Insane

One of the great flaws in American foreign policy is that second-term presidents start looking to their "legacy" and of course want to be The one who make permanent peace in the Middle East possible.

The Bush administration is now in full "paving the legacy" mode: US says Mid-East peace on track

What does "on track" mean? It means more concessions from Israel, of course.

(h/t the Baron) MIDEAST: RICE WRINGS CONCESSIONS FOR WEST BANK FROM ISRAEL

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, MARCH 31 - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during her third Middle East trip for the past months, received from Israel a list of measures which will be introduced in the immediate future to ease the living conditions in the West Bank.

The 35-page dossier includes the construction of thousands of new homes in Ramallah; the removal of "some 50" roadblocks along the roads in the West Bank and of a military checkpoint; the strengthening of the operative capacities of the police of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and several thousand new entrance permits in Israel for Palestinian workers.

"We've been told that this is going to start and, hopefully even be completed in a relatively short period of time. I am expecting it to happen very, very soon," Rice said. Saturday, Rice met in Jerusalem Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Yesterday, she met Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad for the first time together with Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, then had talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the leader of the rightist opposition Benyamin Netanyahu (Likud). Rice also visited Amman for a meeting with PNA President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Today she will meet Olmert again.

In a move, which Barak defined as "calculated risk", Israel has also decided to remove from the streets in the West Bank some 50 roadblocks (of the over 459 counted by the Israeli human rights organisation Betselem) and a military checkpoint (of a total 99) south of Jericho from where Palestinians will be able to reach the northern coast of the Dead Sea, a famous tourist destination, so far forbidden.

Say good-bye to the resorts.

Israel will allow the construction north of Ramallah of between 5,000 and 8,000 homes for Palestinians, a measure announced a year ago and affirmed now.

Israel has also agreed to grant 5,000 work permits to Palestinians, to add to the previously issued 18,500 permits.

The functioning of the PNA police will be strengthened: the Palestinian police will be allowed to dislocate 700 agents in Jenin, while 25 Russian armoured vehicles will enter service in Nablus.(ANSAmed).

I have said in the past that there is no "cycle of violence" because Israel will be bombed no matter what.

Why do I believe this?
Because I've been watching the puppet shows.

UPDATE, Tuesday 1 April
What if Condoleezza Rice came to Jerusalem, and nobody cared?, via Judith.



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PoliGazette posts on Turkey's ruling party

Today PoliGazette has two interesting posts on Turkey.

First, the news: Turkish leaders face court case

Turkey's constitutional court has decided unanimously that it can hear a case aimed at closing down the country's governing AK Party.

The chief prosecutor earlier filed a petition calling for the party to be banned for "anti-secular activities".

He also wants 71 AKP officials, including the prime minister and president, to be banned from politics.

PoliGazette posts, Erdogan's Inflammatory Rhetoric - UPDATE: Court Accepts Case

What's troubling about Erdogan's words is that nothing has been decided yet; the judges still have to decide upon the matter. Normally, the Prime Minister (and MPs by the way) don't comment on pending cases, but Erdogan is in such a great panic that he isn't able to keep his mouth shut for a while. In fact, today is the day that the court will decide whether it will take on the case or not. In other words, the court won’t decide today whether the AK Parti should be closed or not, it'll only decide whether it'll accept the case.

He’s clearly trying to influence the outcome of the case, which isn't something a PM should do. He should wait… and if the court decides to accept the case and later that the AK Parti should be closed, he can speak out against it, appeal, etc. But until that time, he shouldn't comment on it.

But he does, and this proves that he truly fears that the court may very well decide to give the prosecutor what he wants. As I understand it, this is quite likely indeed. The AK Parti has tried to destroy secularism from within for months and even years now. They started slowly, but ever since Erdogan won the elections last year he has ignored the opposition. Since those elections, Erdogan has been busy transforming the country, thinking that he's untouchable.

Today may very well be the day that Erdogan starts to realize he's not.

Don't miss also PoliGazette's post, European Ignorance When It Comes To Turkey - AKP Closure by guest blogger Kemal.

The court has decided to consider the case. The future of Turkey hinges on their decision.



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Carla's week

Via Maria,
Ma semaine: Carla Bruni Sarkozy

"Nicolas!" I scold, peering out the window. "Maintenant! Put away ton Game Boy! For there is Prince Charles. Best behaviour!" "Sacré bleu!" roars Nicolas. "Quelle is this insult? He is avec un des Rolling Stones, qui est wearing a dress! J'espère que it n'est pas one que tu as shagged!" "C'est Camilla, Duchess de Cornouaille," I point out. "Ah," says Nicholas.

Read it all.

The Last Monday in March Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

If you would like your posts to be included in the Carnivals, please email me faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big stories:
Colombia seizes thirty kilos of depleted uranium from the FARC. The American media doesn't seem to have caught on that this is news.

Democrat Congressman James McGovern was found to have ties with the FARC.

Also in US and Latin American news, governor of Puerto Rico Anibal Acevedo was been indicted, booked, and released without bail on nineteen charges of conspiracy, false statements and violations of various campaign finance laws, following an FBI investigation in Puerto Rico and Philadelphia. Acevedo was one of Obama's superdelegates. The Democrats have scheduled the Puerto Rico primary for June 1.

LATIN AMERICA
Latin America File: Chavez, Ortega, Lula challenge US power in hemisphere through formation of new military pact, ALBA Defense Council

Media Terrorism on LatAm Agenda

Counterterrorism Blog Panel: Disclosures From FARC Computer About Ecuador and Venezuela PDF file

ARGENTINA
The Kirchners v the farmers: The countryside's beef about export taxes becomes the new government's first political test
UPDATE
Via Siggy, Tax Rebellion in Argentina


BRAZIL
Immigrants Chase the Brazilian Dream

Feverish in Rio: The dengue mosquito exposes public-health laxity

CARIBBEAN
The Canadian connection: Providing banking, business and policemen

Fighting the War on Terror in the Caribbean and Central America

CHILE
Before '73 Coup, Chile Tried to Find the Right Software for Socialism

COLOMBIA
Colombia Announces Find of 66 Pounds of Uranium It Says Linked to FARC

U.S. 'concerned' about FARC uranium
An alleged rebel cache of uranium is raising concern in Washington -- and questions about why the rebels had the radioactive metal

FARC Uranium May Be Depleted, But It's Still Nuclear Material

Via American Digest A FARC Fan's Notes

COLOMBIA SEIZES FARC TERRORIST URANIUM STASH!

