Fausta's Blog

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Venezuela’s economy is in the crapper as it completely runs out of toilet paper. That’s what Chavez’s Socialism for the 21st Century brings you.

ARGENTINA
Comparing Argentina And The United States

Argentina’s dollar tourists
A vacation from inflation

Argentina ex-military leader Jorge Rafael Videla dies
Former Argentine military leader Jorge Rafael Videla has died aged 87 while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

BELIZE
What the hey? Mayan Pyramid Bulldozed for Gravel
The government in Belize said it is pursuing an investigation into a road-building company after the near destruction of one of the largest Mayan pyramids.

BRAZIL
Trafficking gang ‘smuggled Bangladeshis into Brazil’
Brazilian police say they have identified a gang specialising in trafficking Bangladeshi nationals into the country.

CHILE
Chilean Company Wants to Sell Glacier Water to Middle East

COSTA RICA
Costa Rican president in jet scandal
Revelations that Costa Rica’s president used a jet belonging to a Colombian with alleged links to drug trafficking have led to three resignations.

ECUADOR
President Send Urgent Reforms For Mining Law to Congress

GUATEMALA
Justice in Guatemala
The genocide question
A former dictator’s conviction may not be the end of a tragic story

HONDURAS
What happened here?

MEXICO
Understanding Pena Nieto’s Approach to the Cartels

Mexico Grows at Slowest Pace in Three Years
Mexico cut its growth forecast on Friday after the national statistics agency reported the economy had expanded at its slowest pace in three years, clouding optimism surrounding the president’s introduction of an aggressive reform agenda.

NICARAGUA
POLL NUMBERS!!! No significant opposition party in Nicaragua

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Governor Weighs Raising Taxes for Highway Agency

Puerto Rico Sets Plans for Bond Sales
Puerto Rico aims to sell more than $3.4 billion in municipal bonds this year, it told investors, highlighting the fiscally troubled island’s reliance on credit markets.

VENEZUELA
Scarcity was much cooler under Chávez

The Crappiest Economy?
Sucks to be Venezuelan: the country has run out of toilet paper, thanks to price controls straight out of a Woody Allen movie. Daniel Gross on Bolívar’s backward business legacy.

How food shortages are dividing Venezuela

La Lista de Maduro

Revisionismo económico chavista, próximos pasos

The week’s posts and podcast:
Guatemala: The Gen. Rios Montt decision

Pacific Alliance vs. Mercosur

Cuba: Alan Gross’ family may now have enough to pay for his ransom

Brazil: MDs don’t want uncertified Cuban medics

Argentina: The bond extortion

Venezuela runs out of toilet paper

En español: Bayly entrevista a Guillermo Fariñas

Mexico: Waiting for Popo

4 items on Cuba: Mariela, Fariñas, Pittsburgh, and Barbara

Podcast: (audio starts immediately) Repression in Cuba plus US-Latin America issues

Mary O’Grady reports on The Left’s Cold War Revenge in Guatemala
The history behind an absurd court ruling that Gen. Rios Montt is guilty of genocide.

Read the whole article.

Former dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt is now the first person ever to be convicted of genocide in a court of his own country for the murders of Ixl Mayans:
A historic verdict in Guatemala
Genocidal general

Amid cheers from the gallery and chaos in the courtroom, the judge, Jazmín Barrios, part of a three-person tribunal, immediately ordered General Ríos Montt to be taken to jail. Until then, he had been under house arrest. His conviction came a day after he broke a silence that he had maintained throughout weeks of testimony. He had hotly declared his innocence, showing particular antipathy to the charge of genocide, saying he had never authorised attacks on any ethnic group,

However, in reaching her verdict, the judge pointed to evidence of a pattern of army massacres that she said appeared to follow plans that were ordered from the top. In proving genocide, she said there was evidence that 5.5% of the Ixil ethnic group had been wiped out by the army, even though she said they were civilian farmers. And she said General Ríos Montt, knew what was going on in the villages where the massacres and bombardments were taking place, and didn’t order a halt to them. However, she acquitted his co-defendant, the general’s former intelligence chief, José Rodríguez Sánchez.

In her remarks the judge dwelt on the brutality that led to the killing of 1,771 Ixils, relayed by almost 100 witnesses during the trial that started on March 19th. She spoke of babies being killed in the womb, of gang rapes by soldiers, and of mass graves showing evidence of violent death. She praised the Ixil witnesses for speaking out about their suffering, noting that the psychological scars still persisted, even among generations who were not alive when the atrocities were committed.

