The nationalized Venezuelan oil contractors Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This week's big story: Chavez's nationalizing the oil contractors, removing books from public libraries, threatening Globovision, all for the purpose of consolidating power around himself, which was the subject of this morning's podcast. See the links under Venezuela below.

Another big story: while the OAS aims to legitimize the Cuban regime by granting it membership in the organization, the Cuban government rejected the idea via an article by Fidel Castro in Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party.

In other news, Peru is also granting asylum to Bolivian ministers who oppose Evo Morales. as you may recall, Peru recently granted political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales.

ARGENTINA
U.S. Government Funds $400,000 Study on Gay Sex in Argentina Bars

BARBADOS
Commentary: Thompson's immigration declaration too harsh

BRAZIL
At least 31 dead, 50,000 homeless in Brazil flooding

Vale iron ore train in N. Brazil halted by floods

COLOMBIA
Colombia and Venezuela: Latin America Bond and Currency Preview

CUBA
At the Melia Cohiba

Castro le teme al huracán Obama

The OAS, Cuba and Memory Loss

Cuba Doesn't Belong in a Democratic Club
Castro's apologists make a move at the OAS.

ECUADOR
Deep in the Jungle, Ecuador Targets the FARC. Let’s hope so.

Ecuador's Correa until 2017?

FALKLANDS ISLANDS
A Small Place
Nearly half the Falkland Islanders are immigrants. What draws people to a grim chunk of rock in the South Atlantic?

GUATEMALA
Spanish think tank awards Manuel Ayau for his exemplary lifework in the defense of liberty



MEXICO
After Dems Bailout, GM To Move Out of US

The cracks opened up by the flu: As the swine-flu outbreak appears to subside, Mexico is left to contemplate the cost and to ponder the authorities’ response

MONTSERRAT
Frogs flown from Montserrat to flee deadly fungus

PANAMA
Panama and the decline of the Sao Paolo forum

Panama bucks the Latin American left

Super 09: A supermarket king defeats the Left

PARAGUAY
Paternity Makes Punch Line of Paraguay President

El video "personal" de Lugo



More!



PERU
Peru's Garcia Gives Asylum to Bolivian Ministers -- Bolivia's Morales Calls Garcia “Vulgar”

Nadine Heredia, esposa de Ollanta, recibe dinero de diario 'chavista'

Crime in Peru: Printing Money
Quantitative easing in a new capital of counterfeiting

VENEZUELA
Chavez accelerates the pace of destruction of Venezuela, taking over oil service companies.

Chávez Seizes Assets of Oil Contractors

Venezuela: Chavez's government seizes oil contractors Photos here

Chavez latest seizures will likely reduce production

Chávez seizures fuel Venezuela oil fears

El Día Mundial de la Libertad de Expresión visto desde los barrios

You do not need to be an economist to know that things are not going well in Venezuela

Globovision shakes chavismo early this morning

Eurocámara apoya a "perseguidos" venezolanos

María Conchita busca "desenmascarar" a Chávez

Venezuelans aim to kick crime out

Trade unions in Venezuela: Socialism v labour. Curbing opposition to chavismo

Hugo Chávez Attacks Media Opponents Again, Threatens to Withdraw Their Licenses

Special thanks to Maggie and the Baron. Congratulations to Eneas Biglione on his Leadership Award

Chavez, Now and Forever? Plus today's Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

My article, Chavez, Now and Forever? on Hugo Chavez's referendum victory, is up at Real Clear World. Please read it and leave a comment.

The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Undoubtedly the big story of the week is yesterday's Venezuelan referendum. Please scroll down to the Venezuela section for a roundup of posts and articles.

ARGENTINA
El día después

BOLIVIA
U.S. rancher at center stage in Bolivia land dispute

BRAZIL
Brazil's oil industry: Plunging in
Petrobras sets some ambitious targets

COLOMBIA
“The ‘Intellectual Bloc’ of the FARC”

IDEAGlobal Sees Mexico, Colombia Debt Prices Under Fire Due to U.S. Recession. Colombia Bond Yields Should Rise Further

CUBA
Te toca a tí

1971-2009: The Grey Millennium

Cuban human rights activist jailed

ECUADOR
Out of Ecuador, A Latin Lesson for Obama

'Difficult' for Ecuador to pay debt interest: minister

HAITI
Rebuilding Haiti: Weighed down by disasters
A modest success for the United Nations is threatened by nature and lassitude

MEXICO
Warrior in Drug Fight Soon Becomes a Victim
Mexican General Seized, Slain in Cancun

Video: Las parteras de Santa Teresa

1530: Tangaxuan II, the last Tarasco ruler

Via Instapundit, What does Slim want?