Colombia Probes FARC Ties to Uranium Seized in Bogota

Mario Ballesteros, head of the state-run geology institute Ingeominas, said a study of the uranium, its possible uses and health risk would be presented on Friday, EFE news agency reported today.

"The FARC may have wanted this material to build a stronger rocket that destroys the president or a minister's armored car, not create a weapon of mass destruction," said Cesar Restrepo, from Bogota's Security and Democracy Foundation.

Padilla said informants he didn't identify, who are close to an alleged arms supplier Reyes called "Belisario," led the military to the uranium. Authorities are investigating the origin of the material, he said.

Embossed on the two metal lodes, in English, was the warning "Caution: Radioactive Material. Depleted Uranium," according to the military's video.

DU Dud: The Silver Lining to FARC’s Uranium

Rep McGovern Denies Being In Bed With FARC (The Sun Chronicle)

The FARC Jones Boy & Congressman James McGovern

Is the Biggest Bombshell on the FARC Computer Yet to Be Revealed?

Colombia: Venezuela supported rebel group, claims academic

COSTA RICA
FARC Cash Seized in Costa Rica Linked to Iran and Venezuela

CUBA
Cubans Can Now Have Cell Phones; Problem Is, Nobody Can Afford Them

Cell Phones Don't Replace Freedoms

Good News and Bad News

ECUADOR
No End In Sight To Andean Conflict

On Ecuador's border, FARC rebels visit often

Ecuador: A push to eliminate constiutional protections for gays and lesbians

Sedition is.... as Sedition Does: Liars and Manipulators Abetting Murderers and Terrorists

MEXICO
Sending In the Cavalry

NICARAGUA
Freedom of expression threatened in Nicaragua

PERU
Peruanista on YouTube


PUERTO RICO
AG Announces Crackdown on Corrupt Politicians, Democratic Party Immediately Disbands

Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and those busted governors

Film: Las Dos Caras de Jano

VENEZUELA
Is the Biggest Bombshell on the FARC Computer Yet to Be Revealed?

Files Suggest Venezuela Bid to Aid Colombia Rebels, which also reveals that a Colombian agent was killed by the FARC after she was found to have microchips implanted in her body.

Instapundit, The Bolivarian republic of Massachusetts

Hugo, laid bare by a laptop

Chavez: Anyone but McCain

The American Friends of Hugo Chavez

Andres Oppenheimer: Media wars in Venezuela

Chavez behind the Andean troubles

From those who brought you the Tascon List: official racism in Venezuela

Mision conuco, higher education version

The Verbal Diarreah Starts Again

One last chance for Chavez

Falling oil production a challenge for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

PODCAST
Matthew Vadum, of Capital Research Center was my podcast guest on March 25.

ENTERTAINMENT
Salsa dancing: Selling rhythm to the world

Special thanks to Maggie, Siggy, Larwin and Maria.



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Prof. Robert Fagles, 1933-2008

I just heard that professor Fagles died on Wednesday.
Here's the NY Times obituary, and the Daily Princetonian.

A memorial service will be held at the University in May.

He will be best remembered for his extraordinary translations and interpretations of the Illiad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid.





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Funny, Ben Affleck and Jimmy Kimmel, and totally NSFW

Here at Fausta's blog I strive to maintain a certain level of discourse: Culture, poise, good taste.

Forget that, and watch this, which is NOT Suitable For Work.

From The Center of NJ Life

The seventy-five percenters

It's that magical time of the year again, when tyrants make a show of "democracy" to the world at large. Today's turn: Robert Mugabe
Vote count under way in Zimbabwe

Vote counting is under way in Zimbabwe, with the main opposition MDC claiming it is winning the battle to oust President Robert Mugabe.

The MDC said it was ahead in most constituencies but continues to fear the vote will be rigged.

Results may not be finalised for some days and the government warned the MDC not to declare an early victory.

Forgive me if I sound cynical, but what are the chances of anyone defeating a megalomaniacal murderous thug through an election?

The BBC is also not helping: Look how they make it sound as if it was Mugabe who was battling the odds, instead of the other way around:

Mr Mugabe is battling the MDC's Morgan Tsvangirai and independent Simba Makoni for president.

I hope I'm wrong and that the MDC can win, but from here it looks very unlikely indeed (h/t Instapundit).

Nowadays fashionable tyrants win by 75% of the vote. It's only the old-style, crassly out of fashion tyrants like the Chinese Communist Party who still win by 98%.

The modern fashionable tyrant soothes what passes for conscience at the UN by holding an election, calling in international observers (a dozen observers to stay at carefully-selected, scrupulously-guarded locations in countries at least as large as California, because you know that a dozen people staying for a day or two really can get a good idea of what's going on in a country) IF they decide to call observers in the first place, making a show of the polling process, and then winning with a 3:1 margin over the opposition. If they really want to make a point, then they win 4:1.

Then Jimmy Carter flies back to Georgia to celebrate Rosalyn's birthday, the UN goes back to condemning Israel, and we all tune in to E! for the latest in celebrity gossip.

In Caracas, the honeymoon is over with the media: Chavez 'stifles Venezuelan media'

Private media companies from across the Americas have accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of stifling press freedom in his country.

Delegates at a meeting of the Inter- American Press Association in Caracas said Mr Chavez was using intimidation to curb criticism of his government.

I expect that Jimmy will be whispering sweet nothings in Hugo's ear to calm down Hugo's frazzled nerves.

But not to worry, there's free healthcare in Venezuela.

------------------------------------------------------------------
This morning's old movie at TCM is Boom Town, about oil wildcatters. In spite of a burning oil rig, it has absolutely nothing in common with There Will Be Blood, especially when it showcases Clark Gable's impeccably attired profile holding the impossibly glamorous Claudette Colbert or Heddy Lammar in his arms.

They don't make them the way the used to, and I'd like to know who would wear a sequined negligee outside of a Hollywood movie.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's WSJ's Five-Best books about the search of Eden, selected by Jonathan Rosen:




Paradise Lost is also available on line

Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy view
Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause
Mov'd our Grand Parents in that happy State,
Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off [ 30 ]
From thir Creator, and transgress his Will
For one restraint, Lords of the World besides?

------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's shoes, John Fluevog's Renata, with a moderate heel and casual/dressy style.

You all know I love red shoes, and these are lovely. The Manolo has another Fluevog style.

