#Argentine Human Rights Commission

[kathleenkern]

ESMA Museum and Site of Memory

The Armed Forces of Argentina installed the first ESMA (School of Navy Mechanics) institutions in 1975. Despite the name, the military/security state always intended to use them as clandestine centers for the torture, interrogation, rape, illegal detention and murder of people whom they deemed not worthy of membership in society. They accomplished all these atrocities with the help of U.S. tax…

[prikarin]

Regarding Killer Trait Updates

Hello, everyone!

It's been a good minute since my last Killer Trait update, hasn't it?

A lot of people have been asking me about Killer Trait updates and when the full-game will be released so, after a lot of thought, I decided to make this post.

Here's the thing: my Patreon hasn't been doing well. It hasn't been doing well for several months now. While the decline started after Where Winter Crows Go's release in November of last year, it's gotten progressively worse from February 2024 onwards. And because of this I'm going to have to pause my billing for my current patrons from August onwards—at least until I have something new to post.

It'd be a lie if I said this didn't affect me, I'm only human after all, but I'm also well aware that Patreon is a tough thing to maintain in a way that's consistent and interesting.

Unfortunately, since I live in Argentina, my only real way to get funds for my games is through Patreon, donations on Ko-Fi and sales and donations on Itchio. While it definitely helps that I hire some people from Argentina for certain art related things (so I pay them in Argentine Pesos), most of the people I commission are from overseas, so it's always a must to be able to pay them in USD.

And that's the issue: since I don't have that much money anymore and I can't commission people as often... this inevitably delays my progress on both Killer Trait and Potion Pleasing (DEMO out now!) indefinitely. It's sucks for me too, but it's the reality: making games costs money.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Killer Trait will have re-designs for most of the characters (not counting Carl because his design was originally my own) since the ones in the DEMO were stock sprites I bought from an artist, not my own designs. And I want these characters to be 100% my own, which is why I decided to have them re-designed. I've talked about this in the past in more detail when I decided to have Crowe re-designed, you can find that post HERE.

Of course, for these new character sheets (with the exception of Oz's, which has already been finished) and the new sprites, I need game funds in order to commission the artist. Even after the sprites are done, there are a couple of backgrounds—the characters' rooms—that I'd like to have originally made (especially since the ones I bought from Minikle are very limiting and don't really fit with the characters' personalities). And this doesn't even account for CGs, which I'll probably have to postpone for a while because the sprites and the backgrounds are way more important.

Some might be thinking "What about Where Winter Crows Go?". While I was lucky that WWCG's first demo was so well received, I still spent a whole lot of money from my own pocket to make it. I bought a lot of assets and, when I got a few donations, I commissioned a few artists to help me. WWCG was NEVER a game made with only free resources.

Making the art book for WWCG was a way I found to get a little of that investment back, but I'm well aware that I'll never get all the money that I spent back. And that's okay! To this day, I don't regret having invested my money to make WWCG because it gave me a lot of experience, perspective and made me learn a lot.

Be that as it may, however, I can't realistically make the rest of my games free. As I mentioned before, game development is expensive in both money AND time. Without funds, it's a given that things are going to be delayed.

So... where does that leave things?

Well, after pondering on it for a while, I came to the conclusion that I'm not really ready for a crowdfunding campaign right now. Those are extremely hard and ALSO cost money to advertise well and make sure everything's in order. So... the temporary solution I arrived at is setting goals on Ko-Fi! 

How would this work? Basically, I would set a monetary goal of the amount of money needed for a certain asset in a certain game that needs to be made. For example: sprites & character sheets in Killer Trait. Once that goal is met, I'll commission the person in question so they can start working on it! After that, I'll set the next goal and so on 💪

I'm thinking of setting the first Ko-Fi goal once August starts. And from there... I'll see how it goes! If things don't go well, I'm also considering making Where Winter Crows Go paid for a while—don't worry, I would make an announcement first—because I honestly have no more ways of getting game funds for Killer Trait and Potion Pleasing and, as mentioned before, making games is really expensive (and I'm only one person).

Thank you so much for reading until the end and I hope you have an amazing day!

[italeteller]

I open up my social media

-israel has killed dozens more palestinians in the tents they were living in after israel burned down their houses

-the charred corpse of a palestinian baby

-the charred corpse of a palestinian adult

-a food tiktok

-fanart

-porn

-porn

-porn

-photos of people going on vacations

-children slaves in congo

-US and europe-backed war crimes in sudan

-fanart

-people talking about their blorbos

-people talking about videogames

-fanart

-fanart

-porn fanart

-porn fanart

-porn fanart

-a palestinian baby died of malnourishment. you can see his ribs. i had never seen a baby's ribs before

-an article showing the israeli aggression was well underway decades before october 7th

-people cheering for police repression against protesters in buenos aires

-people talking about their hobbies

-massive heat wave in india, temperatures reaching killing point

-blorboposting

-fanart

-a random meme

-fanart

-the ukraine resistance against russia is still ongoing

-videogame talk

-a go fund me for a palestinian family

-a go fund me for a person in a non-war country who still can't afford to pay to live

-gringos yelling that if you don't vote for biden you have personally killed all trans people and will contribute to the fall of civilization worldwide

-biden sending another couple billion dollars in weapons to israel

-a go fund me

-an article about project 2025. it feels straight out of the witch hunt ages

-trump talking about rolling back trans care if he gets made president

-celebrity beef between two people I've never heard of before

-the far right is gaining ground in europe and the americas

-an article where people blame immigrants for their problems

-a new shonen manga is debuting to replace the one that got cancelled before it could reach 30 chapters

-music talk

-music talk

-music talk

-blorboposting

-fanart

-a palestinian mother holding a bundle with the remains of her child

-a palestinian child praying for death to take them with their parents

-porn

-porn

-fanart

-people talking about their hobbies

-people complaining that they work a full-time job and still can't afford to live and are always exhausted

-a go fund me

-an artist opening commissions

-a game is getting an update soon

-fanart

-fanart

-gringos saying you have to vote biden no matter what

-a fandom discourse I had never heard of before and don't wanna know more about

-porn fanart

-a different game studio is getting closed. it's CEO says it was inevitable. he makes tens of millions of dollars monthly

-an israeli soldier smiling as he destroys a palestinian's family home

-videogame discourse

-the argentine peso is losing value, no surprises there

-a little kid in corrientes is missing, they suspect human trafficking

-celebrity drama

-fanart

-someone's vacation photos

-porn

-poverty in argentina is rising

-a new mom complaining about the prices of diapers

-an article about how israeli prisons use dogs to rape palestinian prisoners

-a funny meme

-fanart

-porn

-a go fund me

-a body torn to pieces

-a manga is getting an anime adaptation

-an anime studio's long history of exploiting their workers

-fanart

-fanart

-porn

-a palestinian man grieving for his whole family

...

...

...

if i didn't go insane during the pandemic, i feel i surely did this last year

[kathrynethegreat]

HANNIBAL’S HOUSE IN BUENOS AIRES (OR, THOMAS HARRIS GETS IN ONE LAST PIECE OF SYMBOLISM)

Have you ever wondered just where Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling wind up living once they reach Argentina?  Thomas Harris is curiously specific about it, so it should be easy to track down if indeed it does exist, right? 

First off, I want to note that another Hannibal Fan also did research to see if they could find Hannibal and Clarice’s home in Argentina. I read their work a couple of years ago and now can no longer find that post (I looked for three hours, I promise I tried - if anyone has seen this post/poster, let me know so I can give the appropriate link and credit)

Anyway - the original poster found Hannibal and Clarice’s house, and I was intrigued. I did my own research to see if I came to the same conclusion, and I did.  I also have a friend in Buenos Aires who, conveniently enough is a tour guide specializing in the architecture of the area, so I consulted with her as well, and she too came to the same conclusion. But along the way, I found some other interesting information as well...I found out that the placement of their home is actually pretty symbolic - and also kind of funny.  More on that at the end though...in the meantime, here is a little bit more info.

The novel tells us the following about where Hannibal and Clarice are located:

The Mercedes, windows down to let in the music from the dance clubs, purrs through the Recoleta District to the Avenida Alvear and disappears into the courtyard of an exquisite Baux Arts building near the French Embassy.

The photo above shows the Recoleta District in Buenos Aires. It is the most affluent area in the city, boasting art galleries, restaurants, cafes, world-class shopping, and beautiful French architecture. Originally the area was where the wealthy citizens of Buenos Aires built their mansions and palaces.  Sadly, most of these beautiful buildings have been torn down in favor of modern apartment buildings. Of the palaces that were spared, most have been converted to Foreign embassies, clubs, and hotels. Only one of the old mansions remains a private residence.

The Avenida Alvear is one of the nicest streets in the Recoleta District and is probably the street in the district with the most palaces still intact. The street runs only six city blocks, at the end of which is the French Embassy.  Clarice and Hanibal’s home - according to Harris - is on this street.

There are a few Palaces and Townhomes in this small area, but there are only three buildings that have a courtyard where a car could actually enter through - an important detail Harris gives us. These three buildings are all on the same city block, right next to one another.  They are the Maguire House, The Park Hyatt Hotel and the Apostolic Nunciature.

APOSTOLIC NUNCIATURE - The Apostolic Nunciature of Argentina is essentially the Vatican Embassy. It is housed in what was once called the  Fernández Anchorena Palace. It was commissioned by Juan Antonio Fernandez for his wife and was designed by Eduardo Le Monnier, a French/Argentine Architect. The Palace was completed in 1909 and was never lived in by Fernandez. It was the official residence of the President of Argentina Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear from where the street gets its name. The mansion was sold to Adelia Maria Hirilaos de Olmos, who bequeathed the Palace to the Holy See upon her death in 1949.  It has been the location of the Apostolic Nunciature ever since.  Its description could be considered a match for the home Harris describes...except for the fact that the building is very clearly already in use and not a private residence.

MAGUIRE HOUSE - In 1890, railway entrepreneur Alejandro Hume commissioned architect Carlos Ryder to build this late Victorian style home with bricks and materials imported from Scotland. In the late 1920s, the Palace was sold to the Duhau family.  The lot was bigger then - comprising the area of the current house, as well as the lot where the Park Hyatt now resides. The home has been in the hands of the Dahau family ever since - now belonging to Susana Duhau, married to John Walter Maguire, hints its current name of “The Maguire House.” But here is where things get a little interesting. The Maguire House is creepy. Rarely is anyone seen going in or out. It’s a lovely style but in heavy contrast the French buildings around it. It is known locally as “Dracula’s Castle.”  Though the house does have a courtyard and gate, since the house is late Victorian in style, it does not fit the description that Harris gives for Hannibal and Clarice’s home.

PARK HYATT - Originally the Palacio Duhau, this home was built by Alejandro Hume. It was a Tudor Revival home at the time.  In the 1920s, it was sold to the Duhau Family (who owned the home next door) and the family commissioned architect Leon Dourge to design a new residence inspired by Le Val-Saint-Germain near Paris.  The Duhau siblings mostly continued to live in the Hume/Maguire/Dracula house next door, and from 1976 until 2002 and the Palace was maintained - but not lived in. It is now the Park Hyatt Hotel. The hotel lot runs the full depth of a city block, and in order to add more rooms, the Park Hyatt built an additional “tower” behind the original palace. Guests can choose to stay in rooms in the original palace OR in the modern tower.  This building fits Harris’ description perfectly, PLUS, it was for sale and empty when Harris was writing this book, and was for sale year when the novel takes place (the Impeachment scandal and the FBI’s 90s birthday sets the novel in 1998).  So this is it - the only viable candidate for where Clarice and Hannibal would live.

So that’s it, they live at the Palacio Duhau. I’ve dug up some photos of the Palace. Bear in mind it’s filled with hotel furniture, but the floors, fireplaces, fixtures, etc are apparently original (Photos below).

So what’s the symbolism here?  IMO, it’s just a really fantastic wink wink / joke to those in the know. 

Hannibal and Clarice live between the Apostolic Nunciature and “Dracula’s Castle”  Dracula represent damnation, and the Apostolic Nunciature represents the Vatican, the Pope, God’s representative on earth. Harris has placed Hannibal and Clarice between representations of Salvation and Damnation, between heaven and hell, between the ecclesiastical and the damned.

What’s more...

Christians drink the symbolic blood of the sinless Christ in order to gain eternal life in heaven (Generalization, but bear with me).

Dracula is a novel about a man who drinks literal human blood to gain eternal life on earth. Dracula is a perversion of the Eucharist.

What did Hannibal Lecter used to do?  He used to eat human flesh.

