Global Voices Online

Adil Najam on the Karakorum Highway. “The souls that pave the way for the modern tarmac road known as the Karakorum Highway (KKH) still seem to flicker amongst the sharp moving shadows of the unstable rocks and the almost countless but crumbly semi-transparent glaciers that constantly threaten its existence.”

The story of a difficult childhood at Black and Gray. “Children in the biggest shanty in town learn fast to cope with the challenge that life throws at them. Alauddin soon became a carrier of hashish; he would carry bundles of them to different peddlers in the locality.

The Man On The Outer reflects on Zizou's headbutt controversy, and how cricket is an extremely challenging game. “Most require certain levels of skill, physical fitness and mental strength to succeed - but cricket demands far more in the last criteria.”

Sepia Mutiny wonders why the blogosphere has been relatively quiet about the blasts in Mumbai.

The Second Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora - II CIAD is being held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil from 12 to 14 July 2006. The general theme of the Conference is: “The Diaspora and African Renaissance”. Tomorrow participants will be able to choose among 12 Thematic Groups, subdivided into 24 discussion tables (morning and afternoon), and all sessions will be available in live webcasts (available here). The purpose of II CIAD is to revive, situate and harness the contribution of intellectuals in the African continent and in the Diaspora as a vehicle for innovative ideas, development and social transformation.

Grandiose Parlour posts an e-mail that is doing the rounds about how to tell people from different parts of Africa apart. “The Cameroonians will borrow money from you to buy champagne; whilst the Ghanaians think they invented politics. The Congolese think they have the best music and the best dancers; The Nigerians have a thing about clothes; and the Ethiopians believe they have the most beautiful women on God's earth.”

Black Star Journal picks up on a report in a Nigerian newspaper detailing how many residents of the country's chief oil-producing region, Bayelsa, have little to show for the rape of their natural resources by foreign multinationals. “The state, home to one of Nigeria's largest deposits of crude oil, doesn't even have electricity a half century after the ‘godsend' black gold was discovered there,” he writes.

Steve Ntwiga Mugiri comes out of a reclusive period to write about Zidane and racism in soccer. “The onus of dealing with racism on the pitch has fallen on the players themselves,” he writes. “They have taken up the challenge and are tackling the problem head on and are asking the fans to help take down this monster that threatens to tear the sport apart.”

Yebo Gogo delights in a comparison between French soccer captain Zinedine Zidane and the French-Algerian hero of Albert Camus' novel l'Etranger. “Zidane head butts an opponent, and despite destroying the short remainder of his career, chose his fate — that of the anti-hero,” writes Fontaine.

“On days like this,” writes Zimpundit, “I catch myself wondering what it is going to take for us, the laity in Zimbabwe, to take our destiny from the hands of fate and render our influence on what the future holds for us.”

G8 leaders meeting in St. Petersburg on July 15-17 should firmly tell the Sudanese government that it must immediately accept the deployment of a United Nations force to protect civilians in Darfur, Human Rights Watch Africa says.

The beatroot writes about two identical twins who are now running Poland: “Opinion polls have been pretty consistent. Poles would rather not have identical twins who not only shared the same egg but also share the same political outlook in the two top jobs.”

Sean Guillory contributes a lengthy post to Publius Pundit on the effect Basayev's death might have on Chechnya.

My Czech Republic Blog writes that Cesky Krumlov, one of the most visited destinations, whose historical center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, finally has a presentable website.

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a new law that allows early voting in Russia - which, in its turn, would allow manipulations.

Ed Alexander of Balkan Baby writes from and about a Croatian village of Podsused, and covers the latest news from the region, including Slovenia's upcoming entry into the Eurozone.

Alwyn Thomson of Our Man in Tirana writes about the upcoming street protests against the government (organized by the Socialists; 15,000-20,000 people expected).

Europhobia writes about the political crisis in Ukraine: “Ukraine showed signs of hope, and there is still hope there - but it could all too easily go the route of Belarus and slide slowly towards dictatorship.”

Stefan of Dykun posts pictures from a Hutsul wedding that he attended two years ago (and re-posts an expert's column on the current political situation in Ukraine).

Engadget, Fayer Wayer (ES), and the podcast Todos Contra el Muro (ES) all discuss Latin America's first deployment of WiMax long-range wireless internet coverage in Cali, Colombia.

According to Adam Isacson, Alvaro Uribe's government is, essentially, “gagging the UN High Commissioner’s office in Colombia.”

Hewlett-Packard Vice President Eric Kintz, with the help of his colleague Jorge Luis Revilla, takes a look at the state of blogging in Peru.

Daniela Faris has interviewed Oscar Montezuma about the launch of Creative Commons in Peru.

Michelle Dion has an an explanation of and response to claims by Lopez Obrador that a precinct official stuffed ballots into a box.

Some years ago, a young Geoffrey Philp overcomes his trepidation at passing the armed Marines guarding the US Consulate reading room in Kingston, and falls in love with American literature: “For on that evening in that reading room, America gained a friend.”

More lively discussion between Trinidad blogger Jeremy Taylor and his American pal “Roger“, this time about Guantánamo, and Bush's $80 million fund to “boost democracy in Cuba”. And London-based “Kamla”, the recently arrived third blogger, confronts her feelings about nuclear power.

Referring to the seemingly Native American-style costumes worn by fans of the Soca Warriors, Trinidad and Tobago's football team, Maximilian C. Forte provides evidence to support his claim that the costume tradition also has Amerindian roots.

Sean posts notices of an anti-racism rally to be held in Bermuda in response to the brutal beating of a Portuguese national by four men outside a bar. The “Vasco da Gama” club is one of the participants.

A New York Times article on a PBS documentary about Hergé, the Belgian creator of the comic strip character Tin Tin, raises some uncomfortable issues for Belizean-American blogger Nyazasha: “Here I am, the Brooklyn-based writer of the Global Parish, writing about places and events which open a window into a wider world, countries I have not always been ready or able to dwell in. . . . “

There's an interesting situation brewing around the proposed construction of a waterpark called Caribbean Splash on a what is apparently a sensitive watershed in Barbados, with the Barbados Labour Party responding on its own blog to an allegation by Barbados Free Press. This morning the plot thickens, as Barbados Free Press cites statements from the waterpark's developer.

The Bahamas government extends a very late invitation to the Opposition Leader to attend the ceremony for the renaming of the country's international airport on Independence day — Sir Arthur Ffoulkes points out exactly why this was such a terrible blunder.

Ryan at The West Indies Cricket Blog notes that Google Maps has added high-definition satellite images for Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados that allow for “upclose overhead shot[s]” of the cricket grounds in those countries. The grounds are being prepared for the 2007 World Cup.

How citizen journalists and bloggers have responded to the bomb blasts in Mumbai. Notes at Obiter Dicta by Steve.

Jomhour says Zidane's final act in the World Cup when he lowered his head and rammed Materazzi in the chest, knocking him to the ground, has been praised by conservative news papers in Iran and the head of National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee in Iranian Parliament. The blogger writes according to this deputy, Zidane reacted to an insult by Italian player that Moslems are terrorists. The blogger considers this kind of arguments very irrational (Persian).

According to NasleFarda, Abed Tavanche, blogger and a student leader was released from prison (Persian). Tavanche was arrested during a student protest movement in AmirKabir University. He was in jail for 40 days.