Today’s Video: Puppy chow

Welcome to Mexico City where, if you have the means, you can take your pet pooch to an upscale bistro and nosh on gourmet delicacies:

We’ll let you decide if the “Bow Wow Deli” concept is cute or cringe worthy.

Online Sources- YouTube

Peruvian breed to be “First Puppy”?

Some stories speak for themselves:

Peruvians crazy about their national dog, a bald and often toothless breed popular among Incan kings, offered on Monday to send a hypoallergenic puppy to the Obama family.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has promised daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, a new pet for the White House. But Malia is allergic to most breeds, he said on Friday as speculation swirled about the dog the family would choose.

Owners of the Peruvian Hairless Dog, a breed dating back 3,000 years and depicted in pre-Hispanic ceramics, say it is perfect for kids who are sensitive to dogs.

"They do not cause any type of allergy and are very friendly and sweet," said Claudia Galvez, 38, director of the Friends of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association.

One question: will the dog bite?

Image- MSNBC (“Josh, left, and his mother, Jala, stand at the Huaca Pucllana archeological site in Lima, Peru. They are Peruvian Hairless Dogs, an ancient species that was nearly wiped out.”)
Sources- Reuters UK, NBC New York

Daily Headlines: August 19, 2008

* Brazil: Police recovered a missing Pablo Picasso print that had been nicked from a Sao Paulo art museum in June.

* Paraguay: Ache tribal chief Margarita Mbywangi was selected by newly-inaugurated leader Fernando Lugo to be Paraguay’s minister for indigenous affairs.

* Puerto Rico: Trial proceedings started against three people accused of illegally disposing of pets by tossing them off a bridge and killing them.

* Colombia: For once, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and Human Rights Watch can agree on something: to condemn the FARC guerillas for allegedly detonating a deadly bomb during a local street festival.

Image- Associated Press (“The Picasso print entitled "Minotaur, Drinker and Women" is shown to the press during a news conference in Sao Paulo, Monday Aug.18, 2008. Police recovered the print, the last of four artworks that were stolen from Sao Paulo's Estacao Pinacoteca Museum last June. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)”)

Sources- Human Rights Watch, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, MSNBC, Xinhua

News briefs: Caribbean

* At least eight people have been officially declared dead in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic due to heavy rains and flash floods caused by Tropical Storm Olga.

* Presidential contender Mike Huckabee has been accused of flip-flopping after changing his stance to support the trade embargo on Cuba.

* A researcher has concluded that Jamaica is suffering from “brain drain” caused by specialized workers immigrating off the island.

* A U.S. appeals court will decide if a Haitian man convicted of murder should be deported despite needing special medical attention.

* In the aftermath of the massacring of pets in Puerto Rico, island officials pledged to improve the treatment of animals and “tell the world that Puerto Rico is a civilized society.”

Sources-Sydney Morning Herald, Los Angeles Times, Jamaica Gleaner, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 15, 2007

* “Give the Malvinas back Mr. Blair,” declared Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in support of Argentina’s claims to the Falkland Islands.

* A study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health praised Brazilian anti-AIDS efforts including lowering the prices of medicines.

* Wal-Mart Mexico’s bank unit plans to offer more services and expand to approximately 100 branches by next year.

* The latest quarterly profits of telecom giant Telefónica rose by 39% mainly based on sales in Latin America.

* Follow-up: An Associated Press investigation found that the inhumane disposable of unwanted pets in Puerto Rico may more widespread than a mere incident months ago.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, USA TODAY – On Deadline, Bloomberg, International Herald Tribune, Associated Press

Image- ADN Boletin Digital (Road sign reading “The Falklands are Argentine”)

Daily Headlines: October 23, 2007

* Follow-up #1: Puerto Rican pet owners whose cherished animals died after being thrown over a fifty foot bridge filed a $22.5 million lawsuit in federal court.

* Follow-up #2: Peruvian president Alan Garcia’s reached an all-time low after enjoying a spike in popularity in the aftermath of August’s deadly tremors.

* Travelers at crossing points along the U.S.-Mexico border are becoming increasingly upset with rule changes designed to strengthen security.

* Will Robert Rodriguez’ fiancé thwart the remake of 1960s cult film “Barbarella”?

* Two people were killed in Brazil after clashing with the security guards of a Swiss-owned biotech farm.

Sources- Bloomberg, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune, Empire Online, MSNBC

Image- MSNBC

Daily Headlines: October 16, 2007

* The latest issue of the Brazilian version of Playboy is a hit; the centerfold is a senator being investigated for corruption.

* Costa Rica’s government proposed a new land reform program…for endangered turtles.

* Christopher Columbus’ status is not only controversial in the Americas. The Spanish descendents of the captains of the Nina and Pinta want their own holiday, too.

* Follow-up: Animal welfare groups are helping Puerto Rican tenants file lawsuits after their pets were seized and thrown off a fifty-foot bridge.

Image- Wooster Collective (Street art in Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Sources- Bloomberg, Reuters, International Herald Tribune, CBC, New York Daily News, The Latin Americanist

Puerto Rico: Anger over pet massacre

Puerto Rico's housing department has started an investigation against animal control workers who allegedly threw dogs and cats off a bridge and to their deaths.

Tenants of several public housing units in the city of Barceloneta had been threatened with eviction by workers of Animal Control Solutions (ACS) unless they gave up their pets and many complied with them. Yet these pet owners were grief-stricken and outraged after learning of the possibly cruel end to their animals’ lives:

“It was barbaric” said (tenant Elvira) Tirado, 56, who wept Saturday as she described caring for the seven-year-old dog. “This has been a really hard blow for all of us… I have been crying so much I can barely sleep.”

Julio Diaz- owner of ACS- claimed that the animals were treated humanely before being euthanized at company-owned shelters despite some eyewitness claims that dead and live animals were tossed over the 50-foot bridge.

Image- MSNBC (Cat trying to get free from a Mississippi animal shelter)

Sources (English)- BBC News, Guardian UK

Source (Spanish)- Primera Hora