Notable Quotable: Last but also first

"For me, just walking into the opening ceremonies and being here was like winning a gold medal...But I realized after that, this is it for me. I have a new chapter coming.”

---Argentine luger Ruben Gonzalez puts matters into perspective despite finishing last in the men’s luge at Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The 47-year-old former photocopier salesman made a new record by becoming the first athlete to compete in four different Winter Olympics in four different decades (1988, 1992, 2002 and 2010). After suffering his share of injuries over years of competing (and possibly influenced by the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili), Gonzalez has retired from luge.

Image- Times Online
Online Sources- CTV, The Province, Boston.com

Notable Quotables: From the Murray River to the Rio Grande

"We had folks send an email saying, in good Australian fashion, 'Hey mate, we've been watching your border for you from the pub in Australia'," he said.

---Executive director of the Texas Border Sheriffs' Coalition Don Reay comments on people as far away as Australia who monitor webcams along the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to Reay over 100,000 web users worldwide have registered to become “virtual border patrol deputies.”

In a CBS News video we posted last month, the border cameras have something of a cult following though its minor efficacy doesn’t justify its major price tag.

(Hat tip: FP Passport).

Online Sources- FP Passport, The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK
Image- BBC News

Notable Quotables: Adios death penalty

"Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime"...

"Faced with the reality that our system for imposing the death penalty can never be perfect, my conscience compels me to replace the death penalty with a solution that keeps society safe."

---Governor Bill Richardson signed a law on Wednesday repealing the death penalty in his home state of New Mexico.

New Mexico thus becomes the fifteenth state to abolish the death penalty.

Image- AFP (Governor Bill Richardsonat the 2008 Democratic National Convention).
Online Source- CNN

Quote of the Day: What's in a name?

Black teen: So, what you say your name was?
Hispanic teen: Irving.
Black teen: Irving? How you be Puerto Rican and have a name like 'Irving'? Hi, my name's Irving... That's fucked up.
Hispanic teen: Yeah, Puerto Ricans name their kids some crazy shit.

--A conversation between "two yutes" via Overheard in New York.

Image- DCist
Source-Overheard in New York, imdb.com

Quote of the Day: Trying to stay in Canada

“It is a constant reminder of my plight in Colombia as it repeats themes of my disappearance in Colombia: . . . being a victim of slander or evidence I am not allowed access to . . . having a life I am trying to establish wrecked; being powerless compared to state actors who act with complete impunity.”

--Former Colombian trade unionist Amparo Torres described to the Toronto Star her plight in trying to remain as a permanent resident in Canada for nearly a decade.

Despite being recognized as a “high-profile political refugee” who is currently married with two sons, Torres may be deported back to Colombia by Canadian immigration officials by the end of the year.

Source- TheStar.com

Image- BBC News

Quote of the Day: A notion of progress

“Our politicians are always talking about how migrants are treated in the US, but no one focuses on how they live in their own communities…Something is missing in our country. We need people to say, 'This is my country, this is my home, this is my land.' Tamaula can be a model.”

--Adriana Cortes- the director of the not-for-profit Bajio Community Foundation- emphasized how some community groups are promoting small businesses in Mexican rural towns. The aim is to develop villages and make them more self-sustainable, thus prevent immigration to the U.S.

Source- Christian Science Monitor

Image- Food and Agriculture Organization

Quote of the Day: Kirchner’s her own woman

“I don't want to be compared with Hillary Clinton, nor with Evita Peron, nor with anybody…There's nothing better than being yourself.”

--Argentine first lady and presidential candidate Cristina Kirchner tried her best in a radio interview to brush off comparisons between her and the Senator Clinton. As we noted in July, some political commentators have even gone so far as to compare the jewelry worn by Kirchner and Clinton.

The latest polls indicate that Kirchner will easily win in the first round of elections this Sunday. In an encouraging sign for female politicians in the region, opposition politician Elisa Carrio runs second in the polls.