Let’s just say, that the entire city block, comprising of those three houses - Dracula’s Castle, the Palacio Duhau and the Vatican Nunciature have A LOT of Eucharistic symbolism going on. 

[architectnews]

Atelier Intimo Flagship, Shanghai

Atelier Intimo Flagship, Shanghai Retail Interior, Chinese Architecture Development, Images

Atelier Intimo Flagship in Shanghai

1 Mar 2021

Atelier Intimo Flagship

Designers: O&O Studio

Location: Unit 841, Renmin Fang, Huai Hai Lu, Shanghai, China

Sabados (Saturday) “Despite your coldness your beauty scatters its wonders across the years.” Quoted from the poetry written by the Argentine Jorge Luis Borges – the cycles and intervals of time and space, the transition between fantasy and existence. Within all the acts and dreams, we are just human beings but with no limitation to our strong belief, as per Atelier Intimo’s story behind their latest Year 2020 product range.

Origin In year 2020, the unprecedented epidemic and various natural crisis had brought a lot of new insights for many of us. Atelier Intimo’s first Flagship, designed by O&O STUDIO, is located on one of the busiest retail streets in Shanghai – Huai Hai Road. O&O took a bold step, led and created a new and extraordinary retail space for the lingerie brand. Taking inspiration from the epidemic, both the Flagship and Atelier Intimo’s new product range are built upon the concept of “Rebirth of the Scorched Earth”, with the view of integrating the nature’s healing power to influence and give new hope to human beings. O&O Studio wanted to craft a dramatic space that brought in and allowed visitors to spend a moment to look up, imagine and fantasize in such time and space on the prosperous spot. “Is there anything that we have forgotten about?”

Stage Located on No.841 on Huai Hai Road, the flagship store occupies a 180sqm two floors unit at Renmin Fang. With the aim to avoid unnecessary demolition or construction work while providing a more efficient layout, the slab opening is retained with the existing stair structure that turned from a “L” shape to an “U” shape configuration. Thus the retail zones are maximised at the front end with the back of house effectively grouped together at the rear.

Atelier Intimo Flagship is not a typical retail store. It is a performing stage designed for the brand. The entrance enclosed with gold platted khaki stainless steel covering inspired by the “Rebirth of the Scorched Earth” concept, thus giving a hint and stimulation to every visitor that, this is an unusual retail store that one must go in and experience.

The central axis defines the retail zones onto two sides. On one side are 8 hanging mannequins with adjustable hanging heights and the flexibility of exchanging mannequin types. On the other side is a series of custom-designed product display units that integrates various displaying heights and mannequin figures, with the same stainless steel finishes that unifies the shopfront and changing room wall outer finishes, creating a backdrop of the “Scorched Earth”.

The ground floor is also delineated by custom-made circular carpets with nature prints that firstly create a natural circulation flow, and secondly several minimally designed display islands sit on top that integrates with a selection of natural stones including Septarium, Quartz and Taishan stone, implying the birth of new life. The two changing rooms in different sizes located right under the staircase extend the curvature of the nature islands.

Considering on the functional side and bringing the visitors a complete journey, the cashier is placed on the upper level such to maximise the customer flow between two floors. On the opposite side is an installation display unit that explores the form of a tree crown with an architectural interpretation. The final product is a spiral stepping device that can be revolved manually for displaying series of mannequin in different styles and sizes.

Towards the front end is a VIP space that is zoned on top of an elevated platform. This can be enclosed with the help of a long electrical curtain providing total privacy, where the space will turn into a true VIP space for lingerie trials and private parties. Or it can be fully opened and make the floor as a platform for new product launching events, parties, live streaming etc.

Morphology Mannequin is the most common medium to display textile products. O&O STUDIO took the challenge to integrate mannequins and the design concept of “Rebirth of the Scorched Earth”, and developed a series of art installations that fully present the performing stage for the brand. The series has 6 individual installations, blending various mode of mannequins to achieve different conceptions, such as the key leader of the stage who wears a set of revolving wings, appear to be dancing at the central stage.

Scattering around are several installations inspired by flower blossom infused with interior architectural elements. Making use of different mannequin parts at the opening flower buds, they carry the nature energy and glorify their beauties. These installations are designed with a slightly peculiar and unexpected manner for one’s imagination and self-interpretation on what these quirky archetypes are portraying.

15+1 Atelier Intimo invited 15 female customers and 1 female staff to have their unique breast shapes scanned by 3D scanner. They are then 3D-printed as 16 half-body mannequins wearing different sizes and styles of bras by Atelier Intimo. This is one of the important elements that the Client use to display and promote their design philosophy on how flexible their products can be to fit and suit any female, any breast shapes and any sizes.

The design solution that O&O collaborated was to make use of 16 circular features, each holding one half -body mannequin placed along the wall that span between the ground and first floor. Each circular feature has the same depth but rotating layers to subtly distinguish the mannequins while informing a consistent design philosophy.

Conception . Belief Atelier Intimo has already gained a good level of popularity in the past few years with specific design philosophy and retail strategy. O&O Studio sees this as a fascinating challenge and opportunity to design Atelier Intimo’s first flagship, serving as the brand’s new “springboard” to achieve further success, presenting the new “Morphology of Atelier Intimo”. Since the opening of the flagship, it has proved how well that the dramatic and theatrical space has integrated and harmonized with the Client’s brand and products. For Atelier Intimo, the flagship is a point where they face directly to their valuable customers, a space for their new products launch, a studio for modelling and photography, a base for live streaming etc. All these are well beyond what the Client could imagine beforehand. The success of the flagship also sealed the strong belief of O&O Studio’s design philosophy. While the design brings in a new and distinctive portrait for the Client, O&O Studio also brings in additional design and commercial value to the Client’s business.

Atelier Intimo Flagship in Shanghai, China – Building Information

Architecture and Interior Design: O&O STUDIO Completion: 2020 Chief Designer: Eric Chan, Suzanne Li, Katt Chung Yap Address: Unit 841, Renmin Fang, Huai Hai Lu, Shanghai, PRC GFA: 180sqm Typology: Interior Design, Retail Interior, Lingerie Shop, Shopfront, Listed Building Interior Design, Renovation, Art Installations Client: Atelier Intimo

Text: Eric Chan

About O&O STUDIO Set up in 2018, O&O STUDIO is fully committed to every client and commission with an “Out and Outer” work ethos, providing design consultancy services on architecture, interior design, pop-up installation and master-planning.

“Originate – As We Envision, Originate – As We Create”

In O&O, we do not provide standardised formula. We believe that each project has its own origin. The design proposal should be originated from a critical and cohesive process of strategic and visual thinking through to the end users’ evaluation, thus informing the next even more successful project. With our achievements in photographic productions, we are also aspired to symphonise photographic essence to inspire the crafting of spaces and identities. We originate our design that performs through its composition, materiality, and spatial layering. In just two years time, we have already achieved great success winning several awards including A’ Design Award, The Fourth China New Power Interior Design Award and China Interior Design 40UNDER40 Award.

Photographer: Tian Fang Fang

Atelier Intimo Flagship, Shanghai images / information received 010321

Location: Unit 841, Renmin Fang, Huai Hai Lu, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

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Comments / photos for the Atelier Intimo Flagship, Shanghai page welcome

Website: China

The post Atelier Intimo Flagship, Shanghai appeared first on e-architect.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Fighting Fentanyl (Washington Post) While the Trump administration has made the opioid epidemic a priority, people in communities across the country continue to die in record numbers from fentanyl, and health officials are struggling to provide treatment for tens of thousands more. President Trump has taken a number of steps to confront the crisis, stem the flow of fentanyl into the country from China and Mexico, and step up prosecutions of traffickers. Congress also has increased spending on drug treatment. But the depth of the problem continues to overwhelm the government’s response.

Next round of U.S. tariffs on China at least a month away: Mnuchin (Reuters) The United States is at least a month from enacting its proposed tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports as it studies the impact on American consumers, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.

Vigilante Attacks on the Rise in Mexico (AP) Vigilante attacks in which mobs injure or kill people suspected of wrongdoing are increasing in Mexico, the National Human Rights Commission said Wednesday.

Corruption Trial Against Argentina’s Fernández (AP) Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández was in court this week for the first in a string of trials charging her with corruption. Fernández remains a hugely popular but divisive figure in Argentina, and she recently surprised many when she announced that she will run for vice president instead of the presidency in this year’s elections.

6 Brazilian Tourists Die of Carbon Monoxide in Chile (AP) Six Brazilian tourists were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning Wednesday inside an old apartment where they were staying in central Santiago.

Last days of May? (AP) British Prime Minister Theresa May dug in Wednesday against a relentless push by rivals and former allies to remove her from office as her attempts to lead Britain out of the European Union appeared to be headed for a dead end. May resisted calls to rip up her tattered Brexit blueprint and end her embattled premiership after her attempt at compromise was rejected by both her own Conservative Party and opposition lawmakers. Amid a feverish mood as rumors and plots swirled through Parliament, Conservative lawmakers set up a showdown meeting with May for Friday, giving her less than 48 hours to announce she will go or face a renewed attempt to oust her.

British protesters inflate snarling orange ‘Trump baby’ blimp ahead of visit (Reuters) British protesters inflated a blimp depicting Donald Trump as a snarling, nappy-wearing orange baby on Wednesday, a trial run ahead of a planned flight during the U.S. president’s state visit to Britain next month.

Dutch, UK Polls Open, Starting 4 Days of European Elections (AP) Dutch and U.K. polls opened Thursday in elections for the European Parliament, starting four days of voting across the 28-nation bloc that pits supporters of deeper integration against populist euroskeptics who want more power for their national governments.

Indian PM Modi sweeps to ‘massive’ election win, party says (Reuters) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has swept to a huge election victory, his foreign minister said on Thursday, giving his party a mandate to pursue policies that put Hindus first, are mainly business-friendly and take a hard line on national security.

Pakistan Says It Has Test-Fired Nuclear-Capable Missile (AP) Pakistan’s military says it has successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

U.S. Navy again sails through Taiwan Strait, angering China (Reuters) The U.S. military said it sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, its latest transit through the sensitive waterway, angering China at a time of tense relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

Indonesian protesters disperse after second night of post-election unrest (Reuters) Calm returned to the streets of the Indonesian capital on Thursday after a second night of clashes between security forces and protesters angry about the outcome of last month’s election, which handed President Joko Widodo a second term.

[iep-ambassador]

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating seven senior leaders within Iran’s government and security apparatus for the shutdown of Iran’s Internet access and the continued violence against peaceful protesters in the wake of the tragic death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly, and died in the custody of Iran’s Morality Police. Today’s action follows OFAC’s September 22 designation of Iran’s Morality Police, its senior leadership, and other senior leaders of Iran’s security organizations. Together with the release of Iran General License D-2, which authorizes exports of additional tools to assist Iranians in accessing the Internet, these designations demonstrate the United States’ commitment to free, peaceful assembly and open communication. “The rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly are vital to guaranteeing individual liberty and dignity,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson. “The United States condemns the Iranian government’s Internet shutdown and continued violent suppression of peaceful protest and will not hesitate to target those who direct and support such actions.” Today’s actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13553, which authorizes sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses by the Government of Iran, and E.O. 13846,%...

[pope-francis-quotes]

1st October >> (@zenitenglish) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis Speaks to Health Group of Miracles.

Pope Francis Speaks to Health Group of Miracles

‘A miracle is to see a brother in the sick, helpless person we have before us.”

Pope Francis on October 1, 2018, confronted experts in medical ethics with three words: miracle, care, and confidence.

His comments came in an address in the Hall of the Consistory of the Apostolic Palace, to the participants in the 4th Seminar on Ethics in Health Management, being held in the Vatican from October 1-5, 2018.

“Those responsible for welfare institutions will rightly tell me that miracles can’t be done and that one must assume that the cost-benefit balance implies a distribution of the resources and that the allocations, moreover, are conditioned by the infinite medical, legal, economic, social and political as well as ethical questions.”

In other words, there is the reality of balancing needs and costs.  But the Pope reframed the issue:

“However, a miracle isn’t to do the impossible; a miracle is to see a brother in the sick, helpless person we have before us. We are called to recognize, in the recipient of care, the immense value of his dignity as a human being, as a child of God. It’s not something that can, on its own, undo all the knots that exist objectively in the systems, but it will create in us the willingness to undo them in the measure of our possibilities and, in addition, it will make way for an interior change and a change of mentality in ourselves and in society.”

The Holy Father went on to address the other words he mentioned earlier. He stressed that “care” isn’t just about medications and therapy.  It requires those providing treatment “to be concerned, to take care, to be responsible for the other, for a brother”.

And what of “confidence”?

