Buenos Aires News Channels have been airing footage and interviews of the half submerged cruise ship Costa Concordia almost 24 hours a day. A very sad and totally avoidable event, resulting in preventable loss of life for so many crew and passengers. Now, news coverage is reduced somewhat to snippets of conversations and statements of Caption Schiottini, as well as the New Battle Cry of Italy and around social media: Vada abordo, cazzo! Everyone knows the translation by now.
Progress in environmental clean up around the ship is reported daily.
Talking about environment....below is the impression Argentinians have of the 'environmental efforts' of Barrick Gold and Osisco (?), Canadian Mining Companies, who plan to mine gold in an open pit mine in Famatina, a small town in a pristine agricultural Valley.
10 tons of cyanide a day, 300.000 cubic meters of fresh water. Each gold ring generates the equivalent of 18 tons of toxic waste. All that nice stuff is going into the ground and river water of the entire valley, ruining agriculture, orchards, lake fishing, drinking water and tourism. The waste will travel more or less across Argentina flooding downstream in converging river currents. The Natives are Restless - and rightly so.
'Agressive' development by Global Business in poorer countries, where environmental controls are weak or non existent, really show how hypocrisy of First World countries about 'protecting the environment' works. Yeah, sure, we care about the environment - but only at home! As long as we mine 'within the law' and with 'governmental permission' (which can be bought) in countries like Zambia, Chile and Argentina, we just quietly mess up the environment ...keeps production costs low.
Rumour has it, that Kristina, la Presidenta, secretely signed permissions for this mine, the local Provincial Governer was apparently elected on a promise to stop the development (which he promtly reneged after his succesful election). Demonstrations all over the country...
Open Pit Gold Mining by Canadian company, as perceived by Argentinians.
La Boca and Rivers hold a long awaited soccer match - 1 policeman to each 10 fans. One stays away...
Militant members of one fan club, revenging a beating up of a member of another fan club, just made an 'invasion' of a local hospital - past the birthing room and several nurses and attendants - to give another fan, who underwent medical treatment there, a licking. Security videos of the event show the whole attack, with a girl leading the charge. Police is looking for male suspects...
Calle Florida, without the Manteros. New flowerpots instead of blankets selling mostly cheap junk (excepting the Artesanos, which are in a separate and less militant camp, and who do sell their personal creations). I wonder if the Mafia charges protection money per square foot of blanket, as the Manteros had to do.
The Manteros have not yet given up on their quest for 'space': now, some of them chain themselves to each other, lay on their blankets in a part of Calle Florida and go on a hunger strike.
Second page....
A race horse threw his rider in the City Hippodromo and escaped into Avenida Libertador, high traffic artery several lanes wide. It galloped amongst the crazy traffic for 10 blocks, and was finally captured at the Monumento de Espanoles (probably needed a calming drink from the fountain by then). A handler picked it up and walked it back to the race course.
And a colourful rooster wandered around the downtown lawns of El Congresso, so rare it made prime time news as well...pictures of him pecking away at bits of arid lawn.
The heatwave is over, hey, important enough to make TV footage of lighting and downpours in and around the City and Province of Buenos Aires. Open Air Folkloric Festival of Cosquin, in Province of Cordoba, was overcome with a deluge of rain and hail. Fans stuck around, dressed in garbage bags and dollar store rain coats, or they took their shirts off which they then whirled above their heads, or snuggled under umbrellas. The whole dripping sodden crowd kept dancing to the music, umbrellas bouncing in unison, huge smiles on their faces and singing along with the performers, cheering on the (very good) musicians, who had retreated to the dry part of the stage - enthusiasm not diminished at all!
