Global Voices Digest

Ukraine: Betting on Yushchenko

Two major rallies this past Saturday in support of two very different men with similar surnames brought tens of thousands of Ukrainians out to the streets. On Monday President Yushchenko then dissolved parliament, an order which the parliament decided to ignore. Where all this will lead, as the May 27 early election approaches, is anyone’s bet … literally.

Bangladesh: Redefining democracy

Described as a “bloodless diplomatic coup” by local blogger Shada Kalo, Bangladesh’s Caretaker Government has been on a graft-busting mission ever since it declared a state of emergency on January 11. “More than 150 senior politicians, top civil servants and businessmen have been arrested,” writes Rezwan. But what does popular support for a military-backed, unelected regime combined with widespread distaste for party politics mean for the future of Bangladesh’s democracy?

Whiskey We’ve Got, But Where’s the Meat?

“Venezuela is one of the principal oil-exporting countries of the world,” writes Luis Carlos Diaz from Caracas. “However, petroleum is not edible and, lamentably, Venezuela’s national food industry is not able to feed its population.” With typical humor and wit, Venezuelan bloggers describe their difficulties finding basic foods and respond to a government declaration seeking the community policing of shop owners that don’t obey federally fixed prices.

Egypt: Bloggers Detained .. Again .. and Released

It was another harrowing day for Egyptian bloggers as prominent cyber-activists Alaa Abdel Fattah, his wife Manal, and human rights lawyer Jamal Eid were taken into custody and accused of libel against Judge Abdel Fattah Murad, who, the three claim, plagiarized content from the Arabic Network for Human Rights for his book on blogging.

Lessons from the Free Kareem campaign

Speaking of detained Egyptian bloggers, Sami Ben Gharbia asks some difficult but important questions about why jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabel Sulaiman has attracted such a large degree of international support and what other persecuted cyber-activists can learn from the “Free Kareem” campaign.

Roundups

Protesting President Musharraf’s removal of Pakistan’s Chief Justice, making map mashups to save Taiwan’s Lo-sheng sanatorium, flower blogging from the Caribbean, and much more can be found in today’s Global Roundups.