Global Voices Online

Debito explains why he believes that Japan police was involved in the racist publication: GAIJIN HANZAI.

James blogs about a recent survey by Japan Health Ministry: 15% of Japanese women between the ages of 20 and 24 cut themselves.

Researchers from Hokkaido University have created artificial blood vessels using collagen derived from the skin of salmon - more from Pink Tentacle.

Joe from Multantfrog discusses about the abortion law in Japan. Its origin is related to the Eugenic Protection Act, which is to prevent the birth of progeny which are undesirable from a eugenic standpoint, while protecting the life and health of mothers.

Voice of the people has a photo essay on the International Woman's Day.

The price of uniform becomes a talking point in South Korea, Matt has a summary of the issue at stake.

Safrang says that Afghanistan does not have a free press.

KZBlog reports that Kazakhstan's government plans to adopt corporate management structures for government ministries.

The CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 reports that campaign advertisements are going up in Yerevan despite such ads not yet being legally allowed.

Afghanistanica examines whether the lack of protection of women's rights in Afghanistan is the result of culture or conflict.

Onnik Krikorian writes some of his impressions of Georgia, saying that it is doing far better than Armenia on many counts.

The W.E.C. group blog reviews the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which took place yesterday in Jamaica.

“How this previously unknown Shakespeare play came to be in the West Indian Reference Library in Port of Spain I don't know,” writes blogger Jeremy Taylor, as he runs an excerpt from the aforementioned work, which describes events bearing “an uncanny resemblance to events in Trinidad and Tobago this last week.”

Jamaican novelist Marlon James weighs in on the actions of Ahmed Akkari, who circulated a suspicious photocopy designed to inflame Muslim sensibiliites à la the Danish cartoons.

Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp asks: “what makes a work of literature memorable right now.”

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the 20 journalists who have been killed since Vladimir Putin became Russia's president.

Siberian Light reports on PricewaterhouseCoopers' recent brush with tax police in Moscow.

In an interview at antropologi.info, Vytis Ciubrinskas, a Lithuanian social anthropologist, talks about the problems that exist in his field in Lithania and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

White Sun of the Desert discusses Russian salaries (low) and the workload they cover (not too intense).

Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert sets up an online forum for Sakhalin expats: “Considering the number of expats here and the size of the oil and gas projects both present and future, it always surprised me how little information is available to anyone coming here, or indeed for anyone who is already here. Whereas most oil towns have a multitude of websites where people can read about the place, Sakhalin doesn’t really have any, and my blog seemed to be providing information that people obviously couldn’t get elsewhere.”

Ecuadorean-Mexican blogger Eduardo Arcos can't help but draw attention to the fact that some indigenous Guatemalan organizations will purify holy places [ES] following the visit of George W. Bush. Arcos adds, “I still don't understand why Bush insists on visiting Latin American countries. Nobody wants him.”

C.M. Mayo announces the first edition of the Tameme chapbook ~ cuaderno. Meant to “celebrate and disseminate new writing and translation in an attractive and affordable format,” the inaugural issue features the story “Carne verde, piel negra ~ An Avocado from Michoacán” por ~ by Agustín Cadena, which won Mexico's San Luis Potosí Award for Short Story.

Taking cue from a Miami Herald article, Boz serves up five points on Michele Bachelet's first year in office.

As many leftist Latin American commentators insist that Bush's visit to Latin America is meant to impede regional integration, Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez are organizing the “First Summit of Presidents and Social Movements” in June. A translation to English by Bolivia Rising gives more details.

Eduardo Arcos says [ES] Antena 3 is the first television station from Spain to distribute its own content on YouTube.

Uri Ridelman of Tico Food on “how to brew a cup of coffee the traditional Costa Rican way.

Kuwaiti blogger Zaydoun says that giant US energy services company Halliburton is moving its CEO from the US to Dubai to be closer to its sweetheart - Kuwait!

Kuwaiti blogger Forzaq8 says Kuwait should introduce a new law to regulate Internet services. “We need Some kind of Law for Internet in Kuwait , you can’t just add a Filter Software and block as you like , you can’t block sites because some guy from State security Called and told you so , there should be written order by a committee to block site and you can challenge them on that verdict , not just block without any idea why or merit,” he writes.

Our Dream takes a harsh look at the political tactics in Nepal. “If one of their demands are not met, they will go for a “bandh” no matter how much the costs be. To be simple, these people aren’t aware of the actual costs. They are so narrow-minded that they do not have the capacity to gauze the costs and benefits of an action.

Deepak's Diary on the adoption racket in Nepal. “In a poverty-stricken country like Nepal, parents may well be ready to sale their kids. One: hoping for the well-being of their kids; that they will get quality education and thereby quality life in a Western country. Second: they may have been lured by the false promises and the money from the traffickers.”

Unheard Voices has an interesting post, (followed by some very engaging comments) on sharing a flight with the blue collar workers. “As I spend more and more time with them, an unpleasant truth gets clear to me. Whatever shame these unruly passengers cause for me, whatever superior I find myself compared to them, the fact is that these passengers are Bangladesh. They represent the psych, the culture, and socio-political belief of the majority people of Bangladesh.”

