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Comment by MLina M on November 25, 2009 at 1:44pm

DR volleyball defeats Korea
The DR Women's Volleyball team turned in a stellar performance at the FIVB Women's World Grand Champions Cup, winning the bronze after surprising victories over South Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) and hosts Japan (24-26, 25-22, 25-16, 25-18).
Italy won the championship defeating Japan that finished fourth. Brazil, the defending team, came in second.
The DR team put themselves into bronze medal contention with a strong win over South Korea. The Dominicans' 3-2 record put them ahead of Japan. Japan needed to beat Italy in the final match of the tournament, to claim third place on points ratio. When this didn't happen, the DR moved into third place.
"We had some tough games in this tournament, but it was a really good experience for us to play against the top teams in the world," a jubilant Dominican Republic coach Marcos Kwiek said. "We learned a lot and discovered many things we need to work on," he told FIVB.
The final day's results saw Italy beat Japan 3-1 (32-30, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18). The Dominican Republic beat South Korea 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) while Brazil beat Thailand 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18).


Gaby wins gold in Mexico
Dominican Taekwondo champion Gabriel Mercedes is still on a winning streak. This time he took the gold medal and US$20,000 purse at the World Taekwondo Tour, recently held in Mexico City. The silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics was facing the strongest competition yet in his post-Olympic career. The 16 toughest taekwondo artists in the world take part in the professional tournament. Mercedes beat Brazilian Marcio Wenceslau 3-0 for his gold medal. The one-day World Taekwondo Tour, the first of its kind, drew a total of 16 top-class athletes in four weight categories.


Aventura's AMA
Dominican-American bachata group Aventura has another award to place on its mantelpiece. This time the group walked away with an AMA for Favorite Latin Music Artist. The award came as a surprise to many, because the New York-based group was in the same category as powerhouses Wisin & Yandel and Luis Fonsi. The group expressed their honor at winning the award. Aventura has been one of the hottest Latin music acts in the last 10 years and their success has propelled bachata to new heights, bringing it to new audiences.

Comment by MLina M on November 10, 2009 at 3:56pm

Dominicus is BlueFlag beach
Bayahibe's La Laguna beach in Dominicus has once more received Blue Flag certification. The Institute of Environmental Law in the DR (IDARD) issued the certificate to the beach for 2009-2010. This brings the total Blue Flag beaches in the DR to seven.
La Laguna was the first Blue Flag beach in the Caribbean. But getting the certification is one thing, and keeping it is even harder. Dominicus had lapsed but is back again. The Blue Flag accreditation for La Laguna now runs from the Oasis Canoa, crossing in front of Catalonia Gran Dominicus, Iberostar Hacienda and the Dominicus public beach, on to the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Palace and Beach resorts.
La Romana-Bayahibe destination is now applying to certify the Bayahibe town beach and the Soco beach for 2010-2011.
Requirements for this prestigious accreditation are expensive and rigorous. Beach water quality is constantly monitored and maintained at high European standards, information and environmental education programs need to be in place, as well as environmental management, security and services at the beach, such as a lifeguard every 100 meters and public bathrooms.
Water quality monitoring has begun, combined with programs to educate beach users. If these two beaches succeed in obtaining this additional certification, the region will have the most accredited in the Caribbean.
Kelly Robinson de Schaun, executive director of the Romana-Bayahibe Hotels Association says that the beaches are important ecosystems for all. She says that the Blue Flag scheme encourages users to collaborate with the preservation, quality and cleanliness of these important resources. "We are pleased to open the way so that other beaches in the country can become interested in receiving this important environmental quality seal," she said.
Other Blue Flag beaches in the DR are:
Cabeza de Toro, Punta Cana - Dreams Palm Beach, Grand Oasis, Natura Park.
Puerto Plata: Costa Dorada Grand Oasis and Costa Dorada Iberostar. Playa Dorada I and Playa Dorada II.
See www.blueflag.org

Comment by MLina M on November 10, 2009 at 3:56pm

Dominican wins US horse race
In what has been described as a long-shot winner, 23-year old Dominican jockey Joel Rosario made off with the trophy in the US$2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint, held at the Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, California last Saturday. He thus positions Dominicans as world-class athletes in another sport - along with successes in baseball, basketball, volleyball, and several other sports. He won in a four-horse photo finish, riding Dancing in Silks. The normal eye showed a tie between Crown of Thorns (14-1) and Dancing in Silks (25-1).
Joel Rosario is a native of Pimentel in Duarte province (San Francisco de Macoris). He had a successful career at Santo Domingo's V Centenario Race Track, where he won 1,170 races and had four championship titles before moving to the US. Last December, he was in Puerto Rico where he won the Caribbean Classic riding Sicotico. This was the first time a Dominican jockey has ever won a big name race. He is now among the top 5 money producers for horse owners, with more than US$10 million.

