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Wednesday, February 28

Poetry Magazine - Ode to Peruvian Food by Kucinta Setia: "Unforgettable baptism by ceviche in the Padang" Poetry on Peruvian cuisine by an Asian.

Tuesday, February 27

Excite / Reuters - Peru seals $300 million credit from Spain: "The minister (Javier Silva Ruete) also said that Peru had agreed to swap $120 million in debt it owes Spain -- part of a program in Peru which allows the government to spend the cash they would have paid in debt on social and environmental projects." Spain continues its offensive to increase in stake in the Hemisphere.

Yahoo - Peru Congressman Whose Tape Sparked Scandal Arrested, Jailed: "The former legislator, who spent the previous four months in Miami, said he came home to be reunited with his family." Alberto Kouri knew comes home to face trial for elicit enrichment and accepting bribes.

Yahoo / Associated Press - Peru May Elect Female President: "He (pollster Manuel Torrado) said Flores is strong among women, the middle class and young urbanites who are wary of Toledo's passionate, impulsive style and populist-tinged rhetoric." Torrado also said that Flores would beat Toledo in a runoff by 7 percentage points.

The New Yorker: From The Archive - Letter from Lima by Alma Guillermoprieto : "It was 'Alberto Fujimori: Honesty, Technology, and Work': a Peru free of sharklike politicians, a Peru full of computers, a Peru where sweat would be honored and remunerated--in short, a modern, efficient, industrious Peru." This is how you write a feature story for a major magazine. Alma Guillermoprieto sweated bullets over this article. She avoided the easy cliché and the facile generalization. Now it's worth remembering how we saw Fujimori 10 years ago.

Washington Post - Those Crazy Politicos of Peru: "Fujimori's sister ran a charity, collecting used clothes from Japan and distributing them to the poor of Peru. The clothes were stored in the basement of the presidential palace, where the Fujimori family could pick through them and snag the best stuff for themselves. One Christmas, the president told an army colonel that he had a present for him. He escorted the colonel to the basement and told him to pick what he wanted." This news item is actually about an "The Government Is Missing," Isabel Hilton's story in this week's New Yorker.

Monday, February 26

NY Times Sunday Magazine - The Peruvian Revolution Is Being Televised: "I went to Lima to cover a revolution (O.K., the end of a 10-year postmodern diet-lite dictatorship) and ended up watching TV." A novelist digs into the ambience of post-Fujimori Lima. It's an indictment of the new emerging society, but it may be too shallow and miss a lot of context.

Whoa! II - It looks like it's going to be a great 168 hours for Peruvian Graffiti Special g c i 275 feature. Yahoo has designated it a Pick of the Week (February 26, 2001).

Saturday, February 24

Daily Yomiuri Machu Picchu in grave danger, Japanese researchers warn: "The rate of expansion measured about one centimeter in one month, which according to Sassa is a precursor of a landslide." Heavy usage is putting stress on Peru's top tourist attraction.

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Arrests Two TV Owners Over Montesinos Links "Ugaz said the receipts in the Winter case showed how Montesinos and the brothers plotted to remove the Israeli-born media boss Baruch Ivcher from his majority control of Frecuencia Latina after it aired reports of alleged government corruption." $4.5 million made Montesinos the power behind Frecuencia Latina.

Friday, February 23

Whoa! - It's been a great 48 hours for Peruvian Graffiti Special g c i 275 feature. More than 6,000 hits, thanks to Yahoo. It's a level of exposure that this site has never had in any of its incarnations. Hopefully, some of them will come back.

Bloomberg.com - Peruvian Congress Finds Grounds to Indict Fujimori : "Congress also barred Fujimori from holding any public office for the next 10 years, a move that would block any attempt to return to political life in Peru in the medium term, as he has pledged to do." For the Fujimori block, it's probably better that they bear the brunt of charges and proceedings between now and July. At least, now they have the means to defend themselves. With a new president and Congress, they will just be a marginal minority faction.

NY Times - Desperate Farmers Imperil Peru's Fight on Coca "There are now incipient signs of a coca comeback in this frontier village of clay roads and thatched-roof huts slashed out of the jungles of the Huallaga Valley and in a number of surrounding towns in the central and northern parts of the region."

