News capsules for the morning crowd

[rabs]

From a glance tonight at Latam news:



Pinera and his education minister Joaquín Lavín

In Santiago, Pinera went on national TV tonight to announce a 4 bbbillon dollar plan for education. This came after last week's massive demonstrations by students, teachers, parents, academics, labor unions and other against the privatization of public schools and universities.

The result after his speech was --- student demonstrations in Santiago and Valdivia in the south. Carbineros dispersed the students with water and tear gas.

There is talk of a general strike against Pinera on Thursday. A poll released Wedneday showed only 35 percent of Chileans approve of his government, 53 percent disapprove.

Things are getting bleaker for Pinera.

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In Buenos Aires, Cristina signed a decree that prohibits sex-trade advertising in newspapers, magazines etc. She said how was it possible that opposition newspapers criticize her government on the front page for not doing something about the sex trade while in the inside pages those same publications carry paid advertising for the same thing. Cristina said it was a victory for Argentine women. A government commission will oversee the prohibition.

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From Lima the news is that Humala is in Washington and will meet with hillary Thursday morning. That should be interesting.

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In Caracas, Evo, Lugo and Pepe Mujica paid a visit to Chavez and attended the Bicentennial ceremonies. There were about 20 prime ministers and foreign ministers from the Caribbean and South/Central American nations present also.

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In Uruguay, interim President Lucia Topolansky (Mujica's wife) will sign a law Thursday that calls for the mandatory sheltering of homeless people in Montevideo. Five people have died from a polar cold wave sweeping the Southern Cone. There are only an estimated 600 homeless in Montevideo, a city of about 1.8 million people -- half of Uruguay's population.

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Not everything is political in LatAm.

There is a huge match tonight in Santa Fe, Argentina in the Copa America football tournament.

Argentina vs. Colombia. Argentina is under great pressure to win, after Bolivia held it to a 1-1 draw last Friday. Most of Argentina and Colombia will come to a halt during the match. Colombia defeated Costa Rica 1-0 over the weekend.

Argentina has Leo Messi, the best footballer in the world, and Tevez, who played for Man City, so the che should win.

Turning in now, hasta mañana ...

[Judi Lynn]

1. So much great news in one place at one time!

I guess Pinera is still marching straight ahead with the privatization of schools, anyway? I hope they won't give up their protests. Hideous. He SHOULD be protested. It seems he's following the U.S. Republican agenda, or it's simply international at this point.

Thanks for the alert on Humala's visit with the State Department. Wow. Hope he comes out intact!

It's great learning Lucia Topolansky has taken this step. If only it would be seen as the humanitarian breakthrough it is.

Amazing to see how much progress Uruguay has made during Mujica's and her lifetimes, isn't it?

Thank you for posting that great new photo of events in Caracas. It's great. They are his friends.

[Peace Patriot]

2. Thanks for all the news! It is much appreciated.

Pinera and his education minister look like slimy, Bible-thumping preacher men in the Cathedral of Money!

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Lovely photo of Chavez and his friends!

Glad to see Fernando Lugo on his feet looking quite well. (He also was reported to have cancer.)

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Could you clarify for me who what has occurred in Uruguay as to the presidency. I guess I missed something. You describe Lucia Topolansky (Mujica's wife) as "interim president." Is his wife his VP (and thus acting prez while he's out of the country)? Or was there an election? Is Uruguay's president limited to one term?

Wiki's description of Jose Mujica's lifestyle is charming...

In 2005, Mujica married Lucía Topolansky, a fellow Tupamaro member and current senator, after many years of co-habitation. They have no children and live on an austere farm in the outskirts of Montevideo, the country's capital. His humble lifestyle is reflected by his choice of an aging Volkswagen Beetle<20> as transport, his only asset.<21> His wife owns the farm they live on. The Economist describes him as "a roly-poly former guerrilla who grows flowers on a small farm and swears by vegetarianism"<22> He also donates 87% of his state salary to charitable causes.<23>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Mujica

....but not informative as to Lucia Topolansky being "interim president."

Ah! Here's the answer in Lucía Topolansky's wiki entry...

On November 26, 2010, due to the absence of both President Mujica and Vice-President Danilo Astori, she became Acting President for 48 hours, making her the first female president of Uruguay, despite it being temporary.

Nice pix of Lucia. She and "El Pepe" remind me of leprechauns. I have two charming, jolly little ceramic leprechauns, a tiny man and his wife, in peasant dress, he with his pipe, she with her knitting, that I put on my Christmas tree every year, that are spitting images of Lucia and Pepe! Really! I looked at her photo and laughed. I had already pegged Pepe as a pixie in my own inner hagiography. Didn't know he had a pixie wife and that they grow flowers and that their only asset is a VW! Wiki notes that she got the highest number of votes for a senator in 2009.

That would be my definition of the best democratic leaders in the world--live on an austere farm, have a VW Beetle as their only asset, grow flowers, carry genes from the Faerie race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc%C3%ADa_Topolansky

[rabs]

3. Senator Lucia Topolansky

She is third in line for the presidency because in the Oct. 2009 elections, she received the most votes for the Senate.

Mujica's vice president, Danilo Astori, happened to be on a trip to somewhere this week.

