The swine flu Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Yes, everybody is talking about the Mexican swine flu, and ironically I had to delay this Carnival since I was down with a cold.

No need to panic over this flu, but make sure to take any flu seriously.

LATIN AMERICA
Final declaration of the Summit of the Americas

No mas venas abiertas para America Latina

The war on mining: Fighting back

Obama goes south: An analysis of the Summit of the Americas

Alvaro Vargas Llosa: The Idiot’s Bible

Selenium Overdose Caused Deaths of Polo Horses

FARC guerrillas charged with conspiracy to aid foreign terrorists

BOLIVIA
Chabad House in Bolivia raided by police

Croatia: Morales murder plot suspect 'wanted to form separatist army'

Biometric Voter Registration: the Ace Up the Sleeve of Evo Morales

BRAZIL
Ahmadinejad to Visit Latin America Next Month

Ahmadinejad no Brasil (link in Portuguese)

COLOMBIA
FARC guerrillas charged with conspiracy to aid foreign terrorists

Finnish connection found on computer of Colombian guerrillas

Kidnapping in Colombia How many hostages? More than the government claims

CUBA
The short night of the long knives

Venezuela names new envoy to Cuba

The Right Deal on Cuba

How Fidel Snookered Everyone: The summit exposed Castro's peers in Latin America, not Obama, as the real innocents abroad. Jorge Castañeda is an idiot - Part 2

Mijail Capote Aranda, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 4/26/09

Castro brothers' power struggle may doom Obama's overtures

ECUADOR
Ecuador president claims poll win

Ecuador's election: Revolution! Please give generously. Rafael Correa has his country’s politics firmly under control, its economy much less so

JAMAICA
Strangeways here we come

MEXICO
Is that an anti-aircraft gun in your pocket?

Experts probe deadly Mexico flu

The flu and the festival

Swine flu started at Vera Cruz pork processor?

Plan Would Deploy Guard Near Mexico
$350 Million Effort Aimed at Drug War

NICARAGUA
Judge throws out Dole “bananeros” cases, citing fraud

PARAGUAY
Lugo pide perdón por escándalo de paternidad

Paraguay President asks for forgiveness over paternity claim scandal
Fernando Lugo, the President of Paraguay and a former Roman Catholic bishop, has asked for forgiveness over a scandal in which he is facing paternity claims.

La telenovela que desconcierta

Fernando Lugo pede perdão por escândalo

Le président du Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, confesse avoir eu un enfant quand il était ecclésiastique


Bayly on Lugo (in Spanish):


And then Fernando Lugo’s brother, Pompeyo, on the rumors about Fernando and the Argentinian chorus girl, plus Alan Garcia’s poncho:


PERU
Peru grants asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader

TRINIDAD
The Fifth Summit of the Americas - Ego vs Cuba vs Rhetoric

VENEZUELA
Venezuela - Iran Foreign Relations

In praise of Rosales

In Defense of Appeasement

Government shows its true colors now that Rosales has been neutralized

No 10's Venezuelan 'workie' could write next Budget

Obama and the Pundits: Wrong on the handshake, wrong about Chavez

Surprise!... HuffPo Blogger Sean Penn Defends His Buddy Hugo Chavez

Interpol seeks arrest of opposition leader

Heroes

Red Notice for Rosales

Fist-bumping with despots

CULTURE
Poland 'to ban' Che Guevara image
The iconic image of Che Guevara found adorning students' walls and t-shirts across the world could be banned in Poland under a government proposal to outlaw materials that incite "fascism and totalitarian systems".

IMMIGRATION
Cyber Attacks and Our Southern Border

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

The first Monday in December 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 in the next Carnival, please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's focus: China's growing influence in our Hemisphere. I'll be podcasting on China's Latin American influence today at 10AM Eastern. Chat's open by 9:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639.



LATIN AMERICA
China's Latin American Tango
A partnership with benefits for both sides.

Latin American diplomacy: Friends of opportunity
China, rather than Russia, is the new partner that matters

Pay attention to next-door neighbors

Latin America tops murder tables

Challenges in Latin America: Russians in Caracas, Misrule in Managua

Chávez, Correa propose new currency area

ARGENTINA
Harvesting pensions
A pre-election boost for Cristina

Kafka era argentino

Radiografía del kirchnerismo

In today's WSJ, Are Argentina's Cows Happy Eating Grain? This matters because grass-fed beef is Argentina's most famous export.

BOLIVIA
Bush Suspends Trade Accord With Bolivia in Anti-Drug Dispute

President George W. Bush suspended a trade agreement with Bolivia, saying the country provided insufficient cooperation in U.S. efforts against drug trafficking.

The president signed a declaration ending trade benefits under the Andean Trade Preference Act and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement yesterday.

Cutting of trade benefits is the result of Bolivia’s “failure to cooperate with the U.S. counternarcotics efforts,” a condition of maintaining trade preferences, such as reduced tariffs, Perino said.

BRAZIL
Brazil floods are early sign of global warming, expert warns; meanwhile, Brazil mob attacks environmental police in Amazon

La crisis mundial del crédito frena el auge agrícola brasileño

COLOMBIA
DMG, which went under, has its own YouTube channel. The founder of DMG was arrested in Panama two weeks ago. This article (in Spanish) refers to DMG as a Ponzi scheme.

Colombia: Belle Of APEC's Ball

Betancourt makes Colombia return

CUBA
Faltan las marchas

Cuban landmark for Catholic friar

Via IBD blog, "Happy Thanksgiving!" from Fidel

ECUADOR
Ecuador: hopeless

Can pay, might not. Another debt default?

Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa is heading to Iran this week

Hopeless, Clueless and Hapless Correa & ALBA Come to Bury Capitalism: Not to Praise It

MEXICO
Mexico Has Made Big Strides on Economic Policy Calderón was smart enough to hedge against falling oil prices

Houston a weapons depot for Mexico criminal insurgency

WAR ON THE BORDER

Success in Mexico

Via Lucianne, House of shattered dreams: US deports more and more Mexicans

PERU
Garcia blames Mexican drug cartels for Peru violence

APEC summit divides bloggers, according to France24 news:


PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Governor Promises Changes

The recession now emerging in places like Florida and Ohio has been a fact of life in Puerto Rico for three years. Unemployment has climbed to nearly 12 percent. Taxes have gone up, purchasing power has declined, and the island’s roughly four million residents are unlikely to be patient with their new leader.
…
The structural challenges are immense. Government here plays an outsize role, employing 20 percent to 30 percent of workers on the island, and it is on the verge of bankruptcy. The current administration said this week that it would end the year with a $2 billion budget deficit. One official suggested it was struggling to make payroll, and some institutions — like the Center for Puerto Rican Studies — already report that they have not received government money they are owed.

VENEZUELA
Chávez Again Seeks to End Term Limits; Chavez renews reelection ambition
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a plan to seek a constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for reelection

Brief thoughts on Venezuela

The 2008 Venezuelan results: 3 - Yaracuy as the epitome of all that is wrong with the Venezuelan Political System

Hugo Chavez reverts to his usual self a day after the election, blaming everyone but his perfect self

Russia's Challenge On The High Seas

Russia Proposes Nuclear Reactor Plan to Chavez

The Real Hugo Chavez

Alvaro Vargas Llosa writes about Chavez’s Stumble

Venezuela’s regional elections: Checked, but not halted
Some satisfaction for Hugo Chávez but more for his opponents

ENTERTAINMENT
Che Movie Debuts Miami this Week (Dec. 4)

OTHER ROUNDUPS and news in Spanish
WSJ Americas
HACER
Noticias24

The week’s posts and podcasts
The Russia-Venezuela maneuvers in the Caribbean: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Chávez Lets Colombia Rebels Wield Power Inside Venezuela
Nuclear Latin America: Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America



Special thanks to Ada, Maggie, Eneas, GoV, and Sam.


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The second Monday in August 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.

This week's big story, which was rather predictable: Yesterday's referendum in Bolivia continues the current status, with Evo Morales still in power and the opposition also in Eastern Bolivia remaining strong:

Bolivians voted Sunday to keep President Evo Morales in office, with unofficial returns on a recall referendum giving him a victory even larger than the one that put him in office more than two years ago.

But despite drawing more than 60 percent of the vote, according to partial counts from polling stations, Morales appears to have not fundamentally changed the prevailing political deadlock in this Andean nation. The governors in eastern Bolivia, who form the powerful opposition to Morales, also held their seats by wide margins, leading to concerns that the voting results could exacerbate tensions here.

The president, vice president and eight of the nine state governors were subject to Sunday's recall vote. Three governors, including Morales opponents from La Paz and Cochabamba, were defeated. Meanwhile, the governor of Santa Cruz, the relatively wealthy lowlands state that has led the fight for more regional autonomy and to remove Morales, was backed by nearly 70 percent of voters, Bolivian television reported.

The departments voting against Morales are: Santa Cruz (70%), Beni (78%), Tarija (62%) and Chuquisaca (61%). As you may recall, last May Santa Cruz, home to 25% of Bolivia's population, voted for autonomy, a result which Mprales dismissed.

Noticias24 has a video (in Spanish) of the final results.

Resultados del referéndum de Bolivia
by noticias24

Official results will be available in 7-10 days.

Morales to push on with Bolivian reforms after winning vote. The Beeb makes it sound as if having opposition in Bolivia is a bad thing, since they claim that the referendum was "designed to heal the country's wounds" - into a Communist country.

As regular readers of this blog know, Evo Morales has the financial and ideological support of Hugo Chavez. Version Final estimates that in the past two years Chavez has sent Morales US$2,912,851,275, including $55 million for the purchase of helicopters and $30 million for improving the Bolivian army ifrastructure. More at the PDF file in Spanish (via el duende de Santa Cruz). Gateway Pundit posts that Venezuela and Iran are to loan Bolivia 225 million dollars to create a state cement company for the construction of roads and houses, ignoring housing shortages in their own countries.

In other Latin American news, Colombia has destroyed a FARC outpost described as "a small city" with 43 houses, where the Colombian military found weapons, electrical plants and documents. The information leading to this strike was provided by two informants.

ARGENTINA
With buddies like these, Argentina and Venezuela are in real trouble.

BOLIVIA Articles prior to the referendum:
Bolivia, Shell Oil reach pipeline compensation deal

Bolivia reached a "friendly" agreement Aug. 8 to compensate Royal Dutch Shell for its stake in the nationalized gas pipeline company Transredes

Morales Says He `Doesn't Fear' Results of Recall Referendum

Bolivia: Se acerca la batalla del jacha uru

Protests Mount as Bolivia Heads for Crucial Vote

BRAZIL
Brazil to Fight Ethanol Tariffs

Paying for the forest: Donations are welcome, even from foreigners

CHILE
Bomb Explodes at Brazilian Embassy in Santiago, EFE Reports

Viento en contra sobre la Concentracion

COLOMBIA
So ... Should Colombia Give the Hostages Back to the Terrorists?