You can never have enough red shoes.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Pat has the Carnival of the Insanities.

In the meantime, mark your calendars, pay your reservation, and come to Saturday's party!





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Jimbo has a word to the fence sitters: Come to the party!

Jim of Parkway Rest Stop addresses the big questions:
A Message to the Fence Sitters

Yeah, I'm talking to those of you who have given some thought to attending the upcoming Spring BlogFest a/k/a Jersey Blogmeet on April 5th in Princeton, but who haven't yet taken the plunge.

I suspect that you're thinking runs something like the following, to which I will add my commentary, as a veteran of ten blogmeets in five different states:

Jeez, I won't know anyone there.
It may take you all of three minutes to know a dozen people. Bloggers are an exceedingly friendly bunch. After ten minutes, you'll find it hard to get a word in edgewise, because bloggers are not only friendly, they are also loquacious blabbermouths.

Princeton? I've heard of the school (Yeah, it's the one that lost the first intercollegiate football game to Rutgers), but getting there is a pain in the ass.
Car – easy. Princeton sits on Route 1. Trains: They run from various places in Jersey and from Philly and New York. Teresa is making the trek from Massachusetts and the Wiseass Jooette will be schlepping in from the New York Shithole Brooklyn. The Triumph Brewery (the site of the festivities) is walking distance from the station.

A blogger from Georgia and another one from Virginia are coming. It's easy to get here even from Newark airport.

More questions,
What if it's borrrrrring? What if it's borrrrrring? What if I think all the people there are jerks? Will they think I'm a jerk? I have nothing to say to these people. My sock drawer needs arranging on April 5th. Jim has all the answers.

The food's going to be good, Jim will let you touch his great farookin' hair, I'll show off some of my newly-learned tango steps, and Jazz will improvise.

And we won't run out of beer.

What are you waiting for? Make your reservation right now! The restaurant needs to know how many people are coming ahead of time, so the time to make the reservation is right now.

How much: $45 per person, plus CASH BAR

You can make a check payable to Fausta Wertz, PO Box 1589, Princeton NJ 08542-1589, or pay through Paypal:

For more information, click here

Slow blogging, but worth it

It's a rather slow blogging day for a number of reasons: a slight head cold, housekeeping of the house and blog varieties both, and catching up with some reading I have to do related to another project.

But never fear, a fresh new post is coming your way soon!

In the meantime, did you listen to yesterday's podcast yet? Siggy and Brian are brilliant.

VDH asks, "The Chickens of Identity Politics Come Home to Roost? "

Today at The Corner, Victor Davis Hanson asks, The Chickens of Identity Politics Come Home to Roost? when it comes to the exceptions from the norms of public discourse:

This is what the triangulation of Obama has helped to unleash: most Americans will now doubt the moral authority of the African-American intellectual and religious community not just to question the questionable racial remarks of a Bill Clinton, Ed Rendell, or Geraldine Ferraro, but also the Wright-like crudity of a Don Imus or a Michael Richards. Context is now king.

This disastrous regression in race relations is the natural dividend of liberal identity politics, most recently brought to the fore by the wife of the first "black President", the first "transracial" black Presidential candidate, and the "prophet" and "healer" Reverend Wright.

It's high time we put identity politics to rest.

Until we do, all candidacies associated with identity politics will descend, as VDH puts it, into McGovern candidacies.



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Yet another busted Dem governor, and the tit-for-tat game

Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and those busted governors: My latest article is up at the Star Ledger NJ Voices

Fitna removed from LiveLeak

Yesterday LiveLeak showed the film Fitna in its site.

Today Michael VanderGalien tells me they have removed it due to death threats:

Official LiveLeak statement

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed comments from certain members of the British media that could directly affect the safety of some staff members, liveleak has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.

Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one another’s culture.

We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.

You can watch the statement here.

Gates of Vienna has a list of sites where you can watch the film. Atlas Shrugs and Jawa also have it.

UPDATE
Alfahosting (alfahosting.be) has also suspended Michael's PoliGazette's account and email.

Phyllis Chesler has more. Little Green Footballs has the video, too.
Don't miss The Psychotic Core (h/t Larwyn).



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Announcing: Forbes.com Business and Finance Blog Network

I'm proud to announce that I'm now a member of the Forbes Business and Finance Blog Network.

Two theories on the Puerto Rican primary

UPDATE
The Governor of Puerto Rico has turned himself in to the FBI
Michael Sean Winters at America's editorial blog believes that

In fact, Puerto Rico is the post-racial society Obama represents. It is not difficult to imagine how he could take parts of his speech in Philadelphia about race, add some history and demography about Puerto Rico, and give a speech in San Juan that rightly acknowledges that on this great issue of bridging America's racial divide, Puerto Ricans have a lot to teach America. Such a speech would not only be attractive to Puerto Ricans, it would be true.

Maybe so. However, if Winters believes that there is no racism in Puerto Rico he is sadly mistaken. I don't see Puerto Rico as a post-racial society yet.

I agree more with Talk Left's Big Tent Democrat, who correctly states that

Neither the NPP or the PDP will view the primary as a test of their electoral strength against each other. Clinton has more supporters in both the NPP and the PDP than does Obama, whose only major endorser was Acevedo Vila, who was indicted today and may not even be the Governor come June 3.

Voters in either of the two major parties in Puerto Rico favor candidates in either the Republican or the Democrat party. When Puerto Ricans live any of the fifty states their vote is not contingent on their affiliation with any of the Puerto Rican parties.

I must also point out that, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no polling of voters's opinions on the island re: Hillary vs. Obama (please correct me if I'm wrong and include the link in the comments section). However, the political bosses do favor Hillary.

At least for now.

Marc Ambinder has a copy of the Departmentof Justice press release on the Acevedo indictement.



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It's Laurie's blogbirthday!

Go wish her a happy birthday!

Siggy already did.

In today's podcast at 11AM Eastern: Brian Faughnam

Today we talk to Brian Faughman of XM Radio's POTUS channel, Influence Peddler and the Weekly Standard Blog.

We'll talk about the evaporating superdelegates (Spitzer, Acevedo, et al), McCain's VP, and the upcoming April 5 BlogFest.

Hopefully today's podcast won't be plagued with tech problems but the sponsor for the prior podcast is "Lucinda Basset for the Midwest Center of Stress and Anxiety", in case we need her.

The call-in number is 646 652-2639, and chat will be open by 10:45. Join us!


