Global Voices Online

MHahn of the Women's International Perspective (WIP) writes on WIP Talk Blog about “the trials and tribulations of life in a transitioning country” - Poland: “It is full of inconsistencies, bureaucratic mazes, masked faces, false hopes, and intense pride, but also an enchanting aura wafting through the crevices, a sorrowful but angelic aria permeating the nation’s soul. In order to completely understand its mystery, one would need to spend a lifetime peeling back the layers, painstakingly deciphering its clues. Poland, I was discovering, was an enigma.”

Gwen criticizes the use of the South African national anthem in a radio ad. She writes, “Don't insult our national anthem.“

There are reasons to cheer for M-PESA, the mobile banking system in Kenya: “Anyone with a new Safaricom sim card would have noticed two additional menus under the M-PESA section: ‘Buy Goods' and ‘ATM Withdrawal'.”

The Bajan Reporter is all over the story of telecommunications giant Digicel taking Allen Stanford to court “in order to protect its sole and exclusive rights as primary sponsor of West Indies cricket”. The West Indies Cricket Board insists “that the team that will play England on 1 November represents Stanford, and Stanford alone.”

White African writes about Pamoja Media, an ad network created to serve advertisers looking for a one-stop-shop for publishers in Africa, or that reach Africans in the diaspora.

Lee from Tokyo Times blogs some photos showing Japanese pet culture in daily consumption.

The Czech Daily Word writes about the arrival of iPhone in the Czech Republic.

“The buzz issue in the Caribbean media in recent weeks is whether the CARIFORUM members will sign-on to the CARIFORUM/EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)”: Barbados Underground examines a few of the issues.