archives: News
Shooting for a Darwin Award? Kite Surfer Tries to Ride Hurricane Fay
A kite surfer got a lot more than he bargained for today, when he apparently tried to take on Tropical Storm Fay on a Fort Lauderdale beach. A news c [...]
U.S. Passport Card: Worth the Hassle?
Christine Gilbert says skip the passport card and stick with the real deal. [...]
Botswana Takes On Mugabe (Finally!)
Photo by openDemocracy The President of Botswana has broken ranks with most of his African colleagues, and called Robert Mugabe’s so-called re [...]
The World’s Primates: See Them Before They’re Gone?
Photo by peasap (Creative Commons) Sad news from CNN: a new report shows that nearly 50% of the world’s primates are at risk of extinction. T [...]
Can You Say “Tatuaje”?
Cuba's tattoo artists display their craft. [...]
PETA: Gone Too Far This Time?
PETA's latest ad compares a recent murder to the meat industry. [...]
This Just In: Fast Food Isn’t Good For Your Kids?!
Photo by Xurble (Creative Commons) In the “duh!” news item of the day, the Associated Press reports that 93% of meal options at America& [...]
Weekly Airline Rant: $2 for Water?!
Frequent fliers have been joking for awhile that we’ll soon be paying for the air we breathe while flying. And the way things are looking now, [...]
Where the Wild Things Are
For years, tourists have been planning their travels around tales of otherworldly creatures, hoping to confirm with their own eyes what they’ [...]
100 Days & Counting…
With just 100 days left in what’s easily been the most exciting presidential race in my lifetime, voters are beginning to ask: Who will McCain [...]
Kayaking Safety Bill In The Works
U.S legislation that would require kayaking schools to increase their training for beginners has passed the House. Under the new law, schools would ha [...]
When in France… Drink Tap Water
That’s right, if you want to “do as the French do” on your next trip to Paris or Provence, better put down that bottle of Evian and [...]
Americans Afraid of Travel?: Response to Obama Trip Suggests “Yes”
Barack Obama has had a busy week, jetting through the Middle East and Europe to take the pulse of the world’s attitude towards America and to [...]
There Will Be… Guns?
Of all the travel destinations that are uniquely American, perhaps none are more cherished than the system of national parks. From Assateague Natio [...]
Minimum Wage on the Rise
A wage increase goes into effect today for American workers who get paid the hourly minimum. Up 70 cents to $6.55, the two percent of Americans who [...]
Hello, Dolly!: Latest Hurricane News
Hurricane Dolly made landfall earlier today in the coastal region of Texas and northern Mexico. While locals brace for gale-force rains and winds, a [...]
Big In Kosovo: Passports
It’s been five months since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia - an act that sparked violence between ethnic Albanians and Serbs in t [...]
What would you do with $100 billion?
In Zimbabwe, the answer is: not much. The troubled country has just introduced a $100 billion banknote - according to this CNN story, it is equivalen [...]
Sleepless in SEA? (or JFK, LAX, or ORD?)
If you’re a regular Pulse reader, then you know that every few weeks or so I’m due a new rant on the American airline industry. ItR [...]
What have you watched on YouTube lately?
Photo by Shht! (Creative Commons) Thanks to a U.S. district court, media megalith Viacom Inc. could be about to find out. Last week, in the latest r [...]
From Diplomat’s Daughter to FARC Hostage: Ingrid Betancourt Timeline
1961: Ingrid Betancourt is born in Bogota, Colombia. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt, was Colombia’s Minister of Education, assistant director of [...]
Ingrid Betancourt: LIBRE!!
I couldn’t have been happier to come home last night to the news from journalist and Colombia-based Matador member Richard McColl that Ingrid Be [...]
Bye-bye backpacker, hello flashpacker?
Guest Editorial by Matador member Matt Kepnes Somewhere before my bus broke down in Australia, I was called a flashpacker. Despite being on the road [...]
Police Blotter: News from Mexico City
Every week is a big news week as far as the police of Mexico City are concerned, and the MCPD’s PR folks clearly have their jobs cut out for t [...]
Save Our Archives!
Photo by moriza (Creative Commons) ‘Wow,’ someone said to me the other day, after I’d finished telling him about my recent career [...]
Megabus or Megabust?
If you’re a budget traveler, I’ll bet you’re already hip to the cheap tickets for the so-called Chinese buses that run between Chi [...]
Reality Check: South Africa
Photo by Lollie-Pop (Creative Commons I can still remember the first time a college professor opened my eyes to the way ‘Africa’ (and, o [...]
Afro-Latins: No Longer the Silent Minority
A few years back, my husband and I had some Spanish teachers over for dinner. They were lovely people and we’d enjoyed a spirited conversation [...]
Picks of the Week: Update from Zimbabwe
The grim ins and outs of the Zimbabwean ‘elections’ this spring have been tough to keep up with. Vote-rigging, intimidation and violence, [...]
You can bet your bottom dollar…
that I’ll be avoiding all these new bag charges that US airlines are imposing. After the April announcement that they’d be charging a & [...]
SOBRO, Represent!
SOBRO, in case you didn’t know, is the hip new name for the South Bronx (or, if you prefer ‘Da South Bronx). Imagine my surprise upon fin [...]
On Bad Terms with Tourism?
I’ve just cleaned out my mailbox after being on the road for six weeks, and a bundle of magazines and review copies of travel related books now [...]
‘It all starts with respecting yourself’
Adam Beach isn’t just one of the more high-profile Canadians in Hollywood these days - he’s also almost certainly the most high-profile Ab [...]
Call Me Cynical…
I’m an airplane seat scavenger, picking up the newspapers and magazines other travelers have left behind. That’s my only excuse for readi [...]
Big in Canada: Vegan KFC
Photo by bigbold (Creative Commons) Check your calendars, folks: April Fool’s Day was more than two months ago. So, yes, this is for real. Aft [...]
Sunshine Guaranteed…or Your Money Back
So, you’ve plugged away in your cubicle all year and can FINALLY see your vacation days on the horizon. Your bags are packed, you’re on y [...]
NY Times: Manitoba is a Must-See
Photo by Matt Callow (Creative Commons) Imagine my surprise when, scanning the New York Times list of 31 closer-to-home places to visit this summer, [...]
“Oh give me a home…”
If you’re a writer, you don’t need me to tell you about that creeping feeling of anxiety that swells up at the end of each month when yo [...]
Here’s one way to spend your ‘economic stimulus check’…
Photo by babasteve (Creative Commons) I came across this grim story on TheRoot.com yesterday about fistula - a potentially life-threatening conditio [...]
Can Cell Phones End Poverty?
That’s the question Sara Corbett asked in a recent New York Times Magazine article about the varied uses of cell phones around the world. Corb [...]
How To Get Aid To Burma
Photo by khaipi (Creative Commons) One of the more agonizing aspects of the Cyclone Nargis aftermath has been watching Burma’s military rulers [...]
Battle Over Border Searches Heats Up
Photo by androog (Creative Commons) An unlikely coalition of activists is warning travelers to think twice about the data on their laptops before cr [...]
Attn. All Wired Travelers!
Photo by Jace (Creative Commons) For those of you who travel fully wired, the airport internet service provider, Boingo, is offering a promotion for [...]