NICARAGUA
The pathetic political situation that is Nicaragua

VENEZUELA
Dictatorial reforms

NY Times: Chavez victory injects "fresh vibrancy into his socialist-inspired revolution"

Leftist Political Parties & Power

Welcome To The Revolution- No Term Limits For Chavez

Chavez Wins

Dictator for Life

No More Term Limits for Venezuela’s Chavez

Bye Bye Venezuela: Chavez Wins Referendum, Gets to Run Again

POLICE BEHIND SYNAGOGUE ATTACKS IN VENEZUELA

Chavez reports attempted coup

Views of Venezuela's Chavez Have Hardened in the Region -- and at Home

Chavez tries Mugabe style 'democracy'

Venezuela Expels EU Lawmaker for Comments on Election

Telling Venezuela how to vote
Hugo Chávez is abusing the resources of his petrostate to fund a campaign to ensure his presidential term is extended

Chavez Delays Valentine's Day for Referendum, Promises a Whole Week of Lovin Starting Monday

Venezuela opposition complains of Chavez tactics

Journalists' Association asks government to halt attacks

Hugo Chávez's Venezuela: Oblivious to the coming storm
In his first decade Hugo Chávez has presided over social programmes, inflation, crime and rising intolerance. Venezuelans will pay the price in years to come

Chávez Decisively Wins Bid to End Term Limits

Mr. Chávez vs. the Jews
With George W. Bush gone, Venezuela's strongman has found new enemies.

AMERICAN POLITICS
Chavez and Obama

Chavez power grab: is this our future, too?

IMMIGRATION
16 illegals sue Arizona rancher
Claim violation of rights as they crossed his land

Mending Fences

For more Carnival goodness
Shiny happy dhimmi - #13



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The Groundhog Day Carnival of Latin America & the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your post included in next Monday's Carnival, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The big news of the week is the alarming increase of the region, including Venezuela where the country's oldest synagogue was vandalized last Friday. Jews in Venezuela, who have for over two hundred years enjoyed tolerance and peace, over the past few weeks have suddenly found themselves in fear of attack and discrimination. Andres Oppenheimer, writing at Miami Herald points to other incidents in Argentina and Brazil. Meanwhile, Telesur broadcasts

a story entitled ''Gaza's Ruins,'' which accuses Israel ''and the world's Jews'' of failing to denounce alleged atrocities by Israeli troops and ''Jewish planes'' in Gaza

and Fidel Castro (or his amanuensis) writes in Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party that Obama supports Israeli 'genocide'.

I'll be talking about this disturbing trend in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern. Chat's open at 10:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639.

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean economies
Lonely beaches: A fall in tourism, and other body blows

Aiming To Shoot Across America's Bow

Populism: The Illusion that Won’t Go Away

Rainforest Resurgence, and New Jungles Prompt a Debate on Rain Forests

Commentary: Is there disunity in CARICOM?

Don't miss also Market Memorandum's news roundup.

ARGENTINA
Fuga de capitales se triplico en el 2008

Women keep disappearing

Argentina Stalling Buenos Aires Bond Plan, Mayor Says

BOLIVIA
DEA presence ends in Bolivia
The last of the U.S. drug agents leaves on President Evo Morales' orders. The U.S. and Bolivia are in a bitter dispute over the South American country's anti-drug efforts.

Facebook will let anybody in these days

Bolivian Christian Group's Ad Against New Constitution

BRAZIL
Dig like Brazil

Lula Raises Brazil’s Minimum Wage 12% as of February

COLOMBIA
Bomb goes off in Bogotá, FARC suspected

Colombia FARC Frees Four Hostages to Opposition Senator Cordoba, three policemen and a member of the Colombian army; The Red Cross verified that the hostages were released; however, Colombia FARC Have Killed Many of Their Captives, Caracol Says

As many as 300 captives taken by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are dead, Caracol Television reported.

