Global Voices Online

Heritage blogger Ivan Henares remembers his trip to the city of Hoi An in Vietnam and he recalls how the visit introduced him to the joy of backpacking.

Enterprise Resilience Management Blog compares Singapore to Hollywood actor Rod Steiger. Steiger took on a wide variety of roles across genres making him the most connected actor. “Connectivity is also a good thing when talking about the global economy. The Rod Steiger of Southeast Asia is Singapore. That nation has worked hard to achieve that position. Singapore understands that the more roles you are involved in the better your chances are of staying on top; therefore, it plays an important role in finance, electronics, trade, and (increasingly) biotechnology.”

Bangkok Pundit replies to a comment that was posted on a forum and was critical of Thailand's role in handling refugees from North Korea. Earlier this week, Thai police raided and detained 175 North Koreans who were hiding in a church home in Bangkok.

Jeffrey Sachs argues that giving birth to less poor people is the best course of action in the future. Bullets and Honey does not think so.

Alexa surveys Mongolia's fast food market.

Onnik Krikorian just returned from Lachin, the strategic town linking Karabakh with Armenia proper. His trip was cut short because he was detained by the KGB, which informed him his movements were restricted. The trip was not a loss though, as he is able to report on mine-clearing efforts in the region.

Voice in the Desert updates us on severe flooding in Gorom-Gorom, Northern Burkina Faso, where about 8,000 people have lost their homes.

Since he became the President of Nigeria in 1999, Obasanjo’s economic policies have not made any significant impact on the country’s economy, writes Grandiose Parlor.

“Poor Old Pluto” has lost its planet status: a poem.

Sean Roberts discusses Chinese goals in Central Asia.

Black Star Journal on Human Rights Watch Report detailing police brutality in Guinea.

Pickled Politics on TWA (or Travelling While Asian) as an India bound flight was diverted to Amsterdam because of what appears to be racial profiling or paranoia.

Vadim writes about the difficulties Tajik citizens face in obtaining foreign visas.

Autorickshaws in the sub-continent not only carry passengers, but social messages and mudflap art. A fascinating flickr set of mudflap art.

As the political scenario in Nepal changes, what role does the Army play in the integration of Maoist rebels. United We Blog! on the Army and the Maoists.

Tom Terry, who runs Eagle TV, a television station in Mongolia owned by a Christian organization, writes about why he felt the station's news division had an obligation to cover the visit of the Dalai Lama to Mongolia from both philosophical and religious perspectives.

Shirazi on wonderful Pishin and fruits. “Until the middle of the 18 th century, when Quetta finally passed into the hands of Brahvi rulers, the history of Pishin is identical with the province of Kandahar. The earliest mention of Pishin is found in the ancient writing in which “Pishinorha” is described as a valley in an elevated part of the country and containing a barren level plain.”

Even after the end of Apartheid in South Africa, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu continues to be a champion of human dignity and justice, writes Yebo Gogo.

Bongoland Reflections offers his views on Darwin’s Nightmare, a documentary that has stirred controversy and angered the government of Tanzania for drawing a connection between fish trade and illegal arms trade in Lake Victoria: “The documentary is an insightful look at how globalization has failed to benefit the poor. It is a documentary that probes and asks the effectiveness or lack of policies that Tanzania (and any other developing country that has embraced globalization) has put in place, to ensure that the locals benefit from every ounce of resources that God endowed them with.”

ICT for Peacebuilding has details of a conversation with Ambassador Daniel Stauffacher on exploring possibilities for collaboration and exploration in the theory and practice of ICT4Peace between the author's work in Sri Lanka and that of the ICT4Peace Foundation in Switzerland.

Sean of Sean's Russia Blog remembers his unpleasant encounter with the Russian Federal Security Service in Ryazan.

“Pyatigorsk Mayor Charged with Reckless Driving; Five People Dead,” reports Russia Blog.

Copydude writes about no druzhba between Russia and Lithuania - all because of an oil refinery that used to belong to Yukos.

Petro of Petro's Jotter has formulated Ukrainian Business Law Axioms #1 and #2.

Stefan of Dykun strolls around Kyiv and walks into the opening ceremony of the monument to Vyacheslav Chornovil.

Mark in Mexico has another update of life in protest-engulfed Oaxaca as does Rochelle as does Atenco Somos Todos (ES). Molechocolate posts a video which suggests that the violence in Oaxaca could soon spread throughout all of Mexico. Finally, the one silver lining, Olganza says the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) have agreed to meet with the Secretary of Governance (ES) to discuss their demands which include the resignation of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.

