Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

September 14, 2015 By Fausta

The pre-papal visit Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Starting on September 19th, Pope Francis will be traveling to Cuba and the U.S.. The Communist regime’s propaganda machine announced it will be releasing 3,522 prison inmates, none of which is a dissident;

The latest 3,522 prisoners to be freed will include minors, people over the age of 60, prisoners in poor health and foreigners who will be repatriated, according to the Granma newspaper. It said there will be no releases of those convicted of “crimes against state security”.

Over in Philly, pop-up-popes are springing up all over town:

Pope Francis: The Patron Saint of Tourism: https://t.co/scExf03xIP via @YahooTravel. #PopeInPhilly #ISEPTAPHILLY pic.twitter.com/OWTlqa4ZvG

— ISEPTAPHILLY (@SEPTAPHILLY) September 2, 2015

Because we went to catholic school for 12 years @ McGillin’s Olde Ale House https://t.co/VwCY3sUlll — breana lynn (@brieebev) September 5, 2015

ARGENTINA
Argentine Court Blocks Proclamation of Winner in Provincial Vote

An Argentine court on Tuesday ordered the electoral board of the northern province of Tucuman not to declare any winner in the Aug. 23 gubernatorial election until a move to have the ballot overturned is resolved.

Jorge Lanata’s investigation showed votes bought with drugs (video in Spanish):

Alberto Nisman could not have killed himself, ballistics tests show. The prosecutor investigating Argentina’s worst-ever terrorist attack was shot dead by someone else

Conferencia: “Escenario económico y político de la Argentina preelectoral”

Llegamos a Estados Unidos!

BERMUDA
Significant Amendments Made To Bermuda’s Partnership Legislation

BOLIVIA
WATCH: SANDRA BULLOCK TAKES ON BOLIVIAN POLITICS IN ‘OUR BRAND IN CRISIS’

BRAZIL
Brazilian Police Seek to Question Former President in Petrobras Probe. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his ruling Workers’ Party ‘could have benefited,’ authorities say. An understatement if there ever was one.

Brazil to Auction Hydroelectric Plants. Brazil plans to auction off 29 power plants to private operators Oct. 30, a government official said, a move that is expected to bring the cash-strapped government about $4.4 billion.

Down to BB+: S&P Cuts Brazil’s Debt Rating to Junk. Brazil lost its coveted investment-grade credit rating in the eyes of one major firm on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the government’s credibility with investors and threatening to aggravate its economic downturn.

CHILE
Chilean Police Arrest 2 in Robbery of Bachelet’s Security Team

COLOMBIA
Bulletproof Vest Saves Colombian Mayoral Candidate

Cloud of Secrecy Obscures Colombia’s Human-Trafficking Blight. Reported Cases the Tip of the Iceberg, Say Anti-Trafficking Specialists

CUBA
Normalization update: Tens of thousands of Cubans streaming into U.S. through southwestern border

Free Education in Cuba? Sort of / Ivan Garcia

Castro’s Empty Barabbas Politics For The Pope

ECUADOR
Ecuador Moves to Shut Down Press Freedom Group

Rafael Correa’s Fairyland of Misinformation. Lies, Distortions Are All Ecuador’s Delusional President Has Left

EL SALVADOR
El Salvador baby-swap couple reunited with child

GUATEMALA
Guatemala Outsources a Corruption Crackdown.A U.N.-sponsored agency has put Guatemala’s president and much of its political elite behind bars, in one of the most sweeping anticorruption campaigns ever

The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or Cicig, has broad powers to launch its own criminal investigations. It then works alongside Guatemala’s own attorney general’s office to prosecute cases in local courts. Its staff hails from 20 countries, from Italians who have tussled with the Mafia to Colombian anti-money-laundering experts.

GUYANA
Guyana to press UN strongly for judicial end to Venezuela controversy – Granger

IMMIGRATION
Two Out of Three Hispanics Oppose Immigration Increase

Only 34 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics, and 33 percent of foreign-born Hispanics, want to increase legal immigration, said the Gallup report.

