According to Kirchner's administration poverty is down but not all agree
Catholic Church “perceives” growing poverty in Argentina (click here)
Bishop Jorge Casaretto, head of the Argentine Catholic Church Social Pastoral Committee said that perception at the moment “is that poverty (in Argentina) is increasing”. The statement contradicts a recent Argentine government report indicating that poverty had fallen to 20.7% in the second half of 2007 compared to the previous 23.4%....
Ames Iowa Tribune
Student's artwork selected in Google contest
By: Bob Zientara/The Tribune
05/24/2008
Updated 05/24/2008 12:12:41 AM CDT
Google "Doodle 4 Google" on the Web, and you can find the artwork of Ames Middle School student Belinda Mahama.
An eighth-grader, Mahama is one of only 40 students from across the United States selected as a regional winner in the Doodle 4 Google, a competition inviting students to design their own version of the popular Google logo.
Her drawing, based on the art of M.C. Escher, is featured on the Doodle 4 Google Web site. Along with the other regional finalists, Mahama was flown to Google's corporate headquarters in Mountview, Calif., to be honored as one of the top artists.
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Mahama's middle school art teacher is Cappie Dobyns.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717440&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Edwards international festival is a multi-ethnic experience
By: Bob Zientara/The Tribune
05/24/2008
Updated 05/24/2008 12:16:29 AM CDT
Edwards Elementary School second-grader Ali Mehyar holds the flag of the country Jordan Friday during the opening ceremonies of the third-annual international festival at the Ames school. The 38 flags represented the variety of nations represented in the student body.
Faryal Awan wore a flowing headdress of periwinkle blue, a knee-length top and slacks of the same color, and high heels Friday morning as she talked to a group of second-grade students in Joyce Hoffman's classroom at Edwards Elementary School.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717449&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Princeton-bound Chen looks back on Ames career
By: Bob Zientara/The Tribune
05/24/2008
Updated 05/24/2008 12:11:35 AM CDT
* High school studies and future plans.
* The importance of friends, and how that may change after graduation.
* How issues such as gas prices, the Iraq War and this year's election affect their lives.
* Technology, texting, blogging, games.
* The arts, especially music.
The profiles have been published over five days this week. This is the fifth and final story in the series.
Jasmine Chen will miss today's Ames High School commencement exercises, but she has a good excuse. Chen will return early next week from a visit to Taiwan.
Chen, 18, the daughter of Joseph and Winny Chen, and the sister of Edward (now enrolled at Harvard University), shared her thoughts about going to Ames High School in an exchange of e-mail messages from the island nation in the Far East.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717436&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Court rules on testimony question in ISU party case
Associated Press
05/24/2008
Updated 05/24/2008 12:09:47 AM CDT
DES MOINES (AP) - The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a crime doesn't have to be an aggravated misdemeanor or felony for testimony of co-conspirators to be introduced as evidence.
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The ruling reverses a district court decision and answers a question that no Iowa case has previously addressed, the court wrote.
The decision was in a Story County case of three people charged with providing alcohol to a person under the legal age, a serious misdemeanor. The charges were the result of a Dec. 2, 2005, party at an apartment near the Iowa State University campus in Ames.
A guest at the party, Shanda Munn, 20, left in a car and hit and killed Kelly Laughery, 20, of Orient. Munn later pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Charges were later filed against people accused of providing alcohol to underage guests at the party.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717433&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Faith and Thought: Politics can be divisive if family members don't agree
By: Sue Stanton/Special to The Tribune
05/24/2008
Updated 05/23/2008 08:01:55 PM CDT
"Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in a most delightful way!"
Reviewing the recent role my native Kentucky has played in the Democratic primaries, I am pleased that Hillary Clinton is still in the race for only one reason: My sister.
A political junkie, she watched with lustful awareness at just how wonderful it was to be an Iowan during the caucus season and was kept up to date on who said what by her younger sister.
In the course of events, the exchange between us was two-way. I told her what the candidates wore, said, had for lunch, and gave my expert medical assessment on the physical appearance of how Bill Clinton had weathered his heart surgery. She told me over the phone what she thought were the most damning qualities of George W. Bush.
This back-and-forth exchange of information proved productive until we parted company over our actual vote. My sister became hardened and encrusted with her love for Hillary Clinton. She would not listen to reason as I pleaded with her to "give Joe a break," firmly standing my ground on the field for Joe Biden.
But her fervor was sincere, her loyalty firm and rooted in the lore of family history. She was destined to honor all of our successful female relatives, now deceased, in casting her vote for a woman for president. This would likely be her only opportunity, and she was going to accomplish her dream at last.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717119&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554336&rfi=6
Defending champion Ballard in command at state tournament
By: Jeff Stell
05/24/2008
Updated 05/24/2008 12:44:22 AM CDT
Ballard junior Taylor Eichinger eyes the hole before taking his shot during Friday’s Class 3A State Championship meet at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames. Photo by Ronnie Miller.