“The confidence of the sick person in himself, in the possibility of being cured, as a great part of the success of therapy hinges in that,” Francis explained. “Not less important for the worker is to be able to carry out his function in a serene surrounding, and this can’t be separated from knowing that he is doing what is right, what is humanly possible, given the resources at his disposal.

“We must continue struggling to maintain integrally this bond of profound humanity, as no welfare institution can substitute on its own the human heart or human compassion.”

* * *

The Holy Father’s Address (Full Text)

Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen:

I welcome you to this meeting and I thank Monsignor Alberto Bochatey, O.S.A., Auxiliary Bishop of La Plata, President of the Health Commission of the Argentine Episcopal Conference; Mr Cristian Mazza, President of the Health Consensus Foundation and the entities they represent, for the opportunity of this Seminar that, with the sponsorship of the Pontifical Academy for Life, is organized to address topics in the health realm that are of great importance in society, from an ethical reflection based on the Magisterium of the Church.

The realm of health in general, and particularly in Latin America, is going through a period marked by economic crisis, whose difficulties can make us fall into discouragement in the development of medical science and in access to the most appropriate therapies and medicines. However, the care of our brothers opens our heart to receive a wonderful gift. In this context, I propose three words to you for reflection: miracle, care, and confidence.

Those responsible for welfare institutions will rightly tell me that miracles can’t be done and that one must assume that the cost-benefit balance implies a distribution of the resources and that the allocations, moreover, are conditioned by the infinite medical, legal, economic, social and political as well as ethical questions.

However, a miracle isn’t to do the impossible; a miracle is to see a brother in the sick, helpless person we have before us. We are called to recognize, in the recipient of care, the immense value of his dignity as a human being, as a child of God. It’s not something that can, on its own, undo all the knots that exist objectively in the systems, but it will create in us the willingness to undo them in the measure of our possibilities and, in addition, it will make way for an interior change and a change of mentality in ourselves and in society.

This awareness — if it is profoundly rooted in the social substratum — will enable the creation of the legislative, economic, and medical structures necessary to address the problems as they arise. The solutions don’t have to be identical at all times and <in all> realities, but they can be managed by combining the public and the private, legislation and deontology, social justice and entrepreneurial initiative. The inspiring principles of this work cannot be other than the search for the good. This good isn’t an abstract ideal, but a concrete person, a face, which often suffers.  Be courageous and generous in your intentions, plans, and projects and in the use of the economic and techno-scientific means. Those that are benefitted, especially the poorest, will be able to appreciate your efforts and initiatives.

The second word is care. To cure the sick isn’t simply the aseptic application of appropriate medications or therapies. Not even its primal meaning is limited to seeking the re-establishment of health. The Latin verb “curare” means to attend, to be concerned, to take care, to be responsible for the other, for a brother. We priests must learn from this, as God calls us for that. We priests exist to take care, to cure.

The disposition of the health agent is important in all cases, but perhaps it’s perceived with greater intensity in palliative care. We are living, almost at the universal level, a strong tendency to the legalization of euthanasia.  We know that when we engage in serene and participatory human accompaniment, the grave chronic patient or the sick in the terminal phase perceives this solicitude. In these harsh circumstances also, if the person feels loved, respected, accepted, the negative shadow of euthanasia disappears or becomes almost non-existent, as the value of his being is measured by his capacity to give and receive love and not by his productivity.

It’s necessary that health professionals and those that dedicate themselves to health care commit themselves to a continuous updating of the necessary competencies so that they can always respond to their vocation as ministers of life. The New Charter of Health Agents (NCAS) is a useful instrument of reflection and work for you, and it’s an element that can help in the dialogue between private and State, national and international initiatives and projects. This joint dialogue and work enriches healthcare concretely and goes out to meet the many health needs and emergencies of our Latin American people.

The third word is confidence, which we can distinguish in several realms. First of all, as you know, is the confidence of the sick person in himself, in the possibility of being cured, as a great part of the success of therapy hinges in that. Not less important for the worker is to be able to carry out his function in a serene surrounding, and this can’t be separated from knowing that he is doing what is right, what is humanly possible, given the resources at his disposal. This certainly must be based on a system of sustainable health care, in which all the elements that make it up, governed by healthy subsidiarity, lean on one another to respond to the needs of society as a whole, and of the sick person in his singularity.

To put oneself in the hands of a person, especially when life is at stake, is very difficult; however, the relationship with the doctor or the nurse is always founded on responsibility and loyalty. Today, because of the bureaucratization and complexity of the health system, we run the risk that the terms of the “contract” are the ones that establish the relationship between the patient and the health agent, thus breaking that confidence.

We must continue struggling to maintain integrally this bond of profound humanity, as no welfare institution can substitute on its own the human heart or human compassion (Cf. Saint John Paul II, M.P. Dolentium Hominum, February 11, 1985; NCAS, 3). Therefore, the relationship with the sick person calls for respect of his autonomy and a strong charge of willingness, care, understanding, complicity, and dialogue, to be the expression of a commitment assumed as service (Cf. NCAS, 4).

I encourage you in your task to take to many persons and many families the hope and joy that they need. May Our Holy Virgin, Health of the Sick, accompany you in your ideals and works, and may She who was able to receive Life, Jesus, in her womb, is an example of faith and courage for all of you. I bless you all from my heart. May God the Father of all give each of you the prudence, love, and closeness to the sick to be able to fulfill your duty with great humanity. And, please, don’t forget to pray for me. Thank you.

© Libreria Editrice Vatican

[Original text: Spanish]  [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]OCTOBER 01, 2018 18:48

HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE

,

PAPAL TEXTS

[globalhappenings]

The UN appoints a human rights investigation commission in Ethiopia

The UN appoints a human rights investigation commission in Ethiopia

The former prosecutor in charge of the International Criminal Court from 2020 to 2021, the Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda, will lead the UN commission of inquiry into alleged violations committed by the warring parties in Ethiopia, as announced by the same Rights Council UN humans. Bensouda was appointed by the president of the organization, the Argentine diplomat Federico Villegas, together with…

[sparky7u]

As The United States Turns The Clock Back On Women’s Reproductive Rights, Latin American Countries Are Moving Them Forward

📷 September 20th, 2021 📷 Bad Brad

📷By Ty RossSeptember 1, 2021 in the US will go down in the history of women’s health and reproductive rights. Unfortunately, the wrong side. As the GOP sponsored TX Bill SB 8 went into effect, it sparked outrage with women, companies and pro-choice advocates across the country and the world. But it wasn’t just the unconstitutionality of the state law restricting access to safe abortions, but the accompanying legislation allowing any citizen in the country to sue those they suspect, not know but suspect, of assisting in getting an abortion after the six-week threshold. From doctors to friends. Counselors, therapists, religious leaders, staff and receptionists. There doesn’t need to be any direct participation in the procedure itself, or intimate knowledge of the mother, only a word of advice, taxi trip or emotional support is enough to give someone the power to sue and potentially collect on a $10,000 bounty for doing so.One would think with the increasing rates of maternal mortality across the country, a country still lacking an equitable and universal system of health care, that the focus would be on saving those lives by protecting Roe v. Wade. Ensuring victims of rape, incest and those whose life and health are in danger would be the priority. But unfortunately, it isn’t.While far right religious groups continue to lobby for no less than a total abortion ban nationwide, other countries are putting the health and safety of women and children first. And leaving reproduction choices up to those who should be making the decision. Those adversely affected. The women. Countries considered to be very religious with almost all of them identifying as Catholic and aligning themselves with the views and canons of the Church.Let’s take a look at how some Latin American countries are making strides to protect the reproductive rights, and ultimately overall health and lives by legalizing abortion.MEXICO Located on our southern border, Mexico isn’t what one would consider a liberal country. It is the second largest Catholic country in the world. With Brazil being number one. Over 75% of Mexico’s citizens consider themselves to be catholic, but the hold the church has had has been slowly but steadily declining over the decades. One catalyst being the scandals involving sexual abuse allegations against priests around the world and what many believe to have been both known by and covered up by the Church.Even prior to this historic ruling, with Mexico City being the first state to decriminalize abortion in 2007, the country had already been showing signs of moving in the direction of increasing women’s rights.Oaxaca, Hidalgo and most recently Veracruz, these four Mexican states were where a woman could legally seek an abortion without government or legal intervention or reprisal. But with a government that is made up of 50% women, the women’s rights movement has gained a speed and momentum that ultimately played a part in the unanimous decision by the Supreme Court to decriminalize abortion countrywide.But of course, it was not an easily won fight. There will always be opposition when talking about abortion. Mexico’s National Action Party, the country’s conservative party, was fully opposed to the legalization of abortion. But what does separate them somewhat from the GOP party in the US, is that they advocated for providing better help and resources to Mexico’s pregnant women, as well as an overhaul to improve the country’s adoption system. They at least recognize the necessity of helping women and girls who find themselves in a vulnerable position. Something the conservatives in this country have ignored.Before the 2021 ruling, Mexico was dealing with two crises. Teen pregnancy and illegal abortion. At least 1 million illegal abortions were performed in Mexico annually. Leading to a high maternal mortality rate coupled with high instances of unwanted and unplanned teen pregnancies. This proves two things: that banning abortions don’t stop them and refusal to teach sex education doesn’t mean teens will abstain from engaging in sex.

But what it does prove is that banning abortion puts the life and health of those women and girls in danger. The criminalization of abortion is also a drain on resources as over 4600 women are under investigation in Mexico right now for getting an illegal abortion. Thankfully there are organizations working on behalf of those women, and others who have been jailed, to free them.ARGENTINA Less than a year ago, Argentina’s National Congress passed the Voluntary Interruption Bill. Despite a failed attempt in 2018, women’s rights advocates with the full support of President Alberto Fernandez, continued to push for legalization of abortion. Where Argentina succeeded was in messaging. Making the right to abortion not one about religion, or political party but one of health and poverty. Most importantly that of the women and the children involved.Women’s rights group Ni Una Meno (Not One More) took to the streets in protest for greater protections for women against violence and in recent years has increased in both visibility and popularity as their message resonated with women throughout Latin America. Mobilizing women and adding the fight for legalization of abortion to combat both governmental and societal issues that have traditionally been patriarchal, suppressive, oppressive and violent to women. Disproportionately poor women. Those forced to carry and bear children to an already violent household. Women who out of desperation may seek illegal and ultimately unsafe abortions that could land them in the hospital or even worse.Formerly available only to victims of rape, all women in Argentina now have the ability to request an abortion up to 14 weeks gestation. While the Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups are still trying to stifle access and circumvent the new law, this is still a huge win for the women of Argentina. With over 3000 deaths and almost 40,000 hospitalizations due to illegal abortions, the new law is most certainly going to save lives.By recognizing that legalization alone does not address underlying issues, or help those carrying unplanned pregnancies to term, the Senate passed a partner bill to provide better attention and increased access for safe pre- and post-natal care for pregnant women and young mothers.Argentina is hoping that by passing these bills, other countries across Latin America will be encouraged and motivated to do the same for their women. Not unlike what happened when Argentina legalized same sex marriage over a decade ago, and other countries in the region followed suit.CHILEThough currently only allowing abortions in the instances of rape, when the life of the mother is in jeopardy or non-viability of fetus if brought to turn (which over 70% of Chileans support), I have added Chile because they have been known to follow Argentina’s lead when it comes to expanding rights of both women and the LGBTQ+ communities. So although the numbers drop significantly from that 70% mark, to a little less than 50%, there are still many working hard to bring the legislation forward and hopefully see it passed.CUBA Prior to a law in 1965 that made abortion on demand both completely legal and free to all Cuban women, only the wealthy and those from the US were able to get it. Albeit for a hefty price from private physicians.Former dictator Fidel Castro supported the full legalization of abortion, and in 1985 he went so far as to make it illegal to perform an abortion outside of a safe and approved medical facility, by unlicensed physicians and outlawed abortion for profit. Meaning all women would be allowed the same access and affordability to the procedure. All but guaranteeing a decline in the maternal mortality rate.As stated by the President of the National Commission for Family Planning Dr. Sosa Marin:Cuba accepts and supports since 1959, the sovereign right of women and their partners to freely decide their reproductive issues. The State guarantees, through our health system, the necessary attention before and after birth, in cases of infertility or when birth is not desired. In such cases,

the State guarantees the right to decide, allowing recourse to contraceptives. Similarly, the right to abort is the right of women and their partners, and that is why they are offered this institutional service with a high level of medical safety.Cuba is certainly no stranger to violations of the rights of its citizens. It has a long history of suppression and oppression of its people in many ways. Recognizing the positive affect, the legalization of abortion and the availability to contraceptives has had on the reproductive health of women and decrease in unwanted children, doesn’t take away from that. But there is still extreme poverty in Cuba, and giving women access to abortion and birth control mitigate the growth of a population still a long way from the type of human rights and equality that gives that child an environment to flourish in.If Mexico, Argentina and Cuba are any indication of where the world is headed, that is inspiring for women all over the globe. All three countries are heavily Catholic with Mexico and Cuba having conservative leadership, they have recognized the necessity of the separation of church and state. That the lives and health of their citizens takes priority over their personal views. Mexico’s President Lopez Obrador has said publicly that his beliefs have no bearing on his governance. The separation of church and state is not just beneficial but secures that a society unencumbered by the ideologies of organized religion will continue to grow and evolve. It needs to be, not about suppression, but access.The new law in TX has shined a worldwide spotlight on the abortion debate. It is imperative that we protect the autonomy of women and their reproductive rights It’s not just about a right to choose, but a right to live. The legalization of abortion in Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and future countries moving in that direction, is about more than women’s rights. But human rights in general. Protecting human rights is paramount to protecting human lives. Real living, breathing human lives.Check out Ty’s book THE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE. It’s a collection of affirmations she wrote to get her through a difficult time in her life. Words of wisdom that apply to anyone, and everyone, to get through the hard times. If you’re questioning yourself, and need a reminder that you are in control… Click HERE to order your copy.