Sixty-four percent of each group of Hispanics want migration to be reduced or leveled, said Gallup, which released the report under a misleading headline, “U.S. Support for Increased Immigration Up to 25%.”

JAMAICA
Jamaica contributes US$100,000 to flood-hit Dominica

MEXICO
‘El Chapo’ Guzman escape: Mexican prison officials charged. Four Mexican officials have been charged with aiding the escape of the notorious drugs lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman from a maximum security prison.

PANAMA
Uh oh! New Panama Canal lock leaking

PARAGUAY
Paraguay Guerrilla Splinter Group Brought Back Into Fold?

New evidence has emerged suggesting ACA guerrilla rebels in Paraguay have reunited with their cousins in the EPP, likely marking the end of a tiny guerrilla organization that has suffered several casualties and arrests of top leaders since breaking away last year.

PERU
Over 5,000 Chinese citizens applied for Peru visas

PUERTO RICO
S&P Lowers Puerto Rico’s Credit Rating to Its Second-to-Last Rung

Puerto Rico Debt Crisis: A Bond Guide as Potential Defaults Loom, or, a brief guide to Russian roulette, money-wise?

Puerto Rico’s debt. No way out

URUGUAY
Uruguay will help Syrian refugees reach another country

[President Tabare] Vazquez said Uruguay has reached out to Lebanon because that’s where the refugees would like to go. Since Lebanon is not willing to welcome them, his government is asking the five Syrian families to choose another country.

Last February’s report on domestic abuse within one of the families (note that the 5 families are comprised of 80 people):

VENEZUELA
Venezuela Takes Out Full-Page NYT Ad to Defend Violent Deportation Spree

Court Rules TV Network Shut Down by Chávez Must Be Reinstated. RCTV President Celebrates Venezuelans’ “Right to Be Informed”. Good luck with that:

On Monday, September 7, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued a ruling ordering the Venezuela government to restore the network’s broadcasting license and return all seized assets.

Miserable Decision Against Leopoldo Lopez No Surprise

VenEconomy: Justice of Horror Enforced All the Way in Venezuela

The week’s posts and podcast:
9/11/2001: It is altogether fitting and proper

Venezuela: Lopez sentenced to 13+ years UPDATED

September 11: In memory of Joe Angelini, Jr.

Argentina: #Nisman could not have shot himself

Colombia: Is the U.S. pressuring Uribe to accept FARC terms?

Mexico: A fifth bus on the Iguala students case

Panama: New leaks

Authenticity

Guatemala: Comedian wins first round

Uruguay: Syrians don’t like it

Podcasting live now http://t.co/u7OxyOwPu1 on @SCantojr's show

— Fausta (@Fausta) September 10, 2015



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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Catholic Church, Chile, Colombia, corruption, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, immigration, Jamaica, Lula, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Pope Francis I, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Alberto Nisman, Bermuda, Chapo Guzmán, Cicig, Fausta's blog, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, Sandra Bullock

June 16, 2014 By Fausta

The World Cup week Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

LatinAmerYes, the World Cup is front-page news on every newspaper in the hemisphere.

More important news: Santos was re-elected in Colombia.

ARGENTINA
Argentine VP Defends Self Before Judge in Corruption Case

BERMUDA
Guantanamo Uighurs Stranded in Bermuda

BOLIVIA
Don’t tell Maureen Dowd, ‘Coca’ cake for UN chief: Bolivia gives Ban a birthday treat

BRAZIL
How Brazil’s Hubris Jeopardized Its World Cup

5 pieces of World Cup hosting advice for Brazil

Comparing Brazilian states with countries
Brazil’s closest matches

CHILE
Bachelet’s Education Reforms Fall Short, Chilean Students Say

Chile: Patagonia Dams Rejected

COLOMBIA
For war-weary rebels, Colombia invites defections with comforts and kindness

Colombia poised for knife-edge presidential election

COSTA RICA
Costa Rica seizes 4 tons of cocaine at sea

CUBA
Cy Tokmakjian Canadian fears foregone verdict in Cuban court

Four people found murdered in Cuba

Note From the Pro-Cuba, Anti-Castro Lobby

ALICIA ALONSO IS SHOCKED!

