Global Voices Online

From Pambazuka:Prof. Wangari Maathai, a nobel laureate (Environment) speaks out against the loss of lives and property in Kenya. “She said although such clashes had a history, the Government had failed to deal with its instigators and perpetrators. Prof Maathai said the Government should ensure the rule of law is respected by all. More than 600 Kenyans have been killed and thousands displaced in clashes that erupted after President Kibaki was declared the winner of last December General Election.”

Halfway Down the Danube takes a look at the start of the pre-election campaign ahead of next month's presidential election in Armenia. The blog says that all signs are that the prime minister, Serge Sargsyan, will win and not least because of the administrative resources at his disposal. However, the expat blogger says, there are other reasons too.

“Several blogs will be publishing texts about online journalism this Wednesday, in the first round of ‘Ciranda de textos' and every month one of them will make a kind of guide to reading: a summary of each text and a link to where it is”, announces Andre Deak [pt] on the Brazilian version of Blog Carnivals. The linked post will be updated whenever a new blogger takes up the challenge.

“Do you think you know little about community radio stations or those that are called “pirates” on TV? Don't be surprised”. Luiz Carlos Azenha [pt] interviews Guilherme Canela about a research by him that shows that community run radios stations were subject matter for only 0.8% of the reports published by newspapers and magazines on the Brazilian media.

Social Science in the Caucasus says that 3 percent of Georgians have Internet access at home, but that it's quality leaves something to be desired. While Azerbaijan has the fastest download speed in the region, the Caucasus still lags behind the developed world.

Carolyn & Jesse's Azerbaijan Peace Corps Blog says that life in Azerbaijan during the winter isn't so easy, but it is interesting. The two PCVs describe living through the cold season in the land of fire.

Carlos Serra [pt] reports on yet another case of interception of illegally felled hardwood for exportation in Mozambique. This time, seven ten tonne trucks were seized by the Mozambican police in the district of Meconta. The ongoing deforestation in the country is a recurrent issue in the blog, says Carlos, who also reminds his readers to “read or remember the three letters which I, by the way, wrote to the President Armando Guebuza, here, here and here“. All links in Portuguese.

The Armenian Patchwork reports on day two of the official pre-election campaign for next month's presidential election in Armenia. She posts photographs of a rally held by presidential hopeful and former head of state Levon Ter-Petrosian in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. Despite the cold weather, thousands of supporters from the regions of Armenia took part in an unauthorized march.

Orange Ukraine writes, among other things, about Crimean Tatars' protests in Simferopol over the long-delayed construction of a mosque.

Ukrainiana reports that Kyiv authorities have decided to go ahead with the plan to build a house at the site of a 19th-centruy anthrax cemetery.

“Making the life of people who live in Gaza worse is a tremendous stupidity”, Pedro Dória [pt] gives his thoughts on the Israeli boycott against Gaza.

Siberian Light reports that it is likely that former PM Mikhail Kasyanov will not be able to run for president of Russia. Vilhelm Konnander reports that it is also likely that Communist leader Gennadiy Zyuganov will withdraw from the race.

Megan Case writes about affordable tailors in St. Petersburg.

PE Body Count [pt] welcomes the news that another news website is also implementing a murder counter in the neighbor state of Alagoas. “To combat the problem [crime], it is necessary to admit that it exists. We do this by counting homicides and giving faces to the numbers. Both we and the Alagoas 24 horas” [pt]. PE Body County has already registered 279 murders in Pernambuco since the beginning of 2008.

a reader's words on the dynamics of caste and politics in Punjab, India.

IndieQuill on breastfeeding, and what the fuss is all about in India.

The Radiant Star on the protests against fuel price rise in Nepal, and how nobody is really spared.

Bohemian Rhapsody on the expectations in India, when it comes to women who get married - to look, behave and act in a certain manner.

Again, a Turkish court has blocked access to the popular video-sharing site YouTube over a video clip allegedly insulting the country's founding father, Kemal Atatürk.

Live Peace Morocco shares photos from a recent artisan exposition in Rabat.

Braveheart does the Maghreb shares her opinion on how to deal with female genital mutilation globally.

A television drama takes Syrian Brit back to the horrors of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. More on this here.

The beatroot visits a state-run and a private clinic in Warsaw to get a sick note and a medicine - and ends up writing about disadvantages of each option.

Aleks of All About Latvia writes about the Old Believers' community in Latvia.

The Czech Daily Word reports on a recent fake radiation leak alert in Brno.

Marko Bucik writes about Slovenia's “overshadowed” EU presidency: “Then comes Kosovo. This will be perhaps the only headline news for the Slovenian Presidency - be it good or bad news.”

Information Policy reports on the introduction of electronic tax declarations in Poland and the launch of an “anti-corruption portal” in Bulgaria.

Polish, Latvian and Lithuanian fishers are robbing Mauritania of its fish - all because “the EU has methodically depleted fish stocks in its own waters, and now, it is buying fish quotas from poor countries in the third world,” Jonathan Newton reports.

Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, Ramblings and Reason thinks World Social Forum “enables discussion of critical social issues that impact us”, but The Liming House is not convinced: “Yes, another world is possible, and another T&T is possible. But we have to come better than this.”

“I read somewhere, a butterfly flutter he wings in one country and earthquake happen in another part of the world. Reality, me dear, ain't pretty like a butterfly”: Guyana-Gyal connects the dots of the drug trade and puts a face on the people whose lives are affected.

“Bill Gates, you want to send a dozen XOs so I can set up the Caribbean's first XO mesh?!”: Steve McCabe sees potential for the One Laptop Per Child project in Dominica.

“Such obvious double speak is trite in the 21st Century. And to state that in a country that is of the ‘western liberal ilk' is quite presumtuous”: Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com is unimpressed with the Cuban Ambassador's statement about the island's recently held elections.

Discover TnT Blog has the latest Soca Monarch updates from Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival celebrations.

“Detective Constable Cary Lyn-Sue…put the cat among the pigeons last week by doing something revolutionary. He told the truth”: Jamaican Annie Paul, new to the blogosphere, writes about “an extraordinary admission” of misconduct by a young policeman.

Singapore based Bird Ecology Study group takes a look at the white herons in Bali and a local legend associated with them.

Siam Sentinel looks at the reign of Gen. Surayud Chulanont, the prime minister appointed by the military junta after they overthrew the government of Thaksin.

Molly Meek writes about how she found out that she had Ovarian cancer.

Citizen Uganda writes about a blogger who focuses on architecture in Kampala: “If you have never been to Kampala let me spare you the suspense; it is a poorly planned city and there is little to see in the way of architecture. The good news though is that there is a blogger who is trying to do something about this.”

Ollantaytambo, Peru, located near the city of Cuzco, recently celebrated the “Fiesta de Reyes” (Feast of the Three Kings). The Quechua and Spanish bilingual blog Habla Quechua [qu/es] has pictures and a description of the event.

Martin Manurang asks why no one is talking about the bird flu in Indonesia.

Nata village clinic has news chairs: “Before we show you the new chairs that arrived today at Nata Clinic we wanted you to see one of the old ones. To be honest, we wanted to burn this chair but someone will actually use it somewhere else. We don't throw anything away in Nata.”

After one year in office, Ecuador president Rafael Correa provided a powerpoint presentation of the achievements of his administration. Nelson Piedra contrasts Correa's presentation with another recent newsworthy event [es[, the Keynote presentation made by Apple Computer's Steve Jobs.

Nigerian Football Fan blog on Super Eagles loss to Cameroon: “Someone said this on the forum. 1.Based on the Eagles performance in this match, I honestly do not see a difference between the Eguavoen and the Vogts era. Any contrary opinion? 2.What went wrong against Ivory coast? 3.Solutions? Common, lets debate. Be informative and no Bias”

Daisanna blogs about the civil disobedience culture and the recent High court's decision (on Monday) to deny the Hong Kong justice department's request for an extension of the civil injunction banning Citizens Radio from the airwaves.

Yusuf Goolamabbas from outblaze has interviewed Joi Ito and Pindar Wong (Chairman of the Asia & Pacific Internet Association and co-founder of the first licensed ISP in Hong Kong) about Creative Commons and its relevance to Hong Kong. A local version of creative commons license has been drafted. It will be officially launched in Hong Kong after some consultation and amendment.

Ben reports that German journalist Marcus Bensmann was seriously injured in an attack on his life in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.

Nathan reports that Uzbeks are suffering from severe shortages of heat and natural gas. Winter gas shortages have been par for the course in Uzbekistan in recent years, but with this winter being particularly cold, they’re having a much greater impact this year.

Joshua Foust reports that IKEA, the discount Swedish retailer which furnished a swath of my apartment, is penetrating the Kazakhstani market with opening two giant stores in Kazakhstan—one in Astana, and one in Almaty.

Bipasha Ray reviews the new report by European Council on Foreign Relations calling for U.S. and European governments to “overhaul their strategies and strike a ‘grand bargain' to stabilise the country”.

Mohammad Fahimsays that extremely cold winter causes harsh humanitarian problems in Afghanistan, with the number of people killed by cold weather and heavy snow in several Afghanistan provinces over the past four weeks has risen to over 300.

Andersen's story of “Little Match Girl” has a real-life Chinese version in Guiyang (zh). The 8 years old girl's family make their living by collecting rubbish. On 20 of Jan, the weather was -3 to -1 degree celsius and she tried to warm her hands by lighting matches. The photos were first posted at photobase.cn and reposted at 163.com.

Moliuology finds that after a few months of facebook heat, it is now cooling down. There are too many friends, too many applications and too many invitations that people start to ignore the notices (zh).

Yesterday the Hang Seng Index suffered its biggest one-day fall, some suggested that the government should save the stock market by buying in. Diumanpark responds by asking “are you willing to give 90% of your profit to the government when you win in the stock market?” (zh)

Tiger temple introduces an online documentary about woman taxi drivers' life in China. The director is a Chinese migrant in Germany. The whole documentary is streamed at 24hr blogbus (zh).