Friday, October 19, 2007
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS:
2008 - INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO:
'Voluntary Isolation' (Latinamerica Press)
FREE TRADE?
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- United Nations says 2008 'Year of the Potato'; see www.potato2008.org
- Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru gets a review from National Public Radio
- Bloomberg, Reuters, and Sky News report on Orica's billion dollar investment in Peru
2008 - INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE POTATO:
- 'International Year Of The Potato' (www.potato2008.org)
- 'Press Conference On International Year Of Potato' (United Nations, press release) “We are happy that the International Year will allow us to raise awareness of the importance of potatoes, which originated in the Andes of Peru but since then have spread all over the world, particularly now in developing countries,” said Mr. Diouf, who was joined in the briefing by Ismael Benavides, Peru’s Minister of Agriculture."
- The Idea Was Peruvian (IYP, press relase) "The potato (Solanum tuberosum) originated some 8 000 years ago in the Andes of South America. It was appropriate, therefore, that the initial impetus for declaring 2008 as the International Year of the Potato came from the Government of Peru."
- 'Potatoes: Buried Treasures - US Food Trends' (Caterer Research, Kate Leahy)
- 'UN Nudges Potato Up Food Chart To Feed World's Poor' (Deutsche Press Agentur) "Russia and Peru may disagree over its historic origins, but the humble potato moved front and centre on the world's stage Thursday."
- 'McCain Sponsors UN International Year Of The Potato 2008' (McCain Foods Limited, press release)
- 'Almost Ten Thousand Missing In Peru' (Prensa Latina) "The People's Defense Office in Peru reported 1,253 new cases of disappeared persons until last September, now totalling 8,559 thousand persons disappeared due to internal violence. The new statistic corresponds to disappearances registered during the internal war of the last two decades that had not been denounced for fear or other reasons."
- REVIEW: 'Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru' from Barbes Records (National Public Radio, Miles Miles) listen to audio from 'Fresh Air' program; "The unique music style grew out of the booming cities of the Peruvian Amazon in 1970 and incorporates surf guitars, synthesizers and distinctive melodies."
- REVIEW: 'The Bad Girl' by Mario Vargas Llosa (Rocky Mountain News, Pete Warzel) "Grade: A; This feels like a novel of Llosa's [sic] sentimental old age (he's 71), but it's written with a passion and energy that delivers."
- Eva Ayllón in Houston, Oct 25 (Houston Chronicle) see flyer
- Eva Ayllón in New Hampshire, Oct 27 (Times Argus)
- REVIEW: MadeInUSA, Directed by Claudia Llosa (Miami Herald, Rene Rodriguez) "Madeinusa takes place in a tiny Peruvian mountain village during the celebration of a peculiar annual tradition: Beginning with Good Friday and ending on Easter Sunday (the time between Jesus Christ's crucifixion and his resurrection), God is presumed dead, sin does not exist and everyone is free to indulge their darkest desires without repercussion."
- 'Tenor Flórez conquers Carnival Center' (Miami Herald, Lawrence A. Johnson) "Juan Diego Flórez's lyric instrument is not bounteous in size but possesses striking tonal beauty, flexibility and vibrancy, qualities that perfectly fit his bel canto repertoire. His technical arsenal is faultless, the most complete and assured of any singer I've ever heard, able to handle all the stratospheric coloratura, roulades and ludicrously complex passages in the literature. There may be a tenor in the world who combines intelligence, taste, astounding technique and a gorgeous voice to a greater degree than Flórez but I don't know whom he could be."
- 'Democracy Deepens, Economy Surges In Post-Fujimori Years' (Associated Press)
- 'Peru's Fujimori Faces Long, Tough Fight Against Charges Of Corruption, Human Rights Abuses' (Associated Press) "Prosecutors argue that Montesinos told Fujimori of the death squad's activities, but the evidence they have revealed so far appears mainly circumstantial. They say Fujimori also showed complicity by promoting and decorating some Colina Group soldiers for their fight against the Shining Path shortly before the Barrios Altos massacre."
- 'Politicians' Divorces and Separations' (Associated Press) article on Sarkozy's separation includes Fujimori on list
- OPINION: 'Irony and Integrity' (Washington Post, Marcela Sanchez) profile of Monica Feria, winner of the Gruber Justice Prize; see 'Feria Wins Prize' in Oct 6's Peruvia.
- 'Peru's Fujimori To Face Infinite Imprisonment Before Trial Ends' (Xinhua News Agency) "The other trial against Fujimori by the Supreme Court will begin on Nov. 26 of this year. He faces a total of seven charges, and the legal process is estimated to take eight to 10 months. Before that, he will be kept in the same jail."
- 'Terra, Orica Plan To Build Peru Petrochemical Plant' (Bloomberg, Alex Emery)
- 'Foreign Companies May Build Peru Petrochemical Plant' (Reuters) "A consortium of foreign companies said on Thursday it may invest $1 billion to build a petrochemical plant in Peru as the government lures investment to the nascent sector."