Thursday, February 22

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Congress Debate May Lead to Fujimori Trial: "Jose Ugaz, the state attorney investigating Montesinos, told RPP radio on Thursday he would open a probe into measures allegedly organized by the ex-spy chief to effectively keep 450 people or firms off the books of the tax authorities." If you're going to be spreading millions among your partners and associates, you have to make sure that it does not set off audit alarms.

Kudos - The Peruvian Graffiti Special g c i 275 feature section was selected by Yahoo as a Daily Pick, as well as Country Guide. It's tough to make it into Yahoo, but even more so to be singled out. The section also got listed in About.com and spotlighted by Adonde.com, the best web directory in Peru, as a Página Destacada. It's nice to know that someone is noticing the work put into this site.

Wednesday, February 21

Yahoo / Associated Press Peru Asks for 20-Year Sentence for Lori Berenson: "A court spokesman said the presiding judge in the case is on vacation and that the 31-year-old Berenson's trial would not begin until the first week in March, at the earliest." Justice is slow in Peru -- and frequently on vacation.

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Bishops to Get Custody of 'Intimate' Spy Tapes: "Political analysts said that the mediation role being played by the church -- widely trusted in this deeply Catholic nation -- aimed to ensure that privacy rights were respected and that the videos would not be used for further extortion efforts." These tapes apparently have no bearing on investigations, just the cavorting of the powerful, whom Montesinos wanted to have under his thumb.

BBC - Peruvian TV boss admits bias deal: "The director of a Peruvian television channel has admitted to signing a $9m deal with the now disgraced former intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, to give favourable coverage to Mr Fujimori in the channel's output." Montesinos paid big time to control newscasts and other programming. Traditional investment in TV campaigns by candidates has modest so it was a windfall for the TV companies.

Tuesday, February 20

Yahoo / Reuters - Wall Street keen on Peru's Flores, neutral on Toledo: "Peru's sovereign bonds late last week rallied after polls had Flores, an ex-legislator bidding to become Peru's first woman president, gaining fast on front-runner and three-time presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo in the election on April 8." Is this the kiss of death for Flores? What candidate in his/her right mind wants Wall Street's blessing during the campaign.

WEFA.com - A Nation with Many Gold Diggers: "Last year, exports of minerals were in excess of $3.2 billion—more than 45% of total export, with gold and copper accounting for 16% and 13%, respectively." The big change in Peruvian mining exports has been the rise of gold. Before, it was only a by-product of the refining process. The Yanacocha mine that pushed gold into the big time. In case your wondering, WEFA was formerly called Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates.

Salon.com / Associated Press - Videos show corrupt Fujimori government "In another 1998 video, former National Election Board member Romulo Munoz asks Montesinos: "You're not filming me?"

"'For ethical reasons, we don't utilize those things,' replied Montesinos, after handing Munoz $10,000 and first-class airline tickets to New York for his daughter to study in the United States. Montesinos also pledges $30,000 more over six months and says he'll see about arranging state jobs for Munoz's wife and son."

This piece is a wrapup of the latest twists in the scandal -- nothing really new, but it made Salon.com, which is more selective in its news items.

NY Times - A Woman Emerges to Offer Peru an Alternative: "In a country deeply marked by machismo — where women won the right to vote in 1956 and where as recently as five years ago men could escape jail terms for rape simply by marrying their victims, Ms. Flores's candidacy is revolutionary." There is a stereotype in Peru that women will be less inclined to corruption. (But then again, female traffic cops have been known to wink at an infraction for a little cash.) We might get a chance to put that to the test.

Monday, February 19

APOYO S.A. Opnion Poll - Survey of 1835 people nationwide, 535 in Lima, with a margin of error of +-2.3%.