The FARC, as the drug funded group is known, were thought to hold as many as 700 Colombians kidnapped for ransom, the TV channel said. Herbin Hoyos, founder and host of “Voices of Kidnapping,” a radio program that relays messages from family members to rebel hostages, said in an interview with Caracol he has the names of many of the victims and their burial sites.

The details were provided to Hoyos by demobilized members of the FARC.

During his state visit to Germany after his trip to Davos, Uribe insists he's not asking to stay in power in perpetuity, but that he wants his long-term policies to take hold (article in Spanish).

CUBA
Castro Betrayed Che With Moscow's Help, Says Former Guerrilla

The finer points of credit

The star that illuminates and goes missing*

Houston we have no problem

Manifestación en Barcelona

Orestes Paino Viera, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 2/1/09

Raúl Castro se reunió con Vladímir Putin en la sede del Gobierno ruso

GUYANA
British sunken ship discovered off Guyana

Hundreds of Guyanese waiting to be deported from Canada

MEXICO
Calderon Says Mexico May Need More Measures to Spark Economy

Killing the lawyers of Juarez

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua Strongmen's Pact Under Strain

PUERTO RICO
1st Puerto Rican astronaut, Ralph Acaba, carries pride in heritage

Puerto Rico's Democratic Party presents measure for tax relief

PERU
Mining in Peru
If a city's the pits, Then move the city

VENEZUELA
Chávez Grabs Again for Life Tenure
Intimidation is on the rise as a referendum approaches.

Synagogue in Venezuela Vandalized in Break-In Israel acusa a Chavez del ataque a sinagoga

Barbarians at the gate: the Caracas Synagogue is profaned

“The Threat closer to Home”: a book on Hugo Chavez's fake revolution

A long term view of monetary liquidity and international reserves in Venezuela

Former PDVSA President Giusti Denies Report of Madoff Losses

PDVSA maula

Here, There and Everywhere: Venezuela Trip Notes from Cartagena, Colombia
Here, there and everywhere

Bolivia's Evo Morales, Ecuador's Rafael Ortega, Honduras's Manuel Zelaya, and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, plus Cuba's vicepresident, Carlos Lage asisten a la cumbre extraordinaria del ALBA.

AMERICAN POLITICS
What Obama Can(Not) Do for Latin America

The Latino Republican Forum

The week's posts and podcasts
Meanwhile at at the World Social Forum in Brazil: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Maradona does Caracas
Brave Benicio ran away. Bravely ran away, away.
Today at 11AM Eastern: Iran’s “Subversive” Role in Latin America
Wonder why no countries like to do business in Cuba?
The Battisti asylum in Brazil: 15 Minutes on Latin America

At Real Clear World:
Venezuela: More Anti-Semitism
Gates: Iran's "Subversive" Role in Latin America

The Colombus Day Carnival of Latin America & the Caribbean

Crossposted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The big news this week: the world-wide liquidity crisis. Via The Perplexed Investor, Latin American Banks Use Reserves to Save Currencies

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Latin American central banks are being forced to draw on record foreign reserves built up during the six-year commodities rally to stop their currencies from sinking in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Brazil sold dollars for the first time in five years and Mexico sold $2.5 billion in the spot market between yesterday and today, helping their currencies pare losses. Chile may follow suit, Barclays Capital analyst Rodrigo Valdes said.

The worst currency meltdown in Latin America since the emerging-market economic crises of the 1990s is causing companies' dollar debts to swell as well as sparking derivatives losses, and may stoke inflation. The decision to intervene came after central banks in the U.S., Europe and Canada cut interest rates in a coordinated effort to boost confidence.