Afghanistan: Colombian soldiers to back Spanish troops

Red (Double) Crossed

FARC Commanders Indicted Over Kidnappings of Americans

CUBA


The picture of the Revolución
This photo is the perfect metaphor for the half-century long Communist dictatorship: the infrastructure, the economy, and Cuban society crumble away while the cult of personality is highlighted in bright letters.

A disident’s return to Cuba




Political prisoners end hunger strike

GUATEMALA
US tourist hacked to death in Guatemala

ECUADOR
Constitutional coup d'etats by Chavez and Correa

Death Threats Received by Archbishop and Human Life International Leader in Ecuador for Opposing "Abortionist" Constitution

Special forces search for FARC

HAITI
George Soros' Testing Ground

MEXICO
Mexico's Poor Forgo Goods as Income From U.S. Drops

Drug cartels feeling the heat
Under unprecedented pressure, Mexico's drug cartels have unleashed epic violence, which some say shows that antidrug measures are working.

The Mexican kidnapping business

NICARAGUA
Vinculos de Daniel Ortega con las FARC

PARAGUAY
The next leftist on the block: Measuring up Fernando Lugo's plans for a misgoverned country

TURKS and CAICOS
Commentary: Are the Turks and Caicos Islands ready to leave the nest?

VENEZUELA
In Enacting Decrees, Chávez Makes New Power Grab

VENEZUELAN BUSINESSMAN TURNS THIEVES INTO EMPLOYEES
Alberto Vollmer's programs for poor squatters and young hoodlums seen as a model for defusing social tensions.

Power Grab
Venezuela's Hugo Chávez launches a new attack on his country's freedoms

S.O.S. Venezuela's Political Disaster - August 7, 2008

What now in Venezuela? How do you fight against a "legal" coup d'etat?

Chavez accused of reviving old reforms

Chavez's way

Chavez continues nationalization drive

About those Russian planes….

AMERICAN POLITICS
A Lousy Latin Lover

PODCAST
I'll be talking about Bolivia in this morning's podcast at 11AM Eastern. The call in number is 646 652-2639 and chat will be open at 10:45AM, please join us!



Special thanks to the Baron, Eneas, Maggie and Siggy.

Lies, damn lies, and BBC captions

Misleading through captions at the Beeb: Blogger arrests hit record high.

The article features prominently a photo of a Chinese soldier, and take a look at the caption:

Elections in China, Pakistan and the US could prompt more arrests

If you take the time to read the actual WIA report you will find that Egypt, China and Iran accounted for more than half of all arrests. This color chart (pdf file) shows two arrests in the US for "other", which the report doesn't clarify at all.(*)

But hey, there's going to be an election here in the USA, so the study, and the Beeb, have no problem jumping to conclussions, all the while assuming a pattern similar to Egypt's, where you get to do 4 years of hell for insulting Islam:

Countries are enforcing greater Internet regulation, which will only increase with the elections in China, Pakistan, Iran and the United States this year. Assuming a pattern similar to Egypt's occurs, the number of political blogger arrests has nowhere to go but up. With already four incidents in January and February, we expect the number of arrests in 2008 will exceed that of 2007.

Yes, folks, you read it here: an American election is regarded in the same category as elections in corrupt and/or authoritarian China, Pakistan and Iran, and is therefore cause to believe that bloggers will be arrested in the same pattern as in Egypt.

Jumping to conclusions in leaps and bounds, for sure.

(*) Michelle Malkin found that

The first blogger arrested in America was Daniel Aljughaifi, "for terrorism". Yep. As in training with Al Qaeda. I'm pretty cool with his getting arrested.

Second? Jack McClellan. They give the reason for that as "For posting pictures of little girls, being a pedophile". Great! Enjoy prison!

Third is a little more complicated, but not too much. Josh Wolf, "For videotaping a burning police car." Yeah, not quite. He was arrested for refusing to turn over his video of a burning police car >b>to a grand jury in a criminal investigation.

Not exactly what one would call a pattern similar to Egypt's, isn't it?



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Nancy does it again, and other roundup items

Never shy of stealing the show by cozying up to the tyrants, Nancy Pelosi, after her Hermes tour of Syria and giving Colombia the "Chavez rule", now Nancy
Hails Iranian Goodwill in Iraq.

But let's not question whose side she is on!

Betsy:

Pelosi is so hung up with trying to prove that the Iraqi government is failing because to acknowledge otherwise would be to hint that something has gone right in the past year with our new strategy in Iraq. And she can't do that because she is politically invested in that strategy's failure and her party's efforts to pull the rug out from under those efforts. So her solution is to praise the "goodwill" of those who are behind a lot of the violence that we see in the entire Middle East. Her ignorance and partisan approach to reality is breathtaking.

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Turk Receives Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia

A Turkish-born barber, living and working in Saudi Arabia, was recently convicted for the ‘crime’ of apostasy and has been sentenced to death. The man, Sabri Bogday, had a quarrel with a person from Egypt and a Saudi during which he seemingly cursed the name of God. This is of course unacceptable in Saudi Arabia and… as a result, the judges of that country have decided that Bogday deserves to die.

Read all of it.
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Does Hillary have manhands?
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The Chinese may have copied the contents of the Secretary of Commerce's laptop when he was visiting China (h/t the Baron)
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Israel, Heart of the Middle East
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Not chump change: Mega-Scandal in Iran: $35 Billion in Oil Money Missing from State Coffers. That's billions with a "b"
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Forget the Tupperware—let’s have a miracle fruit party
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Yes, it's porch blogging weather, a joyful day indeed.





