Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood shooters, menacing Gulf hurricanes, over-bonused bankers) this little gem caught my eye.
From the AP: Chavez to troops: Prepare for war with Colombia
"President Hugo Chavez ordered Venezuela's military on Sunday to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia, saying the country's soldiers should be ready if the United States attempts to provoke a war between the South American neighbors. "The best way to avoid war is preparing for it," Chavez told military officers standing at attention during his weekly television and radio program."
Chavez is worried about the influence the US exerts over Colombia, their military cooperation, and argues that the Obama Administration could try to stir up a conflict between the two South American nations (because they're not busy enough?). From the Venezuelan perspective a new military pact between the US and Colombia threatens the region's stability.
"According to Francisco Javier Arias, deputy Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Colombia signed a pact with the U.S. allowing the Americans to freely use Colombian military bases and airports to secure the "continuity of the empire." "President Uribe is putting the region at risk to secure his re-election, dragging an elephant like the United States into a china shop, with the idea of solve problems that this northern country is not interested in," the official told Colombian Caracol Radio.
Chavez ordered 15,000 additional Venezuelan troops to the border. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe plans to appeal to the UN Security Council.
By ESTEBAN FELIX (AP)
All night long, floodlights shine on the Brazilian Embassy where I have been holed up with ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya since he slipped back into the country.
When I do manage to sleep, I'm awakened by high-pitched cat calls from the soldiers ringing the compound, and music so loud the windows vibrate.
Day or night, through every window, police officers and soldiers stare in at me and the other journalists through binoculars.
When I'm not trying to do my job taking pictures of Zelaya and his entourage, I pass the time reading; I now know more about Brazil than I ever hoped to - the embassy has an impressive collection of books about the South American country.
Honduras' coup-installed government says soldiers will arrest Zelaya if he leaves the diplomatic mission. Zelaya says he is not going anywhere until he is reinstated as president, and the Brazilian government, which also wants him returned to power, has not pressured him or his supporters to leave.
So we in the media who pushed our way in when Zelaya took up residence here on Sept. 21 are stuck. Once we leave, we can't get back in.
Still, time has taken its toll as the crisis drags on, and Zelaya's group of fist-waving supporters dwindles with each passing week. Even Zelaya's son went home recently, hugging his mother, who stayed behind.
Talks stalled again after interim President Roberto Micheletti refused to budge on allowing Zelaya to be reinstated - the central point of a power-sharing agreement the two sides are negotiating.
A delegation headed by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon is headed to Honduras this week to urge the two sides to find a solution, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Tuesday.
Zelaya says if there is no breakthrough this week it will never happen, but he has not said what he would do then. In the meantime, Micheletti's government is banking on the Nov. 29 elections to end the crisis: Zelaya is not eligible to run since the Honduran constitution allows presidents to serve only one four-year term.
Meanwhile, those of us inside try to make the best of the situation; the other journalists and I wile away the hours playing endless games of Monopoly and cards.
Sleep is the biggest challenge.
The Zelaya supporters have put up a curtain to block the floodlights and covered windows with newspapers, but that has made little difference.
Soldiers bark like dogs, meow like cats and crow like roosters just as my REM cycle gets going and I'm jolted awake almost nightly.
Troops last week blasted us with music from 1:30 a.m. until 7 a.m. The playlist included the grating Spanish ballad "Two-legged Rat," an accordian-laced tirade against an ex-boyfriend made famous by Mexican singer Paquita La del Barrio. Its lyrics begin, "Filthy rat, crawling animal, scum of all life ..." and it got worse from there.
That was a rough night.
The lack of sleep no doubt fogs your mind. So do the idle hours.
Zelaya's supporters take turns standing watch in three-hour shifts so they can sound the alarm if troops make any sudden movements indicating they have decided to storm the embassy - despite the interim government's promises not to do so.