LATIN AMERICA
An Introduction to Spanish Irregular Verbs

ARGENTINA
Fishy business: Patagonia’s troubled waters

Argentina’s entry fee

Del dinero burbuja y otros ensayos

BOLIVIA
Bolivia Spirals Toward Crisis

Ecuador and Bolivia Do Not Deserve Preferential Trade Extension

BRAZIL
Pointers to the presidency: A good day for São Paulo’s governor

Brazil poised to be an oil superpower

COLOMBIA
Via IBD Blog, 'Colombia cheated negotiating guerrillas'

Soñar no cuesta nada

Diplomatic breach widens between Colombia, Ecuador

CUBA
In food crisis, Cuba limits sales so all can eat

US is racist, El Coma Andante declares

Fidel the blogger

ECUADOR
An Andean arc of crisis

USA Democratic Party Called Now to Declare Allegiances to Liberty or Andean Narco-communism

The New, Bizarre Constitution of Ecuador
[Analysis] Panentheism, political correctness, nationalized oil, and claims on Antarctica

JAMAICA
An article I missed from last month, McCain and the Caribbean

MEXICO
Hello, Mexico? We need advice

PERU
Protesters decry Peru corruption

PUERTO RICO
Strong quake shakes Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

VENEZUELA
La flota rusa que viene hacia Venezuela ya está en Libia The Russian fleet heading to Venezuela stops over in Libya

Revisiting the China syndrome

The Miami Venezuelan Maletagate trial part XIII: The defense calls a friendly and unethical witness to help Duran

Ayers has not left radicalism behind

Protestas hoy en la UCAB

World War III knocking at our door

Dmitry's Diatribe
Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Medvedev.

Venezuela's oil production falls under Chavez

And one for Columbus Day, Chávez arremete contra Cristóbal Colón, pero pide que no “destruyan sus estatuas”

AMERICAN POLITICS
Obama - Soros - South American Socialism

Congressional Endorsements - Lincoln vs Raúl

What’s in a name?

Via IBD Blog, Venezuela's Chavez Says CIA Has Offices in State of Zulia

Report: Obama's Girlfriend Banished to Caribbean by Angry Michelle

Special thanks to Jeff, Kate, Larwyn, Maggie and Maria

This week’s podcast and posts
Bolivia, from bad to worse

Venezuela’s crackdown





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The nuclear Venezuela Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The big news this week:
Alvaro Uribe visited the US and spoke at the UN. The American media paid no attention to the US's greatest ally in the hemisphere.

A new oil field recently found in Colombia is larger than expected.

Chavez is back from his tour of China, Portugal and Russia promising he will develop nuclear power "for peaceful purposes" with Russia's help

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had offered help with a reactor, adding that "we already have a commission working on this issue."

From China, Chavez got agreements on oil, producing oil tankers and a refinery, and launching a Venezuelan telecommunications satellite from China.

A more important result from the trip is that $1 billion military loan and a new oil consortium from Russia. Putin doesn't send you $1billion without expecting really big results: Russia is bankrolling an arms race right in our hemisphere, folks.

In other news, Ecuador's new constitution was approved by a margin of 65%. I predicted yesterday that it would pass by 60%, only because Soviet-style 99%+ margins have gone out of fashion. This is probably the first Constitution in the world which grants inalienable rights to nature

Ecuador’s proposed constitution includes an article that grants nature the right to “exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution” and will grant legal standing to any person to defend those rights in court.

Conveniently so, considering how it'll be yet another weapon against foreign corporations and political enemies.

And now for the Carnival
LATIN AMERICA
Today's Brazil, Peru, Argentina: Latin America Bond, Currency Preview at Bloomberg.

ARGENTINA
Better late than never: Ms Fernández tries to charm the markets by revisiting the 2005 debt swap

BOLIVIA
The Last Days of a Nazi-Era Photographer

Via IBD Blog, U.S. moves to suspend trade benefits for Bolivia

Bolivia es un paraiso de narcotraficantes

Evo Morales Supports Terrorist Groups

US-Bolivia economic relations hit the skids

BRAZIL
Brazil Booms by Going Lula's Way

Brazil unveils deforestation plan: The Brazilian government has pledged to end net deforestation by 2015.

Brazilian speeder gets $1.9m fine

Real-politik: Why elections, even to lowly office, are so expensive

Lula’s oil dream

CHILE
A force for good, now: A newly streamlined army polishes its democratic credentials

What We Can Learn From Chile's Financial Crisis. I'll add the video as soon as the code is available.

COLOMBIA
80%'er Meets 80%'er at UN Photos: Sarah Palin meets with Uribe

Solana Says Oil Field in Colombia May Be Larger Than Estimated

New NEFA Report on the FARC's International Support Network

CUBA
Proposed Russian-Cuba-Venezuela Space Cooperation Raises Many Questions

Cuba silent on latest U.S. aid offer
The United States made another offer of aid to Cuba, this time in the form of $6.3 million worth of construction materials. Cuba has yet to respond.

