Reports are that former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin has passed away.
Update from The Fourpoint Report: more on Alfonsin.
Alfonsin was a hero to his own UCR party ...and accepted the surrender of democracy from the military dictators 25 years ago.
Requiescat in pace, patriota.
AFP, Mar 29, 2009
US Vice President Joe Biden said that the United States would no longer "dictate unilaterally" to Latin America, and that it had entered a new era in the historically troubled relationship.
"The time of the United States dictating unilaterally, the time where we only talk and don't listen is over," Biden said in Santiago after holding discussions with a clutch of Latin American leaders at a conference at a Chilean beach resort.
...I've been saying for years that the biggest diff between the US and Argentine economies is: the US debt is denominated in its own currency.
Dig these quotes:"And after years of lecturing Asian and Latin American leaders about the importance of consistency and transparency in sorting out financial crises, we fail on both counts."
If you care about this kinda stuff, you'll be glad you read Glenn Greenwald's column in Salon.
"How fortunate, I thought then, that the United States was not similarly plagued by crony capitalism! However, watching Goldman Sachs's seeming lock on high-level U.S. Treasury jobs as well as the way that Republicans and Democrats alike tiptoed around reforming Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- among the largest campaign contributors to Congress -- made me wonder if the differences between the United States and the Asian economies were only a matter of degree."
"Does anyone really doubt any more that the predominant characteristic of our political culture is "the incestuous relationship between governments and large corporate conglomerates"? Yet another former Goldman Sachs official and long-time derivatives advocate who played a major role in the repeal of key banking regulations, Gary Gesner, is now poised to become Obama's chief of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the body charged with regulating commodities and financial futures."
"In other words, the country's financial elites would use the catastrophes they'd created themselves in order to do what they'd always wanted to but couldn't get away with in normal times. They took the profit, and then imposed all the costs on everyone else."
After seeing how the NYT's Frugal Traveler article on internet calling went to #1 today, I thought I would take another look at what's available out there.
I started thinking about it recently while talking to Tom Frost, a fellow Vonage user. While we're both really satisfied customers ...we were both wondering if there might be something new out there that could satisfy us at a lower price tag.
I think a pay the lowest monthly rate possible with Vonage: $26.75USD per month (up from $16.94 five years ago.) Not too bad until you start thinking about it as $321.00USD per year!
I don't really use it the way that I used to, either. So I was inspired to take a stroll through PC Magazine and compare and contrast my rig with new stuff and all the improved stuff as well.
I'm a little picky, though. I want a really, really clear connection ...and I want a US telephone number that the folks back home can just pick up and dial from their landlines. And, truth be told, I probably prefer talking on a regular phone instead of some goofy headset. On the other hand, I don't really care about customer service... because I expect the goddamn thing to work perfectly all the time. Voicemail is nice, but I don't mind if people have to call me back. Same for call waiting/forwarding. Vonage has always done everything flawlessly ...and I can call Italy, France, Spain, the UK and Ireland for free if I wanna.
Now let's see if we can save some dough.
Skype
The ever popular Skype just got an upgrade this year ...so I'm interested in taking another look. I've tried it at least twice before and was disappointed with the sound quality. In fact, I can always tell when somebody is calling me on Skype ...the sound quality sucks. But maybe it's better with their new version.
Let's look at price:
$35.40 a year for unlimited calling to US and Canada.
$60.00 a year for getting my own telephone number.
$102.00 a year in taxes.
$197.40 Total
That's a savings of $123.60 or 39% cheaper. Not bad! It suddenly occurs to me, however, that I'll have to download and install their software ...and that my phone won't ring unless my computer is on. I'll also have to buy a headset or some sort of usb deskphone. Still, if I'm looking to save some big money, Skype looks good.
MagicJack
This is something that Tom and I talked about specifically. I don't know how much he knew about MagicJack but I knew virtually nothing except that someone once recommended it to me as a possible Vonage replacement. I did some checking ...and WOW! It looks like it's got everything and is more than cheap.
$39.95 for the USB device
$19.95 a year for unlimited calling in N. Am
$00.00 no taxes or fees.
