Global Voices Online

Polandian writes about Poland's plans to legalize chemical castration for those who commit sexual crimes against minors - and about the arrest of Roman Polanski in Switzerland and the Polish foreign minister's intention to ask the U.S. president to pardon the film director: “Now, if the 1977 charge had been for shoplifting, one might just about argue that Poland has the right to go asking for a pardon for this famous son, however, the charge was for the rape of a 13 year old girl when Polanski was 44.”

The Temasek Review has an article comparing the National Day celebrations in Singapore and Switzerland.

Cairo's Scene & Heard celebrated entrepreneur and hotelier Sameh Sawiris's new project in Switzerland saying: “Now that we're branching out into Europe…do you think we stand a chance next to the already existing competition?!?”

Desmond McGrath of A Fistful of Euros writes about football and politics: “Part of the fun of football is the way in which it overturns the international order of power politics.”

Social Science in the Caucasus examines the Internet presence of Armenian and Georgian communities in Switzerland. The blog of the Caucasus Research Resource Centers says that examining the extent of activity in online communities is one way of tracking how organized migrant communities abroad are.

The Armenian Observer features a guest post by a Swiss ex-pat worker in Armenia who compares how elections are conducted in Europe with how they are conducted here in the South Caucasus.

A few more links on the Polish election: the beatroot explains Kaczynski's defeat; Dr. Sean's Diary sums up the results and notes a “a complete slaughter of minor parties“; Edward Lucas declares that the “era of the ‘terrible twins' is over”; Yascha Mounk's general summary at Harvard International Review; Europhobia cheers Poland, but boos Switzerland; Jonathan Newton writes about the election and Poland's EU business.

Carlos Gustavo Machicado of Guccio's [ES] comments on a recent speech by President Evo Morales, who stated his desire for Bolivia to follow the example set by Switzerland. Machiado writes, “The reactions have been favorable because it is good that we want to be like Switzerland, and not like Venezuela or Cuba.”

Gillian writes about the decision by the Swiss government to remove all tarrifs on trade with Tanzania: “The Swiss government has removed all tariffs and quotas standing in the way of Tanzanian exports destined for Switzerland. The new regulations came into force in April 2007, and are expected to benefit a wide range of Tanzanian businesses trading in products such as flowers, cashew nuts and fish.”