June 24, 2006

Was he the greatest German poet, the greatest poet of his century? I won’t argue, but I love him the most! Heinrich Heine died 150 years ago — February 17, 1856 — and is still as up-to-date, relevant and wonderful as ever!

Honest Texas history, when you can find it, tends to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. So it is with Michael Phillips’ new history of Dallas, which pours salty truth into long-ignored wounds.

MEXICO CITY — Hollywood funny man Jack Black’s new movie, “Nacho Libre,” which portrays the wild world of Mexican wrestling, was shot on location in Mexico’s Pacific coastal state of Oaxaca (pronounced “Wah-HA-Ca”). As audiences enjoy the comedic adventures of Nacho, the main character, they will also learn about Mexican popular culture and take in the breathtaking views of Oaxaca.

“Sir, No Sir!” an Audience Award winner for best documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival, tells the largely unknown story of the GI movement against the war in Vietnam.

High-level worries about cooperation with terrorists do not extend to terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, now in U.S. custody. Posada has all but admitted bombing a Cuban airliner in 1976, killing all 73 aboard, and trying to assassinate Fidel Castro in Panama in 2000, but the only U.S. charge against him is for illegal entry.

The assembly rebuffed several U.S. initiatives, including Guatemala as the U.S. choice over Venezuela for a seat on the UN Security Council, and a condemnation of alleged Venezuelan interventions in Peru’s recently concluded presidential runoff election.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Visiting a national park this summer? If so, you should expect reduced law enforcement protection, longer emergency response times, fewer lifeguards, scaled back water and trail safety patrols, dirtier campgrounds and other visibly deteriorating facilities and resources, according to a major new report based on a 37-park review by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR).

NORTE ANDOVER, Massachusetts — Mario Rodas se graduó de la Escuela Superior de Chelsea el año pasado con honores y pensó cursar estudios universitarios en informática. Pero esa no fue la realidad para el joven guatemalteco de 19 años.

Del 4 al 6 de junio se reunieron los ministros de asuntos exteriores del hemisferio occidental en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana para la 36ª Asamblea General de la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA).

NACIONES UNIDAS — El Comité Especial sobre Descolonización de la ONU reafirmó el derecho de Puerto Rico a la autodeterminación y la independencia la semana pasada, llamando a Estados Unidos a “que acelere el proceso” que permita a la nación caribeña ejercer su derecho inalienable a escoger su propio destino. La acción del 13 de junio era no más que la última en una serie de declaraciones similares de décadas.