Global Voices Online

According to (Fr) Le Blog du Congolais: “Bapuwa Mwamba, a noteworthy journalist at “Le Phare”(…) was recently grabbed from his family's affections as well as from freedom fighters in the night of the 7 to the 8th of July by a commando that shot him at close range. (…) Either we let [those who have decided to lead the Congo] soil the country and we let them live or we fight for our freedom, our dignity and our sovereignty and we get killed.”

Says Dijoux.re regarding (Fr) the chikungunya epidemic plaguing Reunion, “the impact study of the effect of the measures taken to fight the virus on the environment showed that large scale treatments did not have harmful consequences on the land and water fauna of the island.”

Synesthetique in Philippines has three requests for the creatures from the beyond who haunt the blogger's office.

Malaysia politician and blogger Lim Kit Siang asks the deputy speaker of Malaysian parliament not to block questions about corroption. The deputy speaker had earlier not given him a chance to follow up on a question by another member of parliament.

The blogger at bruneiresources blogs about a Sunday afternoon he spent at a newly renovated street in the Brunei's capital city. “The other product is our famous 'sotong tutuk' literally hammered squid. My first knowledge of sotong tutuk was many years ago in Pantai Muara. Whenever you go to the beach, you always get sotong tutuk. An old man drying an already dried sotong and hammering it to make it softer and chewy and you eat that with some sambal sauce. Oooh. It's heavenly.”

Oskar Syahbana calls French footballer Zidane a perfect role model.

Teenage blogger DeeDee in Cambodia does a bit of citizen's reporting of a fire in her neighbourhood.

Who are the top foreign investors in Laos? Samakomlao blog has a list of the top 15 investors in Laotian economy.

A popular blogger in Singapore Mr. Miyagi has decided to stop writing for a daily. The paper has earlier suspended a column by another well known local blogger. Blogger Feynman Boson asks “Will it further disconnect the online and offline world into two distinct universes (like the real world and the Matrix)?”

Registan.net discusses the push and shove between Kyrgyzstan and the United States regarding negotiations over the price for US use of an airbase in the country and how it is the likely explanation for the expulsion of two US diplomats for “improper” contacts with the heads of NGOs.

Notes From Hareinik discusses the news that the mayor of the town of Garni has done nothing with the municipal budget. The author says that sooner or later, silence and indifference, “vochinch,” towards such corruption will have to end.

Zarchka says that water is going to waste in Armenia and that people there fail to understand that water is money.

the reflector has photos of traditional Mongolian costumes worn for Naadam. Meanwhile, Tom Terry has pictures from Naadam opening ceremonies.

Alfredo Octavio, flexing some consumer muscle, explains why he recommends to readers to not buy a Seat brand car in Venezuela.

Winter has arrived, writes From Uruguay in a post that also mention's an unhappy president, Mercosur, football, and a farmer's demonstration against an upcoming tax reform.

In Eastern Europe it's LiveJournal, in Brazil, Orkut. Tinta Fantasma tries to figure out why Hi5 is fast becoming the prevalent social networking site in Peru (ES).

Jorge Arango took part in the 3rd Microsoft-Dell Charity Walk, “held at the Amador causeway, a beautiful spot at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal.”

LEvko of Foreign Notes cites Oleksandr Moroz's reasons to act in what many consider a treacherous way; he also writes about the nomination of Victor Yanukovych for prime minister's post by the new “anti-crisis coalition.” Robert Mayer of Publius Pundit has a roundup on the end of the Orange Revolution. Abdymok, the most laconic of all, posts a “Forward into the Past” cartoon that alludes to the ubiquitous Soviet depiction of Marx, Engels and Lenin, featuring Communist Symonenko, Socialist Moroz and leader of the Party of the Regions Yanukovych.

Petro of Petro's Jotter writes about his family's visit to Krayina Mriy (”Dream Country”) world music festival that took place in Kyiv this past weekend, and argues why Ukraine isn't a “banana republic.”

Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros sums up the parliamentary election that took place in Macedonia last week and writes about the country's problems and prospects.

On the eve of the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes a lengthy critique of Vladimir Putin and the country he is turning Russia into: “Putin is trying to recreate an empire reminiscent of the Soviet Union - feared by its own people, its neighbours and the West in equal measure. And the tragedy is that we in the West are letting it happen.”

David McDuff of A Step At A Time writes about the Other Russia conference and Lyudmila Alexeeva, a distinguished human rights activist.

Lorblog read in Bamdad, a Lorestan based magazine that 10 percent of country's Aids cases are in Lorestan province (Persian).

Several Shargh newspaper journalists have launched Zangeh Tafrih, a collective blog to write about economic issues. In Zange Tafrih they explain why Marx prophecy about Socialist Revolution in industrial countries such as England failed. According to Zangeh Tafrih strong presence of workers unions/syndicates was main reason to save England from Socialist Revolution (Persian). Syndicates at first step choose to negotiate for their requests and negotiation calms down tensions.

