News roundup (we lick the rocks others fear to lick)

Setty got the background on how journalists get hired freelance-style to do corporate dirty work in LatAm. Today's best read.

Aguachile (a new reco on the list, great takes on Mexico issues) has the story of how Mexico is slapping trade embargoes on the USA, having been miffed once too often by its Northern neighbour's idea of "free trade". Go see.

Paraguay's Lugo has cancer, which is not good at all. He completed one of his chemotherapy sessions last weekend (he goes over to SP Braz for those) and has five more to do. Word from this report is that he's going to take all sessions on weekends to stop interference with his job as little as possible....which after all is nothingless than running a country.

Structurally Maladjusted has disappeared. Nearly a month with nothing posted...what gives, guys?

And then there's this, which is really difficult to put into words, except to say that those offended by bodily functions should not click through. I....errrr...."thank" the person who gave me the headsup on this....errr....unusual pictorial diary.

Ecuador and Chevron: What 'clash of cultures' really means

The LA Times is running a story today entitled "Chevron, Ecuador and a clash of cultures". It's a fairly good summary of the situation in the ongoing legal dispute from the environmental crimes 'allegedly' committed by Texaco/Chevron in Ecuador, the last paragraph summing up the mood:

"When the verdict is issued in Lago Agrio, it will prompt a round of appeals and other legal procedures, possibly in Ecuador and certainly in the United States, where Chevron has assets. The plaintiffs promise they will never give up. The company has assured investors that it will never pay. And the Amazon and its people will remain unhealed."

Which is sad but true. The article even tries to explain the concept of 'pachamama' a little further than the normally scant attention paid to it by English media, so that was quite nice. However the title got me thinking that calling it all a 'clash of cultures' is pretty stupid, as the only culture clash going on here is "We crapped on your culture in a way we'd never do to our own culture". And that's all you need to know about culture in this case. Good story, bad title.