News of the Restless

So, the Lipstick Pig Woman got out her presidential kneepads for a certain Paraguayan ex-bishop. Only, sadly (or rather, happily--for him!), Fernando Lugo told her to keep 'em and her lipstick to herself:

Paraguay President Fernando Lugo, while attending both the United Nations General Assembly meetings and the Clinton Global Initiative, shared with friends over dinner some of the other meetings he had been having in New York.

He met this head of state. . .and that head of state. . .and so on. . .

. . .but then the room went silent and then broke into subdued laughter when he confided that he was approached about meeting with GOP Vice Presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

President Lugo turned the meeting down.

Ha, ha...suck on THAT, Paliness. You may be able to suck up to Dubya's coke dealer Numero Uno for some ersatz foreign policy experience, but that's about it. The rest of Latin America has no desire to be trotted out to showcase your nonexistent talent and experience.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gotta love that Andres Oppenheimer (she said, dripping heavy sarcasm). The Miami Herald's resident narcissist-wankerist was down in Paraguay this week to ask stupid questions of the new president, Fernando Lugo, and to get some sensible, if frustratingly (for the Schloppenheimer, anyway) nuanced answers:

Continue reading "Schloppenheimer: pigeonholing Lugo, or trying to (and failing)" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Barely in office for two weeks, and already the new "moderate leftist" president of Paraguay is smelling something rotten in his country. You know you're a real leftist when...

President Fernando Lugo denounced a meeting which he characterized as "conspiratorial", which he blamed on retired general Lino Cesar Oviedo, and asked the citizenry to be alert "towards coupmongering intentions in the antidemocratic sectors".

[...]

"My government will not permit mockery of the people's sovereignty. And those who plan on implementing conspiracies will face all the measures the Constitution puts in my hands," the ex-bishop added.

Lugo revealed that Gen. Maximo Diaz, liaison between the Armed Forces and the Congress, was driven by the chauffeur of Enrique Gonzalez, the president of the senate, to Oviedo's house, where he met with the Electoral Justice minister, Juan Manuel Morales, the Inspector General, Ruben Candia Amarilla, and Lelis Olmedo, a lawyer and friend of Oviedo.

"General Diaz was consulted by General Oviedo to find out what is the opinion of the armed forces regarding the Senate crisis. Diaz answered that the military is institutionalized and may not have an opinion about political issues, and left immediately," Lugo said. "As president of the republic, I will not allow the armed forces to be used for sectarian interests."

Wooooo, them's fightin' words. From a man of peace (and until not so long ago, the cloth), such tough talk means he knows there will be no grace period for him, as there was for Chavecito in Venezuela, back in the early days of his presidency. Back then, the opposition thought they could ingratiate themselves and buy Chavez, but when the big guy proved incorruptible, they went for his jugulars.

With Lugo, they already know the gig is up, because this guy dedicated his entire career as a bishop to helping the poor. Now that he's in a position of real political power, he'll be pulling out the stops to do what he was more limited in doing as a churchman. And this speech is more evidence of just that.

What it also shows, rather interestingly, is that at least one top-ranking general in the Paraguayan military takes his job and his charges seriously, and, unlike his Venezuelan counterparts of 2002, refuses to be sucked into the plot. If they were sending out feelers to see if they could corrupt him, they got their answer right there. As with President Lugo himself, it is a firm NO SALE!

For Paraguay, this bodes very well. For BushCo, the Moonies and the toy ranch that Jenna was there to buy, well...not so much.

The leftists that pray together, stay together. Lugo (in white) and Chavecito attend Mass together in San Pedro, Paraguay, on August 16.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Aporrea, another example of Evo's cojones in action.

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, ratified on Saturday that he would not permit the opposition prefects and "civic organizers" to close gas valves for any reason. For this reason, he instructed the Armed Forces to guarantee security to all natural-gas installations and prevent any assaults on the economy of the Bolivian state.

The far right, according to President Morales, "are already meeting now in the Bolivian Chaco to try to take over the valves. That's an assault on the Bolivian people." He informed the hundreds of delegates meeting for the second consecutive day in the national assembly of the National Coordinator for Change (Conalcam) that he had spoken with various ministers and vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera, with whom he resolved to guarantee security for gas ducts and valves.

