Global Voices Online

“I believe that the time has come to admit that the kind of legislation that permits a body of non-elected, faceless individuals to decide what the Bahamian citizen should be able to see is fundamentally obsolete,” writes Nicolette Bethel in an article questioning the usefulness of the Bahamas Plays and Films Control Board, the organisation behind the banning of the film “Brokeback Mountain”.

“What is it about us that loves to celebrate everything?” asks Florida-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp, who uploads a podcast of a poem to mark the June 1 start of the hurricane season. Simon T posts a photo of a perfect Cayman Islands sunset at Flickr, giving it the title “Hurricane Season, Day One” and the caption “. . . . Everything looked just perfect tonight on Seven Mile Beach….lets hope for another 180 sunsets like this one to get us through to 1 December.” Stunner in Jamaica is a little less whimsical, citing NOAA stats and recalling the harshness of the 2005 season.

To commemorate the Antigua Recreation Ground's hosting of its final cricket match over the next several days, Ryan at the West Indies Cricket Blog solicits suggestions for readers' favourite ARG memories: “Was it the 375? Was it 400 not out? Was it Viv’s 56-ball hundred? The entertaining Gravy? That Hooper-Walsh 10th wicket partnership?”

Jon at Posthegemony posts the final section of his conference paper on “Piracy, Nomadism, and the State,” in which he notes that “privateers were particularly a feature of the sixteenth-century Caribbean, when private seamen such as Drake and Hawkins, though viewed as common criminals by the Spanish, in fact did the work of English state foreign policy more effectively and efficiently than the English navy itself was capable of doing.”

On June 1 the Barbados Labour Party was proud to announce that their new blog attracted “150 odd visitors”, making it their “best blog day”. In the same post they revealed their plans for hosting “a live comment session with the Prime Minister in the not too distant future. That should also be an excellent event and a first for Blogging in the Caribbean.”

This week's Friday poll numbers by Boz might be the most in-depth yet.

Agus Acosta, a Spanish art professor has uploaded a work of video art titled “Help (Women of Atenco).” Zulma Aguiar links to the testimony of women sexually abused and tortured (ES) during the Atenco riots on May 3rd and 4th. Eduardo Arcos agrees that another Atenco could take place (ES) if major structural reforms aren't implemented soon.

Muerto de Risa expounds on the three classifications of gangs in Ecuador.

Soy Salvadoreño has another review of Salvadoran blogs (ES) to emerge since his first introduction (ES). Judging from the comments, it seems that a real sense of blog community is starting to take root.

Both Jim Shultz and Boli-Nica are doubtful of Evo Morales' most recent claim that the US is trying to assassinate him, or as Shultz puts it: “I also doubt Pat Robertson has gone freelance.” Alvaro Ruiz-Navajas, however, notes “yet another paradox of Evo's government: The administration has accused the US of conspiring to assassinate Evo and at the same time have asked to renew the ATPDEA (Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act).” And to compound the contradictions, Eduardo Avila says that Morales has accepted former US president, Bill Clinton's invitation to attend the Call to Action summit to take place September in New York.

Bilingual Argentine blogger Claudia Mansilla is critical of Pope Benedict XVI's comment about the Holocaust while in Auschwitz.

In one of the most mysterious English-language blogs on Ecuador I've come across, S. Artesian explains that “the distinction between Sierra and Costa in Ecuador is just this distinction between administration and export; between hacienda and export crop production.”

Sure, much of the world has become accustomed to paying US $50 to fill up their gas tanks. But $50 for a pound of coffee beans? Elena Hernandez has the story (ES). Meanwhile, both Libardo Buitrago (ES), Sangroncito and Jennifer Woodard Maderazo bid farewell to the actor who played the coffee icon, Juan Valdez.

David, a cyclist who has been riding through Central America on his Ride for the Climate has arrived in Colombia where he posts a summary of the first half of his trip with links to videos and pasts entries. Ahead: Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.

Registan.net discusses rumors of a new deal between the US and Kyrgyzstan over the use part of Manas airfield to support military operations in Afghanistan.

