Speaking of the next big tourist event, Venezuela hopes to build a space shuttle and launching pad. The government, with the help of a small Texas company, wants to offer trips to the moon. While we re on the subject of Latin America, the truely fascinating Mexican holiday Day of the Dead was celebrated just a couple of weeks ago. Unlike America, where we are downright scared of death and seem totally incapable of handling it s reality, the Mexican culture seems to embrace it. This is probably a much healthier attitude considering most people actually do die eventually.
Elsewhere death is held as a punishment.
In Iran, according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, a convicted murderer will be spared from the death sentence after the father of the slain son pardoned him. The pardoned man now faces up to ten years in prison. And finally a bit of a biology story. British researchers are on their way to South Georgia in the south Atlantic to study penguins. The penguins have been reported to watch planes and helicopters flying overhead, leaning back to watch their flight until they fall over.