Troops and police have erected platforms so they are at eye-level with the windows. The other journalists and I stare at them. They stare at us. Right now a police officer is staring at me through his binoculars. "Hi," I think.
The interim government also recently put a large apparatus covered in plastic at the compound's back wall. No one knows what it is, but people's sleep-deprived minds spin with the possibilities.
As for myself and the other journalists: We shoot photos and wait to see how history plays out.
Clink the link above for the whole articleBy ESTEBAN FELIX (AP)
All night long, floodlights shine on the Brazilian Embassy... more
Hugo Chavez, stirred up things more by calling the Colombian defense minister a "mental retard."
Colombian soccer players found dead in Venezuela
25 Oct 2009 20:24:43 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Grisly end to kidnapping saga on border
* Chavez insults Colombian minister in drugs spat (Adds Colombia offering to help solve crime)
By Enrique Andres Pretel
CARACAS, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Venezuela said on Sunday at least 10 members of an amateur Colombian soccer team had been found dead after being kidnapped on its side of the border.
The murders added another complication to fractious ties between the two South American neighbors. Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo Chavez, stirred up things more by calling the Colombian defense minister a "mental retard."
Caracas broke off relations and minimized trade earlier this year due to Colombia's acceptance of U.S. military bases on its soil. Bogota is one of the main U.S. allies in the region, whereas Chavez is a highly vocal critic of Washington.
The Colombian soccer players, seized on Oct. 11, were found with bullet wounds in various parts of western Tachira state, Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez told reporters.
One of the 12 men survived the ordeal, while another was still missing, Venezuelan authorities said.
Kidnappings and armed disputes are rife on both sides of the frontier, where Colombian guerrilla groups, paramilitary militia and criminal gangs all operate.
Carrizalez said the deaths of the football players, whom local media have said were local tradesmen in Venezuela for a match, were related to Colombia's internal conflict. He gave no further details.
Colombia offered to cooperate with Venezuelan authorities in bringing those responsible for the deaths to justice.
"This deplorable act shows that terrorism is international, that it does not respect frontiers," Colombian President Alvaro Uribe told reporters.Hugo Chavez, stirred up things more by calling the Colombian defense minister a... more
Uruguayans may have the most interesting presidential race in years with the far left ex-rebel Jose Musical 74, running against former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, 69, the National Party candidate who was president in 1990-95. Lacalle who privatized government services while he was president is currently behind in polls.
Uruguayans also were voting for two other important issues. One would remove amnesty for human rights violations during Uruguay's 1973-85 dictatorship, opening up dozens of former military officials to prosecution. Another would allow Uruguayan citizens living overseas to vote by mail. Mujica favored both measures; Lacalle opposed them.
In many ways they are voting for the future and the past, of Uruguay.Uruguayans may have the most interesting presidential race in years with the far left... more
Just over two weeks ago, this striking city landed the 2016 Olympic Games, the first ever in South America, setting off a sweaty, impromptu beach party that lasted most of the weekend. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil sobbed with happiness. Rio’s residents glowed with pride.
Residents of a Rio neighborhood found the body of a man in a cart on Tuesday. They said the man was killed by a rival gang.
Then over the weekend, in a chilling outburst of violence, drug traffickers wielding what the police say they believe was a large-caliber weapon shot down a police helicopter just one mile from Maracana stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics will be held and the World Cup final will be played two years before the Olympics.
Suddenly, the celebration has been overwhelmed by hand-wringing that Rio’s chronic drug violence, its Achilles’ heel, is being laid bare before the world, and at a particularly inopportune time. Brazilian leaders are touring the world, searching for the investors needed to pay for the billions of dollars in infrastructure required for the events.
The images of the downed police helicopter “really shocked Brazilians, and now everyone is worried about what will happen with the Games,” said Nadine Matos, 21, who works at a hair salon a block from Copacabana Beach. “We need to tell the world where we stand so that people outside Brazil understand what measures we are taking and are not so worried when planning to come down here.”