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Carter: Since talking worked so well when he was president...

... we should be talking to the Iranians because,

"They are rational people like all of us in this room."

At least as rational as he, considering he's also blabbing about how Israel had 150 nuclear weapons.

The Iranians continue to withold information on their nuclear program, but Carter was too busy talking at the Hay-on-Wye literature festival to care.

Carter's day was not complete without also telling Hillary to drop out after June 3. He's ready for Obama to carry out Carter's second term.

Just in time, Doug Ross posts the Jimmy Carter Threat Level Advisory System.



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Obama "meeting without preconditions"and 34 more words

Via Weekly Standard,


As Michael Goldfarb puts it,

The Dems and their boosters in the press are tying themselves in knots trying to explain Obama's position. So what the heck is his policy? We have a right to know. Does Obama still intend to meet with Ahmadinjead? Does he intend to meet with Khamenei? And if he doesn't intend to meet with A'Jad, why the sudden shift?

Good question, considering how Obama's own official foreign policy statement, under Iran specifically says,

Diplomacy: Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions.

At the same time, Obama advisor Susan Rice says that what matters is how you define the word "leader".

Victor Davis Hanson gets to the heart of the matter:

If a President Obama were to enter into multiple negotiations with Iran, and if Iran were to continue to subvert the Lebanese government and threaten Israel through its surrogate Hezbollah, and continue to develop a nuclear arsenal while promising the destruction of Israel, at what point would he be willing not merely to cease talking, but to accept that his negotiations had done more harm than good and thus required a radical change of course - and would it be in time?

Listening to other things Obama's said, The Anchoress has 34-word manifesto.

The 34 words are:

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."

To quote Bob the Builder, "Yes we can!"



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U.S. terror report cites Venezuela, Iran, Syria

U.S. terror report cites Venezuela, Iran

Venezuela's associations with terror states, Iran's meddling in Iraq and the resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan top the concerns in a new State Department report on terrorism threats in countries around the world.

enezuelan President Hugo Chavez is not cooperating with U.S. anti-terror efforts and has "deepened Venezuelan relationships with state sponsors of terrorism Iran and Cuba," the annual report says.

The report notes Chavez's "ideological sympathy" for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Colombian-based National Liberation Army, which "regularly crossed into Venezuelan territory to rest and regroup."

It's more than just "ideological sympathy", it's $300 million, too.

While the report says it "remained unclear to what extent the Venezuelan government provided support to Colombian terrorist organizations," it notes that Venezuelan weapons stocks have turned up in the hands of Colombian terrorist organizations.

It also notes that Iran and Venezuela began weekly flights between their capitals, and the passengers were not subject to proper checks. Among the passengers was a suspect in the plot to bomb New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Allow me to point out that the flights make stops in Syria, with which Chavez claimed to be "strongly united against the imperialistic aggression and hegemonic pretensions of the U.S. empire" a couple of years ago

But back to the report:

"Venezuelan citizenship, identity, and travel documents remained easy to obtain, making Venezuela a potentially attractive way station for terrorists," the report says.

Among the many joint projects, a natural gas cartel.



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Al-Qaida No. 2 says 9/11 theory propagated by Iran

Nothing is going to convince the truthers, but here it goes:
Al-Qaida No. 2 says 9/11 theory propagated by Iran

Osama bin Laden's chief deputy on Tuesday denied a theory that Israel carried out the Sept. 11 attacks and blamed Iran and Shiite Hezbollah for spreading the idea to discredit the Sunni al-Qaida's strike against the U.S.
...
One of the questioners asked about the theory that has circulated in the Middle East and elsewhere that Israel was behind the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Al-Zawahri accused Hezbollah's Al-Manar television of starting the rumor.

"The purpose of this lie is clear — (to suggest) that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no else did in history. Iranian media snapped up this lie and repeated it," he said.

Of course, Al-Zawahri has theories of his own:

"Iran's aim here is also clear - to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.

According to him, the Crusaders and the Iranians are working together:

Answering questions about Iraq in Tuesday's tape, al-Zawahri said the insurgent umbrella group led by al-Qaida, called the Islamic Nation of Iraq, is "the primary force opposing the Crusaders and challenging Iranian ambitions" in Iraq, he said, referring to the Americans.

As he often does in his messages, al-Zawahri denounced the "Crusader invasion" of Iraq, but in Tuesday's tape he paired it with a mention of "Iranian complicity" or "Iranian agents."

He didn't leave out global warming,

He predicted that global warming would "make the world more sympathetic to and understanding of the Muslims' jihad against the aggressor America."

Still,

In the latest tape, al-Zawahri was also asked if the terror group had further plans to attack Western countries that participated in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and subsequent war.

"My answer is: Yes! We think that any country that has joined aggression on Muslims must be deterred," he replied.

Was the question and answer session replies done by a committe? Maybe:

Queries were submitted on the main Islamist Web site until the cutoff date of Jan. 16.

Took him three months to reply.



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Sarko points to Iran as security risk; pledges to reduce French nuclear warheads

France's Sarkozy Reaffirms Nuclear Deterrence, Warns Iran

President Nicolas Sarkozy affirmed France's commitment to a strategy of nuclear deterrence, saying that countries in the Middle East and Asia are developing missiles that pose a threat to Europe.