Via Brian, a morning funny: Standup Economist

Bureaucrats gone wild

At the passport office: The electronic chips used in US passports got outsourced to Taiwan because no American company meets the standards developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization and required by the State Department for border crossing procedures that involve the computer chip. How about finding a US company who is willing to develop it?

At the airline security check: Traveler says she was forced to remove nipple ring. Why anybody would be insane enough to get a nipple ring in the first place remains a mystery to me, but this is even more insane.

A guy in the UK got billed for the gas explosion that blew up his home.

Not only will bureaucrats make your life difficult, they make burial impossible: After a zoning commission refused a French village a permit to expand its (already full) cemetery, the mayor makes a symbolic gesture and bans anyone from dying, since there is no place left to bury them.

And you want the government in charge of your health care?



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Skype redeems itself

I am pleased to announce that Skype has straighted out all the problems with my account.

Thank you Skype!

BREAKIING NEWS: Governor of Puerto Rico ARRESTED INDICTED under Federal Charges

UPDATED
Recent updates on top
3:50PM The Washington Post

Democrat Anibal Acevedo Vila, 48, and his top advisers accepted thousands of dollars in illegal campaign donations from Philadelphia area businessmen and their employees to wipe away substantial debts stemming from campaign expenses prior to 2002, which were never reported to federal election officials, Justice Department officials said.

Acevedo Vila, who served as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives between 2001 and 2005, also took money in connection with his official role but did not declare the income for tax purposes, according to the indictment unveiled this morning.

The Trail: Charges range from conspiracy, false statements, wire fraud, federal program fraud and tax crimes.

Quite a menu!

2:30 Make that NINETEEN counts: Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila was charged Thursday with 19 counts in a campaign finance probe, including conspiracy to violate U.S. federal campaign laws and giving false testimony to the FBI.

The indictment also charged 12 others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party as a result of a two-year grand jury investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said.
...
The defendants in Puerto Rico, Washington and the Philadelphia area are accused of conspiring to illegally raise money to pay off Acevedo's campaign debts from his campaigns in 2000 and 2002 to be the U.S. island territory's nonvoting member of Congress.

"The governor will be permitted to turn himself in deference to his position," Rodriguez said.
...
Acevedo, 46, and his associates are accused of conducting unreported fundraising to far exceed funding limits during his 2004 campaign for governor. As part of the fraud, they allegedly used their own or their companies' money to cover unreported debts to the campaign's public relations and media company.

The 55-page indictment alleges that Acevedo also personally helped a group of Philadelphia-area businessmen in their efforts to obtain Puerto Rican government contracts after they delivered illegal campaign contributions from their own staff and family members.

My contact in Puerto Rico says that the governor declined to state when he would turn himself in.

1:25PM: Edmund Mahony reports that some Clinton supporters have followed the campaign finance investigation with something close to glee, since Acevedo was a superdelegate for Obama.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Puerto Rican Governor Faces 18 Counts

Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila is among several people named in a sealed indictment, officials said Thursday, as U.S. authorities made the first arrests in a long-running probe into his party's finances.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least five officials from the Popular Democratic Party as they were led in handcuffs into the U.S. federal building in San Juan.

An FBI spokesman declined to provide any details, saying there would be news conference later.

Acevedo has said previously that he was a focus of the grand jury probe but he was not among those seen in custody. His spokeswoman said he was still home sleeping at the time of the early morning arrests as far as she knew.

Will update this story as it develops.

11:15AM
It appears that so far, it's an idictment, not an arrest, but that the charges stem from federal campaign-finance related crimes,

Puerto Rico's governor and four Philadelphians, including prominent fund-raiser Robert M. Feldman, were charged this morning in San Juan with federal campaign-finance related crimes.
The investigation of Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila, a Democrat who faces re-election this year, was triggered by the FBI's Philadelphia City Hall corruption probe in 2003.

Feldman, who raised more than $1 million for Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Gov. Rendell, was a former business partner of Ronald A. White, the late power-broker who was the lead defendant in the Philadelphia corruption case.

Feldman was investigated but not charged in the Philadelphia case. In San Juan, he was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate federal election laws.

The governor was charged with conspiracy to violate federal campaign laws, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and filing a false tax return.

Feldman and others from Philadelphia were charged with conspiring to help Acevedo-Vila evade federal election rules to raise more than $100,000 in campaign funds as a way of gaining access and "to further their business interests" in Puerto Rico.

The indictment says that shortly after Feldman helped with a fund-raiser in Philadelphia in 2002, Acevedo-Vila contacted a Puerto Rico government agency to request a meeting on behalf of a company associated with Feldman. Authorities also say Acevedo-Vila set up a second meeting with an island housing agency on Feldman's behalf in 2003.

The indictment says that it was Feldman who came up with the idea of skirting campaign-finance laws by funneling cash to Avecedo-Vila through others in Philadelphia and South Jersey.
...
According to the indictment, Acevedo-Vila carried a $545,000 debt following the 2000 campaign and Feldman was Acevedo-Vila's "United States finance chairman." Negron was deputy finance chairman.

Negron's cousin, Jorge Velasco Mella, worked in Acevedo-Vila's San Juan office while Acevedo-Vila was in Congress. Block worked with Feldman. Negron and Avanzato were business partners in a dental firm.

"It was an object of the conspiracy to knowingly and willfully solicit and receive illegal contributions for the candidacy of Acevedo-Vila," the indictment said.

"It was a further object of the conspiracy to conceal from the Federal Election Commission and the public the illegal nature of the contributions and the true extent and nature of the relationship between defendants Feldman, Negron and Avanzato and their associates and Acevedo-Vila, including the access and influence that Acevedo-Vila afforded and exercised on their behalf in Puerto Rico."

The indictment says the four Philadelphians solicited and received "straw-contributions" - to skirt campaign finance contribution limits, they reimbursed others for donations made to Acevedo-Vila.

Negron and Avanzato "directed their employees, friends and family members to give campaign contributions" and then "reimbursed" them for the donations, according to the indictment.

Negron and Avanzato allegedly used corporate bank accounts and credit cards to disguise the payments, and, the indictment said, paid for "lavish dinners" for Acevedo-Vila.

The indictment says the governor "personally participated in the solicitation, receipt and recording of campaign contributions from Feldman, Negron and Avanzato."

After the FEC raised concerns that some Philadelphia donors had contributed amounts higher than the $2,000 federal limit, Acevedo-Vila's campaign refunded the money directly to Negron--and not the contributors, according to the indictment.

