Global Voices Online

Francisco of Caracas Chronicles calls the Luis Velásquez Alvaray affair the “mother of all scandals.” Two days later, however, he wonders where all the coverage went.

Commenting on the detention of Former Yaracuy Governor Eduardo Lapi who was Miguel Octavio opines: “Reportedly he will be charged with misuse of funds. Thus, as the robolution robs, steals and charges commisions, opposition figures are detained for subtle charges of misuse of funds. If the same criterai were applied to the Government, they would all be in jail …”

Goleech cites the May 29 poll by María de las Heras, which has leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrado back in the lead with half a percentage point over Felipe Calderón and three points ahead of Roberto Madrazo.

Commenting on the announcement by Technorati and Edelman that the two companies will join forces to include blog posts on traditional media websites, Julio Alonso wonders how it is that the project will launch in English, German, Korean, Italian, French, and Chinese, but not Spanish [ES]. “Could it be that Edelman is less interested in our market?” Alonso asks.

In a summary of Latin American news, Western Hemisphere Policy Watch describes tension over the militarized border … the Costa Rica-Nicaragual border. Isopixel is upset [ES] by an offensive song posted on the website of the US anti-immigration group, the Minutemen, which calls President Vicente Fox - among other things - “the Mexican dictator.”

Should the St. Lucian water company be privatised? Should the mass transit system remain in private hands? Matthew Hunte weighs in. “We end up in a funny situation where (quite a few of) the same people who oppose private water are quite content to leave our transport system in the hands of a few hundred private business men who have the best of both worlds since they answer to nobody”.

Twenty per cent of live births in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are to teenage mothers. So why, asks Abeni, is the minister of education “vehemently opposing the idea of condoms being distributed in schools. At least it deserves some thought rather than a blanket refusal.”

Luke Distelhorst says that, because of the country's climate, construction is restricted to a few months of the year. Though floods and snow can strike even in late May, construction season is upon Mongolia, though Luke notes that at one site, none of the workers speak Mongolian.

neweurasia reports on a political party in Kyrgyzstan seeking to protect the status of the Russian language in the republic.

Yulia of neweurasia reports on Saturday's opposition protest in Bishkek during which Kyrgyz opposition members demanded significant reform by September.

Is Bermuda's government “engaging in a direct attack” on the independent auditor general? “Any doubts … should be put to rest,” says Christian S. Dunleavy. “This move ranks the tops in total stupidity. So high in fact that it wreaks of scandal,” says IMHO.bm.

“What circumstances did these men come from that drove them to make a desperate trip to a strange new land in search of a better life? How must the people who loved them be suffering now, in the agony of loss and not knowing?” Titilayo muses on the fate of the eleven Senegalese men who died attempting to cross the Atlantic, and whose boat washed up in Barbadian waters in April. Barbados Free Press provides links to various websites with information on the still-mysterious story.

A fire broke out in Yerevan's historic Kond neighborhood, destroying five homes. Blogrel notes some strange inaccuracies in the local media's coverage of the fire. Onnik Krikorian discusses the issue further and has pictures of the aftermath.

Ben Paarmann explains why Kazakhstan is expanding its naval power in the Caspian Sea.

“Blogging … challenges the elitism that pervades the Caribbean and is a great experiment in the democratization of data,” says Geoffrey Philp in a thoughtful essay on the potential role of blogging in the region. “Blogging provides the kind of freedom that is anathema to many gatekeepers who want to control the flow of information throughout the Caribbean.”

All About Latvia writes about the visit of Aleksiy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, to Latvia last weekend. Latvia is home to some 350,000 Orthodox Christians.

All About Latvia writes about the politics of this year's gay pride parade (to be held in Riga on July 22): “For political parties who objected the march last year, this will be a chance to win over the hearts of the skeptical public for the fall parliamentary elections by standing strong to the evil homosexuals and forbidding them to display their sexuality on the streets of our ancient city.”

Vilhelm Konnander and Ufa Blog discuss the failure to hold the first gay pride parade in Moscow.

Moscow-Blog has Konstantin Leibovitch's most recent Moscow photos and commentary.

Dana of My Czech Republic Blog is reminded by the recent vote in Montenegro of the lack of a similar vote in what used to be Czechoslovakia: “We were not asked whether or not we wanted to be divided from each other at all. The politicians decided for us. I will forever wonder if things would have turned out the same had a referendum been held.”

