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]
Category Archives: Argentina
El Ateneo
Just because it’s late, I’m tired, I’m still at work, and every so often you need to look at something beautiful, I give you, the most incredible bookstore in the world, the Librería El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires. More on Buenos Aires from NatGeo.
The mayor of Buenos Aires has announced a plan to give every grade school child in the city a netbook. The first 815 students will be getting the new machines by April, and all 170,000 students will have one by 2011, officials say. The plan was inspired by a similar, national plan carried out in [...]
Also posted in Side notes Leave a comment
Right whales off the coast of Argentina are dying in large numbers. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, 308 have washed up dead since 2005, and it is estimated that 28% of calves are dying, an unusually high number. A BBC report blames seagulls, which have bred in large numbers due to nearby fisheries and [...]
Also posted in Environment, Side notes Leave a comment
The New York Times reports that lithium is the next big commodities boom, just as soon as people start buying millions of electric cars. The metal was never in much demand before, but now it’s a principle ingredient of lithium ion batteries. The world’s largest lithium reserves are found in Bolivia, but multinational companies are exploring [...]
Also posted in Bolivia, Chile, Economy, Side notes, Trade Leave a comment
Bigelow turns lens south
Fresh off her Best Picture win for The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow is talking about her next movie. It’s called Triple Frontier, a mistranslation of Triple Frontera, which is the border region shared by Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The area is famous for being a no-man’s land, where anything goes, legally speaking. It’s also [...]
Argentina’s “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at last night’s ceremony. The film is something of a detective thriller: A worn-out cop goes back to the past to solve a decades-old murder. [trailer, link]
Also posted in Arts and Culture, Side notes Leave a comment
Kirchner up against it
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s ballsy victory on Central Bank reserves is starting to look awfully Pyrrhic. The opposition reacted swiftly. Not only has a judge blocked the use of reserves to pay debt, but the opposition (now with a majority coalition in the Senate) is moving to fire her Central Bank president. Today, in a [...]
Former Argentine President Menem has been found, and he’s pledged he’ll join the opposition today in Argentina’s Senate, giving them a 37-seat majority in that chamber. Menem failed to appear for the key vote last week, causing major embarrassment to the opposition. [link]
Also posted in Politics, Side notes Leave a comment
A judge in Buenos Aires ordered police to suspend the use of electric stun-guns until it rules on the merits of a complaint filed by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office. Controversy erupted when the stun-guns were purchased back in January. [link]
Also posted in Human Rights, Side notes Leave a comment
Magician with the picana