[expatimes]

The Argentine women who fought for legal abortion – and won | Human Rights News

Buenos Aires, Argentina – The road to legalising abortion in Argentina is paved with the sweat, tears and devotion of women who spent much of their lives fighting for change.

They are revered as “las historicas” – the pioneering activists, lawyers and doctors who occupied the lonely space on street corners in the 1990s, waving placards that demanded women have the right to determine the fate of their bodies.

On Wednesday, the Argentine Senate voted 38 to 29 in favour of legalising elective abortion until the 14th week, with one abstention.

Some of those warriors did not get the chance to see their labour bear fruit: like Dora Coledesky, an activist, lawyer, and longtime champion for women’s rights who is signalled out as the main driver behind the campaign in its early days.

She passed away in 2009, and her granddaughter Rosana Fanjul is a key member of the legalisation campaign.

Those who were able to witness history are now legends to the “marea verde” – or green wave, as the young pro-choice masses are known. They have the lessons of struggle imprinted on their bodies. Their collective experience, the alliances they fostered and the manner in which they built consensus offer clues into how to sew a feminist revolution.

“My children when they were younger would say, the only thing you talk about is abortion. Can’t you talk about something else?” recalled Alicia Cacopardo, 83, laughing. “Well, we got here.”

The retired doctor formed part of the commission for the right to abortion in 1988.

She had just moved her practice out of a hospital in Buenos Aires and into neighbourhoods where she saw first hand the way illegality hit poor women harder. “The clandestine circuit worked perfectly in Argentina, paying for everything. That difference was so incredible,” she said.

Cacopardo would attend twice a month gatherings outside El Molino, a famous and since shuttered coffee shop within eyeshot of the National Congress in Buenos Aires. There, women would hand out pamphlets about their proposal and how the issue was treated by other countries.

Members of Argentina’s commission for the right to abortion at the 1991 National Gathering of Women

“There were those who were in favour and those against, and debates would break out there on the street corner. Of course, it was nothing like the green wave that you see now, but there were a lot of people who supported us,” said Cacopardo.

Street protests

The street is without question a protagonist in the Argentine feminist struggle.

The women who searched for their disappeared children and grandchildren during the last military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, known as Las Madres and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, famously held weekly marches in front of the government house, demanding answers from a regime that silenced its critics.

The symbol of their struggle was a white scarf worn around their heads; for the legal abortion campaign, the symbolic scarf has turned green.

Demonstrators in favour of legalising abortion react after Argentina’s Senate passed the abortion bill this week

“Our mobilisation is our presence,” said Nina Brugo, 77, a longtime labour lawyer and member of the campaign to legalise abortion. “A fundamental point is to take to the street.”

So too have been the National Gatherings of Women held every year since 1986 in a different city in Argentina. They feature 70 odd workshops on a rainbow of topics. Those who cannot afford somewhere to stay are given space to camp, or put up in schools. Some 600,000 people attended the last one in the city of La Plata in 2019.

“That’s where we formed all the networks, all the alliances, because women came from all walks of life and across the country,” said Brugo. “There’s someone who doesn’t know how to read next to someone who has a doctorate – their voices have the same value in the workshops. That has been marvellous.”

It was at one of the gatherings, in the coastal city of San Bernardo in 1990, that Brugo was approached by Coledesky, who was gathering signatures in favour of legal abortion.

Three members of the campaign to legalise abortion, Marta Alanis, Dora Barrancos, and Nelly Minyersky, on their way to the Senate vote on December 29, 2020

Brugo had accompanied women who had aborted but at that time she did not see it as a right yet. At that same gathering, she listened closely to the experiences shared by Brazilian women who proposed September 28 as a day for legal abortion in Latin America.

On that date in 1871, Brazil declared that all children born to enslaved people were free. “They wanted to equalise the freedom of the womb with the right to abortion,” Brugo said. “That impacted me.” After that, she sought out Coledesky and added her signature to the cause.

Setting strategies

Marta Alanis started to feel and call herself a feminist around 1991, when she met Brazilian feminist theologian Ivon Gebara and the social justice group Catholics for the Right to Decide in Uruguay.

Alanis went on to co-found the Argentine chapter and occupy a central role in the abortion legalisation campaign. “Not all women were in favour of the right to abortion in the gatherings of women – the debate was there,” recalled Alanis.

“I remember that in the year 1997, in the national gathering in San Juan, that was the first time Catholic women were sent by the church leadership to block the debate and it generated a great unease,” she said.

In 2003, they held the first assembly on the right to abortion in order “to define strategies”.

Women rejoice after Argentina’s Senate passed the abortion bill in Buenos Aires

When the women who had been sent by the church arrived, they were told that if they did not have strategies to contribute they were not welcome.

That 2003 gathering is where the green scarf was born. In 2005, the campaign to legalise abortion was officially launched. It presented its first project, with the signature of one legislator, in 2007, and eight times after that.

It was debated by the National Congress for the first time in 2018, marking a turning point for a society that had spent so long looking the other way. It passed the lower house of deputies, but failed in the Senate that time – a devastating loss, but one which did not deter, and if anything fuelled, the conviction to be back.

“The campaign, like all things that are human, has had tensions,” said Alanis.

“But we have never split. And that speaks to a form of building collectively as feminists. It’s building in a way that is horizontal, where all the voices have space, and without a hierarchy. It’s very different from a political party or a syndicate.”

‘Great satisfaction’

It was a cacophony of voices on the night of the Senate vote, as tens of thousands of people – young women, in particular – poured into the square around the National Congress, decked in green. It was a far cry from the clutch of women who stood outside El Molino, all those years ago.

“The square has become for me a place of great emotion,” said Nelly Minyersky, 91, a lawyer and fixture in the movement. She heads up a masters programme at the University of Buenos Aires law school. “Although it’s a great mystery to me, I’ve turned into someone that young people really love,” she said.

Knowing that, and considering the dangers of COVID-19, she stayed away from the square for the final vote, watching it instead from inside the Senate alongside Alanis and Dora Barrancos, a renowned historian and adviser to President Alberto Fernandez.

An abortion rights activist outside the legislative building during a demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17

The three walked arm-in-arm along the side streets of the imposing building, with the festive sound of the street in the distance.

For Minyersky, like for so many of her friends, approval does not mean the work is done. Making sure people know about the law – and making sure it is enforced – are on her to-do list.

“One thing that really fills me with emotion is the way we found such a beautiful reflection in young people,” said Minyersky. “That is a great satisfaction. That the ideas that you generate do not stay in you, but that future generations keep developing and perfecting them. They are taking the baton.”

#humanrights Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=16272&feed_id=26168 #argentina #humanrights #latinamerica #news #women #women039srights

[ladystylestores]

Global coronavirus cases top 13 million: Live updates | News

The World Health Organization has warned the pandemic could get far worse if countries around the world do not follow basic healthcare precautions. “The virus remains public enemy number one,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from WHO headquarters in Geneva.

More than 13 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and nearly 572,000 have died, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. The United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Italy have recorded the most deaths.

Here are the latest updates.

Tuesday, July 14

05:15 GMT – Debt-relief measures failing to help Cambodian poor

Human Rights Watch says debt relief measures by micro-loan providers in Cambodia are failing to help alleviate the financial burden on families struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic who risk  being forced to sell land and housing to survive.

The rights group says the National Bank of Cambodia and the government should suspend debt collection and interest accruals for micro-loan borrowers who can no longer meet their payments because of the pandemic. 

“Many Cambodians fear losing their lands more than catching the coronavirus because they can’t pay back their loans and the government has done little to help them,” HRW’s Asia Director Phil Robertson said in a statement, urging the government to order a freeze on debt collection and interest accruals.

HRW says Cambodians have the world’s highest average amount of micro-loans at $3,804 per capita. 

Strong statement from Human Rights Watch detailing how MFIs in Cambodia threaten land tenure security and human rights, especially during COVID-19. European development banks and IFC still investing in sector without any enhanced borrower protection. https://t.co/KIIsMmK6gO

— Brendan O’Byrne (@BrendanOByrne) July 14, 2020

05:00 GMT – Worse than dismal: Singapore Q2 GDP plunges 41.2 percent

Singapore’s economy suffered a coronavirus-induced record contraction in the second quarter, putting it on course for its worst-ever slump this year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) plunged by a record 41.2 percent in the three months ended March, on a quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, preliminary data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters were expcting 37.4 percent decline.

“We were expecting these numbers to look quite dismal, although this is worse than what we had expected,” Steve Cochrane, economist at Moody’s Analytics, told the news agency.

04:45 GMT – Tokyo theatregoers asked to come forward for testing

Some 800 Tokyo theatregoers are being asked to come forward for testing after at least 20 coronavirus cases were traced back to a production involving a Japanese boy band.

Health officials are focusing on the Theatre Moliere, a 190-seat theatre in the Shinjuku area of the capital, which put on the show ‘Werewolf’ for six days earlier this month.

The first case was reported on July 6 and involved a cast member.

04:30 GMT – DRC facing new Ebola outbreak as tries to control COVID, measles

Ebola is spreading in western Democratic Republic of Congo, with nearly 50 known cases across a large region bordering the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mike Ryan, the WHO’s top emergencies expert, says the outbreak, first detected on June 1, remains “very active” and of great concern.

“In the era of COVID it is very important that we do not take our eyes off these other emerging diseases,” he said. 

DR Congo is also dealing with a measles epidemic that has killed more than 6,000 people and COVID-19, which has infected more than 3,000 and killed 188.

You can read more on that story here.

FILE PHOTO: Mwamini Kahindo, an Ebola survivor working as a caregiver to babies who are confirmed Ebola cases, holds an infant outside the red zone at the Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo [Reuters]

03:45 GMT – Malaysia and Singapore ease some border restrictions

Malaysia and Singapore are to ease border restrictions between the two countries to support essential business and official traffic, as well as residents who have long-term work permits for the other country.

The rules will include a ‘Reciprocal Green Lane’ for essential business and official purposes with all travellers having to undergo a PCR swab test before travel and submit a detailed itinerary for the duration of the visit. 

The ‘Periodic Commuting Agreement’ will apply to residents with long term work permits for the other country and allow them to return for ‘home leave’ after three months of working. 

The new measures are expected to come into force on August 10, the two countries’ governments said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The details of the arrangements – including health protocols and the application process – will be announced ten days before that.

Joint Press Statement by FM Dato’ Seri @HishammuddinH2O and Singapore FM Dr. @VivianBala on the implementation of the

reciprocal green lane & periodic commuting agreement. pic.twitter.com/vjQ0F3sSIY

— Wisma Putra (@MalaysiaMFA) July 14, 2020

03:30 GMT – Hong Kong prepares for toughest-ever coronavirus curbs

People in Hong Kong are preparing for the toughest curbs yet to control the coronavirus with the authorities warning that the risk of a large-scale outbreak in the territory is “extremely high”.

The new measures come into force at midnight (16:00 GMT). They include mandatory face masks on public transport, and a limit on the size of gatherings to just four people.

You can read more on that story here.

Masks will be mandatory on all public transport in Hong Kong under measures that come into force at midnight [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

02:30 GMT – Mystery of Argentine sailors who caught virus while at sea

Argentina is trying to solve the mystery of how 57 sailors managed to come down with the coronavirus while they were at sea even though all had tested negative and spent 14 days in quarantine in a hotel before the voyage began.

