Global Voices Online

Maxwell A. Cameron aims to dissect the exponential rise in popularity of Peru's outsider presidential candidate, Ollanta Humala.

Ben Paarmann reports that Kazakhstan is moving ahead with plans to construct a nuclear power plant that has proved a source of controversy in the past.

Christian Espinosa, Communication professor and author of Cobertura Digital received a National Award of Journalism from the National Union of Journalists for the category of new communication technology. It is the first time such an award has been given to a blogger in Latin America.

Boz has two posts summing up the latest polls throughout Latin America while Eduardo Avila looks at a new poll in Bolivia which finds overwhelming support for President Evo Morales' plans to reduce the salaries of politicians.

Jeff Barry recounts the history of his girlfriend's ancestors who immigrated to Quilmes after their Adriatic coastal town was occupied my German soldiers. Barry makes the story - representative of a generation of Italian immigrants - come alive with vivid descriptions of their trials and tribulations.

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog argues that the word ‘hazing' does not reflect all the brutality of what was done to Andrei Sychev, an 18-year-old Russian soldier in Chelyabinsk.

George Hari Popescu of Strangers on the Net is frustrated with how some students would go a long way to get their professors to give them the grades they don't deserve.

Konstantin Dlutskiy of the Russian Marketing Blog discusses an eye-catching sign made by a couple selling dairy products at a Russian farmers market. The sign's like a magnet for customers.

Ahoo, a US based blogger, writes in Peace 77 ( Persian) that Iranian Jews lived 2700 years in Iran but during 27 years were forced to leave country despite their love for Iran. Blogger says millions of Iranian were obliged to go to exile.

ThandieLand laments the “death” of her home village in Dominica, tracing its depopulation to migration (internal and external), especially in the aftermath of 1979's Hurricane David. She compares her village's situation to that of the ancestral community of a Kenyan friend which has been decimated by HIV/AIDS.

Abeni grapples with some serious moral issues on receiving a letter from a convicted rapist who seems to have plagiarized the lyrics of “Reflections”, the song by controversially imprisoned Jamaican singer Jah Cure.

A recent post in this blog described the Algerian army's purchase of $4 billion worth of modern fighter jets, tanks, and STA missiles from Russia, at a time when Algeria is in desperate need of renovation of its infrastructure and an economic boost for its civilians. The fact that the army can spend billions that way indicates that the Algerian army wields more power than wielded by armies in most democracies, Hale said.

The modifications made by the past government is to enable buying and renting Forests for Investment Purposes, giving power to some fat guys in suits with big pockets to destroy the only 9% out of Jordan that consists of forests, nasimjo said.

The theme was “Olmert is bad for the Jews” at the rally at Zion Square in Jerusalem. Organized by the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements, speakers at the rally called for the formulation of “a state commission of inquiry into what they called “the brutal police violence” during the eviction of thousands of settlers from the illegal outpost, where more than 200 people were injured in the worst clashes between settlers and police in years,” ck said.

A lot of people are using their blogs as a space to vent, unload and just get things off their chests. They talk about their everyday lives, their problems, their highs and lows, almost everything… I can't but compare this kind of blogging to a session with a psychiatrist, after all, he just asks you to talk about what's annoying you, your life, …etc and he tries to analyze it and give you some feedback that could be of some help to you, MMM said.

Didn't get a wink of shut-eye last night. After a back and forth exchange of Apache-fired Israeli rockets, and Islamic Jihad home-made rockets, Israeli forces pounded the strip with great intensity all through the night, Laila El-Haddad said.

Rampurple from Lebanon reports that the Danish embassy in Beirut has no damage! How could that be? The embassy is on the fourth floor… the rioters burnt the ground floor upwards… it did not reach the fourth floor!

Ktemoc Konsiders retells a story from the Chinese Ming Dynasty about how sugar canes saved the Hokkien, from whom many Chinese Malaysians are descended. “Since that fateful day, the Hokkiens have celebrated Chinese New Year with a pair of sugar cane plants, which must be complete stalks from roots to shoots to commemorate the actual votive offerings of that historical day.”

After a stampede in a crowd waiting to get into a popular show turns deadly and kills over 70 people, Howie Severino asks: “One of its deadliest traits is we don't know how to manage crowds. We have overcrowded boats, overcrowded settlements, overcrowded riverbanks, overcrowded streets, with every person in those places for himself…” Observes Torn and frayed in Manila: “In a very Filipino touch, the victims’ cries for help were drowned out by the loud music.”

Imagethief complains about the overuse of the “@” symbol in Singapore “to add a whiff of technological glamour to undeserving brands.”

