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: Side notes
Honduras appears to be challenging Mexico for the title of Worst Place to Be a Journalist: Two more journalists were killed in Honduras on Saturday, bringing the total number of journalists killed there during March to five. None of the crimes have been solved. [link]
Also posted in Honduras, Human Rights | Leave a comment
Latin America is the most unequal region in the world, according to a recent report from the U.N. The wealthiest 20% of the population hold 56% of the total wealth. The most unequal countries in the region are Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, with Venezuela and Colombia also fairing particularly badly. [link]
Also posted in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Human Rights, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela Leave a comment
El Faro‘s long, weird interview with a man who was involved in the 1980 killing of El Salvadoran Archbishop Romero has been translated into English. “How we killed Archbishop Romero” reveals that an ex-president’s son was the trigger-man. [link]
Also posted in El Salvador, Human Rights Leave a comment
Colombian wunderkid preacher Josué David Parra is only 13 years old, but he’s been traveling the continent, preaching whatever it is he preaches, since he was four. He can also heal folks, and he’s a snappy dresser. [link]
Also posted in Colombia, Odd Leave a comment
Panama has pulled down a coveted investment grade for its sovereign debt. Fitch Ratings upgraded Panama to BBB-minus because of the country’s excellent track record of fiscal responsibility and break-neck growth over the last decade. With the upgrade, Panama is now on the level of heavyweights like Brazil, Mexico, and Chile in terms of investor [...]
Also posted in Economy, Panama Leave a comment
Peru is the deadliest country in the world to be a pedestrian, according to a report from the World Health Organization. Of the country’s 3,510 traffic fatalities in 2007, 78% were pedestrians. An article in El Comercio blames lack of infrastructure development. [link]
Chilean José Miguel Insulza was elected today to a second 5-year term today as Secretary General of the Organization of American States. [link]
Also posted in Politics Leave a comment
A car bomb detonated this morning in Buenaventura, on Colombia’s Pacific coast, killed six and injured 42. The 40-kilo charge was placed in a Mazada and detonated a few meters from the public prosecutor’s office and the municipal hall. The government is blaming the FARC. [link]
Also posted in Colombia, War on drugs Leave a comment
Today from The Mex Files, a brief look at a despicable figure from Mexican history, Victoriano Huerta: “He hunted down Zapatistas (and anyone who looked like they might be a Zapatista — meaning, basically — everybody), stringing them up and engaging in a scorched earth policy across Morelos State.” [link]
Also posted in History, Mexico Leave a comment
Though it’s been revealed that the Vatican has received a total of 3,000 complaints of pederasty from around the world this decade, the Mexican Episcopal Conference tells La Jornada that it does not keep track of the number of complaints originating in Mexico, nor plans to do so, claiming Church policy is to pass the [...]
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