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 “smells like Bush” day Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

It's the day before inauguration day, and contrary to some overly optimistic expectations, t Hugo Chavez said on Saturday Barack Obama had the “stench” of his predecessor as U.S. president. While here in the USA "To trash Bush was to belong," the trend continues with Chavez and his minions. The carnival goes on!

In today's podcast I'll be talking about Pres. Bush's legacy in Colombia. Chat's open at 10:45AM.

LATIN AMERICA
“Lula marcó distancia ante la posición de Chávez” Lula distances himself from Chavez's position; Hillary and Obama aren't happy about Chavez's anti-Americanism, and other brief news today at Noticias24.

ARGENTINA
Argentine President Urges Consumers to Keep Spending while Cristina Fernandez visits Cuba

A U.S. Court's Threatening Ruling

Enrique Dumas, Who Took Tango to Television in Argentina, Dies

BOLIVIA
Oliver Stone entrevista a Evo Morales en La Paz

Book Review: "Los planes A y B de Evo Morales" de Paul Coca - Juventud y Analisis

BRAZIL
Brazilian church roof collapses

Iran wants Brazil’s support for trying Israeli leaders as war criminals

Ex- terrorist gets asylum in Brazil

Italy's Foreign Min Blasts Brazilian Decision On Fugitive

Brazil's army: But what is it for? A philosopher redesigns an army

COLOMBIA
Uribe's Voice: Transcript of a Call

CUBA
Another flare-up of Castro’s death rumors Signs keep adding up, while Fidel still active, Chávez now says yet Report: Fidel Castro in a coma

Come and live it

"Che" Director Has an Eerie Feeling. Wonder Why?

Medvedev hails renewed ties with Cuba

ECUADOR
Ecuador vows partial bond buy-back

GUYANA
Libya to establish People's Bureau in Guyana

MEXICO
Thick-billed Parrot: Mexico and beyond…?

They Kidnap Americans Don't They?

What If Mexico Loses Its Drug War?

Anarchy in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Bad news out of Managua, the Pacto lives on

PANAMA
Cocaine plane trail is open challenge for Obama administration

PARAGUAY
Fundacion Libertad contra el monopolio de internet

PUERTO RICO
University of Puerto Rico begins new environmental education programme

Separatist? PBS Can't Call a Terrorist a Terrorist

URUGUAY
Uruguay Minister Posts Photos of Her Taking Shower on FaceBook

VENEZUELA
Chavez to swipe US$ 12 billion in international reserves for his personal use

Chavez dysfunctional reality

Venezuela's Chavez takes stock

Chavez turns into Palestinian hero

Kuwaiti MP calls to move Arab League to Caracas
Waleed al-Tabtabai says Venezuelan President has proved he is more Arab than some Arabs.

Chavez - a worse threat than bin Laden?

Hugo Crawls Back

Chavez 'part of evil side of politics'

Chavez Chagrined: Will Oil Companies Return to Venezuela?

Hey, what's one little Order of Magnitude between friends?

Venezuela's indigenous people: A promise unkept. Indigenous Venezuelans get welfare but, so far, not much land

ENTERTAINMENT
Part II: “Che:” Bad Movie About A Bad Guy Gets Worse

US POLITICS
Did Barack Obama promise Mexico’s president he would open the borders?

Chavez to Assess Obama’s Policies Before Reaching Out

Obama’s Hispanic Agenda

Special thanks to Ada, the Baron, Eneas, Larwyn and Maggie.

The week's posts and podcasts:
Eeet steeenks...
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America, at 11AM Eastern: Chavez wants the oil companies back
A name from the past: Noriega
Begging after biting the hand that feeds him
Today at 11AM Eastern: That military report on Mexico
“U.S. military report warns ’sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible”
Pres. Bush honors Tony Blair, John Howard and Alvaro Uribe
Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Venezuela’s back-door currency devaluation

At Real Clear World Blog:
Venezuela: Can't Take "No" for an Answer
Venezuela: Currency Depreciation Through Back Door





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The "Move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me" Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

UPDATE, Tuesday March 4
FARC purchased uranium; Chavez gave the FARC $300 million as a Valentine's Day gift

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

If you would like your posts included in the Monday Carnivals, please email me your links, faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

Today's big story: After the Colombian army did a brief raid into Ecuador and killed the FARC's #2 guy, Hugo's ordered troops, tanks and jets to stand by the border with Colombia, and Hugo's friend Correa of Ecuador has done likewise, probably after Hugo reminded him of their joint projects and asked for a show of indignation.