A civil war ravaged Guatemala for 36 years, from 1960 to 1996. PBS Newshour has a timeline of events. Violence and intimidation continue to be a major problem in political and civilian life.

A meteor lit up the night last Sunday in Argentina, but the big news wasn’t the meteor, it was the courts. Mary O’Grady writes on how Kirchner Targets Argentina’s Judiciary

Congressional midterm elections are set for October and the kirchneristas are desperate to win a majority so that they can change the law to allow the president to run for a third term. To reach that goal, the government decided that more cooperation from the courts is in order.

Mrs. Kirchner’s government drafted and Congress has now approved a law that, among other things, does away with existing rules for picking members of the magistrate council, the body that chooses and can impeach federal judges. Those rules ensured that the council would be made up of a politically mixed group of individuals chosen by politicians, judges, lawyers and academics.

In their place, the reform stipulates that the council will be elected by popular vote in the same election that chooses the president—raising the likelihood that the executive will control the judiciary. If 51% of voters want judges who will strip the other 49% of their property, so be it. The reform also limits to six months any injunction against a government policy, conveniently destroying the protection that Clarin now enjoys. There will also be new appellate courts with judges appointed by the council.

Caudilla Cristina: divide the opposition, take control of all the institutions, demonize a foreign country to create a common enemy.
ARGENTINA
36 Hours in Salta, Argentina

BRAZIL
‘Problems’ as Maracana stadium reopens in Rio

CARIBBEAN
US tries new aerial tools in Caribbean drug fight (H/T DP)

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s FARC guerrillas thank US lawmakers for supporting Havana peace process

CUBA
Rosa Maria Paya, you have the Castro dictatorship’s attention

Note to AP: Mariela Castro is a Cuban Regime Official

Woman indicted in Cuba spy case is in Sweden and out of U.S. reach

ECUADOR
Government of Ecuador to sue newspaper La Hora for a third time

GUATEMALA
Guatemala’s genocide trial
Playing for time
The spectre of never-ending impunity returns to a divided country

MEXICO
USDA/Mexico Spanish-language flyer: Get kids on food stamps without showing documents

Thirteen die in Mexico prison battle
At least 13 people die and dozens are injured after fighting breaks out between rival groups of inmates at a prison in central Mexico.

PANAMA
Fossil of “most ancient” monkey of Americas found in Panama Canal

PARAGUAY
Paraguay’s elections
Return of the Colorados
A tobacco magnate promises change in one of South America’s poorest countries

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Teams Take Top Spots at 20th NASA Great Moonbuggy Race

St. LUCIA
‘Miracle’ survival after St Lucia fishing boat sinks

VENEZUELA
Arrestan en Venezuela al ex general Antonio Rivero
El ex general denunció en el pasado la “cubanización” de las fuerzas armadas venezolanas y presentó ante la fiscalía casos de intromisión.

Viceroy Maduro swears fealty to his supreme overlord King Raul

INFORME ESPECIAL: Resumen de los principales casos de represión del Gobierno de Venezuela a Grupos Estudiantiles. Enero-Abril 2013

General Carlos Julio Peñaloza
CUBA CONTROLÓ ELECCIONES MEDIANTE RED SECRETA, pag.14

Escuchen a Diosdado Cabello dando instrucciones contra Capriles en reunión privada en Margarita

The Cubanization of Venezuela: Cuba creates 5-million Venezuelan voters out of thin air

Chavismo: from XXI century socialism to XXI century fascism

The week’s posts and podcast:
Venezuela: Maduro has US citizen arrested

Argentina: The high cost of not doing business

Cuba: no off-shore oil

Venezuela: Persecuting Capriles

Argentina: Sunday meteor

Mexico: Striking teachers dig in their heels

Venezuela: You call that an audit?

Podcast:
In Silvio Canto’s podcast, talking to Jon Perdue.

Last week Venezuela’s acting president and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro officially inaugurated his campaign by publicly stating that Hugo Chavez had spoken to him in the form of a bird (but apparently not as a parrot). In the spirit of the occasion (all puns intended), and in keeping with a red Chavista shirt theme, I’m illustrating this week’s Carnival with the most famous red bird of all, the Angry Bird, instead of the usual map.