Acevedo-Vila's expected to surrender to federal authorities today.



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Immigrants chase the Brazilian Dream

The BBC Brazilian edition reports (link in Portuguese) Number of immigrants in search of the ' Brazilian dream ' grows: An increasing number of immigrants are arriving in Brazil in search of opportunity. Foreigners are arriving as individual investors, employees of multinational corporations, or illegally, encouraged by the growth and stability of the Brazilian economy.

The depreciation of the Argentinian currency, Spain's tougher immigration laws, and Brazil's new agreements with Bolivia, Argentina and Uruguay is attracting South American immigrants.

The US is the leading country requesting investment visas, with Great Britain and the Philippines in second and third places. Investment from the Phillipines is mostly in oil. Italy, France, Germany, India, Japan, China and Canada round up the top ten.

The BBC reports that Brazil has an estimated 600,000 illegal aliens, 75,000 of which are Bolivians.

As you can see from the report, people will opt for economic opportunity whenever they can. As the Bolivian government clamps down on economic investment, the people go where they can prosper.

UPDATE
Meanwhile, in Europe, Is the Polish diaspora returning home?, via Siggy



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Hugo, laid bare by a laptop; FARC's uranium seized

Gateway Pundit has the headline: COLOMBIA SEIZES FARC TERRORIST URANIUM STASH! The Colombian National Ministry of Defense last Thursday seized in Bogota 30 kilos of "impoverished" uranium that the FARC had bought late last year. (h/t Siggy)

The Miami Herald explains,

The Defense Ministry said the discovery adds weight to the evidence found in a laptop belonging to slain guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes, which showed the rebels were interested in buying and selling the uranium on the international underground market.
...
The Colombian government has used details of an alleged deal, to buy up to 50 kilos of uranium at $2.5 million a kilo, found in emails on Reyes' computer to prove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was planning to enter the international terrorism trade from its sanctuary set up in the jungle about one mile from the Colombia-Ecuador border.

All the information leading to this came from a laptop seized earlier this month when Colombian forces killed FARC's second-in-command Raul Reyes.

From the LA Times blog La Plaza, The strange case of Hugo Chavez and a rebel laptop

The cover of the Peruvian magazine Caretas features a photo-montage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with a portable computer covering his private parts. The headline: "Laptop left him naked."

That would be the purported rebel laptop found during this month's Colombian military strike on a rebel encampment in neighboring Ecuador. Among the alleged revelations: That Chavez financed the guerrillas to the tune of $300 million -- an allegation denied by Chavez.

Caretas magazine states (my translation):

From Reyes's harddrive:

• Chavez has direct links to the FARC, which go back a long time. So much so that the guerilla had given him $50,000 while he was in prison after his failed coup.
• 'Ivan Marquez', another member of the FARC secretariat, acknoledges Chavez's $300million contribution to the guerilla
• The FARC's commands repeatedly support Chavez: "The charter project with President Chavez goes forward so he can continue his humanitarian work and accordingly bring along other governments in the continent; he therefro gains in his geopolitical project and we hence continue to gain recognition as a Fighting Force". The fighting force status pushed by Chavez has become the most serious hurdle in the process.
• Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, keeps permanent contact with the FARC and has arranged for meeting - according to correspondence dated October 8, 2007 - "without the knowledge of the Colombian government."
• In an email sent to the highest FARC leader 'Manuel Marulanda' a.k.a. Tirofijo, two Secretariat members, 'Ivan Marquez' and 'Rodrigo Granda' mention ongoing FARC businesses in Venezuela. They mention oil quotas to be negotiated overseas and FARC investments in the country.
• And, of course, the uranium that the Colombian government just found Thursday last week.

The La Plaza also links to a report by the Colombian radio station RCN which states that Chavez had ordered ten batallions mobilized to the Colombian border for the purpose of protecting Manuel Maruanda (Tirofijo), which he feared was going to meet the same fate as Raul Reyes.

The report says that Hugo's call to Reyes is what helped the Colombian military locate Reyes, since Chavez had promised to call Reyes within forty-eight hours of the release of hostages Gloria Polanco, Orlando Beltrán, Jorge Eduardo Gechem and Luis Eladio Perez.

Additionally, RCN states that FARC's chief Marulanda is ill and is now in Venezuela, in a farm in the Norte de Santander region.

As La Plaza translates from Caretas,

"This is the way with the guerrillas sponsored by Hugo Chavez: Punish with ferocity human beings denied liberty for interminable years and manipulate the international community interested in contributing to the end of this hell."

In other Hugo news, today he's in Brazil.

Also in today's news, Colombia continues to pressure Ecuador to help co-ordinate border security, after Colombian farmers are attacked by Ecuador-based FARCs.



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Thank you Hugo!

Ed posts, Chavez: Anyone but McCain, and links to the Reuters story: Chavez says U.S. relations could worsen with McCain

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a socialist

self-proclaimed communist,

and fierce U.S. critic, warned on Tuesday that relations with Washington could worsen if Republican candidate John McCain wins this year's presidential election.

Chavez said he hopes the United States and Venezuela can work better together when his ideological foe, U.S. President George W. Bush, leaves the White House next year, but he said McCain seemed "warlike."

Well, if that's not good news for McCain among the democracy-loving electorate, particularly those of "Hispanic" origin, I don't know what is.

Matthew Vadum talked about Chavez in last Monday's podcast, which you can listen to here. The podcast was plagued with technical problems but we discussed Citizens Energy Corporation, Joe Kennedy, Danny Glover, and the sandalistas going on reality tours of Venezuela. Joe, Danny and the others aren't going to vote for McCain anyway.



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On Saddam’s Order

On Saddam's Order
The Iraqi tyrant didn't "just" aid anti-American terrorist groups; he explicitly ordered them to attack.

What is not debatable, based on the Iraqi Perspectives Project, is that Saddam Hussein's regime funded, trained, and assisted terrorist groups (including al-Qaeda proxies), and sometimes actually ordered them to attack American citizens, American interests, and American allies. To compound the danger, Saddam Hussein's Iraq was simultaneously using its intelligence and security apparatus to plot and conduct terror attacks of its own.

