Global Voices Online

Le Blog de [Moi] encourages (Fr) local lesbians to accept their sexuality: “Know that being homosexual doesn't rime (no longer rimes?) with being unhappy (…) If one day (…) “they ” find out, they'll gossip one, two (three???) months then less and less, then from time to time and then finally you'll be “like furniture” to them (sorry fame cannot last)! (…) It's not dirty. You're not sick. You just have a different sexuality.”

Living Guyana wonders who might be behind the newly established web site of jailed businessman Roger Khan, who was apprehended in a recent drug bust in Suriname.

ArubaGirl is baffled as to why the alleged difficulty of the Dutch language is being blamed for poor exam results among Aruba's school leavers.

Pleased that Bermuda House of Assembly backbencher Renée Webb will attempt once again to introduce a bill outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Limey outlines the conditions that would give the bill a greater chance of success.

Karen, who's applying for Belizean residency, shares information about the residency requirements in her latest post.

Larry Smith outlines the problems plaguing the Bahamian education system and assesses the quality of some of the proposed solutions.

“There's a sense of unfinished business around Trinidad and Tobago today,” says Jeremy Taylor, summing up the atmosphere in the country 48 hours after the Trinidad & Tobago team failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup.

Once Upon a Place talks about the difficulties that the Afghan President is facing. The blogger says Karzai has long been between a rock and a hard place. He has to be seen clearing out the corruption and taking a hard line with extremists at the same time as keeping his American backers happy, and it’s not working. His popularity is in a fragile state; his coalition parliament filled with known warlords.

Jeremy in Armenia writes about visits to Garni and Geghard, the former of which is a magnificent pre-Christian temple.

Nick of neweurasia discusses the release of a longer video showing the events of the Andijon uprising and what it means for interpretations of the day's events.

Registan.net questions the usefulness of calls to prosecute Uzbek officials for human rights violations using Germany's courts' universal jurisdiction over such matters.

Mariano Amartino (ES) and “La Propaladora” describe a day without internet in Buenos Aires as Fibertel, the capital's main high bandwidth internet service provider, stopped functioning for eight hours.

Posthegemony describes a visit to the site of the Ycuá Bolaños tragedy in Asunción “in which over 400 people died when the supermarket owner ordered the doors locked so that shoppers wouldn't rob the store of its produce en route to escaping with their lives.”

Jeff Barry finishes his “30 Days with Borges” series with an informed review of “El Sur,” which happens to also be Barry's URL.

Can you name America's oldest city? Wolfy Becker has the answer and explains why Peru's tourist industry is depending on it.

Peruvian blogger Pierina, who blogs at Markefilm (ES) has published her first article in the newspaper El Comercio, which describes Microsoft's upcoming support of Quechua (ES) in the next edition of Office.

Juan Carreón proudly lists the three awards won by 16-year-old María Estela Godínez Andrade at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ES). The Guanajuato native is designing a reading and writing interface for blind computer users.

A Reader's Digest survey suggets that Mumbai maybe the least polite of a list of cities. Some reactions from the Indian blogosphere.

The army appears to suggest that women are not necessary or invited. One blogger thinks that is the right line to take. Annie responds to the controversy by suggesting why women are no less.

Azrael's world on law and order in Sri Lanka - “The situation in Sri Lanka makes it obvious that the situation in terms of law and order in Sri Lanka leaves a lot to be desired but that’s not the government’s fault. It’s ours and ours alone.”

Democracy for Nepal writes on reforming Nepali organisations in the US and on what the specific reforms are to would vastly improve the organisations.

Rezwan writes about wind energy generation in Germany and explores the benefits.

Scott W. Clark and LEvko of Foreign Notes comment on the creation of the Orange Coalition in Ukraine - at last, three months after the election: the government is (almost) there, Tymoshenko is the premier (again), and she's already making statements about the gas situation. Matt Jay of Publius Pundit is also commenting on the coalition's prospects. And Wu Wei meets with Ukrtransnafta representatives and has a brief discussion of the new government: “We wished them ‘long life to the government' and everybody laughed, so there are no illusions.”