ARGENTINA
Argentina floods ‘catastrophe’ for La Plata, Buenos Aires
Emergency workers in Argentina continue to try to rescue residents stranded by flooding in Buenos Aires and La Plata

Pope Francis calls for aid for Argentina flood victims
Pope Francis has appealed for “civil and ecclesiastical institutions, as well as people of good will”, to provide help to the victims of devastating flooding in Argentina that has left dozens dead.

Fears Ease of a Default by Argentina

BOLIVIA
Colombianos manejan una red de préstamos en Santa Cruz de la Sierra

BRAZIL
Rio Charges Three Men With Attack on American, French Visitors
Rio de Janeiro police said they have arrested a third suspect and sidelined two police officers after the rape of an American woman over the weekend.

CHILE
Smoking in Latin America
Stubbed out
A bastion of tobacco addiction introduces a ban

COLOMBIA
Santos´ invisible and elitist cabinet

CUBA
Religious persecution in Cuba rises in 2012

Beyonce, Jay-Z turn heads in Havana

Washington’s 51-year embargo makes it illegal for U.S. citizens to visit Cuba for mere tourism, although tens of thousands of Americans travel there each year on academic, religious, journalistic or cultural exchange licenses.

Social Security says benefits can’t be sent to Havana
The U.S. Social Security Administration makes it clear that benefits cannot be collected in Cuba.

ECUADOR
Chevron Embargo Would Not Affect YPF Deal -Ecuador Plaintiffs
A freeze on Chevron’s funds in Argentina would not include any future investments the company would make in the country, according to a lawyer representing the Ecuadorian plaintiffs in the case behind the freeze.

GUATEMALA
Guatemala strongman trial hears litany of horrors

MEXICO
Are the Kaufman County Murders Connected To The Mexican Drug Cartels?

REPORT: MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS BEHIND INCREASING VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES

Mexico’s new president
Peña’s promising start
A lot done, and quickly, but much more still to do

PARAGUAY
Paraguay’s electoral alliances and land deals

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico-Born Labrador Top Republican on Immigration

Puerto Rico moves to overhaul public pensions

URUGUAY
Controversia por dura frase de presidente de Uruguay sobre Cristina Fernández
El mandatario uruguayo no se dio cuenta que los micrófonos estaban abiertos y se escuchó en la transmisión en vivo de una conferencia de prensa al sentenciar: “Esta vieja es peor que el tuerto”

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s snap election still pretty much all about Chavez

Nicolás Maduro Decide Solamente Decir “Chávez” Hasta Que Acaben Las Elecciones

Denuncian a Maduro de ser un agente de Cuba, fotos, video y audio

The week’s posts and podcast
Venezuela: And now the Macarapana curse

Uruguay: Open-mic fail

Cuba: Beyonce’s no-no

Maduro: Cuba’s Venezuelan Pawn

Cuba: More repression

Thursday night tango and blogging

Yoani Sanchez in Jaime Bayly’s show: en español

Crazy cult campaigning in Caracas: The shrine

Venezuela: Maduro opens his campaign by saying he talked to Chavez, who is now a bird UPDATED

Uruguay: Same-sex marriage approved by Senate

Argentina: Cristina’s discomfort

Podcast: Silvio Canto‘s

ANTIGUA
Stanford Victims Will Benefit From $300M Settlement

ARGENTINA
Imprisoned priest Francisco Jalics breaks silence over Pope Francis, clearing him for involvement in ‘Dirty War’
Jalics had been silent for years in a German monastery. He once thought then-Cardinal Bergoglio played a role in his arrest

Social Justice And Pope Francis: Choosing Freedom Over Serfdom

After Frosty Past, Pope Meets Argentine Leader

Making nice? Argentina’s Kirchner and Pope Francis meet in Rome (+video)
Beneath the cordial meeting today between new Pope Francis and President Kirchner lies a rocky and strained relationship that stretches back to 2004.

[Additional video below the fold]

BRAZIL
Indians, police clash at Rio complex near Maracana to be razed for 2014 World Cup

Brazil’s opposition
The Minas medicine
Aécio Neves ran his state well. But he may struggle to convince voters that his formula is right for the presidency

CHILE
Wave of prawn deaths baffles Chile city of Coronel
Thousands of dead prawns have washed up on a beach in Chile, sparking an investigation.
Hundreds of dead crabs were also washed ashore in Coronel city, about 530km (330 miles) from the capital, Santiago.