"Everyone must be aware today that powerful nuclear missiles can reach Europe in less than half an hour," Sarkozy said in the Channel port of Cherbourg on a visit to France's latest and fourth nuclear-powered submarine, Le Terrible.

"I am thinking in particular of Iran," Sarkozy said in a speech to military personnel. "Iran is increasing the range of its missiles, while serious suspicions surround its nuclear program. It is Europe's security that is the issue."

Possibly to counter the Iranian threat, Sarkozy has been paying a lot of attention to the Middle East and Arab countries:

He's currently pushing his "Club Med" idea, i.e., the Union for the Mediterranean. So far it's not flying,

Analysts blame the disappointing results of the process so far partly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also on Mediterranean governments' poor record in using the EU funds on offer.

But his nuclear power deals with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco are going ahead. As I said last January upon reading the question, "Why should Arab countries be deprived of the energy of the future?"

Why indeed, when they have the mullahs breathing down their necks? Especially if companies that develop and build the nuclear power plants are owned primarily by the French government?

Sarko has already made himself clear when it comes to the Iranian bomb: "No nuclear weapon for Iran, an arsenal of sanctions to convince them, negotiations, discussions, firmness."

Today, however, Sarkozy has pledged to reduce France's number of airborne nuclear weapons by one third:

Mr Sarkozy said the reduction to fewer than 300 missiles would leave France with "half the maximum number of warheads we had during the Cold War".

But he also insisted he was committed to France's nuclear deterrent, saying it was its "life-insurance policy".

He made the comments in a major defence policy speech after inaugurating a new nuclear-armed submarine, the Terrible.

Let's hope the Terrible works better than its name implies, but let's ask one question: Is it a good idea to reduce the nuclear arsenal while trying to prevent the Iranians from starting one?

UDPATE:
Via commenter Pat Patterson,

I forgot to point out that the missiles that Pres. Sarkozy is deactivating are all older models with single warheads. All the rest and the newer models are MIRV with 6 nuclear devices each, 1800 in all. I feel the aura of peace already.

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In other Sarko news, he's dropped the text-message lawsuit; the bling-bling's not going over well.



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From this morning's email basket:

"Don't vote for McCain because he's ... bald."

What in the world?

Clearly the author of that post misjudged me:

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When I first did the Patrick Stewart post above, Jeremayakovka reminded us all of Johnny Carson's "Daddy Sang Bass (mamma sang tenor)", so here's the video:


Jeremayakovka's got The O-Bomb Threat

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Le Monde interviewed Little Miss Atilla, and she looks marvelous!
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Michelle Obama's Princeton thesis is now public. Jammie Wearing Fool has the links (h/t Larwyn).

If I have time, I'll read it, but to me what counts is what she's saying now, which bears all the signs of Ivy League Populism (h/t M.).

Barack means "blessing" in Arabic.

Isn't that precious.

From Maria, Habla Usted English, Mrs. Obama?
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Now the Iranians are holding mass executions of people "offending the sacred". (h/t Larwyn)
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In an effort to remake Weekend at Bernie's as performance art on the Oscars' red carpet, Michael Moore wants to bring Castro to the Oscars (h/t Laura).

Speaking of Castro, Mark Falkoff remembers a dinner from 2001. Castro was cleary senile even then, but the ones who were wrong not to act immediately were the Americans.
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The Anchoress is Grateful for art.
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Poonovation. Take The Tour



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Iraq's Parliament Passes Major Reconciliation Law, and other rainy afternoon items

Iraq's Parliament Passes Major Reconciliation Law

The provincial elections and powers law was bundled together with the $48 billion 2008 budget measure and another that grants limited amnesty to prisoners being held in Iraqi custody.

Kurds, who operate from a semiautonomous region in the north of the country, insisted on the unusual legislative maneuver because they feared getting double-crossed on a deal that maintained their 17% share of the national budget.

The provincial law calls for new elections in all Iraq's provinces, except those in the Kurdish region, on Oct. 1. The newly elected councils will then elect an executive committee and appoint a governor, the top provincial official. The law calls for the provinces to work with the United Nations on how the elections will operate and whether candidates will be selected by parties and voted on as a list or be listed on the ballot individually.

Most importantly, the measure would allow provinces to band together into regional governments that would begin making many decisions that now lie with the authorities in Baghdad.

In today's Iraq Update, the US Embassy in Iraq stated

the Provincial Powers Law represents an important step toward framing the balance the Iraqi people seek between central government authority and the strengthening of local governments. In passing this landmark law, Iraqi legislators have reached an historic compromise.

--------------------------------------------------------------------Via Maggie's Farm, what gun licensing leads to:

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The Archbishop's Tale, told in Middle English:
Heere Bigynneth the Tale of the Asse-Hatte

"Unfortunately, some are excited about the Archibishop's proposal:

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For peaceful purposes,
Last week the Mullahs inagurated their space program by launching a rocket.

This week Iran Puts Uranium Gas in Centrifuges.

For peaceful purposes.
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Cold?

Very.
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Marty Beckerman says that when he was at CPAC only black man I see over the course of the day cleans the restroom.

Obviously he missed the exhibit hall, since the first booth you found as you walked in was for Black Republicans Group. And then there was the presentation by Rev. Le Roy Thomas, Why Blacks Think Conservative, But Vote Liberal, and Angela McGlowan's book signing, and the folks from the Congress for Racial Equality, and a number of other things that I missed.

Next thing you know, Marty's going to say that there were no Puerto Ricans at CPAC...
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A little over two years ago Wolcott called me a rightwing blogger bouncing off the padded wall. Siggy, on the other hand, got called a hacky quack.

