Stories from 4 April 2006
Afghanistan: Abdul Rahman
Afghan Warrior writes about Abdul Rahman, the Afghan who converted to Christianity, saying that Afghanistan should be allowed to enforce its laws.
Georgia: Wildlife
Kaukasus wrotes about over-hunting and mistreatment of wildlife in Georgia.
El Salvador: McDonald's in El Salvador
Tim Muth documents a December court judgement which rewarded a McDonald's franchisee $24 million in damages from the “Golden Arches,” noting that “some will view it as a sign that El Salvador's legal system is not ready to protect the rights of foreign investors. Others will view it as a...
Colombia: Leads World in Land Mine Deaths
Steven Taylor laments Colombia's dubious distinction as country with the most landmine deaths in 2005.
Venezuela: Documentary Movie “La Lista”
Daniel Duquenal says that the Venezuelan documentary, “La Lista” is starting to get the attention it deserves. Both Duquenal and Miguel Octavio have reviews of the film.
Chilean Inexplicable Traditions
Photo by nstark This is your first day in university. You feel all the expectations in your skin. You feel proud of your self because you passed the national test, which gives you the necessary points you need to apply for university. Everything is new: faces, places, conversations, smells, and...
Peru: Pro-Gay Protests Tomorrow
Andrés Duque announces two planned protests in Lima against recent anti-homosexual statements by the mother of presidential candidate Ollanta Humala.
Guatemala: April Fool's Day
Oscar Mota notes that April first (ES) is April Fool's Day in much of the world, unlike Latin America where “Día de los Inocentes” falls on December 28th. Several fictitious stories were mistakenly submitted to the Digg-like Spanish aggregator, Menéame.
Argentina, Cuba, Peru: China and Latin America
Boz criticizes the special coverage by the BBC, arguing that they are “falling into the usual memes about Latin America,” including a biased view of Latin Americans’ reactions to increasing Chinese influence. Investment Opportunities in Argentina believes that China will soon invest heavily in Argentina. Georgina, writing from Havana, says...
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...
Grenada: Nutmeg
“Not much gets prepared in our kitchen without a bit of nutmeg being added,” writes Francine over at The Pan Collective in a post which celebrates the versatility of Grenada's signature crop while lamenting its devastation by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
DR, USA: Emigration
Two participants in the Bronx Blog Project share their experience of emigrating to the United States.
Ukraine: Fundraising For Project Empty Orphanage
Cristin of AmericanExpat, a blog on Ukrainian adoptions, is fundraising for Project Empty Orphanage: “Currently there are approximately 125,000 children in Ukrainian orphanages. Many of these kids are “stuck” there because of inaccurate or missing paperwork. This project was designed to help kids’ paperwork problems that stand between them and...
Ukraine: Election Observer's Story
Ethan of Room 12A recounts his experience as an election observer in Kyiv.
Ukraine: Coalition Choices
Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine examines coalition choices for the blocs and parties, which – according to the still preliminary results – have made it into Ukraine's parliament: “Politicians Fighting So Voters Don't Have To […] Politicians are going to have to swallow their disgust and make necessary but odious...
Hungary: National Election Coming Up
Timbo of The Hungary Years reports on what it feels like to be in Hungary on the eve of this weekend's national election.
Ukraine: Hugo Chavez Knows About Orange Revolution
A.M. Mora y Leon at Publius Pundit writes about Hugo Chavez’ remark on the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004: Venezuelan president has called it a “pink revolution” done by the “gringos” and said he expected his rivals to use a similar strategy in the December presidential election.
Belarus: Lukashenko Returns
Andrei Khrapavitski reports on president Aleksandr Lukashenko's return from the undisclosed location he has been at since March 20.
Latvia: Energy Market
All About Latvia writes about energy policy and politics of the Baltic states and how some of them contradict the EU's requirements.
Trinidad & Tobago: Early Minshall costume
At the Caribbean Beat weblog, Nicholas Laughlin posts an image and short commentary on an early — “pre-canonical” — costume by renowned Trinidadian Carnival designer Peter Minshall.
China: Falun Gong
Friend Gram at Holidarity links to a recent Reuters story which takes a look at the Singapore-based publication Epoch Times’ claim of the existence of a Falun Gong “concentration camp” in northern China. “Epoch Times,” says Gram, “is deeply Falun Gong, and is committed to the belief that the Chinese...
