Global Voices Online

An American Dramaturg reports on efforts to reestablish ties between performing arts communities in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

umkahlil writes about the Palestinian mother, which Bleed to death at Israeli military checkpoint and says that westerners who get their news from headlines won't know that Haifaa' Daoud Mohammed Hindiya was shot from two meters away at a checkpoint by Israeli soldiers.

Smooth says that a Jerusalem man was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, and calls Americans, concerned citizens and governments all over the world to organize a comprehensive campaign of economic disinvestment and divestment from Palestine.

Sami of An Iraqi's Thoughts blogs answer the question; what benefits are there for the Sunni Arabs of Iraq in the new constitution?

Issandr El Amrani from The Arabist Network says that majority of Americans believe their country should not encourage democratization in the Middle East. The poll was conducted by the Knowledge Networks for the Program on International Policy Attitudes and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.

Jakartass analyzes a recent presidential speech, and wonders if the Indonesian military may take a higher profile following the Bali bombings.

Jeff Ooi congratulates contemporary dance artist and choreographer Azizi Sulaiman on his scholarship to study dance in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Singabloodypore comments on recent comments from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong which appeared to rule out the possibility of a gay parade in the city-state.

Stilee at ThaiBlogs.com posts text and photos on a Classic Motor Competition in Betong, Thailand, the highlight of which appears to have been a parade of multicolored, Vespa-style scooters.

ESWN reports that Xici Hutong appears to have been shut down, as have many of the phenomena praised on the blog this week.

Beth Kanter has a follow-up post with debate on whether Negroponte's recently unveiled U.S.$100 laptops would really be a good idea for Cambodia.

Angry Chinese Blogger posts a long commentary on the row over Google's map of China and Taiwan, on which the latter is labeled as a province of the former.

Via Black Looks, Pambazuka News has won the non-profit category in the Highway Africa awards for innovative use of new media.

Sokwanele flags a price-list for a typical basket of Zimbabwean groceries, illustrating the average person's daily struggle with inflation.

What does “darkest part of Africa” mean, anyway? asks What an African Woman Thinks. ” That there’s no electricity? That the people are unenlightened? That they speak a different language, hold different values and subscribe to a different set of beliefs? That they don't know what a television is or know how to eat with a fork and knife? What exactly is darkness? And where precisely is it?”

Reports Bankelele: all existing internet service provider licences will be amended by the Communications Commission of Kenya allowing providers to offer internet telephony (VoIP) services.

Timbuktu Chronicles flags a site offering enough knowledge to build independent, low cost, wireless networks almost anywhere in the world.

BOB-nominee Black Star Journal finds background links for an article in the UK's Independent newspaper about the Rwandan army's invasion of the D. R. of Congo soon after the genocide. Here, too, mass graves mark the site of past atrocities.

Afromusing links to a video webcast from a village in northeastern Kenya, where two schoolchildren were reportedly shot in the back of the head by an armed gang, and dozens lie in mass graves. Violence continues in the region, but is rarely reported in the mainstream media.

Roberto Borrero writes that “Naniki Reyes Ocasio, a representative of the Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos [will] present a position paper on Intellectual Property, Culture and Heritage at the Indigenous Summit of the Americas to be held Argentina from October 27-29, 2005.”

Jim Shultz describes the scene at a protest in front of the US embassy in La Paz in support of a formal request by the Bolivian government to extradite former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada from the US to stand trial in Bolivia. Bolivian police protecting the embassy resorted to using tear gas to disperse the crowd. Pictures at Indymedia.

GoodAirs wonders if the famed “Argentine ego” has taken a hit in the last few years, citing a survey in which only 3.5% of respondents chose “the people” as their country's major attraction.

Imtiaz's weBlog has a take on Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's comments about Human Rights.

The Government in Nepal has empowered 14 zonal administrators in the country to take action in corruption cases says International Nepal Solidarity Network.

Samudaya.org has a great round up on the events in Eastern Nepal.

Uma at Indian Writing has a brilliant and insightful essay on Rethinking Secularism.

A post at Varnam about a time when we hope for some peace between the neighbours, but it still appears that there are people who think the cultures are different and beyond reconciliation.

the beatroot Adrzej Lepper, the isolationist and pro-Lukashenko, candidate for Poland's presidency who is running in a distant third place.