Judi Lynn
Judi Lynn's JournalColombia's plans to restrict right to hold political rallies: report
Opposition politician Gustavo Petro addresses supporters in Bogota (Image: Gustavo Petro / Twitter)
by Adriaan Alsema July 15, 2019
Colombia’s government is preparing a decree that would restrict the right to hold political rallies or protests, according to newspaper El Tiempo.
The newspaper received a draft decree from the Ministry of the Interior that would allow the government of President Ivan Duque to decide when political rallies and protests are allowed and when not.
The right to assemble in public is a constitutional right that currently can only be restricted by local governments in cases of an emergency or on election days.
The Duque administration wants to restrict this right further and be able to ban political manifestations whenever it pleases, according to El Tiempo.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-plans-to-restrict-right-to-hold-political-manifestations-report/
WHY PERU WANTS YOU TO AVOID MACHU PICCHU
THE DAILY DOSE
JUL 14 2019
Amid growing concerns about overcrowding, the Peruvian tourism industry is now luring visitors to other stunning trails and historic venues.
In May 2019, Albert Ciardi, an attorney from Philadelphia, traveled to Peru and, like millions of other visitors, trekked the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which he describes as “a sanctuary of unparalleled beauty.” But Ciardi also trekked the Inca Trail’s lesser-known cousin, the Great Inca Trail, which traverses another section of the 25,000-mile Inca road network that is the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site. This second trek allowed him “to get lost in the size of the empire,” and took him to the Chavín de Huántar, arguably the country’s most important pre-Incan ruins. But he was one of only 10 non-Peruvians there, which he says was “a shame.”
It’s an experience Peru’s government and private tourism are increasingly trying to change, by offering new trails and sites both to protect their prime attraction and to bring tourist revenue to other parts of the nation. As international tourists increasingly flock to Peru — up by almost 40 percent in the past five years — Machu Picchu has come under increasing pressure. Despite having to take both a two-hour flight and a three-hour train ride to reach the site from Lima, Machu Picchu saw 1.57 million visitors in 2018.
Tourists visit Inca fortress of Machu Picchu in April.
SOURCE PABLO PORCIUNCULA BRUNE/AFP/GETTY
Restrictions on the entrance to the Inca Trail and to Machu Picchu are one part of the strategy to control the tourism there. The daily limits — only 200 tourists and 300 guides or porters can trek on the Inca Trail — are spawning an array of other multiday hikes. Joining the better-known Lares and Salkantay treks in that growing roster is the newer Inca Quarry Trail, started by travel firm Intrepid Travel. Last year, some 2,000 people hiked the Quarry Trail with Intrepid (a threefold increase since 2013), says the firm’s Latin America general manager, Gary Cohen.
Farther afield, Nick Stanziano, co-founder and “chief explorer” of SA Expeditions, another firm, has pioneered the Great Inca Trail after hiking more than 2,000 miles (and counting) of old Inca roads himself. The trail — Ciardi is one of its early patrons — was launched commercially last year. To date, SA Expeditions has invested “well into six figures” in a project that Stanziano believes can ultimately bring in profits while also conserving the road and “promoting dignified development of Andean communities.”
More:
https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-peru-wants-you-to-avoid-machu-picchu/95268
Uribe ready to amend Colombia's constitution to benefit only convicted politicians
by Adriaan Alsema July 14, 2019
Colombia’s former president Alvaro Uribe wants to amend Colombia’s constitution to retroactively allow all convicted politicians to appeal sentences imposed after 1991.
Uribe said his constitutional amendment proposal was ready on Friday, the day that his former protege, Andres Felipe Arias, was extradited from the United States to serve a 17-year sentence he received for embezzling $25 million.
The proposal, which is in line with a recommendation of the Constitutional Court, would allow all former congressmen, ministers and governors who have been convicted by the Supreme Court after 1991 to appeal the verdicts against them.
If Congress agrees, chances are that the Supreme Court’s Appeals Chamber collapses as it could be asked to revise the sentences of the approximately 250 politicians who have been convicted by the high court since the 1991 constitution took force.
. . .
Arias is not a scumbag who embezzled $25 million meant for poor farmers to give those funds to wealthy elites that could sponsor his 2010 presidential campaign, but innocent, according to Uribe.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/uribe-ready-to-amend-colombias-constitution-to-benefit-only-convicted-politicians/
You only thought you had heard everything!
