Two years ago when I traveled to Colombia I was amazed to nosh on hot dogs with toppings like scrambled eggs and bacon as well as burgers from fast food chain El Corral. Yet that was rabbit food compared to the below video of a carnivorous gut-busting mega-burger served by a Venezuelan street vendor:
Here are the contents of the burger, appropriately named "La Diabla," or The Devilish (sic): ketchup, mayo, mustard, onions, cabbage, shoestring potatoes, more ketchup, mayo and mustard, avocado, tomato, burger patty, chorizo, chicken, eggs and bacon, and a mountain of shredded Roquefort cheese.
Admittedly it may be hypocritical to publish this post a day after talking about global hunger. Yet as the cameraman said in the video, “F**k McDonald’s”!
With that said, hope you all have a great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.
(Hat tip: A Hamburger Today). Sources- A Hamburger Today, El Corral, YouTube, The Latin Americanist
President George W. Bush signed a law yesterday extending trade preferences to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. “It’s in the interests of the United States that prosperity spreads throughout our neighborhood," said Bush at the White House signing ceremony for the Andean Trade Preference Act Extension though he also took the time to blast one of those “neighbors”:
“Bolivia has failed to cooperate with the United States on important efforts to fight drug trafficking''…So, sadly, I have proposed to suspend Bolivia's trade preferences until it fulfills its obligations.''
The president cited Bolivia’s inclusion on a counternarcotics blacklist that critiqued Bolivian president Evo Morales for his stance on coca. White House officials at the time claimed that they would not cut off aid to Bolivia despite its inclusion on the list.
According to the CIA Bolivia is the world's third-largest cultivator of coca behind their Andean neighbors of Colombia and Peru. Image- current (Coca harvesting) Sources- The Latin Americanist, CIA World Factbook, AFP, Voice of America, Bloomberg
First Lady Laura Bush spoke with members of Cuban human rights group the Ladies in White yesterday. Little has been revealed over the substance of their discussion, though in a press release Bush highlighted the “courage and determination” shown by the women.
Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez (who was born in Havana) was with Bush during the meeting and in a recent editorial he (naturally) blasted the Chavez regime:
The crisis in Cuba is far from over. We know the Cuban people are still hurting and in need. The American people are generous and we will continue to explore other ways to provide aid to the citizens of Cuba…Until these prisoners of conscience are released, every Sunday the Ladies in White will continue silently to voice their protests. And the people of the United States will stand by their side.
The "Ladies in White" have held weekly protests in Cuba calling for the liberation of 75 jailed dissidents. The Cuban government has been highly critical of the group and they have faced arrest several times.
According to BBC Newsthe group issued months ago an open letter backing presidential candidate Barack Obama’s call for having talks with Raul Castro.
Image- daylife.com(“Members of the Cuban group 'Ladies in White' walk down Fifth Avenue in Havana, Sunday, May 13, 2007, on Mother's Day.”) Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Christian Science Monitor, whitehouse.gov, sacbee.com
One of the oft-ignored ignored subjects in the U.S. post-World War II industrial boom was that of the Mexican “braceros.” The guest worker program ran for 22 years and it laid the groundwork for the labor force used in the U.S agrarian industry.
There was also a dark side to the “bracero” program in that workers were often abused and exploited with almost no recourse to fall back on. Yet a recent class action settlement could serve to rectify some of those wrongs:
Under a settlement announced this week, braceros living in the United States who worked from Jan. 1, 1942, through Dec. 31, 1946, will be able to file claims for about $3,500 in compensation from the Mexican government.
A U.S. District Court judge gave preliminary approval to the settlement of a class action lawsuit last Friday. Attorneys representing former braceros are now mounting a national campaign to get other laborers to file monetary claims…
"For decades in this country, lawyers and others have heard complaints from bracero workers that not only were they treated abysmally but that their wages were never fully paid to them," said Matthew J. Piers, an attorney with Chicago-based Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym, the firm that originated the lawsuit.
Eagle-eyed readers may’ve noted a potential problem with the settlement in that it will only cover workers who labored during five of the program’s 22-year run. This has upset some former “braceros” who will not be covered by the arrangement though others feel that it’s “a small battle” won after years of legal wrangling in the U.S. and Mexico.