- 'Orica's $1 Billion Plant' (Sky News, Australia)
- 'Peru Cement Makers Say Dropping Duties Favors Mexico's CEMEX' (Dow Jones)
- 'Peru's Interbank 3rd Quarter Net PEN 84.5 Million Vs PEN 36.5 Million (Dow Jones)
- 'Peru's September Past-Due Loan Ratio Falls To Record Low 1.51%' (Dow Jones)
- 'Change Of Economic Model Demanded' (Prensa Latina) "Economist Oscar Ugarteche and sociologist Hector Bejar, from the Peruvian Committee to Support the World Call against Poverty, coincided in alerting about presentation of the official report on the small progress to fulfil the Objectives of the Millennium."
- 'Chile, Peru Near Regional Power Grid Study' (Reuters)
- 'Deutsche Bank Seeks Expansion Into Peru' (SLi, Nisha P. Shah) "The bank has filed an application for a license to extend its investment banking business to Peru."
- 'Consorcio Minero Raises Borrowing Base Facility' (Trade Finance)
- 'Tongling Nonferrous Plans Private Placement To Buy Mining Assets' (Dow Jones)
- 'MacMillan Reports Positive Results From Hole 5 in Transition Zone between Aguila and Aguila East' (MacMillan Gold, press release)
- 'Northern Peru Copper Amends Decision' (Northern Peru Copper Corp, press release)
'Voluntary Isolation' (Latinamerica Press)
FREE TRADE?
- EDITORIAL: 'The U.S. Congress and Perú, Colombia, Panamá and South Korea' (Diario Las Americas)
- OPINION: 'No Iraq Withdrawl Timetable But A Corporate Trade Deal For Peru?' (Huffington Post, Robert Naiman) " If we can stop the Peru agreement from passing Congress, it will raise the bar for future agreements."
- LETTER: 'Why Give Peruvians Special Treatment?' (Herald News, New Jersey, Charlotte Wood, Paterson) "I sometimes wonder if our politicians understand our new Hispanic immigrants. They talk as if they are all here to become citizens and vote for them. Many from Peru, for example, have made it very clear that the people from Peru are still citizens of Peru who are here just to work and send money back to their own country. Now they expect special treatment because of the earthquake?"
- Halloween Party To Benefit Quake Victims (Journal News, New York)
- 'Peru Hit By Extreme Weather Conditions; EU Commission Grants Aid' (European Union) "The departments hardest hit are at altitudes of over 2500 metres, in the central and southern Andean region, with more than 700 000 people affected."
- Chef Eddie Morales (Grand Rapids Press, Michigan)
- Chef Juan Carlos Barzola (The Maroon, Loyola University, Kayla August) "Peruvian cuisine is a blend of Amerindian and Spanish food, with influences from African, Arab, Italian and Japanese cooking."
- 'Peruvians 'Uninformed' About Genetically Modified Food' (SciDev, Zoraida Portillo) "A high percentage of people in Peru's capital Lima have never heard of biotechnology or transgenic food, and those with some knowledge of the issues cited television as their major source of information."
- 'Darkest Peru' (History Today, Peter Furtado) "Virtually all the cultural tourists to Peru make for the Inca honeypots of Cusco and Machu Picchu, but this vast and diverse country has one of the richest archaeological heritages in the world, and one that continues to produce remarkable new finds and sites including gold-drenched mummies and lost mountaintop cities – to amaze and fascinate the casual visitor and the specialist alike."
- 'Report 60: Ride It On, Baby' (The Times Jungle Blog, South Africa, Caspar Greeff) From Huancabamba to Tarapota [sic] to Yurimaguas
- Jose Crescimbeni Swims For Peru (St Petersburg Times, Florida, Bob Putnam and Brandon Wright) "Calvary Christian senior Jose "Emman" Crescimbeni, who will swim for Peru in the 2008 Olympics, confirmed this week he has committed to the University of Florida. A favorite to win Class A state titles in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke, Crescimbeni earned dual-citizenship status in January he was born in the United States, his parents were born in Peru and earned a qualifying time for the Olympics in the 200 butterfly at the Pan-Am Games in July."
- Aurelio Elias, NYC Construction Worker (Associated Press, Christian Salazar)
- 'Peru Court Sentences 6 To Prison For Fire That Killed At Least 290 People' (Associated Press)
- 'Peru University Honors Fidel Castro' (Prensa Latina) "Peru's San Luis Gonzaga state University gave a distinction to Cuban President Fidel Castro, and recognized Cuba's solidarity with that country. Dean Juan Alba granted the institution's Golden Jubilee Medal for Fidel Castro to Cuban ambassador in Peru Luis Delfin Perez."
- 'Drug-Laced Postcards Intercepted' (UPI) "Swedish police Thursday said they have discovered cocaine being shipped from Peru inside special postcards. Four people are facing cocaine-smuggling charges after authorities claim they found the illegal drug secreted in receptacles hidden between the front and back sides of at least 30 specially made postcards. Each card carried six grams of cocaine."
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