Global Voices Online

Valarauka mistrusts the information being put forward by opponents of smelter project in southern Trinidad. “My opinion, as an economist, is that there is, as always, a more dynamic solution to this issue than the naysayers suggest,” he writes. “That is, I think we can have our clean air, our integrated communities, and our profitable industrialisation.”

Adam Isacson pegs the crucial question for Bolivia's decision to nationalize its gas resources: “will Morales' nationalization just push Bolivia to the other end of the bell curve, to the point where disinvestment keeps the country from getting enough of its gas reserves to market?” Here is a very clear argument of what Bolivia stands to gain and what it could lose. Jim Shultz says that, in spite of plenty of big oil spinning, “the Devil Still Remains in the Details.” Eduardo Ávila says that Brazil and Argentina have come to terms with the decision, but Briegel Busch is slightly more reserved in his description of Brazilian and Spanish receptiveness (ES).

The new EP of the “mythical band” from Argentina, Iguana Lovers, is available for download on Zona Indie.

In a story that has barely gotten mention in the English-language press, Ulises Mejia writes about the riots which erupted in the town of San Salvador Atenco near Mexico City. In Spanish, Jay of Arkham Asylum says that he has “lost all of the little faith that I had in the mainstream media.” Unlike the official press narrative that the riots were caused after police evicted illegal flower sellers in the market and that the police responded “quickly and effectively,” Jay says that state police had been stationed in the town for 15 days waiting “for a pretext to use force.” Some are arguing that the police were anticipating the arrival of the Zapatistas, currently on tour throughout Mexico. The weblog Enlace Zapatista has much more information (ES).

Boz has his Latin America Friday poll numbers, Cinco de Mayo version. Three new polls in Mexico show a big change for the upcoming presidential election.

Hans has photos from the Georgian Military Road which cuts high through the Caucasus–up to 2,379 meters according to Wikipedia–and is still fairly empty and covered with snow.

Luke Distelhorst writes that Mongolia needs laws restricting smoking in public, but he admits that enforcement would present enormous problems.

Notes from Hareinik reports on renewed government efforts to destroy historic parts of Yerevan in order to make way for new construction.

Chingiz writes about corruption in Kyrgyzstan, saying that only discipline will overcome the powerful culture of corruption in the country.

Bien Vu posts (FR) a rant about people who build houses without permits and the government inspectors who look the other way.

Onnik Krikorian paid another visit to the Armenian Yezidi village of Alagyaz and has a report and pictures from the village school

Does the media have the right to publish everything they capture on their camera? The death of the abducted engineer in Afghanistan plunged his family into grief. Pictures of his family coping with their grief were flashed on various news channels. War for News reports “There's a peculiar elitism that shrouds television journalists. They imagine, sometimes correctly but not always, that print journalists cannot ever appreciate the value of pictures. This is not about censorship, nor is it the least about self-regulation.”

Sepia Mutiny on the bias (or ignorance) that seems to fill up review columns in US newspapers as they review a film on Indian Hindu widows - Water.

Drishtipat on investment in Bangladesh by Tatas - one of the most respected corporate houses in India.

Jeyaraj at Transcurrents comments on the irony of a Tamil journalist being arrested on World Press Freedom Day. “It is learnt that she was detained initially by ministerial security division personnel in charge of Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera who suspected her of being a woman suicide bomber targetting the minister.”

Even as we just finished covering some of the aspects of labour issues in Bangladesh, Safia from People Tree, a fair trade fashion company blogs on textile factory tragedies in the country and the direction of activism.

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog posts an update on Mikhail Khodorkovsky's prison stay.

Maidan International has posted translation of the notes on the protest in Minsk written by Yevgenia Kudyanova, a 21-year-old blogger activist: My Revolution.

“I hope many happy returns for the day for Mr. Hosni Mubarak as a human not as a president , i will be very happy so much when I see you next year with God's will aways from the presidency office , not as the president and not as the president's father but as a regular Egyptian Citizen !!”, Zeinobia said.

