's Rotary is the talented violonist Stephane DENARO. (…) No doubt [the Chevalier de] St-Georges will be played.”


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Guadeloupe: Rotary  Club a Link  to Anglophone Caribbean · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blogger Jean-Claude Halley celebrates (Fr) an impromptu Rotary Club gathering where he discovered the talents of soprano Christelle Gelas, currently a student in Texas. He offers musings on what the Rotary community embodies in Guadeloupe: “the belonging to both  the anglophone Caribbean and to metropolitan France.”


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Hungary: 1956 Anniversary Controversy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes about controversy surrounding the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising.


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India: To the Zoo · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Mumbai on the state of the Byculla Zoo in Mumbai, and if it makes more sense to revamp it, rather than move it to another place outside the city.


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Kazakhstan: Residency Ordeal · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Irene continues to detail the trials and tirbulations involved in getting a residency permit in Kazakhstan (RU).

author: Nathan Hamm


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Moldova: Village Problems · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peter Myers of Doi Ani de Zile writes about problems that villages in Moldova are facing.