"This intended takeover of the valves is not an action against Evo Morales, nor the government, but against the Bolivain people," he added. He was referring to the decision of the "civil society" directors of the Media Luna region, who had threatened to take over all oil and gas wells and initiate an indefinite blockade of the roads, starting on Monday, August 25.

The gas-producing provinces of Cordillera, Luis Calvo and Gran Chaco, in the departments of Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca and Tarija respectively, announced a blockade of all roads in the Bolivian Chaco region, which borders on Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. The three regions contain the largest natural gas reserves in Bolivia, estimated at 1.36 trillion cubic metres.

Translation mine.

As you can see, these fascists are not only keen on cutting Evo's throat (and that of every other indigenous person in Bolivia), they also have no problem shooting themselves in the foot. Because of course, the gas-producing provinces all border on the three countries most likely to be purchasing gas from them. So who's this blockade going to hurt? You guessed it--the very people who are hoping to ultimately cash in on it. (Remember, Brazil and Argentina will not do business with anyone but the federal government of Bolivia when it comes to gas, and neither, I suspect, will the newly leftist, pro-poor government of Paraguay, whose stated mission is to lift its own indigenous out of the same poverty the Bolivian neighbors are now fighting.)

I guess I could further translate Evo's remarks as a "suck this, bitches!" to the opposition.

Of course, what you get when you suck a gas valve is suicide a la Sylvia Plath. Maybe that's what Evo was alluding to when he said the fascists are "agonizing". Hey, if they're in a world of hurt, I say put 'em out of their misery. Bolivia can surely get along without them!

Posted by Sabina Becker at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How else to explain these Peruvian poll numbers?

Or the success of Evo in Bolivia, which just seems to keep on growin'?

Or the fact that El Ecuadorable has now come out as a socialist?

Or the big celebration as Fernando Lugo of Paraguay becomes the latest leftist teddybear to join the South American picnic?

Yep, it can only be the doing of the usual big red-shirted suspect. After all, Hurricane Hugo has sucked in pretty much any part of Latin America that isn't nailed down by Washington. Or at least, so you'd think to read what all the crapaganda whores are saying. They seem to be having tremendous difficulties with the concept of popular will, no?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As if it weren't enough that popular opinion is going to broom these "autonomist" butts out of office (and a landslide is going to confirm Evo), there's this little bombshell from off the coast of, of all places, Uruguay:

Uruguay says it may have found a large natural gas field that would change it from an importer to an exporter of gas.

The announcement of the possible find, which could also contain oil, was made by President Tabare Vazquez in a note on his official website.

Local reports say that the field could contain as much as three trillion cubic feet (85bn cubic metres) of gas but there has not yet been any drilling.

Link added.

The Beeb goes on to note that the gas field could provide for as much as 827 years' worth of domestic needs, based on the amount of gas Uruguay used last year. This means Uruguay will not only become a net exporter; it could become to natural gas what Venezuela is to petroleum. If Tabare Vazquez is as smart as I think and hope he is, he'll copy Chavecito and put the proceeds from that gas to use serving the Uruguayan people, who have been hit hard by the vagaries of the markets over the last 40 years. All in all, it looks very good for Uruguay.

But what, you ask, does this have to do with the Media Luna in Bolivia?

Continue reading "Memo to the Media Luna prefects: You're toast!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This one just speaks for itself:

U.S. Ambassador James Cason's singing isn't music to the ears of one Paraguayan senator.

Cason released a CD two weeks ago of himself singing Paraguayan folk songs in the local Guarani indigenous language.

Cason tells the newspaper ABC Color he recorded the CD titled "The Field of Promises" because his wife says he has a beautiful voice.

But opposition Sen. Domingo Laino begs to differ and has asked Paraguay's Congress to denounce the diplomat.

Laino told Uno Radio on Thursday that the ambassador "sings horribly and his pronunciation of Guarani words is stammering. It is an offense to the Paraguayan people."

Cason's term as ambassador ends in August.

Which will undoubtedly be a great relief to Guarani ears. Just as no longer having to listen to John Ashcroft's croonings was a great relief to my US friends.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember how I said the newly elected leftist president of Paraguay was by no stretch of the imagination a moderate, and even posted proof?

