Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

Archives for June 2014

June 30, 2014 By Fausta

Tinker, hacker, Snowden spy

Edward Jay Epstein writes on Revisiting Snowden’s Hong Kong Getaway
A year after the intelligence thief landed in Moscow, many questions remain about how he ended up in Putin’s hands.

While important details about Edward Snowden’s activities in Hong Kong remain shrouded in secrecy, the conventional portrait of his stay there and in Russia as one of improvisation and serendipity is at odds with the precision of his well-planned thefts.

Until March 15, 2013, Mr. Snowden worked at the NSA base in Honolulu for Dell, the outside contractor which supplied technicians to work on the NSA’s backup system. From this vantage point, he had access to the NSA Net, from which he pilfered most of the documents he later gave to journalists including the ones about NSA domestic operations that have preoccupied the world’s media.

But he quit Dell and moved to Booz Allen Hamilton, the outside contractor that ran the computer systems in the NSA’s Threat Operations Center. Here he could get access to the crown jewels, the lists of computers in four adversary nations—Russia, China, North Korea and Iran—that the agency had penetrated. He later told the South China Morning Post that his whole reason for making the job switch was to get “access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked.”

He carried out that theft, which included stealing passwords that gave him access to secret files, with great precision. There is no reason to assume that his getaway was any less deliberately planned.

I’ve also read Edward Lucas’s The Snowden Operation: Inside the West’s Greatest Intelligence Disaster. Lucas makes a convincing case that Snowden had to have help inside Booz Allen and/or the NSA. Who are those people?

Share

Filed Under: Ecuador Tagged With: Edward Snowden, Fausta's blog

June 30, 2014 By Fausta

The yet-more-World-Cup Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

For us not-fans, the World Cup drags on forever, but it’s only on its third week. The half-time verdict Expectations were low. They have been exceeded

“They installed a huge stage right in the middle of Copacabana beach to watch #CHI beat #BRA Is it possible..? Yes we can !!”

En plena playa de Copacabana se instalo gran escenario para ver como #CHI gana a #BRA Sera posible…? Si se puede !! pic.twitter.com/kKuZfdePH3

— Sábado Gigante (@SabadoGigante) June 28, 2014

ARGENTINA
Ruling Risks New Argentine Default as Monday Deadline Approaches

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. must return a $539 million deposit from Argentina intended for restructured bondholders, a U.S. judge ruled, calling the transfer an “explosive action” that disrupted potential settlement talks with holders of defaulted debt.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa in New York has ruled that Argentina can’t pay holders of its restructured debt without also paying more than $1.5 billion to a group of defaulted bondholders, raising the possibility of a new default as the South American nation approaches a June 30 payment deadline.

Robert Cohen, a lawyer for hedge funds holding the defaulted debt, told Griesa that Argentina “defiantly and contemptuously” violated his court orders.

BRAZIL
Prince Harry thanks Brazilians in first ever royal video message
Prince Harry thanks the people of Brazil for their hospitality in the first ever video message to be recorded by a member of the Royal family

The World Cup of Dirty Dreams: Inside Brazil’s Most Infamous Brothel
Full of beautiful women and XXX behavior, Rio de Janeiro’s Centaurus has enticed celebrities, soccer stars and anyone else willing to pay a fee and go inside. We go behind the doors of a scandalous sin palace

CENTRAL AMERICA
Central America Border Rush Fueled By Remittances

CHILE
Chile Falls from Investment Grace, Out of World’s Top 10
South America Drags the Regional Chain in Foreign Direct Investment Ranking

COLOMBIA
Pablo Escobar’s hippos: A growing problem. Jaime Bayly interviewed his former girlfriend. They did not talk about hippos:

COSTA RICA
StarTek leaves: Another US company closes operations in Costa Rica; 550 workers to lose jobs

CUBA
Amnesty International DOCUMENT – CUBA: FURTHER INFORMATION: PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE AWAIT SENTENCING

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Vatican Defrocks Ambassador in Abuse Inquiry

The Vatican has defrocked its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, an archbishop from Poland who was accused of sexually abusing boys while he served as the pope’s representative in the Caribbean nation.

The former archbishop, Jozef Wesolowski, 65, is the first papal nuncio known to have been removed from the priesthood because of accusations of child sexual abuse.