COLOMBIA
Ten years later, Colombia nabs rebel linked to Uribe inauguration attack. What’s with the “rebel” thing? The guy’s a terrorist.

COSTA RICA
Starbucks buys coffee farm in Costa Rica (h/t DP)

CUBA
African Politicians Laundering Money Through Cuba

Daughter of Oswaldo Paya demands international inquiry into his death

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Republic detains 35 soldiers and police, 4 French citizens in drug investigation

République dominicaine : démantèlement d’un réseau de trafic de drogue vers la France

ECUADOR
Ecuadorian diplomacy fails in his attempt to change the IACHR reforms

GUATEMALA
Guatemala ex-ruler Rios Montt on trial for genocide
The trial of the former military ruler of Guatemala, Efrain Rios Montt, for genocide and crimes against humanity has begun in Guatemala City.

HONDURAS
Seldom Tried Honduran Dishes Made from Unusual Root Crops (h/t DP)

LATIN AMERICA
Heads of state at the Papal inauguration, Bayly style (in Spanish),

MEXICO
Mexico’s attorney general says no motive yet in US car shooting that wounded 2 CIA agents

PANAMA
Panama Canal Minister: Deepen Port of Savannah

PERU
Petroperú to Take Over Former Talisman Concession in Peru
Petróleos del Perú SA plans to take over operations at Block 64 in northern Peru, an important step for the state-owned oil company to return to upstream operations.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico: US army drills ‘did not cause illnesses’

VENEZUELA
Venezuela Acts to Ease Dollar Shortage

Chavez trek

The week’s posts:
Pope Francis not dancing to Cristina’s tune

Yoani Sanchez meets Marco Rubio

Latino demographics: Integration is the key factor

Mexico: Will PEMEX reforms come to pass?

Correcting my error on my article on Pope Francis

Podcast

(more…)

ARGENTINA
Documentary (in Spanish):

BRAZIL
Brazil Nightclub Fire Kills at Least 245

Brazil Streetwalkers to Take English Lessons for 2014 World Cup; RELATED: The Proud Winner of the Miss Brazilian Prostitute Title Was Beaming

COLOMBIA
Security in Colombia
Fear of missing out
The second-biggest guerrilla group tries to muscle in on peace talks

Colombian Police Seize Over 4 Tons of Cocaine Bound for Mexico

CUBA
Alan Gross and his descent into hell

All talk
The government fails to promote new leaders—even though hard times loom

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Emails show FBI investigating Sen. Bob Menendez for sleeping with underage Dominican prostitutes – 16-year-olds.

GUATEMALA
Edging back from the brink
A potential “failed state” is clawing its way back to something like normality

HONDURAS
Honduras can’t pay its bills, neglects services

MEXICO
As Deadly Mexican Cartel Loses Control, Heroin and Meth Trafficking Rise

Florence Cassez released in Mexico

PERU
EU-Colombia-Peru Aim for Trade Accord in Effect by First Quarter

Peru on the Right Path to Eradicating Child Malnutrition, UN Official Says

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Top 10 Most Wanted Captured by NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force

VENEZUELA
More than 50 people have been killed in a prison riot in western Venezuela, hospital staff say. [GRAPHIC PHOTOS] En Uribana ya van más de 50 muertos y 120 heridos (FOTOS)

Chavez Cancer Freezes Venezuela’s Overseas Oil Funding (h/t DP)

Venezuela’s $100 billion oil industry is seeing the first drop in funding in five years from some of its closest partners, as concern mounts President Hugo Chavez’s battle with cancer is creating a political vacuum, people familiar with the matter said.
The government, which for a decade has disclosed credit lines from China when they’re signed, has announced none since April, according to a report released Jan. 13 by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, known as UNAM. Russian and Indian companies are withholding planned investments in Venezuelan oilfields, according to eight oil company executives and consultants who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to talk about the matter publicly.