The article lists the groups that Saddam's regime funded, trained, and assisted:

• "Renewal and Jihad Organization"
• Egyptian Islamic Jihad (al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri's group, which merged with Osama bin Laden's terrorists to form al-Qaeda)
• The Islamic Scholars Group in Pakistan
• Pakistan Scholars Group
• "Army of Muhammad" that it knew to be loyal to Osama bin Laden

A September 2001 document mentions Saddam's efforts "make common cause" with a number of Islamic radical groups in Kuwait, including a Shiite group. Another document mentions a Sri Lankan group that volunteered to carry out suicide bombings on Saddam's orders during the first Gulf war. Additional internal memos show Iraqi officials reporting to one another that Hamas was willing through the 1990s to conduct suicide attacks against Americans on behalf of Saddam’s Iraq. These memos also listed Abu Abbas, the notorious Palestinian terrorist, as another man willing to lead his forces for Saddam in attacks against Americans.

Additionally,

The report details the regime's production of suicide vests, IEDs, and car bombs for plots that included targets in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Saddam's embassies in these countries were warehouses for missile launchers, plastic explosives, TNT, Kalashnikovs, booby-trapped suitcases, and grenades. These tools were all available to a regime that had internal orders to attack American civilians, military members, bases, embassies, and ships.

The report where Mark Eichenlaub found all this information is five volumes long. What journalist out there is taking the time to comb through this information, rather than continue to believe that Saddam's Iraq was harmless country that presented no threat to anyone?

UPDATE
While we're at it, Brian Faughnan at the Weekly Standard posts about Iraq's Unheralded Political Progress.
Brian's going to be on next Friday's postcast. Don't miss it!




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Wild Turkey

Another sign of Spring: Maria's wild turkey (no, not Wild Turkey)

Today's Sarko news watch: a wedding, a photo, a trip

It didn't take long, but Cecilia remarries after Nicolas Sarkozy divorce. She married the guy she was with in 2005:

Mr Attias, 48, was the Moroccan-born Jewish lover Miss Ciganer-Albeniz, 50, left her ex-husband for in 2005, only to return to Mr Sarkozy's side in the run-up to the French presidential elections last year.

I probably ran into her at the time. One day I was in New York walking down Fifth Avenue by one of the hotels. There were a couple of guys with cameras across the street, and on the same sidewalk. Suddenly they all picked up their cameras and started taking pictures of a woman wearing jeans and a white shirt who had just come out of the hotel with a man by her side. The following Thursday, I saw the photograph of the woman on the cover of the latest Parish Match. But I digress.

Cecilia's wedding was held at the Rainbow Room on the Rockerfeller Centre's 65th floor and featured singers from the Harlem Gospel Choir, and was preceeded by a three-day celebration involving dinners and a trip to see the Broadway musical Mamma Mia. Somebody must like Abba, but the musical has a wedding theme.

Christies is auctioning nude photos of Sarko's current wife, Carla Bruni. I'm not sure why these photos come as any surprise to anyone.

In more serious news, Sarko raises prospect of snubbing [the Olympic] opening ceremony over crackdown in Tibet; additionally,

An official from France's state television company said the broadcaster would likely boycott the Games if coverage was censored.

Today Sarko ls for 'Franco-British brotherhood' as state visit begins

In an interview, Mr Sarkozy said that it was time to reinvent the cross-Channel relationship from the strategic co-operation enshrined in the entente cordiale to become one of genuine closeness and "hand-in-glove" warmth.
...

Launching a charm offensive designed to realign French foreign policy, Mr Sarkozy told the BBC via a translator: "Whoever the British leader may be he will need others, other Europeans.

"And how can we do without your strong economy, your language which is the most spoken language throughout the world — do without your defence, which is the most significant in Europe? I want a new Franco-British brotherhood."

Times on Line has a feature on the trip, Sarkozy state visit: follow it live here

Sarko renewed France's commitment to NATO in Afghanistan,

He emphasised France's commitment to the Nato-led alliance in Afghanistan, saying that his country had no intention of pulling out troops and may even be prepared to send in more.


"In Afghanistan what's at stake, it's part of our battle against world terrorism," he said. "Do we need a new strategy in Afghanistan? Perhaps. Placing more trust in the Afghans themselves? The answer is yes.

"Is the only response in Afghanistan a military one? Obviously not. Does France intend to pull out? Obviously not.

"We have to see how long we are prepared to stay...If all the terms and conditions are met, why not send in more troops?"

The Sarkos will be in the UK for thirty-six hours.

Unrelated, but of interest, Maria sent A Guide to the French.



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Obama's pastor cancels speeches; Obama releases tax records

Obama's Ex-Pastor Cancels Speeches ostensibly because of safety and security concerns.

Last Saturday Belmont Club had an excellent essay on racialist theologies, which you should read in its entirety,

Racialist theologies are so absurd that they are probably atheisms or political programs in religious disguise. Ivan in the Brothers Karamazov renounces God out of a love for mankind; he wants to supplant the deity with man. And when Jeremiah Wright puts a black man on the Throne of God we should recognize the obvious: that there is no God left after the transaction, only a man raised as high as human hands can hold. Dostoevky's character Kirilov observed "if you shoot yourself, you'll become God, isn't that right?" Or as Cone put it orbicularly "Hope is the expectation of that which is not. It is the belief that the impossible is possible, the 'not yet' is coming in history." He might have been talking about Obama.

Belmont Club links to The peculiar theology of black liberation, a must-read.

Obama took a brief vacation last weekend with his family in the Virgin Islands.

Apparently Obama stayed at the home of a well-known black nationalist, while Wright stayed at the Ritz Carlton Great Bay instead of tending to his congregation in Trinity Church during the highest of all Christian Holy Days.

Pamela has more on the VI trip.

More recently, Obama has released his tax records and urges Hillary to release hers before the Pennsylvania primary.

Fat chance on that.

If you read the article on the Obama tax records, you can see that earning $1.6 million in one year apparently was no reason for Ivy League-educated Michelle Obama to have pride in the land which affords her and her husband such riches and opportuniy, but clearly Michelle allocates her pride sparingly.

Darleen pokes fun at Obama, while Hillary's people look at Rezko,

Chicago Tribune: Obama's assertion that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing 'strains credulity.' "...Obama has been too self-exculpatory. His assertion in network TV interviews last week that nobody had indications Rezko was engaging in wrongdoing strains credulity: Tribune stories linked Rezko to questionable fundraising for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2004 — more than a year before the adjacent home and property purchases by the Obamas and the Rezkos." [Chicago Tribune editorial, 1/27/08]

Here are 8 Things You Need to Know About Obama and Rezko

As if that weren't enough, Arab-American Activist Says Obama Hiding Anti-Israel Stance (h/t Marc)

In an article he penned for the anti-Israeli website Electronic Intifada, Abunimah wrote:

"The last time I spoke to Obama was in the winter of 2004 at a gathering in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. He was in the midst of a primary campaign to secure the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat he now occupies. But at that time polls showed him trailing.

