Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

Cambodia

Vutha in Cambodia discusses the seedier side effect of World Cup - gambling. “Bet on footbal was a driven force to make my youngest brother to drop out school and sold his motocycle for betting football match. Before this problem happened I always told him to stop betting football. One day, he did not stay at home for a few days. I tried to look for him but when he came back without his motocycle. And then I asked him where your motocycle was. He responded to me that he lost football match.”

Taiwan (ROC)

The recall motion on the Taiwan President Chen Shiu Bien is now a most hot topic. David from jujuflop had a lengthly discussion on whether it will succeed? whether it is a good move? or whether it will backfire KMT? etc. Michael Turton also picked up the discussion in The View from Taiwan.

Singapore

Serendipity points to an article on Singapore's Prime Minister's visit to Australia and hopes that relations will improve after the low point last year when Singapore hanged an Australian who was convicted of smuggling heroin.

Haiti

Troy, a US missionary based in rural Haiti, is refused service at a government office because he's wearing shorts. A friend tells him, “”Look, man, we have a new president now. You can't just do whatever you want in my country, man. This is seewious.”

Guyana

On the 26th anniversary of the June 13th, 1980 assasination of Guyanese historian Dr. Walter Rodney, Guyanese Resource Centre links to a Guyana Chronicle article outlining the incident and Rodney's vision, and to a Kaieteur News piece announcing that progress is being made toward the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the killing.

China

Danny Bloom in Japundit provided some backgrounds on the Ang Lee's latest film “Lust, Caution”. The original story by the late Chinese novelist Eileen Chang (張愛玲) (1920-1995) is only about 10 pages long.

Bermuda

The Limey calls the decision of teachers at a Bermuda primary school to stage a sick-out “wrong, unnecessary, self-indulgent and foolish.”

Hong Kong (China)

The Commerical Radio in Hong Kong launched a questionable poll on “the female artists they would most like to indecently assault” and resulted in a joint protest by woman organizations. The poll was eventually banned and the programme were suspended for two months. It resulted in an online petition against the ban. And the debate between woman organizations and youth netizens took place in internet forums and blogs.

Duimanpark pointed out that the issue had been politicized and the Government took the chance to strengthen its control over broadcasting industries (zh). And there were over 100 comments made in a blog post on the woman organization joint statement in inmediahk.net; the hot debate was concerning the strategy of woman organizations in relation to youth, sex and media space (zh).

Barbados

Titlayo gives a new anthropological study of rural Barbados two thumbs up, remarking that “what I liked the most about the book is that it portrayed a Barbados I could recognise as the island I live on, not a Barbados as perceived by a couple of foreigners from a university in the States. It doesn't portray Barbados, or Barbadians, as exotic or backward or foreign.”

Senegal

Barbados Free Press links to a news story which states that Muslims in Barbados have offered to bury the bodies of the eleven as yet unidentified men which were found on a vessel drifting off the coast of Barbados, though not asking the question: “Suppose some of the bodies are Christian and they were buried in a Muslim ceremony - then what?” Noting that Senegal is 94% Muslim, BFP also took solace in the words of a wise relative, who said: “I think Jesus will probably never no mind.”