$59.90 Total
Right now, they've got an offer of the first year's calling free ...and a 5 year plan that would drop your yearly calling expense down to about $10USD a year. The $39.95 is a one-time cost for the "tic-tac" box that has a usb plug on one end and a phone jack on the other. It uses a regular desk phone. No software to install. Cheap international rates. They give you a US telephone number from almost any area code. PC Mag gave it an Editor's Choice award and said that the voice quality was almost unbelievable. It also appears that you can use a non-US credit card to buy it and that they will ship overseas (Vonage will do neither.)
Almost immediately, however, the complaints came rolling in: very hinky connectivity, no dial tone, call drop off, etc. A little research, though, leads me to believe that those problems may be due to usb port configuration and just plain old sluggish broadband connections. The phone only works when your computer is turned ...but I think I can live with that.
Other Services
Packet8 and Voice Pulse are popular and well known ...but cost about the same as Vonage so I don't see any advantage to switch to them.
Whadda youse use?
Are you using any of the above right now? How 'bout others? Please lemme know if we expats should be considering any other providers.
"At first sight, Miramar looks like a typical local bodegón, one of the last few left, with a rotisería (deli), accessed through another door in the corner. But once you are inside, the options on the menu and what you see on the impeccably white-tableclothed tables wil still surprise you. Apart from the famous cold cuts and prepared nibbles, the special character of the place lives in the choice of snails, frogs, partridges, oysters, rabbit, and anchovies amoun other exquisite local delicacies."Read more...
...mountain oysters, calf fries, criadillas ...call 'em what ever you want. They are the testicles of young calves and they are delicious when prepared by an old hand. The NYT article describes them well as Basque comfort food.
I loved the story that my mother-in-law told me about a family visit to Europe when she was a girl. After a long while on the grand tour, they were sitting in yet another fine restaurant this time in Paris. Her younger brother was tiring of being abroad so long. When it came time to give the waiter his order, he sighed, "Oh, how I wish there were criadillas!" Several at the table smiled and nodded in agreement.
At a certain time of the year, when male calves are almost ready to be weaned from their mothers, it is time to castrate them. Castrating them before weaning allows them an advantage as to healing; the mothers' milk imparts a lot of help in fighting any subsequent infection from the surgery.
That time of year yields a lot of testicles. It would be a shame to just throw them to the ever present dogs ...but you have to be careful: the dogs are always waiting for you to turn your attention away from the tasty treats.
In the province of Buenos Aires Argentina, we'd never bother with battering nor deep frying nor anything other than throwing them onto the parilla over the hardwood coals. But, being a yanqui, I've always thought that a spicy sauce or some alternative preparation could be really good. The "tequila, cumin and cayenne" combo mentioned in the article strikes me as teriffic!
They've always struck me as perfect for hors d' ourves ...beats the hell out of cocktail wienies or rumaki!
A lot of readers are beginning to think about Uncle Sam right about this time of year.
Is there an expert among us that might be able to give a general overview as to what a poor yanqui has to do to keep on the good side of the IRS?
This year is a bigger problem than usual: the US Embassy has canceled its tax assistance program. For many years, the embassy provided free help in figuring/filing taxes. I'm guessing that there's just too many of us here nowadays.
Help a fellow American that's down on his luck: give us some anonymous tips and resources in the comments!
(kind of a fun legal brain teaser)
It's not Buenos Aires nor Argentina ...but it is yanqui and expat related so I've decided to pile-on this faux controversy. Lots of comments over at TPM regarding Rep. Bill Posey's (R-FL) bill requiring all presidential candidates to submit a birth certificate ...in order to show that they qualify as candidates or US President ...or something. This particular bill, however, seems designed to keep alive a wingnut fantasy that Obama was not a "Natural Born Citizen."
Obama (with the help of the Republican governor of Hawaii) has removed as much doubt as to his qualification for office as is humanly possible.
Mr. Posey, however, is opening a can of worms that he is probably not aware of.
The funny thing about challenging President Obama's natchal bornness is that it inevitably draws the spotlight to John McCain's inelegibility to run for US President last year.
Obama was born the City and County of Honolulu in the State of Hawaii on August 4, 1961.
John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone on August 29, 1936.
Hawaii became a US State in 1959. The Canal Zone never became a US State.
Both men are US citizens. One qualifies as eligible for US President ...one does not.
154 comments have weighed-in on the TPM post, most of them pretty rational. However, it's pretty obvious that intelligent people of all political leanings don't generally have a good handle on what it is the US Constitution says as regards who is eligible to run for president ...and who is not.
