Global Voices Online

Jim Shultz covers Garcia Linera's visit to the Democracy Center where he met with social movement leaders. According to Shultiz, the vice president-elect sees the Morales presidency as a new shift, but that “political power in Bolivia remains seriously fragmented, despite the election results.” As per usual, the post has generated a lively debate in the comments.

Andrés Duque highlights the career of soap opera diva, Endry Cardeño, noting that she is probably only the second transgender woman to play the role on TV and that “in the United States you still have producers who won`t hire a transgender actor to play the role of a transgender woman in a movie such as Transamerica or HBO's Normal.”

In her new English-language weblog, Morena Writes, Diana Zorrilla Ríos posts a translation of her pre-election update entitled “93 Days Left.”

“In this CSME time. In this time of dancehall self-righteousness versus soca wutlessness. In this time when Trinis don't want to hear about “small islanders” reaching to the Billboard charts with soca music. In this time when Haitians still call out for our help and we still studiously ignore them. . . . It is now more than ever that we need to consider what it means to this generation,” writes Attillah Springer in the latest entry in the “Caribbeanness” debate which was set in motion by a post at Global Voices Americas' editor David Sasaki's blog.

After writing in a comment that he is considering starting a blog about Cuba by someone based in Cuba, Ernesto - a programmer in Havana - has written two excellent summaries of the Cuban blogosphere. Ernesto concludes that most of the blogs were from a February 2005 seminar on blogging and that, “although [the blogosphere is] more active than I thought, especially [since] a year ago, in the end it's disappointing. The Cuban blogosphere has a long way to go.”

What does it mean to be a young Indian immigrant in the US? What does it mean in terms of identity formation? Yesha has some questions and answers.

Stereotypes in travel books do not work well. Mridula picks up a travel book on India that whines at every stage and the author seems to have seen more snake charmers in that short while than Mridula has seen in her whole lifetime in the country.

Where do saints come from? On reading Dalrymple's work, One One Things has a post on St Expedit who got his name because “Unfortunately the label with the name of the Saint in question had been discarded somewhere along the way and all that remained was a stamp with the Italian word “Spedito”, meaning expedited.”

International Nepal Solidarity Networks links to an article on “Nepal’s homosexual community and gay rights activists Friday joined international protests against the arrest of four Indians on the charge of running a “gay racket” on the Internet.”

Light Within on the “picturesque, tranquil and pollution free town Garam Chashma (meaning hot spring) in at the edge district Chitral.”

“You can all have your war, the war you all want. You can have your racists, you can launch your rockets at your Israelis, you can suicide bomb Baghdad. You can have your oil. You can finish dehydrating the marshlands. You can have your Guantanamo, and your Abu Ghraib. You can have your morons pretending to be Iraqis. You can have all of the propaganda in the world. You can have Al Sadr and Zaqawi and Moqtada and you can have Bin Laden. You can topple more towers. You can use depleted uranium with impunity and smart bombs without my raising a hair. I am, from hereon in, mute. This is my vow of silence. My complicity. You can spy and pry. I do not care. The war is yours, your gift from me in absence.”

With these words, the Iraqi blogger, Emigre, ended his blogging experience. These words describe a general atmosphere of frustration and disappointment between Iraqi bloggers.

It was only a matter of time before one of our kids demanded access to what may be the most rebellious, dangerous and terrifying activities known to parents in Israel. In this case, the culprit in question was twelve-year-old Merav, and her act of teenage defiance? She wanted to ride the bus. No one in our family – nor most of our friends – has taken public transportation since September 2000 when suicide bombers began regularly targeting buses, making getting from here to there a matter of life or death… literally, Brian Blum said.

When you hear about a mall that it probably 1.5 kilometers in length, that's divided into zones that are themed as China, Egypt, India, Persia and so on, you might smile, cringe or do both. But after visiting the Ibn Battuta mall today convinced me I was doing neither, Ahmad said.

León Felipe Sánchez says (ES), “if you're a blogger or interested in starting a blog, you can't afford to miss iLaw México 2006 where you'll get to know the legal implications of dealing with content online, the function of copyright, the tendencies about information technology, and its legal implications.”

Following today’s hearing in the Supreme Court Judge Ayala Prokachya issued a new temporary injunction forbidding all building whatsoever in the Matityahu East compound in the settlement Modi’in Illit. The judge further ordered “to examine all permits already issued and to determine their position regarding their legality by 20 January.”

The appeal was made by Attorney Michael Sfard on behalf of Peace Now. Matityahu East is built on land stolen by the State of Israel from the West Bank village of Bil’in, a theft facilitated by the apartheid wall that is currently under construction, ISM said.

Huichieh Loy at From a Singapore Angle comments on a speech given by financier George Soros in Singapore criticizing the country's lack of an open society.

From Yosef Ardi: in the wake of the tsunami and the bird flu, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs his aura cleansed (a second time) in a ritual to expunge his bad luck and the country's miseries.

EastSouthWestNorth translates a Yazhou Zhoukan article describing “three kinds of Chinese bloggers” — the angry youth, the petit bourgeois, and the commercial blogger.

The man behind JapanWindow.com, a Japan photo blog, explains why he (photo) blogs.

Divergent Poles worries that the growth in the supply of educated Filipino graduates can't keep up with booming demand in the “business process outsourcing” industry (i.e. call centers and back office work).