Pestiside.hu reports on George W. Bush's visit to Budapest: unprecedented security measures, a phone bomb scare at the U.S. embassy, an anti-Bush rally and the gay festival.

Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes about Kinga Goncz, Hungary's new foreign minister, and her disappointing new views: “Yet in the corrupt world of realpolitik that she now operates in, all previous principles and beliefs have been thrown out the window in the interest of political and economic expediency. Sod what public opinion might think about the country's priorities, she and her colleagues should be doing their very best to influence and enlighten the population of Hungary as to why universal human rights are so important.”

The beatroot responds to a commenter's request to take down a post he perceives as offensive: “I mean… can you honestly imagine writing to a web site asking them to remove something that you find offensive? I would be doing nothing else 24/7!”

Jesse of Bored in Brno writes about the Czech coins and some obvious “Pragocentrism” they reflect.

My Czech Republic Blog writes about the country's legendary singer, Karel Gott, considered by some the “Sinatra of the East,” and his own new museum, Gottland, which opens this month.

Douglas Arellanes translates famous comments of a famous Czech sports commentator: “But he has his own library of similes that would give the US newsman Dan Rather a run for his money.”

Srebrenica Genocide Blog responds to an anonymous commenter's “attempt to justify Srebrenica massacre.”

According to Payvandkadeh, a 37 years old Iranian hanged himself in Denmark after his demand to become refugee was rejected for the second time (Persian).

Blog a Sables posts (Fr) photos of the sands of famous French polynesian beaches, including a shot of the sand on Marlon Brando's beach in Tetiaroa. The palette is impressive and ranges from charcoal (Papeete) to snow (Matira).

Yosef Ardi at Indonesia Today Blog writes that Kyoto Protocol guidelines are helping create jobs in Indonesia with investment in bio-fuel and ethanol production.

Sudan Watch points to an AP report which details infighting between rebel factions in Sudan and which is causing hundreds of thousands of people to be cut off from aid.

Mehedeya provides a brief historical piece on Ethiopia and its relationship with Tigray

Just Thots by a Naijaman reports that Nigerian has issued it's first warning to Nigerians travelling to the UK ….”The Nigerian government says citizens must beware of “miscreants” who employ a “great variety of tricks” to dispossess people of their property.”

Africa Unchained points to an article on the Inequality of Business….“The fact is that gross inequality is generally bad news for both the wealthy and the poor and everyone in between. The question though is whether you can a perfectly equal society.”

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa comments on the Union of Islamic Courts - the Islamic group that recently took control of Mogadishu in Somalia -

Bankelele posts his weekly business and investment report from Kenya

Politics Za reports on possible “self censorship within the SABC” (South African Broadcasting Corporation)

Agathon Rwasa reports on a new book “Titantic Express” on the massacre of a bus full of people in Burundi who were murdered by Hutu extremist rebel group the FNL (a faction linked to those responsible for the Rwandan genocide)

Watch France points to a story on French monopolies ” the real economic masters in French-speaking Africa.”

Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Military Base in South Korea, will soon begin the expansion project to build new houses, gyms. This project will “destroy the farming communities of Daechuri, Doduri, and others”. Days in Daechuri blog about local protest activities and is organizing a Peace March on Early July.

Valiant Shield 2006…..More than 40 members from different countries all over the world to include China, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, Republic of Korea and Russia are observing this exercise exhibiting U.S. capabilities and interoperability while working together as a joint force… the exercise enhances joint war-fighting proficiency and allows the joint task force commander to respond to regional contingencies in the Asia-Pacific region to assure peace and stability. Wulf from Atlas Blogged tries to imagine if the US did this (show everything) in the 1945, 65, 85, 95. Also see more photos posted by Bubblehead.

ChinaMoon offers 10K RMB and is putting together a Best Blog in China award. Check it out!

The Peking Duck blogs about high female suicide attempt in China.

They may not bind their feet anymore, but many women, especially in the countryside, still endure what amounts to nothing less than torture.