Zeinobia sarcastically describe the latest news about the Egyptian president intervention to stop a law that was approved by majority of MBs (who were all members of the same party lead by the president).
The controversial law was against the freedom of press. The more stranger is the changing attitude of the NDP members, a change by 180′ degrees, yesterday all those haters to the Journalism and bad journalists and today all those lovers and cheer leaders for the daring supportive decision of the President, Zeinobia said.

LadyBird, has two good news. According to her, “for the first time an Iraqi official accuses the US and Israel, on creating the chaos in Iraq.” The second good news is that “Iraq will ask the United Nations to end immunity from local law for U.S. troops.”

Contestants from Israel's version of “The Biggest Loser” visited the Knesset last week in a feeble attempt to educate the Israeli government in the ways of healthy eating. Not surprising in the least, the “parliamentarians” showed absolutely no interest in the meeting, Harry said.

Farah announces that a new blog was started by Moroccan activists to help fighting against the sexual harassment against Moroccan women.

Palestinian is reporting that, for the first time since 1967, Israel in now barring entry of Americans into the West Bank. The campaign is asking American congressmen to demand that Israel explain why it is preventing American citizens and humanitarian relief workers into the territories while U.S. gives Israel $12 billion dollars in welfare a year.

Last month alone Buenos Aires greeted 122,000 foreign tourists, says Shopping Urbano in a post that interviews four tourists about their visit and how much they spend on average per day (ES).

Mark in Mexico has an update on the teacher's strike in Oaxaca. Ana Maria Salazar, meanwhile, discusses the dropped genocide charges against former president, Luis Echevarria Alvarez: ” Can we read political intentions in this arrest? The answer is probably yes. However, for those who thought this would help the PAN candidate or at least hurt the PRI candidate, well, they were wrong.”

Guyana-Gyal posts what is very likely the first written analysis of Zinedine Zidane's head-butt in Creolese, Guyana's “nation language“: “‘You saw that?!?' I ask in my best ready-to-gossip voice. Right off, Indeera know what I talking ‘bout…that goat-butt the French guy give the Italian. Pow in he chest..“

Mad Bull discusses a Cayman Compass news article about an American couple who travelled from Detroit to Grand Cayman via Miami with an unlicensed handgun and ammunition in their luggage: “What is also interesting is the ’slap on the wrist’ that the man who brought the weapon in got! I mean, he has been charged with possession of an illegal firearm before, and now here he is with another one, and he was travelling with the weapon on airplanes to boot! A seven day jail sentence and a $3000 fine seems a bit light to me!“

Sean encourages readers to participate in a letter-writing campaign protesting the brutal beating of a Portuguese national outside a bar in Bermuda. Christian Dunleavy congratulates a local Portuguese activist for holding the government to account.

Uganda-CAN links to the Web site of “Don't Sleep!”, a new campaign to involve African-Americans and the Hip Hop generation in the plight of Uganda's night-commuter children.

On the occasion of the Sudan-mediated talks aimed at bringing peace to northern Uganda, Ngomrom says any settlement should be seen as an opportunity to introduce a democratic system in the country.

“I always get the warm fuzzies when we receive state
visits from the most oppressive government in existence today,” writes Farrel Lifson at Politics.za on the occasion of a North Korean diplomatic visit. He notes, thankfully, that bilateral trade with the isolated Stalinist state doesn't amount to much, and calls on South African leaders to confront Pyongyang on political reform.

Curious finds sympathizers with his argument that African countries will be the next to witness major inflows of foreign direct investment, because they are the only true emerging markets left now.

Karen expresses admiration for the Belizean work ethic.

Malawi-based Afrika-Aphukira posts a long commentary on the debate now raging over the sending off of French soccer captain Zinedine Zidane after he headbutted Marco Matarazzi in the France-Italy World Cup final. Emerging reports of racist insults from Matarazzi have divided the world into two camps: those who think 'sportmanship' is more important, and those who think racism in football should be addressed, he writes.

Missionary blogger Under the Acacias explains the apparent popularity of Osama bin Laden in Burkina Faso…

Linda Thompkins quotes a RadioJamaica.com report stating that Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur has decided to support Venezuela's campaign for the vacant UN Security Council Seat over Guatemala's. Among the reasons quoted: “He says it would be unethical for Barbados to side with a country that has fiercely opposed the concept of special and differential treatment for small developing states. He also says Guatemala has outstanding territorial issues with Belize, and the region must take a position that will protect the territorial integrity of its members.”

Barbadian blogger Jdid writes at length, and with great humour, about his experiences of West Indian restaurants in Toronto.