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October 23, 2006 [LINK / comment]
Panama votes to expand canal
The people of Panama approved a referendum on expanding their canal by a huge margin; nearly 80 percent voted "yes." President Martin Torrijos, a moderate leftist, strongly supported the measure, which was opposed mainly by radical leftists. Construction is expected to begin in 2008 and finish by 2014; the total price tag is about $5 billion. His father Omar won a treaty conceding control of the canal from then-President Jimmy Carter in 1979. See Washington Post or BBC. Whether the Chinese businesses that currently manage the canal operations will be involved in such construction is uncertain; their presence raises national security concerns for the United States. Nicaragua is also considering a proposal to build a canal along the San Juan River and through Lake Nicaragua, but that would be a high-risk venture, because the potential market for two separate trans-isthmian canals is quite uncertain.
Ollie North visits Nicaragua
Speaking of Nicaragua, Retired Colonel Oliver North arrived in Managua yesterday, almost exactly 20 years after the Iran-Contra scandal exploded. He says he is just enjoying the company of friends, denying reports that he is there to campaign on behalf of Nicaraguan presidential candidate Jose Rizo, of the Liberal Constitutional Party. He recently wrote a letter complaining that the State Department is standing by while the Sandinista Daniel Ortega is on the verge of a historic electoral comeback, so obviously he is not indifferent. (Elections will be on November 5) See La Prensa.
Venezuela's U.N. bid
Hugo Chavez's aggressive campaign to get Venezuela a seat on the U.N. Security Council for the 2007-2008 is apparently not bearing fruit. Indeed, the effort may be backfiring, costing Venezuela a lot of money and time for nothing, as Blue Crab Boulevard notes (via Instapundit):
This is going to cause Chavez's train wreck even worse. He has badly overextended his nation trying to buy the seat on the UNSC. He now has to pay all those bribes with much diminished income from oil sales. He's in trouble.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 24 Oct 2006, 12: 09 AM
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Category archives:
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Baseball
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 7, 2006 ~ DeLay gives up majority leader post
January 12, 2006 ~ Alito withstands Dems' "torture"
January 16, 2006 ~ Michelle Bachelet wins in Chile
January 19, 2006 ~ Views on Iran's nuclear ambitions
January 24, 2006 ~ Fallout from Canada's election
January 31, 2006 ~ Second (& third) thoughts on Iran
February 1, 2006 ~ The State of the Union, 2006
February 8, 2006 ~ D.C. Council votes "yes," but...
February 18, 2006 ~ Checks and balances in wartime
February 22, 2006 ~
Neocons & Neolibs: chastened alike
February 28, 2006 ~
The Dubai Ports World uproar
March 14, 2006 ~ New D.C. baseball stadium unveiled
March 24, 2006 ~ In the footsteps of France?
April 7, 2006 ~ Immigration compromise fails
May 16, 2006 ~ Bush militarizes Mexican border
June 6, 2006 ~ Alan Garcia triumphs, once again
June 9, 2006 ~
Zarqawi: The death of a terrorist
July 3, 2006 ~
Election in Mexico: too close to call
July 5, 2006 ~ North Korea goes ballistic
July 28, 2006 ~ Garcia prepares to lead Peru, again
August 4, 2006 ~ Israel invades Hezbolland
September 6, 2006 ~ "Crunchy conservatives": for real?
September 25, 2006 ~ Nationalists thwart conservation
October 3, 2006 ~ Nationals: Year in review
October 29, 2006 ~ Virginia's marriage amendment
November 7, 2006 ~ The people render their verdict
November 8, 2006 ~ Republicans lose big time
November 9, 2006 ~ Allen concedes / Election post-mortem
November 13, 2006 ~ Toward consensus on Iraq?
December 1, 2006 ~ Realism and our goals in Iraq
December 6, 2006 ~ Latin America & U.S. trade policy
December 8, 2006 ~ Iraq Study Group reports
December 22, 2006 ~ Yuletide political roundup
Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)