Stories from 5 April 2006
Guyana: Old time bird ‘flu remedies
“Almost everyday I open the newspaper…what I see? Reports about how many birds in which country sneeze, which ones had aches and pain and cough and fever and…,” writes Guyana-gyal in an unusual meditation on old-time remedies used to treat sick chickens and the person she wishes she could give...
Mongolia: Protests
Luke Distelhorst has additional photos and reporting on the protests in Mongolia demanding the president's resignation and more favorable terms for Mongolia in a contract with Canada's Ivanhoe Mines.
Bahamas: Hate
Nicolette Bethel traces the roots of some of the hatred she sees manifested in the behaviour of Bahamians to the island's history of slavery.
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan: State Visits
neweurasia covers important diplomatic visits between Turkmenistan and China and Kazakhstan and Russia.
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.
The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), the capitalized national airline, currently sits in the midst of a severe economic crisis, which may signal the end of the second longest running airline in the world. Since 1925, the Bolivian carrier, named after the British insurance market, Lloyd's of London and conjures up images...
Guatemala: Online Documentaries
Patrick writes in Spanish and English that videos about Guatemala are starting to appear on the Internet, including one about responsible tourism.
Latin America, U.S.: “Border Wars and Truces”
Commenting on the U.S. immigration debate, “Sangroncito” notes that Americans can easily take for granted that they are warmly received around Latin America without the costly and invasive process that visiting Latin Americans must endure.
Jamaica: Intolerance at university
The beating of a young allegedly gay man by fellow students at the Jamaica campus of the University of the West Indies prompts Francis Wade to contemplate issues of tolerance and crowd psychology.
Kyrgyzstan: Bride Stealing
Nurilya, a university student in Kyrgyzstan, writes about bride kidnapping and a friend of hers who was kidnapped.
Jamaica: Debating PJ's proposal
Eon proposes a series of televised “reasonings” on the subject of the three pressing issues pinpointed by outgoing Jamaican Prime Minister P. J. Patterson as areas where the country's political leaders should attempt to achieve “bi-partisan consensus”.
Tajikistan: Bright Future
“Tajik Boy” comments on US Ambassador to Tajikistan Richard Hoagland's remark that Tajikistan is a success story and says that he thinks the country has a bright future in store.
Armenia & Azerbaijan: Karabakh Compromises
Onnik Krikorian says that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan understand the compromises that must be made to reach peace over Karabakh.
Argentina: Wikipedia and Kirchner
Doug of All-Encompassingly points his readers to an article from the Argentine paper, La Nación about the recent virtual battle on Wikipedia to define President Néstor Kirchner. The Wikipedia page is currently locked.
Guatemala: Forced Evictions on the Rise
Rob Mercatante comments on a recent report Amnesty International, which says that forced, violent evictions are on the rise in rural Guatemala.
Mexico: Pre-Colombian Prostitution
The bilingual blog TlacuiloPilo argues that prostitution has existed in Mexico for centuries, concluding that it is “as Mexican as chile, frijoles, or mitotes.”
Mexico: Most Free Music Downloads Worldwide
RegioBlogs points to a recent study by Yahoo! and OMD that lists Mexico as first place among 11 countries in the amount of free music downloads done by young people between 13 and 24-years-old.
Slovenia: Bad Translation
Michael of The Glory of Carniola writes on the bad Slovenian-to-English translation and the mystery of one word's correct spelling: is it caffe, cafe, café or kafe?
Serbia & Montenegro: Belgrade Travel Frequently Answered Questions
Victor of Belgrade Blog has started a list of Frequently Answered Questions on how to get to and where to stay in Belgrade.
Estonia: 1994 Ferry Disaster Controversy Continues
Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa writes about the controversy surrounding the 1994 Estonian ferry disaster and likens it to JFK assassination.
Hungary: Budapest Parking
Pestiside.hu writes about strange ways punishing Budapest parking violators: “Not only are some alleged offenders long since parked six feet under, many of the surviving motorists are claiming they no longer owned their vehicles on the dates given. Others say they remember paying the fines but no longer have the...