Eduardo Ávila heads to the Latin American film festival in Cochabamba to watchLo Más Bonito y Mis Mejores Años: “By far, this is the best Bolivian movie that I have seen, as it really captures life in Cochabamba and I recognize so much of what takes place within the film. The subtle humor within the dialogue really provided something extra. I think this will be the one film that really attracts a lot of attention from Latin America.” Meanwhile, Jim Shultz has a word of advice for young documentary filmmakers on their way to Bolivia.

Robert Wright on what a paper towel can teach you in Argentina.

Patrick of the Guatemala Solidarity Network gathers local reaction to “heavy handed Guatemalan army activity in Ixcan.

Both Octavio Islas and “Enigma” (ES) are worried that Aguilar's refusal to accept defeat will encourage state-level political discord much like presidential candidate Lopez Obrador's refusal to accept defeat has split the entire country. Al Giordano says that the elections were submersed in a whirlpool of fraud, instigated by both sides. Dave Pentecost notes that Lopez Obrador, unsurprisingly, supports a vote by vote recount in the state election. Finally, Matthew Shugart crunches the numbers.

Yesterday was Jorge Luis Borges' 107th birthday. With the help of YouTube, Julián Gallo pays homage. Don't forget about Jeff Barry's excellent “30 Days with Borges” series.

It's Friday ladies and gentlemen … time for Boz's poll numbers from across Latin America.

According to Choloblog (ES) the Windows operating system will be known as “T’uqu”, pressing “Kichana” will open a window and “Wuiskana” will close it. “KAH-lyah-ree”, meanwhile, is the phonetic pronunciation of the word which replaces “Start” in Windows' familiar taskbar, says Prairie Weather. According to Global by Design and Eduardo Arcos Bolivian President Evo Morales will make an announcement with Microsoft officials in Sucre today that the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software have been localized in Quechua, an indigenous language spoken by some 10 million Andean residents. Jimmy Granado, however, takes a much more critical look at the announcement, questioning Evo Morales' support of Microsoft over free and open source alternatives like Linux (ES): “I thought that Evo wold follow the steps of Hugo Chavez. Since, if you didn't know, in Venezuela the government uses Free Software, just like Brazil.” Finally, Newley Purnell takes a look at Google Quechua.

“I'm wholly in favour of wasting a TV channel on this, because it will show just how absurdly tedious parliamentary affairs have become,” writes Jeremy Taylor, reporting on Trinidad & Tobago's newly launched Parliament Television.

Gela relates an incident which paints the Jamaican police in a less than glowing light: “The police is one of the public sector groups who are currently agitating for more pay. I have no quarrel with that, but can we the taxpayers who are funding the salaries see some good service for this.”

Nightshift makes fun of Caribbean travellers' legendary inability to travel light: “If successful, Mr. Lafargue will complete the feat first attempted by Jean-Jean Jean-Michel in 1976 when he tried traveling from New York to Haiti with a single bag only to be guilted by a ti-gran into adding one of her bags to his luggage after she had gone over the weight limit with her baggage.”

Guyana-Gyal's mother likes a wild garden.

Is the eco-resort you plan on visiting really that eco-friendly? Karen Walrond shows you how to make sure.

“. . . it's interesting how these festivals have echoed, in a small way, the evolution of their original model in Trinidad, as a vehicle of solidarity, an assertion of identity, a gesture of defiance in a hostile environment,” says Jeremy Taylor, writing about the Carnivals “exported” by the Caribbean to the likes of London and New York.

Geoffrey Philp extends birthday greetings to Britain-based Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson: “He became only the second living poet to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell.”

Malaysian blogger Kenny Sia put up a quiz that helps his readers answer how un-Malaysian they are. “Some say driving rudely is intrinsically Malaysian, but in Australia their drivers are a hundred times worse than Malaysian drivers. Similarly, your IC might say you're Malaysian, but when you listen to Britney Spears, eat McDonalds and can't speak more than two words of Malay, how Malaysian are you? It has come to a point where we gotta stop wondering “How Malaysian Am I?” and start wondering “How un-Malaysian Am I?” And exactly just how un-Malaysian are you?”

The blogger at khmerak.com is in Malaysia to attend an e-media training at a Malaysian online journalism organisation. The blogger describes his first day in Malaysia.

Lao Ocean Girl talks about the