The health ministry for the southern province of Tierra del Fuego says the fishing trawler is now back in port after 35 days at sea, with 57 of the 61 crew diagnosed with the virus after a new test. Two are now in hospital.

A team is trying to establish the “chronology of contagion” among the crew.

“This is a case that escapes all description in publications because an incubation period this long has not been described anywhere,” said Leandro Ballatore, the head of the infectious diseases department at Ushuaia Regional Hospital. “We cannot yet explain how the symptoms appeared.”   

01:25 GMT – No new cases confirmed in Beijing for eighth day

The wave of coronavirus cases connected with Beijing’s wholesale market that began in June appears to have been brought under control with no new cases of the disease reported in the Chinese capital for eight successive days.

China’s National Health Commission reported five new cases on the mainland on Tuesday, all among people returning from overseas.

#Beijing sees zero locally transmitted #COVID19 cases for the eighth consecutive day. On Monday, 21 people recovered and were discharged from hospitals, lowering the number of active cases in Beijing to 205. pic.twitter.com/W5fNQkEsWe

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) July 14, 2020

01:00 GMT – Nearly 1,000 workers at US immigration detention centres have COVID-19

More than 930 people working for four private companies that run detention centres for US immigration have tested positive for coronavirus, according to executives speaking at a congressional hearing.

The four firms are CoreCivic (554 cases), the GEO Group (167 cases), Management & Training Corp (73 cases) and LaSalle Corrections (144 cases). US immigration has reported 45 cases amongst its own staff.

Lawmakers are concerned about the spread of the virus across the US’ nearly 70 detention centres. More than 3,000 detainees have tested positive for the disease and two have died. There are currently about 22,580 people in immigration custody.

00:00 GMT – UK to make masks mandatory in shops

The British government will announce on Tuesday that people will have to wear masks when they go into a shop from July 24. 

“There is growing evidence that wearing a face covering in an enclosed space helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said.

Masks have been required on public transport since June 15.

23:45 GMT (Monday) – Worldwide cases surpass 13 million

More than 13 million people around the world have now been confirmed to have had the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Below are the five most-affected countries.

United States – 3,361,042

Brazil – 1,884,967

India – 878,254

Russia – 732,547

Peru – 330,123 

—-

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. I’m Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.

Read all the updates from yesterday (July 13) here.

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[loyallogic]

Vizag Gas Tragedy: A Reflection of Bhopal’s Misery

This article is written by Anam Khan from Hidayatullah National Law University. The article discusses the detailed study of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Case. The recent gas leak in the LG Polymers, Vizag compels us to raise an important question, have we learned our lesson from one of the worst industrial accidents- The Bhopal tragedy? 

Introduction

In the early hours on 7th May, a Styrene gas leak in LG Polymers Plant in Vizag claimed 11 lives, leaving 5000 others severely injured. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken this incident into suo moto cognizance. Although the notice by the Commission suggests that there was no negligence or human error, it is still a gross violation of human rights. Later during the same day, a boiler burst at Neyveli Lignite Corporation injured 8 people in Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, 7 people fell ill after they accidentally inhaled a toxic gas that leaked from a paper mill factory in the Raigarh district. These incidents of a gas leak remind us of the major accident that happened in Bhopal in 1984; The Bhopal Gas Tragedy. In 1934, Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) was incorporated in India to manufacture batteries, chemicals, pesticides, and other industrial products. The American enterprise, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) owned a majority stake in UCIL. In 1970, UCIL erected a pesticide plant in a densely populated area of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At the inception stage, UCC’s Argentine agronomic engineer expressed concerns over the plant’s safety but his superiors disregarded them, saying that the plant would be ‘as inoffensive as a chocolate factory’. With the approval from the Government of India UCIL manufactured the pesticides Sevin and Temik in its Bhopal plant. On the night of 2 December, 1984 water is said to have seeped into a tank containing over forty tonnes of the highly poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC), a gas that was used in the production of Sevin and Temik. This is said to have caused an exothermic reaction because of which the MIC escaped into the atmosphere- and when the northwesterly winds blew this gas over the hutments adjacent to the plant and also into the very densely populated parts of Bhopal, the city was transformed into a ‘gas chamber’. As many as 2600 people died in the immediate wake of the leak, and the death toll rose to 8000 within a fortnight, while hundreds of thousands were impacted. This is when Bhopal had found a place on the world map for all the wrong reasons.

The ghosts of December 1984 haunted several generations of Bhopal’s inhabitants. Over the next 25 years, although no official death count was undertaken, estimates indicate that the number of fatalities rose to a whopping 20,000 while 6,00,000 people suffered irreparable physical damage. Many who were still in the womb endured its catastrophic consequences. Even today, residents of Bhopal suffer from genetic defects such as damaged reproductive systems, lung problems, and vision impairments due to the gas leak that occurred nearly three decades ago. What followed the accident was as regrettable as the accident itself. The Indian polity, judiciary, legal fraternity, and all the media squandered numerous opportunities to lay down a stern deterrent for those who believed that they could wantonly evade punishment for crimes committed by developing nations. In the years that followed, in their struggle for justice, the victims of the disaster were re-victimized. There was a series of debates and decisions on several issues- ranging from compensation payable to the victims, the criminal negligence of UCIL the piercing of the corporate veil, the criminal liability of the directors of UCIL and UCC, and the appropriate choice of forum- in India as well as the United States of America, but little good trickled down to the victims of this catastrophe. 

Parens Patriae and the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, 1985

At the time of the disaster, UCIL’s ownership structure was such that UCC owned  51 percent of the company. Life Insurance Corporation of India/Unit Trust of India owned 22 percent and the Indian public-owned 27 percent. Soon after the leak, hundreds of tort lawyers from the United States of America and their Indian counterparts descended on Bhopal, seeking exemplary damages for those affected by the tragedy. The Government of India was quick to derail their hopes. It promulgated the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, 1985 in March 1985. The Bhopal Act gave the Central Government the exclusive rights to represent and act in place of the persons entitled to make claims in relation to the Bhopal gas leak. It authorized the Central Government to represent the interests of those affected by the gas leak as ‘parens patriae’- this tool, which originated in the United Kingdom and evolved in the United States of America allows the state to protect the well-being of its citizens in a representative capacity. 

The Bhopal Act is known to have evoked sharp criticism, as the wrongdoer (UCIL) was partly owned by State corporations and the government could have been held partially liable for the tragedy. By invoking parens patriae, the government began to represent every victim who would have initiated against it. The government’s action has therefore been criticized as the device meant to protect itself from culpability for the Bhopal gas leak rather than protect its victims. The constitutional validity of the Bhopal Act was also challenged before the Supreme Court. Justifying the application of the parens patriae principle, the court held:

The government is within its duty to protect and to control persons under disability. Conceptually, the parens patriae theory is the obligation of the state to protect and take into custody the rights and the privileges of its citizens for discharging its obligations. Our Constitution makes it imperative for the states to secure to all its citizens the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and where the citizens are not in a position to assert and secure their rights, the state must come into the picture and protect and fight for the rights of the citizens. Even though it was tenuous, parens patriae could have been an effective mechanism to obtain a speedy remedy only if the government had pursued it with conviction and while bearing in mind the interest of the victims. However, the government did not match its power with ‘results or responsibility’. The outcome was that the victims were double-crossed by the state- they were left with little compensation and also deprived of their right to act in their individual capacities. 

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Proceedings before the Keenan Court

Exercising its power under the Bhopal Act, on 8th April 1985, the Central Government filed a complaint against UCC before the Southern District Court in New York, United States of America. By then, 144 proceedings were already underway in federal courts across the United States in respect of the Bhopal gas leak. All these proceedings were consolidated and assigned to the court of Judge John Keenan. The arguments projected a strange situation- the Union of India argued that Indian courts could not handle the matter efficiently while a United States corporation asserted that they could. India ‘biopsied’ it’s own legal system while an American corporation celebrated it! Acting on behalf of the victims, the Indian government started the following-

India’s legal system was ill-equipped to handle the complex litigation that the case would entail.

The endemic delays in India’s legal system and the substantial backlog of cases would impede the effective disposal of the case.

Indian lawyers could not provide proper representation due to a lack of expertise in the area of tort claims. 

Tort law in India was not developed enough to deal with a case of such gigantic proportions.

Procedural law in India would hinder the path of justice for the victims. 

The court extensively discussed whether the Indian courts were competent enough to grapple with the Bhopal disaster case. Judge Keenan concluded that the arguments were untenable and dismissed the claims on the ground of ‘forum non-conveniens’- a doctrine based on which the court can refuse jurisdiction over a case where a more appropriate forum is available. The court held that most of the documentary evidence concerning the design of the plant, safety, and setup was in India, as were the vast majority of witnesses who could be examined. Moreover, the Indian government had an ‘extensive and deep interest’ in assuring compliance with safety standards. Judge Keenan believed that India’s interest in developing minimum standards of care was superior to the United State’s interest in deterring multinationals from exporting dangerous technology to other nations. Strikingly, Judge Keenan made certain politically flavored observations on the potential of Indian courts to dispense justice: 

To retain the litigation in this forum would be yet another example of imperialism, another situation in which an established sovereign inflicted its rules, its standards, and values on a developing nation. This court declines to play such a role. The Union of India was a world power in 1986, and its courts have the proven capacity to mete out fair and equal justice. To deprive the Indian judiciary of this opportunity to stand tall before the world and to pass the judgment on behalf of its own people would be to revive a history of subservience and subjugation from which India has emerged. India and its people can and must vindicate their claims before the independent and legitimate judiciary created there since the Independence of 1947.

The dismissal of the Union of India’s case was subject to three conditions:

UCC would have to consent to submit to the jurisdiction of Indian courts and continue to waive defenses founded on the statute of limitations.

UCC would have to abide by any judgment rendered by an Indian court as long as it complied with ‘minimal’ due process requirements.

After an appropriate demand by the Union of India, UCC was to be subject to discovery under the model of the United State’s Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

Judge Keenan’s decision was ironic- the great opportunity that he believed India’s legal system faced was squandered by the bar and the bench.

Back in India, the Meagre Settlement

So, in September 1986, the Union of India instituted proceedings against UCC in a district court in Bhopal, which ordered UCC to deposit an interim compensation of 350 crore rupees. On appeal, the Madhya Pradesh High Court reduced the figure to 250 crore rupees. UCC appealed to the Supreme Court of Indian law, a judgment debtor is supposed to deposit the contested amount before moving an appellate court, UCC did not do so.

Aiming to dispense speedy justice to the victims, the court ordered UCC to pay 470 million dollars crore ‘in full settlement of all claims, rights, and liabilities related to and arising out of the Bhopal gas disaster’. The compensation amount was a mean between UCC’s offer of 426 million dollars and the Union of India’s demand for 500 million dollars. In terms of the settlement, all civil proceedings were concluded and criminal proceedings quashed in relation to the Bhopal gas leak. Although the five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court passed this order on Valentine’s Day 1989, the victims had no great affection for the order, since the Central government had earlier kindled their hopes of obtaining compensation amounting to 3 billion dollars- more than six times the final settlement amount. 

A few months later, the Supreme Court issued a reasoned decision for its order granting compensation to the victims. One of the unfortunate effects of the settlement was that the court did not adjudicate on critical issues raised by the Bhopal incident, though it stated its observations on the need to protect national interests from being exploited by a foreign corporation and develop criteria to deal with potentially hazardous technology. The Supreme Court reiterated that the compensation was adequate and that it actually exceeded personal injury claims that time. It clearly failed to appreciate the extent of the damage caused by the Bhopal gas tragedy and its crippling long term effect. It would not be wrong to say that Indian laws do not value lives as much as it is valued by other nations. Is it because we have so many people that not each and everyone matters?  

Criminal Charges Revived

The settlement sanctioned by the Supreme Court was widely condemned. A few years after the 1989 settlement order, the Supreme Court clubbed several petitions filed against the order and formed a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear arguments challenging the basis of the settlement. In exceptional cases, the Supreme Court has the power to review its own judgment, under Article 137 of the Constitution. However, before the judgment could be pronounced the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee, passed away. This necessitated a rehearing which caused further delay. In its judgment dated 3rd October 1991, the Court finally recognized the legal sanctity of the order recording the settlement between UCC and the Union of India. It wasted the opportunity of revising the 470-million-dollar compensation to a more realistic figure. The court also emphasized the need to grant speedy justice to the victims- by its own calculations, the full adjudication of the suits relating to the Bhopal disaster would have taken till 2010.  