Via Lucianne, Castro’s arrogance blocks aid

Back to normal, also at Babalu

Cuba's ambitions for growth laid to waste yet again.

ECUADOR
Correa's Communism Set to Win on Sunday: Opposition Failed to Tell the Truth; Carter Center Lies about Ecuadorean Constitution

Ecuador Seems Likely to Clear Constitution

Ecuador: New laws, new conflicts

GUATEMALA
U.S. Coast Guard Sinks 60-Foot Cocaine "Submarine" off Guatemala-Mexico Coast

MEXICO
1,000 slain: Juárez drug war death continue to mount

Mexico on the brink?

NICARAGUA
Rewriting the book of Daniel

Nicaragua's stellar record of treatment of dissenting opinions

PARAGUAY
Critters!

PERU
Mitsui Mining to Restart Copper Production at Mine in Peru

VENEZUELA
Chavez says Venezuela will develop nuclear power

The Miami Venezuelan Maletagate trial part X: A Venezuelan court orders the assets of Maionica and Kauffmann seized

Some possible leftovers from the Vene-Russian love affair

Putin says ties with Latin America a top priority

Chavez: Latin States Should Partner With Russia Against U.S.

Venezuelan president arrives in China

Venezuela: Iran to finance 25 factories

Downright lunacy, via IBD Blog, US Department of Energy to deliver oil from strategic reserve to Citgo

La oposición venezolana acusa a la Policía de idear un falso complot para matar a Chávez

Russia, Venezuela to Form Oil Venture, Spend Billions

Newly installed in Caracas: a monument to the FARC’s founder, Manuel Marulanda, who died of a heart attack last March.


AMERICAN POLITICS
Republican quits in Hispanic row

Moscow on the main

Change for Change's Sake isn't Enough

This week’s podcasts and posts


Uribe, Brazil, and the UN: 15 Minutes on Latin America

Special thanks to Eneas, GoV, Larwyn, Maggie and Maria.


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The last Monday in August Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted at Fausta's blog.com

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included in the next Carnival, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

TODAY'S PODCAST AT 11AM Eastern
How the Latin American media glamorizes Obama and ignores McCain.



ARGENTINA
Clouds gather again over the Pampas
After six years of rapid growth, Argentina’s economy is at a familiar turning-point, in which the president’s refusal to change course threatens to make it poorer

USA'08: Madonna, metete la lengua entre las piernas y cerralas

BOLIVIA
Bolivia set for anti-Morales strikes

Bolivia in turmoil over socialist leaders’ attempt to grab wealth

Evo Morales: “Fidel nos dijo: hagan lo que esta haciendo Chavez” - Radio Fides

Libia invertira $us 80.000 millones en Latinoamerica, incluida Bolivia

BRAZIL
Lobao Says Brazil Plans to Uphold Oil Contracts, O Globo Says

Not as violent as you thought: Contrary to stereotype, the murder rate is falling

COLOMBIA
FARC rejected by many of its members

COSTA RICA
Chere Tomayko: Another Battered American Woman Granted Asylum, This Time in Costa Rica, Because the U.S. Will Not Protect Her or Her Children

CUBA
Cuban student leader arrested

ECUADOR
Ecuador says to meet Chevron over $16 bln lawsuit

'Immune' to cancer: The astonishing dwarf community in Ecuador who could hold the key to a cure

MEXICO
U.S./Mexico Border Violence, Continues … and why it will not cease

Red Cross gets radio threats in Mexico border city

The Failure of the Social Contract

NICARAGUA
Ortega offers asylum to narco-traffickers

PANAMA
Panama creates controversial intelligence force

PARAGUAY
Paraguay leader replaces military

PERU
Fighting for Freedom in Rural Peru: "ALBA Houses" Threaten Democracy

Peru's army on standby as jungle unrest grows

Peru throws out Amazon land laws

PERU SUSPENDS CIVIL LIBERTIES AS 65 INDIGENOUS TRIBES STRUGGLE FOR THEIR LAND

PUERTO RICO
Más acusaciones contra el Gobernador
Visite nuestro sitio especial: Caso de Acevedo Vilá.