Defending champion Ballard came to the Class 3A boys state golf meet wanting to clearly establish itself as the team to beat.
After Friday's first round at Coldwater Golf Links, it looks like the Bombers have established themselves as a team that can't be beat. With 18 holes left to play today, the Bombers own a 20-stroke lead on their nearest challenger.
The Bombers shot 306 Friday to distance themselves from a traffic jam of teams between 326 and 333. Pella is second at 326 with Spencer in third one shot back and Clear Lake fourth at 332.
"We haven't lost a meet all year, so we just kind of treated this one like another meet that we want to win," Ballard junior Taylor Eichinger said. "We didn't want to be down after the first day. Now we just need to come out and play good again (Saturday) and repeat as state champions."
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717501&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554325&rfi=6
People's Business:Supporting Obama could help Iowa's Caucuses remain first
By: Charlotte Eby/Capitol News Service
05/24/2008
Updated 05/23/2008 08:03:07 PM CDT
Like it or not, an important part of Iowa's political fortune will rise and fall with Barack Obama this year.
Of the three candidates left standing, only Obama has a strong stake in keeping Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses first.
Voters and pundits were reminded of Obama's victory here when he returned to the state Tuesday, the day he claimed a majority of the pledged delegates to the national convention.
Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan understands the politics of keeping Iowa's caucuses first, which could be why he decided to weigh in with an endorsement of Obama when the candidate returned.
State party chairs typically don't endorse candidates in primaries, so something likely went on behind the scenes to help seal the deal for Obama.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717117&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554336&rfi=6
Owners unclear on smoking ban enforcement
By: Fred Love/Capitol News Service
05/24/2008
Updated 05/23/2008 08:03:42 PM CDT
DES MOINES - Iowa restaurant and bar owners will have to stamp out smoking in their establishments when a state-wide smoking ban takes effect July 1, but some are complaining that the state has not spelled out what their responsibilities will be under the new law.
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Justin Smith, manager of Smitty's Bar in Waterloo, said he and his employees will do the best they can to keep the establishment smoke-free, but he said he's received little guidance from the state on how to comply.
"I don't think it's been stated very clearly," he said. "Are there going to be uniformed people to come into the establishment? I don't think that's all been clearly defined."
Brian Froehlich, owner of Fro's Pub 'n Grub in Wilton, questions whether the government will be able to effectively enforce the ban. Froehlich said the law burdens bar and restaurant owners with enforcement, which could mean alienating longtime customers who smoke.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19717088&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Buenos Aires Herald
Seek meeting with CFK and concrete proposals to deal with tax issue
Farmers extend protest 6 more days
Argentina’s four major farm groups yesterday announced they extended a nationwide protest against higher export duties for another week, deepening a political challenge to President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
“This goes on until Wednesday,” said Eduardo Buzzi, the president of the Argentine Agricultural Federation, one of Argentina’s four leading lobbies, that group hundreds of thousands of farmers.
In a press conference in Santa Fe after meeting Santa Fe Governor Hermes Binner — a Socialist who supports them — Buzzi said that farm groups requested a meeting with Mrs. Kirchner.
He said the farmers who want to roll back higher duties on soybeans and other grain exports will continue protesting on highways but will not block most farm goods from reaching markets.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=494508
Latin America, EU tackle poverty, food prices and global warming
Biofuels, trade divide summit leaders
Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales said he feared the poor could suffer as his regional counterparts rush to sign free-trade deals with Europe, and others warned of a looming food emergency across the world.
“Soon, if the crisis deepens, hundreds of millions of people will be threatened by hunger,” said host President Alan García of Peru.
President Cristina Fernández said unequal income distribution is the “most serious problem” the region faces for its development.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=494795&hideIntro=true
Measure may be lifted — leader speaks of ‘smoothing things out’
Lockout: farmers to decide today
Farm leaders yesterday announced that the committee gathering the main sector associations will today decide whether or not to lift the lockout they imposed following a dispute with the national government over export duties.
The farmers’ association have come under pressure to put an end to the conflict that broke out on March 11. “We understand that we must narrow the gap... and help smooth things out,” said Eduardo Buzzi, head of the Argentine Agricultural Federation, addressing hundreds of farmers and farmhands gathered yesterday in San Nicolás, Buenos Aires province.
“For this reason, the committee will move the meeting forward to Monday... and will consider how this country can be pacified,“ he said.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=495400
Despite divisions on defence and trade, leaders create Unasur
New South American union born
The heads of states signed a treaty that creates the South American Union of Nations, or Unasur, as well as plans for energy, infrastructure and financing projects.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hailed Unasur, which aspires to become like the European Union, as a sign that South America was becoming a “global actor” and said the differences between governments were a sign of vitality.