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Stateless people in Dominican Republic hope to regain citizenship

ECUADOR
Ecuador Breaks Its Amazon Deal

EL SALVADOR
Central America Newspapers Tout Open US Door for Illegal Minors

IMMIGRATION
JAN BREWER: MS-13 GANG MEMBERS COULD BE CROSSING BORDER WITH CHILDREN; I’d actually be surprised if they weren’t.

FOREIGN POLICY
Fundamentally changing America by emboldening dictators: Obama’s Budget Fails Democracy Promotion Abroad
The administration is proposing to remove language from next year’s budget that would safeguard American foreign aid from repressive foreign leaders.

The proposed removal from the administration’s budget and appropriations request for next fiscal year of a provision instructing the Secretary of State not to seek the prior approval of host governments when funding nonprofits and civil society groups overseas is infuriating American democracy-promotion and human-rights activists, who argue the omission marks a retreat in U.S. leadership.

They warn the Obama administration is in effect signaling to repressive regimes that they can dictate where U.S. democracy-promotion and human rights money goes in their countries—a problem the provision introduced a decade ago was meant to combat.

MEXICO
BIKERS RIDE TO MEXICO TO FREE JAILED MARINE

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua shakedown like highway robbery

PANAMA
Panama Canal chief says new locks operational by January, 2016

PERU
After Eight Decades, Sweden Returns Textile Artifacts to Peru

PUERTO RICO
The results of the welfare state: Some 68% of Babies in Puerto Rico Born to One-Parent Households

VENEZUELA
What leaving Venezuela means to Jews

Venezuelan Government Tightens Noose Around Its Citizens

Can we get a grand unified theory of political physics for Venezuela?

Venezuela: The Protesters’ Power Is Rising

TalCual: Repression vs. Inflation
On Tuesday, a group comprised by 9 human rights NGOs released their own figures. These showed that Nicolás Maduro has repressed 485% more than his predecessor, while inflation may exceed 70% by the end of this yea
r

The week’s posts and podcast:
Immigration: And I still ask, who’s organizing this?

En español: El Foro de Sao Paulo, creación de Castro y da Silva

Mexico: Drug gangs with tanks attack shale wells

Brazil: #WorldCup inaugural today

Venezuela: Tricks for bucks, Trix from Doral

Brazil: Who made out from the #WorldCup money?

Ecuador: The bond and pony show

At Da Tech Guy:
The case for harmless escapism

Immigration and the new vulnerabilities of fundamental transformation

Podcast:
Kids on the US-Mexico border & other US-Latin America stories of the week

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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, illegal immigration, immigration, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Ban Ki-moon, Bermuda, Cy Tokmakjian, Fausta's blog, World Cup

September 20, 2010 By Fausta

This week in Latin America

Since I spent the greater part of last week down with a very heavy cold, I didn’t have much opportunity to do the research for a good Carnival. Instead, today I have a few articles, and a great podcast.

First, the podcast:
At 11AM Eastern, blog reader and commenter Jose Angel will be calling from Mexico, and will talk about what we need to know about Mexico.

A great must-read on Latin American history:
Mary O’Grady writes about Manuel Ayau: Champion of Liberty
He opened Latin America’s eyes to the true source of prosperity.

The article is by subscription only, but Ayau, founder of the prestigious Francisco Marroquín University (UFM), dedicated his life to learning, promoting free thought, “to study and disseminate the ethical, economic and legal principles of a free society.” At the UFM,

“All students regardless of discipline are taught the causes and origins of the wealth of nations.”

We need that in each and every college and university here in the USA.