I'm jealous. What does a woman have to do to get a catchy handle in this town?



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The "who are they fooling" headline of the day:

Russia sells weaponry and nuclear technology to the Iranians, and now we're supposed to believe the Russians are surprised that Iran can do the sum 1 + 1 = 2:
Russia suspicious over Iran test

Russia thinks the launch of an Iranian rocket into space raises suspicion over the true aim of its nuclear programme, a foreign ministry official has said.

Well, slap me sideways with a feather.


Maybe Putin was taken by surprise that the Mullahs inagurated their own space program on Monday, after the Mullahs went shopping at Arms-R-Us.

'Jad wore special goggles for the ocassion (h/t Larwyn).



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Tomorrow at 11AM Eastern: Hannes Artens talks about "The Writing on the Wall"

Tomorrow at 11 AM Eastern on Blog Talk Radio, Hannes Artens talks about his book The Writing on the Wall

The publisher description describes The Writing on the Wall

Iraq was only a prelude to the horrors of an eventual war with Iran.

A coalition of aching-for-Armageddon televangelists, big oil, and false prophets of democracy manipulate maverick Senator-become-President-in 08, Jim Whitman, into aerial strikes against Tehran. This is a confrontation he knows the United States must avoid by all means. Yet the powers he has pandered to on his road to the White House no longer follow his command. When the cakewalk into Iran turns a gauntlet, America finds itself on the brink of a military quagmire, economic depression and nuclear war.

I'll open the chat room at 10:45AM, and the call-in number is (646) 652-2639

Join us!





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Sarko pushes for French naval base in Abu Dhabi, sells nuclear power

Sarko's been trying hard to re-establish France as a power in the Middle East, and has plans for a French naval base in Abu Dhabi.

First, there are the nuclear deals with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco:
Sarkozy Pushes Nuclear Energy in Mideast

Currently the world's most aggressive salesman for nuclear power, Sarkozy has visited multiple Muslim states in the last six weeks -- including the globe's biggest oil producers -- to peddle French nuclear technology or make multibillion-dollar deals.

"Why should Arab countries be deprived of the energy of the future?"

Why indeed, when they have the mullahs breathing down their necks? Especially if companies that develop and build the nuclear power plants are owned primarily by the French government?

Sarko's nuclear proliferation plans don't stop with a vision of a Mediterranean cooperation council (whatever that may mean),

Argentina, Chile, Vietnam and Indonesia also are reportedly discussing the possibility of buying French-designed reactors.

May I indulge in a little speculation? Let's say that Hugo persuades the FARC to release French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt. Woudln't Venezuela be included in this group?

But I digress.

As part of Sarko's Middle East vision, he's signed a deal with Abu Dhabi for a permanent French naval base:

This projects France into the complex politics of the Gulf, identifying it even more closely with Gulf Arab countries which have expressed concern about the future policies of Iran.

President Sarkozy appears willing to accept that this exposes France to the risks involved in such a sensitive area, highlighted by the confrontation between Iranian speedboats and US naval ships recently. There is also a dispute between Abu Dhabi and Iran over three small islands in the Strait of Hormuz. The president said the base was agreed at the request of the Emirates.

That's in addition to the two nuclear power reactors that the French will build in Abu Dhabi.

Nuclear proliferation, and military expansion, a la francaise.

Never mind a mild whiff of realpolitik

The French base agreement coincides with a major visit to the region by President Bush, during which he has criticised Iran.

France might be seen as aligning itself more openly with the US, which maintains its own large base in Bahrain for the Fifth Fleet and which has also been selling arms to Gulf countries.

Speculation welcome in the comments section.


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The Christmas Eve edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to thie Christmas Eve edition of the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. I wish all of you a very happy Christmas.

If you have a post or a news item you would like to contribute, please email me: faustaw -at- yahoo -dot- com.

The big story of the week: The bombing of the Argentine Jewish community center in 1994 and Iran, the NIE, and Rafsanjani.

SPANISH LANGUAGE WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
El Cato

LATIN AMERICA
The Carnivorous and Vegetarian Lefts, by Carlos Alberto Montaner. This was his speech at the Opening Plenary Session, The Whitherspoon Institute, Princeton University, Dec. 6, 2007.
UPDATE: Speaking of vegetarian lefties, Chavez Faces Challenge From Former Comrade: Venezuela's New Hero Has Respect in Army; a Vegetarian Mystic

A South American arms race?

Latino-Islamic Terror: Hezbollah Shows Off Their Latin Bombers

De-Fence, De-Fence

Via Babalu, Chavez offers oil for bananas deal

The Changing Dynamic in Latin America

ARGENTINA
Iran's Nuclear Terror. More at Patterico's Argentina, Iran and nuclear weapons.

AMIA and the NIE

AMIA, the communal offices of the Argentine Jewish community, was struck by a massive suicide truck bomb on July 18, 1994 – 85 were killed and over 200 injured. Iran and Hezbollah were suspected from the beginning. The Argentine investigation has had several false starts and has been mired in corruption, but in recent years has gotten on track. Last month Interpol voted overwhelmingly to issue a red letter calling for the arrest of five Iranians (along with Hezbollah's external operations chief Imad Mughniyah) on the basis of the Argentine investigation. The publicly available report on the AMIA bombing offers tremendous insight into the Iranian regime's modus operandi and worldview.

