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Medellin Traveler has written 124 posts
I Am So Happy For The Metro Cable (Line J)
Las Mujeres de Parque Bolivar
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OIL!
Hints of a rift at OPEC about production By Jad Mouawad Published: May 9, 2008 A member of OPEC signaled for the first time in months that the oil cartel might increase its output if prices keep rising, even as oil hit another record on Friday. The comments from Libya's senior oil official, Shukri Ghanem, suggested a possible rift among OPEC members. Since the cartel's last meeting in March, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has argued that the market was not lacking i ...
Varios Foticos en MedellÃn - April / May 2008
Descending........
Latin America; Thriving Economically, Yet Populist Rhetoric Gets Louder And Stronger.
The Return Of The Old Caudillo Listen to the rhetoric gusting around much of Latin America these days and you'd be forgiven for wondering if a new cold war was in the making. Suddenly, heavy-handed state interventions into the economy, such as price controls, stiff taxes and loose money, are back in fashion. So are takeovers of foreign assets, usually garnished with broadsides against "imperialismo." It's not just Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan strongman, who in the name of his "Bolivarian revo ...
Ämerica; Thrives On The Hunger And Energy Of Poor Immigrants
¨Americans—particularly the American government—have not really understood the rise of the rest. This is one of the most thrilling stories in history. Billions of people are escaping from abject poverty. The world will be enriched and ennobled as they become consumers, producers, inventors, thinkers, dreamers, and doers. This is all happening because of American ideas and actions. For 60 years, the United States has pushed countries to open their markets, free up their politics, and embrace ...
Doing Time In Medellin
A WARNING to all. I went to visit Don Berna in Itagui´s maximum security prison and took a few photos to share with yáll and guess what happened next..... You can´t take any photos of the prison. The security made me delete all my photos before they interrogated me. I felt bad for my driver waiting down the hill for me in his car. He too was interrogated. After the interrogations were over, I then explained to them that I was just a very curious tourist. I shared several stories w ...
The Center Of MedellÃn ; All The World Is A Stage!
It's been too serious on PBH for the past few weeks, let's DUMB IT DOWN! _________ Did you here this joke? A clown, three little piggies, a bevy of beauties, Santa Claus, and Mr. T are sitting in a bar in Medellin drinking. "What's the name of the bar?" you ask. Let me finish my story. The local Sheriff walks in the front door and takes a seat at the bar, next to three young Asian-American tourist. He orders a drink. "What's the name of the bar?" you interrupt, again. Let ...
Uribe OUT as Colombian President; Who's Next?
Uribe was re-elected after illegal maneuvers to bring about constitutional reform. In other words Uribe is an illegal president of Colombia. The Court has ordered the capture of Yidis Medina who is alleged to have voted in favor of Uribe's re-election as a result of illegal bribes. Corte Suprema dictó orden de captura contra Yidis Medina El Colombiano.com Bogotá La Corte suprema de Justicia dictó orden de captura contra la ex congresista Yidis Medina por el delito de cohecho. ...
Uribe Administration; Death Squads And Paraco Brothers Bound By Blood
COLOMBIA'S POLITICAL MORASS Ties may bind Colombian president to death squads BOGOTA -- The arrest of President Alvaro Uribe's cousin on charges he colluded with right-wing death squads is significant not so much because of the family ties, but because the cousins' careers have been intricately intertwined from the moment they entered national politics more than two decades ago. ''Mario has been Uribe's main political partner for the past 20 years,'' said Colombian political analyst Pe ...
Looking Beyond Juan Valdez; Congress Daily Reporter
Colombia is genuinely less violent than in past decades. But paramilitaries still operate in many places and persecute and kill labor and other activists. by Peter Cohn MEDELLIN, Colombia—A convoy of passenger vans escorted by machine-gun-wielding police on motorbikes wound through the mountain roads overlooking this bowl-shaped city, passing shacks where locals sell fried plantains and gated estates where wealthy residents live. The delegation of nine U.S. House members was en route to ...
Colombia Chief Hails Democratic and Economic Gains
The New York Times By SIMON ROMERO Published: April 23, 2008 BOGOT�, Colombia — His nation’s trade deal with Washington is stalling. His cousin is fighting charges of possible links to paramilitary death squads. Killings of union members continue. But when asked about his country’s challenges, President �lvaro Uribe points to progress in strengthening democratic institutions and in giving economic growth a boost. "Colombia is not in the time of crisis, but in the time of remedie ...