Nevertheless, the judgment did have two positive consequences. First, it clearly catalyzed the condemnation of the quashing of the criminal process against the UCC officers and the revival of the criminal proceedings against them. Second, the court held that if the settlement amount fell short, the Union of India was bound to make good the shortfall. Remarkably, Justice Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi, who went on to become the Chief Justice of India in 1994, dissented on this point, questioning why the Indian taxpayer should be liable when the Union of India was neither held liable in tort for the disaster nor was shown to have acted negligently while entering into the settlement. 

Criminal Proceedings Against UCC and UCIL Officers

After the criminal proceedings against the directors and officers of UCC and UCIL recommenced, many criminal cases did the rounds in courts across India. Initially, charges framed against the accused under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder- an offence punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of ten years. Responding to an appeal, the Supreme Court diluted the charge to ‘causing death by negligence’ under Section 304A of the IPC on the ground that the evidence was not sufficient to charge the accused with culpable homicide. The trial proceeded in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court, and on June 7, 2010, seven people were convicted for two years each in connection with the Bhopal gas leak. Warren Anderson, the Chairman of UCC at the time of the leak did not appear in court and was declared an absconder. Though the court slapped the maximum punishment it could, it was sharply criticized for treating the disaster like a ‘minor traffic accident.’

Give to the Rich and Rob from the Poor?

The Bhopal gas leak was cited by many as the paradigm of how influential multinationals exploit developing countries; developing countries import hazardous technology in spite of a conspicuous absence of an environmental law framework and legal infrastructure to handle its potentially disastrous consequences. The most ironic aspect of globalization in the 1980 and 1990s was that in their quest for economic development, developing countries sacrificed the human rights of the lowest rungs in their societies. Foreign companies were accused of committing some of the most heinous crimes- from homicide and rape to forced labour. Bhopal was undoubtedly the darkest reflection of globalization against its benefits, particularly when modern technology was imported into an archaic legal set-up, as was the case with India.

Bhopal and BP

In 2010 an oil spill of unprecedented magnitude happened in the Gulf of Mexico when a mobile offshore drilling unit, which was drilling an exploratory well, exploded and leaked out close to 5 million barrels of crude oil. Within weeks of the incident, BP- the corporation that was held responsible for the spill- created a 20 billion dollar fund to deal with the accident. Within two years and four days of the incident, federal investigators in the United States of America made their first arrest in the matter. The incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and Bhopal are acutely distinct: the former wreaked massive environmental destruction, while the latter decimated thousands of humans and deprived thousands more of the basic quality of life. The former also took place at a time when environmental law was more equipped to handle mass disasters. At the same time, one cannot help but notice the differential treatment of the two incidents. Had the accident occurred in Indian waters, would BP have paid even half of the compensation it eventually did?

Have We Learned Our Lesson from Bhopal?

The Bhopal gas disaster jolted lackadaisical politicians and policymakers. Before 1984, India only had specific legislation pertinent to air and water pollution. After the Bhopal gas tragedy, India enacted the Environment Protection Act, 1986 a statue that seeks to address pressing concerns involving sustainable development. This was followed up by the enactment of the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995. However, despite all the environmental legislation, there is still a definite lacuna in the Indian legal structure. On 6 July 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted the ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’ a report by Harvard Law School professor and United Nations Special Representative John Ruggie. As per the UN Framework, governments must clearly spell out their policies to protect human rights and communicate these to business organizations. Further business must undertake a regular human rights impact assessment (HRIA) and due diligence, and create internal policies to ensure compliance with human rights norms. So, despite the government’s steps in the aftermath of Bhopal, there is still room for a substantial number of measures to be undertaken. The recent Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 caps the liability of nuclear plant operators for nuclear accidents to 1500 crore. This amount is lower than the 470-million-dollar compensation awarded in the Bhopal case, which in itself was grossly insufficient. The proposed framework of nuclear liability law has created a dangerous cocktail for another Bhopal. It reinforces the fact that justice in India is still administered reactively, not proactively. 

Conclusion

The recent Vizag gas leak is said to have been reminiscent of the Bhopal accident. It is a stark example of how casually certain industries treat environmental guidelines. Production plants such as these are rarely shut, let alone switched off abruptly, the scientist said. The lockdown, however, forced all industries, except those making essentials, to shut down. It is not known whether there was sufficient staff, monitoring key storage parameters, and sensors. In its eagerness to catch up with its richer neighbour, India should not repeat its mistakes. There is indeed a case for reforming some of the archaic and rigid labour laws that have unintended consequences. But a correction should not mean the pendulum swinging in the other direction.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Union Home Ministry has said that the manufacturing units which will restart after the Covid-19 lockdown ends, should consider the first week as the trial period. “Due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units during the lockdown period, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established SOP. As a result, some of the manufacturing facilities, pipelines, valves, etc. may have residual chemicals, which may pose risk,” the NDMA said in a letter to the states. In a nutshell, the Achilles’ heel of Indian policy is exposed.

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[faithfulnews]

How to read ‘Querida Amazonia’

How to read ‘Querida Amazonia’

By Austen Ivereigh

February 25, 2020

Jesus spoke of the need for new wine in new wineskins for a reason: sometimes we don’t see and hear the new thing happening because we’re looking out for the old thing. Nowhere has that been truer than in the reception of Pope Francis’s latest apostolic exhortation, Querida Amazonia. As the dust begins to settle on the reaction to Pope Francis’s response to the Amazon synod, we have only begun to see what his move really consists of, and the future he is opening up: a truly global Catholicism in which lay people assume their responsibility for evangelization, and exercise real authority in a church that is embedded in local, not just Western, clerical culture.

We didn’t see it coming because we were conditioned to wait for what has always come before. We were expecting a ruling from the supreme legislator of the Catholic Church on a disputed ecclesial question; we were looking for a decision. What we got was a dream, a vision, and a prophecy. What we were waiting for was a solution to a pressing problem—the lack of clergy in the Amazon and therefore of access to the Eucharist. What Francis gave us was an answer to a deeper problem: a response to the agonized cry of the people of the region, and God’s dream for their fullness of life.

We are used to post-synodal apostolic exhortations that subsume and replace the synod’s concluding report. What we got instead was something quite new: a papal response that complements the synod report with what has resonated in his discernment. We were expecting an old wineskin to carry the wine we were used to, and when we were given a new wineskin we failed to taste the new wine in it. But it’s not too late to look again, and taste.

The pope said he intended neither to duplicate nor to replace the synod final report; ergo, what is not replaced is not refused. Nothing in that report, endorsed by two-thirds of the synod, is rejected; indeed, everything in it is affirmed, endorsed, and given papal recognition. Contrary to almost every news story or reaction to Querida Amazonia, the pope did not rule against the possibility of ordaining married men, or of women deacons, or of anything else the synod agreed to propose. Instead, he said something quite astonishing: that the synod final report was the fruit of a collaboration by people “who know better than I and the Roman curia the problems and issues of the Amazon region.” And he went on to urge pastors, religious, and lay leaders to “strive to apply” the report in Amazonia, while inviting us all—the whole church—to be enriched and challenged by studying it in its integrity. Because, as we shall see, Querida Amazonia is about much more than Amazonia.

Francis prefigured the new thing in Evangelii gaudium, when he said he did not think it “advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory.” The pope, in short, defers to the discernment of the local church. A Vatican official close to Francis has helped me to understand this. “It’s a complete reversal,” he writes. “Before, the hierarchical scheme needed the validation of the Holy Father, but here the Holy Father places himself in a position of listening to the action of the Spirit in the Synod.” It’s not easy for people to grasp what is going on, he explains, because it involves a category inversion typical of the Gospel’s subversive ways. “Many see in this exhortation a conclusion but it’s the opposite: it values all the proposals of the synod and treats them as a point of departure.”

The bishops have discerned; the pope respects their discernment; now it is they who must act. Far from reacting with disappointment or fury—as so many American and European progressives have—Catholics in Amazonia saw the exhortation as the pope inviting them to take the initiative. Cardinal Cláudio Hummes,the Amazon synod’s relator (chair), told journalists that the question of the ordination of married men would now be dealt with directly by the bishops of the region in dialogue with the pope and the Vatican. The bishop of Juína in the Brazilian region of Mato Grosso, Neri José, who spoke to me regularly during the synod, was one of those strongly urging the ordination of married men and women deacons. “He’s thrown the ball right back in our court,” he told me after reading the exhortation. “Now is the time for courage.”

How will the Amazonian church respond? The pope himself points to the doors waiting to be pushed open: in favorably noting the proposal for an Amazonian rite, and for a territorial episcopal council that would allow the bishops of the region to act together across national boundaries. Dom Neri is among those urging his fellow bishops to form this Amazon-specific “strong synodal body” alongside Celam—the transcontinental episcopal conference—to push these proposals forward. “If [Celam] doesn’t take the initiative,” Dom Neri tells me, “the bishops of the dioceses can seek the competent authority to proceed.” In other words, they can apply diocese by diocese for permission from Rome to ordain viri probati.

But given that this is a decision that would affect the whole Latin-rite church, most observers believe that the ordination of viri probati will be the result of a regional synodal process that creates a new Amazonian rite. “The pope is asking the bishops to come up with concrete proposals,” another Vatican official involved with the synod process told me. “He thinks the time wasn’t yet ripe for any kind of decision by him: there’s too much anxiety, too little clarity. But he expects the bishops to move forward with it.” Cardinal Hummes, who heads the trans-Amazonian church network REPAM, says the future “ecclesial organism” for Amazonia “will have an important role in discussions in the Vatican about how to bring about the ordination of married men in areas of scarcity.” Mauricio López, the executive secretary of REPAM, sees the exhortation as “an invitation to continue exploring ways and channels which will perhaps lead to relaxing the rule [of celibacy].”

Another door has meanwhile opened to a female diaconate. At the end of the synod, Francis promised to reopen and reconstitute the commission looking into women deacons that ended last year in disagreement. That will now happen, says the official involved with the synod. “But he wants the study to go beyond the diaconate, to incorporate a deeper understanding of ministries in the early church.” Because for Francis, to consider the question of ministries only through the lens of the clergy is to get stuck with the old wineskins and to miss the new wine the Spirit is offering.

  Is it possible that the church in the Amazon has focused too much on the clerical institution, and not seen what gifts are already being poured out on the People of God?

In this regard, Francis may be respecting the discernment of the synod, but he is not confined by it. Querida Amazonia expresses his conviction that the Spirit has been calling the church to look at something other than the issue of clerical ministries. The sign of that, to Francis, was the polarization over the viri probati issue. He was deeply dismayed at the politicking by curial cardinals Marc Ouellet and Robert Sarah, who attempted to mobilize public opinion against the synod’s discernment by claiming in coordinated books—one before, one after the synod—that the issue had long been settled in favor of mandatory, universal celibacy. But he was also upset at the obsessive focus on the issue during the synod by many of the Amazonian bishops, as if simply ordaining more people would somehow resolve the deeper challenges facing the church.

Whenever two church tribes blindly go to war with each other, Francis sees a sign that the bad spirit has prevailed: we have been deceived into a conviction that a tension between two goods—in this case, a celibate and married priesthood—is a contradiction that must be resolved by the defeat of one side by the other.

In such circumstances, the pope says in Evangelii gaudium, the appropriate response is not to opt for some wishy-washy compromise, nor for one pole to vanquish the other, but rather to be open to “a resolution which takes place on a higher plane and preserves what is valid and useful on both sides.” As he puts it in Querida Amazonia, the answer lies in “transcending the two approaches and finding other, better ways, perhaps not yet even imagined.” Solutions often come in the form of a “greater gift” that God is offering from which “there will pour forth as from an overflowing fountain the answers that contraposition did not allow us to see.”

The pope’s purpose in Querida Amazonia is to offer—passionately, but without dictating or lecturing—some of the answers he sees flowing from that fountain. They are answers that indignant progressives or triumphant conservatives still focused only on the institutional, clerical issue simply fail to see, because they are expecting law and have been given something more like a parable.

Fr. Augusto Zampini Davies, an Argentine official at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, suggests the analogy. Like Jesus’ parables, he says, “if you don’t get inside Francis’s dreams, they won’t change you. But if you do, you are changed.” The change Francis is pointing to requires a different way of thinking: not “How do we make sure more communities receive the Eucharist?”—important though that is—but: How can we have communities of life that care for the poor, that know Christ’s nearness? How to ignite the life of the Spirit? How to incarnate Christ?

Fr. Zampini asks me to consider the pope’s dreams as biblical dreams, that offer warnings, open new horizons, show the paths out of slavery into abundant new life.  Querida Amazonia is about Amazonia, but it’s really about all of us, he says. Replace Amazonia with the United States, or Kenya, or France, and it is just as resonant. “Try it, you’ll see it works,” he urges. I have. It does.

