Global Voices Online

Oneworld Multimedia reports on the tearing down of old Yerevan.

James at neweurasia discusses Kyrgyzstan's exploding wolf population.

Mongolia Matters has the details on a planned 40 meter tall steel statue of Chingis Khan holding a gold whip to be built about 50 km outside of the capital.

Onnik Krikorian has two pages of photos and reporting on SOS Kinderdorf's village near Abovian, Armenia. The organization, which works in 132 countries, gives children without parental care the opportunity to grow up in a family-type environment.

neweurasia reports on HIV/AIDS in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Dan Perlman, Robert Wright, and Jeff Barry all recount their Valentine's Day in Buenos Aires.

Argentine super blogger, Jorge Gobbi, has four posts (1, 2, 3, 4) on his recent trip to Rio de Janeiro. (With videos!)

imperfect world 2006 on “Muslim Aid Bangladesh (a component of Muslim Aid, a charity based here in the UK) has come under the spotlight from a ultra-right wing online publication called Frontpage magazine.”

As Ilias Musayev, Copenhagen spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya, shares his views on the Danish cartoons and other issues, David McDuff of A Step At A Time writes that “the West could certainly afford to take a few lessons from Chechens in political realism.” Andy Young of Taking Aim is not surprised, however, that there're few people left who continue to take Chechnya's government-in-exile seriously.

Metroblogging Islamabad on 150 students being detained after a “demonstration by thousands of students who broke into the highly protected diplomatic enclave during a protest here on Tuesday against the publication of blasphemous cartoons.”

Raheel reproduces a letter exploring the real Islam - “Let me close by reiterating that Islam and the West have a common enemy in terrorism. We must be allies in eradicating terrorism, and we must be not only rational in this, but I hope that we will also rise above this to be spiritual.”

Blogdai on the US Ambassador in Nepal - “No one on the international scene goes more out of their way to acknowledge, magnify and give a blundering, tacit approval to Nepal's Maoists more than U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, James F. Moriarty. “

Bonjour l'Estonie points to a documentary about a predecessor of the recent bloodless revolutions in the former Soviet Union - Estonia's Singing Revolution. The documentary's website is here.

Education is big bucks in India. Foreign universities are busy attracting the attention of the Indian Student says The Daily Rhino.

Cuaderno Latinoamericano, a group blog maintained by students at Tulane University, says that the Rolling Stones will be playing a free concert this weekend in Rio de Janeiro. Free, that is, unless you take into account the $750,000 that the city is paying to make it happen.

Oleksandr at Messages From Canada has a post about “proFFessor” Victor Yanukovych talking poetry in Odesa. Very funny. Yanukovych is Ukraine's former prime minister who ran for president in 2004 and was accused of rigging the election, which caused street protests that became known as the Orange Revolution.

Gil the Jenius compares the Puerto Rican Department of Education's announcement that they're laying off of 5,000 personnel to “a patient with cancer-riddled internal organs being told he's about to have his appendix removed,” and offers his own diagnosis of the problems plaguing the Department.

Free Haiti fingers three US reporters — Carol J. Williams, Edward M. Gomez and Kathie Klarreich — who appear to be “spinning the facts” on the current situation in Haiti, and posts some dramatic photos of protesters swarming the pool at the Hotel Montana, where the members of the CEP (Provisional Electoral Council), the media and others have been headquartered during the election period. According to Baturrico (ES), South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, who is also lodged at the Montana, addressed the protesters from the balcony of his hotel room, calling for calm.

MediaCritic publishes a letter sent to him by a journalist disputing MediaCritic's claim that the Stabroek News was the only Guyanese media outlet to carry the “complete” story of what happened at the funeral of slain journalist Ronald Waddell. MediaCritic wonders whether the Stabroek News “has pulled a James Frey on us.”

Cuban blog Proposiciones reproduces an article (ES) on the Cuba-Venezuela medical cooperation program, Misión Milagro.

Jeremy of Naijablog rooting for Nigeria as usual provides the reaons why he is staying in Nigeria and why maybe some of us should be heading back sometime soon.

Timbuktu Chronicles points to an article in Science in AFrica for Africans to regain control of their indigenous knowledge and biological resources.

Nigerian Times posts a scathing comment on the Muslim cartoon protests in Africa………..”Most Africans always like to ape others. And they are the worst hypocrites in the world”

Meskel Square reports on the drought in Ethiopia. “Moyale is at the heart of a devastating drought that has left an estimated 737,000 Ethiopians struggling to survive without access to clean water. Beyond Ethiopia, the drought has spread out to affect more than 8.3 million people, including 1.2 million children aged under five, across the Horn of Africa”.

Gukira finally and sadly ends his Love Chronicles with number XIV……..of the many comments “I read the chronicles from end to beginning, wondering where I've been all this time. I'm gripped by your words each time…and moved. what talents you have.”

ThinkersRoom posts a series of questions put to him by other Kenyan bloggers (I think!) and comes up with some interesting answers - Q”Do you have a curly kit”? A “certainly not”.

Sudan Watch points to a reuters report that might mean “Glimmers of democracy breaking out in Sudan.

The Bearded man reports on a protest held in Harare yesterday by WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise). More than 400 women were arrested in the demonstration called Bread and Roses…….”The bread stands for the need for affordable food, and the roses represent the need to be dignified and the call for social justice.”

