Jenny Erpenbeck opens #Spring 2024 with Sloughing Off One Skin, a haunting #ShortStory that explores truth and identity, translated by Michael Hofmann.
We're on the lookout for perspectives that are currently under-represented on bookshelves in the UK and in the US, and material first written in languages other than English.
"Victims of #ClimateChange in #LatinAmerica are bringing their complaints to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The findings of the court could help shape better policy and laws, saving countless lives and bolstering infrastructure."
📚 Just finished reading: The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto Guevara (2021 edition)
The diary of Che Guevara's journey to discover the continent of Latin America while still a medical student, in 1952 on a vintage Norton motorcycle with his friend Alberto Granado, a biochemist. It captures the exuberance and joy of one person's youthful belief in the possibilities of humankind tending towards justice, peace and happiness.
Argentine writer César Aira follows neither the rules of literature nor of literary fame. His work has been translated into 37 languages, Patti Smith says he's one of her favorite authors and he's been named as a likely future Nobel Prize laureate. Yet he lives quietly in Buenos Aires and lets small presses publish his books for free. He rarely gives interviews, but made an exception for Alejandro Chacoff, who spoke to him for The Dial. [Translated by Jessica Sequeira].
Article in Finnish, but very important in current #russia conflict
Kreml uses ”traditional Russian heritage” as reasons to setup paramilitary training abroad. These ”cossacks” are not ethnic #cossacks, but are paid by Russian state to conduct training with live weapons as ”heritage”
Of these Kremlin-funded cossacks around the world, 27000 have already fought in #ukraine
Needless to say, Cossacks are not originally Russian either, but from south Ukraine 🇺🇦
@gimulnautti yeah, I learned the history and present issues from a friend on Twitter who is from one of the federated nation states in the early days of the invasion. I was trying to navigate the #colonialism because I've seen much of it in the #caribbean and #latinamerica.
I was floored about how much I didn't know.
Putin is sending his opposition to the front lines. In that regard, he wins either way. Yet Ukraine has stepped up attacks on infrastructure, which is sound strategy.
Prosecutors in Trump’s #criminal trial say he has violated a #GagOrder barring him from attacking #witnesses, #jurors & others close to the case. Testimony is set to resume later Tuesday morning.
#Pecker said #MichaelCohen called him furiously denying the child was Trump's, saying he offered to take a DNA test & bc #Trump was German-Irish & the woman was Hispanic, it was impossible.
FTR, Pecker was saying that #Cohen indicated a child w/a #Hispanic woman couldn't be Trump's. (#Racist 🤬 that he is)
Trump often talks "good genes" & bloodlines. He denigrates #immigrants from #LatinAmerica & says undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."
‘This new generation of Latin American writers has exchanged history for memory, dictators for narcos and political engagement for gender and class consciousness.’ (El País)
With authors from fifteen different countries, this diverse collection of stories transports readers to a host of new worlds, and represents the very best writing coming out of Latin America today.
A 91-year-old retired Guatemalan general went on trial Friday for genocide in the second such case linked to the massacre of Indigenous people during the country’s 1960-1996 civil war. Benedicto Lucas Garcia is accused of involvement in the killing of more than 1,200 Ixil Maya people between 1978 and 1982, when his brother was...
At least 20 people have died, and more than 30,000 have been infected by a wave of dengue in Central America, where Guatemala and Panama have the highest death toll this year. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned last week that Latin America and the Caribbean will experience their “worst dengue season,”...
...expansionism of islam and the conquest of the #HolyLand, which had belonged to the #Roman and then its heir, the #ByzantineEmpire, by invading #Arab forces, expanding throughout the #Mediterranean and beyond.
So, the crusader picture does not really support your story.
What you are saying would be true for large parts of #LatinAmerica, though.
#AI#GenerativeAI#LatinAmerica#Energy#DataCenters: "- AI use is surging astronomically around the globe, requiring vastly more energy to make AI-friendly semiconductor chips and causing a gigantic explosion in data center construction. So large and rapid is this expansion that Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, has warned that AI is driving humanity toward a “catastrophic energy crisis.”
Altman’s solution is an audacious plan to spend up to $7 trillion to produce energy from nuclear fusion. But even if this investment, the biggest in all of history, occurred, its impact wouldn’t be felt until mid-century, and do little to end the energy and water crises triggered by AI manufacture and use, while having huge mining and toxic waste impacts.
Data centers are mushrooming worldwide to meet AI demand, but particularly in Latin America, seen as strategically located by Big Tech. One of the largest data center hubs is in Querétaro, a Mexican state with high risk of intensifying climate change-induced drought. Farmers are already protesting their risk of losing water access.
The 3rd largest source of #food carbs, in tropical areas, after rice & maize, is #cassava#tubers. Native to South America, it made its way to many places in Africa, Middle East & Asia nations during early trade times. Nigeria is world's largest producer of this food crop & Thailand is largest exporter of cassava starch. Very drought tolerant, thrives in poor soil & is a #FoodStaple in developing nations.
My family grew them in Vietnam. We've been eating them for generations.
#Cassava sustains lives of an est. 500 million people in #Africa, #LatinAmerica & #Asia. The crop has great potential for #FoodSecurity, not only at the family but also at the community as well as at national levels in many countries. Cassava has many advantages compared to cereal crops, in terms of drought tolerance, pest & disease resistance, adaptation to poor soils & indeterminate harvest period. An ideal crop for emergency situations, such as during war or natural disasters.
Latin America: climate change as a factor for migration
The European Investment Bank (EIB) conducted a survey of people belonging to Latin American countries, where 54% of the participants (more than half) considered climate change as a factor for their mobility and transfer, and 91% of them believe that climate change directly affects their daily lives
Honduras Ratchets Up Battle With Crypto-Libertarian Investors, Rejects World Bank Court
After the Honduran president repealed a law granting unfettered authority to outside investors, the cryptoquistadors took the dispute to a World Bank arbitration court.
The 2023 round of AmericasBarometer, a survey of 39,074 individuals across 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, revealed an overall feeling of pessimism and dissatisfaction alongside a lack of faith in democracy:
64% of adults think the economic situation in their country has worsened
32% report food insecurity
40% feel unsafe in their neighborhood.
22% report being the victim of a crime in the past 12 months
Argentina bombshell as Milei submits request to join NATO (www.express.co.uk)
President Milei has formally put in an application to join the global military alliance.
Ex-general stands trial for genocide of Indigenous Guatemalans (guardian.ng)
A 91-year-old retired Guatemalan general went on trial Friday for genocide in the second such case linked to the massacre of Indigenous people during the country’s 1960-1996 civil war. Benedicto Lucas Garcia is accused of involvement in the killing of more than 1,200 Ixil Maya people between 1978 and 1982, when his brother was...
Dengue Outbreak Ravages Central America: Guatemala and Panama Hardest Hit (ticotimes.net)
At least 20 people have died, and more than 30,000 have been infected by a wave of dengue in Central America, where Guatemala and Panama have the highest death toll this year. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned last week that Latin America and the Caribbean will experience their “worst dengue season,”...