AlesS of A Little Blog For a Restless Mind reviews a book written by Janez Drnovsek, Slovenia's president: Thoughts on Life and Awareness. “To me the president with this book seems like a freshman that hasn't even yet passed the first grade of buddhism, yet already wants to teach (preach to) everyone what is right and what is wrong. As a side point, I've heard he even wants to convince the Dalai Lama to become a vegetarian, because that's the purest form of being, or something.”

David McDuff of A Step At A Time reviews The Hole, a study on the sinking of Estonia, “a giant passenger and car ferry in the Baltic Sea in September 1994 which involved the deaths of nearly 1,000 people in the space of 35 minutes.”

thecookscottage has a photo-post on Shivaji Market in Pune. “There is a little shop for Irani and Parsi specialities, another for dairy and Jain foods,a third for rice, lentils and wheat, and finally at the exit a gaggle of bangle wallas.”

Nepali Netbook profiles a daring woman Sujata Koirla and her role in Nepali politics - “Perhaps the most controversial woman during Nepal’s 1990-2002 brush with democracy, she went on to become one of the fiercest critics of King Gyanendra’s direct rule. Her daring escape from Kathmandu after the Feb. 1, 2005 royal takeover made headlines across India.”

Anil spends some time in a place full of sugarcane and memories in northern Karnataka.

What does the online medium mean to those who engage with activism? ICT for Peacebuilding says “The crux of the problem is in the creation of content that is able to kindle the interest of those unused to the drudgery and often, very real danger, of activism on the ground and then how to translate ideas expressed online into actions that support real world change.”

Cynically Yours spends some time tuning in to the radio station and is severely disappointed.

from the inside, looking in blogger Shinichiro Fukushige links in a post today to the announcement of one of Tokyo's most popular radio stations' long overdue internet broadcast.

Two recent surveys from Ken Y-N at What Japan Thinks reveal some facts about Japanese netizens: that net-based telephony service Skype is not making inroads there, and that ninety percent of the democratic nation's bloggers write anonymously.

Beijing-based author and China Life Shop blogger Shawn Matthews has committed suicide following several years combatting depression between Korea and China. More information from his close friend and No Problem blogger Jake here and Korea-based blogger Kevin here.

In ‘Talking Point: Chinese statement on the banning of the FLG spiritual movement,' the AngryChineseBlogger posts a memo sent out by Chinese embassies earlier this month in a bid to further discredit the spiritual group, as well as the part of China's constitution which this blogger says protects them.

Although having been delisted as a mental disorder in 1997, homosexuality, says law intern-Chinablawger Kevin Fisher posting on a police crackdown in Beijing last year, remains illegal in China.

“Is it my right to believe homosexuality is wrong?” Fisher asks. “Certainly. But, so long as homosexual acts do not demonstratably harm others, I do not believe it is my right to force others to stop it. Nor do I believe that a government has that right.”

South Africa comments on the report “Apartheid Grand Corruption : Assessing the scale of crimes of profit in South Africa from 1976-1994” - Was the regime corrupt? “Yes! Are many of those who profited from the morally bankrupt system of apartheid still free and living off their ill-gotten gains? Yes!

Nigeria, Whats New comments on the price of a passage to fortress Europe…US $900 to get into fortress Europe in a tiny boat via Fuerteventura in Spain

Merlyna (via Enda Quicklinks) has compiled a list of charities that are accepting donations. “I have done a small research and found out that these charities are established and trusted organizations. Those located in the US are registered as public charity with 501 (c) (3) status. All of them have specifically appealed for donation for Indonesian Earthquake of May 2006.”

Grandiose Parlor comments on Nigeria's “Yahoo Boys” and the detrimental impact they have had on Nigerian “entrepreneurs in and outside the country“

The Zimbabwean Pundit comments on Morgan Tsvangirai's rally in Leeds, UK on Sunday and wonders how many people really attended.

AfriGadget is a new blog highlighting alternative applications of everyday gadgets and technologies in Africa.

Watch France points to an article in Le Monde on the massacre of thousands of Algerians by France at the end of World War II…

Blogswana comments on” Makgabaneng Radio” which produces radio dramas on living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana and which is broadcast twice a week.

Amidst the flow of corporate donations in Indonesia after the quake, Yosef is looking for a donation of a different kind “Company A to rebuild the school, company B to rehabilitate the mosques and hospitals…donates tents or boxes of instant noodles, tea, mineral water…etc…But I'm awating texts like…smart guy donates a seismograph or scholarships for students in the earth science…”

Vutha in Cambodia looks at the life of Promotion Girls - girls hired to sell products in streetside cafes and markets.