Sources (English)- CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Latin Americanist,

Sources (Spanish)- Clarin

Image- USA TODAY

Quote of the Day: The “shame” in migration

“Our aspiration is to create a homeland where nobody has to flee and those that left can return. Immigration has become a national shame.”

--Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa expressed sympathy for Ecuadorians living abroad during a visit to Napoli.

Correa met with approximately two hundred compatriots in the Italian city where he also blamed past “failed policies” as the reason why Ecuadorians are “obligated” to migrate abroad.

Image- Travel Blog

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Quote of the Day: Candid camera

"These are not people who have been found guilty."

--Lucia Pinochet's defense lawyer wasn’t a happy camper after mugshots of her and three other relatives of ex-Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet were leaked to the media today.

Chile’s government vowed to investigate the publication of the photos of the four members of Pinochet’s family who were arrested two weeks ago on corruption charges. (They would be freed on bail shortly after).

Image- La Nacion

Sources (English)- Reuters UK, canada.com, Canadian Press

Sources (Spanish)- La Tercera

Quote of the Day: Moz and Latinos (yet again)

“We Latinos are a very passionate people and Morrissey is a very passionate guy.”

--Jose Maldonado- lead singer of the Smiths cover band Sweet and Tender Hooligans- tries to make sense of the connection between English rocker Morrissey and his Latino fanbase.

Maldonado’s remarks were made as part of this report for Swedish television on the adoration of Morrissey by Mexican-American fans living in Southern California.

(Hat tip: Morrissey-solo).

Previous blog posts on Morrissey here, and here.

Sources- SVT, Morrissey-solo, The Latin Americanist

Image- Rhino Magazine

Quote of the Day: Food for “fresas”

"It's like bringing ice to the Arctic."

--Mexican “pop culture historian” Carlos Monsivais is none too happy over restaurant chain Taco Bell reopening in Mexico for the first time since 1992.

Taco Bell execs presented the reintroduction of the brand in Mexico as “a new fast-food alternative” though Monsivais bemoaned that the “absurd idea…may just be successful in upper-class areas.”

(Click here in case you didn’t understand the meaning of the post’s title).

Image- Green Brooklyn

Sources- Canadian Press, Urban Dictionary

Quote of the Day: What Evo’s critics really think of him

"Why are you going to go listen to that idiot? That racist Indio (Indian) can't even talk during interviews."

--Roberto Lovato wrote of Evo Morales’ visit last week to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly. The article in AlterNet began with the aforementioned comment by a “blonde-haired, green eyed Cuban friend” of Lovato.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, AlterNet

Image- MSNBC

Quote of the Day: Dangerous liaisons

“I was never friend of Pablo Escobar even when it used to be a fad.”

--Colombian president Alvaro Uribe issued a statement today denying allegations made in a recently published book by a former lover of Pablo Escobar (image).

In her book “Loving Pablo, hating Escobar,” Virginia Vallejo claimed that Uribe permitted the construction of runaways used by drug traffickers during the early 1980s. (Uribe was head of Colombia’s civil aeronautics board between 1980-1982).

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, RCN

Image- BBC Mundo

Quote of the Day: Evo’s humble plea

“Please don't consider me part of the axis of evil.”

--Bolivian president Evo Morales jokingly wished not to be lumped with the likes of Kim Jung Il during his appearance last night on “The Daily Show” (TDS).

As the Associated Press observed of the interview:

“Looking a bit stiff and speaking through a translator, Morales did not seem at first to understand some of (TDS host Jon) Stewart's jokes, delivering serious responses. But he gradually relaxed under gentle questioning from Stewart and a crowd that delighted in the leftist leader's indictments of Western capitalism and appeals for social justice.”

See Morales and Stewart discuss democracy, economics, coca, and other issues in the video below (video link):

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Associated Press, Comedy Central

Quote of the Day: I’d hate the strain of the pain again

"I woke up because the pain was unbearable."