The first ecology we need, says Francis at the start of the exhortation’s third chapter, is to grasp that freedom from slavery means helping the hearts of people to open trustingly to that God who has not just created all that exists but has given Himself to us in Jesus Christ: “The Lord, who first cares for us, teaches us to care for our brothers and sisters, and the environment that he gifts to us each day.” There is a created order, full of creatures, because there is a Creator; and we are invited to enter into that truth by contemplating our world, not analyzing it; by loving it, not using it; by uniting ourselves to it, entering into it, giving ourselves to it.

So our created world—Amazonia, Arizona, Azerbaijan—is the place of our encounter with our Creator, who is not a distant figure but an incarnated savior. Our place is the locus theologicus of incarnation and therefore inculturation. And in our realization of that truth, our conversion, we abandon our colonialism, our corruption, our technocratic illusions of superiority, and our contempt. Instead, we embrace fraternity, open ourselves to dialogue with all (especially the poor), see all that is created as gift, and work for justice and the dignity of all. We nurture and build up culture; we respect ancestral wisdom born of the symbiotic bond of humankind and the natural world; we listen to our elders and hear the dreams of our young; we stand with the people against the power-drunk bosses who have no use for poetry and song and memory.

The church, says Francis in one of the most beautiful passages in Querida Amazonia, grows through inculturation—by incarnating the Gospel in culture. In nurturing the seeds of the Word the Lord has sown in every people, the Gospel affirms God’s action in that people, building up their culture; and at the same time, the church grows, enriched by each inculturation. It becomes a living tradition that is not the worship of ashes but the preservation of fire, to quote Francis quoting Gustav Mahler.

It would be a shame, says Francis, if people received from the church merely a doctrinal code or a moral imperative, and not “the great message of salvation,” which is “a God who infinitely loves every man and woman and has revealed this love fully in Jesus Christ, crucified for us and risen in our lives.” (Here Francis refers us to chapter four of his earlier exhortation Christus vivit, which describes how Christ loves you, is your savior, and is alive).

Chapter Four of Querida Amazonia is about the inculturation of the Gospel in the Amazon, but is also about what the incarnation of Christ in any culture looks like. In other words, it is about how the church needs to be present in and to a particular people. And thus the question of ministries—the way in which the church serves a people, becoming a means of encounter with Christ—is also a question of inculturation, and so necessarily raises the question of how the church organizes itself to that end.

This is where Francis gently performs his major move. The church’s pastoral presence in the Amazon, he observes, is “precarious” (the English translation, “uneven,” lacks the force of the Spanish) “due in part to the vast expanse of territory” and other existential factors: cultural diversity, the isolation of ethnic groups, and so on. The “in part” is significant; for Francis, geography only partly accounts for the problem. He calls for “a specific, courageous response” from the church to rise to this challenge, which implies a degree of pusillanimity in its response thus far. He then speaks of the need for greater access to the sacraments but immediately adds: “at the same time, there is a need for ministers who can understand Amazonian sensibilities and culture from within.” It is easy to miss the significance of this qualifying sentence, not least because the English translation softens “at the same time” to “also,” so it’s worth spelling out: the sacraments are part of the means, but the end is the inculturation of the Gospel. The purpose is not the expansion of an institutional presence. What matters is inculturated ministry that performs the Incarnation. That is the telos, the deeper purpose or end that must govern our discernment of the means.

Then comes a key passage in which Francis says that, while a priest has the non-delegable qualification to preside at the Eucharist, this does not make him the highest authority in the community. Religious women and lay leaders can and do run communities, he points out, before going on to note the distinctively lay ecclesial culture of the Amazon, where most Catholic communities have no priest and are run by women. Many of these leaders, he says, promote the encounter with God’s Word and growth in holiness through their service, and have spent decades embedded in the life of the communities of the region. He goes on to call for women, in particular, to have their roles publicly recognized and commissioned by bishops, allowing them “to have a real and effective impact on the organization, the most important decisions and the direction of communities.”

Much of the action, in these passages, is happening in the footnotes, where Francis observes that more Amazonian priests are sent to Europe and the United States than to serve in the Amazon, and that there is a lack of seminaries for indigenous priests. Who, in this scenario, is inculturating the Gospel? Is it the clergy or the lay leaders, the women, who are really running the show? Is it possible that the real issue here is a hermeneutic one—that the church in the Amazon has focused too much on the clerical institution, and not seen what gifts are already being poured out on the People of God?

If you ask that question again but replace “Amazon” with your own parish or diocese, then you’ll get Francis’s larger point. But not everyone will: these are new wineskins.

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[jmkartworks]

A Cathedral of Things to Eat

Nearly thirty years after the Eiffel Tower had been constructed and unveiled to the world in the Exposition of 1889, the civic leaders of Valencia, a major port on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, decided to demonstrate that their city was just as wealthy as the city of Paris. And so, in 1914, they began building El Mercado Central, the Central Market. Their claim of money and power was not a fantasy: since the Romans founded the city more than 2,100 years ago, the Coast of The Orange Blossoms, (La Costa del Azahar) and Valencia, its capitol, have stocked kitchens and pantries all over the world with ceramics, rice, pomegranates, artichokes, plums and of course, their most famous export, oranges.

Although the horizontally-designed Mercado Central and the vertical Eiffel Tower seem to have little in common, both structures share a material integral to their construction. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wrought iron was used for manufacturing everything from horseshoes to rails for trains and streetcars. Many architectects and engineers regarded it as the perfect material for creating “modern” architecture.

El Mercado Central, Valencia. From a postcard, c. 1960.

For many years, I have wondered: why do certain structures welcome us, and others repel us? Part of the answer is that most official architecture, that is, government and corporation architecture, has little to do with real human beings. It is designed instead to reinforce the power of those who rule and own us. The monumental scale of pyramids and temples in ancient Egypt, office buildings in Washington and Brasilia and corporation headquarters throughout the world from Manhattan to Beijing is inhuman. It is designed to reduce the scale of us mere human beings to that of mere insects at the mercy of those above. In contrast, El Mercado Central is a human-sized version of the United Nations. It opens its arms to the world, and the world has welcomed the market’s embrace.

How long do you think you would  have to wander through the Mercado‘s aisles before you could hear almost every language spoken on this earth?  Not very long. Why are Belgians and Hawaiians here? Not to mention Chinese, Chileans, Swedes, Australians, Algierians and Japanese? Let’s not forget a few Scots, Cambodians, Argentines and South Africans. They come here to buy almonds and cucumbers, hams, ceramic plates, bread, olives, chocolate, garlic, wine and tomatoes. Americans accustomed to buying chicken breasts and thighs wrapped in supermarket plastic can instead buy the same parts– or the whole bird– from women butchers in blood-spattered aprons. Imagine conical pyramids of paprika; kiosks with dozens of varieties of cheese; green peppers and cherries and lettuce harvested this morning along with mint and oregano right from the farm; more varieties of olives than you ever thought existed; orange juice squeezed on the spot from real oranges, not juice from Florida concentrates; a paquet of saffron that  weighs no more in your palm than an oak leaf but costs as much as half a kilo of bacon. Would you like to roast a rabbit or a goat for dinner tonight? You’re in the right place to buy one. In more than 900 kiosks that fill up more than 87,000 square feet of the Mercado, you can purchase whatever food will make you happy. And if you get hungry or thirsty from shopping, there’s a bar on the west side of the Mercado where you can enjoy a tapa and a glass of wine.

Oh sorry,  I haven’t mentioned the huge section of the market devoted to food from the sea. Here’s my friend Paco pondering what we’ll have for our afternoon meal. (Look closely at the bottom left of the photo and you’ll get an idea of the fishmonger’s sense of humour.)

If trout, mackerel or tuna don’t fit your appetite, you can purchase oysters, crayfish, mussels, prawns, crabs, cockles, squid, clams, scallops, cuttlefish, octopus and other creatures of the sea. Adventurous diners sometimes select eels which writhe in pails and whose heads the fishmongers will cut off so you don’t have to do it yourself at home.

As a painter, what intrigues me most about the market are the colors, and especially the light that saturates the place. I think it is the light that makes the market feel so welcoming. However, creating a feeling of that light was definitely the most difficult challenge of painting the canvas because there’s not only natural light from the dome and windows, but also flourescent light, and all those lights reflect off every surface, including clothing, plastic, stainless steel, ceramic tiles, the floor, the food, and the wrought iron of the structure itself.

El Mercado Central – Oil/canvas – 40 x 60 inches

My friend Richard felt so welcomed by the Mercado that he commissioned this painting. I don’t remember what the name of the kiosk on the left of the aisle was, but to honor him, I changed it to Ricardo so that, in name, and in this painting, he will always feel embraced by a beautiful island of peace that has welcomed so many people from every corner of our troubled world.

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Santiago: New explosive attack claimed by Antagonistic Nuclei of the New Urban Guerrilla (Chile)

admin | 325 | March 7th 2017

At about 01:40AM on Monday, February 27, 2017, a loud explosion shook the wealthy suburb of Providencia on Suecia avenue between Cornel and Lota streets.

A fire extinguisher filled with gunpowder detonated in the Cap Ducal restaurant in front of the headquarters of the ultra-right political party UDI (Independent Democratic Union) without causing any major damage or any injuries. Immediately after the bombing, police and personnel from GOPE (Group of Special Police Operations) and LABOCAR (Criminal Laboratory of the Carabineros) arrived to inspect the area.

A leaflet was found at the scene which, according to quotations in the media, proclaimed:

“The justice of the street does not forgive nor does it forget. We are getting closer! …The real terrorists are in the Congress, the Palace and the institutions that govern the State..Take note, because we have returned. Neither Chileans, nor Argentines. Internationalists”.

The bastard secretary genera...

l of the ultra-right UDI, Pablo Terrazas said “We do not want to get used to these facts. This is not the first time that the UDI has been the victim of a bomb attack…It is unfortunate because we know that this comes from the left, who always try to silence us…I would like to see (some reaction from) the Communist Party, an announcement to the left, who are part of this government. Why do they not condemn these facts? There is always silent complicity in this (type of) attack that are always against the UDI”

The investigation of the attack, as with other attacks of this nature is in the hands of the Southern Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office.

Not long afterwards, the Teodoro Suarez Vandalism Gang from the Antagonistic Nuclei of the New Urban Guerrilla claimed responsibility for the explosive attack against the Cap Ducal restaurant. The group previously claimed an attack against the Mutual Circle of Retired Non-commissioned Officers of the Federal Police in Buenos Aires in July 2011.

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Responsibility claim for the explosive attack against the Cap Ducal restaurant

“We warn you: be careful. In any part of the places you frequent there may be a bomb; In your homes, in your supermarkets, gyms, shops and restaurants. In short, your days of tranquility are over. Your neighbourhoods will be transformed into minefields, so take care of every step you take, because you may encounter our explosive charges.”

–Iconoclastic Caravans For Free Will–

Just like we did a couple of years ago in the territory dominated by the Argentine state, bombing its sacrificial banks (Palermo and Nación), the branches of two major airlines (American Airlines and Alitalia) and the Mutual Circle of Retired Non-commissioned Officers of the Federal Police, today we again attacked capitalist interests. This time it was the turn of the Chilean political-business mafia that stubbornly insists on believing that places like the one that we visited last night are safe.

The restaurant Cap Ducal, located at #281 Suecia Ave in the bourgeois Providencia commune was not a random target. Here the most diverse group of fascists meet. Sinister characters such as ex-DINA (National Intelligence Directorate) and former colonel, Cristian Labbe, currently prosecuted for various crimes against humanity, or the presidential candidate and daughter of the former Air Force Commander and member of the Military Junta, Fernando Matthei, Evelyn Matthei, who, like her father, played an important role during the Military Dictatorship, being the head of the AFP (Pension Funds Administration), are all recurring faces at this place. It should be noted that the disastrous pension model that this filth worked for is still to this day a headache for millions of Chileans. As you can see, the fruit never falls far from the tree, and in this case, its small and despicable daughter is no exception.