Image- New York Times (“Braceros, here in 1963, were often farmhands.”) Sources- Los Angeles Times, PBS, seattlepi.com, thecalifornian.com
"The government of President Uribe, in our opinion, has become an obstacle for the advancement of justice," HRW's Americas director Jose Miguel Vivanco told reporters on presenting the organization's annual report on Colombia.
Investigations are specifically focused on the United Self-Defense Group of Colombia (AUC). Not surprisingly Uribe says the charges are ridiculous, and he reasserted his commitment against violence in his country.
* Argentina: Officials with the D.E.A. claimed that Argentina is becoming “an increasingly important hub” in the distribution of meth by Mexican gangs to the U.S.
* Latin America: Despite some gains earlier this week, Latin American stocks suffered modest losses in trading on Thursday.
* El Salvador: The U.S. government granted El Salvador $2.6 million in order to combat gang violence.
* Honduras: Thirteen Cuban migrants arrived on the Honduran shore after spending roughly two weeks at sea on a makeshift boat. Image- Canada.com Sources- IHT, UPI, miamiherald.com, forbes.com
World Food Day was observed today and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) millions of Latin Americans continue to suffer from malnutrition:
"The good news is that eight million fewer people suffered from malnutrition in Latin America between 1990 and 2005. The bad news is all the benefit of these 15 years has been lost," FAO regional delegate Jose Graziano da Silva said.
He presented a FAO report showing that from 2007 the trend reversed and now 51 million people in Latin America and 923 million around the world are affected by hunger.
Unfortunately, the FAO predicts that the growing global financial crisis could worsen world hunger as prices rise and governments are lax in contributing to anti-hunger campaigns.
Pope Benedict XVI also lent his opinion on world hunger today; he chastised wealthy nations for "corruption in public life or growing investments in weapons and sophisticated military technologies to the detriment of people's primary needs." Image- AFP Sources- Taiwan News, Voice of America, IHT, Reuters Africa
The Spanish judge who tried to prosecute the late Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet has now set his sights on thousands of “disappeared” Spaniards.
Judge Baltasar Garzon (image) said that he will look into those who vanished during the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco. In doing so, Garzon has ordered that nineteen mass graves be opened including one that supposedly has the remains of famed poet Federico Garcia Lorca.
Garzon’s ruling is expected to face opposition from conservatives as well as some prosecutors. Nevertheless, the judge suspects that the Franco regime systematically tortured and killed leftist opponents:
The Franco regime, Judge Garzón wrote, “used all its resources to locate, identify and grant reparations to the victims from the winning side but did not give the same respect to the losers, who were persecuted, jailed, disappeared and tortured.” The disappearances, he concluded, constitute “crimes against humanity.”
Image- BBC News (“Judge Garzon is famous for crimes-against-humanity cases”.) Sources- The Latin Americanist, IPS, AFP, New York Times, Times Online, Voice of America
TIME has a feature today on the interaction of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the country's feminists.
Ortega is being pressed by the women's groups about his alleged sexual abuse of his stepdaughter.
In August, Paraguay's minister of women's affairs Gloria Rubin called Ortega a "rapist." Hounduras' minister of the National Institute of Women, Selma Estrada, resigned her post to protest Ortega's invitation to their capital.
Read more about this interesting foil to his presidency here.
Latin America is not meeting the challenge of feeding hungry people in an economic crisis, according to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization.
The group said today that although malnutrition affects 8 million fewer people since 1990, the trend is reversing.
"The bad news is all the benefit of these 15 years has been lost," FAO regional delegate Jose Graziano da Silva said.
About 51 million people in Latin America are affected by hunger.
Last night’s third and final presidential debate could be described as the “Joe the Plumber” show based on the number of times he was mentioned. (For his part, the real Joe Wurzelbacher won’t publicly endorse Barack Obama or John McCain).
Both candidates finally touched on Latin America after the region was ignored in the previous presidential and vice presidential forums. Obama criticized Hugo Chavez and U.S. dependency on Venezuelan oil while McCain cited Brazilian ethanol as part of his plans for energy independence. (Immigration was still ignored, however).
Sadly, neither candidate was on the ball regarding free trade. For instance, McCain’s connection between the rescue mission of three Americans and the free trade draft with Colombia was an awkward segue. His glowing review of Colombia belied a more complex reality while his (to paraphrase Gordon Gekko) “free trade is good” viewpoint never acknowledged any shortcomings.
