Monthly Archives: January 2010

Say no to Tasers

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 26, 2010
Two thumbs up for Argentine legislator Francisco “Tito” Nenna for raising a stink over the Buenos Aires police’s acquisition of five Taser X26. Calling them “torture implements,” he pointed out that both the UN and Amnesty International frown on their use. Electricity is a great method for torturing people because it hurts like hell and [...]
Posted in Argentina, Human Rights | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Strange Bedfellows”

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 26, 2010
In state elections all over Mexico, the left-wing Party for the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) are joining forces against the old-guard, authoritarian, and oxymoronically-named Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Patrick Corcoran of Gancho gives a great overview of the situation over at Mexidata.info: This plan is a striking reflection of [...]
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Not from their mothers

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 26, 2010
One wonders where Mexican gangsters get such colorful nicknames: Los 20, El Borrado, El Chupón. Then again, one is probably safer not knowing.
Posted in Mexico, Side notes, War on drugs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Run Mel, run

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 25, 2010
Porfirio Lobo’s first act after he’s sworn in as president of Honduras on Wednesday will be to grant safe conduct out of the country to ex-President Mel Zelaya, who was ousted last July and has been hanging out in the Brazilian embassy more or less ever since. He’ll now be spending some time in the [...]
Posted in Honduras, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Showdown at the Central Bank

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 25, 2010
The fracas over the firing of Argentina’s Central Bank president is turning into a showdown, pitting the executive against the judiciary. Last night, Central Bank (ex?)-president Redrado tried to access his office, but was turned away by security guards who said they answer to a higher power who had ordered Redrado barred from his office. [...]
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Argentina’s China problem

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 24, 2010
What with a Central Bank president defying her orders and a rogue vice president whose actions in her absence would be unpredictable, President Cristina Kirchner elected at the last minute to stay home from Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. She’s not the only one. Clarin reports that only 73 Argentine businesses will be present at [...]
Posted in Argentina, Economy, Trade | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Venezuela shuts down cable TV channels

By Peter Krupa | Published: January 24, 2010
Last night, the Venezuelan government cut off the cable transmissions of four channels nationwide, including that of RCTV. You might recall that the government had already cut off RCTV once, in 2007, by not renewing its bandwidth concession. Now it’s been silenced via cable as well. It’s not yet clear why exactly the government moved [...]
Posted in Human Rights, Venezuela | 1 Comment

  • DAILY LINKS

    • The Nation has a long, wonky, wonderful article on Mexican maize cultivation, the effects of NAFTA, and the dangers of genetically-modified seeds. Author Peter Canby backs up his excellent writing with piles and piles of meticulous research. Not to be missed. [link, via SM] (Image from Joel Penner.)

    • Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas ended his hunger strike yesterday after 134 days. Farinas decided to end his strike after the Cuban government said it would release political prisoners rounded up in the "Black Spring" crackdown of 2003. Get well soon. [link]

    • The Uruguayan selection, which has made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup, just received a shipment of half a ton of fine cuts of beef for the mother of all asados in preparation for a contest against Ghana on Friday: "450 kilos of lomo, 200 of entrecot, 75 of vacío, 75 of colita de cuadril, 150 of ojo de bife and 50 kg of picaña." [link]

    • Hitmen have assassinated the PRI candidate for governor of Tamaulipas State, Rodolfo Torre Cantú. Torre was gunned down along with six others at about 10:30 this morning on a highway on the way to a campaign event. Drug mafias are assumed to be responsible. [link]

    • From the days when coups were something of a regional sport, new documents detail a famous British ballerina's role in a plot to topple the government of Panama. The plan was to use her yacht to gather men and arms, then "land somewhere and collect in the hills." It didn't work. [link]

    • Mexico's Attorney General's Office has posted on its web site irrefutable evidence that gold-plated AR-15s and diamond-studded pistol grips are not nearly as cool-looking as they sound. The deadly knick-knack collection is said to belong to Valencia Cartel leader El Lobo. [link]

    • Two Brazilian ranchers were sentenced to 30 years in prison apiece for ordering the killing of an environmentalist nun: "Prosecutors said the pair offered to pay a gunman $25,000 to kill the 73-year-old [Dorothy] Stang because she had prevented them from stealing a piece of land that the government had granted to a group of poor farmers." [link]


    • This video of a kidnapping and car chase in Mexico is notable mainly for the bad-assitude of the TV journalists who were on this like white on rice. Well done, gentlemen.

    • The Economist takes a peak at the Mockus phenomenon in Colombia: "His moustacheless beard gives him the air of a Baltic pastor... He is financing his campaign with a bank overdraft. His supporters rely on Facebook and make their own posters; street vendors sell unofficial campaign T-shirts." [link]

    • Some cruise lines will cease traveling to Antarctica after this cruise season, as a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil goes into effect next year. The ban came after a 2007 incident when a Gap Adventures ship got punctured by ice and sank, causing a mess. [link]