Nationwide
Alejandro Toledo..... 33% (same as a month ago)
Lourdes Flores....... 25% (up 13 points)
Alan García............ 15% (up 3 points)
Fernando Olivera..... 10%
Carlos Boloña.......... 3%
Others, blank or null.. 5%
Don't know, no response.. 9%

Lima
Lourdes Flores....... 34% (up 17 points)
Alejandro Toledo..... 28%
Alan García............ 12%
Fernando Olivera..... 11%
Carlos Boloña......... 3%
Others, blank or null. 4%
Don't know, no response.. 8%

Bloomberg.com - Peru Panel Charges Fujimori, Spy Chief, Credicorp Head, Others "Romero, chairman of financial holding Credicorp Ltd. and Peru's largest bank, Banco de Credito, was accused of influence peddling and lying to authorities, according to Radioprogramas del Peru." This repetition of news already logged here is due to its impact on financial markets.

CNN Suspected guerrillas attack army helicopter, kill 1 soldier: "The helicopter was approaching the base to deliver provisions when presumed members of the now all but defeated Shining Path rebel group opened fire on the aircraft." Peru is such a retro mode that even Sendero is trying to make a come-back.

Sunday, February 18

New Feature: I have been thinking of starting a new section called, Confessions of a Stringer. I want to write about my experience in Peru as a freelance journalist from more of a personal perspective. However, serendipity has placed in my hands an insightful story by my mentor, Nicholas Asheshov. Since Nick has freelanced far more than me, he qualifies for the section. The Urubamba Paradoxx explains the deep, inner workings of the country.

WorldNews / Associated Press - Peru Commission Recommends Charges: "He (Waisman) said the commission had found $92 million in foreign bank accounts linked to Montesinos and that charges were also being recommended against a banking executive from Peru's Banco de Comercio for handling transfers totaling $220 million for the ex-intelligence chief." 181,000 pages of testimony and reports and Waisman wants more time to dig up more dirt on Fujimori, Montesinos and 14 other people.

Saturday, February 17

Washinton Post - Coercive Sterilizations in Peru: "USAID says there is evidence that in at least six cases health officials in Peru offered women incentives or threatened to withhold their medical benefits to coerce them to be sterilized." This Peru item is part of a longer commentary by Marcela Sanchez.

BBC News - Peru set to be drug leader: "The UN investigator, Humberto Chirrinos, says it is clear that Peru's cocaine industry is taking off once again." Squeeze the traffickers in Colombia and the flow comes out in Peru.

ABC News / Reuters - Latest scandals, spy videos overwhelm shocked Peru: The latest tapes of Vladimiro Montesinos' secretly filmed meetings with Peru's elite, revealed the ex-spy chief, the nation's chief powerbroker in the 1990s, plotting against political opponents with Peru's top banker and boasting of his influence over television news programs." More Vladi-videos.

ABC News / Reuters - Peru's Flores Soars, Threatens Favorite Toledo: "The opinion poll confirmed the findings of Lima-based surveys earlier this month and suggested that no candidate was likely to win 50 percent of the vote, forcing a May or June runoff round between the two leading contenders, probably Toledo and Flores." International media are now picking up on a tight race in Peru's presidential elections.

The latest national DATUM poll shows a close race. A margin of error of 3%.

Alejandro Toledo..... 30%
Lourdes Flores Nano.. 28%
Alan García.......... 13%
Fernando Olivera..... 11%
Carlos Boloña......... 3%
Otros................. 1%
NS / NC.............. 14%

Flores has picked up 15 percentage points in two months. The other surprise is that Flores would beat Toledo in a run-off election. Datum is a reliable polling agency and I've known Manual Torrado for over 15 years. However, my sources tell me that support for all the candidates is soft and could change quickly.

The Peruvian Graffiti Special g c i 275 feature section has been listed as a country guide at Yahoo. That's quite a break because it's tough to get listed on Yahoo, with waiting lists up to six months long -- or never.

National Geographic News - Tomb of "Giants" Unearthed in Peru: "The 1,500-year-old graves held five unusually tall young men surrounded by textiles, ceramics, llama skeletons, and decorative metal works." This discovery has stirred up lots of interest around the world.