Don’t miss also John Bolton’s article on The Chavez Threat

On the world stage, Chavez’s behavior is increasingly ominous. As Fidel Castro has aged and Cuba’srelations with Russia have faded, Chavez has stepped forward. He has engaged in extensive military cooperation with Moscow, including major acquisitions of conventional weapons, from infantry rifles to sophisticated, high-end weapons well beyond any conceivably legitimate requirements of Venezuela’s military. Chavez’s purchases of advanced-model Kalashnikov assault rifles, some Venezuelan businessmen and former diplomats suggest, are meant to arm campesino “militias” that will rally to him if Venezuela’s military ever threatens his regime, or the weapons may be destined for revolutionary or terrorist groups. In either case, the consequences would be profoundly negative.

Beyond enhancing his own swaggering reputation, Chavez’s growing closeness with Russia and Iranon nuclear matters should be our greatest concern. For decades, after military governments fell in Brazil and Argentina, Latin America prided itself on avoiding the dangers of nuclear proliferation. The 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco symbolized this perceived immunity, but the region’s nuclear-free status is today gravely threatened.

Now, Venezuela is openly helping Iran evade international sanctions imposed because of Tehran’snuclear weapons program. Along with the refined petroleum products it supplies Tehran, Chavez allows Iranian banks and other sanctioned enterprises to use Caracas as a base for conducting business internationally and, reportedly, to facilitate Hezbollah’s activity in the hemisphere.

Even more alarming, Venezuela claims Iran is helping develop its uranium reserves, reportedly among the largest in the world. Indeed, the formal agreement between them signed two years ago for cooperation in the nuclear field could easily result in a uranium-for-nuclear-knowhow trade. In addition, Chavez has a deal with Russia to build a reactor in Venezuela. All of which may signal a dangerous clandestine nuclear weapons effort, perhaps as a surrogate for Iran, as has been true elsewhere, such as in Syria.

Here are a few articles and posts on our hemisphere:
ARGENTINA & CHILE
Your Argentine Meat Team is in Big Trouble …Beef in Argentina Today


Argentina and Chile have frictions diplomats for an extradition request
and Bilateral meeting scheduled
Piñera to discuss extradition case with CFK

BERMUDA
Igor Passes Near Bermuda as Category 1 Hurricane

BRAZIL
Storm clouds ahead

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Republic or Bust

PARAGUAY
El cáncer de Fernando Lugo agudiza la crisis política en Paraguay

VENEZUELA
Former Los Alamos scientist indicted on nuclear charges

A former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear scientist and his wife were indicted on charges of trying to provide nuclear secrets to Venezuela, but U.S. officials stressed the Venezuelan government knew nothing about the plans.

The officials said they have no information from the undercover operation that Hugo Chavez’s government has any plans to try to build a nuclear weapon.

The Venezuela News and Views final 2010 vote prediction (well, maybe)

At the Chiguirre Bipolar, “Estar Cuar”, la batalla galáctica del 26-S (in Spanish) 26-S refers to the upcoming elections on September 26.
Installment 1:

Venezuela’s economy
Disappearing dollars
An oil producer’s strange foreign-exchange squeeze

23036
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Filed Under: Argentina, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Chile, Dominican Republic, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Latin America, Paraguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog, Fernando Lugo, Manuel "Muso" Ayau

June 22, 2009 By Fausta

The last fourth Monday in June Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

If you can only read one post from all the ones in today’s Carnival, read this one: Taking note.

LATIN AMERICA
Central America’s Failing States

Roundup: In and About the Hemisphere …

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s mid-term election: The glass empties for the Kirchners
Recession and political mistakes by the first couple point to a change in the balance of power. But will Argentina at last acquire a more coherent opposition?

Polémica entre la doctora cubana Hilda Molina y Madres de Plaza de Mayo

BERMUDA
Bermuda Premier Escapes Censure Over Uighurs

BOLIVIA
Peru-Bolivia: Hanging by a Thread

Bolivia Becoming a Hotbed of Islamic Extremism, Report Concludes

BRAZIL
Will Brazil do the right thing?
American boy held there by stepdad after mother dies

Air crash autopsies rule out terrorism

Slideshow: Faces of the favelas

CHILE
Un Nuevo Puerto para Chile, Constitución 2.0

Augusto Pinochet–Some Perspective

CUBA
A fine day in Geneva, with Che’s ghost

Next, they’ll be checking for homing pigeons.