Hugo Chavez Starting More Treatment in Cuba, Hugo Chavez Respiratory Infection: Venezuelan President Overcomes Health Issue

Why President Hugo Chávez’s Twitter Account Went Silent

The Missing President

Chavez is not going quietly

Impunity in Venezuela
The price of justice
A family with a case against the government faces “extermination”

Gustavo Rios, Hugo Chavez Impersonator, Thinks Dictator’s Cancer Is No Laughing Matter

The week’s posts:
South American cocaine’s African routes

Brazil: Barcodes on Rio’s sidewalks

Venezuela: Hugo’s fake picture

Halitophobia! in Spanish, no less

Venezuela: Noelia’s plane seized by the government

ARGENTINA
Defence chiefs prepare new plans to defend Falkland Islands
Defence chiefs have drawn up new contingency plans designed to prevent hostile action by Argentina towards the Falkland Islands.

Falklands Redux: Is President Kirchner South America’s Biggest Troll?

P&O cruise firm stops Argentine port stops
Passengers due to embark on the Southampton-based ships were told last month
A cruise firm has put a temporary halt to stops at three Argentine ports after continuing tensions with the country over the Falklands.

BOLIVIA
Presidente en ejercicio afirma: indígenas “libre pensantes” pueden irse

BRAZIL
From last year, Brazil: Landowners Declare War against Indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá in Mato Grosso do Sul

Tax in Brazil
Nothing is certain
Brazilian firms fight huge and unpredictable tax bills

Chinese Tech Titans Eye Brazil
Chinese consumer-technology firms are dominant at home but have struggled overseas. Now, in a bid to change that, they’re charging into Brazil and other emerging markets.

Drug addicts light up the night in Brazil’s ‘cracolandias’
Crack epidemic and related violence are reminiscent of Washington or New York in the 1980s.

CHILE
Background on the Mapuche, from 2004: Mapuche Indians in Chile Struggle to Take Back Forests, and from last year: Attacks on Chile’s Indigenous Peoples Thwart Efforts at Land Reparations

Indigenous rights in Chile
Unhappy new year

COLOMBIA
Latin American local government
A load of rubbish
Another unpopular mayor for Colombia’s capital

COSTA RICA
Mothers in Breastfeed Protest at Costa Rica Mall

CUBA
A Silent Mariel

Seventh circle of Hell gets a wee bit more crowded

Oppenheimer: Cuba’s role in Venezuela may grow — for now

As Hugo Chavez fights for his life, Cuba fears for its future
Venezuela is not the only Latin American nation that is monitoring every moment of president Hugo Chavez’s illness. His ally Cuba has relied on him for economic help, and that could soon come to an end.

EQUADOR
Ecuadorian President Warns of Possible ‘CIA Attack’ Before Elections

GUATEMALA
As Biofuel Demand Grows, So Do Guatemala’s Hunger Pangs

HAITI
Still waiting for recovery
Three years after a devastating earthquake, the “Republic of NGOs” has become the country of the unemployed

HONDURAS
La Ceiba, Honduras, airport sign translation

MEXICO
Recent violence in north-central Mexico reportedly kills dozens

PANAMA
As Panama Canal gets bigger,U.S. ports race to keep up

PERU
Two killed in Dakar rally crash involving British team
Two people have been in killed in Peru in a head-on collision involving a support vehicle for the Dakar rally.

Peru boom spurs middle-class growth
Asian demand for copper and gold has put disposable income in the nation’s pockets.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Beauty Queen Faints, Uses Crutches

TURKS & CAICOS
British to seek extradition of ex-Turks and Caicos premier from Brazil
Turks and Caicos says that British authorities will soon formally ask Brazil to extradite the island’s former premier as part of the ongoing criminal investigation in the island chain.

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s ‘Weekend At Bernie’s’ Inaugural A Sign Of Chavez’s Tottering Regime

The Chávez Legacy in Venezuela
Autocratic rule, economic ruin, and South America’s highest murder rate.

To Understand Today’s TSJ Decision, Let’s Look At Motive

Venezuela’s presidency
Brotherly love in the Bolivarian Republic
With the president ill, who is really running the country?

Now what? Looking at the 2013 Venezuelan calendar

Venezuela Inflation Jumps Sharply as Shortages Rise
Venezuela’s consumer prices surged in December at the fastest pace in nearly three years as the oil-rich South American country grappled with severe shortages of consumer goods, the central bank reported.

Controversy aside, there is no denying Hugo Chavez redefined Latin American politics
The leader of Venezuela’s social revolution has undergone a fourth operation for cancer and was unable to attend his inauguration after being elected for a fourth term as president.

The week’s posts:
Dead or alive?