I'll admit that the Canal Zone issue is unusual. Congress felt that way ...so much so that in 1937 Congress declared that any person born in Panama to parents that are both US citizens are "declared to be a citizen of the United States." That gave the mommies and daddies and babies a break: they didn't have to register the birth with a US Embassy or Consulate to get baby's citizenship recognized. (That sound familiar to some of you? Sorry, Hankycito.)
But Congress did NOT say that children born in Panama after 1904 were automatically "Natural Born Citizens" nor citizens under the 14th amendment. Probably an oversight, in my opinion, but an oversight, none the less.
Long story short: if John McCain had been born in Shanghai (for example) to a US mother and US father ...he would not be eligible for the office of US President even if his parents had registered his birth with the US Embassy. The fact that Congress granted him citizenship also did not make him natural-born.
Believe it or not, there is no controversy over Obama's eligibility ...McCain's run for the presidency, however, could have ended up as a major constitutional crisis.
The Argentine Post is reporting that tourism is down for the 4th consecutive year (correction: this is the 4th consecutive month that tourism has fallen when compared with that month's prior year figures.) Spending is down too. Good post, as usual, from Taos and the gang.
Riot in Buenos Aires 13 years ago. The Ramones had announced that their very last concert was going to be at the 45,000 seat River stadium ...the boletería sold out and sold out fast.
You can find porteños that think the "rah-MON-ays" are a Buenos Aires band. This article goes on to show some other Argentina connections. Hay! Ho! Let's Go!
“I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on,” Benedict wrote. “I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news.”"Two sentences unique in the annals of church history", says today's NYT. Read more...
The strange spectacle of the US dollar rising while the US and world economies falter ...just keeps comin'.
"The dollar seems to be the only safe haven left right now, with both the yen and Swiss franc under pressure," said Robert Blake, senior currency strategist at State Street in Boston.A former safe haven may have taken in some 3,000 Argentine investors. Bernie Madoff's ponzi may lead to the creation of an international financial court. Read more...
"We're certainly in risk aversion mode and the trade right now is to buy dollars, which to a large extent reflects huge repatriation flows to the United States."
For once, it's not just raining in Retiro.
This lovely, soggy morning is pretty representative of everywhere in Argentina and, there being so much news regarding the campo, I owe you an update.
In all the talk about la crisis en el campo, not much gets mentioned to often regarding the producers of that Argentine birth right: delicious, cheap beef. FarmingUK.com reports on how things work down here for ranchers and their article might just open a few eyes. Reuters does a nice job of showing how important Argentine wheat is to the world and especially Brazil. Finally, under the category of "It's tough all over", Beef Magazine (yes, indeed!) writes about the difficulties faced by farmers even in the US. This has never been a business for the weak-hearted.
On the bright side, we have our president promoting us.
I meant to post this gem from the University of Chicago months ago.
If you're like me, maps like these will fascinate like reading a comic book. I love the way Buenos Aires figures so prominently, too.
Enjoy!
(email: letters@yanquimike.com.ar)
This was from an interview that La Nacion conducted with me and Karine of Buenos Aires Daily ...and two wonderful new bloggers: water and soul ...and the delightfully titled A Little Bug's World a couple of weeks ago.
I'm glad that they screwed up my link ...it lends creedence to my claim that I was misquoted more than once (longtime readers probably already notice that immediately.) But, all in all, it was so very nice of the reporter and the paper to figure us so prominently.
Karine is looking right now to see if we are in the print version too!
Thanks, La Nacion!
Mike
update: Front page in the print edition. Not bad placement!
Discovering Buenos Aires might be right about marking our calendars ...today does, indeed, seem like make fun of yanquis day. Next March should be a different story, however.
The strange combination of a failing financial sector and a strong US dollar has led gawker.com to report that Buenos Aires has been ruined by an influx of young out of work bankers.
BlackBook Magazine's web site reports that the influx is actually part of a broader trend of "douchebags" and "wack dipshits" of all nationalities.
Along with those two stories, exposebuenosaires.com came over my transom today and they paint a realistic (albeit still a bit rosy) picture of what it's like for expats to find work here.
Welcome to all new expats, travellers, and immigrants, from the Yanq!
