Beautiful Horizons

Away For a Few Days

I'm off to Boston for a wedding this weekend. Probably no blogging, but will be back on Monday.

The Defense in Bags O'Cash

In the Bags O'Cash trial, the judge has ruled that defendant Franklin Duran cannot not use a defense that the trial is politically motivated to embarrass the government of Hugo Chavez.

On the other hand, the judge has not ruled as to whether or not Duran can use duress as a defense:

[Duran's attorney, Ed] Shohat said a key part of his defense will be to prove to jurors that Duran and the others were threatened with violence and financial difficulties if they didn't do what Venezuela's government wanted.

''They were threatened with their deaths. They were threatened to be shot. This explains Mr. Duran's conduct,'' Shohat said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley urged [Judge Joan] Lenard to prevent a jurors from hearing a defense that Duran was acting under duress. Lenard did not immediately rule on that issue.

Here's where it gets interesting: if Duran is allowed to use duress as a defense, it will strengthen his defense and weaken the prosecution. It will also fulfill the foreign polcy goals of the Bush administration in demonizing  Hugo Chavez. With a very heavily politicized department of Justice, it will be very interesting to see where this leads.

Creeping Militarization of Foreign Policy? More Like Stampeding!

Both Boz and Dan Drezner mention recent comments by Defense Secretary Robert Gates about the "creeping militarization" of US foreign policy. Let's be clear and unambiguous: it's been stampeding, not creeping for the entirety of the Bush administration.

The military should be an absolute last resort of US foreign policy after all diplomatic options have been exhausted. While I agree with Secretary Gates about funding more civilian initiatives in foreign policy and applaud him for making that argument, I cannot help but feel two distinct feelings:

• He's essentially swimming against the current. The Bush administration is still busy saber-rattling with regard to Iran, notwithstanding the overextended military. While the news about the opening of the interests section in Teheran is encouraging, it's also being done less so for outreach to the regime.
• I also cannot help but feel a political element to his position. If the military was not as overextended as it is, would the Bush administration sanction such public positions?

I don't think so.

Summer in New York

It doesn't get much better than this: a beautiful summer day and the music of the lovely and talented Julieta Venegas:

Even if you have to suffer through Plastilina Mosh, so wrapped up in their own self-anointed hipness as to be nauseating.. I believe this review got it right:

Her meticulousness was also a corrective to the opening band, Plastilina Mosh, which performed a juvenile, formless set overflowing only in energy. Funk grooves, dub excursions, spastic rock, questionable rapping: this band from Monterrey, Mexico, veers toward slapstick. Sprinkling in bits of “Viva Las Vegas” and 2 Live Crew’s “Me So Horny” didn’t help, and even though the band pulled “Mr. P-Mosh,” one of its biggest hits, from the tune of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust,” the move didn’t transcend shtick.

In the mid-1990s, when  Plastilina Mosh formed, its pastiche of styles and sounds was novel.  Now, deservedly, it’s a relic.

Indeed.

Some Fallout From the Hostage Rescue

It certainly appears that the FARC - or at least two of its members - was hoodwinked and the leadership is not happy. Once again, it is extremely counterintuitive to think that they agreed to a cash ransom:

"If they did betray the Farc by cooperating with the government in the rescue, then they did not negotiate very well because they are looking at some long prison time in the United States," said Pablo Casas, a Bogotá-based security analyst. "The only way out for the Farc at this point is to take a more political approach to the government, which is why they say they will discuss a hostage exchange." [Hat tip to Greg Weeks]

Meanwhile, Clara Rojas and Ingrid Betancourt appear to have had a major falling out:

On Thursday, the director of Colombia's RCN radio network, Juan Gossain, asked former Colombian vice presidential candidate Clara Rojas about a dramatic and untold episode that allegedly occurred while she was held hostage by FARC guerrillas.

Gossain asked Rojas if it were true that the former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt had stopped her from drowning her own son, Emmanuel, in a river during a crisis of despair while they both were prisoners of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

The reaction came instantly. Rojas appeared surprised.

''Absurd, totally absurd,'' she said.

Her response was only the beginning of one of the strongest attacks she has yet leveled at Betancourt, her former co-hostage and running mate, since Rojas was released by the FARC in January.

This is sad for all involved. I won't criticize any of the parties involved without all of the facts being made available, and it may be some time, if ever, they do come out. I cannot imagine how horrible it would be to spend six or more years in captivity in the jungle and don't feel in any position to judge those who were. Nevertheless, this sort of falling out is disturbing and only serves to raise more questions than anything else.