What will it come to? I try to answer that question this morning at Pajamas Media. More from Venezuela News and Views here.

LATIN AMERICA
What the world is hearing

Can The US Prevent A Starvation Crisis?

NAFTA Nonsense Insults Our Allies

U.S. Candidates & Latin America experts: a clue to policy

The Democrats and NAFTA bashing

ARGENTINA, BRAZIL
Proliferation of Nuclear Technology in Latin America Continues

CHILE
Chile stocks fall on US recession fears, earnings

COLOMBIA
Colombia's hostages

FARC releases four more hostages

Top FARC Dog Raul Reyes Killed By Colombian Forces

CBS/AP Fail to Call FARC Narco-terrorists Terrorists

CUBA
Video: Transition of Power in Cuba from Fidel to Raul Castro


The Same Old Cuba

Tyler Cowen on visualizing poverty

Young Blood

Via Instapundit, Can't say that of Cuba

A view of the Cuban economy

Cuba, North Korea and the Terrorism List

Cuba signs rights treaties at U.N. Socialist regime accuses U.S. of harming rights of Cubans

"We're all in this together"

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Fighting cocks culled

ECUADOR
TENSIONS RISING-- Documents Link Ecuador's President to FARC

Correa and Chavez Act to Support the criminal cartel FARC while Colombia Does the Right Thing

"Sovereign Trusts" Clone Russian Cartels and Replace Liberties in 3 Andean Nations

GUYANA
Investigations into Guyana massacres said to be progressing

HAITi
Commentary: Giving a jolt to the Haitian economy!

MEXICO
Mexico under siege

Mexico discovers due process

NICARAGUA
Daniel Ortega's approval rating

PANAMA
Making a dream of retirement in Panama a reality

PERU
Llamas and mash

PUERTO RICO
New York labor leader Dennis Rivera in shady Puerto Rico union deal

VENEZUELA
Propaganda, not policy: Hugo Chavez has not ended illiteracy

Squatting in Venezuela: worse than ever

Is Chavez admitting an alliance with FARC?

Venezuela Targets English Terms

A tax break for Hugo Chavez

China steps forward as Venezuela's key oil buyer

The Muzzle by Teodoro Petkoff

Behind the Chavista bomb attack and the invation to the Archbishop Palace

More on Fedecameras

Jungle Travel

Special thanks to Siggy, Maggie, Jose and Larwyn.

UPDATE, Tuesday March 4
Welcome Instapundit and Red State readers. If you have a chance, please listen to my podcasts on Venezuela and its politics.

If you're a blogger, would you like to join us for dinner and brunch at Spring BlogFest East on April 5 and 6?



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The "No mas FARC" Day edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

UPDATE
This Ain't Hell But You Can See it From Here has photos and video of the march in Washington, DC


Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. Today is International March Against the FARC Day (No mas FARC), and A Colombo-americana's Perspective has a list of all Meeting Points for No a las FARC demonstrations in Colombia, other countries in South America, and meeting points in Central America, the Caribbean, the US and Canada, Europe, Asia, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. She explains in this post what it all means,

Timing is everything. It seems so simple and yet so complex, that an event could "sink or swim," as it were, solely based on the time at which it occurs. This perfectly explains why the movement, started on Facebook in the first days of 2008, has rapidly grown to a worldwide phenomenon in which many have joined the Colombian people and with a single voice will say today: NO MORE FARC.

Read every word.

The BBC explains the origins of the movement,

The protest was started on the social networking website Facebook by a 33-year-old engineer, Oscar Morales, from his home in Barranquilla on Colombia's Caribbean coast.

Over 250,000 Facebook users signed on, and the movement was taken up by newspapers and radio and television stations across the country.

