Daily Headlines: March 21, 2016

* Cuba: Cuban authorities reportedly began releasing this morning some of the approximately sixty dissidents arrested on Sunday hours prior to U.S. President Barack Obama’s arrival to the island.

* Peru: Peru’s electoral body, which has already barred two presidential candidates, opened an investigation against poll frontrunner Keiko Fujimori over allegations of distributing cash to supporters.

* Haiti: In the latest chapter of Haiti’s political crisis, legislators rejected Interim President Jocelerme Priver’s choice for prime minister.

* U.S.: “It’s like wearing a condom to protect against head lice,” said comedian John Oliver on the latest edition of “Last Week Tonight” as he assailed the notion of erecting a barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

YouTube Source – Associated Press

Online Sources – Fox News Latino, The Independent, Bloomberg, ABC News

Weekend Headlines: August 31, 2013 to September 2, 2013

* Peru: Drones may be associated primarily with use for military purposes but archeologists in Peru are using them in order to help with mapmaking and the protection of digging sites.

* Argentina: Are British oil firms that recently received a twenty-year ban from operating in Argentina linked to an energy project with Chevron in that South American country?

* Latin America: The escalating tensions in Syria have reportedly worried some of the millions of people of Syrian descent residing in Latin America.

* U.S.: A group of Cuban migrants that traveled to the U.S. claimed that they were beaten and sexually abused by guards at a Bahamian detention center.

Bolivian President Nationalizes Airlines

The Bolivian government declared that all of the country’s privately-run airlines will be nationalized.

Aerocon and Amaszonas, two small air carriers that mostly operate in Bolivia could soon become incorporated into the state-run Boliviana de Aviación.

“I’ve already named an airport after me so why not control the airlines, too?” said President Evo Morales at a press conference on Monday. 

The leader referred to the controversial renaming of the Oruro airport that was originally dedicated to aviation pioneer Juan Mendoza.

The president added that he might “choose a snappy new name for the airline” such as Moralestrellas, which he claimed would be a combination of his name and the Spanish word for stars (estrellas).  But Oruro Mayor Rossio Pimentel claimed that both the nationalization plans and the renaming are “terrible ideas” since Moralestrellas could be translated as “crashing morale.”

Morales has nationalized numerous major industries since taking office in 2006.  One of his most recent nationalizations involved the state takeover of three Spanish-owned airports.  Along with last year’s nationalization of a Spanish-owned electric power company, relations between the Andean state and Spain have been tense and uneasy:

Taking a Break

We are going on a brief hiatus for a few days and hopefully we will return to publish a few posts over the weekend.

In the meantime we'll leave you with a video that we've previously highlighted - the Mystery Science Theater 3000 poking fun at a short film on Venezuela:

Enjoy!

Video Source - YouTube via Ekit357

Today’s Video: "Dame chavos, yeah!"

While plenty of attention has been paid to the battle for the White House, the match-up between U.S. President Barack Obama and a GOP candidate to-be-chosen-later won't be the only election to keep an eye on this November.

Luis Fortuño is seeking reelection as governor of Puerto Rico in what will likely be a very contentious race. Recently he claimed that Puerto Rico's recession was a thing of the past and that the island was undergoing economic growth. Yet the Puerto Rican unemployment rate continues to be in the double-digits, which is a factor in the "brain drain" of youth leaving the commonwealth for the U.S. mainland.

Other topics that will surely be addressed by the gubernatorial candidates will be violence (such as the record 1136 murders committed in 2011) as well as a possible referendum to help decide the commonwealth's political status.

Allegations of corruption in Puerto Rico where the focus of a satirical video from comedian Carlos Ramirez. Set to the beat of a song from synthpop group LMFAO, "Corrupto and I Know It" pokes fun at Puerto Rican politicos such as Fortuño. Lyrics such as "gimme, gimme, gimme lots of bucks" and "I have robbed all that I have earned" brings a welcome moment of levity in the race for La Fortaleza:

(Hat tip: primerahora.com)

Video Source - YouTube via desdekasa

Online Sources - CNN, Reuters, primerahora.com, USA TODAY, AS/COA Online

Today’s Video: Jaime Garzon – humor and impunity

Imagine the public reaction in the U.S. if Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert were to be gunned down in cold blood. Now picture that in the subsequent years impunity surrounds the murder and investigations into the crime have yielded few results. Such is the case of Jaime Garzon, Colombia’s top political humorist who was assassinated just over twelve years ago.