New York Times Editors Find Spying “Romantic” and the Story of Traitors Spying on the United States a “Romance” That Reads “Like a Novel

Un gobierno dedicado al espionaje

Cuba’s meager food rationing gets worse: Cuba reajusta la canasta básica de alimentos por la crisis

Che’s Granddaughter as PETA Model

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
A demand for government to explain Refidomsa sale
The idea is to include the Refinery within a network of plants built by Venezuela

ECUADOR
The FARC’s Ecuadorean Friends
It’s time to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Colombia.

HAITI
South Florida Congressional Delegation Visits HaitiMEXICO
Kidnappers free rancher related to former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney

Mexico’s drug war: All in the family
Suspicion falls on politicians

The Real ‘Casa’ Louis Vuitton Is in Mexicali, Not Paris

PARAGUAY
YO TAMBIÉN SOY HIJO/A DE LUGO

PERU
Peruvian blood

Campesinos del sur de Perú mantienen paro de diez días

UnoAmerica denounces plot to overthrow the Peruvian government

PUERTO RICO
Lone man robs Puerto Rico hotel-casino: Walked out with $340,000.

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy: Socialism on the never-never
Hard times on the streets of Caracas

Chavez backs Ahmadinejad in dispute

Globovision pays its fine? Double it!

The robolution is stealing Venezuela

Special thanks to the Baron, Eneas Irish Spy and Maggie.

This week’s posts and podcasts:
The continuing saga of the traveling Uighurs
Lugo appeals court order for DNA test
José Ignacio García Hamilton
“A fine day in Geneva, with Che’s ghost”
Uighurs in paradise
Tony [hearts] Claudia
At Real Clear World:
Chavez Reaffirms His Support for Ahmadinejad
Chavez “helping out” Ahmadinejad?

UPDATE
Welcome, Dodgeblogium readers. Please visit often.

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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Caribbean, Carnival of Latin America, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog

June 17, 2009 By Fausta

Uighurs in paradise

Train with al-Qaeda, bask in Bermuda:

15uigherxlarge1

Here you have it: four guys enjoying a great day at the beach, on someone else’s dime. New clothes, a new lease on life,

In newly purchased polo shirts and chinos, the four husky men, members of a restive ethnic minority from western China, might blend in except for their scruffy beards. Smelling hibiscus flowers, luxuriating in the freedom to drift through scenic streets and harbors, they expressed wonder at their good fortune in landing here after a captivity that included more than a year in solitary confinement.

Makes you want to join them, doesn’t it?

And they’ll be getting Bermudan citizenship soon enough, too. Hmm….Bermuda has nicer tax laws that we have (even Vladimir Putin realizes that), but I digress.

Couldn’t happen to a bunch of nicer guys, couldn’t it?

I’ll be talking about this in today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern.

UPDATE
it don’t GITMO better than this

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Filed Under: al-Qaeda, Barack Obama, Caribbean, China, terrorism Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog, Gitmo, Uighurs

June 15, 2009 By Fausta

The third Monday in June Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. This week’s big stories: The Uighurs in Bermuda, the State Department spies for Cuba, and the aftermath of the Peruvian protests.

LATIN AMERICA
U.S. drug czar calls for end to “war on drugs”

Socialism wears poncho this time

ARGENTINA
Kirchner vs. The Press
Give government ‘crisis’ power and you won’t get it back.

Argentine glacier advances despite warming
Perito Moreno withstands climate change but scientists aren’t sure why

BERMUDA
Out of Guantánamo, Uighurs Bask in Bermuda

BRAZIL
Terrorist suspects were on doomed Air France plane
Two passengers with names linked to Islamic terrorism were on board the Air France flight which crashed and killed 228, it emerged today.