More @ linkJust over two weeks ago, this striking city landed the 2016 Olympic Games, the first... more
From BBC: They look like huge abandoned volleyball nets facing west towards the Pacific Ocean on one of the many hillsides in the Peruvian capital, Lima. They started as an experiment two years ago and now they are giving a lifeline to some of Lima's poorest residents. The Peruvian capital gets an average of just over 40mm (1.5 inches) of rainfall a year but what it does not get in showers, it makes up for in fog.
For nine months of the year, much of the coastal city is shrouded in sea mist and these nets are being used to trap it. The nets capture the fog in their thick plastic mesh and the drops fall into makeshift gutters that run along the bottom and drain into swimming pool-sized collection tanks further down the hillside. Using four of these simple 8m x 4m structures, this community, perched on the foothills of the Andes in Lima's Villa Maria del Triunfo district, can harvest around 240 litres of water every night and the similar amount during the course of the day.From BBC: They look like huge abandoned volleyball nets facing west towards the... more
This short film explores the powerful healing aspects of Ayahuasca - the sacred spirit medicine found throughout the Amazonian basin of South America. Ayahuasca has been used by indigenous shamans for thousands of years to heal everything from depression to cancer to chemical addictions. After premiering at the Elevate Film Festival in LA, De Vine makes its television debut on Current TV. Directed by Ciela Wynter and Chris Brickler.This short film explores the powerful healing aspects of Ayahuasca - the sacred spirit... more
An intense fire broke out Sunday in a slum in South America's largest city, sending residents running across rooftops to escape the flames.An intense fire broke out Sunday in a slum in South America's largest city, sending... more
From BBC: A senior commander of Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the ELN, has broken out of prison after an armed raid by fellow rebels, officials say. Gustavo Anibal Giraldo was being transferred to a court hearing when three gunmen on motorbikes attacked his eight-man escort. One guard was killed and another hurt as the rebels overwhelmed the convoy in the north-eastern city of Arauca. The ELN commander then fled on the back of a waiting motorcycle. Police found a van and two motorcycles abandoned near the Venezuelan border shortly after Wednesday's attack.
Gustavo Anibal Giraldo Quinchia, better known by his alias Pablito, is believed to have fled to Venezuela. Colombia's police chief announced a $830,000 (£518,000) reward for any information leading to his capture and asked Venezuela to co-operate in the manhunt. Pablito is charged with kidnapping two US reporters and an American helicopter mechanic several years ago in Colombia. All three US nationals were later released unharmed.
The rebel leader was captured in January 2008, in what was seen as a heavy blow to the ELN (the National Liberation Army), the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia reports.From BBC: A senior commander of Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the ELN, has... more
Looking at pictures of the Andean ridges, running like exposed spinal columns down the Western flank of Latin America, one is struck immediately by their white tips.
Soon, pictures are going to be the only way to see that whiteness.
Peruvian glaciers have long been known to be melting; Bolivia’s Chacaltaya glacier is fast disappearing; and now experts say Colombia is on pace to lose all of its Andean glaciers in the next 25 years if current trends continue. ...Looking at pictures of the Andean ridges, running like exposed spinal columns down the... more
About 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast sits the volcanic archipelago, which hosts a number of endemic species that largely depend on each other to survive, reported Reuters.
According to scientists, sudden and frequently changing sea temperatures and the death of coral reefs near the islands reveal the impact global warming is having on local sea life.
"The coral reefs create a habitat; they are like a forest, like the Amazon. They are home to scores of species. ... If the corals die we lose thousands of species that are associated to the coral," said German marine biologist Judith Denkinger.