IMMIGRATION
Blame Comprehensive Immigration Reform Advocates for the Border Meltdown

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Falkland Islands UN resolution siding with Argentina ‘outdated’ and ‘not relevant’, says Britain
United Nations committee resolution calling on Britain and Argentina to negotiate a Falkland Islands solution – essentially favouring Argentina’s stance – dismissed by Foreign Office

IMMIGRATION
Top Border Control Official: The US Is Now Part of the Smuggling Business

MEXICO
CARTEL MEMBERS AMBUSH FEDERAL POLICEMEN IN MEXICAN BORDER STATE

Mexico vigilante leader arrested
Jose Manuel Mireles, one of Mexico’s main vigilante leaders battling drug cartels, is arrested for carrying unauthorised weapons, officials say.

PANAMA
Panama pulls a Pontius Pilate move on Chong Chon Gang

PARAGUAY
Paraguay floods lead to evacuation of thousands

PERU
Peru’s Pay-to-Commit-Crime Politics: Presidential Corruption under Investigation
No More “Get Out of Jail Free” Cards, Says Peruvian Congress

Rare Incan ‘Calculators’ Found in Peru

PUERTO RICO
A Band-Aid for Puerto Rico
Legislation was passed to provide a mechanism to restructure the debts of Puerto Rico’s so-called public corporations.

URUGUAY
Take a bite out of crime? Mujica strongly supports Suárez and blasts FIFA: “they went too far”
Uruguay’s president Jose Mujica blasted FIFA’s Thursday decision to fine and suspend the country’s main scorer Luis Suarez from any football activity for four months arguing the association that rules world football measures things with different rods, and since Uruguay “is a small country, it’s cheap for them”.

VENEZUELA
Let’s wiki-audit PDVSA

Venezuela blackout interrupts live-television broadcast from President Maduro
A blackout cut electricity in various parts of Venezuela on Friday and twice interrupted the live television broadcast of a speech by President Nicolas Maduro, who said authorities were seeking more information about the outage.

Venezuela seeks support for a seat at the UN Security Council
Over 40 countries backed Venezuela’s nomination to the UN Security Council in 2013

The week’s posts and podcast:
Argentina: Boudou’s voodoo may land him in the hoosgow

Immigration headlines today

Venezuela: North Korea to open embassy in Caracas

En español: Terapia intensiva #213

Did you know the IRS employees are unionized?

Ecuador whines at the UN Human Rights Council

Bolivia reduces coca production

Brazil’s Odebrecht accused of slave labor

At Da Tech Guy Blog:
O’s foreign policy, Northern Triangle edition

Podcast:
US-Latin America stories of the week

Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Catholic Church, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, illegal immigration, immigration, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Central America, Chong Chon Gang, Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog, Jose Manuel Mireles, StarTek, World Cup

June 28, 2014 By Fausta

Argentina: Boudou’s voodoo may land him in the hoosgow

A judge has charged Argentina’s Vice President Amado Boudou with bribery and conducting business incompatible with public office. Money quote (all puns intended):

The charges relate to the acquisition of the company that prints the country’s currency, and of benefiting from government contracts.

Mr. Boudou is accused of using shell companies and secret middlemen to gain control of the company that was given contracts to print the Argentine peso and campaign material for the ticket he shared with President Cristina Fernandez.

Somewhere in the U.S., a politician is taking notes.


Share

Filed Under: Argentina, corruption, crime Tagged With: Amado Boudou, Fausta's blog

June 27, 2014 By Fausta

Immigration headlines today

As we hear of immigrant stash houses Along Texas-Mexico Border
Some Smugglers Cram 100 or More Migrants Into a Decrepit House
, Nancy’s greeting the newcomers:


PELOSI TO GREET NEW ARRIVALS AT BORDER...
First Lady Of Honduras To Tour Shelters in TX...
'OBAMA IS GOING TO LET THEM GO'...
President working on executive action...
'Not bluffing'...
Feds Look to Ship Influx to NY Facility...
Abandoned WALMART?
Build soccer field?
'The first thing that hits you is the smell'...
BORDER PATROL AGENTS TEST POSITIVE FOR DISEASES...
Group Calls On Americans To Mail 'Gently Used Underwear' To White House...

MEXICAN MILITARY CHOPPER CROSSES INTO USA, FIRES AT BORDER AGENTS
IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS TO STORM CONGRESS

The Obama administration knew this was coming: On January 29 this year, the Department of Homeland Security was advertising for contractors to provide Escort Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children:

provide unarmed escort staff, including management, supervision, manpower, training, certifications, licenses, drug testing, equipment and supplies necessary to provide on-demand escort services for non-criminal/non-delinquent unaccompanied alien children ages infant to 17 years of age, seven days a week, 365 days a year. … There will be approximately 65,000 [unaccompanied alien children] in total.

As I mentioned before, acting by executive order is part of the plan.