Full Prosecutor: Argentina bombings ordered by Iran
The NIE & Rafsanjani
Cog in the Regime
ABOUT IRAN'S BUENOS AIRES BOMBINGS
The NIE's Iran finding was based on…an old laptop and the word of Rafsanjani?

Troubles for Argentina's New Evita

The suitcase full of Chavista money is also in the news:
Stung in Miami


Ballet star Bocca bows out in Buenos Aires

ARUBA
Natalee Holloway Case Officially Closed

BOLIVIA
Bolivia: $872,000 from Chavez with Love


A meltdown in Latin America

Bolivians fear political unrest as rivals face off

BRAZIL
Petrobras to Invest Up to $1 Billion With Bolivia State Company

Lula Says 2007 Was Exceptional, 2008 Will Be Better

COLOMBIA
FARC's Real Aim: Ending Democracy

Colombia protests over Nicaragua's FARC remarks


CUBA
Chavez deepens investment in Cuba

Via Gates of Vienna, Seven Questions: Castro's Decline

Cuban Refinery Inaugurated, With Chávez in Spotlight

Venezuelan leader Chavez presides over oil summit in Cuba

Chavez dice desde Santiago que Venezuela y Cuba son una misma nacion

Omnibus Includes $33.6 Million for Democracy Promotion in Cuba (Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen)

On a Purely Personal Note

Blogging from Cuba: Generacion Y?

Fidel hints at retirement

ECUADOR
Santa Claus Lives

MEXICO
Intifada On The Mexican Border

Running just to stand still: How to reform the flawed behemoth that is the world's sixth-biggest oil producer

NICARAGUA
Nicaraguan expats to join forces in opposition to Daniel Ortega

Iran making diplomatic inroads in Nicaragua

New friends in the neighborhood

Iran’s push into Central America

The Skunk Is Back In Nicaragua

PERU
Chavez: At it Again

PUERTO RICO
Puertorican politics remain the same as they were when I lived there: politicians continue to use the "status" as a smokescreen behind wich to hide the real underlying problems of the island:
Statehood topic tops all issues in Puerto Rico<: House panel energizes debate by calling for new referendum

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — The governor is under criminal investigation, crime and unemployment are soaring and the economy is faltering as foreign firms are shutting down factories.

But to hear the politicians on this gem of a Caribbean island tell it, the only real issue on the public agenda is whether Puerto Rico should become the 51st state, ending its decades-old status as a U.S. commonwealth.

A bill calling for a referendum on the issue recently won approval in a U.S. House committee, triggering a new round of intense debate on the island, despite the fact that final congressional approval and an actual vote are still iffy propositions at best.

Some tiring of debate
After decades of rowdy argument, though, some Puerto Ricans appear to be tiring of the seemingly eternal debate over what is known here as the "status" issue.

Don't I know it.

VENEZUELA
Prodigality as state policy:
The case of Hugo Chavez

The Hallaca Effect: Chavez's Undoing

The Nixon Moreno case: Political Persecution is alive and well in Chavez' revolution

"Ironically, the United States is financing Chavez's Bolivarian revolution"

Che shirt wearing Cuban idiots booed in Venezuela, also at Citizen Feathers


El movimiento estudiantil, antídoto contra Chávez

Chavismo without Chavez?

Venezuela, redux

Venezuela falls behind the times

More Venezuela price caps may go
About time
And speaking of Chavez...

The 2007 result: the surprising abstention

Analisis psiquiatrico de Hugo Chavez:
Entrevista al Dr. Franzel Delgado Senior

HUMOR
Hillary Hires King Juan Carlos to Manage Husband

Beam me up, Hillary!

La Isla Bonita

BLOGGING ABOUT THE CARNIVAL
A colombo-americana's perspective

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For more Carnival fun, don't miss the Carnival of Christmas, 2007 Edition



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The Flaws In the Iran Report

John Bolton points out The Flaws In the Iran Report

For starters, the premise that the "civlian" program poses no threat:

First, the headline finding -- that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 -- is written in a way that guarantees the totality of the conclusions will be misread. In fact, there is little substantive difference between the conclusions of the 2005 NIE on Iran's nuclear capabilities and the 2007 NIE. Moreover, the distinction between "military" and "civilian" programs is highly artificial, since the enrichment of uranium, which all agree Iran is continuing, is critical to civilian and military uses. Indeed, it has always been Iran's "civilian" program that posed the main risk of a nuclear "breakout."

Then there's the interpretation of the data:

The real differences between the NIEs are not in the hard data but in the psychological assessment of the mullahs' motives and objectives. The current NIE freely admits to having only moderate confidence that the suspension continues and says that there are significant gaps in our intelligence and that our analysts dissent from their initial judgment on suspension. This alone should give us considerable pause.

Second, the NIE is internally contradictory and insufficiently supported. It implies that Iran is susceptible to diplomatic persuasion and pressure, yet the only event in 2003 that might have affected Iran was our invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, not exactly a diplomatic pas de deux. As undersecretary of state for arms control in 2003, I know we were nowhere near exerting any significant diplomatic pressure on Iran. Nowhere does the NIE explain its logic on this critical point. Moreover, the risks and returns of pursuing a diplomatic strategy are policy calculations, not intelligence judgments. The very public rollout in the NIE of a diplomatic strategy exposes the biases at work behind the Potemkin village of "intelligence."

And that village believes that "diplomacy will always do the job".