Being Korean calls blogs “gleebs” and rants about how so few of them are meaningful: “there are far too few gleeb sites that are actually intelligently-written. there are far too few gleebs that are written without the author's taking him- or herself too seriously. there are far too few gleebs that have taken time not to bore people to death. there are far too few gleebs that have been designed with an expressed intent of helping people the world over from conquering poverty, hunger, abuse, repression, oppression, recession, and obsession. there are far two few gleebs designed to incite revolutions against imperial aggressors intent on overtaking all of civilisation in the name of oil, capitalism, democracy, fascism, xenophobia, religion, creaky ideology, or sinister psychology. far too few gleebs are actually funny.

Michael Turton's comment on the Japanese Foreign Minister's recent assertion that Japan left Taiwan a good higher educational system turns into an informative post about how that system also systematically excluded locals.

According to Thai-blogs.com, a new biography of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been banned in Thailand even before its publication, and local access to the publisher's website blocked.

One Ethiopia discusses alternative political systems for Ethiopia and the issue of Ethiopian nationalities.

Mzansi Afrika reports that the South African film “Totsi” has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category.

Entrance to the Shrine has a wonderful post on Muharram in Mumbai, the processions and a brief background on why Muharram is observed.

Govindraj on why privatization is not the cure for all ills. He reflects on the Konkan Railway and articulates the stands of some stakeholders.

It is one of the worst disasters in Egyptian maritime history. At or around midnight on friday, the ferry As-Salam 98, carrying 1,414 passengers from Saudi Arabia to Safaga, sank in the Red Sea after a fire broke out on the car deck… Other distraught relatives pointed to chaotic management and lack of adequate or timely information about the rescue effort, Baheyya said.

The occassion of Independence Day in Sri Lanka prompts bloggers to reflect where the country stands, and where it's headed.

Raheel muses on comments in blogs and the role they play.

If people are supposed to choose about what they find offensive, why is Holocaust Denial banned in many coutries asks Lahoree.

Gbenga Sesun of Ore reports on Nigeria's match with Tunisia and has some great photos of Nigerian supporters celebrating in the streets.

Grandiose Parlour comments that the removal of cotton subsidies by the US government are not enough for African farmers.…..”if cotton farmers continue to use antiquated farming methods, produce low quality cotton, and lack government assistance, the removal of these subsidy will be meaningless.”

Africa Unchained reports on a recent address by historian Professor Ali Mazrui…..”“Intellectuals, Nationalism and the Pan-African Ideal” reveals the growing talks, African-wide, about the implications of the African culture and the continent’s development process.”“

Afrohomo publishes a series of posts on growing up gay in Nigeria. “I started this blog to bear witness to the gay African experience. Growing up gay in Nigeria was lonely, bewildering and painful. I did not know anyone like me. I thought I was the only one in the world that struggled with attraction to the same sex. Thankfully, I was very wrong.”

Kenyan Pundit points to a wireless networking project that could be used in Africa. “By applying this technology in areas that are badly in need of critical communications infrastructure, more people can be brought online than ever before, in less time, for very little cost

Uganda-Can reports on a fire in Northern Uganda that has left more than a 100 people dead. The town is home to civilians displaced by the LRA rebellion and government policy. Fires are commonplace northern Uganda’s crowded IDP camps, and leave thousands of already-destitute civilian IDPs homeless each year.

Ethiopian Politics points to an analysis of the situation in Ethiopia by Professor Professor Terrence Lyons and published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Yebo Gogo reports that Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was deported from Zambia, allegedly for using a false name

Keith from under the acacias reports on the removal of cotton subsidies by the US which he believes will be positive for Africa in general and in this case Burkina Faso

Nicholas Laughlin reports on a lecture by Carnival designer Peter Minshall, an artist he ranks “in the select company of [C. L. R] James, [V. S] Naipaul, [Derek] Walcott, [Lloyd] Best.”

Frank Barnako reports that
the idea of US Virgin Islands Stock Exchange is being considered.

The Caribbean Beat Blog links to a travelogue by Bob Marley expert Roger Steffens which covers Steffens' recent trip to Israel, where he “discovers the importance of Bob's message of peace in a land torn by violence.”

Beyond the Test World reports that the fortunes of the Bermuda cricket team on their tour of the United Arab Emirates have gone from bad to worse
.

The Caribbean Beat Blog links to a NY Times article about an ingenious new plantain peeler, and reports that the 1957 film “Island in the Sun”, which was filmed in the Caribbean and stars Jamaica-born Harry Belafonte, is now available on DVD.

ArubaGirl fills us in on the Carnival goings-on in Aruba, where the Tumba contest, the Prince and Pancho contest and the pre-selection for the Calypso and Roadmarch and Child Carnival Queen contest have already taken place.

“A little while ago, I corrected someone who called me “a writer of Caribbean science fiction.” I said that it would be more accurate to call me a Caribbean writer of science fiction,” writes Nalo Hopkinson in a post which generates a long string of comments.

The West Indies Cricket Blog notes on February 4 that there are “exactly 400 days left until the opening ceremony of World Cup 2007“