Stories from 15 December 2006
Ukraine: Crimea's Massandra Wines
Ukraine List writes about Crimea's famous Massandra wine collection.
Ukraine: Cheating Your Gas Meter
Foreign Notes writes about the war raging in the Kyiv City Council over the new communal services tariffs – and lists ways to cheat your gas meter and reduce your gas bill: “…connection of a vacuum cleaners to the gas faucet to make the meter go ‘in reverse’, attaching spigots...
Russia, U.S.: Medical Insurance; Paid Vacation.
Everybody I Love You seems to have found a way to get medical insurance for his Russian wife through Blue Cross of California – and have discovered that in Russia a four-week paid vacation is the law, while in the United States it is not.
Hungary: Christmas Market
Budapest's Christmas Market and more – at Pestcentric.
Estonia: A Joke
A joke “about how developed Estonia actually is” – at SadEst.
Czech Rebublic: Smoking Dry Cleaner
My Czech Republic Blog writes about “a convenient dry cleaner” who's no longer there – and here's one possible reason why: “…the woman smoked like a chimney. So you brought a brand new, washed shirt in to have the sleeves shortened. You handed it over, got your slip and watched...
Albania: Communist Collaborators
Our Man In Tirana links to a report discussing “concerns about the process [of identifying Communist collaborators] raised by a number of individuals and NGO's in Albania.”
Global Voices Summit begins Saturday!!
If you aren't able to join us in Delhi for Saturday's Global Voices 2006 Summit, please join us online! Information about the schedule, webcast, live online chat, and other information can all be found on this web page. Or you can click here to go directly to the streaming audio...
Barbados: Fair Trade Bananas for Sainsbury
Sainsbury, the popular UK supermarket chain, has made a decision to stock Fair Trade bananas only. Gallimaufry applauds the move, saying, “Small-scale banana farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to benefit substantially.”
Bahamas: Personal Responsibility
Rick Lowe, writing at WeblogBahamas.com, quotes several sources to prove his theory that people should stop waiting for governments to do something and instead, take personal responsibility.
Trinidad & Tobago: Paime
TriniGourmet discovers that Paime, a Trinbagonian Christmas favourite, is also enjoyed by West Indians in other islands, albeit by different names. She also posts appetizing photos along with a recipe.
Trinidad & Tobago: CARIBwhale
There's a new association dedicated to conserving cetaceans and their habitat, while promoting responsible whale and dolphin watching in the Caribbean. The Caribbean Beat blog reports that the effort will “enhance education, training and research…help standardize the collection of data on marine life as well as the social and economic...
Bermuda: Christmas Trading Rules & Church
Bermuda's Finance Minister Paula Cox has announced that the island's Sunday trading rules “will not be waived in the run-up to Christmas, because of a conflict with the time that many people attend church”: A Limey in Bermuda wonders if there can't be a compromise.
Speak Quechua: Interview with Noemí Vizcardo
Noemí Vizcardo is no stranger to Global Voices. Her blog Habla Quechua – focused on helping Spanish speakers learn Quechua – is one of the few, perhaps the only, penned in Latin America's most-spoken indigenous language. She is a lawyer, translator, and professor of agrarian law. Peruvian contributor Juan Arellano...
The Esperanto Window Closes / La Esperanta Fenestro Fermiĝas.
On Nov 29, 2006, Howard Dean addressed the Liberal Leadership and Biennial Convention. He gave an inspirational speech about the strategies that resulted in the Democrats retaking the US House and US Senate. It's a message that ought to resonate with people who want to advance the goals of Esperanto....