Well, guess what the Dissociated Press's own hilariously named Christopher Toothaker wrote. And if you guessed "complete bullshit", pat yourself on the back--you are absolutely correct!

Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo was all smiles as he and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez embraced, talked of a revolution for the poor and pledged to build a united Latin America.

But as the former Roman Catholic priest ended a three-nation tour Thursday that also included visits to Venezuela's leftist allies in Bolivia and Ecuador, political analysts predicted he will take a less radical approach to governing.

Continue reading "My head just exploded." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And gets a hug-ito from Chavecito at a religious ceremony at Caricuao in his honor:

And if the speech he gave in Ecuador here is any indication, he will work well with the rest for integration:

BTW, El Ecuadorable and Evo are in there too. Watch for them.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This has all the makings of a farce.

A couple jailed on suspicion of having a same-sex wedding was freed Monday after a doctor determined that the groom is a hermaphrodite. Prosecutor Jose Planas ordered the couple jailed after their civil wedding Friday, when the priest scheduled to perform the religious ceremony the following day said he received a call saying the groom, Jesus Alejandro Martinez, was actually a woman.

Same-sex marriages are illegal in Paraguay, and news of the arrest became the talk of the nation.

Continue reading "Pre-wedding pants checks in Paraguay?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Meanwhile, I'll just smile over how wrong the press initially got him...while savoring this:

President-elect Fernando Lugo, whose historic election ended six decades of one-party rule in Paraguay, on Friday named a former leftist militant to head his Cabinet when he takes office on Aug. 15.

Miguel Lopez Perito, 57, was one of the leaders of Paraguay's leftist Military Political Organization, which plotted to violently overthrow dictator Gen. Alfredo Stroessner in the mid-1970s.

Many of the militants were captured by Stroessner's secret police before their plan bore fruit, however, and disappeared during a region-wide clampdown on leftist militants during the 1970s.

Lopez Perito, who is a sociologist, said his militancy during that time was "part of the fight for democracy, social justice and to bring an end to the repression of the peasants, students, workers and the opposition."

Continue reading "Lugo a "moderate"? Keep dreamin'!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...because look who's the new president of Paraguay!

A leftist ex-bishop Monday celebrated his historic electoral triumph in Paraguay's presidential election after defeating the ruling party candidate and ending 61 years of conservative rule.

Fernando Lugo was declared the winner by the Electoral Tribunal with nearly 41 percent of the vote compared to almost 31 percent for Blanca Ovelar of the ruling Colorado Party, crushing her dream of becoming the South American country's first woman president.

"Today we can dream of a different country," Lugo, 56, told reporters late Sunday. "Paraguay will simply not be remembered for its corruption and poverty, but for its honesty."

Continue reading "BushCo might want to rethink that toy ranch they bought..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Courtesy of Aporrea, another skeevy spy story comes to light:

The Uruguayan ex-spy, Mario Neira Barreiro, asserted that the former Brazilian president, Joao Goulart, was assassinated in 1976 at the request of then-dictator Ernesto Geisel, who ordered "Operation Scorpion".

In an interview with the daily Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, Neira Barreiro said that the Brazilian political police ordered the assassination of Goulart by the Uruguayan Antisubversive Military Action Group (GAMMA), on the orders of dictator Geisel, who was in power from 1974 to 1979.

The ex-president, Goulart, died in Argentina in 1976, where he had been living since his ouster in 1964 by a military coup. The coup led to a dictatorship that lasted until 1985.

The ex-spy said that the so-called "Operation Scorpion" followed operations "Jakarta" and "Bandeirantes", which persecuted Brazilian opponents of the dictatorships in the region before 1975.

Goulart headed a group of Brazilian politicians in favor of a negotiated exit of the military dictatorship.

The declarations of Neira Barreiro confirmed the existence of a repressive international network prior to Plan Condor.

Continue reading "Joao Goulart, murder victim" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Viva Uruguay! First, on the trade front, the Uruguayan congress punched a fat hole through BushCo's plans for the Southern Cone:

The Uruguayan ruling leftist coalition Frente Amplio (FA) reiterated on Sunday its rejection of a free trade agreement with the United States.

[...]

Montevideo explored the possibility of a free trade agreement with Washington, but the idea sank amid reluctance on the part of sectors of the governing coalition and the members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, while Venezuela is on the verge of full membership), which does not permit bilateral negotiations with third countries.

