Buenos Aires — Before arriving in Argentina over two years ago, I had been warned about driving here. Be careful, my wife had said, they’re crazy. Well, I replied, Baltimore drivers are crazy too. She shook her head and smiled. The first thing you notice about the roads of Buenos Aires is the size. […]
A New Toy, But at What Cost?
The announcement that South Africa’s government would spend in excess of R20 billion on its latest fancy – a designer train that will connect Johannesburg and Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) – has been received much like a bad joke at a stand-up show. The reason for such extravagance is clear. South Africa had secured the questionable […]
Fighting Back In Argentina
Fighting Back in Argentina By Nick Stern La Plata, Argentina — The incident, like an open wound, still rubs raw on the memories of many Argentines. On the morning of September 28, 2004, a 15-year-old assailant, known only as “Junior”, unloaded the full magazine of his father’s 9mm pistol, killing three fellow students and wounding […]
The patients of a saint
A staff member of the biology department at Dumlupınar University, located in Turkey‘s province of Kühtaya, has been indicted along with his wife for allegations of blasphemy-namely, posing as a saint to bilk money from pious locals in the search of divine healing. The trial against Dr. Osman Nuri BenlioÄŸlu and his wife Hatice Kübra […]
Shaky beams
Acarkent, an upscale housing division in the suburbs on the Asian side of Istanbul, has been racked with scandal the past week as investigations have shown that the lion’s share of the homes on the gated estate were constructed illegally and to the detriment of the local environment. The first dwellings on the compound, nestled […]