Ace:

I don’t care if the next two years are a constant series of lawsuits decided by the Supreme Court — in fact, I’d prefer it.

Do they imagine they’ve got some advantage here, going into the elections, with hundreds of thousands of immigrant children now enticed to cross the border illegally thanks to their policies?

Neoneocon’s late commenter FredHJr had an observation that may shed some light on that,

Obama is part of a nexus of interests. What the American dopes who will put him in office are getting is a NETWORK of alliances and interests, running the gamut from Finance (Soros) to academia to media to law. Thus far, in order to appeal to the Middle Muddle he has been packaged as a moderate or centrist. But once in office the venomous swarm of this network will burst out of the nest and devour the host. You wait and see. And I’m not eager for the moment to say “I told you so.” I really would it be the case that it never happens at all. Why? Because the lives of tens of millions of human beings hang in the balance of this and mushroom clouds on the horizon. I put the value of human life far above my own frustrated rantings.

I leave it to you to ponder.

Share

Filed Under: Barack Obama, Fausta's blog, illegal immigration, immigration, Latin America, Mexico Tagged With: Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Fausta's blog

June 27, 2014 By Fausta

O’s foreign policy, Northern Triangle edition

My latest at Da Tech Guy Blog is up, O’s foreign policy, Northern Triangle edition. Don’t miss it!

Share

Filed Under: El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua Tagged With: Central America, Da Tech Guy, Fausta's blog

June 26, 2014 By Fausta

Thursday night tango: Michael Nadtochi & Eleanora Kalganova,

Michael Nadtochi & Eleanora Kalganova, dancing to
No hay tierra como la mía,

Share

Filed Under: dance, entertainment, tango Tagged With: Eleanora Kalganova, Fausta, Michael Nadtochi

June 26, 2014 By Fausta

In Silvio Canto’s podcast,

talking about the US-Latin America stories of the week: Joe Biden trips to Brazil and Central America, the upcoming North Korean embassy in Caracas, and other topics, all archived for your listening convenience.

Share

Filed Under: Blog Talk Radio, Latin America, news, podcasts Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Silvio Canto

June 26, 2014 By Fausta

Venezuela: North Korea to open embassy in Caracas

Caracas hairdressers better take notice:

The June 20 issue of the Gaceta Oficial, the Venezuelan government’s official organ, announced that North Korea is allowed to open an embassy in Caracas.

The murderous Communist North Korean regime, which has attempted to interfere with private businesses in democratic countries, will have an embassy near the newly-expanded Panama Canal.

No wonder the chavistas are decamping to Spain.

In other Venezuelan news,
University students and government opponents protested in Caracas on Tuesday, demanding the release of people who have been arrested in street demonstrations in recent months. Also on Tuesday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court (TSJ) granted the army permission to participate in political marches and rallies, and denied that it would encourage proselytizing of the military.

A review of Al-Jazeera’s Fault Lines documentary, Venezuela Divided:
Al-Jazeera sent me information and a preview link to its Fault Lines documentary, Venezuela Divided, which will air on Al Jazeera America Saturday, June 28, at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

The reporter was accompanied by chavistas throughout the film, which is very sympathetic to the regime (as you can see from the article title The art of the Boliviarian revolution in Venezuela, as if the Boliviarian revolution was a symphony).

Venezuela Divided starts by contrasting a slum with an ice cream shop in a middle-to-upper class neighborhood, in the premise that it’s all “rich vs. poor”; the possibility that some of the people in the ice cream shop may be high-ranking chavistas or their relatives does not cross the reporter’s mind.

It shows a confrontation between university students and the National Guard, and a chavista college student whose nose was broken allegedly by anti-government students, while it forgets to show assemblywoman Maria Corina Machado’s nose being broken on the floor of the National Assembly by chavista Nancy Asencio, or the fact that the chavista regime deposed Machado of her Assembly seat and banned her from leaving the country.

Additionally, al-Jazeera’s emphasis on showing the Venezuelan demonstrators as engaged in a “simple” class struggle ignores this,

Imagen de la Avenida Francisco de Miranda toma desde el edif EASO Hora: 11:20 am vía @Fabiana_Marmo pic.twitter.com/Lpofdona9U

— Reporte Ya (@ReporteYa) February 18, 2014

The report, while talking to members of a colectivo, spent no time on news like this, or this, or on Human Rights Watch’s finding of “systematic” human rights violations in Venezuela.

In the past, al-Jazeera’s reports on Latin America have been interesting, but this one I find lacking.


Share

Filed Under: al-Jazeera, Communism, North Korea, Venezuela Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela Divided

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 7
  • Next Page »
Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com