Did the Colombian government's rescue of the FARC hostages entail a deception that involved the use of the Red Cross's emblem? If so, it may be a war crime under the Geneva Conventions:

Photographs of the Colombian military intelligence-led team that spearheaded the rescue, shown to CNN by a confidential military source, show one man wearing a bib with the Red Cross symbol. The military source said the three photos were taken moments before the mission took off to persuade the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels to release the hostages to a supposed international aid group for transport to another rebel area.

Such a use of the Red Cross emblem could constitute a "war crime" under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law and could endanger humanitarian workers in the future, according to international legal expert Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association.

"It is clear that the conventions are very strict regarding use of the symbol because of what it represents: impartiality, neutrality. The fear is that any misuse of the symbol would weaken that neutrality and would weaken the [Red Cross]," Ellis said.

"If you use the emblem in a deceitful way, generally the conventions say it would be a breach. [Based on the information as explained to me,] the way that the images show the Red Cross emblem being used could be distinguished as a war crime, " he added.

Let me be clear: I hold absolutely no brief for the FARC. As I have said time and again, my sympathies lie solely with innocent, peace-loving Colombians trying to live their lives in peace. However, there is a grave and serious danger in using an emblem of an organization like the Red Cross for false purposes. One seriously hopes that the Colombian military did not decide to take a page from it's enemies:

   Both of Colombia's two main guerrilla armies, the FARC and the smaller National Liberation Army, have been known to misuse the Red Cross symbol, sometimes transporting fighters in ambulances. The Colombian government frequently makes international denunciations of rebel violations of international humanitarian law.

If this is true, ten heads should roll for it - and those responsible should do time. Lives could be endangered by such an act.

By the way, Ms. O'Grady, care for a clarification and appropriate condemnation if this turns out to be true? Hat tip for this to commenter JCG at Plan Colombia and Beyond.

John McCain - Flip-Flopper, Liar or Pander-in-Chief ?

Speaking before a Mexican-American group yesterday, John McCain stated unequivocally in response to a question that he would support the Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), which offers young people who are living here in violation of immigration laws a chance to earn U.S. citizenship by going to college or enlisting in the military.

Good for him, because the Dream Act is an excellent start in the cause of just immigration reform. Problem is, McCain has also stated several times - to the right-wing National Review and a conference call of right-wing bloggers - that he opposed the Dream Act.

This apparent switch will cause mainstream political pundits to start writing a flurry of columns promoting the narrative that John McCain is either a terminally dishonest panderer or a terrible flip-flopper.

When hell freezes over...

Anthony Bourdain in Colombia

If you didn't get a chance to see it when it aired last night, check out Anthony Bourdain's visit to Colombia on the Travel Channel. It was probably the most moving edition of the show that I've seen.

Justice No Longer Delayed

I've written about Toto Constant before and I suppose I'll post about him again, but it's gratifying to see him facing some measure  of justice:

A former Haitian paramilitary leader once widely feared in his country was accused at trial Monday of becoming a common white-collar criminal once he fled to the United States.

Emmanuel ''Toto'' Constant helped hatch a mortgage fraud scheme that cheated lenders out of $1.7 million, prosecutors alleged at the trial in Brooklyn. He faces five to 15 years in prison if convicted of second-degree grand larceny.

The case will show that Constant, 51, was ''a crook as well as human rights violator,'' said Jennie Green, a senior attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a civil rights group monitoring the trial.

In opening statements, defense attorney Samuel Karlinger told jurors his client was framed by others who took plea deals and whose ``motivation is to keep themselves out of jail.''

Constant, the 6-foot-4 son of a military officer, emerged as the notorious leader of the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti, or FRAPH, after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was toppled in 1991.

This, by the way, is still nonsense:

Despite a 1995 deportation order, Constant was allowed to remain because of instability in Haiti.

Hundreds if not thousands of Haitians have been deported back to Haiti, many with legitimate fears of persecution. The very idea that someone as thoroughly vile as Toto Constant could effectively get asylum in this country, while an 81 year old minister whose church was destroyed by a gang, Joseph Danticat is left to die in detention, makes that claim an out-and-out lie. It flies in the face of logic that Constant, whose gang threatened a US peacekeeping force from entering Haiti in 1994 could then be allowed to seek safety here is offensive to anyone with the slightest concern about human rights. We know why he's here.

Shame on the Clinton administration for letting him in; shame on the Bush administration for letting him stay.

