Global Voices Digest

Ukraine: Voting Again – For the New Ones, and Against Them All

On Oct. 8, president Victor Yushchenko announced the dissolution of the Ukrainian parliament. The snap election – the third parliamentary vote in Ukraine since the 2004 Orange Revolution – has been scheduled for Dec. 7. Here is what some Ukrainian bloggers think of the political situation in their country.

China: Melamine is Inevitable?

In Oct 7, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine jointly issued a notice which state the upper limit of melamine in milk product.

China: Melamine Inevitable, even for EU Commissioner

Peter Mandelson, European Commissioner for Trade, drank a cup of milk in China. 9 days later, he was found inflicted by a great pain in kidney. Is the association between the two more dramatic than his surprise return to British cabinet? Chinese bloggers gave us their guesses.

Japan: Rikimaru Toho, the first manga narrating cantastoria

His stage name is Rikimaru T?h?, he defines himself a “manga reader”, and for five years he has been enchanting hundreds of passersby with his performances in the suburbs of western Tokyo. A legendary performer, Rikimaru T?h?’s popularity is due not to TV or radio shows, but to his ability to modify his voice and play the parts of the characters in the stories he reads. Read some responses to Rikimaru’s performances, and some passages from the manga reader’s own blog.

Tunisia: National Day for Freedom of Blogging on November 4

Tunisian bloggers are rallying for a National Day for Freedom of Blogging on November 4. The day will coincide with a court hearing for a lawsuit filed by the journalist and blogger Zied El Heni against the Tunisian Agency of Internet.

XDR-TB: Photographer Brings Emerging Disease Into Focus

In 2007 renowned war photographer and photojournalist James Nachtwey received a TED Prize, granting him $100,000 and one wish to change the world. Nachtwey’s wish was to share a vital story in an innovative way using news photography.

Brazil: A day in jail for blog comments

The first person to go to jail for commenting on a blog in Brazil was a high rank police officer. See reactions from the very close knit police blogosphere. Not surprisingly, with the intelligence monitoring blogs and comment boxes, most of the police officers decide to blog anonymously.

Latin America: Reporting On, Twitter for journalists gets popular

Reporting On, a new micro-blogging tool is getting quite popular among Latin American journalists who are using this tool to let others know what they are writing about.

Today on Voices Without Votes: Racism on the Republican Trail?

Just three weeks away from the November 4 election and things are heating up on the campaign trails, specifically the trails of Republican candidates Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. On Monday, McCain spoke at a New Mexico rally where supporters called the Demoratic candidate Barack Obama a “terrorist.”

Also Today on Voices Without Votes: Obama: Is the Arab American Vote in his Hands?

Obamamania has gripped the Arab World from the day Barack Obama launched his campaign. How is he faring with Arab bloggers less than a month away from the elections? And most importantly, what so Arab Americans, who can vote, have to say about the Democratic candidate?

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