"As he came in from the cold and took off his coat, I went up to greet him. He responded warmly, and volunteered, 'Hey, I'm sorry I haven't said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race.

'I'm hoping when things calm down I can be more up front.' He referred to my activism, including columns I was contributing to the The Chicago Tribune critical of Israeli and US policy [and said:] 'Keep up the good work.'
...
The Arab-American activist went on to say: "In 2000, when Obama unsuccessfully ran for Congress I heard him speak at a campaign fundraiser hosted by a University of Chicago professor. On that occasion and others Obama was forthright in his criticism of US policy and his call for an even-handed approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Michael Goldfarb today posts on Obama's Jewish problem, related not only to por-Palestinian sympathies, but also to Trinity Church's publication of an open letter to Oprah Winfrey by Ali Baghdadi, "Middle East advisor to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad the founder of the Nation of Islam, as well as Minister Louis Farrakhan". The letter says,

The Israelis were given a blank check: they could test whenever they desired and did not even have to ask permission. Both worked on an ethnic bomb that kills Blacks and Arabs

Michael concludes,

Obama has a Jewish problem, whether or not it's merely guilt by association is irrelevant. Politics is about perception, and the perception is that Obama's one step removed from the Nation of Islam. If he wants to get the anti-Semitic stench of Trinity United off his campaign, it's going to take more than the all-clear from Marc Ambinder and Marty Peretz.

A lot more, and racialist theologies won't be the answer.



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Tuesday night tango: Antonio Banderas

Antonio.
Need we say more?

A FARC fan. . . in congress

Gerard links to the WSJ editorial, A FARC Fan's Notes.

I have posted in the past asking for Congress to pass a free-trade agreement with Colombia. This would be a huge step towards improving the Colombian economy, possibly curtail immigration into the US, while at the same time it would have nearly no negative effect on the American economy.

Congress is firmly doing nothing.

Why?

Well, consider the following:

A hard drive recovered from the computer of a killed Colombian guerrilla has offered more insights into the opposition of House Democrats to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

A military strike three weeks ago killed Raúl Reyes, No. 2 in command of the FARC, Colombia's most notorious terrorist group. The Reyes hard drive reveals an ardent effort to do business directly with the FARC by Congressman James McGovern (D., Mass.), a leading opponent of the free-trade deal. Mr. McGovern has been working with an American go-between, who has been offering the rebels help in undermining Colombia's elected and popular government.

Mr. McGovern's press office says the Congressman is merely working at the behest of families whose relatives are held as FARC kidnap hostages. However, his go-between's letters reveal more than routine intervention. The intervenor with the FARC is James C. Jones, who the Congressman's office says is a "development expert and a former consultant to the United Nations."
...
Mr. McGovern's office says it knew what Mr. Jones was doing and engaged with him because "we need to find an interlocutor who could discuss these things including the safe haven" for the guerrillas.

We now know where Congressman's McGovern's sympathies lie.

UPDATE
Not only McGovern:
Via Gateway Pundit by way of Larwyn, Semana says,

Another discusses an apparent effort by U.S. Democrats to have celebrated novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez mediate talks with the insurgents — possibly with former President Clinton's involvement.

There is no evidence the FARC ever obtained surface-to-air missiles, however. Attempts to reach Clinton and Garcia Marquez were unsuccessful.

Hillary have any experience on this too?



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Skype sucks: The wait; and today's links

After the phishing, the wait
.
.
.
.
waiting
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.
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Saddam's Files, They Show Terror Plots, But Raise New Questions About Some Media Claims

The Bolivarian Republic of Massachusetts, via Instapundit

Why Can’t People Just LEAVE KWAME ALONE!!!!

Three stages in a man's life

Via Ed,


Major offensive against Hizbolla - in IRAQ

Wishing Kevin McCullough great success!

Dance time, with Miro's art:




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Today at 11AM Eastern: Journalist Matthew Vadum

Matthew Vadum, Editor of Capital Research Center talks about The American Friends of Hugo Chavez and The Terrorists' Legal Team

Matthew Vadum, Editor, Organization Trends and Foundation Watch
Formerly a CRC research fellow, Matthew Vadum is also a veteran journalist. During his seven years in the Washington bureau of The Bond Buyer, a daily financial newspaper based on Wall Street, he covered Congress, the Supreme Court, housing, and state and local finance. While a reporter for the Central Penn Business Journal in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he won an award for outstanding legal journalism from the Pennsylvania Bar Association for an article that focused on employment law. He holds an M.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.

Chat's open by 10:45, and the call-in number is 646 652-2639. Join us!




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The experience must have been "seared, seared" into her mind and under her ugly coat

"I remember landing under sniper fire, there was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars".

Not!


But hey, it's not lying, it's misspeaking.

In other Hillary news, the Fashion Police has revoked her parole following the release of the photos of the Australian outback coat the former First Lady wore for the Bosnia "sniper fire" occasion.



Or perhaps the Air Force One pilot had to make an emergency landing on the way to the steakhouse.

UPDATE
The mask drops to the ground

Shocker... Hillary Gaffes-- Media Reacts

More:
from The Anchoress: Clinton camp in lockdown mode over Bosnia flap

Via Ken, Eyeblast.tv - 1992 Hillary: Voters 'Tired of People Who Lie to Them'.

UPDATE, Wednesday 26 March
Pantsuit On Fire



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"It's Raining McCain, Halleluyah!"

Finally, three women who sing worse than I

Skype sucks: The Phishing

Today at 7AM Eastern I received a message saying that my Skype password had been changed. I immediately went into my account, reset the password through my email faustaw@yahoo.com and signed into Skype again.

About half an hour later I received another Skype message saying the password had been changed again, but this time my faustaw@yahoo.com password had been changed also and now I can not use either that email address or my Skype account.

Then I filed a Support Request with Skype.

It's 1:35PM. Still waiting.

The faustaw@yahoo.com email account is now disabled.

