Global Voices Online

Regardailleurs blogs screenshots from an hilarious music video (Fr) called “J'suis blanc” (”I'm White”), the latest from French-Congolese hip hop artist Kamini. God comes to Kamini and makes him white for nine and a half weeks and suddenly dealing with “argent, logement, les flics, les gens” (money, housing, cops, people) all becomes a little bit easier. A wildly successful amateur video posted on YouTube and Dailymotion last year landed Kamini a record deal and made him famous.

Indi.ca explains LTTE's strategy. “The LTTE is the most efficient terrorist organization ever. They don’t even hit anything, they just take off or hit something nearby, the government panics, and it gets reported as an attack on the airport. More important, it gets perceived as an attack at the airport.”

Nepali Netbook attempts deciphering diplomatic due processes. “The fact that Chinese Ambassador Zheng Xianglin became the first foreign envoy to present his credentials to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala contained much symbolism. The normally reticent official Chinese media, too, highlighted how this development broke the tradition of ambassadors presenting credentials to the king. Equally meaningful was the reality that the Chinese recognized Koirala as head of state only after the prime minister unequivocally called for Beijing’s inclusion in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as a full member.”

cerno attends an art competition awards ceremony and is struck by the children present. “The majority of these kids were from rural schools. A string of Mahavidyalayas, Madya Maha Vidyalayas, and simple Vidyalayas. Words not heard among us Colombo types used to abbreviations of Visaka, Ananda, Royal etc. There were two kids who seemed to be particularly emblematic - both were from the youngest age group from their respective provinces. “

A kiss on stage leads to much trouble for Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty. Desidabba has more. “I simply can’t comprehend on what basis the chief judicial magistrate found the “kissing episode” to be “highly sexually erotic”; I mean what did he see that we didn’t, maybe somebody slipped him some porn instead of the actual footage. The only logical explanations behind such a thoughtless decision could be either the judge ain’t getting any or he himself intends to plant a kissy on Shilpa’s rosy cheeks or he prefers Mr. Gere’s luscious lips on his own cheeks.”

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated an interview with Liu Changquan of the Ministry of Culture's Cultural and Artistic Talent Center from Southern Weekly about the newly proposed certification system for entry to cultural sectors.

Onemanbandwith has a post about Macau's recent development, 17% growth in GDP. As the writer said, “for someone to win at the tables, someone else must lose“.

Josie Liu from China in Transition reported on a recent internet debate (17000 comments) about animal right VS human right. The discussion was triggered off by an incident of burning dogs in Nanjing city.

Michael Turton blogs about the refusal of Olympic Torch by Taiwan government, as local politicians regarded the route as “domestic”.

James from Japan Probe quoted from South Korean local news about a suspected case of stealing of Game Code, “Lineage III”, from Korea’s largest game maker NCsoft to a major Japanese Game Company.

Harvey from Japan Newbie explained the expression of mikka bouzu, three days priest, which is used to describe someone who is unable to stick with something they have started to do.

On ANZAC day, Islandbaby remembers the unacknowledged veterans who fought the Japanese in the Second World War. “And this year I Remember. I remember those who fought with the ANZACs and remain unacknowledged by many. Specifically the Australian Aboriginal veterans and from my corner of the world, the 55,000 fuzzy wuzzy angels and the 4000 Papuans and New Guinean soliders who fought in all but one of the allied campaigns in this, my country.”

Trinidad Carnival Diary confirms that Zen, the nightclub embroiled in controversy following the Akon and Machel Montano incidents, has been closed indefinitely.

Rinaz in Singapore is calling out all teachers to emulate her friend Kevin who regularly videos his lectures and posts it online.

Moe Moe urges men to respect sex workers and practice safe sex. “Least men who want to sleep with them can do, is to treat these sex workers with respect and try to have safe sex. Why should they be treated badly just because they are providing you with a service that you seek out knowingly?”

Jamaican Geoffrey Philp is excited about The River's Song - a new book by by Jacqueline Bishop - and other soon-to-be-released Caribbean novels.

Writing from the Cayman Islands, Mad Bull posts three cartoons drawn by the Jamaica Gleaner’s Las May that he thought “were either funny, or interesting, or funny AND interesting, all at the same time.”

The Balme Library at the University of Ghana has gone digital and open-source: “Yes, you heard me right. The Balme library records have been fully digitized and guess the platform being used… Ubuntu 6.06! I needed to stretch a bit after sitting for some two hours and took a stroll into the main hall of the Balme library. I noticed some computer terminals and upon closer inspection, I realized the machines had Ubuntu 6.06 installed on them.”

Japan, Beyond the Tamagawa reminds readers, with respect to recent comments by Prime Minsiter Abe Shinzo about the Comfort Women issue, that Abe “didn't intend [his comments] to raise such a stink. He did say what he personally has said he believed for years. Japan's Imperial Army did not force women to become sex slaves. It was contractors.“

A critical look at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia: “Other institutes are created for solely political purposes. The Institute of Human Rights, the President’s pet project, will kick off its work soon. Andreas Eshete has unabashedly stated that the objective of the institute is to counter the “false Propaganda” of international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and show that democracy and human rights protection has shown immense progress in Ethiopia. Community members who know about the project dubbed the institute as “A Human Rights Center for Human Wrongs”. Now there is a plan to merge this confusing center with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution”

Writing at Kabobfest, blogger Hanaan reports the plight of a Sinai bedouin, who is seeking entry into Israel.
“You know police brutality has reached a new low in Egypt when hundreds of the country's poorest would rather seek refuge in Israel than face Mubarak's hired guns. The government should be ashamed of itself…” she rants.