What's up with Sammy?
Slammin' Sammy Sosa is back in the news this week. The former MLB slugger has been at the center of a controversy that has gripped the Internet and Sosa has done little to hush the critics. Sosa, known for his infectious smile, is also easily recognizable by his dark skin. But when he showed up on the red carpet at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas, his skin was much lighter than usual. Combined with his slicked back hair and green contact lenses he looked like a completely different person.
The buzz surrounding Sosa is reminiscent of Michael Jackson's controversial physical transformation. Rumors circulated that the photo was a hoax, or that Sosa was suffering from the skin disease vitiligo as a result of heavy steroid use.
A friend close to Sosa says the slugger is actually going through a "skin rejuvenation" process, which has made his skin lighter.
Quoted in the Chicago Times, Rebecca Polihronis said, "He's not trying to be Michael Jackson. He is going through a rejuvenation process for his skin. Women have it all of the time. He was surprised he came out looking so white. I thought it was a body-double. Part of (the photo appearance) is just the lighting. He is in the middle of doing a cleansing process to his skin. The picture is deceiving. He said, 'If you saw me in person, you would be surprised. When you see me in person, it is not going to seem like the picture'."
See: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/...

Comment by MLina M on November 5, 2009 at 1:48pm

10. Dominican men cheat
The perception that Dominican men are unfaithful to their wives might be the elephant in the room, but a study by Omnicom Media Group is proving some initial figures into how big the elephant really is. According to the survey of 2,400 people, 73% of men admitted cheating on their partners, while only 26% of women admitted to their infidelity. There is a 5% margin of error in the study, one of few on Dominican sexual behavior. Participants logged on to comportamientosexual.org and filled out a quick questionnaire, which was then evaluated by Omnicom.

11. It wasn't Pedro's day
The hype was bigger than the man and his myth. Pedro Martinez walked into the shadows of his legacy with a wave to the New York Yankee crowd, in what can only be deemed a disappointing end to his season, and maybe his career. Martinez came with his moxie, but Hideki Matsui, the anti-Pedro, equalized Pedro and etched another chapter in Yankee post-season history. The Bombers pounded on the Phillies, last night, and gave New York its 27th World Series title. The plots and sub-plots were many, but the 7-3 pounding reassured fans never to wager against the Yankees in the World Series. Although the victory will be shared and savored by all in Yankee Universe, Alex Rodriguez, a previous post-season goat, will enjoy not having the post-season burden on his back anymore. It's been nine seasons since the Yankees' last championship. Martinez seemed uncomfortable from the beginning, failing to get into a real groove. His first mistake was giving up a 2-run home run to Matsui, who ended the night with a record 6 RBI and became the first Japanese-born player to win an MVP. For Pedro's legion of fans, they are left with the memories of what he once was.

12. MLB donates
Continuing with their presence and support for youth in the DR, yesterday, Major League Baseball, through their local offices donated US$200,000 worth of shoes and baseball equipment. The items will be donated to local institutions that support baseball and softball teams. Ronaldo Peralta, MLB office director in the DR, will help distribute the equipment to all the beneficiary organizations.

Drug dealers keep their cash
El Dia newspaper is denouncing the fact that although some of the DR's big drug capos are arrested and extradited to the US, they have been able to maneuver in justice to keep their vast fortunes in the DR intact. The late Florian Feliz and extradited Quirino Paulino Castillo, Ernesto Bienvenido Guevara Diaz, Carlos Rosso Pena and Miguel Antonio Suarez Silfa had their cases heard by the judiciary, but continued to enjoy their wealth. The newspaper report estimates that Quirino Paulino, Guevara Diaz and Rosso Pena managed to keep a total of RD$1.8 billion among themselves. The Dominican justice system has not ordered the confiscation of assets in any of those cases. Quirino accepted to deduct RD$520 million of a fortune that is estimated to exceed RD$1 billion, as reported in Hoy.

