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]
Author Archives: Peter Krupa
Too sexy for Brazil
This ad is causing outrage. In Brazil. Yeah, I don’t get it either. (h/t The Latin Americanist.)
In a long, detailed essay, The Economist brutalizes the Kirchners for their caudillista ways. “They have bullied institutions that have got in their way, from the judiciary to the Central Bank. They have used the power of the state to harass groups they see as hostile, from farmers to utility companies. Meanwhile, some of their [...]
Posted in Argentina, Politics, Side notes Leave a comment
TRANSLATION: Girl saved island village from tsunami by sounding alarm
(Translated from an article in La Tercera.) On the Juan Fernández Islands, 600km off the coast of Chile, the 8.8 earthquake that shook the mainland on Saturday morning was only a gentle tremble. At least that’s what it felt like to Maratina Maturana, 12 years old and the daughter of a federal police officer stationed [...]
The 8.8 quake that hit Chile on Saturday was the fifth strongest on record since 1900. Chile was also the site of the strongest earthquake ever recorded, a 9.5 monster along the same fault line in 1960. [link]
Posted in Chile, Side notes Leave a comment
Asking for it
TIME Magazine has a theory that’s so awesome, they wouldn’t want to invalidate it by thinking. The reason the Haiti earthquake was so terrible and the Chilean earthquake so less terrible, they say, is because of corruption: In recent decades, Chile has mandated earthquake-proofing for new structures, requiring that materials like rubber and features like [...]
Nicaragua has chosen its first African-American Miss Nicaragua in 18-year-old Scharllette Allen, a Caribbean beauty from Blue Fields. [link]
Posted in Arts and Culture, Nicaragua, Side notes Leave a comment
Pura Coca
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton started her visit to the region today. She’ll be stopping by Uruguay for an inauguration, Chile for an earthquake, Brazil for Iran-related lobbying, and Costa Rica for… what, exactly? The tree frogs? The coffee? A gander at Oscar Arias’ Nobel Peace Prize? The lovely cosmopolitan atmosphere of bustling downtown [...]
Posted in Costa Rica, War on drugs Tagged cocaine, Costa Rica, drug trafficking, Hillary Clinton 1 Comment
The mayor of Concepción, Chile, the city hardest-hit by yesterday’s earthquake, is asking for the military to help control looting. “Sailors and soldiers are needed in the street, because this is chaos.” [link]
Posted in Chile, Side notes Leave a comment
Two school teachers are suing the Argentine military for burning garbage on a base in Antarctica less than 50 meters away from a major penguin mating and nesting grounds. [link]
Posted in Argentina, Environment, Side notes Leave a comment
Venezuelan connection