Global Voices Online

Ben of neweurasia reports that Kazakhstan is seeking to avoid the problems associated with an economy based on resource extraction by investing in industry with a high value added component.

neweurasia reports that Tajiks are suffering from the increased drug traffic across the country from Afghanistan.

the beatroot reports that the brains behind the wildly successful “Polish Plumber” ad campaign has been fired by the new government.

Both Zarchka and Onnik of Oneworld Multimedia has additional reports on the homeless in Yerevan.

Our Man in Tirana cautions that if one finds what appears to high-quality whiskey, it very well may be local rotgut in a good bottle.

Jordan Turns Israelis Away For Being Too Jewish? The answer is of course they don’t want Jordanians to identify them as Israeli tourists and “religious” Jews come with symbols; the outer wear. And that will make them stick out like sore thumbs where they would ordinarily pass as European tourists, Nas said.

A day after organizing a protest against alleged foreign meddling in Lebanese affairs, Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah told al-Hayat that the cabinet crisis he created proves that it is difficult for the Lebanese to manage their own affairs, Kais said.

Inaccurate ‘human rights’ teaching in Jordan's national schools textbooks was reported by a Jordanian National Centre for Human Rights, Sabbah said.

the leaky pen talks about the pros and cons of Wretch, a Taiwan blog-hosting service much like myspace.com that appears to attract not just teenagers but politicians and local celebrities.

vdaniel writes at Thai-blogs.com about his unease at being an Asian male in the U.S. yet not quite accepted either in Thailand. “If America annot accet me and Thailand views me as a stranger , where do I belong? Australia maybe?” Read the discussion that follows as well.

Sinosplice's list of things that make living in China like playing a role-playing game has warmed the hearts of China-involved nerds everywhere.

Matthew Stinson approves of a recent Businessweek article that deflates some of the exaggeration surrounding the threat posed by the Chinese economy, including the fact that many products labeled “made in China” don't come from Chinese companies. “As such, the West, while making demands upon China to open up and shift its growth strategy from exports to domestic consumption, should be conscious of the fact that the Chinese economy needs time to retool and adjust. Move too fast, demand too much, and we run the risk of breaking the Chinese economy, and a sick China could prove far more dangerous to the global economy than an ‘unstoppable' Chinese behemoth.”

Angry Chinese Blogger comments on the indefinite postponement of the opening of Hollywood movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” in China. The movie has attracted a lot of criticism from Asians who decry (for different reasons) a Chinese actress portraying a Japanese hostess.

Black Looks, by Global Voices' own Sokari Ekine, offers a roundup of posts reflecting on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and observing the persistence of racism around the world.

Cambodia-based blogger Jinja happens to witness an opposition rally — in the midst of a power outage — while typing in a post.

The Nanopolitan writes on unschackling education in India and highlights benefits for the concerned stakeholders.

Razib links to a report by “Odhikar, a Human Rights organisation, published a report detailing the killings of 461 Bangladehis by the Indian Border Security Force(BSF) over the last 6 years”.

Unheard Voices links to documents that implicate certain individuals in the events of 1971 and the role of Jamaat.

Imtiaz's Weblog urges readers to sign the petition against Jamaat and demand that Jamaat apologize for their role in 1971.

Coalition for Darfur reports that thousands are fleeing as DRC troops clash with militia armies in the east.

Cyblug reports on the kidnapping of hostages by Niger Delta militants……”One step forward ten steps backwards and the problems in the region i.e poverty remain unresolved.”

What an African Woman Thinks wonders about her decision to remain anonymous…”Why has my instinct been to hide rather than to reveal my identity? Is it about not wanting to be accountable for my thoughts as expressed here? Or is it about another thing that Dan Gilmore alludes to as reported in the same blog entry”

Addis Ababa Rocking Fun Zone decides to get serious and start reporting on politics and current affairs from Ethiopia. He has a rant against the US and concludes he will leave the politics to Meskel Square and others

Meskel Square posts photos from Addis Ababa's Epiphany celebrations known as Timket

TIGBlogs reports that gay marriage is banned in Nigerian . The ban includes gay rights activists and gay and lesbian people..All to face 5 year prison sentences!

Public Policy on bus boards? Metroblogging Lahore with a photograph of what is credited as an unpublished quotation by the father of the nation on what students should be charged for bus fares.

Made in Brazil tells readers to mark their calendars for June 17th when the world's biggest gay pride parade will take place in São Paulo.

Eduardo Ávila shares the secret recipe to any mainstream media article about Bolivia and Evo Morales. Miguel Buitrago lists some of the attendees at Morales' inauguration including, of all people, Slovenian President, Drnovšek.

Jorge Gobbi follows up on the conflict between attracting tourists and respecting private property in Tilcara, Jujuy by posting an email from local resident, Jaro Godoy about the lack of media attention the story is getting.

Over the last two weeks the Israeli government and media had been doing their best to cover the news of the Jewish families living in Hevron.

Today a Palestinian bomber once again blew himself up in a crowd. Islamic Jihad today demonstrated a terror act by dispatching a suicide bomber to a Tel Aviv sandwich shop. Almost two dozen wounded according to early reports.

Laila el-Haddad (Palestinian blogger of Raising Yousuf) is reporting from Gaza on the approaching legislative Palestinian elections, in a series of posts for Guardian Unlimited, Laila described the situation in Gaza last week by being unusually quite adding: “The brief calm also seems to strengthen the argument of those who posit that the recent chaos was, in fact, premeditated by certain political elements in an effort to destabilise the government or postpone elections. My guess is the gunmen are too busy devouring their Eid meat.”

This week, Laila says posters enveloped Gaza City as everyone has become a national hero while some marched down the streets shouting: “Thieves, thieves, you're all thieves” in reference to the ruling party.”. Laila gave Fatah (Arabic) party a call to find some answers, read her full story here

CoolDestiny is put off by the hypocrisy shown by her former church in its refusal to handle the funeral of a woman on the grounds that she was an “informal commercial importer” (also known in Jamaica as a “higgler”). The church claimed the funeral would attract “patrons [who] would smoke, drink, curse etc. on the church compound.” And Scratchie posts photos and a short commentary on the four likely candidates for the position of Jamaican prime minister, which will become vacant when P. J. Patterson retires later this year.

Claudie (FR) posts photos of the Carnival preparations in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

Larry Smith dissects some of the arguments around race relations in the Bahamas and conclude that racism is more illusion than reality.

Jonathan Ali is going through a Billie Holiday phase — which leads him to wonder whether the great calypsonian Lord Kitchener may be guilty of plagiarism.

Christopher Yee Mon learns about his heritage from a newspaper article on the Chinese presence in Trinidad; and in an international business course he learns that anyone of Chinese descent is considered a citizen of China under Chinese law. “Nice to know I still have a home to go back to,” he says.

Several bloggers such as Khorshid Khanoum (Lady Sun - in Persian) invited Iranians to vote in CNN quick vote concerning Iran & World Cup: Should Iran be banned from soccer's 2006 World Cup over its nuclear activities? Yes or No. So far 70 percent is NO!