“Unasur is born, open to all the region, born under the signs of diversity and pluralism,” he said.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=496773&hideIntro=true
Blair in Israeli crosshairs
Blair was flying on a private plane from the World Economic Forum summit in Sinai, Egypt to an investment conference in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday when his plane penetrated Israeli airspace and failed to respond to repeated control tower radio calls demanding it identify itself, apparently due to a technical mal function.
The Israeli air force flew above Blair’s plane and quickly established contact with the cockpit, whose pilot informed them he was on board.
Blair spokesman Matthew Doyle, also on board, said Blair and others were unaware of the drama unfolding and only found out about it all when fielding calls from reporters.
Reuters
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=496763&hideIntro=true
Burma allows aid workers in
The junta told United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that foreign aid workers could enter the country as long as it was clear what they were doing and how long they would remain.
Burma’s promise to open its doors to aid workers sparked hope among relief agencies that they could soon bring food, shelter and medicine to more of the cyclone victims in the country, but they cautiously awaited practical details.
UN and other agencies have been building up stocks for the operation to provide supplies to the estimated 2.5 million people made homeless or otherwise affected by the May 2-3 storm and subsequent flooding, officials said.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=496758&hideIntro=true
100 hours after quake
China: trapped survivors freed
YINGXIU — A powerful aftershock knocked out roads and communications in some of the most quake-ravaged parts of central China yesterday, as emergency crews rescued more than 30 people who had survived up to 100 improbable hours trapped in the ruins.
With the official death toll at more than 22,000, tens of thousands of people are considered buried or missing throughout the disaster zone.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=494785&hideIntro=true
Burma: 133,000 dead or missing
In a shocking update to a count that had consistently lagged international aid agency estimates, state television said 77,738 people were dead and 55,917 missing. Up to 2.5 million survivors are clinging to life in the Irrawaddy delta, with thousands of people lining roadsides to beg for help in the absence of large-scale government or foreign relief operations.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=494790&hideIntro=true
INDEC says Q1 poverty rate down to 20.6% from 23.4% in ´07
Gov’t crucifies Church on poverty
The government and the Catholic Church clashed yesterday over estimated poverty rates and official indices, a day after Monsignor Jorge Casaretto said they were seeing an increase in poverty in the country.
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner yesterday reaffirmed indigence levels had dropped, and hours later, the INDEC statistics bureau released the official figures a day earlier than expected, in an attempt to put an end to the controversy.
“Poverty has decreased in Argentina and I ask people to help me convince those who doubt it,” the President said yesterday during the inauguration of a textile factory in Chaco.
She added that, compared to 2003 wheh her husband Néstor Kirchner became president: “We see a reality different from the one they are trying to convince us about.”
On Tuesday, Casaretto, the Bishop of San Isidro said: “Our vision is that poverty is on the rise,” a week after Mrs. Kirchner said poverty and unemployment rates had dropped.
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=496198
Dissident’s mother allowed to leave Cuba
Lauded by the Argentine government, the Cuban administration’s decision comes at a moment when president Raúl Castro is pushing forward with a set of reforms “within socialism.” The reforms include lifting prohibitions now deemed excessive in the country.
“She was given her passport and, much to our surprise, after that...
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=496208
Inflation running at 1M percent
HARARE — Weary Zimbabweans are facing a new wave of massive price increases that put many basic goods out of their reach.
Independent finance houses said in an assessment Tuesday that annual inflation rose this month to 1,063,572 percent based on prices of a basket of basic foodstuffs. As stores...
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/business/note.jsp?idContent=496338
Japan cedes ground over humpback whales
TOKYO — Antarctica is safe for humpback whales. At least for now.
Giving in to worldwide criticism, Japan’s government announced Friday a whaling fleet now in the Southern Ocean for its annual hunt will not kill the rare species as they had originally planned. The fleet will, however, kill some...
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/supplements/note.jsp?idContent=453003
Exit escapism: Cannes 2008 is a reality show
by angela doland
CANNES, France — Now playing at Cannes: ordinary people, modern times, and crimes and misdemeanors.
Escapism is out of style in the French Riviera film festival’s showcase competition. Midway through the 12-day festival, it’s all about tough realities, true stories, documentary-style filming and nonprofessional actors.
Though there...
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/entertainment/note.jsp?idContent=496483
Mbeki sends army to help end violence
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki gave approval yesterday for the army to help end attacks on foreigners that have killed more than 40 people.
The attacks on African immigrants, accused by many poor South Africans of taking scarce jobs and fuelling crime, have forced thousands of people from their...
http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=496283
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