Garzon was best known for his sharp satire against the Colombian political establishment in TV programs such as “Zoociedad” and "Quac, El Noticiero". (In this clip, for instance, Garzon pokes fun at then-Governor and eventual president Alvaro Uribe as “the dictator Colombia needs!”) His most famous character was Heriberto de la Calle (roughly translated as “Heriberto of the streets”), a shoeshine man who grilled celebrities and political leaders. (In this clip, Heriberto asks ex-U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Myles Frechette if it’s true that the U.S. “doesn’t pursue guerillas since the rebels send cocaine to the U.S. and they receive arms in return?”)

Aside from his humor, Garzon was also a lawyer and peace activist who involved himself in the liberating of hostages from the FARC as well as the failed peace negotiations with the rebels. Paramilitary leaders allegedly viewed him not as an intermediary but instead as a guerilla collaborator and he reportedly received death threats from them. It’s believed that paramilitary chief Carlos Castaño ordered Garzon to be killed, a tragedy that would occur in Bogota on August 13, 1999.

In 2000, Castaño was convicted in absentia of the murder of Garzon and sentenced to 38 years in prison. The purported mastermind behind the assassination never spent a day behind bars for his crime and he himself would be killed under mysterious circumstances in 2004.

After years of weak investigations in Colombia, Garzon’s family last week sought the intervention of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In the meantime, one cannot help but wonder how Garzon would’ve skewered the Colombian political landscape of the past few years and if the country is still without a “national identity” as he jokingly refers to in this 1993 interview:

(Hat tip for the video: Colombia Reports).

Online Sources- El Heraldo, Colombia Reports
Video Source - YouTube

Today's Video: Caw!

We'll be back on Friday with posts on stories like Brazil's latest soccer triumph and why Lori Berenson is again behind bars. For now we'll leave you with a bit of satire via The Onion:

Guatemalan Flight's Data-Recording Parrot Holds Clues To Crash

Today's Video: Oligarchs vs. Bolivarians

The latest chapter in the brilliant animated satirical series "La Isla Presidencial" ("The Island of the Presidents") came out recently. See how the lost Latin American leaders plan to get off the island (presumably) once and for all:

Online Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: "Dwight Eisenhower colors Easter eggs"

Similar to Mystery Science Theater 3000, Josh Way pokes fun at short movies on subjects like grooming, classroom discipline, and safety against nuclear attacks. In the video below as part of his "Fun with Shorts" series Way pours over (ha!) a dull 1960s film from the Coffee Brewing Institute:

(Hat tip: Metafilter).

Online Sources - Metafilter, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Today's Video: Viva el Presidente Speedy!

Brilliant satire in the following Not Safe For Work video from The Onion:

Mexico Builds Border Wall To Keep Out U.S. Assholes
Online Source - The Onion

Does “Illegal Aliens In My Yard” go too far?

Is there such a thing as bad satire? Humor is certainly a subjective area; would the same person who cringes at a Spanish magazine cover poking fun at President Obama’s “manhood” also laugh at a satirical video mocking the assassination of a Mexican presidential hopeful? Are some subjects more sensitive and off-limits than others?

Below are some of the lyrics of a satirical ditty from an outfit called "The Fox and Rice Experience". You can decide for yourself if the tune sung to the melody from "Feliz Navidad” is silly and in good fun or ugly and crass:

Illegals in my yard.

Illegals in my yard.

Illegals in my yard.

Hugo Chavez sends his kind regards.

They're going to tackle Pat Buchanan this Christmas.

They're going to chase down Lou Dobbs this Christmas.

They're going to join up with La Raza this Christmas.

Those illegals in my yard.

They're going to spread bubonic plague this Christmas.

They're going to bring me lots of bed bugs this Christmas.

They're going to pass tuberculosis this Christmas.

Those illegals in my yard.

On a related (and far more serious note), the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear a Fourth amendment-related case regarding immigrant deportations.

Image- AIGA (International symbol sign for immigration controls)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, AP, Right Wing Watch

The Onion: Lou Dobbs deported to Mexico

Don't get too excited folks. It's only a brilliant piece of satire from "America's Finest News Source" - The Onion:

Acting on anonymous tips from within the Hispanic-American community, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials on Wednesday deported Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez, who for the last 48 years had been living illegally in the United States under the name Lou Dobbs...

"Mr. Dominguez did not come quietly, but in the end he came," said Sam Whitlock of the U.S. Border Patrol, who was injured during the arrest. "He pulled a knife on me, like they will, and swore a bunch in Spanish and spit on us when we finally managed to grab him by the serape and throw him against a wall. But the important thing is that he's now back where he belongs"...

