Global Voices Online

A historic Parliament Declaration in Nepal announces the revival of democracy. It's a complete turn-around from where the country was about two months back. United We Blog! covers the day.

As the rest of the country takes up strong demonstrations against the reservations quota, Nathanworld wonders why one particular state doesn't seem to be making too much noise.

Reshma appears to have been battling to figure out how to index her posts on blogger, and reflects “Depending on the metaphor you identify with, will influence whether you use it to ‘express’ or ‘exchange’ opinions and views; the frequency with which you post; the content that you post (topical v/s analytical); your response time to comments etc and depending on which of these metaphors become the dominant code around blogs will have a bearing on the features that publishing platforms in the future will be forced to offer.”

LIRNEAsia on the launch of the HazInfo Project “LIRNEasia launched the first phase of the Last-Mile Hazard Information Dissemination (HazInfo) project funded by IDRC, along with its project partners Sarvodaya, the largest community organization in Sri Lanka and TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP), a non-profit media organization working in the Asian region. “

Drishtipat reflects on the loss of secularism in Bangladesh, seeing the example of Nepal revising its constitution. “After 15th August 1975, we lost one of the greatest assets of our natonal idenitity, i.e. our constitutional declaration of secularism.”

J. Otto Pohl writes about the deportations of the Crimean Tatars, which took place 62 years ago: “In the early hours of 18 May 1944 some 32,000 members of the NKVD and NKGB began the systematic round up the entire Crimean Tatar population. These armed units went from house to house and rousted the still sleeping victims and informed them that the Stalin regime had decreed that they were traitors to the Soviet Motherland. This false and slanderous accusation carried a sentence of permanent banishment from Crimea to Uzbekistan as special settlers.”

LEvko of Foreign Notes cites an opinion poll, according to which support for president Yushchenko is much lower than it was in February 2005, when he first elected.

Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes writes about Kyiv's new mayor's alarming first steps: “We know someone who is a teacher in the Kiev district. She tells us that Chernovetsky [new mayor] has taken away the bonus that Omelchenko [ex-mayor] gave them for some reason. She says he's anti-teacher but I don't think she really knows why. We don't know why either.”

TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the trial of Yury Radzivil: “Yury faces 6 years in prison just for actually being almost killed. The man who has shot few times in his car is now victim in this case, and Yury is accused for driving him over. Actually, “victim” is colonel Karpenkou, head of “Almaz”, special forces police unit.”

Rachel of Pustolovina: Adventure in Serbian shares her impressions on this year's Eurovision Song Contest, the first one she's watched.

Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes about the prime minister's failed attempt to watch The Da Vinci Code.

The beatroot writes about the apparent sin of going to see The Da Vinci Code in Poland.

Edward Lucas, Central and East European correspondent of the Economist, writes about sciagawki: cheat sheets used by Polish students to survive exams, which are “largely a memory test.” Tom Adshead of The Future of Russia points out in the comments section that sciagawki is shpargalki in Russian - and that there's even a shpargalki museum somewhere in Russia.

Owen of Lex Libertas writes about a very common occurence in Russia: as it gets warmer, it becomes more and more difficult to take a shower - because of the lack of hot water. It's been four days without it for Owen now and there are more days ahead: “I really should have been keeping a running tally of days without (hot) water since my arrival. I'm sure it would make two or three months solid.”

Simon of Tallinn Daily Photo highlights one aspect of the city's architecture: “the marrying of modern around the old.”

Chilean blogger Leo Prieto inspires applause in the comments for Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Telerman's announcement [ES] that the city will provide its citizens with free wi-fi access. One commenter responds, “we Chileans are always copycats with bad ideas, why not copy these good ones?”

Uri Ridelman has the reaction of Costa Rican bishops to the release of the Davinci Code. Sergio Méndez says [ES] that an announced boycott in Colombia will ensure that everyone goes to see the film.

Luis Afonso explains why he believes 60's leftists radicals were the origin of last weekend's crime wave in Sao Paulo and much of Brazil. Andrew of Comings Communique, after watching the violence on TV wrote, “tonight for the first time I heard my wife express the opinion that perhaps Brazil should have the death penalty.”

Reform by presidential decree - this time land reform - continues in Bolivia says Alvaro Ruiz-Navajas. But, the regions of “Santa Cruz and Beni are not going to let this happen without a fight.”

Professor Julián Gallo was happy to see Borges and Buenos Aires mentioned in the New York Times, but he says [ES] Larry Rohter was mistaken when he wrote that an audio guide of Borges' city is only available in Spanish. “The audio guide is also available in English and Portuguese, as the following mp3 reveals …” Brandán also reviewed the article and took to task a “a few points where [Rohter] was less than precise. As many Americans are now sure to travel to Argentina's capital city, Jeff Barry's review of Tomás Eloy Martínez's novel, “The Tango Singer,” seems almost prescient: “The Tango Singer is about an American graduate student who travels to Buenos Aires to research Borges’ writings on tango.”

May 17th was “El Día de Internet,” or “Internet Day” in Latin America and several bloggers offered homages to the World Wide Web. From El Salvador, Hunnapuh asks [ES] “but really, what is the significance of the internet?” A commenter at BlogsPeru remarks that just around the corner is “International Webloggers Day.” (No sign yet when Martian bloggers will be commemorated.) And from Mexico City, Isopixel, ALT1040, and Chilanga Banda all have a review of events. The day coincided with Mexico's 20 year anniversary of being connected to the web. Ciberamérica celebrates [ES] Chile's advancements in e-commerce and e-government.

Rentaempress takes on Benny Hinn, the American televangelist visiting Trinidad this weekend. “The last time he was here he made all sorts of pronouncements about how many demons he had to cast out,” she says. “I'm damn vexed … that we still haven't emancipated ourselves from this colonial mentality.”

