Global Voices Digest

China: Liu Xiang is out and we are sad

The news that Liu Xiang has injured his foot and temporarily unable to compete shocked China over lunchtime Monday. He Caitou has reposted the fastest-rising thread at Baidu (first posted a month ago) in which someone claims they dreamt this was going to happen.

China: Great pity for Liu’s Achilles tendon

The national hero, 110-metre hurdles world champion Liu Xiang quitted the game this morning, leaving shock, regret, and mysteries.

Jamaica: Woman Power!

Jamaica has done it again! If there was any doubt after Usain Bolt’s 100m Gold Medal that this Caribbean nation is a powerhouse of Track and Field, the female Jamaican sprinters made sure to underscore the point by placing first (Shelly-Ann Fraser) second (Kerron Stewart) and…second (Sherone Simpson) in the final of the Women’s 100m in Beijing.

Arabeyes: Third World War in the Making?

Bloggers in the Middle East are closely following the developments in Georgia, with some saying it could usher in World War Three. Here’s a quick review of what bloggers in Yemen and Jordan are writing.

Turkey: Bloggers Banning Themselves?

If you are a long-time follower of the Turkish blogosphere you will have undoubtedly heard about the Turkish ban on Wordpress….and the periodic bans on YouTube, and on the social-networking widget site Slide, oh..and now on Dailymotion as well. I think that is all? Isn’t it? It is hard to keep track now-a-days and frustrating. Turkish bloggers feel the same way too, and are protesting the constant banning of sites by voluntarily banning their own. *This article is cross-posted on Global Voices Advocacy.

Japan: To Japanese women, WaiWai was sexual harassment

Since it exploded on the Japanese Internet less than two months ago, the scandal at Mainichi surrounding the newspaper’s former English-language column “WaiWai” has taken on epic proportions. While much has been written about the scandal and its deeper implications, the duration and intensity of attacks on one of Japan’s largest national newspapers has surprised almost everybody.

Today on Global Voices Advocacy: Malaysia: What exactly is sedition?

It has been a tumultuous time for blogging and online expression in Malaysia. With the ongoing court cases with blogger and online news portal editor, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, as well as the detention of Malay language blogger, Abdul Bakar aka ‘Penarik Beca’, it is with little surprise that it has been reported that Malaysian foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, called for the creation of a council or other form of mechanism to monitor bloggers.

Today on Voices Without Votes: The Atheist Vote

As the presidential candidates come together to discuss faith and issues of morality, there’s a large contingent feeling excluded. Although they have votes, American atheists and agnostics often feel left out as politicians pander to each religion, but skip past those who eschew faith.

Also today on Voices Without Votes: Global: The art of gaining votes

The War on Terror, the U.S. recession, health care and theories of global warming are just some of the issues that will play a factor in who becomes the 44th U.S. president. But, as the campaign plays out, will decisions be made on how the candidates treat or see each other?

Beijing Olympics Coverage

Counting the medals? Thanks to support from Reuters, Global Voices is covering citizen media reactions to the Olympics from citizens in China and around the world on our special coverage page and in our Olympics Twitter feed. The Twitter feed is also being translated to French by Global Voices in French and is published on French website, Rue89.

Roundups

Get the blog buzz from the world over in the Global Roundups, where today you can find coverage comparisons of the Russian-Georgian conflict, Bermuda’s upcoming peace rally, the flooding in Phnom Penh and the health risks it brings to the community, and much much more!