Then there the other aspects,

Third, the risks of disinformation by Iran are real. We have lost many fruitful sources inside Iraq in recent years because of increased security and intelligence tradecraft by Iran. The sudden appearance of new sources should be taken with more than a little skepticism. In a background briefing, intelligence officials said they had concluded it was "possible" but not "likely" that the new information they were relying on was deception. These are hardly hard scientific conclusions. One contrary opinion came from -- of all places -- an unnamed International Atomic Energy Agency official, quoted in the New York Times, saying that "we are more skeptical. We don't buy the American analysis 100 percent. We are not that generous with Iran." When the IAEA is tougher than our analysts, you can bet the farm that someone is pursuing a policy agenda.

Fourth, the NIE suffers from a common problem in government: the overvaluation of the most recent piece of data. In the bureaucracy, where access to information is a source of rank and prestige, ramming home policy changes with the latest hot tidbit is commonplace, and very deleterious. It is a rare piece of intelligence that is so important it can conclusively or even significantly alter the body of already known information. Yet the bias toward the new appears to have exerted a disproportionate effect on intelligence analysis.

Fifth, many involved in drafting and approving the NIE were not intelligence professionals but refugees from the State Department, brought into the new central bureaucracy of the director of national intelligence. These officials had relatively benign views of Iran's nuclear intentions five and six years ago; now they are writing those views as if they were received wisdom from on high. In fact, these are precisely the policy biases they had before, recycled as "intelligence judgments."

At Belmont Club,

The longer I look at what is presented, the less confidence I have that anybody can answer the requisite question with sufficient accuracy. What's your risk profile? Suppose you had to bet that the revolver you were going to put to your head did not have a bullet in the chamber right before the hammer. What level of proof would you require to snap the barrel to your temple and squeeze? Is it "high confidence", "moderate confidence"? If five dollars were at stake instead of a life, a lot of people would chance it. But with the stakes this high, what is a reasonable level of confidence you will require?

And those are the questions that the report raises.

Update:
Why don’t we hear more from these student organizations in the media? We have no idea. Of course, they supported John Bolton


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Hugo and Jad, talking currency

Via Memeorandum, Hugo's back in Tehran visiting Ahmadinejad and discussing their scheme:

During the gathering, the two firebrand leaders echoed one another, blaming President Bush's policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative effect on other countries, and challenging Saudi Arabia's reluctance to mention weak dollar concerns in the summit's final declaration.

Ahmadinejad claimed OPEC's member countries want to convert their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a "worthless piece of paper."

Chavez said the dollar was in free-fall and that its "empire" must end, and proposed trading oil in a basket of currencies excluding the dollar.

But the two were unable to generate support from enough in the 13-member cartel — many of whom, including Saudi Arabia, are staunch U.S. allies.

You have to admit, that "basket of currencies" bit is just the sort of thing that any currency and commodities trader simply loves to hear.

As I posted on February 20, 2006 (you might have to go here and scroll down for the link), Al-Jazeera reported on February 2006 that Iran and Venezuela had joined forces to undermine the U.S. dollar.

The latest kerfuffle at the OPEC meeting was only the latest chapter in that story, now that Hugo's brought his Ecuatorian friend Correa back into OPEC. Expect lots more on this scheme.


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U.S. Thwarts 19 Terrorist Attacks Against America Since 9/11, and today's roundup

Via Larwyn, from the Heritage Foundation, U.S. Thwarts 19 Terrorist Attacks Against America Since 9/11

Thwarted Attacks:
Richard Reid, December 2001
Jose Padilla, May 2002
Lackawanna Six, September 2002
Iyman Faris, May 2003
Virginia "Jihad" Network, June 2003
Dhiren Barot, August 2004
James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj, August 2004
Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, August 2004
Umer Hayat and Hamid Hayat, June 2005
Levar Haley Washington, Gregory Vernon Patterson, Hammad Riaz Samana, and Kevin James, August 2005
Michael C. Reynolds, December 5, 2005
Mohammad Zaki Amawi, Marwan Othman El-Hindi, Zand Wassim Mazloum, February 2006
Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, April 2006
Narseal Batiste, Patrick Abraham, Stanley Grant Phanor, Naudimar Herrera, Burson Augustin, Lyglenson Lemorin, and Rotschild Augstine, June 2006
Assem Hammoud, July 2006
Liquid Explosives Plot, August 2006
Fort Dix Plot, May 2007
JFK Plot, June 2007
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, March 2007

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Talk About Planted Questions!!

How fitting. CNN pulls out someone not to simply ask a question about Iran, but with absolute moral authority given her son's service. And just as we learn that the IAEA has confirmed Iran's having installed 3,000 centrifuges. CNN works to undermine our ability to respond just as it may become critical. Great, just great! Thanks, CNN.

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Via Maria, Soviet Russia before photoshop
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Drug Smuggler Shot By Agents Compean and Ramos Is Indicted

Drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila (pictured, via KVIA), who was shot in the butt while fleeing from federal agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos in 2005, was arrested today in El Paso on smuggling charges.

Aldrete Davila's a self-confessed drug dealer, folks.
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Mark Fuhrman's Radio Show Axed because he was the only local media seriously talking about the ongoing River Park Square fraud (Upwards of $100M) where the citizens of Spokane are paying $2.5M per year.

You would think Spokane was in New Jersey.
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Wolf Howling has more on the Outrageous Sharia brutality in Saudi Arabia I posted about last evening.
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Annapolis: The very definition of antisemitism
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CBS Says Dan Rather Is Nuts
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Norman Mailer, Architecture Critic?
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"Pounds, baby, pounds!"
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Today's video: Gordon Chang on China, from Commentary Magazine

Gordon Chang is the author of



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