Kevin at theory.isthereason.com has a post on citizen journalism during Singapore's recent elections. Kevin says “I can’t wait for the next elections to see more people turn off their televisions (passive media), and tune in to the internet to not just listen, but join in (active media).”

Georgia Popplewell at Caribbean Free Radio is travelling in the Eastern Caribbean this week; she's struck by “conservative” St. Lucians' frankness about condoms, and gets an impromptu Kweyol lesson from two women in Castries. She also posts some photos taken in St. Lucia yesterday, and some from Grenada the day before.

Inspired by the US government's decision to build “a ‘state-of-the-art' wall” along the border with Mexico, Gil the Genius sarcastically compiles a “list of things in Puerto Rico that need walls all around them”.

Steups reacts with disgust to the news that a Trinidadian man has been caught in an Internet child-seduction sting in Florida set up by Dateline NBC. “It's not enough that citizens here are causing consternation and shame but now we have expatriates casting negativity upon us.”

Journalist-blogger uleewang at Non-violent Resistance posts on the joining by mainland Chinese Catholics of the protest against the newly-released Hollywood film The Da Vinci Code and their demand it be banned:

“[W]ho knows, common resistance against the movie may help bring up the flirtation already going on between the Chinese Church and the Holy See. After the latest row over ordination of bishops, wouldn't this be a fine occasion to mend some fences.”

An update on an old but ongoing environmental story from AB at Me Old China:

“As the construction of the Three Gorges Dam comes to an end, the battle for hearts and minds has intensified once again. Propagandists with the Three Gorges Project Corporation and the state government have been feeding the Xinhua news agency with tales of triumph this week in an attempt to counteract the doom-mongers in the foreign press, telling the world that the dam has not, defintely not, increased the risk of earthquakes and landslides in the region, has not led to an increased level of pollution, and will not put millions of people at risk downstream.”

” [French Interior Minister] Sarkozy's immigration law [CESEDA] passed in the French National Assembly! ” says (Fr) Aimafrica . “For a country like Mali, this could be the beginning of an economic catastrophy. France … after having looted our riches and our people, wants business as usual. She no longer wants our unskilled hands, just our most brilliant minds! … Our brothers who have been clandestine for years will remain in that state for life!”

Activism made easy at China Activist Weekly with a post from blogger Celia on an Amnesty International letter one can send to Microsoft regarding their behavior in China. Having it delivered is the hardest part:

“Oddly enough, it's apparently not possible to email Microsoft. I have searched for a general email or online comment form. All I've found is addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, and the email address for the Bill Gates Foundation. Anyone find general email contact info? Google and Yahoo! aren't at all this hard to contact.”

A Taiwanese agent for the Chinese government wasn't so covert in trying to purchase an F-16 fighter jet engine and cruise missiles, blogs James J. Na at The Korea Liberator, followed up by a post from Joshua on the defection of another senior North Korean scientist: “The bad news is that he’s headed for South Korea, which will try to keep a tight lid on him.”

Rvd. Kutino Fernando, founder of Sauvons le Congo [Save the Congo], was recently taken from his church by policemen and his whereabouts are unknown, says (Fr) Tony Katombe at Le Blog du Congolais. The blogger is skeptical that Kutino was stocking weapons in his church or inciting violence as alleged by authorities. He believes that the PPRD just unknowingly made a leader out of the detained Pastor. “[Ruling Party] PPRD is starting to seriously scare us with its use of the police and many are asking how the party will react if its candidate loses the presidential election.”

Eight, writes Donald C. Clarke at Chinese Law Prof Blog, is the number of observers who will be allowed into the upcoming trial of Zhou Yezhong (周叶中), a legal scholar with friendly ties to Communist Party of China leadership currently being sued for plagiarism by Peking University law professor He Weifang (贺卫方).

Abbas Abdi, reformist politician & a hostage taker in US embassy, has launched his blog. He says if human being does not communicate, he/she becomes weaker than animal. Blogger adds at present situation internet is a very good instrument which helps citizens to communicate (Persian).

Samimanetar writes that it seems Dr.Ahmad Naghibzadeh, Professor of Political Sciences in University of Tehran, is under pressure (by government). Blogger says recently Kayhan, a very conservative journal, talked about Naghibzadeh's relation with foreigners (Persian).

Ethnic Loft reports that a Nigerian engineer has won a prestigous engineering award the “Total Excellence in Electronic Manufacturing (TEEM) award by the U.S based Society of Manufacturing Engineers.”

Its The Question That Drives Us Mad comments on the COSATU led strikes in South Africa - Striking for jobs and discusses the role of unions in advancing workers rights.

Nigeria: A long and difficult history posts a piece on the recent pipeline fire in Lagos which killed over 200 people with some photos.

Swamp Cottage points out the high cost of internet in Africa especially when compared to the US….$1800 for 1GB of data which is over 90 times what Kenyans pay.

Grandiose Parlor points to an article in e-life online magazine which discusses Nigeria's President Obasanjo and his achievements during his political and military careers.

Timbuktu Chronicles reports on the the “African HandCart” being built by local carpenters in Malawi...”novelty lies in its use of readily available bicycle wheels and a wooden chassis and body. In addition, all bolts are bicycle components, the only other fasteners being common nails and wood screws.”

Ethiopian Life reports that the Government has blocked all blogspot blogs….”Over the last two days, all blogspots blogs including http://www.seminawork.blogspot.com/ have been blocked in Ethiopia.”

Yebo Gogo points to a White House press briefing which refused to deny the US was backing warlords in Somalia.

Enda Nausation links to a blog run by an Indonesian journalist who is monitoring the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi.

VillageIdiotSavant has a very good reason for not buying bootleg DVDs.