El Dia reports that the system also favored Ernesto Bienvenido Guevara Diaz (Maconi) because when he was extradited there was an "error" by the Penal Court of the Supreme Court of Justice and his goods were not confiscated. He is in jail in the US, but continues to enjoy his riches, estimated in hundreds of millions.
The newspaper writes that the state prosecutor is now seeking for the US to order the confiscation of Guevara Diaz's property, which could be possible in a framework of international judicial cooperation.
Furthermore, former Navy officer Carlos Rosso Pena signed his voluntary extradition and was sent to the US without anyone touching his enormous fortune, which according to anti-narcotics agents is estimated at more than US$25 million, openly amassed in front of his colleagues and even using Dominican navy ships, as reported in El Dia. In that case, efforts are under way for the US to order the confiscation of the assets, estimated at more than US$16 million.

10. M

Comment by MLina M on October 29, 2009 at 10:52am

Krispy Kreme is coming
Krispy Kreme, the popular American doughnut chain, is coming to the Dominican Republic, for all to enjoy. The brand, which gained its fame for their hot-out-of-the-oven glazed doughnut, will open 14 stores throughout the DR within five years. The announcement of the doughnut chain is a sign of the growing local purchasing power and the acceptance of foreign brands in market. Krispy Kreme will join the likes of Papa Johns, Quiznos, Wendy's, McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King as the major international food chains in the DR.

A farm plan to generate billions
The Dominican Agro-Business Board (JAD), with technical support from the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) are drawing up a 20-year strategic plan, which includes generating during the first stage, of US$2.5 billion in farm exports by 2015, through the promotion of farming and agri-business projects. The aim is to export US$2.5 billion, which should continue increasing to US$5.0 billion in 2020, US$7.5 billion in 2025 and US$10.0 billion in 2030.
They will attempt to increase the supply by 40,000 hectares of crops and forestry products each five years, increasing the offer by 60,000 head of cattle, 60,000 milk cows, 70,000 pigs of 100 kg, 750,000 broilers, 600,000 egg layers, and 30,000 tons of fish products each five years and hope to create 70,000 new jobs in the farming sector.

Illegal charcoal rivals drugs
The illegal commerce in charcoal made from trees on the Dominican side of the border and smuggled to Haiti is now rivaling the drug trade. It is organized and controlled by gangs on both sides of the border. According to people in the area, this was the motive behind the murder of three Haitians in Pedernales last week. Listin Diario reporters learned that charcoal trafficking, either for use in Haiti or for local consumption, rivals the earnings of the drug trade, gun running, contraband appliances, alcoholic beverages or consumer goods such as rice and other forms of illegal trade in the frontier area.
Jimani is the second largest market along the frontier after Dajabon. It is the center for the illegal charcoal trade and the area where gangs fight over territory and where the charcoal ovens are built. There are several actors in the charcoal trade, including the Dominicans who hire Haitians to build the ovens and the Haitians who buy and re-sell the charcoal in Haiti. A RD$1000 bag of charcoal from the DR can fetch RD$1500 in Haiti.

Comment by MLina M on October 14, 2009 at 2:57pm

12. Bachata at the White House
Who could have ever imagined a musical genre associated with brothels and bordellos, and labeled "musica de guardia" (soldiers' music) or "musica baja" (lowlife music) playing at the White House? Well, this was the case last night, when Dominican bachata group Aventura took bachata where no other music group thought it would ever go. Last night Aventura was one of the musical guests as the White House celebrated 'Fiesta Latina' for Hispanic Musical Heritage, as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. The concert included performances by acts such as Tito El Bambino, Jose Feliciano, Gloria Estefan and other prominent Latin music stars. President Barack Obama said of Latin music, "It moves us, and it tends to make us move a little bit ourselves." Speaking about the opportunity, the group said, "it's definitely a great honor for us and a pleasure to perform at this event and to be one of the only groups representing the Dominican Republic".

Comment by Mario on October 1, 2009 at 7:29pm

Yo that poor kid got played they should have let him play, they let jim abbout played u remember an he only had one hand an would have to switch hands to put his glove on. Thats BULLSHIT LET THE KID PLAY!!!!!!

Comment by MLina M on September 30, 2009 at 12:35pm

Common law unions are legal
Live with someone and be prepared to face responsibilities. The Constitutional Revisory Assembly is including informal unions or "concubinage or common law marriages" in the Constitution. These unions will have the same rights and duties when it comes to personal and patrimony obligations as those of formally married couples. The Constitution establishes that the exclusive and stable union between a man and a woman, free of marriage impediments, that forms a de facto home, generates rights and duties in personal and patrimonial relations, in accordance with the law, as reported in Diario Libre.
Legislators also agreed that religious marriages by different religious denominations would have civil standing according to the terms established by the law, without prejudice to what is established in international treaties. In the past, only Roman Catholic Church weddings were given binding civil status.