El Salvador: teen rape victim jailed over stillbirth to face retrial for murder
Pro-choice activists say Evelyn Beatríz Hernández’s case will be important in determining the stance of the country’s new leader
Reuters in Bogotá
Wed 10 Jul 2019 14.52 EDT Last modified on Wed 10 Jul 2019 19.56 EDT
A teenage rape victim in El Salvador who was convicted for murdering her child and jailed for nearly three years after a stillbirth will face a retrial next week, her lawyers said on Wednesday.
Evelyn Beatríz Hernández was handed a 30-year prison sentence in 2017 for aggravated murder by a female judge who ruled the teenager had induced an abortion, which is a crime under any circumstance in the Central American nation.
Her sentence was annulled in February in an appeal before El Salvador’s top court, marking a victory for the Citizen Group for the Decriminalisation of Abortion (CDFA), a local rights group pushing to free about 20 jailed women with similar cases.
“We’re convinced that Evelyn is innocent,” Ana Martínez, one of Hernández’s lawyers at the CDFA, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation ahead of Monday’s court date. “We hope that on Monday the rule of law and justice wins in this country.”
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/10/el-salvador-woman-retrial-stillbirth-conviction-evelyn-beatriz-hernandez
New generation of political exiles leave Bolsonaro's Brazil 'to stay alive'
Politicians, academics and writers have fled a climate of death threats and hostility reminiscent of the military dictatorship
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Thu 11 Jul 2019 04.00 EDT
At times, the solitude and separation from family and friends have plunged Jean Wyllys into despair. “I’ve been through moments of deep sadness, I’ve spent the whole night crying,” he said, speaking by phone from his new home in Berlin. “So I avoid thinking about it too much. I’ve kept very busy, I’ve written a lot.”
A writer and university professor, Wyllys won Brazil’s version of Big Brother before becoming one of the country’s best-known leftwing politicians, and the only openly gay lawmaker in congress.
. . .
The military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985 exiled leftist politicians, dissidents, artists and academics. Decades later, prominent Brazilian leftists and activists are again leaving the country, but this time they are fleeing death threats from rightwing extremists and supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.
. . .
The four exiles all describe a cocktail of threats from paramilitary gangs, rightwing extremists and a nihilistic dark-web forum whose users spew hate for leftists, women and black people.
At times those threats coincided with abuse or defamatory lies shared online by high-profile followers of Brazil’s far-right president.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/11/brazil-political-exiles-bolsonaro
'Embarrassing Nepotism': Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Appoints Son as Ambassador to US
Published on
Friday, July 12, 2019
by Common Dreams
One critic said that it's "only a matter of time now before the son of Brazil's wannabe despot has an official meeting with the daughter of America's wannabe despot."
byJessica Corbett, staff writer
Eduardo Bolsonaro (L) joined his father, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, for a March 2019 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. (Photo: Eduardo Bolsonaro/Instagram)
In a move critics condemned as "embarrassing nepotism," right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday appointed his son Eduardo to serve as ambassador to the United States.
Though the appointment still needs approval from Brazil's Federal Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a confirmation vote by all members of the upper house, Eduardo has said he would resign from his current post in the lower house of the country's National Congress to serve as ambassador. As Eduardo put it, according to Reuters, "If it is a mission given by the president, I would accept."
Even before the appointment, Eduardo was "dubbed Brazil's 'shadow foreign minister' at the Brazilian foreign ministry because of the strong influence he has on his father's foreign policy ideas," BBC News reported Friday.
In March, the Brazilian president brought Eduardo along for a trip to D.C. for his first bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Eduardo, Al Jazeera noted in its reporting on his appointment, "sat by his father during an Oval Office chat while Brazil's foreign minister and ambassador in Washington were nowhere to be seen." During the March trip, as Common Dreams reported at the time, the Bolsonaros also made an unannounced visit to CIA headquarters, nearly 55 years after the U.S. spy agency backed a coup d'état that overthrew their country's democratically-elected government.
More:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/12/embarrassing-nepotism-brazilian-president-jair-bolsonaro-appoints-son-ambassador-us
Brazil's nominated US ambassador spends his days with a gun-toting Trump figurine
Source: Quarz
By Olivia GoldhillJuly 13, 2019
Brazil’s far-right leadership is very much a family affair. President Jair Bolsonaro, known as the “Trump of the Tropics,” relies on his sons—Eduardo, Carlos, and Flávio—as his closest advisors. Other politicians despair at the dynastic state of affairs. “I’m despondent that crucial decisions about Brazil are being made between spaghetti and dessert on a Sunday night,” Brazil’s Worker’s Party congressman Orlando Silva told Quartz.