Six Years On

The news of a possible indictment of Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir is worth noting for two things. First is this comment from Andrew Natsios, former ambassador to Sudan:

Andrew Natsios, the former US envoy to Sudan, said an indictment would make the regime's leaders â more intransigent' and would badly hamper efforts to bring peace as the government slammed the door on compromise with opposition.

What evidence has there been of willingness to compromise by Al-Bashir's government? The Janjaweed just killed seven UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

Secondly, it's worth pointing out that it has now been more than six years since the ICC came into being and what has not transpired since the court went into effect? None of the hysteria surrounding the Bush administration objections to the ICC. Will those critics now acknowledge the careful and deliberate behavior of the ICC in seeking to prosecute war crimes in Uganda, The DRC and Sudan?

I won't hold my breath.

Only Six More Months of Frat Boy

I would imagine that the other G-8 leaders will be glad that when George Bush leaves office, they won't have to be subjected to puerile comments like this:

President George Bush signed off with a defiant farewell over his refusal to accept global climate change targets at his last G8 summit.                     

As he prepared to fly out from Japan, he told his fellow leaders: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

President Bush made the private joke in the summit's closing session, senior sources said yesterday. His remarks were taken as a two-fingered salute from the President from Texas who is wedded to the oil industry. He had given some ground at the summit by saying he would "seriously consider" a 50 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2050.

This is one of a series of onanistic comments he has made in the past; whether it's mocking a US reporter who happens to be bilingual, instead of praising the fact that the reporter is shattering stereotypes or pumping his fist and saying "feels good" when his actions are destined to result in the deaths of innocents, the man has an ongoing inability to engage in behavior inappropriate to the gravity of the situation,which leads me to believe that if he did not have his family connections, he'd be clearing brush for a living.

At least then he'd be doing honest work for the first time in his life.

Bruce Conner

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Bruce Conner. I had the pleasure of studying under Conner for one semester when he was visiting professor of film at San Francisco State University. One of the traits I most admired about him as an artist was the fact that he didn't take himself too seriously and knew how to have fun.

Rest in peace.

I'm Not Buying It

China Hand argues that the release of Ingrid Betancourt and the other previously held FARC hostages last week has a certain stench to it and may have involved a ransom payment of US$20 million. As much I'd like to ascribe deceit to Uribe, I'm not buying it. Here are some of the reasons why:

• The FARC can still count on income from narcotrafficking. Coca production has not abated and in fact, was on the rise last year. In other words, they don't need the money that badly.
• By that badly, I mean that they don't need badly enough to surrender one of their greatest assets (please forgive the coldness of that statement) for cash. Say what one will about the odious criminal act of kidnapping, but the kidnapper does have some bargaining power.
• The FARC needs members. Their numbers have declined from a high of 16,000 at the turn of the century to about half that now. Their ability to inflict damage in major cities is effectively gone. In addition, whenever hostage releases were talked about in the past for these specific hostages, it was only in return for the release of FARC prisoners doing time in Colombian prisons.
• Let's not forget that the FARC lost two of its members, including a commander, to capture by the Colombian military. If they are hemorrhaging members, why would they give up two more?
  
• Given their weakened state they need all the friends, or those while not favoring their methods, supports their goals (whatever they may be these days) they can get. This event marginalized Hugo Chavez, a man who asked for a moment of silence in memory of Raul Reyes.
• They don't appear to be interested in leaving the business of kidnapping.

A release for ransom is counterintuitive for the reasons I described above. It's certainly possible that a rogue FARC member may have worked something out with the government, but I see no reason to believe that these hostages were released for ransom on the orders of the FARC leadership.

Raising the Discourse

From the official website of the Pemberton Township Republicans in Pemberton Township, NJ:

"Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole."

And the cowards don't even have the courage of their hideous convictions. When called out on this, they cut and ran. Typical.

Never Forgotten

Dad, you would have been 79 today. Rather than mark the day you left us, I'd rather celebrate the anniversary that you came into the world and made it so such a wonderful place for your brief stay.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of you and wish you were still here. I miss you, Dad.

A Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day

Rush Limbaugh on Bill O' Reilly:

At dinner the night before, Bill O’Reilly’s name came up, and Limbaugh expressed his opinion of the Fox cable king. He hadn’t been sure at the time that he wanted it on the record. But on second thought, “somebody’s got to say it,” he told me. “The man is Ted Baxter.”