The ultimate question for me was why would a specific race automatically consider other races less important and less civilized than it? The answer I've reached wasn't sophisticated; racism isn't concentrated over hating the other; racism is about self-idolizing, it's about arrogance and pride, hence, the different is unconsciously less, Omar said.

Kuwait's current political crisis seems to be frustrating for most Kuwaiti bloggers. A3sab describing the situation in these words: “When corruption spikes up to unprecedented levels becoming the norm and threatening our future and the future of our children, when it starts to belittle our existence and take away our born rights, it then becomes our national duty to speak out. It then becomes our national duty to show them, no, to prove to them, that we are not “herds of sheep”, that we cannot be sedated by their petty cash.”

This is how Lebanon spies on Syria: Lebanon sends IT experts to inflict modernity on the Syrian government. Those experts design a network for the telecommunications ministry, and help them create a password. And when one day those experts access the system that they had designed using a password they created, they are called spies and kicked out of the country. More from Abu Kais.

Michael Manning from The Opposite End of China continues blogging his travels throughout Muslim-dominated northwestern China in Travel Buddies, in which he meets up with some old friends.

Tokyo-based Riding Sun blogger Gaijin Biker breaks from blogging his current trip through China—hampered, seemingly, by the blocking of Blogspot on the mainland—to announce the results of his latest photo caption contest.

Doinee recommends couple of Filipino blogs that he says deserver more readership. Doinee is also inviting his readers to take this meme and recommend interesting but not so well known blogs that they have come across.

Joshua at The Korean Liberator questions a recent poll which suggests that a silent majority of sixty percent of South Koreans support a free trade agreement with the United States, despite the frequent and vocal protests of opposition.

The 1stopchiangmai blog reveals one of the attractions near Chiang Mai that foreign tourist are not aware of. The blogger recommends “If you really want to experience how local Thais enjoy themselves and eat some real Northern Thai dishes, this is a great place to have a nice day trip. Most of the 'song teaw' and ‘tuk tuk' drivers will know the place if you pronounce it the right way.”

The mayor of Guangzhou, notes Richard at The Peking Duck, has jumped with both feet into a project to clean up the Pearl river which bisects the southern Chinese city. Lower-ranking officials, however, are proving not so keen.

Abtahi, reformist politician, blogger & cleric, says Shirin Ebadi, Peace Nobel Prize laureate, in a press conference, has condemned any military intervention in Iran. Abtahi writes he, of course, expected such words from Mrs. Ebadi, but he does not understand why she boycotted presidential election? Did not she think with a different outcome in presidential election, war and economic sanctions would be less likely today?(Persian)

A conference on Haitiano-Dominican relations held in Santo-Domingo ends today, reports (FR) Haitian newsfeed Radio Kiskeya. The conference was sponsored by Norway in partnership with Dominican churches and, in addition to Haitian and Dominican delegations, featured Brazilian and Chilean ones. The conference's goal was “to incite political, religious and international leaders as well as civil society representatives and media to coordinate with each other in view of bettering haitiano-dominican relations,” says the newsfeed.

Traveller One of Stepping Stones almost starts “an Albanian Feminist Movement” before she learns about the local tradition of lining up for fresh bread.

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow shares two stories of what happens when an American loses his/her passport in Russia: the first story, written by a friend of a friend, is quite surreal (e.g. cops taking four hours to fill a 1-page report, drinking vodka all the while); the second one is optimistic.

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow gives a somewhat belated photo-tour of the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on the day of the March 26 parliamentary vote.

Nancy Case of Case In Point writes on how tragic events in one part of the world may affect dining plans of American expats living in another part of the world.

David McDuff of A Step At A Time posts an unpublished letter to the editor of the Financial Times on how Svetlana Bakhmina's case should affect the West's business relationship with Russia.

David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates a report by Umalt Chadayev on child trafficking in Chechnya.

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa explains to the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS that, due to the specifics of history, all Estonian parties are nationalist.