NY Times - In Spy Hunt, Peru Wants U.S. to Make a Better Effort: "Mr. García Sayan said he would like Washington to share with Peruvian officials declassified intelligence documents that might shed light on Mr. Montesinos's criminal activities." In other words, since Montesinos was the CIA's favorite Peruvian spook, then the agency should track him down.

Friday, February 16

No news today of any importance. To compensate, I am putting two recent US Agency for International Development reports on my website. Democracy and Governance in Peru and Evaluation of US AID/Peru's Democracy Education Activities. There is a lof of detail in these papers that fill in gaps about political events over the past three or fours years. Both require Adobe Acrobat Reader. These reports will be permanently linked from the Elections 2001 page, which has been updated substantially last night.

Thursday, February 15

Financial Times - Lourdes Flores woos Peruvians: "Ms Flores' refusal to consider a second term seems typical of the candid, down-to-earth approach that has been her main selling point in the campaign." Most polling has been in Lima, so we don't know how Lourdes is doing in the interior of the country.

LA Times Pyramid in Peru Yields Unprecedented Buried Treasure and Washington Post - A Grand Past Comes to Surface : About the same Moche tomb escavation as the item below. The LA Times piece is the most complete and has color pictures.

Yahoo / Reuters - Archeologists Find Treasure in Moche Tombs in Peru: "In addition to the ornate ceramics and other treasures, Donnan said each of the three tombs contained the three tallest people he believed had been excavated in South America." Sipan II - the discovery will be laid out in the March issue of National Geographic.

Wednesday, February 14

Excite / Business Wire - Lima Airport Partners To Manage Jorge Chavez International Airport: "The total investment in Lima's airport infrastructure is expected to exceed US$ 1.4 billion during the concession term." By the way, that's a 30-year lease. For those of us who have suffered air travel in and out of Peru, this new management should mean an enhancement of the facilities.

Tuesday, February 13

Miami Herald - Peru's Corruption TV: "Beyond building strong courts and Congress, measures that make government more transparent and accountable -- such as financial-disclosure requirements, public-information access, free-press protections -- can discourage the corruption and the abuses of power with which Peruvians now are all too familiar." Editorial from the February 5 issue of the Herald.

Yahoo / Associated Press - Video Reveals Peru Corruption: "Their dialogue indicates the cash and favors are in recompense for presumably rigged victories for Fujimori loyalists in municipal elections a month earlier." Details about the latest crop of videotapes viewed in Congress on Tuesday.

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Ex-Leader Fujimori to Face Corruption Charges: "Peru and Japan have no extradition treaty and Japan has made clear it will not hand over Fujimori any time soon." If you're going to start being tough on corruption, begin with the one that will have the least immediate effect on corruption and the most political impact.

Monday, February 12

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Candidates Asked to Promise Clean Campaigns: "But one presidential hopeful, former Economy Minister Carlos Bolona, said he will not sign the agreement because he felt victimized and believed some television stations were biased in favor of the former opponents of former President Alberto Fujimori." Maybe the candidates should sign the pledge in blood.

Independent (UK) - Spymaster's tapes give Peru a saga of sleaze: "Congressional investigators, who are airing some of the 2,500 videotapes seized from Mr Montesinos's private apartment and his National Intelligence Service headquarters before he slipped out of the country last October, are taking extra precautions to keep them secure. High-tech wiretapping equipment and records mysteriously vanished over the weekend." More of the same. Expect more for the foreseeable future.

Financial Times - 'Vladivideos' haunt Peru campaign: "Presidential hopefuls have to reveal for the first time exactly where their campaign funds come from." One good outcome of the scandals.

"U.S. Policy towards the Fujimori Government in 2000: The Compromising of Democratic Standards for a Political Ally" by Cynthia McClintock, which will appear in Foreign Affairs En Español, Spring 2001. This abbreviated version is on the LASA/Peru Section site.

Sunday, February 11

Montain Standard (Montana, USA) - Peruvian connection benefits Butte, Tech, Peru: "On the surface, it might appear Butte has nothing in common with Puno, Peru. Different language, different culture, different hemisphere. But one commonality quickly obliterates those differences: mining. Butte and Puno are mining towns. They both have universities that focus on mining research and engineering fields. Both also have bodies of water contaminated by mining " The goal of cleaning up bodies of waters join two towns on opposite sides of the Equator.

