Daily Headlines: April 18, 2014

* Mexico: A magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck near the resort city of Acapulco this morning and was felt throughout fourteen states in central and southern Mexico.
 
* Brazil: A two-day police strike ended in Brazil’s third-largest city, Salvador, but not before thirty-nine homicides were committed during that period.

* Chile: Officials with Chile’s national forestry agency claimed that firemen have “contained” a massive fire in Valparaiso that killed at least fifteen people and destroyed nearly three thousand homes.

* Cuba: Is Cuba on the verge of an “imminent health crisis” due to a reported shortage of condoms?
 
Video Source– YouTube user elsiglocomve (Residents in Mexico City exited their homes and places of residence Friday morning as a result of a powerful earthquake near Acapulco).

Online Sources – CNN; Reuters; The Guardian; Bernama

Study: One in Three Young Brazilians Use Condoms

A study released last week found that some Brazilian youth engage in risky sexual and drug practices.

The report from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Federal University of São Paulo or the acronym UNIFESP), 34.1% of 1742 young Brazilians between the age of 14 and 25 either rarely or do not use condoms whenever they engage in sexual intercourse. Of this percentage, a slightly high percentage of young women prefer to not use contraception in comparison to young men (38% compared to roughly 33%).

The Brazilian Health Ministry advises people to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases and undesirable pregnancies by using a condom.  As a result, health officials have distributed of millions of free prophylactics through campaigns such as the one in the video at the top of this post.  (About 493 million condoms were given away to young Brazilians in 2011 based on the Health Ministry data).

A March 2013 poll found that 83% of Brazilians favor condom use yet their distribution has come under fire from religious activists who back abstinence.

“In this carnival do not have sex. Keep yourself holy for marriage, because family is good,” said legislator Alexandre Padilha in 2012.

“Despite widespread awareness of condoms, 40% of young people in Brazil do not use condoms in all sexual relations, according to the health department,” mentioned a CNN.com article from 2012.

Daily Headlines: February 17, 2012

* Honduras: Honduran and international human rights groups alleged that the government’s crackdown on gang violence led to overcrowded prisons including the one where over 350 people died in a fire.

* Latin America: According to a new study China has issued $75 billion in loans to Latin America since 2005; thus, topping financing from the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and U.S. Export-Import Bank.

* Brazil: Officials in Rio de Janeiro state reportedly plan to give away over three million condoms during Carnival festivities that begin this week.

* U.S.: A Pew Research Center analysis concluded that Latinos have helped boost the rise in interracial marriages to a record 4.8 million unions.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English (The prison in Comayagua, Honduras where a major fire took place this week housed over 800 inmates, more than double its original capacity.)

Online Sources- Fox News Latino, CNN, Americas Quarterly Blog, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

World Watch: Change of heart?

* Vatican: Vatican authorities said that condom use may be acceptable to avoid the spread of AIDS and other diseases yet they are still “immoral” as a birth control device.

* Asia: Tensions increased between the two Koreas after one of the most serious military clashes since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

* Germany: Samuel Kunz, the "world's third most wanted" suspected Nazi, died last week near his hometown near Bonn, Germany.

* Ireland: The Irish government has come under fire over approving an $11 billion bailout from the E.U. and I.M.F.

Image – Getty Images via The Guardian ("The Vatican attempted to clarify the pope's comments about condoms.”)
Online Sources- The Guardian, New York Daily News, ABC News, CNN

Today's Photos: Condones Cubanos

Great series of photos at Global Post on how condoms are used for a variety of tasks other than the obvious. I'm hoping the wineskin is non-lubricated...