Vadim discusses the CIS meeting in Tajikistan that brings together members' security and intelligence services.

Much of venom directed towards India seems to be the idea that outsourcing to India results in job losses in the US. Workbench decides outsorce the blog to India for a week. Hope this results in a healthier dialogue! “As a technology writer and programmer, I'm facing competition in both fields from Seal and the people he covers in India…Since he believes in outsourcing, I decided to give him a chance to make his case directly to an American audience by outsourcing this weblog. “

Luke Distelhorst notes that projects related to Mongolia's 800th anniversary will be tax exempt, but he worries that the government will end up missing out on a lot of needed tax revenue.

Christian Garbis writes that Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to return to the negotiating table to discuss the exact same peace deal that was rejected last time. Garbis says the deal should be changed though and allow for an immediate referendum in Nagorno Karabakh on the territory's status.

Blogdai reports from the field as he wanders about in a Maoist Rally. “Got me a free Prachanda tee shirt in the process. A pattern was evident and it showed the Maoist's mastery of mob control. Ninety percent of the marchers appeared to be bewildered villagers who were either forcibly coerced or promised jobs in Kathmandu by the Maoists.”

Shobak: Outsider Asians on Bangladesh and the shipbreaking industry. “In 1992, The Economist revealed a memo written by the World Bank's former chief economist Lawrence Summers. The memo discussed the economic rationale for “encouraging more migration of dirty industries” to Less Developed Countries (LDC)”

Being a woman in India on women, labour and the government. The laws governing women in the organized labour force are surprisingly archaic, and are not very adequate to ensure justice at the workplace either.

A wonderful post by Shirazi on football in Pakistan. From television sales, to old timers. “For Abdul Ghafoor (65-year-old Pakistani), once known as the “Black Pele of Pakistan,” life revolves around football. He has found a renewed vigor ahead of the World Cup finals. Mere mention of football and the mega event in Germany which helps him forget his loss of hearing and nearly impaired vision sparks life in him.”

“‘Itineraries Through Canvas' is the theme of a retrospective on the paintings and other artwork of diseased artist Jean-Rene Jerome which opened May 25 at Ateliers Jerome in Petion-Ville,” says an article by Fortestson Fénelon posted byCollectifHaitideProvence. “The exhibit retraces the painter's itinerary from 1965 to 1990.” The event commemorates the painter's passing on March 1, 1991 and closes June 6.

Logomahi has created a T-shirts related to World Cup & Iranian national football team. We can see some of blogger's designs on his/her blog.

Kamangir says several women were brutally hit and injured when they attempted to enter the stadium to watch Iran-Bosnia football match. The blogger reminds us that this game was the first match after Ahmadinejad’s decision to allow women to watch the games live, something strongly objected by the conservative clerics.

According to Khabgard, Farshid Faraji, an Iranian cameraman who had been arrested in Iraq, wrote a letter to thank bloggers for his freedom one year ago. Faraji says bloggers let everybody know that he was detained and it really helped him to be released by Americans (Persian).

Exodus, a new blog from Nigeria, comments that the rate of HIV in Nigeria is higher than perceived. She concludes “The most important thing to know is that we have a problem on our hand. Let’s get over the blues and DO something.”

Fodder reports that 50,000 guns have been lost in South Africa over the past three years and asks “how the hell do you loose a gun?“.

Sotho points to a South African report that claims that circumcising men can reduce the spread of AIDS

Scribbles from the Den discusses the issue of dual citizenship in Cameroon and asks “Can Cameroon – a country which proudly celebrates its newfound HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Country) status - afford a development policy which shuts out some of its most resourceful and skilled citizens on the spurious claim that their patriotism is questionable because they reside abroad and have taken up foreign nationalities, usually for practical reason”

Nigeria, What's New comments on an interview with woman of the moment,Nigeria's finance minister, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and asks “Where was the Finance Minister when her colleague, the inspector general of police was stealing £100M from funds allocated from the treasury? Who are the unaccountable state governors? Which states did not account for the funds it received? “

Ijeuman's Diary comments on the “price of ignorance” in Nigeria from the ban on homosexuality, to the building of infrastructure which is then either abandoned or vandalised.