--Carlos Camejo recalls how he gathered his wits moments before he was to be examined for an autopsy. The 33-year-old Venezuelan man had been declared dead after being seriously injured in an auto accident.

Sources- AHN, ABC News

Image- PRESS TV (“Carlos Camejo showing the autopsy document.”)

Quote of the Day: Controversy over Latinos and “The War”

"Earlier this year, Hispanic groups, aided by the Hispanic Congressional Caucus, put pressure on Burns and PBS to include some stories of Latinos in the film, which was already finished, after six years of work…To be excluded was to be written out of history, they insisted. Burns eventually added twenty-eight minutes to the film, which, however, do not add much; the scenes—the extra material throws a Native American veteran into the mix, as well as two Hispanics—feel tacked-on, because they are. Burns had originally said that reediting the film “would be destructive, like trying to graft an arm onto your child.” It turns out that not reediting the film was also like grafting an arm onto your child.”

--Nancy Franklin reviewed the upcoming documentary series “The War” which focuses on World War II. Her critique in The New Yorker acknowledged the tedious amount of work acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns put into making the series, yet ultimately she believed that the series was “too much of a not good enough thing.”

(Hat tip: kottke.org).

Sources- The New Yorker, kottke.org

Image- MSNBC (“Hispanics such as these men were among the American soldiers who landed on Cebu island in the Philippines near the end of World War II.”)

Quote of the Day: Intrusive or fair game?

“The father was testifying and one of the lawyers asked him to name all the women he’d had sex with. What type of crap is that? Someone asks me that and I’ll tell him to go fuck himself straight up; from the witness stand if that’s where I’m sitting. Seriously, isn’t that the kind of intimidation questioning they’d use in Cuba? I mean, if there’s a child in the house and you want to know what’s going on, ask for a number or something, but names?”

--Blog Critical Miami comments on the ongoing custody case of a girl who emigrated from Cuba to the U.S.

Custody is being disputed between the girl’s Cuban father-Rafael Izquierdo- and the child’s Cuban exile foster couple living in Florida. Yet unlike the Elian Gonzalez situation this custody affair is much more complex.

In the latest developments, several blows were dealt against Izquierdo when the judge nearly dropped the case after she admonished his testimony on the stand.

Sources- Critical Miami, The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune, CBS4.com

Image- AFP (“Rafael Izquierdo arrives for the start of a court hearing to determine who will gain custody of his daughter”)

Quote of the Day: Better version of me

"I'm the new version of Bush. The Latino version"

--William Bush Howard (no relation to the U.S. President) comments after being sworn in Monday as chief of the Western Hemisphere office in Colombia's foreign ministry.

Source- International Herald Tribune

Quote of the Day: Crime and (trying to figure out the) punishment

“Crime is not just about prosecution; it's not just about justice.”

“I am addressing the criminals that I want to talk directly to. I know some of you are watching me.”

--Guatemalan presidential candidates Alvaro Colom and Otto Perez Molina, respectively, comment on crime during last night’s presidential debate.

Immigration was another hot topic highlighted during the debate with two of the candidates calling "heroes" the Guatemalan migrants that enter the U.S.

The election is set for September 9^th and a poll released today has Colom with a 3% lead over Perez Molina.

Sources- CNN, Bloomberg, Guanabee, Prensa Latina

Image- BBC News

Quote of the Day: Breaking up is hard to do

“In Florida, (immigration attorney Ralph) Pineda's clients include Dahianna Heard, a Venezuelan woman whose husband was shot last year by insurgents while he worked as a contractor in Iraq. The couple's son, who is a U.S. citizen, faces an uncertain future if his mother is deported.”

--An article from the Associated Press notes that more than eighty foreign-born widows are in danger of being deported from the U.S. due to their husbands’ death before immigration paperwork was approved.

The article highlights the case of Jacqueline Coats- an immigrant from Kenya- who is about to be deported after her U.S. citizen husband passed away last year trying to rescue two drowning kids.

Sources- Guardian UK, News10.net