More on Al Qaeda in Brazil

Pedagogy of the Oppressor
Another reason why U.S. ed schools are so awful: the ongoing influence of Brazilian Marxist Paulo Freire

The Amazon: The future of the forest
Brazil’s government hopes that land reform in the Amazon will slow deforestation. Greens doubt it

Brazil’s recovering economy: Ready to roll again
Among the last to fall into recession, Brazil may be among the first to grow out of it

Brazil stretching clout to Central America

CHILE
Valparaíso reviste sus Fachadas

COLOMBIA
Waste disposal in Colombia: Muck and brass plates
Entrepreneurs, not scavengers

CUBA
Former State Department Official and Wife Arrested for Serving as Illegal Agents of Cuba for Nearly 30 Years

Home, sweet, home

Euphemism of the day, &c.

Hilda Molina: “Castros not bad people”

Groups Say U.N. Panel Shutting Them Out of Cuba Rights Review

Chinese cars are on their way to Cuba

Cubalse and General Motors

Things in common

ECUADOR
Ecuador, A Democracy in Name Only

Region silent amid attacks on the media

Chevron fights Ecuador pollution lawsuit

Correa Says Ecuador to Review Other Debt After Bonds

MEXICO
Mexico Corruption Elicits Drug War Apathy

A Mexican family drug business

A Mexican Cartel’s Swift and Grisly Climb
La Familia Defies Federal Efforts To Eliminate Its Influence

The Drug Lord Who Got Away
Mexican Capo Unleashes Mayhem on U.S. Border; The Making of a Legend

Mexican State Bans Cops From Carrying Cell Phones

PERU
Hugo Chávez contra Alan García

Peruminations

Peru silences radio station La Voz

Simon Romero has an excellent article on the protests: Protesters Gird for Long Fight Over Opening Peru’s Amazon

Oil and land rights in Peru: Blood in the jungle
Alan García’s high-handed government faces a violent protest

Alan Garcia Insinúa que Evo Morales influyó en protestas indígenas con sus “mensajes incandescentes”

‘Many missing’ after Peru riots

Narco-Terrorism in Peru: The Return of Shining Path

Peru: The Anti-Venezuela

UnoAmerica denounces plot to overthrow the Peruvian government

PUERTO RICO
At Parade, Puerto Rico Shares Stage With Politics

VENEZUELA
Media in Venezuela; nobody seems to get the reality

The revolution never ceases to amaze

PDVSA Takes Control of Exterran Offshore Platform

No es Zimbabwe, es Caracas

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

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Filed Under: Argentina, Brazil, Caribbean, Carnival of Latin America, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, Uighurs, Walter Kendall Myers

June 12, 2009 By Fausta

The Uighur wiggle

Via Ed, the Bermuda Parliament is hoppin’ mad over the Gitmo alumni reunion on their island:
Breaking News: UBP proposes motion of no confidence

The United Bermuda Party today moved for a motion of no confidence against the Government led by Premier Ewart Brown.

Opposition leader Kim Swan proposed the motion in the House of Assembly this morning.
…
“This is not just about Uighurs in Bermuda, though that issue typifies a style of leadership that is reckless, autocratic and conducted with no sense of accountability to the people or, indeed, to Bermuda’s Constitution.”

Britain‘s Foreign Office is also telling Ewart Brown that he had no right to agree to take Uighur inmates without consulting London.

The decision to move the Uighurs to Bermuda is the Obama administration’s blunder that appears to have PO’d the most people, at least so far:

  • The Chinese, who want them back
  • The Brits, who were not consulted even when Bermuda’s part of the Commonwealth and Britain is responsible for its security
  • The Governor of Bermuda, who was told on Thursday night – when they were on their way
  • The people of the Bermuda, and now the opposition’s upcoming vote of no confidence

Did I leave anyone out?

Where’s that overload button when you need it?

>overload-button

Pun on the post title? yes. You say Uighur, I say weegur.

