News of the Restless A door at the end of a dead-end street…
Things you have to believe to be a fundie today
March 31, 2009 — Sabina Becker
Dramatic readings based on actual crap gathered from online forums. I especially like the part about the kid who comes home to tell his atheist mom he’s gonna go smoke pot and have sex with a hooker. And his mom’s cool with it, because she’s planning her next abortion and there are two gay guys going at it in the back room (because she just wanted to watch, y’know!) These people would be so bored if they knew what real non-fundies lived like.
Berluscoglioni smokes crack
March 31, 2009 — Sabina Becker
“Ours is a liberal, bourgeois and popular, moderate and inter-class revolution, which fills a vacuum in Italian history. The left has never changed anything; it’s the same communism as always, made up of millions of admirers of Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. All it’s changed is its name, but it hasn’t had the courage to renounce communism and beg pardon of the Italians.”Translation mine.How many contradictions did you pick up in those five opening adjectives alone, gentle reader? And how much crack does one have to smoke to think a popular revolution can be merely liberal, and bourgeois at that? (Never mind that it can’t be inter-class AND bourgeois at the same time, either. The bourgeoisie is only one class, and a rather small one at that.)As for the not-having-changed bit, well…looks like he was full of shit there, too. The Italian left has moved further left, which in simple terms means they kicked Stalin (a right-winger if ever there was one) to the curb. Among other things.Why, oh why do I detect a bleat of panic in this utterance? Hmmmm, I wonder. If the coke bugs are itching Silvio’s Berlus-coglioni, it may be about as much action as those poor wee orbs have seen lately. There’s a reason he drives such a fast and fancy car, and it’s very very sad indeed.
Economics for Dummies: How the “Invisible Hand” REALLY works
March 30, 2009 — Sabina BeckerTom Tomorrow, as usual, spells it out precisely and to the point:
And that’s why we love Rafael Correa…
March 30, 2009 — Sabina Becker
The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, reiterated on Sunday night his position of not re-establishing diplomatic ties to Colombia. The two countries have gone more than a year without them since the government of Colombia staged a military invasion of Ecuador.“We will not re-establish relations, at least as long as I am president”, said Correa, recalling the breakdown that followed the bombardment of a clandestine FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory by Colombian government troops on March 1 of last year. Ecuador, considering its sovereignty to have been violated, has required Colombia to fulfill five minimum requirements before diplomatic relations can be restored.These demands include a greater troop presence on the Colombian side of the border to prevent the FARC from crossing into Ecuador, and that the Colombian authorities hand over information about the bombing to Ecuador, among others.Of these demands, the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, “has not met any”, other than to admit that Colombian troops crossed the border into Ecuador. With this recognition “things have advanced a little, but we asked for five things,” said Correa in a televised interview. He said it was “the first time in the history of Latin America that there has been a bombing of this kind.”“This has not been a squabble among brothers, it has been a very serious attack by one country against another, a friend,” Correa said.Translation mine.After more than a year, he’s still standing up to El Narco and his paraco-administration. That takes some stones, no?So, too, does being the #1 protector of Amazonian rainforest among the nine countries that share this vast tract of jungle (which, also, happens to be where the bombed FARC camp was located. In the Ecuadorian-Amazonian rainforest. Notice who’s second, BTW?)Correa says there won’t be any further diplomatic ties as long as he’s president. Considering that he’s up for re-election this year, and is hugely popular, that could go on for some time. I’m sure this is just one reason among many that his re-election will be a walk-in.
Music for a Sunday: The Ballad of Hugo Chávez
March 29, 2009 — Sabina BeckerHow did this escape my notice so long? There’s this group up here in Canada (hailing from Hamilton, Ontario) called Arkells, and guess who they dedicated a (very cool) song to? Yep, him:
“The Night of the Sun”. Crank your speakers!So, Lula…about that whole “good left” thing…
March 29, 2009 — Sabina Becker
The government of Rio de Janeiro is building concrete walls to prevent sprawling slums from spreading farther into the picturesque hills of this world-famous tourist destination, an official said on Saturday.Construction has begun in two favelas, or shantytowns, in the southern districts of Rio de Janeiro, a government spokeswoman told Reuters. One of the two is Morro Dona Marta, which police occupied in November to control crime and violence caused mostly by rival drug gangs.Item: News pieces always scream about the murder rates of Caracas, and they’re not shy either about claiming it has something to do with Chavistas. If they can’t get away with that, they still blame it on Chavecito, claiming that crime has exploded on his watch–and forgetting entirely that cities have mayors, and that it is the mayors’ duty to provide policing. Not to mention that the problem has been festering a lot longer than Chavecito has been or ever will be in power, and that it was probably worse before him; a culture of abuse and oppression can’t logically be expected to turn out any other way. Five centuries of highway robbery all over Latin America, and they claim it’s the fault of the “wrong” leftist coming to power in Venezuela. Cuckoo! Cuckoo!! Cuckoo!!!But when it comes to Rio, which has it much, much worse than Caracas (onaccounta it has way way WAY more slums), they take a more neutral tone–in fact, it amounts to a “ZZZZzzzzzzzz” and a roll over. As here:
Officials say the wall is to protect the remaining native forest but critics fear the move could be seen as discriminatory and become a blemish symbolizing Brazil’s deep divisions between rich and poor.You mean it’s not? That Brazil really is a racial and economic democracy? And that if the people just wait and trust the benevolent authorities and those handing them bribes, it will all sort itself out, trickle-down style? (Like a heavy rain washing a shantytown down the mountainside, perchance?) Hi, I’m the Queen of Sheba. I really believe in this “good left/bad left” dichotomy they’re pushing. It’s a nice distraction from the real issues, is it not? Sure makes the news lively and entertaining. Also makes it look like something is being done about all that poverty that resulted in all those favelas. (In whom, I might add, not a single resident was interviewed to get their opinion for that piece, and only one “official” is named and on record. Wonder why that is?)Never mind that nothing really is being done where it matters and where it might make a difference. But then, the hallowed halls of the world’s big banking institutions are rather a bland setting. The crime there is all carefully whitewashed and out of the public eye. Worse, it’s not even recognized as a crime–it’s all perfectly legal. So of course no one is building walls around them to keep their tentacles from spreading. No one, that is, except maybe bad old Chavecito, who is also personally to blame for each and every murder in the hillside slums of Caracas. This while Venezuela has done an impressive job of clawing its own way out of poverty.Meanwhile, is anyone planning to rag Lula about how Brazil is still lagging behind? Nahhhh…of course not. He’s the GOOD leftist, don’cha know? Of course he gets a pass. Because damn, it would be a bummer not to go on pushing him as the anti-Chavecito, and neoliberal continuity (with a few mild, superficial reforms) as the “smart alternative” to socialism. Never mind that Lula himself would reject the role the media has foisted on him. He’s actually been urging Barack Obama to rethink Venezuela, the ‘Cito, and all that crap his so-called “advisors” have been feeding him. But do you think that will be interpreted accurately by the media? No, he’s still the anti-Chávez, and don’t you forget it! The media have their storyline already mapped out, and no deviations from it will be allowed. Meaning, that “good left/bad left” thing will go on unabated until further notice. World without end, amen.