Lucia told the Republica newspaper of Montevideo that she got home about 8 p.m. Tuesday night to find Pepe lying down watching the Uruguay-Peru Gold Cup match. He mentioned to her during the game that he was leaving at around 3:45 in the morning for Venezuela and that she would be president for the third time.

She said "I became petrified" but then she got busy packing his luggage. The oath was administered right there on their little farm.

Pepe should be back today and he will go back to being president and she to being senator.

She has joked that being president "for a little while" shows that Uruguay can have a woman president.



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An anecdote about Lucia: She was trotted out, with her twin sister, by Montevideo police before TV cameras and photographers after being captured as a Tupamara about 40 years ago. During the photo session, the national police chief, (believe his name was Otero) was questioned whether Lucia had been given truth serum to make her confess.

He replied no, and to prove it asked Lucia to roll up her sleeves to show she had no puncture marks. She flatly refused.

She was a tough young lady then, and just as tough today at age 66. Btw, she was a very attractive young lady as a Tupamara.

[Judi Lynn]

4. .Peru president-elect in Washington to meet Clinton

Peru president-elect in Washington to meet Clinton
– 17 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Peru's leftist president-elect Ollanta Humala was in the US capital Wednesday to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top White House officials ahead of his inauguration later this month.

The meetings, including talks with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, are the first face-to-face contacts between the 48-year-old controversial ex-military officer and senior members of US President Barack Obama's administration.

Once seen as close to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Humala distanced himself from the fierce US critic on the campaign trail, claiming instead to be an admirer of leftist former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Prior to the scheduled Clinton and Donilon talks, Humala met Wednesday with Organization of the American States chief Jose Miguel Insulza, whom he urged to help forge a stronger OAS for a "very different and diverse region" tackling issues including drug trafficking and regional security.

More:
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110706/pl_afp/usperudiplomacy

[rabs]

7. Update on Humala/hil

By Diego Urdaneta (AFP) – 6 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Peru's leftist president-elect Ollanta Humala on Wednesday met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ahead of his inauguration later this month.

Humala earlier aligned himself with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the United States, but the Peruvian on the campaign trail and at least for now has tempered his rhetoric, amid fears in Peru he could undo the country's solid economic growth.

"My intention here is to come to strengthen our ties, which are good, but we need to improve them further during my term in office," Humala said at the State Department just before meeting with Clinton.

Clinton said Humala "has a very big agenda in front of him, and the United States stands ready to be his partner."

The two countries already have a free trade agreement, and did not announce any new program or initiative. The half-hour meeting was to be followed by talks scheduled with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.

---- sounds like a pro-forma meeting, lots of diplomatic bla bla bla. Humala in his trips to South American nations strongly has stressed regional integration. Doubt hil will change his mind on that.

The meeting with Donlison sounds more interesting.

---------------- edit to update the update -------------

During Humala's meeting with Donilon, Obama popped in to greet Humala. They chatted for a few minutes.

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El presidente de Estados Unidos Barack Obama saludó este miércoles al presidente electo de Perú Ollanta Humala, de manera sorpresiva durante una visita de este último a la Casa Blanca para reunirse con funcionarios del gobierno estadounidense.

Según informó el embajador peruano Luis Chuquihuara, Humala se encontraba reunido con el encargado de seguridad nacional de la Casa Blanca, Tom Donilon, cuando "en el curso de ese entrevista el presidente de los Estados Unidos tuvo un encuentro también" con el mandatario electo, relató el Chuquihuara.

Ese encuentro, "de largos minutos", fue "altamente apreciado por el presidente electo", dijo el embajador peruano en Washington, donde se encuentra de visita Humala, cuya toma de posesión es el 28 de julio. Fue "un gesto de alta deferencia política", agregó Chuquihuara.

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[EFerrari]

5. Thank you, rabs. n/t

[rabs]

6. You're welcome EF.

Before going to bed, I normally glance at what's happening and last night was newsy. Oh, I got the day wrong, I thought today was Thursday. The long holiday messed up my mental calendar !!!

----- Here's a little more on Cristina (from MercoPress). ----------

“Newspapers can’t print headlines demanding that we fight human trafficking, while their back pages present ads that humiliate women” said President Cristina Fernandez during the ceremony at the “Women’s Hall” in Casa Rosada. “This is a giant step forward in the fight against double morals and hypocrisy”, she added.

Decree 936 orders for the creation of a control agency that will survey all classified ads to make sure that the law is followed.

“This is just one of the many acts of discrimination against women, maybe even the most humiliating one. We will never condemn a woman, because in most cases, no one has the chance to choose the life they lead” Cristina Fernández assured.

She added that the Ministry of Justice would join efforts with the Women’s National Council in order to fight human trafficking in Argentina.

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I heard Hugo Chavez was on the Casey Anthony jury :rofl:

[EFerrari]

8. LOL

This Christina story reminds me of something I heard over the weekend. There was a tribute to Manning Marable, the historian who passed away just before his huge biography of Malcolm X came out. In the book, Marable talks about Malcolm and gay sex and everyone is shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you. Well, Michael Eric Dyson was on the panel and he said, what does it say about US that the stories of Malcolm pimping out women don't bother us but these new stories of gay sex do?

He was great. :)