Pretty Girls Make Graves / Good Health / The Get Away
Leonard Bearnstein / The Essential Leonard Bernstein / Trouble In Tahiti: "I was standing in a garden" / "Then desire took hold of me"
Nappy Roots / Wooden Leather / Work In Progress
I need a niche. So, I'm putting my semi-rudimentary Spanish to use and providing summaries of some top articles in Latin American newspapers.
El Mercurio, Chile: "Bolivia asks the OAS for negotiations on the sea" (part 2). Bolivia, one of two landlocked countries in South America, is trying to gain port access so it can export its natural gas by breaking treaties it has with Chile stemming from a military conflict in the late 19th century. The article states: "Historically, Chile has rejected any attempt by Bolivia to bring this topic to international panels. And this policy will not change, based on strong signales sent yesterday by the [Chilean] government". Michele Bachelet, the new Chilean President, has made some signals that Chile may be willing to engage in bilateral negotations on the subject.
El Mercurio, Chile: "GDP rises 6.3% to US$115 billion" (part 2). Per capita GDP is up to US$7146, though the purchasing power figure is significantly higher. Other figures mentioned: Fixed capital investment: 29.2% of GDP (record high). Forecasts for next year's growth: 6.0%.
Fun with literal translations:La Tercera, Chile: "Solari signs contract with Transantiago". The first sentence reads "Ricardo Solari, the ex-Minister of Work of Ricardo Lagos and ex-communications director for Michele Bachelet's campaign, began to privatize himself." Transantiago is one of Chile's many bus service companies.
El Universo, Ecuador: "US changes its agriculture negotiator". Ecuador is looking for the US to live up to the meaning of the words "free trade" when it comes to rice imports. Do we even grow rice in the US anymore? Meanwhile riots against the Free Trade Agreement continue.