Missionary aid worker, Under the Acacais outlines his schedule over the next few weeks and describes the town of Djibo where he will be living in Burkina Faso.

Congo Watch reports that The UN has told the Congolese forces that they will not longer provide support unless human rights violations stop.

Weichegud!ET politics comments on the difference in the reports on the meeting between Britain's PM, Tony Blair and Meles Zenawi by British news media.

As the 20th anniversary of the Philippines “people power revolution” that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos nears, a law professor and blogger remembers where he was during those historic days. “20 years ago, I was willing to die for my country. I have no reason to depart from that belief 20 years hence, present leadership notwithstanding and apathy being the new social cancer.”

MaRvELgAL reminisces about living in a Kuala Lumpur high-rise infested by drug addicts and suspicious “suicides” — “When it gets really quiet, you can hear the thud when the body hits the ground, usually followed by a cry or scream. This, I got used to it. The next day, you can always see a stain of blood on the ground floor.”

Jeff Ooi, Mack Zulkifli and Cik Amoi talk about the Feb. 14 cabinet reshuffle in Malaysia. Writes Mack: “There are two types of response, generally. One was ‘what's new?' and the other was ‘why fix what's not broken'. “

Kenny Sia points out that in Japan, girls buy boys chocolates for Valentine's Day. He complains that in Malaysia it's the opposite. “Man, this love thing is evil.”

At Burma Digest, a poster hopes that the protests against Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra will send a message to his allies in the Yangon government. He calls on other Burmese to join and protest at Thai embassies. “Today, the Road to Burma Liberation can also be through Bangkok.”

Doubleyellow suggests that Singapore should have its local version of Valentine's Day: a day to profess love for the government. “On this day, all bus and cab prices will be marked up 10% and GST will be increased to 50%.”

Down And Out in Sài Gòn and diacritic.org comment on the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre's refusal to grant a grapefruit wholesaler's application for the domain name “buoi.com.” Yes, bưởi means “grapefruit” in Vietnamese. But in North Vietnam, buồi is slang for “penis.”

Eduardo Arcos recently released a podcast (ES) explaining the upcoming workshop, iLaw, which will take place in Mexico City on March 16th and 17th. Arcos and friends also discuss the importance of Creative Commons licenses for online content creators.

According to Gladiator, an Iran based blogger, in most ISPs word lover(s) (Ashegh or Asheghan in Persian) has been filtered!

Steupz, Nicholas Laughlin and Caribbean Free Radio all note the appointment of former Olympic sprinter Ato Boldon as an opposition senator yesterday, but ironically, Steupz — whose handle signifies the sucking of one's teeth in derision or disgust — is the only one without his tongue in his cheek.

“How will the current garbage crisis on Barbados impact the spread of deadly Leptospirosis during the coming rainy season?” asks Barbados Free Press in a post detailing the problem and its background.

Melody reports that candidates have been nominated for the Belize local elections, which local observers see as “a litmus test that could well set the stage for the outcome of the General Elections.”

Morad Ouasti reports (FR) at Supermale on the mechanisms behind the moslem world' s boycott of Danish goods: “Denmark is already suffering early consequences while the boycott is being organized via Internet and text messaging … Meanwhile, European companies [such as Danon and Nestle] adopt an ad hoc strategy of distancing themselves from Denmark so as to not ruin their image.”

In the midst of the debate in Taiwan over whether to accept China's “generous” offer of pandas, The Foreigner in Formosa points out that “American zoos are having a bit of buyer's remorse when it comes to theirs“.

The Lost Nomad and his readers discuss Korea's fascination with “hubs”. One reader comments that “a nation claiming to want to become the hub of this and the hub of that constantly acts in such a way to make itself merely the ‘hub cap' of this and that”.

Michael of The Glory of Carniola reports that bird flu has landed really close to where he lives and describes what's being done about it.

Richard points out on Peking Duck that contrary to popular belief, some Chinese do care about freedom of speech. Foreign media are prominently reporting the joint declaration signed by 13 senior intellectuals and retired officials protesting press censorship in China.

Ayuna Nechayeva at Wanabehuman marks the Diplomat's Day in Russia (Feb. 10) with a review of the past and present of the Russian diplomacy.

Two laws are going into effect on March 1st in China. One, as reported by HK Dave on Simon World, requires all discos and karaoke lounges to install surveillance cameras. Another will limit admittance to karaoke clubs and internet cafes in China to those ages 18 and up, as noted by Hunter on East Asia Watch. However, both bloggers doubt the laws will be enforced reliably.

Chantelle of One Small Lawyer's Big Adventure writes about what she thinks can only happen in Serbia (but which, in fact, is also true about Russia and Ukraine and, possibly, the rest of this part of the world).

Desperate Serbwife writes about Serbia's “overlooked gem”: vegetables that are full of taste.

Folks at Pestside.hu do a roundup of Hungary's pre-election “retardo politics”: a “miner problem” for one party and a “minor problem” for another, Socialist “red spots” and free Internet, a former cosmonaut as one of the candidates. They also write about the outing of a Catholic cardinal who used to be an informer for the Communists and the church's unlikely reaction to it.