Randy's Random 10

1.) Improvisation No. 4 - Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (Jim Hall & Pat Metheny)

2.) Ola Bombay - Trilok Gurtu (The Beat of Love)

3.) Bluesette - Toots Thielemans (The Brasil Project)

4.) Vide Gal - Daniela Mercury (Feijao com Arroz)

5.) Sawmill Blues - Joe Williams (I Just Want to Sing)

6.) Dona Maria - Duduka da Fonseca (Samba Jazz Fantasia)

7.) Rado's Got the Blues - The LA 4 (Montage)

8.) A Felicidade - Gal Costa (Live at the Blue Note)

9.) Saidas e Bandeiras 1 - Milton Nascimento (Clube da Esquina Volume I)

10.) Nossa Bumba - Marcos Suzano (Sambatown)

Chavez and Lula as Rivals?

This article in Monday's New York Times regarding Lula and Chavez, the presidents of Brazil and Venezuela, respectively, raises some interesting questions and makes a compelling comparison between the pragmatic Lula and the bombastic Chavez.

Chavez is in need of an antagonist, constantly in need of an antagonist. Chavez apparently needs attention. Chavez apparently needs to be perceived as the big man. Chavez certainly appears to be enamored of his own grandeza, armed with vast quantities of oil.

By contrast, Lula's approach is best embodied in his own words:

“We are not trying to find a leader in Latin America,” he said in the September interview. “We don’t need a leader. I am not worried about being the leader of anything. What I want is to govern my country well.”

Towards whom will history be kinder? Time will, quite literally tell. I think it's clear who will effect enduring change: the man with more concern about addressing the needs of most of the citizens of his entire country, not the man who believes his mission is as the second coming of Simon Bolivar.

Bags of Cash Update

Boz has been doing yeoman's work on the Argentina/Venezuela/US Bags O'Cash scandal, but as he is celebrating his nuptials, I'll point out that President Chavez's name has come up in this scandal as an active participant in the cover-up:

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez was personally involved in efforts to conceal his nation's participation in the scandal surrounding a briefcase that contained $800,000, according to testimony obtained by the FBI and presented last week in Miami federal court.

The money, confiscated by Argentine customs officials, was allegedly to be a campaign contribution to that nation's current president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

According to the court documents submitted on June 27, Venezuelan businessman Franklin Durán declared that his former associate Carlos Kauffman pointed the finger at Chávez during his deposition to the FBI, citing several sources.

Both Durán and Kauffman have been implicated in the case and are accused of acting as unregistered agents of the Venezuelan government.

In his testimony, Kauffman told the FBI that lawyer Moisés Maionica assured him that, ``President Chávez was involved in the matter and that he had placed DISIP [Venezuela's intelligence service] director [Henry] Rangel Silva in charge; and that Rangel told him that President Chávez was personally involved in the case.''

Granted, this is uncorroborated deposition testimony, but depositions are made under penalty of perjury. I would imagine that this will only heat up and that there is far more to be gleaned in the days ahead.

Chavez is also having to deal with dissatisfaction in the military:

Venezuelan military officers have expressed growing alarm at attempts by President Hugo Chávez to turn the armed forces into a political instrument of his socialist revolution.

One general has been detained and hundreds of other officers reportedly sidelined for protesting against the ideological drive. Chávez has ordered the armed forces to adopt the Cuba-style salute "Fatherland, socialism or death" to put the institution at the heart of his effort to transform Venezuela.

A few years ago this would be the cause of a great deal of concern: a disgruntled military at odds with a president in Latin America. Chavez himself is guilty of taking the law into his own hands. These days, a disgruntled military will just give Chavez the chance to remove those who don't like him and appoint those who are more loyal to him.

In the long run, it should be that way. As much as I dislike Chavez, civilian control of the military is paramount to stability and democracy in Latin America. What impact this will have, if any, on Chavez's popularity remains to be seen. Still, Chavez has no business politicizing the military. The military swears allegience to the constitution, not to a form of government.

You Have to Love the Onion

If only Bush had enough self-awareness to do this:

Blasphemous quote of the Fourth of July weekend

The Rev. Billy Graham: "In the tradition of Presidents Jefferson, Adams and Monroe — who also passed on July Fourth — it is fitting that such a patriot (Jesse Helms) who fought for free markets and free people would die on Independence Day. As we celebrate the birth of our nation, I thank God for the blessings we enjoy, which Senator Helms worked so hard to preserve."

This "sentiment" is vomit-inducing, even from such as Billy Graham. Apparently the Reverend is confusing "free people" with "white people." In a 2001 column, even terminally-"moderate" Beltway denizen David Broder characterized Helms as "the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country."