NY Times - Former Leader of Peru Seeks Second Chance After Exile: "Still, polls give Mr. García the highest negative ratings of any major candidate, with 50 percent of those questioned in one recent survey saying that they would not vote for the former president under any circumstances." Garcia is going to make this race interesting.

Miami Herald - Prosecutors Reopen Inquiry into '97 Raid: "However, one eyewitness, Japanese diplomat Hidetaka Ogura, who was present during the raid as a hostage, told reporters last December that the commandos had taken three rebels alive." One more challenge to the Fujimori mythology.

Saturday, February 10

Peruvian Elections: Only 57 days to go and you never know when something is going to come out of Vladimiro's closet to reshuffle the cards. I have set up a page where I will put as much understanding as I can scrapped together after being out of Peru for five years. It's still pretty basic but I will be adding to it regularly. I am amazed at how poorly parties and candidates are using the Web.

I have spent a good part of the day checking news sites to see if I have mised anything big in the past week or two. The new additions are below.

BusinessWeek - Alejando Toledo Interview: "I believe in a market economy with a human face." Also see This Time Around, Toledo Loves the Free Market and To-Do List. 20 years ago Belaunde was ridiculed for promising to create a million new jobs during his term in office. Now Toledo is offering 2.5 million. Inflation does not only affect currency. Toledo has also recruit Pedro Kuczynski, a former Energy & Mines Minister under Belaunde, as his economic guru.

By the way, Toledo made an appearance at Davos, the international economic forum, which shows that he know how to ride on trendy waves.

AltaVista / Reuters - You can trust me, Peru woman candidate says: "The April 8 election is shaping up to be a battle -- currently too close to call, pollsters say -- between Flores, ex-President Alan Garcia and legislator Fernando Olivera, for second place, and then a deciding runoff vote in late May or early June." Lourdes Flores lead National Union and could challenge Toledo if there were a second round. However, she comes from the Popular Christian Party (PPC) and its Lima-centric, conservative orientation has never played well in the provinces.

CARE - Virtual Field Trip - Peru: US teenager spend 10 days in Peru to see self-help programs better people's lives. The kids start in Cajamarca and finish in Lima. A description of Care programs in Peru is also provides.

Los Angeles Times - After Fraud, Bribes, Videotapes, Peru Finds Hope in Disclosure: "As the mayor points out, the clamor for justice has at times crossed the line into witch-hunting. Some politicians have been excoriated for merely admitting that they met with Montesinos, even in the absence of videos or other indications of dishonesty." Correspondent Sebastian Rotella goes to Arequipa to find out what "Independent Republic" thinks of the political upheaval. The focus is on Arequipa mayor Juan Manuel Guillen.

Yahoo / Reuters - Second Candidate Halts Bid for Peruvian Presidency: "Santistevan won respect as a rare independent voice in the government of Fujimori. But he failed to translate that into wide popular appeal and was stuck at 2 percent to 3 percent in the polls. " This news got passed me during the week. Jorge Santiestevan was the Ombudsman of Peru and was an outspoken critique of the Fujimori regime.

Yahoo / AP - Peruvian Drug Trafficker Tells Tale: "He said Montesinos bragged that he had worked with slain Colombian cocaine lord Pablo Escobar - bolstering a similar allegation by Escobar's jailed brother, Roberto." Extensive details on Demetrio Chavez's testimony before a congressional investigative committee and TV cameras. Same story made the Miami Herald.

Thursday, February 8

Excite / Reuters - IMF-Peru accord turns leaf on crisis -- minister: "Silva Ruete said the standby agreement replaces a three- year Extended Fund Facility program that the ousted government of former President Alberto Fujimori had failed to comply with." A transitional measure that clears the way for the next government.

Yahoo / Reuters - Yahoo - Peru's top businessman denies Montesinos deals: "Romero, his voice trembling at times as he read a statement told how he made a public expression of support for Fujimori at Montesinos' behest, and sought a legal favor for a troubled company that owed his bank money. He took no questions after making the statement." Peruvian businesses have always been at the mercy of the government. A simple change in regulations or a tax audit can change the bottom line, in the red or in the black. On the other, Romero has dominated the business scene for more than two decades.