1:39PM: Skype "reply"

Thank you for contacting Skype Support!
This email is confirmation that we have received your request and a Customer Support Specialist will be working to get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.
Because the majority of requests require research to resolve, it can sometimes take us up to 48 hours to respond, though we make every effort to get back to you as quickly as possible and most queries are answered within 24 hours.
Though we will do our best to respond to you as quickly as possible, sometimes the best way to get immediate answers is to search our knowledgebase at http://support.skype.com where you can find answers to questions like:
• How to Use Skype
• Skype In/Skype Out
• Skype Voicemail
• Skype Privacy & Security
• And many other questions
You can also find helpful step by step User Guides at http://www.skype.com/help/guides/ that will help walk you through things like:
• Getting Started Using Skype
• Installing Skype
• Adding a Skype Contact
• Making a Skype Call
• And many more
We hope this is helpful and again, thank you for contacting us. We’ll be getting back to you as soon as possible!
Sincerely,
Skype Support
Please do not reply to this automated email,
we will reply to you directly from your support request.

By the way, late in 2007 someone had used my Skype credit to call numbers in Morrocco during the weekend of November 30 to December 2. It took some doing to get the amount reinstated.

While on chat in MidStream Radio, Drive Time Talk Time suggested I read this, Password has changed automatically

It goes back to last year and Skype is still vulnerable to phishing. The forum reply was that "the password can only be changed if som someone knows it..."

The problem is, someone's figured out how to access the Skype passwords.

Update:
The Husband, "Someone's out to get you".
I roll my eyes and supress the urge to strangle.



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EMAIL AND SKYPE ALERT ****PLEASE READ****

This morning Skype has reset my password twice, and now I can not use either my Skype account nor my faustaw@yahoo.com account since neither one takes my passwords or personal information.

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE PLEASE DISREGARD ALL EMAILS IN MY NAME COMING FROM THE YAHOO ACCOUNT AND ANY SKYPE MESSAGES.

If any of you can help me find a solution to this problem, please leave a message in the comment section or call me at home or cell phone. Thank you.

The Easter Week edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Easter Week Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This week's big story: The mega-embassy in Bolivia

[Peruvian President Alan] Garcia -- who is no fan of his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez -- suggested in an interview with The Miami Herald's Andres Oppenheimer that Chavez is building a "general headquarters" in this Andean capital that would serve to coordinate Venezuela's joint operations in the region with its leftist allies Cuba and Nicaragua.

A minor media frenzy ensued, with television crews racing to the seven-story office tower in La Paz's middle-class Obrajes neighborhood.

Corralled by a television reporter, top Venezuelan diplomat Douglas PErez said the construction was simply an embassy, to replace the current rented office in a downtown high-rise.

The $500,000 building, he said, will also house an auditorium, offices of Venezuela's state energy company PDVSA and perhaps a branch of the country's development bank Bandes.

The reporter pressed on: What about the mural showing the flags of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia? Decoration, Perez answered with a shrug. The construction "looked a little ugly, so we hung that big picture up to cover it. That's it."

That will be in addition to the 200 pro-Chavez Casas del ALBA operating in neighboring Peru, which the Peruvian Congress is investigating for ties between the Bolivarian embassy compound in Bolivia, the ALBA homes in Peru, and violent groups in Peru.

In tomorrow's podcast at 11AM Eastern Matthew Vadum of the Capital Research Center will talk about how Enablers grease path for Chavez.
Matthew Vadum, Editor, Organization Trends and Foundation Watch

Formerly a CRC research fellow, Matthew Vadum is also a veteran journalist. During his seven years in the Washington bureau of The Bond Buyer, a daily financial newspaper based on Wall Street, he covered Congress, the Supreme Court, housing, and state and local finance. While a reporter for the Central Penn Business Journal in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he won an award for outstanding legal journalism from the Pennsylvania Bar Association for an article that focused on employment law. He holds an M.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.

LATIN AMERICA
U.S. media lags in covering Latin America, which is why this Carnival is so popular.

ARGENTINA and BRAZIL
Brazil and Argentina
The tortoise and the hare: Why those wimpish Brazilians are catching up with Argentina's racier economy

BOLIVIA - PERU - VENEZUELA
The three países hermanos were clearly not enough for el macacón...

Megaembajada bolivariana se instala en La Paz

COLOMBIA
At Le Monde, Colombia's drug traffickers and kidnappers are victims, while those who fight against them are to blame

The FARC's Terrorist Diplomacy

FARC's uranium likely a scam

The FARC implosion

Via Instapundit, How To Beat an Insurgency

Venezuelan, Colombian militaries built differently

CHILE
Magnitude 5.6 - WEST CHILE RISE

CUBA
Free the Group of 56 in Castro's Prison

The Bay of Rigs

Consumer electronics in Cuba
Byte by byte
The inalienable right to a toaster - but not quite yet

Cuban government has lifted its ban on farmers buying their own supplies to improve agricultural production.

Ovacionan feligreses bautistas a los 75 presos politicos

Viva Castro's departure: Cuba in 2008 should be the Hong Kong or Singapore of Latin America. Yeah, right. It should be, but why isn't it?

They'd Get More Letters, But Nobody Can Afford Paper

THE CUBA EMBARGO: TOO SOON TO TEAR DOWN THE GOAL POSTS

The ultimate in Leftie cynicism: Cuba is not a country for capitalists – but people are still happy. Happy enough to venture shark-infested waters just for the hell of it.

ECUADOR
Just Say No to Chavez, the FARC, Correa and MARXISM

MEXICO
AMLO's baaack....The resurrection The return of a former opponent adds to the president's troubles; Lopez Obrador returns to Mexican spotlight

PARAGUAY
Elections in Paraguay: A Bishop-Candidate Favors the So-called "Socialism of the Twenty-first Century"

PERU
Peruvian officials accuse Chavez of bankrolling subversives

Embassy . . . or base for Chávez?

PANAMA
Key U.S. drug informant lands in prison
Nelson Urrego went from convicted trafficker to key informant to life on a Survivor island to prison

PUERTO RICO
Letter from Barack Obama to Puerto Rico

EL SALVADOR
Via Matt, who IM'd this from Paris just now, After deportation, illegals are determined to return

TRINIDAD TOBAGO
An Event-ful Weekend

VENEZUELA
An Empty Revolution: The Unfulfilled Promises of Hugo Chávez

The Chavez Media's predictable failure

The hopeless destruction power of the Chavez revolution

Chavez threatens to silence 2nd TV station

Hugo's Cuffs Removed

Special thanks to Maggie, Larwyn, Maria and Eneas.



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