Commentary
Blogs
Books
Translated diary offers teenage boy’s view of life after war
February 07, 2010
The book has been out for a few months, but now there’s a Web site to support The Journal of Valdis Fomenko, the English translation of a teenage Latvian boy’s diary of life in a liberated Nazi concentration camp at the end of World War II.
Dažādi
‘Glābējsilīte’ is word of the year
January 18, 2010
In what clearly is a sign of the times, the Latvian word of the year is glābējsilīte, a place where unwanted babies can be abandoned, the Rīga Latvian Society (Rīgas Latviešu biedrība) has announced.
Music
Maskačkas spēlmaņi releases double album of dance tunes
January 12, 2010
The Rīga folk ensemble Maskačkas spēlmaņi in December released a new album consisting of two compact discs and a detailed, illustrated booklet of folk dances from around Latvia.
Columns
Latvian Computing
Conference offers a promising future for Latvian IT
December 01, 2009
Imagine the next time you’re visiting Rīga you pull your iPhone or Blackberry out of your pocket and point it to your favourite Art Nouveau architecture to receive more fascinating facts about the building.
Politics in Latvia
Indecisive politics surround a decisive budget
November 12, 2009
The grueling budgetary process in which Latvia has been engaged for months is coming to some resolution with a final adoption of the 2010 budget scheduled by Dec. 1.
Politics in Latvia
Effects of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact continue to haunt Europe
September 06, 2009
While Latvia is still fighting to save its economy, prevent further deterioration in living standards and ensure equitable distribution of European and International Monetary Fund loans, recent political focus has been mostly on international affairs. For the Baltic states significant issues of the past and present were closely aligned.
Politics in Latvia
A new order emerges, or old troubles are re-emerging
August 16, 2009
Recent political attention in Latvia has been sharply divided between the government of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis desperately trying to pull Latvia out of its financial mess with the aid of the International Monetary Fund, and new political developments particularly centred around the Rīga City Council election.
Politics in Latvia
Dealing with the deficit and with Rubiks
May 12, 2009
Since Latvia’s new government came into office two months ago, the atmosphere of Latvian politics has changed almost beyond recognition. When President Valdis Zatlers picked Valdis Dombrovskis to be prime minister, a sequence of events began that now show us a government facing up to the realities both of the catastrophic financial crisis engulfing Latvia, and of the need to change a political culture of corruption and self serving.
Sold: A piece of diplomatic history at 17th and Webster
February 01, 2010
On Jan. 7, in a quiet neighbourhood on the northwest side of Washington, D.C., the Latvian government sold a small piece of land that once had a big impact on our country’s history. The brown brick two-story building on the corner of 17th and Webster may have served as Latvia’s first embassy in the United States for 14 years, but for many it will always be remembered in its first diplomatic incarnation, as the Legation of Latvia.
What exactly is a “legation” and why were Latvia and Lithuania the last countries in the world to have them? In the beginning of the last century, most foreign diplomatic missions were called “legations,” but after World War II it became fashionable to upgrade them to embassies. Unlike Latvia and Lithuania, which established legations in pre-war Washington, D.C., Estonia chose instead to open a general consulate in New York. Since all three countries came under Soviet occupation in 1940, none of them could upgrade their missions to embassies, and their designations remained frozen in place during the Cold War.
Opinions
January 13, 2010
Latvia exports success
During Latvia’s boom years, our exports never exceeded imports. Last year, during the peak of the economic crisis, they did. What gives? A look at some of our top exporting companies offers some surprising clues.
Publicēts 2009.12.31
2010. gads prasīs daudz spēka un darba
Labvakar, Latvija! Stāvot uz gadu mijas sliekšņa, allaž atskatāmies pagātnē un domājam par nākotni.
Publicēts 2009.11.17
Lai mums izdodas saglabāt nešaubīgu ticību Latvijas nākotnei
Es nešaubīgi ticu Latvijas nākotnei, kas izaugs no mums.
November 10, 2009
In Latvia, the kids are all right
One afternoon not long ago, I was standing in line at my neighborhood pharmacy, where the overhead lighting was almost as harsh as the saleslady’s icy glare. When my turn came to step up to the counter, I rattled off a list of items as if I were ordering sandwiches at a deli.
Publicēts 2009.11.05
ALA, PBLA gatavojas 10. Saeimas vēlēšanām
Kaut arī līdz Latvijas Republikas 10. Saeimas vēlēšanām ir vēl gads, gatavošanās šim procesam kļūst par vienu no galvenajām Amerikas latviešu apvienības (ALA) Informācijas nozares darba prioritātēm.
Publicēts 2009.10.15
Latvija izdzīvos. Jautājums būs tikai, kā?
Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība kā ārzemju latviešu centrālo organizāciju augstākā pārstāvība pastāv un darbojas jau vairāk nekā 53 gadus. Mūsu organizācijai ir ievērojama pieredze un atpazīstamība. PBLA valde pārstāv visas lielākās latviešu mītnes zemes - ASV, Kanādu, Austrāliju, Eiropu, Krieviju un Dienvidameriku.
September 28, 2009
Living in Rīga brings appreciation for heat
I had never thought much about heat before. Its presence indoors was so reliable that the seasons seemed to pass seamlessly from warm months to cold. Weather belonged outside. Then I moved to Rīga, Latvia.
September 18, 2009
Capitalizing on Rīga
Don’t expect Rīga to be completed if it becomes a European Capital of Culture in 2014. According to legend, Rīga can never be “finished,” or it will sink to the bottom of the Daugava River.
August 19, 2009
How do you say ‘zaglis’ in English?
I’m a liar and a thief, a deceiver and a cheat. I steal precious goods with one hand and give back an inferior product with the other, drawing a profit from the difference. I make a living peddling mere shadows of the truth, spend my days practicing the fine art of deception. I translate texts from Latvian into English.
July 21, 2009
Coming to terms with Latvians from Latvia
I first heard the term “LL” sometime in the early 1990s, not long after Latvia regained its independence. Back then the label simply indicated a fact of provenance and was yet to become a slur—a ghost yet to become spook. Latvijas latvietis: a Latvian from Latvia. A Latvian Latvian. A Latvian squared.
What's new
News
07 Feb 2010
Irish solicitor disappointed by lack of charges in Saulīte case
The Irish attorney who represented murder victim Baiba Saulīte,…
Blogs
07 Feb 2010
Translated diary offers teenage boy’s view of life after war
The book has been out for a few months, but now there’s a Web…
Reviews
03 Feb 2010
Just another travel guide? For Rīga, fortunately not!
Are all travel guides the same? Is this really…
In the forums
Latvia for Sale...... posted by Dejotajs on 05 Feb 2010
Someone send William McIntosh, the D-Day Memorial's president, a copy of "The Soviet Story" posted by ambersun on 04 Feb 2010
Months go by.... posted by nick on 01 Feb 2010
English to Latvian translation required posted by fleuryfox on 01 Feb 2010
Blue paper, white chalk for medicinal healing in Latvia posted by Irena on 31 Jan 2010