The overall turnout for Monday's protests is expected to be in the millions, our correspondent says.

The one in our area will congregate in front of the UN building (46th and 1st) at noon today. For more information on this event, the contact is nomasfarcnewyork@gmail.com.

If you would like your links on Latin America to be included in the Monday carnivals, please email me by Sunday evening: faustaw "at" yahoo "dot" com.

LATIN AMERICA
Latin America 'falling off the map' in Davos

Uncle Sam's Latin Challenge

ARGENTINA
Argentine Union Says Inflation Outpaced Official Data

Lawyer admits being Venezuelan agent

With all the problems in Argentina, the government shows its priorities and decides to legislate on naming children - Cristina Kirchner, on naming children

BRAZIL
The Holocaust float at the Rio Carnival
Follow-up: Judge bans Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float
BBC video report on Carnival Celebrations in Brazil

COLOMBIA
Uribe open to overseas observers in Colombia

GUYANA
Sun, sea and murder: Here, too, drug-trafficking is to blame


HAITI
Poor Haitians Resort to Eating Dirt

MEXICO
Marching as to war: Drug gangs ratchet up the violence in Mexico as judicial reform begins

Mexico Furious over German 'Finger in Butt' Hit

NICARAGUA
Moochers of the world, unite!

Nicaraguans wary of Chavez's largess

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Teachers Delay Strike

URUGUAY
Acto en Montevideo contra las FARC

VENEZUELA
This week's must-read article at the Observer/Guardian Revealed: Chavez role in cocaine trail to Europe
The Venezuelan connection for Europe's dope
Protein Wisdom, Feathers, Caracas Chronicles and Venezuela News and Views have links and commentary.

Ken Livingstone fails to register Venezuela Information Centre interest

What Chavez' Facebook page would look like, complete with 666 friends. If I could, I would throw a sheep at him!

This time Chavez went too "FARC"

Via Siggy, Will Venezuela Be Judenrein?

Via Irish Spy, MARK FALCOFF: GOOD NEWS FROM VENEZUELA

Chavez calls for anti-American army

Venezuela: President thanks Iran and suggests anti-U.S. army
Venezuela, the mouse that roared: Shoulder to shoulder with Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan bank hostage gang make getaway in ambulance

Colombia top drug thug killed in Venezuela

Since there's no milk in Venezuela, the Chavez government wants people to believe there’s no milk anywhere in the world There is no milk in Alexandria, VA, USA

Reaction and Revolution: My very first White Hand

VIDEO
(In Spanish) Hugo Chavez endorses FARC Terrorism (after swearing on his mother he wouldn't):


Special thanks to Siggy, Kate, Maggie, Irish Spy, and Eneas for their support.

BLOGGING ABOUT THE CARNIVAL
A colombo-americana's perspective
Obi's Sister
Don't miss Gateway Pundit's post on Colombia



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The Bolivian secession edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

UPDATE
Not secession - federalism, instead.
See below (*)


The big news this week in Latin America: The four richest Bolivian regions declared autonomy from the Morales government, on the same day as Evo Morales formally received a new draft Constitution.

(*) Clarifying: It's not secession; it's federalism
I just received an email from Alek Boyd of VCrisis

First off governors of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija have been democratically elected, as Morales. Ergo that rules out accusations about lacking democratic credentials the official propaganda machine is leveling against them.

Second, they are not seeking independence. Contrary to what the MSM is publishing the autonomic statute in first article states:

"Santa Cruz se convierte en Departamento Autónomo, como expresión de la identidad histórica, la vocación democrática y autonómica del pueblo cruceño, y en ejercicio de su derecho a la autonomía departamental, reforzando la unidad de la República de Bolivia, y los lazos de hermandad entre todos los bolivianos".

That is to say they are not proposing secession, what they are proposing is self rule in economic, education, tax and resource management issues.

Some of you may think that such a thing amounts to independence from Bolivia, however the prefectos have been very clear in that respect, their proposal is similar to the current system of autonomic regions in Spain.