The Limey has a disturbing exchange of correspondence with Bermuda's Tourism Minister over the latter's opting to stay at a seven-star hotel during a recent visit to Dubai.

See no evil, hear non, just be a dork comments on the rise in gun ownership the rise of private security personnel in Uganda. Apparently there are now 18, 000 security personnel working for 75 firms in addition to 13,000 police.

Sudan Watch reports via Reuters that the Sudanese government has agreed a peace deal - in breaking news today, one rebel group has also agreed to sign.

Enough is Enough posts on Mugabe's anger over the ZANU-PF reforms as they desperately look for ways in which to “rejuvinate” the party's image...”Even more clear than that all is not well within party is how telling this episode of the dichotomy that exists in Zimbabwean politics between the MDC and ZANU-PF.”

A number of Diaspora blogs have commented on the recent local elections in the UK and Labour's poor showing. Aba Boy, Ijebuman and Musings of a Naijaman

Chippla continues his commentary opposing Obasanjo running for a third term. He is particuarly concerned that opposition to the “third term” is being silenced by the government and supporters of Obasanjo.

Africa Unchained comments on the dwindling funds of tertiary institutions in Sub Saharan Africa which he says have reached crisis proportions….”The challenge is for institutions to formulate alternative sources of income so as to reduce their almost complete reliance on state funding. Makere University's successful Private Students Scheme implemented is an example of one such creative partial solution.”

Anti-Bakili Muluzi criticises the former government of Malawi and states that “Since His Excellency Dr Bingu Wamutharika has engaged his priorities to financially secure and politically protect this nation from any ills , there is more hope now glowing in the lives of many Malawians than it was before during the rape and molestation days and years of the udf”

Kenyan Villager writes on discovering computers and technology in the 90s and his recent venture with blogging…”One latter-day event was the dicovery of the blogging world in late 2005 and that's why you are reading this post….. One of these days I will try to upload a photograph. A safari of a thousand miles starts with the famous step!”

Zikomo : The Friday team in Malawi is a kinda of ezine blog which aims to promote Malawi in a “postive light”. The site features music reviews, local poets and highlights local events.

Politics.za makes some criticisms against the SA labour union, SATAWU.…”With the average security earning R1500 a month the strike it will take a striker 10 months to earn back the wages he may have lost if SATAWU manages to get the 11% increase. If SATAWU settles for 8.3% like the other unions it will take a year.”

Blogswana - blogging for AIDS is calling on anyone who has photos on Botswana in Flickr to tag them with Blogswana so they can pick them up in a feed.

Kenyan Pundit adds her voice to the commentary on the Sexual Offences Bill presently being debated in the Kenyan parliament. In particular she provides a legal perspective on the Bill.

Barbados Free Press sings the praises of “Ping Yark”, a quarterly newsletter published in London which is a lifeline for many UK-based Barbadian expats. “Just make sure you have a rum in de other hand…,” writes BFP “'cause you sure will need it!”

Claude Ramazani Mwenyewe, an official of opposition party UDPS, was arrested and held without trial since May 18, 2005 by Joseph Kabila's “pretorian guard”, says (FR) a UDPS statement posted on Le Blog du Congolais. UDPS calls for his release adding: “He is not given a right to family, medical or UDPS member visits. Forced to live, sleep and shit in the same narrow [subterranean] cell … he fell into a coma … He is currently agonizing in his cell. Guards have told his relatives that his death is imminent.” The statement goes on to say that EU Commissary Louis Michel who is perceived as a protector of Kabila should be held accountable if Ramazani passes while detained. Other UDPS officials from UDPS/Matadi such as Jose Nzau have been detained since May 2005 and UDPS also calls for their release.

InternetRapide.com wishes (FR) more local internet advertising appealed to female values since “all studies on the profile of web surfers in the French Antilles and in France show that they are first and foremost women.”

themediaslut introduces us to Bak Kuh Teh or Pork Rib Soup - a popular dish in Singapore and Malaysia. The blogger compares the Malaysian version with the one in Singapore.