Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Central America”
In Borneo, an island shared by Indonesia and Malaysia, some of the world’s oldest tropical forests are being cut down and replaced with oil palm plantations at a breakneck pace. Wiping forests high in biodiversity off the land for monoculture plantations causes numerous environmental problems, from the destruction of wildlife habitat to the rapid release of stored carbon, which contributes …
The Zika virus has been known to infect people in Africa, South and Central America and Asia for more than 70 years without causing any birth defects. The Brazilian government declared an emergency in December after 2,400 babieswere found to be born with shrunken heads and brain defects believed to be linked to mosquitoes carrying the Zika Virus. The number of …
– What climate changes are we now seeing in Latin America if any. What about those much-favored “perennial spring-like” Alti-Plano regions?
-What will happen to the food and water supplies in Latin America if climate changes (in whatever form) become more apparent?
-What will happen to Latin big city bad boy gangs as economies slip into the crapper and implode (along with the rest of the world)? Will they move to target the nearby smaller, safer, nicer, cites and neighborhoods?
-Comments on the Latin macho society’s supreme infatuation with “Mujeres de Clima”- sexy TV weather ladies who famously appear on every TV news program.
Note: there are no TV weathermen in Latin America.
– Today we have some more personal stores concerning the failed attempts of Latin governments trying to copy the Big Brother state apparatus in Latin America. It’s NOT working.
Talk about “lag time”! When discussing places “off the Gringo tourist trail”, Latin culture is just not remotely ready for anything resembling what we know as intrusive first-world Big Brother culture. So as far as personal freedoms are concerned, the somewhat predictable Latin “chaos” can be a very good thing (wait…that’s an oxymoron, right?)
-How safe are Latin infrastructure projects? Considering the general Latin lack of detail and proper maintenance, especially with government projects, should Gringos and Expats be overly worried about driving the roads, bridges and overpasses?
-More details concerning Latin bank issued credit cards (VISA /MC).
Power Shift: The Radicalized Right and the Battle of ‘American Values’
Leid Stories discusses the rise of the radicalized right in America and the seismic shifts it has caused, and continues to cause, in our notions about governance, national identity, democracy, and even self.
– I’ve lived all over Latin America both on and off the gringo tourist trail and much prefer the latter. Why not live off the trail where the locals truly like Americans and thus where the “gringo advantage” is alive and well? That said, some expats(especially the new, fresh, green lightly traveled variety) just love tourist trail locations. That’s why today we list 10 good and positive reasons why some might prefer to live with other gringos “ON the tourist trail”.
-Some of the so called “expert” expat retirement mags and rags as well as expat living blogs now tout “up and coming” Colombia as the “next” Costa Rica. After hearing today’s rant, you’ll still want to visit the place but probably won’t want to live or invest there. However, with Sofia Vergara as Colombia’s unofficial cultural ambassador (with every lonely heat gringo convinced she’s the Colombian girl next door) you can bet the gringos will come, no matter what the underlying facts might be.
Which is worse, letting a rich kid off easy for a heinous crime or allowing an ultra wealthy adult to drain public coffers through bribery? These two scenarios may seem completely unrelated, but they both illustrate the corrupting influence of modern inequality—treating those at the top differently than the rest of the country. Consider the case of Ethan Couch. Ethan …
The US Department of Homeland Security is preparing to unleash widespread raids on Central American immigrants, mainly women and children, once the new year begins, according to unnamed Obama administration officials who spoke with the press last week. It would be the first ever program of mass deportations to target Central American refugees specifically. Most are women and children who …
-More stories of failed charitable freebee attempts by first-world “do gooders” to save the poor…
-How “do gooders” team up with corporate monsters like Mcdonalds to use so-called acts of charity. The secondary effect is simply to program poor kids into becoming future “Happy Meals” consumers.
-More unique traditions that show up during Latin holiday season (most of these totally unknown by first-world people)
-Reports on two criminal Latin Ex-Presidents: one (from El Salvador) under house arrest for stealing $15 million plus and the other (from Panama) now holed up in Mijami awaiting extradition from the USA.
-Today we discuss the root causes of the massive Latin real estate bubble and why deceptive advertising looks as if it’s keeping parts of it somewhat afloat (but not for long)
-Latins celebrate the Christmas holidays for virtually months and months at a time. That said, if you yourself are obsessed about the Christmas season you’ll be in great company down here.
-Because Latins go all out for Christmas, most of them are dead broke before the big event even arrives which, oddly enough, is why the local cops are ever so vigilant as the day approaches. Cops love the holidays. “Tis the season” for the cops to squeeze extra cash out of unsuspecting drivers who are perpetually late and in a hurry to get somewhere (it’s a manana society you know). Today we talk about what to do if you get stopped or pulled over. Right off the bat there will be definite signs that indicate a bribe request is forthcoming. We’ll also explain a few tricks you can use to try to get out of it.
-Today I’ll describe my own very recent traffic stop- Christmas bribe/extortion story. Not to worry, it does have a somewhat happy ending. Listen now to hear how it took me a half hour to wiggle my way out of a sticky situation, when confronted with some crooked cops.
-In a late breaking email, a gringo listener (with a Colombian wife) describes some of the more common and clever new neighborhood extortion schemes that have been popping up in working class residential areas in Colombia, specifically in and around Barranquilla. Could it happen to me, you, or other Expats to? Should we be worried?
Listen and find out…