Corpse kept upright for 3-day wake in Puerto Rico (Yup, we’ve got pics) Insólito velatorio: Joven muerto es velado de pie en Hato Rey, según lo pidió a sus familiares.

VENEZUELA
Via IBD Blog, Mario Vargas Llosa: "RESTRAINING THE MEDIA BRINGS ABOUT DICTATORSHIP"

Venezuela Cement Takeover Widens Government's Control (Update2)

Chronology of Venezuela 's nationalization of key industries

Venezuela's Weak Strongman: Chávez does not speak for the South American left.

Vampire bats blamed for Venezuela rabies outbreak

Think progress

Are we under a legal military regime in Venezuela?

Where is the revolutionary gold?

Possibly the dumbest sportscaster ever, via The Real Cuba:


AMERICAN POLITICS
Bill Ayers, Barack Obama and Che Guevara

Miami Ethnic Clash May Preview U.S. Where `Minorities' Dominate

Bill Ayers gets the Chavista seal of approval


ENTERTAINMENT
In Brooklyn, Every Palate Is an Island

Special thanks to Eneas, Maggie, Maria and Siggy.

LAST WEEK’S PODCASTS AND POSTS



4.6 tons of cocaine seized in the Caribbean - port of origin: Venezuela
Latin American news media cover the Presidential campaign, and McCain is invisible
Bill Ayers gets the Chavista seal of approval
Puerto Rico’s governor faces new federal charges



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Now at http://faustasblog.com

Just a quick reminder that you're visiting the back-up blog for http://faustasblog.com.

To read all new posts, please go to Fausta's blog.

The new RSS feed is http://faustasblog.com/?feed=rss2.

Thank you for your support!

Coming up on Blog Talk Radio

This afternoon at 3PM Eastern I'll be Ed Morrissey's guest, along with our mutual friend Val Prieto. We'll be talking about Cuba, Venezuela and politics.

Tonight I'll be liveblogging the debate at Heading Right.

Tomorrow at 11AM, Siggy and I will be talking about food with Happy Catholic.

Tuesday, January 29, at 11AM, Siggy and I will have a new, one-hour show.

During all my podcasts chat will be open at 10:45, and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639. Join us!




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Listen to Tell Me More today on NPR

Updated with the audio link
Today I am a guest in Michel Martin's NPR show, Tell Me More.

It came about last week when I was lying on a beach towel (who was covered with more sunblock, sand, and sea water, the towel or I? We'll never know) when my friend Josue Sierra called and told me that he had given my name to Michel's producer. They were looking for a Hispanic conservative.

To make a long story short, yesterday afternoon The Husband and I headed to Norfolk, Virginia, to the local PBS affiliate, WHRO. We arrived early, but luckily right before a big thunderstorm rolled in.

A nice young man led me to the studio room where he'd connect to the Washington, DC studio where the show is recorded. At 2:55PM I was comfortably seated and prepared for the connection.

And then we waited for 20 minutes.

Once the connection problems were ironed out, the show started recording. Michel's guests were Jan Donaldson of Hot Ghetto Mess.com, who was at the studio with Michel, Ana Marie Cox of Time.com (formerly Wonkette), who was calling from her office in DC, and myself.

The first item of discussion was the upcoming Democrat debate. Michel's going to be one of the panelists asking the candidates questions.

We had been asked beforehand to provide the question we would ask, and here is mine:
For me personally, it is very important to know,
What would you offer as incentives to entrepreneurs like myself - who hold MBAs and have sponsored foreign programmers - so we can continue to attract the best and brightest workers, and keep them?
And also,
How do you propose to reduce the costs and the barriers entrepreneurs like myself face now?

I hope the question makes it to the debate.

The conversation was animated, amusing, and amicable. I had a great time, and hope to be able to do it again soon.

One side note: After living the traffic in the North East, I am amazed at how little traffic there is in the Durham, Raleigh, and Norfolk areas by comparison.

On the way back The Husband and I stopped at a nice restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a very pleasant evening by the sea.

Not a bad way to spend a vacation afternoon, not bad at all.

The show airs today. Check your local NPR station for times. Here's the live stream for all NPR shows

Update
Here's the audio to the segment. You can also access it from here



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