Jeff Ooi and Cik Amoi of Anak Merdeka comment on the spiralling decline in the fortunes of Malaysia's “national car” company, Proton. The latest development is Volkswagen's announcement that it won't be producing VW-branded cars with Proton for the local market. The car company's share price plummeted soon after.

Writing on the six year anniversary of Ecuador's “dollarization,” A.M. Mora y Leon lays out the benefits of adopting U.S. currency including lower interest rates and stronger banks. Boz, however, responds in a comment that “dollarization moves the country out of rhythm with its neighbors” and that it “made Ecuador and El Salvador hubs for international money laundering.” Meanwhile, Justin Delacour links to an AP story about a protest in Quito against a free trade pact with the U.S., Colombia, and Peru.

Gardegah says Turkic people in Afghanistan are facing discrimination. These people,Turkmen & Uzbek who are about 12% of population, according to blogger have no place in afghan administration or government. (Persian)

The Spirit of Man says, “Breaking seals at nuclear site, moves Iran one step closer to the crisis with the West over its dangerous and useless nuclear programme”. Blogger adds “I am just worried about those ordinary Iranians who will have to live under the possible sanctions which will definitely effect their lives badly“.

Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveler reports that UNHCR is preparing is preparing to recieve thousands of Rwandans seeking refugee in Burundi..

Tackling terrorism by building schools. Yebo Gogo reports that the US has built “more than 30 schools, 25 clinics and bridges in Djibouti.

Musings of a Naijaman comments on the BBC's poor reporting on Africa. ..it is disheartening that in 2006, the supposedly liberal and enlightened BBC still sees Africa as one huge, unyielding mass of misery, and is unable to discern the rich complex weave that is Africa

Kikuyumoja’s realm uses a photo to highlight the contradictions of life in Africa as whilst some people in an “informatl settlement” can afford to watch the English premier league others can hardly afford a soda.

Agathon Rwasa asks readers to support the “call for a war crimes trial for Aloys Nzabampema and independent investigation into the UN Burundi corruption scandal”

Meskel Square comments on the Emperor's cigarette case, a gift from some Belgians. The said cigarette case is now being auctioned by Christies of London - they are hoping to get £2000.

White Africa points to the “Africa” Tag over at 1000Tags.com …..Well, I thought this would be the first (and maybe last) place that WhiteAfrican.com would try and do some advertising. Mostly because by starting the tag “AFRICA”, I thought it would be a huge help to all of the other African bloggers out there”

CaribPundit is surprised but pleased to note that Guyana's Stabroek News is “able to acknowledge that national security and democracy trumps the pleasure to be derived from a reflexive anti-Bushism”. CaribPundit quotes whole paragraphs from a Stabroek News editorial that is highly critical of the policies of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and which cites, among other issues, “Venezuela's spurious claim to the Essequibo region”. Since the 19th century, Venezuela has claimed all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River — 62% of Guyana's territory.

Alice Backer returns to the blogosphere with a detailed and clearly stated critique of a review by Prof. Lucia Suarez of Jean-Robert Cadet's memoir Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle Class American. Among the errors pointed out by Backer is the assumption by Prof. Suarez that slavery still existed in Haiti in the 19th-century.

Caribbean-born sci-fi writer Nalo Hopkinson announces on her blog that two of her novels are to be translated into Chinese. “I wonder how they will deal with the creoles,” she says, “including the one that's a mashup of Trinidadian and Jamaican?”

“Is there nothing Patrick Manning won't take credit for?,” asks Jonathan Ali, reacting to the Trinidad & Tobago prime minister's declaration that the recent arrests of two government ministers on bribery charges are the direct result of reports he made to the Integrity Commission. “It's more than a little curious that Manning should talk about integrity,” Jonathan adds, “when practically his first act on assuming the office of prime minister after the last general election was to name his wife the minister of education.”

The Caribbean Beat Blog solicits opinions on a newspaper review of this year's Jamaica pantomime, encourages Caribbean bloggers to engage in a “round of collective soul-searching” and publishes “outtakes” from an article in the current issue of the magazine.

Bob Green's Anguilla News is pleased to report that a group of financial cryptographers - “the brains who figure out how to create digital money” - will be holding their conference in Anguilla for the second year in a row.

The West Indies Cricket weblog links to a BBC news story which recounts the latest in the drama between Trinidad & Tobago's current - and up to this point only - telecommunications services provider and an Irish telecoms company about to enter the market. The Irish provider, Digicel, was also a key player in a dispute last year with telecoms giant Cable & Wireless over sponsorship of West Indies cricket.

Leon is skeptical of the tsunami warning center to be built in Manchester, Jamaica. The center will serve the Caribbean and US and is being funded by the US government.

World News A La Mexicana takes a look at the hostility developing between Bolivia's president-elect, Evo Morales and Mexico's outgoing president, Vicente Fox.

Protesters have seized the headquarters of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party after its members at the head of government ministries resigned, sending the government into chaos. Chris Miller offers valuable background and explanation, while yan and Registan.net have more on the protests.

Oneworld Multimedia discusses homelessness and the fight for social justice in Armenia.

Scott Clark has additional thoughts on the dismissal of the Ukrainian government, saying it is perhaps not as bad for Yushchenko as it first seemed.

neweurasia reports on the state of Kazakhstan's media.

Oneworld Multimedia reports that, despite new regulations, the number of international adoptions has not decreased.

Nomad Notes reports that Russia's eccentric Vladimir Zhirinovsky has proposed shooting all migratory birds as they fly into the country to prevent bird flu.

Our Man in Tirana reports on making money in post-communist Albania.