Third, the issue of autonomic rule was presented to popular vote through referendum. In 4 out of the 9 departments (Santa cruz, Beni Pando and Tarija) the SI option, that is the one supporting autonomy, won. Ergo, said proposal is as democratic as Morales'-driven national constituent assembly from a strictly legal point of view, for if what Morales needed to rewrite the constitution was the approval of "the people" said approval was granted by "the people" to provincial statutes of self rule in those regions.

Fourth, Morales' constituent proposal has violated procedures, the most striking evidence of it is a) the seat of constituent assembly discussions to get the new charter approved was moved from Sucre to Oruro, so that Morales supporters could get it passed by simple majority [2/3 of votes were never reached], and b) the text approved in Oruro contained originally 408 articles as opposed to the one presented to Morales last Saturday which contains 411 articles. A drafting committee in charge of modifications has introduced 3 new articles which have not been approved
by the constituent assembly, therefore illegal.

Related links in Spanish: Gobierno Departamental de Santa Cruz, and Con los estatutos, prefectos controlan tierras y tributos. From reading this information it's clear that what the prefectos are after is a federal system like the USA's.

Special thanks to Alek for clarifying this question. My apologies for my mistake.

Previous post:
Links listed from most recent to older:

Bolivia set on collision course over autonomy

All the legislation - as well as a separate and especially contentious constitutional provision limiting the size of landholdings - has to be submitted to referendums that are expected to take place early next year.

"I am convinced that we will not retreat a millimetre nor move one step to the side," Ruben Costas, the governor of Santa Cruz, told tens of thousands of jubilant supporters waving the department's green and white flags. Mr Costas warned the central government not to send in troops or police. "This is a warning. Do not dare to invade us or militarise us."

Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando departments, which all announced autonomy on Saturday, form a half-moon shape around the solidly pro-government capital and heavily indigenous departments of La Paz, Potosi and Oruro. Two other departments - Cochabamba and Chuquisaca - are unhappy with the new constitution, railroaded through by an emergency session of a constituent assembly eight days ago by pro-government supporters. "The country has taken two different directions," said an editorial in El Deber, a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz.

The deputies at the Constituent Assembly approved one version but Evo received a different one; VCrisis has the captures. The first version states that the power comes from the people while the second version stresses the preselection of candidates. Gateway Pundit has more.

At play? Natural gas, which Gazprom is eyeing, along with Brazil and Chile.

Ed Morrissey correctly points out

If these districts can secure themselves against the central government, this could get very, very ugly. Natural gas is their chief export and their resource for hard currency. If the breakaway districts can keep it for themselves and safely export it (mainly to Brazil), they can build a significant war chest while leaving Morales to feed the rest of Bolivia's poor in the west. That will prompt Morales to march on the east, perhaps assisted by Chavez in Venezuela, and a civil war will almost certainly erupt -- and sooner rather than later.

Publius Pundit, Blue Crab Boulevard are blogging on the story, while Marginal Revolution asks, What does Bolivia have to do to make the front page?

Bolivians Now Hear Ominous Tones in the Calls to Arms

Bolivia tense amid autonomy push

Cardinal Terrazas calls for peace in overcoming crisis in Bolivia

Bolivia Leader Is Mobilizing Armed Forces
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SPANISH-LANGUAGE WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Two this week:
Penultimos dias, and Red Liberal Hispanoamerica

LATIN AMERICA and CARIBBEAN
The Bank of the South:
Bolivarian finance: The IMF can sleep easy

Caribbean nations, EU reach agreement on access to markets. The Caribbean countries are Jamaica, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.

Caribbean Net News is an excellent resource on the islands. Don't miss also HACER's weekly roundup

ARGENTINA
Marital bliss: A different Kirchner is in charge, but many of the policies remain the same

Irish Tourist Ronan Lawlor Missing in Argentina or Chile

ARUBA
OpenSEA adds members, promises smooth saling for 802.1x NAC

BRAZIL
Is Brazil changing its focus from income redistribution to income creation?

