Global Voices Online

Jeremy Taylor wonders whether a multi-party system may be detrimental to the development of a small nation like Trinidad and Tobago — and suggests a framework for a restructured — and more rational? — system of governance.

Kenny Green takes Caribbean preachers to task for their lack of engagement with fundamental issues affecting local communities: “Political amoebas, glory hunters in general, and silent on every single topic except in toeing the party line from their Grand Leader somewhere else. They almost like some regional company with the head office in the US or bahamas or something. . . You'd think someone that goin to heaven no matter what would be able to speak their mind on any issue eh.”

Mighty Afroditee is disillusioned with the current state of Pirates' Week, the Cayman Islands' annual festival which originated as a celebration of the islands' culture.

The Caribbean Beat weblog posts an entertaining and opinionated report on the 2006 Candela Art and Music Festival, which took place recently in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

China Media project reports that the resignation of popular sports commentator, Huang Jianxiang, has stirred up audiences' frustration to CCTV's political culture.

Adamu reports on a speech given by author/businessman/historical preservation activist Alex Kerr.

Adamu at Mutantfrog Travelogue comments on the growing phenomenon of people living in Internet cafes.

Andy Jackson in Marmot's hole worries that the national human rights commission's criticism against the Asiana and Korean Air’s policy of hiring women crewmembers that are no older than 25 years will affect the service.

“We're in much deeper trouble than we previously thought,” writes Manicou, discussing the disdainful treatment meted out to people at a public meeting by Trinidad and Tobago member of parliament Larry Achong, and Achong's subsequent denial of wrongdoing. The Rights Action Group T&T blog, meanwhile, reports that residents of Chatham, the community in which the meeting took place, are demanding a public apology from Achong.

Lynn Sweeting writes a powerful appeal to the Bahamian public to register their outrage at the treatment of a woman who was brutally taken from her home — wearing only a towel — by the police. Sweeting's appeal takes the form of a letter to the woman in question.

Introducing American part-time teacher-turned-soca artist Walker Hornung — who also happens to be white — Ian asks the question: “what colour is Soca?” And Titlayo is pleased to hear Barbadian music in an array of genres playing on the radio. “it remains to be seen whether the trend continues past the end of November,” she says. “I’ve got my hopes up that it will.”

Onnik Krikorian says that the Economist Intelligence Unit's democracy rankings come at an important time for Armenia.

Yulia reports on why Kyrgyzstan's president may be facing danger whenever he travels abroad.

Kyrgyz Report discusses whether or not joining the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative will help the country.

Sean Roberts reports on Uzbekistan's imaginary middle class and compares the daughter of the country's president to Marie Antoinette.

Bahrain has banned demonstrations, gatherings and rallies in 'sensitive' locations, but Chanad Bahraini thinks that the list is too long.
He says the ban may be because workers are holding strikes in their work places, calling for pay rises and better working conditions.

Palestinian-Jordanian blogger Haitham Sabbah tells us about the plight of a Palestinian refugee who is looking for a lawyer/s to help her “present a case, or cases, against the State of Israel and private individuals and organizations, for damages, because of human rights abuses and many other crimes perpetrated against me by persons of Israeli and American citizenship under the protection and with the encouragement of the State of Israel.”
He appeals to his readers to spread the word.

Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was killed in a terrorist attack in Jdeideh in Beirut, Abu Kais reports minutes after the attack.
Follow the link for more updates as more details about the assassination emerge.

The ever resourceful blogger at The Daily Brunei resources ushers in the peak of wedding season in Brunei by describing the wedding attire worn by Malay males.

Appalled at the working conditions of the employees of a local garbage collection company, Blog Politique du Senegal writes (Fr): “Quick to denounce slavery … we refuse to see the quasi-slavery endured by many in our society and in our families. These quasi-slaves whose masters we are.”

Metroblogging Chennai on the politics of statues in public areas in the city. “The noise associated with the removal is directly proportional to their caste association, that is how much influence they had over their caste, it doesn't matter if they had a huge pan-caste image like Nehru or Gandhi. Or else the person should be an icon of tamil identity.”

Salam Dhaka on the tense political situation in Bangladesh and a brief look at the constitution. ” Yesterday, out of sheer frustration, I read our constitution. I stopped half-way because of all the contradictions there were in it and its confusing demands. You can tell politicians manipulated it with bad intentions. “

Nepali Netbook has some observations on the current state of affairs in Nepal. How is it that the Maoist leader Prachanda is more easily absolved than the King? “He is being asked to take responsibility for the deaths of 22 protesters (hadn’t the toll reached 24 at one point?), while the man responsible for 13,000 deaths gets to rub shoulders with former prime ministers in the world’s largest democracy where his organization is still considered a terrorist group.”