Translation mine.

Continue reading "Uruguay scores a double" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everybody sing! "Brazilian submarine, Brazilian submarine..."

And our friends are all on board; many more of them live next door. And the band begins to play...

This month's discovery of a monster offshore oil reserve justifies Brazil's plan to build a nuclear submarine because it would be used to protect the find, the defense minister said.

"When you have a large natural source of wealth discovered in the Atlantic, it's obvious you need the means to protect it," Nelson Jobim said Thursday at a defense conference in Rio de Janeiro.

Jobim said Brazil must safeguard the Tupi field and its 5 billion to 8 billion barrels of oil reserves from other nations and from "actions that could come from the area of terror," the government's Agencia Brasil news service reported.

Continue reading "We all live in a Brazilian submarine" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some people can't handle the truth. And it would figure that those people are royal-we fossils.

Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to "shut up" as the Ibero-American summit drew to a close in Santiago, Chile.

The outburst came after Mr Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist".

Mr Chavez then interrupted Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's calls for him to be more diplomatic, prompting the king's outburst.

Continue reading "The King has lost his crown" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was a working visit, but all the same, he took the time to chat with all the ordinary folks in Montevideo who just showed up to let him know how much they admire him and love what he's doing. In fact, he put them ahead of the journalists and the people with whom the meeting he attended here was scheduled! How's that for class?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 2:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You better kiss my boots for this, people, I had to go all the way to Cuba to get it.

(Well, all right--to Granma.)

Throughout the world, many countries have adopted sovereign decision to not renew [broadcast] concessions or to allow them to expire. For example:

Peru, in April 2007, decided to shut down two television channels and three radio stations for incompliance with its Radio and Television Law, expired licenses and utilization of non-homologous equipment.

Say, who is the president of Peru? A communist? Nope...Alan Garcia. The "neo-liberal" darling of the newspaper neo-cons.

Continue reading "More untold news about TV licence revocations" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looks like something very interesting is happening on the frontier between Brazil and Argentina...something which could prove ominous for the Bush Crime Family and its planned ranch in Paraguay.

The convention of the Colorado Party, which has governed Paraguay for 60 years, yesterday approved a new political orientation defended by president Nicanor Duarte, in tune with other nations in Latin America.

In his more than two-hour-long speech, Duarte called neoliberal doctrine "idiotic", rejected protectionism and declared himself in favor of "humanist socialism", which he defined as "connected to ideas and actions in favor of those who have the least."

[...]

Indicating that "ideologies are changing in the world", Duarte rejected "all forms of totalitarianism and imperialism, no matter their origin or their geographical location", and exhorted his audience to be inspired "in the struggle which is developing the concept of autonomy."

Continue reading "Hell freezes over in Paraguay!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Big, bad, brave Dubya--whatta man. He's so not afraid of Chavecito that when asked about him by a reporter, he does what any red-blooded gringo cowboy would do...

...he dodges the question in the hope that no one will notice how he's quaking in his too-big boots.

"Hugo Chavez suggested that you are afraid to mention his name," asked a U.S. journalist yesterday, "so are you? and how much of a threat is he to United States interests in the hemisphere?"

Rather than respond or decline to answer, Bush changed the subject.

"To South America and Central America to advance a positive constructive diplomacy that's being conducted by my government on behalf of the American people," Bush began, "My message to the people in our neighborhood is that we care about the human condition and that we believe the human condition can be improved in a variety of ways. One, investment and so the question is how can we have constructive dialogue with our neighbors as to how to spread the benefits of investment."

Continue reading "Scared shitless of success" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Teeheehee.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This one's in honor of Venezuela's independence day, July 5.

Chavecito's a smash in his new sash. (Note the horse on the coat of arms; it's now racing to the left. Story here.)

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Another salute!" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don't you hate it when things like this happen?

Uruguay's Emergency Plan (PANES) Coordinator, Bertha Sanseverino, announced that the country will introduce Cuba's Literacy Plan, currently applied in many parts of the world.

"Just as Venezuela is supporting us in the productive field, Cuba is giving us assistance in the fields of health and education," Sanseverino commented, as quoted by El Observador daily.

Continue reading "Evil wicked Cuba sets example again (twice!)" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)