Peru - The Magic Country

PERUVIAN ANCESTRY: Benjamin Bratt (actor): His movies include: Shadown Hunter (1992), Demolition Man (1993), Kill or Be Killed (1993), Woman Undone (1995) and Exiled (1998). Yma Sumac (actress and singer): Sumac was born in Peru. She has American citizen. Helena Christensen (Model): Like Fernanda Tavares, Elsa Benitez and Juncal Rivero, she was a spectacular super-model in Europe in the United States in the 1990s. In 1986 Helena had been elected Miss Denmark. Alejandro "Alex" Olmedo (tennis player): Was born in Arequipa (Peru). Like Mary Jo-Fernandez, Richard "Pancho" Gonzalez, Alex became American citizen.

Haiti - The Language Question - French or Creole

The two official languages of Haiti today are Creole and French. It has not always been so. For over a century after independence, Creole which is the only language of communication among the vast majority of Haitians, was relegated to the background; and was not officially recognized in formal official transactions. French was the only recognized means of official communication which is spoken by about ten percent of Haitians who are mostly in the elite upper class of Haitian society; whereas Creole is spoken by all Haitians irrespective of their social class status. Also for a very long time in Haitian schools, French was the only medium of instruction.

Gender Roles And Family Relationships In Early Day Haitian Society

Preamble Gender roles and family relationships in Haiti have their roots in the diverse cultural backgrounds of the populace. Broadly speaking, the two major cultural influences are African and French. At one extreme is the African heritage. Among the Afro-Haitians who occupy the three lowest classes in the Haitian society, Middle Class, Urban Low Class and Rural Peasantry, the African cultural heritage is still very strong. This is particularly evident in the areas of marital relationships, defined roles of each gender before and after marriage, types of marriages and the extended family system.

A Personal Relationship With Dr. King

We each hold a key in this world, a key to prosperity, freedom, and happiness. Martin Luther King Jr. used his key as a racial healer, a soldier in the fight for social justice, equality and peace in dignity. The lessons he has taught us are numerous and bear personal significance to many of us. In commemorating his birthday, I propose to revisit some of his writings, focusing particularly on his letter from Birmingham jail to show why they relate to all of us in a personal way. While reading Dr. King's letter, I felt transported to this very sad episode of American history; a time that he describes so vividly and eloquently;

Haiti - Demographic Profile

The demographic face of Haiti has undergone major transformations since its founding as a colony of France in 1697. When Columbus and his conquistadores arrived in the Island of Hispaniola in 1492, there were large numbers of indigenous peoples collectively known as Tainos and Arawacks. These peoples numbered in their millions. By the time Columbus and his successors completed the pacification of Hispaniola, the Taino population of Ayti was reduced to a few hundred persons. By the time the French took over the one third part of Hispaniola that they rechristened Saint Domingue, the total elimination of Taino population through enslavement and genocide by the Spanish Conquistadores, made it necessary for the French to massively import Black Africans to replace the Tainos and Arawacks as slaves on their plantations.

Haiti: Root Cause Of Poverty

The present high level of poverty of the common people in Haiti today has its roots in the turbulent history of the first Black Republic in the world. After destroying the Napoleonic Army on the bloody battlefields of Vertières, liberating themselves from French colonialism and slavery, and thus proclaimed the independence of Haiti in 1804, Haiti's new ruling elites were confronted with a daunting choice: restoring the economy by re-instating the sugar plantation system or preserving emancipation by allowing small and inefficient land holdings. The Haitian people resisted to a return of the system of forced labor that is required to maintain the sugar plantations;

Common Truths for Uncommon Times - Part I

More than a decade ago I wrote a book, Oft Forgotten and Much Ignored: Common Truths for Uncommon Times. Although a publisher expressed some interest, he didn"t feel there was much of a market for a book of aphorisms. Up to that point, I didn"t know what an aphorism was nor that I had written a book full of them. Anyhow, here"s a sampling. Note that some are a bit meaningful while some are mostly meaningless. Few, if any, can resist the siren song within the Washington, D. C. Beltline. Many Mr. Smiths come to Washington, but few hold on to that initial idealism once they"ve tasted the power, fame and unwritten rules within that special world.

To Spank Or Not Spank - What The Experts Say

"There never was a time when a major social problem was solved by beating a child. And there never will be such a time... For centuries adults have injured children and have lied about it, and other adults have heard those lies and then merely turned away... we must begin putting the blame where it belongs." -C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2006. "No violence against children is justifiable; all violence against children is preventable." This is the key message of the Report of Independent Expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General"s Study, 2003.

Common Truths for Uncommon Times - Part II

Don"t blame the medium for the message. All Rock and Rap isn"t obscene or profane. All television isn"t empty or banal. All movies aren"t sexual or violent. The Internet can be both sacred and evil. Read the comics first. Then the news and editorial pages won"t hurt quite so bad. It"s OK to start with the Sports section, but that takes more concentration. The comics let you ease into life. A moment of silence for the passing of The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, and Bloom County/Outland. Nobody could teach us like Opus and Hobbes. Good management can be summarized by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Disharmonious Movement In Turkey - Migration

In mitology and old philosophia, nature consists of four basic elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water. Allthough, B.C. philosophia is invalid today, one of our life sources is "Earth" that mankind eats it"s products everyday, is more important not only for World but also for Turkey today. The new economic, geographical and social conditions change the distrubition of population over Turkey, hence a new problem becomes to surface which is called migration from villiage to urban areas can be traced to these three type of problems: Economical, Social and Local. The first cause of migration can be explained under Economic problems title.