Marching against para-politics and violence in Bogotá
March 28, 2009 — Sabina Becker
So…Bolivia “needs” the DEA, eh?
March 28, 2009 — Sabina BeckerAfter discovering a gigantic cocaine-refining laboratory, the Bolivian anti-drug police revealed that they have also broken up a powerful international criminal ring operating in the country.“We are sure that we have disarticulated a truly powerful gang, considering the value of this laboratory. It’s easily worth more than a million dollars, and if we add to this the cost of the confiscated drugs, plus the airplane and various other supplies, it all adds up to two million dollars,” said the director of the Special Force Against Drug Trafficking, Oscar Nina.The police chief stated that this organization was composed of Colombians and Bolivians, who operated the laboratory discovered in the region of Chiquitanía, in the eastern department of Santa Cruz. Colonel Nina indicated that the police officers verified the installations of the factory, catalogued as the largest found in the last ten years, and quantified the qualities of the gigantic cocaine-refinement laboratory.“We have determined that it is a highly sophisticated laboratory where they used state-of-the-art technology, for the fabrication of the drugs and for the recycling of the substances used for the refinement of cocaine paste,” Col. Nina said.Translation mine. How often did this happen when Bolivia “co-operated” with the gringos? All I heard back then was how they had to “intensify” the fight against coca-growing, and how it wasn’t working no matter how many times they ramped things up. Also, when Bolivia turfed the DEA out, there were moans about how it would be a disaster to the fight against drugs. Not to mention that that damn Injun, Evo, used to be a coca grower before he became president–and thus, Washington’s worst nightmare. Oh noes! Now it turns out that coca growing is not the problem and neither are Teh Injunz, duh…cocaine refinement and smuggling are. And an even bigger duh is how Bolivia is succeeding better in the anti-cocaine fight when it’s no longer being “helped” by the DEA. Gee, why do you suppose that is?Hillary Clinton has also finally admitted what most of us have known for years–that the demand side (you know–crackpipe, injection needle, powdery gringo nostrils?) is also a problem. Therefore, I think an award is due to her:
Wear that hat well, Hill.
Festive Left Friday Blogging: The Language of Flowers, and the Day of the Sea
March 27, 2009 — Sabina BeckerHere’s how to say “Welcome”:
Roses represent love. Quick, somebody, give Evo some:
…because heaven knows he’s lovable. And because he hasn’t got nearly enough flowers around his neck.Speaking of language, I think the president of Peru needs some lessons. He seems to be under the mistaken impression that Bolivia has given up its demand for sea access. Not so; apparently he hasn’t been in on the conversation between Evo and the president of Chile. They agreed that Bolivia will have sea access via the old Bolivian port of Iquique, which is now part of Chile. And some Bolivian sailors are currently putting to sea with the Chilean navy. BoRev thinks Sea Day is the “saddest little holiday ever”, but I wouldn’t say so to look at Evo here: 
He seems cheerful enough to me. He’s also made it clear that the fight for sea rights is by no means over. And here’s how he said it.
How to tell you’re not welcome somewhere
March 26, 2009 — Sabina BeckerThis one’s just for all you shopping-mall developer types reading this…consider it fair warning of things to come:
Behold, the façade of the Sambil mall being built in La Candelaria, a heavily populated but none-too-affluent part of downtown Caracas, Venezuela. I’ve written about this before. Seems it’s still under construction, but the residents are still protesting; seems they still don’t want a castle of capitalist consumerism in their socialist neighborhood. Imagine, a whole heap of people who don’t want to buy piles of overpriced, overrated crap! Underclass people rejecting the vision of the “good” life that their upscale neighbors “enjoy”! They’re actually turning out to protest a building that’s been put there without public consent or legal permission! And they don’t want snarled traffic or destruction of old trees in their neighborhood, either! Instead, they want this windowless monstrosity expropriated and turned into a public facility, perhaps as a university or a space for the arts. Crazy commies, where do they think they are–in Venezuela?