Image Source: Global Post

Image 1: The latex prophylactics can work just like a wineskin. (Nick Miroff/GlobalPost); Image 2: Fishing with condoms is easier at dusk — during the day the sun can burst the latex. (Nick Miroff/GlobalPost)

Brazil: Free condoms for Carnival participants

Carnival festivities will start in a few days throughout the Americas including the world famous celebrations Rio de Janeiro. The global press has focused primarily on a seven-year-old girl being selected girl drum corps queen for one of Rio’s top samba groups. For instance, the following was CNN’s take on Julia Lira:

Whether one finds Lira’s actions reprehensible or not is up to you, yet the focus on this post is on the press. While they’ve targeted Lira in reports at times bordering on sensationalism, (i.e. the AP referring to Lira as the “Shirley Temple of samba”) a more important Carnival-related story has been largely overlooked. Brazil’s government will handout over several million free condoms at Carnival celebrations around the country as part of an AIDS prevention campaign:

A new television ad features a talking condom that loudly reminds young people to take him along when they go out to party.

Health Minister Jose Temporao said Saturday that this year's campaign is focusing on educating young women and young gay men to use protection.

The slogan is: "The condom. For love, passion or just sex. Always use it."

The free birth control distribution will be similar to those promoted by Brazilian health officials over the past two years and that have been opposed by Catholic Church officials.

It’s a pity that the press has put the condom giveaway on the back burner compared to the gyrations of a little girl. Anything for a buck, I guess.

Online Sources- Washington Post, CNN, Canadian Press, The Latin Americanist

Today’s Video: Punished for spirituality

Earlier this week we examined how religion can be used by clergymen as a tool to help others and bring about positive change. But what happens when a religious figure is condemned for trying to do what’s right?

The Rev. Luiz Couto is both a practicing Roman Catholic priest and member of Brazil’s congress. After seeing the negative effects of AIDS in his community, Couto advocated the free distribution of condoms. In addition, he publicly condemned discrimination against gays.

The Archdiocese of the Brazilian state of Paraiba disagreed with Couto and foolishly punished him:

According to media reports, Paraiba Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto cancelled Couto's right to celebrate mass in the northeastern Brazilian state.

The archbishop denounced Couto's comments and said they were the opposite of the Vatican's official positions on these contentious issues. Pagotto said this led to confusion within the Roman Catholic faith. If the priest publicly revoked his comments, he could return to his duties.

"I am going to continue celebrating mass at home, among friends," Couto retorted.

Instead of using religion to condemn and exclude, let us put it to better use. Couto’s remarks against the spread of AIDS and opposed to discrimination ought to be welcomed and maturely discussed. Sadly Pagotto opted for the wrong move.

(The above video is a Brazilian PSA that was aired during last year’s Carnaval).

Online Sources- earthtimes, YouTube, The Latin Americanist

“Spray-on” condoms about to start production

Much like in this post the following story is not exclusively related to the Americas yet it’s still caught our attention.

A German scientist has perfected a special “spray-on” condom that is touted to fit any sized penis. How does it work?

The condoms…are applied with a special applicator. Men insert their assets, press a button, and an aerosol canister sprays on a fast-drying latex liquid. 25 seconds later, the condom is dry and ready for use. It is then rolled off and disposed afterward.

The greatest advantage of the system is the “one size fits all” approach though the director of the Institute for Condom Consultancy admitted that applying the spray may interfere with the “romance factor” of lovemaking. The cost of each application will be roughly double that of conventional prophylactics though the system is nearly ready for production.

Will the “spray-on” condom system achieve widespread use? Perhaps, though it will surely take time to catch on in underdeveloped countries.

(Hat tip: The Daily Dish).

Image- Inventor Spot

Sources- The Daily Dish, Spiegel Online, Switched, The Latin Americanist

U.N.: More L. America AIDS cases due to "demonized" condoms

A senior official of the United Nations AIDS program claimed that the Catholic Church’s ban on condoms is making it easier for the virus to spread in Latin America:

"In Latin America the use of condoms has been demonized, but if they were used in every relation I guarantee the epidemic would be resolved in the region," said Alberto Stella, the UNAIDS Coordinator for Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Despite the growth of Protestantism in Latin America, Roman Catholicism continues as the dominant faith in the region. The Church has used its political clout to influence issues relating to health such as condom distribution and decriminalizing abortion.

Sources- Reuters, ipsnews.net, The Latin Americanist

Image- New York Times