Global Voices Online

Reacting to recent news stories and speculation about President Preval's prostate cancer and his trip to Cuba to receive treatment, JoJo at Collectif Haiti de Provence reflects on healthcare for the everyday Haitian (Fr): “What Preval forgot to say … is to detail his plans so that all Haitians can get cured properly in Haiti … Today the indifference of health policy actors reaks of a reckless exclusion which rears its ugly head everytime a government official must go abroad for health services that all other countries in the region provide at home.“

Themediaslut writes about an ISP/Mobile provider in Singapore who fired a temp worker for putting up a video on youtube that featured him and another employee playing around in the office. Analyzing the company's response to the press story on this incident, the blogger says “Right now, Starhub is being seen as that company that doesn’t allow youtubing. It is ironic because its a telco that sells mobile phone with cameras and where do u think this videos usually end up?”

Dili-gence gives us a glimple into a native ceremony in East Timor. “One part of the ceremony involved the symbolic killing of a pig. Probably in deference to the large foreign presence, the actual kill was carried out away from the Palacio but body parts from the pig are presented to various leaders - eyes to those with a vision for the country etc. etc. At the same time, a “matan dook” (witch doctor) reads the pig entrails.”

In response to comments about Africa, Africans, African penis size and its relationship to famine on the continent made by French TV personality Pascal Sevran in a recent book, Congolese-origined blogger Alain Mabanckou writes (Fr):”Dear Pascal Sevran, Africa does not need your diagnosis. Must we remind you that a sane man would have thought twice before “spewing” such insanities?”

Doodee's Thailand takes the reader on a trip to the Arab enclave of Bangkok - Suhkumvit soi 3.

The Invest in Fiji blog talks about an group being set up to encourage tourists to spend their holidays in Fiji. The tourists may be staying out because of a recent coup in Fiji.

myHimachal on steps taken by the government in Himachal Pradesh to combat HIV/ AIDS. “The Himachal Pradesh Government would be providing free medicine to the HIV affected people, besides reimbursing the traveling charges of the patient alongwith an attendant to visit antiretroviral centre for checkup and treatment and also provide financial assistance for the studies of the children of HIV/AIDS affected parents as also orphaned children who had lost their parents due to the disease.”

“Dog's Own Country?” on the high suicide rate in Kerala. “It is a sad fact that Kerala has the highest suicide rate in India. A friend of mine once speculated that the Malayalee is a unique creature prone to caving into peer pressure which forces people to resort to extreme measures in desperate times.”

Pickled Politics points to an article by one of the authors in the Guardian. “That is, erm, me in a short article in today’s Media Guardian having a sarcastic dig at the tabloids for their annual idiotic headlines that proclaim ‘Muslims want to ban Christmas!’” Watch out for the 187 comments for the post!

Metroblogging Lahore on Pakistani students caught cheating. “Last week, a friend of mine sent me this email about an embarrassing situation in Swedish universities where the number of Pakistani students involved in cheating cases is alarmingly increasing every year.”

A bengali in TO is rather tongue-in-cheek about suggestions for those going to an event for Muslims called Reviving the Islamic Spirit. “Some women will be without hijab. Such women do exist. Deal with it. The hair of a woman is a beautiful thing. Meanwhile, some men will pray with their jeans covering their ankles. It is not a sign of arrogance. It is a sign of buying cheap jeans at Walmart.”

Itching for Eestimaa writes about a recent protest in front of the Estonian embassy in Moscow.

News on Aleksandr Kozulin's 53-day hunger strike over at TOL's Belarus Blog.

A link to the map of polonium-210 in London and a memory of a 1995 trip to Ukraine, over at Wu Wei.

Neretva River discusses the points made in an article on how some former Yugoslav government officials and their crimes should be treated.

East Ethnia writes about Vojislav Seselj's “diet” and Slavko Curuvija's “political killing” seven years ago.

Jomhour has published 35 photos, all showing student protest movement during Ahmadinejad's speech in Amir Kabir University.For the first time he faced a strong protest group who burned his photos and chanted slogans against him.

Robert Koehler at Marmot's Hole blogs about the National Human Rights Commission's decision on not to look into human rights abuses occurring in North Korea.

Michael Hurt has written an open letter to demand an official apology from Korean T.V station (KBS) regarding their earlier Global talk show programme which is considered as “racist and sexist stereotyping of foreign people”.

Marmot's Hole also blogs about NGO statement on the issue.

Inmediahk.net has a citizen report (with pictures) on how citizen demonstrators successfully stop the demlition of star ferry yesterday (zh).

Anguilla has a new blog dedicated to speaking out against corruption and Adam applauds the effort, saying, “It's challenging to engage in conversations about changing public life when you're on a small island.”

Living Guyana reprints an article from The Stabroek Scene, which calls for an end to “fish market behaviour”.

“When the Grand Stand comes down, that single act will symbolise the end of an era”: Trinidad Carnival Diary is concerned that, despite the impending demolition of the traditional venue for Trinidad and Tobago's annual Carnival celebrations, the Minister of Community, Culture and Gender Affairs still has not announced alternative plans for Carnival 2007.

KnowProSE.com quotes excerpts about global interests from a Washington Post feature on outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Fwade cites entrepreneurship as a critical contributing factor to Jamacia's economy: “The truth is that educating another lawyer, doctor or accountant is unlikely to contribute much to our GDP. Narrow technical abilities are admirable, but nowhere near as vital to countries in which the large mass of people cannot afford to use them.”

Convention Pour Une Nouvelle Guadeloupe writes (Fr): “In November 1673, the first Africans arrived in Guadeloupe which was still populated by Amerindians. That was the beginning of the slave and triangular trade. It lasted until around 1870.” The blog asks Guadeloupeans to consider that bit of history as part of their cultural heritage, to commemorate it every November and to remember the importance of their history.