Bankelele posts his weekly roundup up of banking and investments stories from Kenya..

Nazret.com reports that the number of HIV cases amongst women in Ethiopia is rising...l

Jewels in the Jungle covers and comments on the TIME magazine's cover story on the DRC…”“The Deadliest War in the World”

Stefan of Dykun writes about the hard labor of Ukrainian farmers and posts a video of Pidhajtsi “men loading sacks of processed wheat flour into their wagons and tractors.”

Stephan Clark of Everybody I Love You writes about his visit to Lugansk, a “city was more visibly Soviet than any other I’ve yet visited in Russia and Ukraine.”

As Russian receives the status of the regional language in several Ukrainian regions, LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about the relationship between politics and the language issue.

LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about president Yushchenko's determination to have the Constitutional Court judges approved by the parliament at last: “One of the reasons for the [parliament's] foot-dragging was that it did not want the Constitutional court to assess the validity or otherwise of Law № 2222-VI on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine […]. The law, which came into effect 1st January 2006, reduced the powers of incoming President Yushchenko, compared to those of his predecessor, Kuchma.”

Belgrade Blog writes about a forgotten historical event that took place in Belgrade on the day “France and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany as a reaction to Hitler's invasion to Poland” - the Belgrade Grand Prix 1939, a predecessor to Formula One.

Following a trip to Montenegro as an observer at the referendum, Brooke of Desperate Serbwife writes of the land's beauty.

Estavisti critiques “the sort of reporting that’s been dominant in Montenegro for the past couple of years.”

Dictionary of the Serbian Mess posts an introduction to the “Parliamentary Politicos” of Serbia.

Reflecting on Senegal's drowned migrant crisis and migrations towards the West in general, Robert Sagna, the Mayor of Ziguinchor, Senegal blogs (Fr): “Developed countries (…) build quasi-impenetrable walls through “visas”. Visas (…) are not the right solution. (…) The youth from the South has chosen emigration. It is our responsibility to make sure that is not the only choice. Then let's make sure that migrations are not “chosen” but “organized” through a North-South dialogue. (…) Repression can never be a good durable solution, it makes things worse.”

David McDuff of A Step At A Time reports on a Finnish lawyer who plans to sue Russia over the property in Karelia that used to belong to Finns before September 1944. Kari Silvennoinen, the lawyers, thinks that these Finns haven't lost their rights to this property.

Vilhelm Konnander posts a comprehensive overview of the Russian-Estonian relations.

Konstantin Dlutskiy of Russian Marketing Blog doesn't think highly of the recent ad campaign of Georgian wine in Kyiv, Ukraine: “The caption on the poster goes, ‘It has more freedom than allowed. Georgian wine is banned in Russia.' […] The message is clear but the target audience is probably too narrow. Import ban could hardly be an appealing message to the majority of wine experts. If they do already drink Georgian wine they would not drink more of it. If they don’t drink it but want to support freedom in Georgia there are thousands other ways to do it without getting drunk.”

The railway between Moscow and Tbilisi hasn't been used in 13 years, but now the service is being restored, reports Vilhelm Konnander: “Even though the newly reopened Tbilisi-Moscow connection is not via Abkhazia, negotiations are underway between Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Abkhazia, to reopen also the line running through Abkhazia from Yerevan via Tbilisi to Moscow, possibly as soon as within two years time.”

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog posts “a brief list of regional governors indicted or convicted of serious crimes in recent years” - which includes no less than 12 names.

More on the recent defeat of a critical amendment to Bermuda's Human Rights Act from the Limey, who is reminded by a reader that “the general hostility of members of the PLP to including sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act is at odds with the party’s own submission to the Bermuda Independence Commission.” Christian Dunleavy also questions the timing of the tabling of the bill — “Renee Webb's amendment was pitched right before a highly anticipated early-ish election” — and the handling of the situation by Ms. Webb herself.