They're Strippers, They're Zombies, They're Zombie Strippers!
Zombie Strippers: it’s a title that can’t really go wrong. Like Snakes on a Plane or Epic Movie, it tells you everything you need to know in a few well-chosen words. There’s the obvious—this is a movie about strippers who also happen to zombies (or, if you prefer, zombies who also happen to be strippers). And then there’s what’s implied by such a gloriously up-front title. This is ...
Big Dollar Bill's Friends [Uribe] Are Giving The O' Lady Hillary Headaches
It’s So Nice to Be Here How Bill's big-dollar foreign buckraking is causing headaches for Hillary's campaign. By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball | NEWSWEEK Apr 21, 2008 Issue The event at a New York Hotel last June was called "Colombia Is Passion," but it was really a celebration of its guest of honor, Bill Clinton. Eager to repair its image in the United States and help boost support for a controversial United States-Colombia free-trade agreement, the beleaguered government of A ...
What's Wrong With The Word Bitter?
Why does Hillary Clinton Says Obama's 'Bitter' Remark Could Cost Party General Election? ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., took the opportunity to capitalize on her rivals comments that people in small towns are "bitter" for the third day in a row. Speaking to reporters outside some homes in Scranton, Pennsylvannia where she has family roots and today was greeted by many supporters holding signs and offering encouragement. She made the argument that Sen. Barac ...
Thank God For The Interent
Hey y'all - I was wondering what are some of your favorite websites y'all visit when you're at work? These are some of the sites I waste time browsing when I should be attending to my job... yeah right. www.theonion.com Good for laughs www.elcolombiano.com News in Colombia www.theyshootpictures.com About movies and www.rueters.com News Updates PBH and YouTube are both blocked, along with a list of other websites for very obvious reasons. As of late, it seems like I've go ...
A Moment Of Silence For The Good O' U.S. of A. As We Knew It
Why China is the REAL master of the universe By ANTHONY BROWNE Cecil Rhodes, the businessman-imperialist of Africa, the creator of Rhodesia, suffered no flicker of doubt about who were the masters. "To be born an Englishman," he mused, "Is to win first prize in the lottery of life." It wasn't idle boasting. In the jingoistic triumphalism of the late 19th century, when waving the Union Jack was a simple pleasure, people sang: "Rule Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves" without any i ...
La Vendedora De Rosas - cinema verité in MedellÃn
For you film lovers........ La Vendedora De Rosas - 1998 Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival In the two days leading up to Christmas, a thirteen year-old Colombian street kid tries to sell roses for money. Surrounded by a group of fellow runaways and orphans who all get by through robbery, prostitution, and drugs, Monica hopes that there will at least be some sort of party to attend over the holidays. Victor Gaviria's look at life on the streets of Latin America is fascinating, ...
Colombian Police, Don Berna, Paracos Failed Assassination Attempt; El Banda Famosos
Colombian drug gang takes 25 rival gunmen hostage By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, April 4 (Reuters) - Cocaine traffickers fighting over smuggling routes in northern Colombia are waging war against each other, with seven people killed in one battle and 25 taken hostage, according to a video circulated on Friday. Authorities have confirmed details of the 27-minute video, which was produced by one of the drug gangs and raises questions about police corruption. Wanted drug lord Daniel Rendon, ...
Bill Richardson's Venezuela Trip To Discuss American Hostages
Bill Richardson plans Venezuela trip on hostages
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seasoned negotiator Bill Richardson plans to visit Venezuela next month to discuss the fate of three American hostages held by rebels in Colombia, said a U.S. official on Friday.
Richardson, the New Mexico governor, was in Colombia last week for talks with President Alvaro Uribe on the U.S. defense contractors held sin ...
Where Did We Come From, Ugly Americans, REALLY?
New evidence of 'first American' found David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor Thursday, April 3, 2008 (04-03) 15:06 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- No one knows exactly when the "first Americans" populated this continent nor who they were, but scientists exploring ancient caves in Oregon have found evidence that they must have arrived from Asia at least 1,200 years earlier than anyone had thought - and some say long before that. One international team of gene researchers studying the DNA in foss ...