Oh, peachy, now the Obama admin’s cozying up to Maduro

Venezuela: Chavez swearing-in can be delayed

Weekend at Chavez!

Venezuela: Twitter raid UPDATED

ARGENTINA
Looting Tests Leader in Argentina
President Kirchner’s Social Policies Are Criticized After Raids Spread to Several Cities; Government Blames Union Leaders; thing is, once you run out of other people’s money, you don’t have money to pay the unions.

Argentina looting spreads to Buenos Aires province
Two people have been killed in Argentina’s third city, Rosario, as a wave of looting spreads.

BOLIVIA
A tale of two churches

Senadora que demanda Justicia es amedrentada por el Fiscal y exige garantías

BRAZIL
Kerry Has Investments in Companies Accused of Violating Iran Sanctions

CHILE
Copahue volcano eruption puts Argentina and Chile on alert

COSTA RICA
Costa Rica: Security Chief Suggests Firearms Ban

CUBA
Teacher’s Day

ECUADOR
Ecuador top banker’s fake degree
The governor of the Ecuadorean Central Bank, Pedro Delgado, resigns after admitting that he lied about finishing a degree in economics.

GUATEMALA
Mayan temple damaged in tourist ‘apocalypse’ frenzy

LATIN AMERICA
John Kerry’s Record in Latin America
It isn’t that he opposes U.S. intervention. It’s that somehow he often ends up backing the bad guys: Sandinistas, Cubans, FARC, Zelaya.

MEXICO
Jon Hammar back on U.S. soil

Mexico Takes On Teachers Over School Control

PUERTO RICO
US and Puerto Rico Sign Police Reform Agreement

VENEZUELA
Chavez death watch intensifies

Chávez Is Conscious and Recovering, His Vice President Says

Dr. Marquina says no,

Doctor Marquina: Presidente Chávez no muestra ninguna mejoría del cuadro clínico – tinyurl.com/d6vmmy4

— Noticias Venezuela (@NoticiasVenezue) December 22, 2012

Chávez Faces Infection
President Hugo Chávez is in stable condition after facing a respiratory infection following cancer surgery in Cuba, Venezuela’s information minister said.

Pobre hijita de Papi…

Is There Any Silver Lining For The Venezuelan Opposition From Sunday’s Elections?

Say what?

BONUS: MISS UNIVERSE
Photos: Miss Universe 2012’s Most Bizarre National Costumes
On Dec. 19, women from around the world competed at the 61st annual Miss Universe pageant. Here’s a look at the contestants’ wacky—and occasionally tacky—national ensembles

The week’s posts:
John Kerry for Secretary of State

Mayans, schmayans

Venezuela: Chavistas take all the states except 3

Today’s unrelated news items:

Iran and Cuba are kissing over nuclear weapons: Cuba backs Iran’s nuclear program, vows to defy sanctions

The Cuban foreign minister has reaffirmed Havana’s determination to support Tehran’s nuclear energy program and strengthen mutual cooperation to counter Western embargos.

What could possibly go wrong?

A day after his deportation to Miami from Guatemala John McAfee went shopping in Miami Beach.

He used the photo op to show off some of his tats, and

McAfee also said he had nothing to do with the murder of his American neighbor in Belize — the incident that sent him on the run last month to Guatemala, where he was jailed.

How do you spell g-r-o-s-s?

Remember Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian guy who died of polonium-210 poisoning in London in 2006?
Lawyer Suggests Russia Orchestrated Agent’s Death

British prosecutors have charged Andrei Lugovoi, a career Russian security officer who met Mr. Litvinenko at the hotel that day, with the murder and asked for his extradition. The Russian government has declined to extradite Mr. Lugovoi.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Lugovoi said he won’t be commenting until after more hearings take place in London. Mr. Lugovoi was elected to the Russian Duma in 2007.

I estimate the odds of Putin agreeing to extradite Lugovoi at close to zero.

‘Gangnam Style’ death prompts warning to middle-aged men not to attempt the vigorous dance.

“Let the lady dance around you,” advises Prof Bernard Keavney, consultant cardiologist at Newcastle University. Certainly that’s what the old milongueros do.

Consider yourself warned:

OTOH, I expect more men will heed that advice than men who pay attention to the “Ask your healthcare provider if your heart is healthy enough for you to have sexual activity” warning.

UPDATE,
Linked by Dustbury. Thank you!