Prospect's bad luck
Just three months ago Wagner Mateo was on top of the world. His young career seemed promising and the signing of a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, which included a US$3.1 million signing bonus, meant that in the short-term he could provide some financial stability for his family.
But now Mateo is facing the reality that he might never play a single inning with the Cardinals.
According to published reports the contract, which was signed on 2 July 2009, included a provision that gave the Cardinals a 90-day window to void the contract, and the bonuses, for a variety of reasons, including medical difficulties. And that's when the hammer dropped.
During a series of medical examinations lasting close to two months, doctors discovered that Mateo had visual problems, with his right eye testing 20/30. The Cardinals and their doctors labeled this a pre-existing injury.
Edgar Mercedes, who runs the Born to Play academy where Mateo trained and represented him in negotiations, said that Mateo has 20/30 vision in his right eye, but that the eye has no nerve damage and there is no degenerative condition. "The kid always played with that. When they saw him (in Florida at their spring training complex) in Jupiter, he was killing the ball. When they came to the Dominican Republic, he was killing the ball. He's worn contacts all along. His vision hasn't gotten any worse than when he was crushing everyone," said Mercedes.
Neither Mercedes nor his family has commented on the issue. Mercedes is holding a tryout for his Born To Play Baseball academy players on Oct. 17 in the Dominican Republic at the La Academia complex, where Mateo will be in attendance. Luis Jolie, a speedy 16-year-old Dominican center fielder who became eligible to sign on July 2, will also be in attendance, as will Edward Salcedo (more on him later).
Mateo's $3.1 million bonus would have been the highest this year for a 16-year-old international amateur player, topping the $3 million the Yankees gave to Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez. The bonus also would have been the highest in franchise history, edging the $3 million the organization gave J.D. Drew in 1998.
www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=6535


Deforestation at the border
Today's Listin Diario features a two-page report on how the DR is losing land to undocumented and destitute Haitian immigrants in the border region. The newspaper says that the main concern is deforestation. In the past, anyone flying over the border used to marvel about the contrast in the forest cover between the DR side and the Haiti side, but now the barren landscape is encroaching on the DR, due to degrading farming practices and charcoal production.
The reporter writes: "Haitians do not respect the area and have deforested very sensitive areas of the Bahoruco Mountain Range", adding that the few forestry rangers working in the area are helpless. According to local sources, new charcoal ovens are built as soon as others are removed. Other concerns include an increase in cattle rustl

Comment by MLina M on September 18, 2009 at 1:35pm

Drift thrills now in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo is getting its Drift Track. Opening at Av. Luperon on the site of the former Herrera Airport, the racing course is sponsored by AmBev Dominicana and its beer Brahma, in coordination with Carlos Then of Then Projects. The Brahma Light Drift Track opens on 19 September. Coming for the opening are Calvin Wan and Casper Canul of the American Drift Association. For the opening, popular Puerto Rican hip-hop band Calle 13 will be performing. The event starts at 2pm and costs RD$500. Tickets are for sale on site and through ticketexpress.com.do
Drifting is described in Wikipedia as a driving technique. It is a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors. As a motor sport, professional drifting competitions are held across the world.
Carlos Rodriguez, president of the Dominican Drift Society says they have been practicing the sport for the past 10 years.


Arlenis Sosa coming for DM09
Dominicana Moda, DM09, will be back in Santo Domingo starting on Monday, 19 October. Luis Menieur is booked for the first fashion show, with the participation of Arlenis Sosa, the Dominican "top model" ranked 24th in the world, who has modeled for a large number of leading cosmetic companies and international designers. Also coming are Austria Alcantara, Avril Guerrero and Rene Rodriguez, other Dominican international top models.
This year, Dominican designer Jenny Polanco will be presenting a performance in honor of the late Pina Bausch.
This year, a mall for fashion and apparel-related companies to show their goods will be open at the Hotel Occidental Embajador, which is again hosting the event.
Scheduled for 20 October are more fashion shows, with the presentation of the Caribbean Designers Showcase, with designer clothes from Jamaica, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti. The evening closes with a fashion show by Marisol Henriquez and Leonel Lirio.
Fashion shows continue through the week until Saturday, 24 October the closing with Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera and a grand dinner and closing party.
www.dominicanamoda.com

Comment by Tier0club.com on September 16, 2009 at 9:32am

oh yes! we produce more baseball players than any other country in the world. got an assembly line going :)

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