Category: South America
Uruguay Tackles Women's Rights vs. Abortion
El Pais, Uruguay
09 Nov 2007 @ 23:01 GMT | Permalink
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The Uruguayan Bishops Conference is gearing up for a fight against legalized abortion amid fears that this secular Catholic country might expand women's rights. The Senate this week passed a bill decriminalizing abortion with a narrow margin of 18-to-13. President Tabaré Vázquez, a physician by trade, has vowed to veto the legislation if the Chamber of Deputies approve it.
The bill allows "conscientious objection" by doctors and healthcare workers, but it considers a time limit on such objections to prevent them from simply refusing everybody. The country of 3.5 million people is predominantly Catholic (66 percent), but far fewer (perhaps less than half) attend mass regularly.
Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 23:01 | Permalink
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TAGGED: Abortion | Catholic Church | Uruguay
Call for Information: Llullaillaco Maiden
30 Oct 2007 @ 18:51 GMT | Permalink
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The study of hair samples of the ice maiden (Llullaillaco Maiden, La Doncella) was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month. Along with two others, she was fattened up for the sacrifice and given chicha (maize beer), coca leaves and achiote before the sacrifice. However, two curious aspects of the news received little attention. And we are looking for more details.
- The Wellcome Trust, which funded the study, mentions how horribly the boy died. He was covered in vomit and feces. The Telegraph added some information about it but not much more than the Trust did in the press release. What else did they find out about the boy and how?
- Hundreds of blood samples were taken from Peruvians who live at the foot of Mount Ampato to trace a bloodline to the ice maiden, according to the Daily Mail. And a match was found. The unidentified man, the paper reports, is a "living Inca" with direct bloodline to the ice maiden who died 500 years ago. How many samples were taken and where? How did they determine 'direct bloodline?' Why did they decide to take hundreds of blood samples from Peruvians?
The maiden herself is preserved in a chamber at the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña in Salta province, Argentina. (The New York Times also reported on this.)
Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 18:51 | Permalink
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TAGGED: Archeology | Argentina | Ice Maiden
Argentina: Political Apathy & Corruption
24 Oct 2007 @ 20:22 GMT | Permalink
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With just days to go until Argentina votes for a new president, Clarín, a national daily, is asking why political debate has been absent from the campaign and whether anyone really cares.
Few things in Argentina are what they seem. The government is back playing corrupt money games, pushing propaganda, harassing detractors, manipulating economic figures and threatening journalists. Sound familiar?
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the glamorous First Lady of Argentina, is on her way to become president barring a major scandal or perhaps a televised debate. She is expected to get at least 40 percent of the votes this Sunday and avoid a runoff.
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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 20:22 | Permalink
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TAGGED: Argentina | Corruption | Economy | Election | Shortage
Chile: How to Bury a Dictator
13 Dec 2006 @ 09:43 GMT | Permalink
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Victims of his junta did not get the satisfaction of justice and revenge they sought from an ailing dictator. General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte's body was burned at an undisclosed location after full military honors in an all-day ceremony and his ashes transferred by Super Puma helicopters in secret.
Among the first to issue an honest statement was Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre who put it bluntly: "It's too bad Pinochet was never held responsible for what he stood for."
But the general helped us make the world less safe for despots.
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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 09:43 | Permalink
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TAGGED: Chile | Dictator | Human Rights
Hugo Chávez Helps Needy Americans
19 Jun 2006 @ 09:26 GMT | Permalink
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| Hugo Chávez offers poor Americans free eye care, bus passes and discounted heating oil. (Photo: UNDPI) |
Hugo Chávez, the irascible president of Venezuela, is sticking it to the Bush administration in a big way by offering free eye surgery, bus passes and heating oil discounts to needy Americans.
Mr. Chávez is exporting his "Bolivarian revolution" to Chicago and Milwaukee, as the White House grapples with how to tackle his increasing appetite for military hardware and his love for Fidel Castro.
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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 09:26 | Permalink
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For Bolivia, Socialism Is a Coca-Leaf Cake
16 Jun 2006 @ 14:41 GMT | Permalink
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| Evo Morales wants to give Fidel Castro a coca cake for his 80th birthday. What a friend! |
What would you give Fidel Castro for his 80th birthday? "A cake made from coca leaves," said Bolivian President Evo Morales who wants to be just like "Che" Guevara.
Mr. Castro, who used to speak at Wagnerian length with a stogie in hand, is an aging man with signs of a degenerative neurological disease. And he won't make it to 140.
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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 14:41 | Permalink
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Gasoline: 12 Cents a Gallon in Venezuela
25 May 2006 @ 12:25 GMT | Permalink
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The Europeans are used to it. The Germans are paying US$6.37 a gallon (€1.31/L), and the Belgians $6.76 a gallon (€1.39/L). The Norwegians shell out $7.45 a gallon (€1.53/L), an incredibly high price considering their country produces and exports petroleum. But Venezuelans pay only US$0.12 per gallon thanks to a huge government subsidy.
In Caracas, filling up the 19-gallon tank of a 1976 Chevy Nova will set you back $2.30. Yet a litre of milk costs 1,500 Bolivars, or US$2.65 per gallon. Bottled water is just as expensive, at 1,200 Bolivars, or $2.12 per gallon.
Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 12:25 | Permalink
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How Fujimori Eluded Interpol and Surprised Others
13 Nov 2005 @ 08:53 GMT | Permalink
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| In this photo released by Alberto Fujimori's press service, the former Pervuian president reviews a map of Peru before landing in Santiago, Chile. He flew as a stowaway from Tokyo. |
He escaped Peru in 2000 under the guise of a state visit to Japan and sought refuge in his ancestral homeland. The stealthy return last week of the fugitive authoritarian to South America has roiled the region and jolted officials from bureaucratic slumber. The austere man of 67 traveled incognito, eluding the Interpol and thumbing his nose at Mexico and Chile.
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Posted by Dayhawk Kim at 08:53 | Permalink
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