Journal of a Disturbed Mind makes a strong case Dr Yunus in politics. “Running a country is a bigger responsibility in business. But for me, a businessman with a good heart can handle a country better than any law or political science graduate. Consider reading the book Government as a Business.”

Tyler Reed announces a new South African blog search, “SA Blog Search is something I wanted to start a while ago. I setup the co-op search engine through Google and registered the domain. I just never got around to doing anything with it. So today I had some spare time and thought I would quickly chuck it up.”

This is Zimbabwe's list of human rights violation by Mugabe's administration,”Gift Tandare is the name of the young man killed by the Zimbabwean police yesterday. He was a young activist trying to participate in a rally yesterday, organised to voice objections to the myriad human rights abuses under Mugabe and Zanu PF in our country. He leaves behind a wife and three young children (primary school age).”

Zenia reproduces an article from Granma, the Cuban news daily, reporting that Cuban folk superstar Silvio Rodriguez has cancelled a concert in Chile in protest over the high price of tickets.

“Israel is replacing its ambassador in El Salvador after the envoy was found outside the embassy, drunk, wearing only bondage gear,” reports the Angry Arab News Service here.

“All flights out of Dubai Airport have been grounded indefinitely…
So far due to a Bangladesh bound plane having an incident that injured 14 people…” writes Kuwaiti blogger Kwtia.

“If there’s a dozen guys dressed up like little Darth Vaders chasing you, run like hell” is the advice blogger/photographer Matthew Carrington posts on The Arabist on the first anniversary of “the liveliest expression of popular dissatisfaction with the Mubarak regime in recent memory–the March 2003 demos.”

Writing in The Arabist Tim Seah has done some homework on an alleged plan to block 21 Internet sites and has posted his findings here.

“Gadzooks!! What method of skullduggery is this? Bahraini rants flapdoodling about and disappearing on me again? I don’t trust him or his vocabularizing filler posts..” is Bahraini Rants last coded message before he takes a break to sort out his real life.

The blogger at Laoplanet.net tries out a dish prepared with ant's eggs. “It was crunchy with a popping sound in my mouth. I didn’t get sick or anything afterward. You got to love the way Lao people can be so innovative with Lao food.”

Indonesian blogger Fatih Syuhud congratulates a fellow Indonesian blogger who gave up his day job to become a full time blogger.

Le Pangolin posts [Fr] the flyer for a meeting to take place March 20 in Paris where French presidential candidates including Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy will answer the question: “What do you plan to do about Darfur?”

Algerian blogger Nouri says the movie 300 was a fantastic waste of $10! “The film is comprised mostly of exaggerated muscles, computer generated imagery, grotesque or unnecessary sex scenes, and foolishly triumphant dialogue. The film is aesthetically interesting, more for its ahistorical manner than for its beauty. Apparently, Spartans wore no breast plates and rushed into battle in no more than underwear..” he writes.

Phnomenon finds a coffee outlet near his place in Phnom Penh that roasts locally grown coffee beans. The blogger has a pictorial post on the roasting process.

Jewelle says that Singaporean are lucky as their government is not shy to spend money on public libraries and wishes for Brunei to do the same.

Vutha describes the life of a beer promotion girl in Cambodia.

Photos of fisherwomen at work from Liberia Stories, “I met a lovely group of women in Bong County using a fascinating method for catching fish. They line up their handmade nets, then wade towards them using their hands underwater to shoo the fish in! They will do this almost a hundred times to get enough little fish for a day's meal.”

This is Zimbabwe posts an update on Zimbabwean government crackdown on pro-democracy activists:
“The Save Zimbabwe Campaign, a campaign initiated by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, decided to press ahead with a prayer rally earlier today despite police refusal to grant permission for them to go ahead (read our recent posts on the bannings of meetings and demonstrations). The government cracked down hard.”

In “We’re all Ghanaians: Reclaiming Pan-Africanism for the African Renaissance,” Steve Sharra writes: In Malawi we have every reason to join the Ghanaians, and the entire Pan-African world, in celebrating Ghana’s jubilee. As Walusako Mwalilino reminds everyone on the Malawi listserv Nyasanet, it was in Ghana that Malawi’s first president, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, spent a good part of the 1950s, where he became very close to Dr. Nkrumah, having first known each other in London where Dr. Banda has been practicing medicine for sometime. Dr. Nkrumah would eventually become actively engaged in Malawi’s own struggle for independence from the British.

ESWN translates three reporters account of their different versions of report on the Yunan's artificial “green mountain”.

Yee ya comments on the one yuan cn domain marketing strategy of China Internet Network Information Center: Each domain will still cost 80 to 100 yuan a year in subsequent years, so many people register just for fun.Can you count on them to help the development of China Internet?

Michael in the Opposite end of China writes about water crisis in China, with reference to some discussion in recent People Congress meeting.

The Yeosu migrant detention centre's fire has developed into a call for legislation to protect the safety and rights of migrant labour in South Korea. Jamies has a very detailed report with background at interlocals.net.