Undeterred by the protracted political crisis, Lebanon will begin its third round of negotiations for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva next month, but civil society groups fear that the costs of accession could far outweigh the benefits of increased access to Western markets in the absence of a clearly defined national […]
What I would like to tell the Peace Corps.
Why do I want to join the peace corps? I have a number of reasons. As I sit on my inflatable mattress (which I have been sleeping on for almost three months) and look at my perpetual messy room I feel that sleeping on a grass mat in the middle of Zambia can’t that different. […]
The Pasta Makers
La Plata, Argentina — When people think of Argentine cuisine, they think beef. True, the average Argentine consumes around 68 kg (150 lbs) of red meat per year, but a macho cannot live on steak alone, grass-fed, tender and delicious as it is. Luckily, there are the wheat derived dishes; the bread, pastries […]
My Second Life
In another universe, I am a woman. She only exists in a virtual world, as an "avatar" in an online game called Second Life. My avatar is currently an attractive, thin blonde woman who enjoys flying, undressing and standing still in the middle of empty buildings and changing her clothes. These aren’t really her hobbies, […]
Life Lessons
La Plata — In the downtown apartment building where he lives with his wife, Julio Drut maintains a small workshop in a back room above the lobby that might otherwise be left for storage. “In this life,” he says in his gruff voice, “you have to take care of things, day by day, so […]
Spill over effects of instability in Afghanistan
When Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, was termed as an aggressor by US lead free world, Pakistan was being declared frontline state to combat Soviet aggression, Baluchistan and NWFP Provinces of Pakistan became centers of supply of arms and men to Afghan Freedom Fighters, religious seminary students, and university students were motivated to join […]