"Everything is intertwined. You can't say this is land, this is sea, they are both one," Denkinger said.About 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast sits the volcanic archipelago, which... more
Fascinating footage of mountaineering penguins in the Andes trying to search for a safe mountain nesting ground. Also featuring weird and wonderful animals such as the Andes possum, the littlest deer in the world known as the pudu, and the tiniest wild cat in existence - the cod cod. Brilliant nature video from BBC animal wildlife show Andes - The Dragons Back.Fascinating footage of mountaineering penguins in the Andes trying to search for a... more
At least 22 people died and another 31 were injured in eastern Peru when a bus plunged off a mountain road, news reports said Monday.
The state-run Andina news agency had reported 19 dead Sunday, just hours after the early morning accident in the Andes Mountains.
The bus, which carried foreign tourists, was only eight minutes away from arriving at the town of Quichuas on Sunday morning, Andina news said. It was traveling from the town of Ayacucho to Peru's capital, Lima, news reports said.
Most of the passengers were students and staff from the University of Huamanga, said Radio Programas del Peru, known as RPP. Three students and a professor were among those killed, RPP said.
Two of the dead were Colombians, RPP said.
The vehicle came to rest more than 100 meters (328 feet) below the road, in the rocky Mantaro River, Andina said.
Officials were still investigating the cause of the accident Monday. The bus was operated by the Molina Union transportation company, Andina said.
At least two stolen dogs were found in an operating room used for dissections at the medical school of South America's oldest university, but its dean denied relying on dognappers to collect specimens for classes.
The University of San Marcos does not have access to enough human cadavers for its students, so they sometimes cut open dogs instead.
Carmen Valverde's dog Tomas was stolen by two men while she was walking in the working-class Brena district of Lima, and a friend who works at the school's teaching hospital spotted him by chance in a surgery room where dogs are dissected.
Valverde donned a lab coat and snuck into the hospital to rescue Tomas. Video her friend shot a week ago, aired on local television, shows him sedated, splayed, and strapped to a stainless steel table -— just moments away from the knife.
After local newspapers published the story, other people missing dogs rushed to the hospital's door and one owner found her dog Chico.
"The University of San Marcos still hasn't apologized for what it has done," Valverde told Reuters Thursday.
Ricardo Rubios, dean of the medical school, acknowledged that stolen dogs had wound up in the surgery room, but said the school only uses strays for classes.
"I assure you we would have returned the dog. All our experimental surgeries are done to dogs that don't have owners," Rubios told Reuters.
Romila Briones, a member of ASPPA, a Peruvian animal rights group, said the law does not protect strays.
"In Europe, they don't kill animals for education, they use dummies. Unfortunately, animals are just property in the eyes of the law here, like furniture," Briones said.At least two stolen dogs were found in an operating room used for dissections at the... more
By Christopher Toothaker - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Aug 10, 2009 7:39:49 EDT
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez told his military to be prepared for a possible confrontation with Colombia, warning that Bogota’s plans to increase the U.S. military presence at its bases poses a threat to Venezuela.
Chavez has issued near daily warnings that Washington could use bases in Colombia to destabilize the region since learning of negotiations to lease seven Colombian military bases to the United States.
“The threat against us is growing,” Chavez said Sunday. “I call on the people and the armed forces, let’s go, ready for combat!”
The former paratroop commander said Colombian soldiers were recently spotted crossing the porous 1,400-mile border that separates the two countries and suggested that Colombia may have been trying to provoke Venezuela’s military.
“They crossed the Orinoco River in a boat and entered Venezuelan territory,” Chavez said. “When our troops arrived, they’d already left.”
In Bogota, Colombia’s foreign ministry issued a news release denying reports that soldiers crossed into Venezuela, after a revision of troop movements by the Colombian military.
Chavez said Venezuela’s foreign ministry would file a formal complaint and warned Colombia that “Venezuela’s military will respond if there’s an attack against Venezuela.”
Chavez said he would attend this week’s summit of the Union of South American Nations in Quito, Ecuador, to urge his Latin American allies to pressure Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to reconsider plans to increase the U.S. military presence.
“We cannot ignore this threat,” Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, “Hello President.”