Gmail catches on as Wagle Street Journal writes about why the author prefers Gmail to other email services, and the trend of emailing in Nepal. “Even if we are one of the poorest countries in the world, emailing has become a very necessary part of Nepali life; that is to say in the city area. I can’t imagine working without Email though we went through that horrible experience for a week following Feb 1, 2005 when King Gyanendra dismissed democracy, imposed autocracy and emergency, cut off telephone liens and switched off Internet connections.”

The Turkish Invasion lists 11 Russo-Turkish wars.

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the investigation of Anna Politkovskaya murder and the alleged poisoning of former FSB officer Aleksandr Litvinenko.

Ruminations on Russia criticizes Moscow's mayor: “Moscow's traffic is becoming legendary. Yury Mikhailovich who has clearly never read a single traffic management article in his life has determined that the best way to deal with this is not to invest in more communal transport but to widen the road.”

La Russophobe's reader translates an article by Yulia Latynina on “Russian paranoia.”

On the eve of an election, Dictionary of the Serbian Mess reviews Serbian political parties.

Dictionary of the Serbian Mess posts a hilarious entry on how sometimes it is safer to get soaked than try to hide from the rain next to those old, crumbling buildings.

The Glory of Carniola posts the “Great Yugoslav Album Covers, Part 16.”

Miguel Octavio pens his “Electoral Musings from Caracas, concluding that, “with two weeks left, we have a very nervous Government, with changing campaign strategies almost daily and a war of words and polls between the two sides, as well as changes in those running Chavez' campaign. On the other side we have some cool maracuchos, either overconfident because of the size of the crowds they see daily or simply happy that they will not have to take over this really screwed up economy right before it blows up on their faces.”

The Rolling Stones' Angie is remade to honor an NHL player from Slovenia, writes The Glory of Carniola.

A Ukrainian news roundup over at Orange Ukraine.

Cyber Cossack writes about the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 - an “unknown Holocaust” - and links to the “800 pages of documented details on the Holocaust still denied by Russia.”

The Third Congress on International Digital Journalism is currently underway in Maracay, Venezuela and Patricia Noriega is dutifully taking notes [ES].

From now until Friday, Spanish journalist Nacho Fernández will be giving a workshop titled “Anatomy of a Blog” [ES] at the Center for Culture in Lima, Peru.

Pamela gives a taste of the atmosphere in Managua in the wake of Daniel Ortega's presidential victory.

In the aftermath of the announcement that Joseph Kabila has won elections, Sanaga Peregrinations wonders (Fr) whether the DRC can afford the contestation of results promised by loosing candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba: ” Only a couple of days ago, the two rivals were hand in hand and each claimed that they would accept whatever the official results were. Those were only … political statements. Even if Bemba promises to only use legal recourse, one can't help but worry for a country subject to conflict since about 5 years ago.”

Former librarian Jeff Barry takes an early look at the 2007 Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires, noting that “the average print run for a book in Argentina was 3,520 in 2005,” however, only “4% of the titles were translated into Spanish from another language.”

iCommons has put together a list of global netlabels that publish their music with various Creative Commons licenses. Examples include Thinner from Germany/Finland, Discoskonfort from Mexico, and You Are Not Stealing Records [ES] based in Portugal.

“Is it winter? Rainy season? Hurricane season? Christmas season? Shopping season?” Yes, it's all of those things, writes “La Gringa”, who explains why November until February is also the “season of the Cuban rafters.”

Kian Ming at Educationmalaysia blog is concerned about the problem of fake university degrees in Malaysia.

Fagogo in Samoa lists the latest happenings across the Pacific islands and remarks that the Pacific ocean is anything but pacified.

Grandiose Parlor writes about blogging and activism, “This is a indication that various African citizen-oriented media (blogs, independent community and advocacy websites) can work together for the common good of the continent and its people. This is one important effort the mainstream media have failed to address.”

Who will emerge the winner in the new scramble for Africa? Kameelah asks.

How do you protect your slippers from being stolen? Maisha posts a photo with an answer.

The Asia society's young leaders' summit came to a full end on Nov 19; however, the conversation goes on in the summit blog.

Zhao Mu suggests in his blog that 2006 should be the year of spoof in China, spoofs come not only from internet, but also from the government (zh).

Egypt's Culture Minister Farooq Hosni is being investigated, following comments he has made on the Hijab or head scarf, reports The Big Pharoah.
The Big Pharoah himself is however unruffled and goes on a rampage, berating the religious symbol and saying the religion was “in dire need of reform.”