September

In a few days more begins the month of September. In my country, Chile, is the month where we celebrate our national holiday. This year my country meets 203 years since independence.

Also, on September 11 will commemorate 40 years since the coup of 1973. This is a time to reflect and think about the events that led to a horrible dictatorship that began that day and lasted 17 years.

After that, on September 18 we celebrate our national holiday. There are many festivals throughout the city, the most famous in Santiago are the "FONDAS"  in O'Higgins Park. The Fondas are places where people go to dance, to drink "chicha", to eat pies, grilling, drinking beer and many other fun things.

Other people take advantage of the long weekend to visit their families or go out of town to the beach or countryside, for example.

This month, people feel very happy, because there are three days of holiday and a lot of people use all the week of national holiday to relax, be with family, or go to the Fondas

In my case, I will enjoy national holidays with my family and friends. With my family i will go out of town a few days. With my friends we will go to the Fondas or other places to have fun.

I think we should take advantage of these festivities and the few days off to have fun and stay with our families.

To dance “cueca”! To have fun! Viva Chile

How green are you?

Many people say they are friends of the environment, but really are "green"?
In my case, I will talk about my experience and how I'm friendly with the environment.
About recycling:  not all people understand the importance of recycling our things. Many times, we dump the garbage bin without separating everything. Recycling is the practice of separating the waste we throw away. For example separate the glass, cardboard and papers to which can then be used again.
Environmental practices are important to care for our planet. Not many people are educated about this issue.
But protecting the environment is not just recycling. The use of the bike or other means of transportation that do not pollute are also a good idea to save our environment. In my case, I walk every day and try not to use the car. In Santiago unfortunately many people do not leave the car at home and do not like going for a walk: (
I try to help the environment to recycle (a little) and avoid the use of the car. Also I don't smoke and I don't turn on the fireplace when there is environmental pollution.
The big problem is our society. Currently very few people have habits that help the environment. The government has slowly implemented public policies that help the environment and educate the public to care for the planet.
Our society needs to be aware regarding the care of the environment. It should leave the car at home, take a walk, ride a bike, subway or other means of transport that does not pollute. We also need more people to recycle their waste, to be more environmentally friendly

North Carolina: voter ID becomes law

Republican governor signs bill that requires photo evidence at polling booths, which critics say targets Democrat supporters

In North Carolina, the governor signed a law to require government-issued photo IDs at the polls and shorten early voting. That idea drew criticism from a leading civil rights organization and other groups.

Republicans lawmakers who backed the measure said it was meant to prevent voter fraud, which they allege is both rampant and undetected in North Carolina

North Carolina, a state with a past history of centrist politics, has drawn national attention since the Republican-led legislature that took power in 2010 pushed through the election law changes in the final days of the 2013 session.

The package would take effect in 2016. It requires voters to present government-issued photo IDs at the polls and shortens early voting by a week, from 17 days to 10

Other states with Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted similar voter identification requirements. Supporters say the measures are intended to restrict voter fraud. Opponents say they are calculated to suppress turnout by reliable Democratic constituencies who are less likely to have government-issued photo IDs.

The US attorney general, Eric Holder, had said in July that the US justice department would challenge a new voter identification law in Texas and suggested it was closely watching developments in North Carolina and other states.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/13/north-carolina-voter-id-law