Rescue Operation Under Way... Doomed From The Start?
Hostage mission heads for Colombia jungle: France By Sophie Louet PARIS (Reuters) - France has sent a humanitarian mission including a doctor to try and make contact with hostage Ingrid Betancourt in the Colombian jungle, the president's office said on Wednesday. The operation is shrouded in mystery with no indication of whether FARC guerrillas holding Betancourt, who is believed to be very ill, have given it their blessing or whether a French team is already in the region. "A huma ...
Why Is This Man A Traitor?
Loyalty to My Country By Bill Richardson Tuesday, April 1, 2008; 10:29 AM My recent endorsement of Barack Obama for president has been the subject of much discussion and consternation -- particularly among supporters of Hillary Clinton. Led by political commentator James Carville, who makes a living by being confrontational and provocative, Clinton supporters have speculated about events surrounding this endorsement and engaged in personal attacks and insults. While I certainly ...
France sends Falcon 900 for Betancourt
France ready to fly out Colombian hostage amid health fears: France has parked a Falcon 900 jet in Guyana to immediately fly out French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt if she is freed by Colombian rebels holding her for six years, a newspaper said Sunday. "We do not have any information about an imminent release but we don't want to leave any stone unturned on our side," a source in the French presidency told the Journal du Dimanche. The plane is parked at a military base in Cayenn ...
Juanes Wants You To Visit Colombia in Transformation
"What is the reason that they're fighting for? We just want to live in peace." Juanes Sings a New Refrain About His Native Colombia Washington Post - Sunday, March 30, 2008 He's the Latin American answer to Bono -- an anthemic rocker with a social conscience and one name: Juanes. Last fall the Colombian superstar released his fourth album, "La Vida . . . Es un Ratico" ("Life . . . Is a Moment"). This month he staged a "peace without borders" concert on the Colombian-Venezuelan border, and ...
Pablo Escobar Invades Hollywood, 2009
Joe Carnahan Gets the OK from Pablo Escobar's Son for... "Killing Pablo," the movie. Wow! What incredible news out of Hollywood. I have been following the news on "Killing Pablo" as it is reported in the Hollywood press, U.S. media, and mostly this gigantic monster known as “the internet.� And what can I say? I'm excited about the whole thing, especially a “Joe Carnahan� Pablo Escobar flick. If you guys haven't read the book, "Killing Pablo�, you should run out and ge ...
What's so akbar about allah?
Dutch Lawmaker Releases Anti-Quran Film By TOBY STERLING AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch lawmaker released a film highly critical of Islam on Thursday, setting verses of the Muslim holy book against a background of violent images from terrorist attacks. Geert Wilders posted his 15-minute film on a Web site. Shortly afterward, Dutch television channels showed segments of the film and broadcast discussions by analysts on the possible impact of its release.. The Dutch government ...
The UNITED STATES of AMERICA!
I'm still trying to figure out why ANYONE would vote for McCain. If that's the best man the Republicans have, I'm sorry for all Republicans.
C'mon America WAKE UP!
This great country has lost its place in the world.
We are a laughing stock, while the rest of the world moves forward, the Bush Administration continues to lie to the good people of America.
Let's put our differences aside, because we all generally want the same things.
Great Nature Video...
Tha Battle at Kruger... life's a bitch. ...
'Aguilas Negras' están en Bogotá. Say it ain' so... Rubito
Alarma en Ciudad BolÃvar y los Altos de Cazucá El grupo armado de las �?guilas Negras, a través de su Bloque Metropolitano, ya opera y extiende sus estrategias de terror en Bogotá. Desde hace 18 meses, la DefensorÃa del Pueblo, por conducto de su Sistema de Alertas Tempranas (SAT), venÃa advirtiendo sobre la formación de esta expresión violenta en la localidad de Ciudad BolÃvar y en el sector de los Altos de Cazucá, en el vecino municipio de Soacha. Hoy es una realidad que ya tie ...
Marmato’s Gold Bonanza in Colombia
Canadian Mining Firm Involved in ‘Economic Forced Displacement’ in Colombia MANIZALES, COLOMBIA – Uncertainty prevails on the cobbled streets of Marmato – a small mining town of some 8,000 souls clinging to the side of El Burro, a mountain in the Colombian Andes. For more than 500 years, ‘subsistence’ gold mining created a distinct community that based its living, traditions, and legends deep in the mountain’s dank corridors. Mining the gold of Marmato defines the Marmateño con ...
