News from Bolivia, and elsewhere.
Posted in washington on Feb 27th, 2009
They might get on Washington’s good side–like a couple of other good South American allies.
(Yes, I know that it’s the “Obama era” now and everything is completely different.)
First up, the stupid: From Bellum, an unknown author takes aim at Ecuador’s and Bolivia’s decisions to expel certain U.S. officers accused of being in cahoots with the C.I.A. While El Gaviero knows that it is very rare for the C.I.A. to involve itself in left-leaning countries with the intent of bring the ruling party [...]
Posted in war on drugs on Feb 24th, 2009
California assemblyman Tom Ammiano is slated to bring legislation to the floor today to decriminalize and tax marijuana–a great first (or, for California, second) step to wind down the insanity that is the U.S. war on drugs.
On a related front, ex-LatAm presidents Cardoso, Gaviria, and Zedillo (Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, respectively) have a WaPo editorial [...]
Posted in new constitution, queers! on Feb 23rd, 2009
Mormon leader Elder D. Todd Christofferson just concluded a visit to Bolivia, saying that “I am certain that Bolivia will move forward. God bless Bolivia and its citizens.”
Well, he obviously didn’t read Article 14, Section II of Bolivia’s new constitution:
El Estado prohíbe y sanciona toda forma de discriminación fundada en razón de sexo, color, edad, [...]
Posted in war on drugs on Feb 19th, 2009
Inca Kola News somehow got its hands on the 2008 International Narcotics Control Board’s world report a whole day before it was supposed to be published–and he’s made some pretty charts. What do we learn? Well, even though Bolivia has far less coca-cultivated land than Bush buds Peru and Colombia, Bolivia’s the one to get [...]
Posted in medialuna, opposition on Feb 19th, 2009
Prensa Latina, I know….
But La Razón’s also got something (in Spanish; translation pending).
Official sources said that the Mayor of the town of Porvenir, Edwin Ventura, civic leaders and two journalists, are arrested.
Journalists? From where…. El Deber?
Posted in garcía linera, revolution on Feb 19th, 2009
One of the most interesting sights in El Alto (or “The Heights” in English)—the fast –and-loose city perched on La Ceja (“The Eyebrow”), a ridge 500 meters above the massive canyon in which lies the metropolis of La Paz—is a seven-meter-tall junk-metal sculpture of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. It’s a testament to how [...]
Actually he’s not. But he’s informed on Mr. Hugo “Dictator for Life” Stalin Chavez. He’s also my mentor, having raised me in the NYC weekly world (so I think thanks are out of order):
From today’s Counterpunch (slightly copy-edited):
In February of this year, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) released a study of the [...]
Posted in opposition, racism on Feb 12th, 2009
Coincidentally, I was lying in bed last night wondering what’s the latest with U.S. citizen Ronald Larsen and his vast landholdings in Bolivia, where he’s accused of enslaving indigenous workers. Waking up this morning, I’ve found the BoRev’s got an update, in which the latest salvo from the medialuna contra Evo could be launched. Seems [...]
Posted in war on drugs on Feb 12th, 2009
Former presidents of Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil are calling on Barack Obama to decriminalize marijuana, according to Bloomberg. Zedillo, Gaviria, and Cardoso rightfully point out that no gains have been made in the War on Drugs. “It makes no sense to continue a policy on moral grounds without getting the desired results,” said Gaviria.
True enough, [...]
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