Energy: Brazil's not peaking

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Lesson 4: Not Every Disaster is a Disaster

CHILE
Insulza's Divided Attention

COLOMBIA
Pouty Hugo: "I Will Not Speak to Uribe For As Long As I Live"

FARC FAILS to Kidnap President Uribe's Two Sons

Uribe's anticorruption chief resigns

CUBA
Cuban diplomat seeking asylum in Spain

A Cuban diplomat who allegedly aided a dissident doctor in Mozambique has skipped a flight out of Paris to seek political asylum in Spain, Spanish daily El Mundo reported Sunday.

Lorenzo Menendez said he faces prison for helping the dissident but believes socialist Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will bow to pressure from Havana to deport him.

Zapatero is a weak leader, indeed.

BEATDOWN IN HAVANA!!... Castro Thugs Bash Democracy Protesters

video: Now you see the light

Huckabee does a flip-flop on Cuba

Huckabee Unaware of Issues Between U.S. and Cuba

Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty continue their campaign.

DOMINICA
One laptop per child project initiated in Dominica

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Pirate Captain William Kidd’s Ship, the Quedah Merchant, Possibly Found in the Caribbean

ECUADOR
Correa celebrates the Chavez coronation in Argentina: A faustian pact called bolivarianism

GUATEMALA
A post on Guatemala's new and more restrictive adoption law And Even More...

GUYANA
Relations between Venezuela and Guyana remain strained due to the continued incursions of Chavez's military into the other country, the latest of which was

Last November 15, a contingent of 36 armed Venezuelan military personnel, led by a general, forced the crew off of Guyanese-owned dredges and bombed the pontoons.

That was followed by unauthorised overflights by Venezuelan helicopters in Guyana’s airspace.

Guyana-Venezuela joint group to be set-up to prevent incursions

MEXICO
The Fantastico Mr. Fox

Lessons for Mexico in Brazil's Boom: In the energy sector, open markets work.

The Dark Side of Microlending

NICARAGUA
Iran making push into Nicaragua

Iran and Nicaragua: A new relationship?

Iran's foothold in Monkey Point, Nicaragua

Danielito gone wild

PERU
Peru Is In, Now Where's Colombia?

Peru: Barrick Gold Corp. Helicopter Crashes because of Engine Failure

Converted Buses to be Taken Off Peru's Highways

PUERTO RICO
Rush's Snakes & Arrows world tour to be extended

VENEZUELA
Venezuela, and Oil and podcast

Organized crime in Venezuela administration

Venezuelan Chavista agents arrested in the US for voting plot

Miami Maletagate indictments: Just the tip of the iceberg?

Chavez lives down to his reputation

LAC roundup

Patria, Vuitton o Muerte! Gastaremos!

Chavez vs. The Venezuelan Electorate

HUMOR
Funnimetric's Post details: Fausta's Carnival of Latin America

Chucha Libre (Spanish)

Mundial de patos (Spanish)
----------------------------------------------------

BLOGGING ABOUT THE CARNIVAL:
A colombo-americana's perspective
A Second Hand Conjecture
Babalu
Billy Jones
Sex and the South
Wizbang

====================================================
More Carnival fun at SheBlogs Carnival, brought to you by Sex and the South



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JFK terror plot

4 Charged In Plot To Blow Up Jet Fuel At JFK
PJM also has the story.

CNN, Fox News and MSNBC also are talking about the story. MSNBC says that the suspects are from Guyana. Fox News says two individuals were arrested in Trinidad, and one of them is frm Guyana.
Update
4 Charged in JFK Airport Terror Plot

By ADAM GOLDMAN
The Associated Press
Saturday, June 2, 2007; 2:20 PM

NEW YORK -- Three people were arrested and another was being sought Saturday for allegedly plotting to blow up a fuel line that feeds John F. Kennedy International Airport and runs through residential neighborhoods, authorities said.

The plot never got past the planning stages. It posed no threat to air safety or the public, the FBI said Saturday.

At a news conference, U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf called it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable."

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," she said.

Authorities arrested Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen native to Guyana and former JFK employee. He was in custody in Brooklyn and was expected to be arraigned Saturday afternoon.

Two other men, Abdul Kadir of Guyana and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, are in custody in Trinidad. A fourth man, Abdel Nur of Guyana, was still being sought.