So far, there’s no infiltrating the Bolsonaro ranks. On Friday (July 12), President Bolsonaro announced he’s inviting his son Eduardo to be ambassador to the United States, and Eduardo told reporters he plans to accept the nomination.
Eduardo Bolsonaro has a strong affinity for the US and President Trump in particular. His effusive personal enthusiasm will likely to go down well with Trump, who recently declared he would never work with UK ambassador Sir Kim Darroch after leaked cables showed the UK ambassador said Trump “radiates insecurity” and will never “look competent.” Brazil’s ambassador nomination suggests President Bolsonaro hopes to use his son to get closer to the US.
Eduardo Bolsonaro’s affection was on display when Quartz visited his office in Brasilia’s National Congress in June. The room is decorated with a copy of the US constitution (but no constitution of Brazil); plastic figurines of Donald Trump carrying a gun, George Washington, and Ronald Reagan; a pen topped with an automated plastic Donald Trump that punched the air and said “don’t touch the hair” at the touch of a button; and a plaque of the second amendment, alongside other gun paraphernalia. (The Bolsonaro family advocates widespread gun use.) Other international influences include an Israeli flag (Bolsonaro is a strong Israel supporter) and a mug decorated with Margaret Thatcher’s face.
Read more: https://qz.com/1665165/eduardo-bolsonaros-vision-for-brazil-and-the-us/
Trump May Name Son Eric as Ambassador to Brazil, in Exchange for Eduardo Bolsonaro
https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/trump-to-name-his-son-eric-as-ambassador-to-brazil-in-exchange-for-eduardo-bolsonaro/
~ ~ ~
Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro to appoint son as ambassador to US
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a congressman, has strong links to the Trump administration and American far right
Reuters
Thu 11 Jul 2019 21.15 EDT Last modified on Fri 12 Jul 2019 13.00 EDT
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has invited his son Eduardo to become ambassador to the United States, underscoring his family’s influential role in the country’s diplomacy and domestic politics.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, currently a federal congressman, told reporters he would accept the role if nominated. His father said earlier that the appointment would hinge on his son’s acceptance.
“If it is a mission given by the president, I would accept,” Eduardo told reporters, adding he was prepared to resign from Congress if the president appointed him.
He added that the ultimate nomination still depended on conversations with his father and the foreign minister Ernesto Araujo.
The appointment would need to be approved by the Senate foreign relations committee before passing to the full upper house for confirmation.
Brazil’s previous ambassador to Washington retired in April.
The far-right Brazilian president, who said his campaign of 2018 was inspired by Donald Trump, has made friendly overtures to the American leader and made similar use of family members as official advisers.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/12/brazil-president-jair-bolsonaro-to-appoint-son-as-ambassador-to-us
Giant manta ray 'asks snorkeller for help to save her life'
Jen Mills
Friday 12 Jul 2019 11:01 am
The diver helped out the manta ray (Picture: 4Media Group/ Tourism Western Australia Moment)
A wild manta ray has been filmed letting a snorkeller remove three hooks from her eye.
Touching footage appears to show the manta asking for help, and remaining totally still while as if she knows what is going on.
The three-metre wide ray, nicknamed Freckles locally, was filmed on Ningaloo Reef in western Australia.
When Jack Wilton saw the hooks under her right eye, he decided he had to try and help.
The underwater photographer took a dozen dives down to five metres to remove them with a pair of pliers, which could prevent her developing an infection and potentially going blind.
Mr Wilton, 28, said he thinks the ray recognised him because he regularly guides snorkellers in the area.
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/12/giant-manta-ray-asks-snorkeller-help-save-life-10211995/?ico=pushly-notifcation-small&utm_source=pushly?ito=cbshare
Chilean naval ship used as torture centre docks in Wellington
Chilean naval ship used as torture centre docks in Wellington
The Esmeralda is on a six month training exercise around the Pacific. Source: 1 NEWS
TUE, JUL 9
A Chilean naval ship used as a torture centre under Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship has docked in Wellington Harbour.
The Esmeralda is on a six month training exercise around the pacific and Wellington is the first stop.
The four-masted ship regularly tours the world and is often targeted by protestors.
In 2004, Chile’s navy admitted torture took place on board soon after the military coup in 1973.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/chilean-naval-ship-used-torture-centre-docks-in-wellington
Wikipedia:
. . .