Chavez also halted shipments of subsidized fuel to Colombia, saying Venezuela should not be sending cheap gasoline to an antagonistic neighbor.
“Let them buy it at the real price. How are we going to favor Uribe’s government in this manner?” he asked.
Colombian officials say Venezuela has no reason to be concerned, and that the U.S. forces would help fight drug trafficking. The proposed 10-year agreement, they claim, would not push the number of American troops and civilian military contractors beyond 1,400 — the maximum currently permitted by U.S. law.
Tensions between the neighboring South American nations also have been heightened over Colombia’s disclosure that three Swedish-made anti-tank weapons found at a rebel camp last year had been purchased by Venezuela’s military.
Chavez has accused Colombia of acting irresponsibly in its accusation that the anti-tank rocket launchers sold to Venezuela in 1988 were obtained by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Sweden confirmed the weapons were originally sold to Venezuela’s military.
Chavez denies aiding the FARC. He claims the United States is using Colombia as part of a broader plan to portray him as a supporter of terrorist groups to provide justification for U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
Chavez said Sunday that diplomatic relations with Uribe’s government “remain frozen” even though he ordered Venezuela’s ambassador to return to Colombia more than a week after he was recalled.By Christopher Toothaker - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Aug 10, 2009 7:39:49... more
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was sworn in for a second term on Monday, reaffirming in a speech his dedication to the country's poor and accusing the media of aiding his critics.Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was sworn in for a second term on Monday,... more
Honduras reversed course Monday, saying it will allow a delegation from the Organization of American States to visit the country -- on the condition that the organization's head attends only as an observer.Honduras reversed course Monday, saying it will allow a delegation from the... more
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his ambassador Saturday to go back to Colombia amid tense diplomatic relations between the two countries.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his ambassador Saturday to go back to... more
Illegal logging is a threat to the rainforests of Peru. But the indigenous communities are using both ancient knowledge and modern technology to protect biodiversity and stop further destruction.
The lush green of the rain forest offers rich natural resources which the Ashaninka Indians have lived on for centuries. At the Yoreka Atame school of primeval forestry in Brazil, young indigenous and non-indigenous people have been learning how to make use of them in a sustainable way.
Since 2007, the school has taught more than 2,000 participants skills like the cultivating fruit trees, keeping bees, and erecting dams in creeks and lakes to enhance spawning grounds for fish.
"That's how we Ashaninka Indians here in the border region between Brazil and Peru want to pass on our traditional knowledge," said Moises Piyako. He cofounded the Yoreka Atame school together with his brother Benki in 2007.
Political problems between Brazil and its neighbor Peru make life complicated for the indigenous people in the border region.
"We are suffering from Peruvian logging companies, and now the Peruvian government also wants to dig for oil along the border," said Moises Piyako.
Illegal timber-fellers from Peru are increasingly encroaching on the rainforest on both sides of the border.
The land and its resources belong to the Ashaninka, according to the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 169 adopted by the International Labour Organisation, ILO. It recognizes the rights of ownership of the peoples over the lands which they traditionally occupy. But Peru has been trying to circumnavigate international law by granting mining concessions for areas that are owned by indigenous peoples.
"In the process, Peruvian timber companies even illegally enter Brazilian territory," said Ashaninka spokesman Benki Piyako. "Illegal logging is putting our whole region and its biodiversity at risk." (more at link)
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So, to protect their land, they use GPS technology, vlogging, monitoring, satellite photos to show the deforestation, etc. They even sell CO2 certificates.Illegal logging is a threat to the rainforests of Peru. But the indigenous communities... more
A premature baby that was pronounced dead on Thursday was found to be actually alive hours later at its funeral wake!
The infant, weighing 500 grams (17.6 ounces), had been placed in a box by hospital officials in Asuncion, Paraguay, then taken to the parents home.
The hospital have said that this was "a very unusual case". One would hope!A premature baby that was pronounced dead on Thursday was found to be actually alive... more
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