Stories about North America from April, 2006
Cuba: Female dissident beaten
Pondblog links to an Aljazeera news piece reporting that Cuba's most prominent female dissident, 60 year-old Marta Beatríz Roque, was beaten at her home by a pro-government mob this past Tuesday. The article states that Roque, who leads the Assembly for Promoting Civil Society, was about to leave her home...
Russia: Kateryna Chumachenko's 1983 Letter
Michael Averko, a Diaspora Russian contributing to Russia Blog, writes about the letter that Kateryna Chumachenko, a (formerly) Diaspora Ukrainian wife of president Yushchenko, wrote to the Washington Times 23 years ago. In it, Chumachenko wrongly suggested “that Russian-Americans didn't petition to have Russia listed as a captive nation.” A...
African music #7
Nothing beats a music festival. You meet like the music lovers, people interested in the genre and enjoy the good party vibe. And though you know the lineup in advance you have no idea what antics will be displayed on stage. With these musings I look forward to the 4th...
Image from Haiti: Sell Art, Support a School
La Bonne Recolte by J.B. Chery. Image courtesy AyitiCherieConnexion AyitiCherieConnexion posts a slideshow of Haitian paintings and writes (FR): While surfing the web the other day I discovered a not-for-profit project from New York which uses Haitian art to fund a school in Haiti. I'm talking about the Vassar Haiti...
DRC: Informal vs. Official World Order
UDPS Liege contrasts (FR) the official world order (UN and other international bodies) to the informal world order (multinational corporations and secret service agencies). According to the informal world order, the DRC is not a sovereign nation, continues the blogger.
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: US Army Bases
A Flickr photoset prompts Mad Bull to satisfy his curiosity – whetted years ago in Lit. class — about the presence of US army bases in Trinidad and Jamaica.
Cooking Pleasures
#1: From Caracas, Venezuela: Blog de Zulmy I have just discovered her blog, but it seems to me that she is and will be one of the most active food bloggers from her country! Good for you Zulmy :) Have you heard of Cocoa Tea? An infusion made with the...
Vietnam hosts Bill Gates
Bill Gates is visiting Vietnam. Sadgopan, an IT industry veteran, finds lots of excitement in Vietnam for this. He finds strong pro-US sentiment among the people. The blogger also shares some thoughts on Vietnam as a offshore service location.
Cuba, USA: Hip-hop podcast
Episode #4 of the New York-produced ((Mi Barrio Radio)) podcast features tracks from hip-hop artists Orishas, Manu Chao and others.
A Myanmar born American soldier in Iraq
Blogger Sean at Man Actually has a story on a Myanmar born American soldier Ko Wai Phyo Lwin. Lwin died in action in Iraq last year.
China's growth model a challenge to US influence
Many developing countries are now looking at China's model of state guided growth favourably compared to the US one of minimum intervention. Indonesian blogger Martin Manurang asks if the success of Chinese economic policies will help reduce American influence in the world.
Sweet and Sour
#1: The weirdest and tastiest grilled rabbit for Easter If your quota of cute chocolate eggs and bunnies has been reached for this lifetime already, you will love this idea: Easter 2006 – MeatHenge Style. It is never too soon to start planning for next year, right? I first fired...
Bahamas: Videoconference
Larry Smith reports on the first ever videoconference between the Bahamian capital of Nassau and the Washington D.C., in which “the State Department’s point man for United Nations affairs spoke with local reporters and college lecturers about human rights”.
Caribbean, Venezuela, USA: CARICOM talks with US
Seeing it as evidence that the Caribbean has begun to resist the overtures of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, A. M. Mora y Leon links gleefully to a Miami Herald article which states that CARICOM is exploring the possibility of holding free trade talks with the US.
Call centre outsoursing woes
Filipino blogger J. Angelo Racoma questions the logic behind a bill that the US Senate Commerce Committee is considering. The bill requires that call centre employees disclose what country they are in.
Cambodia: Khmer-American Celebrity Featured in Weblogger Community
Born in 1983, Soben Houn, who stands on the international stage as Miss Utah USA 2006, represents Cambodian-American communities and Cambodia as a whole. As a celebrity, she will promote the significance of higher education in this digital age. And, she is looking to compete in Miss USA 2006 on...
Caribbean: Cruise ship cuts
One cruise line is planning to remove half its vessels from the Caribbean on account of high costs associated with hurricanes, says Mad Bull: “We are going to have to try to diversify into other areas, though I don’t know yet what they are. Our islands have a big challenge...
Cuba: Illegal immigration
Regalado.blogia.com reproduces (es) a press release which appeared this week in the Cuban press regarding the attempts by Cubans to escape the country by boat. The release was prompted by an accident which took place off the coast of the Pinar del Rio province, and includes the line, “The events...
Caribbean: Hurricane forecast
Linda Thompkins reports on a recent meeting held to discuss the 2006 hurricane season and its implications for the Caribbean. The hurricane season begins officially on June 1.
Cuba, USA: Plans to Assist
At Perspectivas en Movimiento, Marie-Dominique Bertuccioli (es) counters the United States’ “Plan to Assist a free Cuba” with her own “Plan to Assist with Democratic Transition”. Among her proposals to the US: “Free healthcare for all children so as to reduce infant mortality to the level of Cuba” and “Evacuation...
DR, USA: Emigration
Two participants in the Bronx Blog Project share their experience of emigrating to the United States.