Torture centre
See also: Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–90)
Reports from Amnesty International, the US Senate and Chilean Truth and Reconciliation Commission[1] describe the ship as a kind of a floating jail and torture chamber for political prisoners of the Augusto Pinochet regime from 1973 to 1980. It is claimed that probably over a hundred persons were kept there at times and subjected to hideous treatment,[2] among them British priest Michael Woodward, who later died as a result of torture.[3]
Due to this dark part of its history, the international voyages of the Esmeralda are often highly controversial - especially at the time when Pinochet was still in power but even after the restoration of Chilean democracy. The ship's arrival in various ports is accompanied by protests and demonstrations by local political groups and Chilean exiles. Such protest actions were recorded, among other places, at London[citation needed], Amsterdam,[4][5] Dartmouth,[6] Pearl Harbor[citation needed], Quebec,[7] Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia,[8] Wellington,[9] Piraeus and Haifa,[10] as well as at Santiago in Chile itself.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esmeralda_(BE-43)
~ ~ ~
This tall ship has a bloody, brutal history; La Esmeralda: The Chilean vessel was used as a torture chamber during Pinochet's rule, and an English priest died on board.
Stacie Jonas and Sarah Anderson
THE BALTIMORE SUN
JUNE 18, 2000
TALL SHIPS FROM around the world are scheduled to sail into Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Friday for what organizers are touting as an event to promote "cultural exchange and good will."
The ships will surely be a majestic sight. But behind the stately image of one of these ships, La Esmeralda, lies a terrifying history that should not be forgotten.
In 1973, in the aftermath of a bloody coup against the democratically elected government, the Chilean Navy made a special contribution to the new military junta led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. They allowed La Esmeralda, a four-masted Chilean naval ship, to be used as a prison and torture chamber. According to testimony collected by Amnesty International and the Organization of American States, at least 110 political prisoners - 70 men and 40 women - were interrogated aboard the ship for more than two weeks without charges or trial.
The former mayor of Valparaiso, where the ship was stationed, described being tied to one of the ship's masts and subjected repeatedly to electric shock. "I couldn't sleep for six days because they woke me up every six minutes, night and day," he told Amnesty International. "We could hear how the others were tortured right where we were."
According to a Chilean lawyer held on board, military officials stripped and savagely beat the prisoners and shot them with high-pressure jets of water that produced "an unbearable pain in the head, ears, eyes, and lungs" At least one of those tortured on board La Esmeralda, a British-Chilean priest named Michael Woodward, died as a result. His body was thrown into an unmarked mass grave.
In the past, La Esmeralda has received angry receptions when it came to the United States:
In 1974, the Longshoreman's Union and other protesters succeeded in turning La Esmeralda away from the San Francisco port.
In 1976, when the ship traveled to Baltimore as part of Operation Sail's American Bicentennial celebration, local human rights activists greeted it with strong protests.
Undeterred, La Esmeralda returned in 1986 for the Bicentennial celebration of the Statue of Liberty. This time, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution condemning the ship's participation and called on Operation Sail to withdraw the invitation. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said that "the Statue of Liberty would weep at the sight of La Esmeralda entering the gateway of freedom at New York Harbor."
More:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2000-06-18-0006170165-story.html
What Are Black Holes?
By Nola Taylor Redd 9 hours ago Science & Astronomy
Reference Article: Facts about black holes.
black hole particles escapingSimulated view of a black hole in front of the Large
Magellanic Cloud.(Image: © Alain R. | Wikimedia Commons)
Black holes are some of the strangest and most fascinating objects in outer space. They're extremely dense, with such strong gravitational attraction that even light cannot escape their grasp if it comes near enough.
Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes in 1916, with his general theory of relativity. The term "black hole" was coined many years later in 1967 by American astronomer John Wheeler. After decades of black holes being known only as theoretical objects, the first physical black hole ever discovered was spotted in 1971.
Then, in 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration released the first image ever recorded of a black hole. The EHT saw the black hole in the center of galaxy M87 while the telescope was examining the event horizon, or the area past which nothing can escape from a black hole. The image maps the sudden loss of photons (particles of light). It also opens up a whole new area of research in black holes, now that astronomers know what a black hole looks like.
So far, astronomers have identified three types of black holes: stellar black holes, supermassive black holes and intermediate black holes.
More:
https://www.space.com/15421-black-holes-facts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html
Profile Information
Member since: 2002Number of posts: 160,630
