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: Odd
‘Magic wands’ not so magic
Mexico spent $10 million on drug-and-explosives finding “magic wands” that basically don’t work. The UK is trying to block the company that makes the GT 200 from exporting any more. Here is what should have been Mexico’s first clue that it had been conned: Promotional materials on the Internet describe the GT 200 as a [...]
The sex tape you never wanted
Well, I guess that was bound to happen sooner or later. In Brazil, a priest was caught on video having sex with an alter boy (the alter boy is of-age, though allegedly he wasn’t when the two started their thing). SBT went ahead and put a heavily-blurred version on TV. Thankfully, the ugliest thing you [...]
Only in Cuba could a two-vehicle accident leave seven dead and 40 injured. The accident took place yesterday when two trucks carrying passengers collided. Because of the scarcity of all forms of transportation in Cuba, people pack into old cargo trucks to get from place to place. [link]
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Faceoff
Bolivan President Evo Morales is in Chile this week for Sebastian Piñera’s swearing in as that country’s new president. The two are facing off this afternoon on the football pitch. From EFE: The game, which was organized by the Chilean Ex-Professional Football Players Union, will include the participation of former renowned Chilean players, including Marcelo [...]
Half-spring forward
The last time I was in Venezuela, I never quite figured out what time it was. My laptop clock was always off by a half hour, in one direction or the other. When I got home, I remembered that Chávez had ordered the clocks moved back by half an hour to give kids more time [...]
Rush Limbaugh, health care reform protester sex tourist
Rush Limbaugh has said he’ll move to Costa Rica if Congress passes health care reform. But that can’t be right. By Limbaugh standards, Costa Rica is practically Stalinist, what with the social security system providing government health care and government clinics to everybody who pays into the system (workers must contribute about 15% of their [...]
Falta de respeto
Two Costa Rican congressmen almost came to blows yesterday on the floor of the legislature over a “falta de respeto.” As is typical of a Costa Rican sissy-fight, everyone is pretty polite about the whole thing, at least up until the end. You will note that Oscar López, the diputado who steps, is blind. Often [...]
Also posted in Costa Rica, Politics Tagged Costa Rica, fights, legislature, Politics Leave a comment
Eight people died in Peru when a bar served them soft drinks mixed with methanol. Police are investigating. Methanol – also known as wood alcohol – is ethanol‘s evil, deadly twin, and used in antifreeze, solvents, and fuel. [link]
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Facepalm
In Costa Rica, some genius with a semi-truck load of fertilizer thought he’d try driving across a rickety, one-lane wooden bridge. Things did not go as planned.
Here’s hoping for more episodes