Category Archives: ESL Links

To the disappointment and dismay of many of our close friends, especially here in South America, the Dowbrigade was a strong supporter of US military intervention in Iraq. Our primary reasoning was that Saddam Hussein was a VERY evil man, … Continue reading →

My foreign students are always charmed by the famous

An interesting, in-depth article appeared in the Washington Post this week about the prevalent practice of third world diplomats in the United States bringing domestic servants to Washington and New York on work visas and keeping them in virtual slavery … Continue reading →

The aspect of the Great Experiment that deals with the factibility of living a reasonably rounded digital life here on the beach in South America has been running up against some serious trouble in  the form of our super-slow internet … Continue reading →

Plan Colombia, an ambitious and comprehensive offensive against drug traffickers and the guerilla violence that feeds off of them, was proposed by the intelligence apparatus of the US government under President Clinton in 2000. In it’s current form it involves … Continue reading →

Lots of Americans and other foreigners are arriving in third world countries like Ecuador, attracted by low prices, great weather and easy living. Some are hazy about their origins and pasts, and one can only suspect that they are not … Continue reading →

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) – A government watchdog has asked a regional council why it placed a mythical monster on Sweden’s endangered species list. The Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office in Stockholm also asked the environment court in the Jaemtland province of central … Continue reading →

The Dowbrigade is infamous among his limited circle of friends for his squeamishness when confronted with on-screen horror or terror flicks. We have been known to leave the room or head for the popcorn stand at the first sign of … Continue reading →

The socio-cultural and economic dimensions of the obesity gap are clearly visible in the third world and developing countries.  Here, (the Dowbrigade is currently reporting from Ecuador) as was the case in the United States in the past, the obese … Continue reading →

A complex and polemic situation. Tourism, preservation of the ecosystem and cruetly to animals often conflict in panoramas of human development. SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — A koala population explosion on an Australian island has prompted calls for 20,000 of the … Continue reading →

Begin not from preconceived idea of what to say about image but from jewel center of image of subject of image at moment of writing, and write outwards swimming in a sea of language to peripheral release and exhaustion – … Continue reading →

When the Dowbrigade was a wee lad, he didn’t want to be a fireman, or a cowboy, or even President. Our only aspiration was to become, someday, an astronaut. Of course, we were forced to give up the dream years ago … Continue reading →