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| Arizona Senator and Republican presidential frontrunner John McCain mentions the Bolivarian Revolution, in public, even adding that 'everyone should understand the connections' between Latin America's lefty leadership. But does he? Bonus: An Ecuador update, with even more yummy photos of President Correa as he fires Congressional leadership, threatens to sue ChevronTexaco for US$6 billion, quit the IMF, join OPEC and even take Canada to the cleaners. It's on. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| This extensive slog is an introduction to Bolivarian revolutionary and new Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, plus a few of the issues he faces. The US-trained economist rose to national prominence in 2006 as the rebel Finance Minister who, with the help of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, valiantly challenged the IMF and international oil industry. Sure, he got canned for his antics, but that just gave him time to run his own unorthodox presidential campaign. Correa's promises to rewrite the 1998 Constitution, shut down the US air base at Manta, and renegotiate Ecuador's debt and oil contracts helped him become elected Ecuador's eighth president this decade. And, if he doesn't follow through, he'll be the fourth kicked out of office by mass demonstrations. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| One of my favorite places on Earth, Isla Ometepe in Nicaragua, just added an explosive new tourist attraction. Berman Gomez, an expedition leader for the highly recommended tour outfit Exploring Ometepe (telephone 00505-647-5179; located one block uphill from the Moyogalpa dock), just sent these awesome photos of Volcán Concepción erupting on February 9, 2007. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| The Knack's "My Sharona" was burning up the pop charts in July 1979, when Marxist guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega rolled victorious into Managua with the Junta of Five, the brand new revolutionary government of wartorn-but-finally-dictatorship-free Nicaragua. But where could these fledgling socialists turn for economic and military support, when it seemed the whole world was against them? Where could they find other politically isolated, anti-American revolutionaries with experience overthrowing US-backed dictators, but who had, say, vast petroleum reserves and perhaps a kick-ass airforce? Where, indeed. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| I recently learned that my clever "slog" monicker had been co-opted by a group of journalists, travel writers, soldiers, private contractors and even tourists who have been on the ground in Iraq, and now publish the excellent IraqSlogger.com. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| El Rey Vikingo's "Hasta Cuando" (Until When) has a great beat interwoven with old news footage in this artist's take on the left-wing revolutions of Latin America's last half century. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| The School of the Americas (SOA) was closed in 2001, after it was discovered that "U.S. Army intelligence manuals used to train Latin American military officers at an Army school from 1982 to 1991 advocated executions, torture, blackmail and other forms of coercion against insurgents," which may sound familiar. The SOA was replaced several months later by the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), a "Spanish-language training facility for Latin American military and law-enforcement personnel," offering similar courses in the same buildings. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| Nicaragua's center-right newspaper of record, La Prensa, has basically declared Daniel Ortega the winner with more than 40% of votes counted. If she drinks, you know that the newspaper's owner, former President Violeta Chamorro (who had to clean up Danny's mess after taking office in 1990), is already puking drunk. Doña Violeta, we miss you. Come back. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| So in 2000, Sandinista strongman Daniel Ortega and the corrupt and corpulent Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Alemán made a deal, "The Pact." Among other sleazy provisions, this new rule made it possible for a presidential candidate to win an election with only 35% of the vote, provided he or she had a clear 5% lead over the second most popular candidate - effectively limiting Nicaragua to a US-style, two-party system. And right now the USA's favorite candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, is clocking in with 33.29%, compared to Danny's 40.04%. |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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| While I just can't even begin guess whether Saddam will be found guilty or not, given the fair and impartial trial by a jury of his peers, I will go out on a limb and predict that George Clooney will play the dapper dictator in the movie, tentatively entitled "He's A Bad Man and Tried to Kill My Daddy." Although at our house we'll all be rooting for Sacha Baron Cohen to get the part. What do you think? |
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| Posted by Paige R Penland at | | | |
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