Immediately before press time, "Dobbs" arrived in Mexico City, and was surrounded by members of the international press.

"¡Esos hijos de puta sufrirán por esto!" a handcuffed Dominguez shouted at reporters from the tarmac. "Sin mi vigilancia, mis hermanos y yo nos apresuraríamos a la frontera a robar sus carros y a violar sus mujeres. ¡Arriba!

No further comment needed.

Online Source - The Onion
Image - cnews.canoe.ca

Today’s Video: Enjoying the “Chiki-chiki”

The latest edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being held this week in Moscow, Russia. Odds are some god awful ballad or a nauseating pop song will win though there have been a few recent exceptions. (One entry caused controversy before the contest began since it features an Arab-Israeli duo).

Several of last year’s entries emphasized humor over the mock pomposity and seriousness of the competition. One of them came straight from the mind of David Fernandez Ortiz under the guise of faux-argentine singer Rodolfo Chikilicuatre. "Baila el Chiki-chiki" (“Dance the Chiki-chiki”) parodied reggaeton music and poked fun at the 2007 “¿Por qué no te callas?” incident.

One word: genius!


Online Sources- YouTube, Wikipedia, New York Times, The Latin Americanist, NPR, Reuters

The Onion: Day laborers aid Army in Afghanistan

A little bit of Friday fun courtesy of The Onion:

Online Source - The Onion

“An American doing an American job”

In “The Daily Show” report below, correspondent Aasif Mandvi wonders which border vigilante is the “Mexican”: the Minuteman volunteeer who patrols part of the Rio Grande for free or the gentleman hundreds of miles away who uses a series of webcams to patrol part of the border for free.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Borderline Cops
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

As you can see at the end of the video, the correct answer is neither one!

Online Sources- The Daily Show

Today's Video: "The Masochism Tango"

Sadomasochism + a Buenos Aires two-step + a clever satirist = the following ditty:

Online Source - YouTube

Today’s Video: “Por favor señor fondle my butt”

Of all the personal joys I feel writing for this blog one of the most satisfying is the “Daily Video” series. Numerous types of videos have been featured over this past year on diverse subjects like at guerilla warfare, music with political messages, or racist TV shows of yore. Whether it be on purpose or merely accidental it is truly amazing to watch these videos.

For me the most memorable video of the year was one I stumbled upon while goofing off one evening on YouTube. It is from the brilliant, much-missed “Mystery Science 3000” where Tom Crow and company poke fun at a so-bad-its-good documentary. The 1960s era film shows the tribulations of a gringo who travels to Maracaibo and is contracted to work on a Venezuelan offshore oil field.

(Video link):

Ah satire!

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Spanish mag skewers Obama’s “manhood”

Back in September we wondered if there was such a concept as “bad” satire. “Are some topics a little too sensitive to make fun of? Can some humor go too far?” we asked.

We cannot help but contemplate those issues after viewing the following cover from Spanish magazine El Jueves:In the caricature, the well-endowed Obama asks people to “look at the ‘pendulum’ and repeat after me: all is well. All is very well.”

El Jueves specializes in satire and has been notorious for making fun of all sorts of authority figures. This has often gotten the magazine in trouble such as the uproar last year involving a caricature of the Prince of Asturias cavorting with his wife.

So what do you think of the controversial cover? Racist, humorous, or who cares?

(Hat tip: FARK.com).

Image- El Jueves
Sources- The Latin Americanist, El Jueves, Rabat, Wikipedia.com

Today’s Video: Ha ha ha! He’s dead!

Is there such a thing as bad satire? Are some topics a little too sensitive to make fun of? Can some humor go too far?

Take the following video from 1990s British TV show “TV Offal”; does it make you laugh, cringe, or (in my case) both?

(Video link, possibly NSFW):



Sources- Wikipedia, YouTube

Today’s Video: “Venezuela: crown jewel of the Adriatic”

Note: We’ll be blogging some news and notes over the weekend.

It’s hard to figure out what is the funniest part of this “Mystery Science Theater 3000” clip poking fun at a 1960s short film on Venezuela:

• The visiting gringo practicing his broken Spanish with a seemingly disgruntled airport employee.
• The protagonist’s joy at seeing the “familiar sights” of a Sears department store and used car lots in Maracaibo.
• The “Leave It to Beaver”-like mom and kids looking for Venezuela on a map.
• Tom Servo and Crow’s sarcastic, wise-ass remarks such as the title to this post.
  

Check it out:

Sources- YouTube