Bush: Iraq war was worth it "JACKASS! What Planet Is He On?!"
In speech readied for 5th anniversary, president defends war despite costs WASHINGTON - President Bush says he has no doubts about launching the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure," arguing that retreat now would embolden Iran and provide al-Qaida with money for weapons of mass destruction to attack the United States. Bush is to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on Wednesday with a speech at the Pentagon. Excerpts of his address we ...
Fed acts to protect financial system; Where Does This Come To An End?"
Reuters By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Sunday announced fresh emergency measures to stem a fast-spreading global financial crisis, using tools it has not used since the Great Depression. The Fed cut the discount rate it charges on direct loans to banks and setting up a new program to provide cash to a wider range of big financial firms. Senior Fed officials said the extraordinary measures, which follow a sequence of emergency steps over the last t ...
Juanes Sings for 'Peace Without Borders; It's the BOMB!
Some of Latin music's biggest stars plan to join Juanes to perform a free concert atop a bridge linking Colombia and Venezuela in a show of unity among neighboring South American countries still recovering from a diplomatic crisis. Others scheduled to perform: Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bose, Carlos Vives and Alejandro Sanz. Juanes, the Grammy-winning Colombian rocker, said the "Peace Without Borders" concert _ scheduled for Sunday _ is an effort to ease tensions caused by a Colombian raid i ...
The Godfather, Fidel Castro Restores The Peace, For Now.....
What a great article! As I started reading the article, I wanted to quote a few things, but toward the end, there were too many things I wanted to quote, so decided against quoting anything. Who would have thought that the killing of a FARC member, and the discover of his laptop, would have brought out more problems in Latin America, specifically affecting the future of three presidents, Uribe, Correa and Chavez. It just keeps getting more and more exciting............. ---------- ...
Drug trade tyranny on the border
Mexican cartels maintain grasp with weapons, cash and savagery TIJUANA, Mexico - The killers prowled through Loma Bonita in the pre-dawn chill. In silence, they navigated a labyrinth of wood shacks at the crest of a dirt lane in the blighted Tijuana neighborhood, police say. They were looking for Margarito Saldaña, an easygoing 43-year-old district police commander. They found a house full of sleeping people. Neighbors quivered at the crack of AK-47 assault rifles blasting inside Salda ...
Bush, Colombia and Narco-Politics; It's A LOOOONG Story
With other regional leaders unwilling to side with the United States against Chávez, Bush may see little alternative but to stay the course with the 55-year-old Uribe and hope Colombia’s corruption doesn’t draw too much attention in the United States or across South America. Uribe was the only South American leader to endorse Bush’s invasion of Iraq, says Andrés Cala. George W. Bush’s strategy of countering Venezuela’s leftist president Hugo Chávez by strengthening ties to Col ...
Correa to Bush, "callate la boca!"
Correa to Bush: Send us your troops or 'shut up' (Agencies) Updated: 2008-03-15 16:17 QUITO - Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa told US President George W. Bush on Friday to either send US troops to the border with Colombia or "shut up," in response to criticism that Ecuador harbors Colombian rebels. "Mr Bush, bring over your soldiers, let your soldiers be the ones who get killed at the southern border with Colombia," Correa said two weeks after Bogota raided a Colombian rebel camp insid ...
Bush Signals Intent to Force Vote in Congress This Year on Colombian Trade Deal
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration signaled Wednesday that it would defy the wishes of Congressional Democrats and force a vote this year on a free trade agreement with Colombia, hinting that it would try to gain support for the pact by stoking fears of anti-American sentiment in the region. “The Colombia agreement is pivotal to America’s national security and economic interests right now, and it is too important to be held up by politics,� President Bush told an audience of Hispani ...
Russia Extadites Israeli Convicted of Training Paramilitary Groups in Colombia
Mercenary to be sent to Colombia A Russian court has approved the extradition to Colombia of a former Israeli army officer. In 2001, Yair Gal Klein was tried in his absence in a Colombian court for training guerrillas. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail for training paramilitary groups in "terrorist techniques". He was detained by Russian police at Moscow airport last year following a tip off from Interpol, as he was about to board a flight to Israel. Mr Klein ...