But it is not necessary to look for those responsible in the pages of the dictatorial history of this filthy country to realize that this place shelters rogues and leeches of all kinds. With that in mind it makes sense to take note of some of the endless provocations that have been realized by some of these dark characters, for example:

* Joaquín Lavín Infante: Supernumerary member of Opus Dei; Married to the daughter of former Fatherland and Liberty Nationalist Front member Alberto León Fuentes, one of his sons married the popular mayor of Maipú, Cathy Barriga, giving continuity to his political-economic legacy; During the dicatorship he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at the University of Concepción for being functional to the policies of Pinochet; He is a Chicago Boy and directly responsible for the implantation of neoliberal doctrines that have made Chile one of the most unequal and unjust countries in the world; Today his is mayor of Las Condes; Between 2010 and 2011 he served as Minister of Education during the government of Piñera, his resignation was demanded for having capitalist interests in this area, since he was a founding member of the fascist University of Development and, as if that wasn’t enough, he profited from it along with his dear and despicable friends from the Penta group because, apart from being the owner of a percentage of the university, he was also an active member of Ainavillo real estate, who were responsible for the ‘lease and sublease of real estate, construction or modification and exploitation, as well as the administration and management of real estate business’ for the above mentioned house of studies where he managed to avoid the legal provision that, theoretically, prevents foundations and corporations for the purposes of profit; To all of the above, as if that were not enough, it should be added that he sold the rights over water to the company Aguas Andinas SA when he was mayor of Santiago (2000-2004), giving enormous financial support to his compadre, the fascist dog Andrés Chadwick, who was, along with others, a shareholder of the company. This is Joaquín Lavín, an experienced criminal who has used his strategic positions in national politics for his own benefit; Needless to mention, in addition to all of the above, is his total adherence to the Pinochet regime.

* Jacqueline van Rysselberghe: This psychiatrist currently serves as President of the UDI; His family has a history strongly linked to the political world (Tatarabuelo – Minister of Public Works – Abuelo – Director of Municipal Works, Councillor and then Mayor of Concepción – Father – Deputy of Concepción – Brother – Councillor for Concepción). For a while she was Intendant for Biobío region and a Councillor for Concepción as well as Mayor of this commune; Member of Opus Dei; in 2000 her father’s company (Constructora Rysselberghe and Co. Ltd) faced a lawsuit for a debt with CORFO for non-payment of a mortgage loan and another loan of $514,719,516 (plus IPC adjustments) from the Municipality of Concepción for the extraction and commercialization of non-patent aggregates between 1973 and 19996. On that occasion she faced the complaint without any consequences after she was elected Mayor; in 2011, the Comptrollers Office investigated left for the municipality of Concepción left during her term, which amounted to a deficit of 3 billion pesos, in addition to 623 million pesos that were not recorded in accounting, checks drawn for 157 million without being recorded in accounting and 4,133 million pesos listed as expired cheques; Today she is being investigated for bribery in the Corpesca case, after some emails between the current Senator and Luis Felipe Moncada (former president of the Fishing Industry Association) were leaked.

* Andrés Chadwick Piñera: This fascist dog was Deputy and Senator during his tenure; He was appointed president of FEUC by the Military Regime for being a faithful hound to the dictatorship’s designs; In 1977 he participated in the meeting organized by the Youth Front of National Unity in Cerro Chacarillas. Joaquín Lavín, Patricio Melero, Julio Dittborn, Pablo Longueira, Carlos Bombal and Juan Antonio Coloma, among others, also attended this meeting; Already in power, this piece of garbage did not think of anything better than imposing his limited doctrine, trying to promulgate, along with Longueira, a law in which marriage was consecrated as exclusive for men and women; Being a shareholder of Banco Penta saw his actions fall to the ground after the tremendous scandals in which his cronies were enveloped; As a shareholder of Enersis SA and Copec SA (of the Angelini group), it was not uncommon for the Energy Minister Jorge Bunster of having a conflict of interest with his portfolio; How can we forget when this pig, trying to protect politicians linked to emblematic cases of corruption, tried to whiten them as Government Spokesperson under the command of Sebastián Piñera (his cousin-brother), saying that these little white doves could delete the investigated emails for being a part of their private lives; Nor can we forget when this coward applauded what today still terrifies thousands of poor and marginalized people in the countryside and the cities, the infamous Preventative Identity Control, which empowers the police to undo and redo in the sectors of popular origin; And not to mention when this fascist hound supported the terrorist actions of the Carabinero who violated students following the massive mobilizations of protest during an already distant year of 2011. As if this were not enough, he did whatever was humanly possible to remove his heroes of the homeland from the prisons of luxury where they were serving sentences for human rights violations, as all of Chile could hear in the Chamber of Deputies in his capacity as Minister of the Interior; This is Andrés Chadwick, a facetious dog thirsting to bite back.

* Ena von Baer Jahn: Until recently she was the vice-president of the UDI; She has been Senator of the Republic twice; She was spokesperson during the rule of Sebastián Piñera; Her grandfather was a member of the Nazi Special Forces who very bravely escaped at the end of the conflict, evading any responsibility to justice, which, by the way, now seems to be a family trait (cowardice); She has been part of the putrid Liberty and Development Institute, being the director of the Politics and Society Program, where among other topics, she had the temerity to speak about the anarchist comrades Francisco Solar and Mónica Caballero and about the peñis and lamienes who resist in militarized Wallmapu; She has taught at the elitist Adolfo Ibáñez University as well as the Development University (owned by her idol Joaquín Lavín), where she has been heard on more than one occasion to venerate dictatorial work and defend profiting from education; We also had to listen to this scum vomit their ‘pseudo-ideals’ on several Sundays in the year 2010 via the television program ‘National State’; but if all this was not enough, this snake is also being investigated in two case of corruption, after communications were leaked on December 18, 2013 where this piece of garbage asks for 100 million pesos from Carlos Alberto Délano to pay her debts from her election campaign. Subsequently extracts of the statement of the latter were leaked to the prosecutor investigating the case, where he notes that Von Baer personally went (together with Jovino Novoa) to request financial support for her candidacy.

* Jovino Novoa: Founding member of the UDI and in his time he was also its President; He was President of the Senate, during his time he was also Senator for Santiago; Under Secretary General for Pinochet between 1979 and 1982, during the time that Tucapel Jiminez was assassinated by elements of the CNI linked to the Department of Civil Organizations, which was under his command; That same year he assumed the role of publisher of informative services for the daily liar The Mercury, which did not cease in covering up the sinister assemblies of the CNI in those years; in 2003 he was involved in the Spiniak Case, being acquitted by the benevolent justice of the rich; Today he has been condemned to a ridiculously light sentence for tax crimes by the rich bourgeois justice for the Penta and SQM cases, where he received the sum of 30 million pesos to finance political campaigns in an illegal manner after recognizing that he had occupied ideologically false ballots, evaded tax and made false returns from the SII to the Pena group.

* Hernan Larrain: Like the dog Chadwick and the miserable wretch Longueira, he was instructed by his mentor, the now dead Jaime Guzmán, in Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony). In fact, this pig was a member of the Friends of Colonia Dignidad Corporation, a place known for providing various types of support for the Pinochet regime and the continuation of human rights violations; He was President of the Senate and until recently was President of the UDI; He joined the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Decentralization, Regionalization, Legislation and Justice, and taking advantage of his powers as a senator – which he still has – approved the ‘Monsanto Law’, which greatly benefits foreign capital by giving them legal coverage in the regime that regulates licences for crop farmers, promoting privatized seeds and genetically modified food to the detriment of natural biodiversity. It privatizes the seed and assigns it a code which is then paid for by the consumer, taking advantage of a loophole in the genetically modified food categorization in favor of big industry. It is also worth mentioning the strong debate regarding the generation of cancer cells following the consumption of genetically modified foods, which are incredibly harmful to people’s health. Is there any doubt as to who this pig is?

* Juan Antonio Coloma: This homophobic cockroach was Deputy from the beginning of the Transition (period between the end of the dictatorship and the beginning of bourgeois ‘democracy’) until 2002, later he became Senator, a position that he still occupies until the present day; He has been Secretary General and President of the UDI, and is currently its Vice President; in 1977 he was designated President of the FEUC (Federation of Catholic University Students) to adhere to and be functional for the regime, That same year he participated as president of the organization that chaired the meeting in Cerro Chacarillas; He was a member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture in which he voted as a parliamentarian in favor of the ‘Monsanto Law’, giving a strong economic backing to the family of ultra-fascist Senator Ena Von Baer, as his father owns a large genetically modified seed company in the south of the country.

* Pablo Longueira: This xenophobic snake began his political career during his university days as president of the Center for Engineering Students and then of the Feceh (University of Chile Student Federation, an organization which replaced the Fech – which was banned during the dictatorship), to later become one of founders and most revered members of the UDI; From the ‘democratic’ Transition until 2006 he was Deputy, to then become Senator until 2011, a position that he also left to take charge of the Ministry of the Economy under the government of Piñera; This cowardly former presidential candidate has enriched himself enormously, taking advantage of his extensive powers to try and promote various initiatives as a parliamentarian; Most well known is the famous ‘Fisheries Act’ or ‘Longueira Law’, which greatly benefited big industry to the detriment of the artisanal fishermen. In this way, this individual received – via different suppliers – no less than the sum of 730 million pesos between September 2009 and March 2015 from, among others, the Corpesca company, controlled mainly by the Angelini family as a bribe to ensure that the law would be favorable to them; But this scoundrel has not only been enriched at the cost of our ignorance, but he has also mocked us all on countless occasions. How can we forget when this opportunist pirahna to use the sensitive issue of Disappeared Detainees for his own self-benefit; Not to mention the paradoxical result of the so-called ‘Lago-Longueira Agreement’ of January 17, 2003, to modernize the state and make a politically negotiated settlement to the numerous cases of corruption that affected institutional stability; The SQM case, controlled by Julio Ponce Lerou, Pinochet’s former son-in-law, where he was also involved, only serves to corroborate the political life of a wolf dressed sheep’s clothing.

* Jaime Orpis: This shameful and cowardly bird of prey used nothing more and nothing less than the current account of his own secretary for the payment of bank credits with which he even gave to the luxury of paying up to the Yacht Club of Frutillar, funds received, by the way, with the bribes from Corpesca in exchange for voting in the Senate in favor of the interests of the fishing industry; if this were not enough, to this xenophobic parliamentarian we can attribute, in addition to the more than 235 million pesos stolen via ideologically false ballots, the responsibility for the fact that areas of Parinacota, Arica and Tarapacá are practically war zones for undocumented and illegal migrants, since that under his management as Senator of the 1st Constituency the border and security systems were strengthened. As well as being a thief and a coward, he also turns out to be a xenophobic discriminator.

All these filth are militants of the extreme right and assiduous diners at the Cap Ducal. Also, we have seen them ourselves, we have observed them at their meetings, while they eat, drink and laugh.

The Cap Ducal is not a neutral restaurant, quite the opposite. It is an entry point, of meetings, linkage, planning and support that shelters miserable politicians, many of them involved in multiple scandals. Additionally, it should be noted that the owner of this chain of hotels and restaurants is none other than Tomas de Rementaria, founder of not only these club, but also (along with Ricardo Lagos) of the PPD (Party for Democracy). It is worth pointing out that this guy besides being a prominent businessman, was Councilman of Viña del Mar and a militant of the Chilean PS (Socialist Party). After all, they are all the same, they all have lunch together, they do business, they are friends and family. Repeated cases of corruption can account for this. They shake hands, smile and pose in photographs for posterity while people are swindled.

In the face of such infamy our response is forceful! We light the dynamite of Emile Henry and we blow up their centers of power!

With this text, we claim the explosive attack that occurred before dawn on Monday (27/02) in this area. We attacked one of the dens where Chilean fascism meets disguised in suits and elegant costumes to cook the laws and decrees with which they crush civil society as a whole purely for their own benefit. And they should thank us for having the decorum – which they certainly do not deserve – to visit this place at night and not in broad daylight, since we could have done so, and of course we would not have missed. We decided on this course of action as a clear political position so as not to hurt innocent people and workers at the restaurant.

We dedicate this action to the revolutionaries of yesterday and today, Freddy Fuentevilla Saa, Marcelo Villarroel Sepúlveda and Juan Aliste Vega, unyielding prisoners who hold firm to their convictions from the High Security Prison with a dignity that is greater than the walls that enclose them, facing fascism in all its various manifestations and forms.

In conclusion, we do not want to limit our words to mere justifications for our action. We can attest that it was a great pleasure to carry out this attack. We toast the fact that we were able to operate in the commune where these gentlemen feel untouchable. We will continue to take the Social War right up to the doors of their homes.

The justice of the street does not forgive nor does it forget! We are getting closer!

The real terrorists are in the Congress, the Palace and the institutions that govern the State!

Take note, because we have returned!! Neither Chileans nor Argentines!! Internationalists!! As long as there is misery there will be rebellion!!

Teodoro Suarez Vandalism Gang Antagonistic Nuclei of the New Urban Guerrilla via Noticias de la Guerra Social, translated by Insurrection News