Moroccan blogger Sameer tells us why the ancient city of Fez is an ideal wedding spot.

Business-minded Kuwaiti blogger io81 briefs us about the difficulty of owning franchises of famous brands. “Most of you out there had thought of opening up a store that you have encountered some where around the world… The truth is its not that simple, i had my share with different franchises and read many contracts, the things that people do not understand is the commitment required in such ventures,” he writes.

“(M)isinformed decision-makers and erroneous popular belief have shifted resources away from many of the basic foundations of a sound health care system (in Kuwait),” writes blogger Nadeem, as he continues to discuss healthcare in Kuwait.

Iraqi blogger Ladybird debates why Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki was denied a visit to Saudi Arabia. While some claim it was for ‘technical' reasons others say that he was snubbed because of his support for the Shia.

Debito reproduces a passage from John Dower's famous book “Embracing Defeat” dealing with the games children played in post-WW2 Japan, including “holding a mock black market, playing prostitute and customer, and recreating left-wing political demonstrations.” Debito comments that Dower's account “is something rarely considered in historical accounts: The barometer of social suffering as absorbed and reflected in its children doing what kids do: trying to have fun.“

I have found a great Arabic Wiki called Beidipedia (lit. Eggepedia) about the Middle East in general but is predominantly focused upon Iraq, its approach is to present satirical items in the traditional neutral news/encyclopedia approach a la The Onion, writes Iraqi blogger Konfused Kid, who is based in Jordan.

The Godfather of Bahraini bloggers Mahmood Al Yousif marks his blog's fourth anniversary with a gift to his readers.

Liberian Ledger on Liberian English and “the man da can put Charles Taylor inside.”

Espresso Royale Commentaries discusses “Mogadishu tech massacre”:
The Mogadishu massacre was bigger in number but lesser known to most people because it didn’t make to be a prime media piece. This massacre was even worse. It was Virginia Tech shooting multiplied by 100 and it is repeated daily and ongoing.
In Mogadishu, there is no lone psycho-shooter, no Cho Seung-Hui but thousands of American-armed and trained Ethiopian killers, equipped not with 9 mm handgun and a .22-calibur pistol but with M16 rifles, machine guns, heavy mortars, howitzers, armored vehicles tanks and helicopters, all USA made, gift to the Ethiopian killers.

“Last month Nigerian films made a sweep at the African Movie Academy Awards. Incidentally, only one film from Kenya was nominated, Voice in the Bin for Best Film,” writes KenyaImagine.

Jackie Tumwine reports that the Uganda government has ratified Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC): “Uganda signed this first ever global public health treaty back in March 2004- the same month that the national ban on smoking in public places came into force.”

Gukira discusses “the cultural construction of African homosexuality”:
If we are to understand the cultural construction of African homosexuality, it must be from within the prison. Once we understand sodomy as a tool of political repression, or, more precisely, as being intertwined with political repression, then we can understand, if not condone, why otherwise progressive Africans may find the idea of homosexual rights repugnant. In part, this meditation attempts to move away from the tradition vs. modernity and religion vs. secularism stalemates by locating contemporary ideas of homosexuality within, arguably, indigenous contexts.

Dibussi Tande on Cameroonian national figures with autobiographies, biographies, and memoirs: “For example, Albert Mukong and Christian Tobie Kuo both wrote two volumes of their memoirs. Same with Jean Martin Tchaptchet (who shared that infamous last meal with nationalist leader Felix Moumie in Geneva in 1960), who has published two autobiographical volumes, and promises more. Footballer Roger Milla and musician Manu Dibango both have autobiographies.”

Oneworld Multimedia reports that Armenia's pop stars have finally come out in support of the ruling political party in the country's parliamentary election campaign.

Josh Kucera has more from Abkhazia, a de facto independent region of Georgia, including photos and video from a talent show.

Social Science in the Caucasus compares local governance in Armenia and Georgia.

An American businessman in Kazakhstan, Marc Seidenfeld, has been arrested in what appears to be a frame-up by local business interests to retaliate against him for selling his business in an open auction, raising its final sale price. Bonnie Boyd says that this points to a serious problem with rule of law in Kazakhstan.

Safrang reports that Afghanistan's parliament is debating a bill that would further erode the diminishing freedom that Afghanistan's media enjoys.

Juan Pablo Meneses of the Crónicas Argentinas [ES] blog, which compiles all things Diego Maradona, discusses the latest death rumor that caused quite a false alarm stir, which has become such a common occurrence in Argentina. He finishes with, “why does Maradona die so often?”

Onnik Krikorian discusses an Armenian election scandal involving the British embassy.

Much of the world's interest in Bolivia has to do with the first indigenous president, Evo Morales. He got his start as a union leader with the coca growers in the Chapare region of Bolivia. A recent documentary called “Cocalero” followed Morales during his victorious campaign of 2005. The film's director, Alejandro Landes, took the film to the heart of Morales' old stomping ground to screen the film for the cocaleros, and Luis Rodriguez of Diseccionando a la Musa Perdida [ES] was along for the ride. He chronicles the journey from Cochabamba to the tropics of that department and observes the farmers as they watch familiar scenes unfold, where he writes, “during the film, amidst the silence one could be heard saying proudly, “look, there I am!”, followed by heavy laughter.”

A photo of day of life in Antigua, Guatemala brings readers of Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo a glimpse into life in this Central American country. The most recent photo shows a public washbasin where the women of the area wash their clothes by hand. A shared water tank is combined with individual “stations” to make washing a community activity, where “public laundry washbasins (sometimes rivers or lake shores) served as the gathering place for news, gossip and community building through the interactions that take place. Public washbasins could be considered the first news broadcasting sites; batteries not required.”