If some of these recent arrivals can be truly described as above, however, not to worry tampoco. The present strength of the greenback will be temporary.
Spend 'em if you got 'em!
Note: I don't believe that I've ever met Fernando Cwilich Gil of BlackBook but his links and his numbers are really accurate. I love that he notes that pre-2001 Buenos Aires had no experience with tourism. I wonder if he gets the same looks of disbelief that I do when I tell people that. Not sure if he's a New Yorker or a porteño ...but it looks like he knows his way around Capital.
I'm striking out on a particular issue for any of us down here on a Rentista Visa.
"Rentista", I'm told, isn't really a Spanish word. Argentines may have borrowed it from the French "rentier", someone whose income is derived from their investments.
It's a tax question:"my rentista visa expires march 6 and we had a baby here so we are applying for permanent residence. do you know the tax implications since i disclosed my bank account in the US to them? i.e., will they tax me on the total value of whats in that account?"
Argentina does tax accumulated wealth in a way that often surprises yanquis ...but not people from many other countries with similar policies.
If you can help this fellow immigrant/traveller out... please post an anonymous reply.
If you know of anybody that might know the answer... please forward this post.
When we get to the bottom of this, I'll add it to the database.
Thanks,
Mike
Con motivo de los cambios en el seno del Ejecutivo, algunas agencias cablegráficas se rasgan las vestiduras.
Varias de ellas hablan o se hacen eco de rumores "populares" sobre la sustitución de los "hombres de Fidel" por los "hombres de Raúl".
La mayoría de los que fueron reemplazados nunca los propuse yo. Casi sin excepción llegaron a sus cargos propuestos por otros compañeros de la dirección del Partido o del Estado. No me dediqué nunca a ese oficio.
Jamás subestimé la inteligencia humana, ni la vanidad de los hombres.
Los nuevos ministros que acaban de nombrarse fueron consultados conmigo, a pesar de que ninguna norma obligaba a los que los propusieron, a esa conducta, ya que renuncié hace rato a las prerrogativas del poder. Actuaron sencillamente como revolucionarios auténticos que llevan en sí mismos la lealtad a los principios.
No se ha cometido injusticia alguna con determinados cuadros.
Ninguno de los dos mencionados por los cables como más afectados, pronunció una palabra para expresar inconformidad alguna. No era en absoluto ausencia de valor personal. La razón era otra. La miel del poder por el cual no conocieron sacrificio alguno, despertó en ellos ambiciones que los condujeron a un papel indigno. El enemigo externo se llenó de ilusiones con ellos.
No acepto que se mezcle ahora la chismografía con el Clásico de Pelota que está próximo a comenzar. Dije bien claro que nuestros atletas de béisbol eran jóvenes de primera línea y hombres de patria o muerte.
Como ya expresé otras veces regresaremos con el escudo o sobre el escudo.
Venceremos porque sabemos y podemos combinar algo que solo pueden hacer hombres libres, y sin dueños, no los jugadores profesionales.
Leonel Fernández me contaba ayer por la tarde que los excelentes peloteros profesionales dominicanos no deseaban participar en esas competencias, estarían ausentes con dolor para el pueblo que los vio nacer.
Chávez, ignora todavía por qué sus magníficos pitchers y bateadores serán derrotados por nuestros atletas.
El equipo cubano que este año medirá sus fuerzas con los mejores profesionales de Estados Unidos y Japón en las Grandes ligas, es mucho más fuerte y está mejor entrenado que el de hace tres años.
Muchos de ellos son ya veteranos a pesar de su juventud. Ninguno de los hombres que hicieron el equipo quedó en casa, excepto por razones de salud.
Asumo la total responsabilidad por el éxito o el revés. Las victorias serán de todos; la derrota no será jamás huérfana.
i Patria o Muerte! iVenceremos!
Fidel Castro Ruz
Marzo 3 de 2009
11 y 32 a.m.
BILL MOYERS: The global meltdown has become so enormous, volatile and dangerous, that the Director of the CIA told reporters this week President Obama now receives a daily top secret briefing on the national security implications of the worldwide recession. That comes on the heels of an earlier warning to Congress from the Director of National Intelligence who said global economic chaos has replaced terrorism as America's number one threat.
DENNIS BLAIR: Economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they are prolonged for a one-to-two- year period, and instability can loosen the fragile hold that many developing countries have on law and order, which can spill out in dangerous ways into the international community.