All four have been charged with conspiring to attack the airport, one of the nation's busiest, by blowing up major fuel supply tanks and the pipeline, according to the indictment.

The pipeline takes fuel from a facility in Linden, N.J., to the airport. Other lines service LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Kadir, a Muslim and former member of Parliament in Guyana, was arrested in Trinidad for attempting to secure money for "terrorist operations," according to a Guyanese police commander who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kadir left his position in Parliament last year. Muslims make up about 9 percent of the former Dutch and British colony's 770,000 population, mostly from the Sunni sect.

An official said the plotters had conducted surveillance on giant jet fuel tanks at JFK and the pipeline. They had taken surveillance video of the targets and took it to Trinidad to review the tape, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the arrests were not yet announced.

The official said investigators first found out about the plot in January 2006. After that, an informant infiltrated the group.

"This was the ultimate hand-and-glove operation between NYPD and FBI," said U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Long Island.

The arrests mark the latest in a series of alleged homegrown terrorism plots targeting high-profile American landmarks.

A year ago, seven men were arrested in what officials called the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and destroy FBI offices and other buildings.

A month later, authorities broke up a plot to bomb underwater New York City train tunnels to flood lower Manhattan.

And six people were arrested a month ago in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey.

One party? Not so fast

Venezuela's communists, other leftists, resist president's push for single socialist party. See update below

At the same time, Academic Elephant, blogging at Red State, asks, Is the opposition in Venzuela really dead? Rosales is forming a new opposition party.

Are there signs to a crumbling power equation? Gustavo Coronel explores the subject as Chavez shifts from strategic action to instrumental action.

Academic Elephant had a great post on Chaveonomics 101. Things are so bad in the Venezuelan economy that Hugo's officially announced that he'll massage the inflation numbers so they don't look as bad. Things are getting worse:

In the slums of Caracas, Chavista grocery patrons are now being branded on their bellies (food goes into your belly, right?) with indelible ink by store personnel to ensure that they do not buy more chicken than the government arbitrarily allows.

Still, he continues to nationalize whatever he sees fit. Crime is rising, and tourists are robbed and raped in their hotels

Venezuela was ranked among the four most dangerous countries on the Latin Security Index developed by Holder International for Latin Business Chronicle.

According to the US State Department, Venezuela's one of the principal drug-transit countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela News and Views has a round-up on How to deal with Chavismo - and Hillary wants us to turn off the lights 'because we don't want to send any more money to Chavez in Venezuela'. Good idea Hillary, now please go tell Joe to go fall in line because 'I Do Feel Noways Tired of his affiliation with the newly-minted dictator.

While continuing to enhance ties with Iran, Hugo's not friendly towards its neighbor Guyana. Now imagine a small defenseless country bordering with a large country that has embarked in an arms race that appears to have no limit.

Last evening I was working on this post when my friend Sigmund Carl and Alfred emailed me this article, Syria ready with bio-terror if U.S. hits Iran
Damascus reportedly hiding WMD among commercial pharmaceuticals. As it turned out, he sent the email just as I was reading that the Venezuelan Foreign Minister was visiting Syria's Bashar Assad in preparation for Assad's visit to Venezuela.

Update V Crisis posts on the single party story: Venezuela's communists weary of Chavez's hegemonic construct?

The business of determining what Venezuelan political event will be picked up by major international news outlets is tricky. The communist State of Venezuela has become a place where not two weeks go by without a major scandal hitting the news. And when I say major scandal I'm not exaggerating. Check out these examples since the beginning of this year:

-- Hugo Chavez declares himself a dictator and promises to send Church hierarchs literature on Marx and Lenin so that they'll understand what his 'socialism of the 21st century' is all about.
-- Officials from Venezuela, by any measure an underdeveloped country, sign in London, by any measure and in itself one of the world's leading economies, an agreement to subsidise fuel of its public bus fleet.
-- Hugo Chavez sort of makes official his break up with Israel.
-- Hugo Chavez nationalizes local and foreign owned power and telecom companies.

You must read the rest.