Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

Archives for January 2014

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The leakers: Who’s to gain?

Princeton University professor Sean Wilentz, contributing editor of The New Republic, asks, Would You Feel Differently About Snowden, Greenwald, and Assange If You Knew What They Really Thought? 

The payoff of the Snowden affair for Putin and the Russians thus far has been substantial. Just as the Kremlin’s human rights reputation, already woeful under Putin, has spiraled downward, it is able to swoop in to rescue an American political outlaw, supposedly persecuted by the Obama administration. The dissident journalist Masha Gessen has observed, “The Russian propaganda machine has not gotten this much mileage out of a U.S. citizen since Angela Davis’s murder trial in 1971.”

Go read the whole thing.

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Puerto Rico: Festival success

SanSe1

As reported earlier, the barriers and fences were torn down in Old San Juan; later on a judge issued an injunction blocking checkpoint searches.

My sister attended the festival yesterday, and reported that this year’s festival is a success:

  • She attended Saturday, while the festival had started on Thursday
  • Old San Juan was spotless, all the streets were blocked to vehicles, and five cruise ships were docked.

In addition, there were

  • Hundreds of craftspeople and food vendors
  • Three large bandstands with dance areas
  • Many comparsas parading with music
  • Heavy police presence
  • Sanitary facilities sponsored by Clorox, in addition to the usual chemical toilets

The huge crowd filled the streets, and were polite and friendly.

SanSebaile

While the shuttle service from the Miramar Convention Center parking lot never materialized, enterprising (privately-owned) jitneys took people to and from Old San Juan.

The only altercation reported was a minor scuffle that was broken up by a policeman.

In all, a huge success.

SanSeband


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Brazil: Corcovado damaged by lightning

Lightning costs Rio’s iconic Christ statue tip of thumb

The iconic statue of Jesus overlooking Rio de Janeiro, one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, has lost a thumb tip to lightening, a report said Friday.

Christ the Redeemer, the giant monument and tourist magnet that looms atop nearby Mount Corcovado, was damaged in a huge storm Thursday night, O Globo newspaper reported on its website.

The 125 foot statue of Jesus Christ was built in 1931 and renovated in 2010.

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Argentina: Where’s Cristina?

Remember when Hugo used to absent himself?

Concern after Argentina’s president long silence

As of Thursday, it had been 37 days since she last spoke in public. And she hadn’t posted any messages to Twitter since Dec. 13, when she fired off a typical volley of 20 tweets.

That has been feeding speculation in Argentina about her health in the wake of surgery on her head in October, and questions about who is running the country.
…
Fernandez made her last public appearance on Dec. 10. Three days later, she made her last comments on Twitter criticizing a protest by police.

Her last official photograph was taken on Dec. 19 at a meeting held at an Islamic center.

Cristina’s scheduled to attend the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States on Jan. 28 in Cuba, and the Mercosur meeting on Jan. 31 in Venezuela.

If she doesn’t make it, Uruguayan president José “Pepe” Mujica won’t be able to hitch a plane ride to those events.


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Panama: North Korea to pay fine for the rust bucket

Remember the Chong Chon Gang? The North Korean ship loaded with Cuban armaments (including MiG fighter jets, anti-aircraft systems and explosives) that the Canal authority intercepted last July?

Well, the latest is that the $1million fine was bargained down to a devilish amount which better suits the evil Communist regime.

That fine has now been reduced by a third to $666,666, and the North Korean government has pledged to pay it next week, Panama’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Fernando Nunez Fabrega said 32 of the ship’s 35 detained crew members would also be allowed to leave the country.

Hopefully it won’t be paid in counterfeit money.

No word as to what happens to the weaponry.

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Mexico: Mireles won’t back down

Mexican militia leader vows to continue battle with drug cartels after plane crash

More than a week after surviving a plane crash, the injured Mexican militia leader Jose Manuel Mireles rejected the government’s call for his movement to disarm, vowing to fight on until the drug cartel leaders in his area have been arrested and the state of Michoacan establishes the rule of law.

Mireles, a 55-year-old surgeon who leads the militia movement that has spread rapidly over the past year across Michoacan and seized territory from the Knights Templar drug cartel, spoke to reporters late Monday from a safe house after being treated at a private hospital in Mexico City.

As you know, militias fighting the Knights Templar cartel in Michoacán state got smashed by the government, leaving 2-4 militia dead.

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Puerto Rico: Take down that fence!

The mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, has seen the light and agreed to bring down the chain-link fences and barricades she had had installed in Old San Juan:

SanJuanfence

Facebook commenters hinted (ahem!) at cronyism allegations regarding the why and who was awarded the fence job.

There is, however, the upcoming San Sebastian festival, and mayor Yulín has ordered police for the first time to search everyone who attends

Officials have said there will be metal detectors and that people’s bags and purses will be searched.
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Last year, a 32-year-old man was fatally shot at the crowded festival.

Now the ACLU has filed suit.

Considering how an estimated 500,000 people attended the festival last year, it’s going to be a long wait.


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