The FARC; Wanted DEAD or Alive.....
!No más politicos ladroenes en Cali por favor!
Visitantes de Siloé en MedellÃn........... From the world's most deadliest city, now "la mejor y más bonita de Colombia." The transformation is contagious, Cali wants its day in the s ...
Cocaine, Guns, Private Armies and Guerrillas; Great Idea for A Movie or Too Contrived?
Settling of Crisis Makes Winners of Andes Nations, While Rebels Lose Ground The New York Times By SIMON ROMERO Published: March 9, 2008 After leaders in the Andes tiptoed from the edge of war to bear hugs and oaths of brotherhood, Latin America was trying to sort out the winners and losers in the region’s worst diplomatic dispute in years. A day after the crisis was resolved at a summit meeting in the Dominican Republic on Friday, it was already clear that nearly all of the player ...
"The Cocaine Horsemen" by Fabio Castillo
Has anyone read this book? What's Fabio Casillo's story? Uribe, chosen by paras and narcos... Alvaro Uribe was born in 1952 in Medellin, into a gentry family from Antioquia, also linked to the landowner property and the drug trafficking business. Fabio Castillo's book, Los jinetes de cocaÃna (/The cocaine horsemen/), tells that Alberto Uribe Sierra, the father of the current Colombian president, was a well known drug dealer, who was once arrested to be extradited. However, Jesús Aristiz ...
Big-Time Arms Dealer Arrested in Thailand: Russian Helps FARC
BANGKOK, Thailand — One of the world’s most notorious arms dealers, Victor Bout, was arrested in a hotel here Thursday in connection with the procurement of weapons for the Colombian FARC rebels, the Thai police said. His arrest came a few days after a Colombian military raid into Ecuador on Saturday, during which the Colombian Army obtained a computer laptop belonging to a senior FARC commander. It was not immediately clear whether the two events were related. Mr. Bout, a former Russi ...
Absolute Power in America, It's For You're Freedom and Safety
Barack Obama, Read This Book! The perfect tome for the man who would turn words into action The Village Voice by Nat Hentoff March 4th, 2008 12:00 AM It seems that Barack Obama might read the Voice. In the January 23-29 issue ("Barack's Shining Moment?"), I asked why, in Obama's soaring stump speeches, he avoids saying what he would do as president to restore the Constitution after the depredations of the Bush-Cheney regime. If Obama is to be the cavalry rounding up the civil libert ...
Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations" travels to Medellin!
Best-selling author, reluctant food celebrity guy, culinary adventurer, drinker, smoker, hedonist ... the list of descriptors could go on and on. But one thing is certain: In this food-obsessed world, Anthony Bourdain has carved out a distinct place as a gastronomic Indiana Jones. His quest for the perfect dining experience was smartly documented in his television series and book, A Cook's Tour. And now Bourdain's journey is shifting to the next course. In Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, h ...
Colombia funds a US$100 million tourism project that revolves on Escobar’s life...
I wanted to post this article here because I felt it's an interesting look at how "Ironically, the Colombian government, in what seems to be a paradoxical move, is helping fund a US$100 million tourism project that revolves on Escobar’s life" as stated in the article below. The incredible transformation of Medellin today has nothing to do with Escobar's demise, but has everything to do with the Colombian people wanting to move forward to build a better life for not just themselves, but for ...
A Taste of Colombia Rolls Through New York’s Streets
Why travel all the way to Colombia when you can have fun back in New York? The party was off to a raucous start. A chorus of whoops and yelps from the crowd followed a loud “Buenas noches!� from the M.C. A band played traditional Colombian music. Liberal pourings of rum and Cokes helped lubricate the festivities. The party, held on a drizzly Friday night, was bouncing — literally. “I’ve got to be careful when the potholes hit,� said Raul Alphavitae, 28, one of the musicians wit ...
Do we really need 10 threads on the same subject? Like Chavez vs Uribe? FARC Raul Reyes Dead?
Why not just post a similiar article, thoughts, comments, threads,in the first thread that is posted on PBH regarding the same subject? All these multiply threads flush out all the other threads. And puh-leeze, do not comment on somone's thread by posting a comment as a new thread above the existing thread. ...
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