Washington Post - Peru After Fujimori and Montesinos: Latin American diplomat Eduardo Stein will be chatting live about Peru on Feb. 8 (today) at 11:30. The Post columnist Marcela Sanchez will be taking questions in Spanish.

Wednesday, February 7

Excite Reuters - Peru seeks $600 million in loans on Washington trip: "Peru, with a $54 billion economy, has foreign public sector debt of some $19 billion, which costs $2.1 billion a year to service in principal and interest payments." $600 million, a small price for preserving democracy in Peru.

Yahoo / Associated Press - Videos Cause Chaos for Peru Parties: "On Monday, Congress broadcast a video of Agustin Mantilla - a one-time secretary general of Garcia's Aprista party and an interior minister in his 1985-90 government - taking $30,000 from Montesinos to help with a congressional bid last year." How appropriate that Mantilla should be caught dealing with Montesinos. Mantilla did all Garcia's dirty tricks and was generally dispised.

Macchu Pichu: This site is dedicated to preventing the construction of a large hotel and cable car on the historic ruins near Cusco. It cites the UNESCO scientists report that opposes the development. No update since September 2000 so the Fujimori exit may have deflated the plans.

Tuesday, February 6

International Herald Tribune - Peru Reels Over Video Library of Corruption: This is a reprint of Clifford Krausse's excellent piece that appeared in the NYT (registration needed, but free -- See the item below). You will need Flash to view the IHT.

Philadelphia Daily News - Peruvian fugitive 'perhaps CIA man': "The lawmaker said that he had asked the U.S. government for information on possible Montesinos bank accounts and property in the United States but that the requests had drawn a blank." The Peruvians are getting feisty about Washington dragging its feet on info about Montesinos.

Los Angeles Times - Peru's Ex-Spymaster Retains His Wiles--Even on the Lam: "This man, who has so much money and, because of his specialty in intelligence, has the capacity to construct networks of protection, has many diverse possibilities for hiding places, including Peru itself," said Justice Minister Diego Garcia Sayan. Comment: A piece that brings us up-to-date on the adventures of Valdimiro Montesinos and how the hunt plays into the mindset in Peru.

Monday, February 5

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru coffee outlook bitter on Plan Colombia: "Plan Colombia, the U.S.-backed war on cocaine production in neighboring Colombia is expected to push up the price of coca leaf in other countries -- meaning Peruvian producers who have switched to coffee in recent years might be lured back, analysts say." Growers are always going to be price-sensitive since experience has taught them to get what you can today because all promises are off tomorrow.

Peru: Society and Nationhood in the Andes (A Book) is the new site design for my friend, Peter Klarén, the history prof at George Washington University. Nothing spectacular, but the book art work carries the site. Besides visiting his site, you might want to buy a copy of his book.

Saturday, February 3

People's Daily - Peruvian Police Puts Down Shining Path Captives Riot: "Local press reported that the police threw tear gas bombs against 700 political prisoners that had occupied for over three hours roofs of six blocks of top security jail "Miguel Castro Castro." Prisons continue to fester as a social pressure point, and having Sendero militants inside is sure to keep the heat on.

Miami Herald - Peru to seek local assets of accused arms dealer: "His South Florida homes were bought in cash for a combined $666,400 in 1995, Miami-Dade County records show." Venero's holdings in South Florida give details about the flow of cash through his hands.

Naples News / AP - Montesinos associate asks to be sent to Peru: "He even offered to pay for the trip." Update on Venero Garrido's status in Florida jail and extradiction proceedings.

Friday, February 2

New York Times - Videotapes Expose Misdeeds of Peru's Most Powerful: "Government officials say there is also evidence that Mr. Montesinos and his henchmen continue to pull strings behind the scenes, spreading disinformation in an attempt to destabilize the government, affect the political campaign and derail the government's investigation." My suspicions are that the real instigators of the rumors and countercharges are the people on the tapes. You will need to register for the New York Times. It's free and worth it.