While Obama admitted that that free trade can be imperfect his perspective appeared disingenuous compared to his populist rhetoric in the primaries. He did not describe an adequate alternative to the free trade draft with Colombia and he has been at a disadvantage over not visiting to Latin America.
Did you see the debate? What did you think?
Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, CBS News, Reuters, BBC News, Guardian UK, San Jose Mercury News
* Chile: The country’s Supreme Court sentenced retired army general Sergio Arellano Stark to six years in jail for the killing of five dissidents during the “Dirty War” period.
* Colombia: Allegations of police abuse have emerged after clashes between officers and protesting indigenous peoples left two dead.
* Venezuela: Labor Minister Roberto Hernandez said that he will submit a proposal to establish a new six-hour workday.
* Puerto Rico: The island will launch a pilot program that will use GPS to monitor the movements of those who violate protection orders.
Image- BBC News (Sergio Arellano Stark was sentenced along with four other ex-officers for human rights violations in 1973) Sources- New York Daily News, Canadian Press, CNN, MSNBC
Earlier this month we looked at Pew Hispanic Center report which said that an increasing number of illegal Mexican immigrants are returning from the U.S. The Reuters video below cites the weakening economy as a main factor as to why more undocumented immigrants are crossing the border: Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters
It has been over three months since Ingrid Betancourt was rescued with twelve others from being held captive for years in the Colombian jungle. She has become the de facto spokeswoman for hundreds of hostages still held by the FARC guerillas and has campaigned vigorously on their behalf.
The Ermua Forum - a Spanish citizens group which has repudiated (Basque separatists faction) ETA- requested Wednesday that Ingrid Betancourt return the Prince of Asturias Award. They claim that her award was “unjustifiable” since she declared in favor of negotiating with terrorists.
In a press release, the Ermua Forum differed “radically” from the opinions of the former candidate... [ed. Personal translation]
So what did Betancourt say that so riled up the Ermua Forum? According to the AP:
Betancourt said there are two schools of thought on terrorism: "One says that you don't talk to terrorists. The other, in which I believe, says that precisely because they are terrorists, we must talk"…
Betancourt said it was important not to let terrorist groups become isolated but to constantly demand that they explain what they do.
"The solution is not to close the door but on the contrary to force it open," Betancourt said.
The notion that diplomacy is always equal to appeasement is short-sighted and counterproductive. While Betancourt backed the concept of negotiating with terrorists she also blasted the FARC for holding nearly 3000 hostages and denounced them for repeated death threats against her. She has consistently criticized them after her liberation which ought to cancel out the laughable claim that she has Stockholm syndrome.
Instead of petty critiques why not follow her example and seek a meaningful solution?
Image- PRESS TV Sources (English)- AP, Plan Colombia and Beyond Sources (Spanish)- Semana, El Tiempo, El Espectador, Canal Caracol
We’ve all had our bad days that we wish to forget and put behind us. But those days probably are nothing but sunshine and rainbows compared to what Peru’s San Cayetano soccer team faced on Monday.
The squad boarded their bus after being walloped in their second division match 10-0. While en route a “gang of youths” boarded the bus and tried to rob the passengers. Sadly that was the least of their problems:
A bus carrying a professional soccer team rolled off a cliff in northern Peru, killing eight people and wounding 22, the state news agency Andina reported.
The vehicle's brakes failed after armed robbers forced the driver from the bus near the town of Celendin in the region of Cajamarca last night, and the bus tumbled over a 200-meter (656- foot) cliff, Andina said, citing Juan de Dios Tello Villanueva, the mayor of Celendin.
You have to give it to Cuba. The island nation, despite all of it's problems, is the isla that could and is doing so on it's own terms even with the U.S. embargo. Changes have been slow and some say meaningless, with easier access to certain consumer products, pero one thing Cuba doesn't plan on changing is it's socialism.
Cuba's foreign minister warned Tuesday that President Raul Castro will never renounce socialism, just days before Havana holds landmark talks with European Union leaders.
"There has not been reform in Cuba, but a deep social revolution" and "this process has to be continually perfected," Felipe Perez Roque told a press conference in Madrid when asked about reforms undertaken by Raul Castro since he replaced his ailing brother Fidel two years ago.
If the reforms imply that "Cuba is renouncing socialism, we have to say that they are not," he said, following a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos.
On Thursday, the European Union is to hold its first ministerial talks with Cuba since 2003. The initiative follows the EU's lifting of sanctions against Cuba last June.
