Gossypium in Umbilico » Uruguay

Bolivian Passport

Chico — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:15:08 +0000

History especially…. That’s the topic I most like to read before departing to a new trip. This time I’m going back to South America; and why history? I like to go back in space and revive the birth of nations that allows to a better understanding of the current society. However, I also like to get some knowledge about the current trends and what some interesting places to visit.
This time I’ll be landing Buenos Aires on the 15th of June and head towards Montevideo (Uruguay) straight away, and have a week of vacations there. Then on the 21st I’ll be flying to Santiago (Chile) for the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as a representative of the International Fund for animal Welfare (IFAW), and will be returning to Buenos Aires for some time in Argentina, returning home on the 6th of July.

But reading here and there and looking out for visa specifications I stumble on an article from the New Internationalist website about Bolivia, quite astonishing!

And did you know that …
Bolivians seeking tourist entry to the US have the pleasure of completing the following steps:
1 Pay $110 (twice the monthly minimum wage) for the honour of submitting a visa application and seeking an interview at the US Embassy in La Paz.
2 Wait (usually months) for your interview to be scheduled.
3 Travel to La Paz and wait in a long line in Arctic-like morning weather outside the fortress-like, white US Embassy.
4 Approach the first window and have your paperwork reviewed (including all kinds of personal economic information, such as bank statements and employment letters). Have a good chance of being turned away right then for completing incorrectly the confusing, English-only forms.
5 Advance to a second window for questioning about your intentions. You might chat through the thick glass window with someone who is friendly, or with an official who seems interested in turning surliness into a fine art.
6 Stand a 90-per-cent chance of being denied (no refund of the $110 you paid the US Government for the experience).

Read more here

How corrupted is your country?

Chico — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:46:16 +0000

Definition of Corruption:
- corruptness: lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain
- putrescence: in a state of progressive putrefaction
- decay of matter (as by rot or oxidation)
- moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles; “the luxury and corruption among the upper classes”; “moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration”; “its brothels, its opium parlors, its depravity”; “Rome had fallen into moral putrefaction”
- destroying someone’s (or some group’s) honesty or loyalty; undermining moral integrity; “corruption of a minor”; “the big city’s subversion of rural innocence”
- inducement (as of a public official) by improper means (as bribery) to violate duty (as by commiting a felony); “he was held on charges of corruption and racketeering”

Transparency International released (some time ago) the report on their project – Corruption Perceptions Index 2007: Persistent corruption in low-income countries requires global action
It has 179 countries with 1 being the less corrupted.
On the top 10 of less corrupted countries we have: Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Iceland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and Norway.
The ten more corrupted are: Somalia, Myanmar, Iraq Haiti, Uzbekistan, Tonga, Sudan, Chad, Afghanistan and Laos.

Portugal is on the number 29, Uruguay on the 25 and Argentina on the 105th position.
Sao tome and Principe the country I’m work on at the moment is on 118.

See the press released and other interesting facts

Milko Schvartzman

Chico — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 21:00:23 +0000

Este video es una pequeña presentación de Milko Schvarztman, un Argentino, coordinador de la campaña océanos de Greenpeace y activista ambiental. Yo conocí Milko en los últimos meses de 2005 en Uruguay. Estaba trabajando como voluntario en una organización Uruguaya llamada Organización para la Conservación de Cetáceos de Uruguay (OCC), que hacia parte de la campaña para la readmisión de Uruguay a la Comisión Ballenera Internacional (CBI). Mi conexión con Milko fue más allá de Uruguay, yo seguí laburando en el tema de la carecería de ballenas y tuve la oportunidad de mantener contacto con Milko e reunirme con el también en Argentina antes de dejar Sud América, después en el Caribe, en la reunión de la CBI y más recientemente en Italia.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gu6YJDlPlQ

Milko para mi es un maestro, un orientador, un consejero y más que nada un amigo. Una persona íntegra y austera que yo tengo en alta consideración y estima. Es una ayuda impagable en mi actividad como activista y “campaigner” en la lucha contra la carecería comercial de ballenas. Bueno antes que me llame de chupamedias y para conocerlo mejor hace “click” en play …

Machus latinus

Chico — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 20:10:23 +0000

I just couldn’t help and not open a big grim…
The space was the “buquebus” – the fast ferry that connects Colonia (Uruguay) to Buenos Aires (Argentina) – the place the duty free shop. While moving around the several rows of things to buy I start noticing the great affluence of men to one of the sections of the commercial area. It was where all the testers were of “eau de toilette” and they were properly using them, shoving down loads of spray.

It looked like a weird ritual. Really looking Latino men (i.e. with hair sticking out of their open shirts, with their gold necklace and bracelets really “bling” guise, with the hair pulled back with gel) coming in, and going straight to the tester and “PSSSSHHHHHH” down it goes… and it was one after the other! I was just out of the picture observing the episode and smiling, thinking I could easily be in Portugal. Sometimes I like to do this, step out and just analyse the “human behaviour”.
After I just bought a bottle of Crave by Calvin Klein – US$32, amusement included!
Guess I also want to get a bit Machus latinus..

Convenio @ La Paloma

Chico — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 20:07:02 +0000

Today is the 12th of December and I’m sitting in a bungalow in La Paloma (Uruguay, South America). Life has taken another strange turn, and now instead of working from Montevideo as I was planning; I will be coordinating a project on the behaviour, ecology and habitat characterization focosed of franciscana and bottlenose dolphins with the aim of elaborating strategies for their conservation (off Rocha), Uruguay. It is not that bad, I’m staying at “Bungalows de Piemonte” provided by Rodrigo Garcia the coordinator/director of OCC (Organización para la Conservasión de Cetáceos – Uruguay) next to the beach with surf(able) waves. There is quite a population boom here in the summer months. I’ll also be presenting weekly talks for the public at the administration house of “Bungalows de Piemonte” about general cetacean biology with an insight on the work carried out by the members of OCC and myself.
While I remain here at the bungalows I’ll have a permanent ADSL connection!

During this period some stuff was happening out there… the earthquake in Pakistan and India affected hundreds of people, the Atlantic Storm season broke all records. My external hard drive broke down and I lost everything I had in it, thankfully I manage to recover a few bits. USA asked for humanitarian help (???) due to the damages provoked by the hurricanes (if these folks need humanitarian and $ help what to say about the rest of the world then?)
Hopefully during my stay in South America I’ll be able to finish off all my pending affairs and engage into some others.