Yahoo / Reuters - Peru Journalist in Scandal Flees 'Persecution': "Lucar, a well-known news program host, sparked a nationwide outcry after he broadcast on Sunday allegations that Paniagua accepted cash for a congressional campaign. He is being investigated on charges, not brought by the government, of offending the dignity of a public functionary." A little bit of persecution payback in the scandal about Lucar's TV show. All the crew that operated under the Fujimori-Montesinos flag are now geeling the heat.

Los Angeles Times - Untangling Peru's Alleged Web of Crime: "The survival of Montesinos in the highest levels of power was the responsibility for years of the U.S. government," he (Justice Minister Diego Garcia Sayan) said. "At least one agency confided in him and made him a partner. Montesinos used that relationship as a reaffirmation of his power here." Dirty laundery and more to come soon.

Thursday, February 1

Just-Food / Reuters - Mad cow ban threatens Peruvian fish meal sales: "Peru's interim government, fishing trade bodies and exporters told EU representatives they were concerned at a one-year restriction allowing fish meal only if it came from factories that produced or handled no other kinds of animal meal." $150 million in lost exports would be a serious blow to the economy, but fish meal has always been a wasteful use of marine and energy resources, in my opinion. And it stinks up the neighborhood. Also see another Reuters piece in the Sun-Sentinel told more from the European angle.

USNewswire -Study Suggests How Cholera Has Returned to Latin America After 100-Year Hiatus: "A more likely hypothesis, based on studies done by the researchers at the University of Maryland, is that the cholera microbe, which occurs naturally in the aquatic environment and is known to be associated with marine plankton, was carried by zooplankton to multiple coastal locations before the epidemic. Moreover, the 1991 El Nino would have raised seawater temperatures, a factor that would have encouraged plankton growth until the microbe population reached concentrations infectious to humans." Some rethinking about the epidemic that hit Peru in the early 1990s.

CNN / AP Peru Congress commission recommends charges against Fujimori - January 31, 2001: "If approved by Congress, the dereliction of duty and abandonment charges could be pursued by the Attorney General's office and lead to Fujimori's prosecution, said lawmaker Daniel Estrada, who voted for the recommendation." There's probably a lot of grey area in the interpretation of the law because legislators could never have contemplated a head of state having to flee the country in disgrace. Extenuating circumstance.

SF Weekly - Quest for the True Peru: "That last impression wasn't entirely inaccurate, because the people of Peru have produced one of the most stunning cuisines I've ever come across." The reviewer sings the praises of Peruvian cooking in a San Francisco restaurant. For someone in Washington, DC, you can check out a Washington Post review of local eateries.

Excite / U-wire - Global women's forum at U. New Mexico assails Bush order: "Guttman said the women in the organization were dismayed because they needed U.S. funding, but knew Peruvian women are suffering from disease, so they could not sign the paper in good conscience." Bush's pro-life policy has an impact on women's health in Peru.

Chicago Sun-Times - Throwing up a prayer: "One non-Duarte on the national team was a hustling young forward named Juan Luis Cipriani, whom McGregor remembers as a real ballhawk, somebody who just loved to steal opposing player's passes. On Sunday, Pope John Paul II elevated Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani to the College of Cardinals." Jim McGregor used to be the coach of the Peruvian national basketball team. Now we know why Cipriani got his moves.

Hoover's Online / Reuters - Southern Peru says 2000 net soars, outlook rosy: "Southern Peru was upbeat on capacity improvement and cost cuts when two projects now in the pipeline were completed. It said the projects should boost output to more than 900 million pounds of copper per year, and cut costs to $0.48." During the 1980s and early 1990s, SPCC was always whining about how hard it was to make a profit in Peru. Things have turned around for this survivor of political whiplash, currency debacles and labor militancy. Its influence stretches over the bottom half of the country -- bully and godfather.

Variety - Playboy says ``Si'' to erotic soap: "Casting for the Peru-based production has been completed, and a director is being sought." What this has to do with Peru's future, I don't know, but it's hit the wires.

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