Global Voices Digest

Palestine: Rejoice Over Prisoners’ Release

Palestinians are rejoicing today in the release of 199 prisoners from Israeli prisons. The release was announced last Monday, and was likely timed according to Condoleezza Rice’s arrival in Israel today.

China: Cop-killer online hero case goes on trial

Yang Jia’s case goes to trial today, after having been postponed for the Olympics. Previously he had been harmonized after having been heroized by many online for walking into a police station in Shanghai last month and killing six cops after what was accepted was an earlier case of injustice.

Russia, Georgia: Unilateral Recognition of Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s Independence

Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal’s Cyrillic sector.

Paraguay: President Lugo to Forgo Salary

Fernando Lugo’s presidency started with an announcement that he would forgo his monthly salary. “I don’t need that salary, which belongs to the poor,” said Lugo. Different local bloggers see things differently, as one applauds the decision and another wonders how Lugo will pay for his own expenses.

Today on Voices Without Votes: Daddy Yankee and McCain: The World is Speechless

The days of reggaeton fans singing “Da me mas gasolina!” has finally passed; now they are just speechless. Their silence came when Puerto Rican pop star Daddy Yankee announced his endorsement of McCain yesterday at a Phoenix high school.

Also today on Voices Without Votes: Global: Looking inside the world of Michelle Obama

Before yesterday, here’s a list of things most of us knew about Michelle Obama. She is a Chicago-born, Harvard-educated lawyer. Her first real date with Barack Obama was to see Spike Lee’s movie “Do the Right Thing.” The magazine Vanity Fair recently rated her one of the best dressed women in the world, joining “French first lady Carla Bruni, Kate Middleton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tilda Swinton, Daniel Craig and Angelina Jolie.” In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she said, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.” That’s about it. On the first night of Democratic Convention, Michelle Obama spoke to a packed Pepsi Center and helped fill us in on her world and her thinking. One may ask: Why should we focus so much on a candidate’s wife? The answer to that question, in some minds, is easy.

Roundups

Get the blog buzz from the world over in the Global Roundups, where today you can find the attempted assassination of East Timor President Ramos-Horta, “gender and democracy” in Ukraine, giving in to the temptation of Facebook, and much much more!