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Filed Under: al-Qaeda, Barack Obama, Caribbean, China, terrorism Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog, Gitmo, Uighurs

June 12, 2009 By Fausta

Where will the Uighurs go? Not the USA

Obama Bows on Settling Detainees
Administration Gives Up on Bringing Cleared Inmates to U.S., Officials Say

The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live in the United States, administration officials said yesterday, a decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting such prisoners but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them.

Four Uighur detainees, Chinese Muslims who were incarcerated at the U.S. military prison in Cuba for more than seven years, arrived early yesterday in Bermuda, where they will become foreign guest workers. An administration official said the United States is engaged in negotiations with other countries, including Palau, an island nation in the western Pacific, to find places for the remaining 13 Uighurs held at Guantanamo.

As I posted yesterday, the Brits are going through the roof over the Bermuda relocation since they were not consulted. The people of Palau are angry and fear for their safety, too.

China considers the Uighurs “terrorist suspects” and wants them back, but the administration refuses to return them to China.

The 17 Uighurs, who acuse the US of being twice as bad as the Nazis,

were picked up in the training camps in Afghanistan where they were preparing for Jihad against China. They were cleared for release, in part, because their supporters claim the United States is not their direct enemy.

Thomas Joscelyn has more details on the background of the four Uighurs relocated to Bermuda:

All four of them are members or associates of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (otherwise known as the Turkistan Islamic Party). The ETIM/TIP is a U.S. and UN designated terrorist organization affiliated with al Qaeda and has attacked civilians in China, as well as reportedly plotted against other targets elsewhere, including the U.S. embassy in Kyrgyzstan. According to the State Department, ETIM/TIP members have also fought alongside the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And last year the organization threatened to attack the Olympic Games in China.

The four Uighurs attempted to deny any relationship with the ETIM/TIP, the Taliban, and al Qaeda during their CSRTs. But their denials are not credible. In the context of their denials they made important admissions.

For example, all four of the Uighurs admitted during their combatant status review tribunals (CSRTs) at Gitmo that they received training in the Taliban’s Afghanistan. And all four of them received this training at an ETIM/TIP terrorist training facility in Tora Bora, a key area once controlled by the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Three of the four Uighurs transferred to Bermuda also admitted that they had firsthand ties to senior terrorists such as Hassan Mahsum and Abdul Haq – the leaders of the ETIM/TIP. Haq was recently designated an al Qaeda terrorist by the Obama administration’s Treasury Department, which noted that he is also a member of al Qaeda’s elite Shura council. Mahsum was killed in a Taliban and al Qaeda stronghold in northern Pakistan in 2003.

Joscelyn’s post has a lot more details on their testimony.

One thing is clear, these men who were released admitted ties to senior al Qaeda terrorists.

For their efforts, some of them get to relocate to choice travel spots, at American taxpayers’ expense. In Palau’s case, it comes to $11.7 million per detainee.

ramirez_palau

John Hinderaker comments,

Bermuda may or may not be Heaven on earth, but it’s my nominee. If you haven’t been there, you should go. But, if I’m not mistaken, you can only buy a round-trip ticket. Bermuda doesn’t allow riffraff to hang around. You have to apply to get in if you want to stay for more than a week or two. Except, I guess, if you’re an Islamic terrorist who has become an embarrassment to Barack Obama. It is a very weird world in which we live.

If I believed in alternate universes, I’d say that somewhere in an alternate universe, a huge crowd in a movie theater must be having a big laugh at us.

UPDATE
A friend who lives in a tropical vacation spot reminds me that the Uighurs were these guys:

Not long after being granted access to TV, some of the Uighurs were watching a soccer game. When a woman with bare arms was shown on the screen, one of the group grabbed the television and threw it to the ground, according to the officials.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do when they see women in string bikinis, or going topless.

————————

Please note there will be no podcast this morning since I have laryngitis.

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Filed Under: al-Qaeda, Barack Obama, Caribbean, China, terrorism Tagged With: Bermuda, Fausta's blog, Gitmo, Uighurs

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  • 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?

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