BILL MOYERS: Hoping to stave off that chaos, the Treasury today took steps to shore up the failing giant Citigroup -- so poorly managed and so deeply in debt the US government is quadrupling its stake in the bank, and shaking up the board of directors. It's the third time since October the government has stepped in to pull the bank -- considered too big to let die -- back from the grave.
Remember when economists poked fun at Ronald Reagan's voodoo economics? Well, now they are dead serious about so-called "zombie banks" - financial giants like Citigroup and Bank of America whose debts are greater than their assets, with stock worth less than zero, and they're only able to stay alive by devouring federal bailout bucks. Those banks, in turn, are terrified by talk that the government might come in and nationalize them. Well, some critics ask, why not? Given all this, I wanted to talk to a man with a clear-eyed perspective on the worldwide economic impact of this banking crisis. Robert Johnson was once the Chief Economist of the Senate Banking Committee under the chairmanship of that fiercest of budget pit-bulls, the late Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire. Johnson became a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management, and now serves on a United Nations Commission recommending reforms of the international monetary and financial system.
BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the JOURNAL.
Read more...
It's truly satisfying when good things happen to good people ...and the reviews filtering-in from allá regarding Maya Frost's new book are actually exciting.
I knew that Maya was working on this book for a long time ...and that impresses me even more; the timing of the release put this book in the vanguard of recession consciousness! How'd she do that? The number of parents willing to consider alternatives to the sudden sticker shock of today's 4 year institutions must be suddenly enormous. When that alternative is as attractive as what Maya describes, the book strikes me as a must-have for anyone with children reaching that age. Although I've never been blessed ...I'm still fascinated at economic aspect of the subject. The responsibility that parents feel ...and the responsibility they are trying to instill ...takes on a new aspect in what could be a long recession: student debt is crushing some of the US' brightest. A recent NYT article was most noteworthy for the more than 400 comments it generated, mostly from students describing the life-long hell they are facing in order pay the bill (more than one is pondering leaving the US permanently to escape the unpayable debt.) Parents both with and without the means to pick-up the tab can't go wrong by adding Maya's book to their survival kit. Making sure that their kids are aware should be a cinch when it's presented as such an attractive and fulfilling alternative.
Buenos Aires' own Ian Mount reports on a subject close to the Yanq's heart: producing the beef that we all know and love.
Ian's piece on American Public Radio's Marketplace is only a few minutes but if I haven't been able to get through to you on this very important subject, I'm confident that Mount's fine audio piece will do the job.
Give it a listen here.
My wife and I are trying our very best to hold onto our cattle, unlike ALL our immediate neighbors who have had to "take the bull by the tail and face the situation" ...for their own survival.
Hats off, man! Good job.
I'm probably the only person here in Argentina that has not seen the No Reservations episode (here's a link to it... get it while you can) where Ant'ny comes to our fair burg to sample our burg's fare ...but I don't watch a lot of TV.
However! When my pitiful channel surfing does land on an episode of his... my television treaty with My Missus invokes the Anthony Bourdain Clause and all other viewing ceases ...a cease-fire is invoked, as well ...and quiet reigns for the duration.
Ok. Maybe you've seen the episode (or not... I'm not really sure that we have this particular season here on cable yet)...
...but just maybe I have something new for you!
This particular scene looks like it was cut from the episode ...but was good enough to make into something of a promo. Man, am I glad it was. This shows Tony in the venerable El Cuartito ...finding his love for Argentine empanadas. For the love of God, please, don't blame that indescribable commercial on me.
What struck me about the promo is that in something less than 4 minutes, Bourdain travels the length and breadth of my own experience with empanadas!
I love meat-pies of just about any description but, for some reason, I could not fall in love with empanadas here. I don't know why. Argentine empanadas are truly champions among that food group ...but for my first 2 years here, I avoided them as the most pedestrian and uninspiring food in town. Never could explain it to myself nor anyone else. Nowadays, empanadas are my backstop whenever I get bored with local food! Couldn't live without them.
I've always liked and admired Anthony Bourdain's approach and savvy and program. However, seeing him condense my 2 years of personal experience with a touchstone Argentine food ...into what couldn't have been more than 2 hours of shooting ...makes me admire him so very much more.
The guy's not just another talking food head.
