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Geopolitics In The News

UAE Warns Israel Over West Bank, Lisbon Cable Car Crash, Holy Whip

👋 Sannu!* Welcome to Thursday, where Kim Jong-un affirms his support for Vladimir Putin, the UAE denounces Israeli plans to annex the West Bank, and today’s quiz question is about a Nazi-looted Italian painting. Meanwhile, we offer a tour du monde of the state of the debate as to whether adults can physically discipline children. […]

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Economy Geopolitics

Milei, Lula And Beyond? How Argentina And Brazil Can Finally Bond Like Brothers

Despite their leaders’ opposing politics, Argentina and Brazil’s similarities outnumber their differences. These neighboring countries must work together, writes former Argentine ambassador to Brazil Juan Pablo Lohlé.

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Society

The “Taxi Dancers” Of Buenos Aires, Giving Visitors And Older Women A Real Taste Of Tango

Professional tango dancers for hire in Buenos Aires are giving clients — mostly foreign women and retirees — a chance to experience Argentina’s signature dance.

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Geopolitics In The News

Putin Skips Peace Talks, Israel Strikes Kill 54 In Gaza, Sinner And The Saint

👋 Nyob zoo!* Welcome to Thursday, where Ukraine voices disappointment as Vladimir Putin sidesteps peace talks in Turkey, Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis kill 54 overnight, and today’s quiz question will please National Treasure lovers. Meanwhile, for Italian daily La Stampa, Francesca Mannocchi reports from Chad, where she spoke to some of the 700,000 refugees […]

Categories
The Next Pope

Pope Francis’ First Guide To Catholicism? His Italian Grandmother

To revisit the life and journey of Pope Francis, we are republishing a La Stampa article from shortly after his rise to the papacy.

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Society

Mario Vargas Llosa On Populism, Feminism, And Hoping To Die With A Pen In His Hand

In one of his final major interviews, the Peruvian Nobel laureate reflected on literature, Trump, feminism, and mortality. His passing in Lima marks the end of an era for Latin American letters.

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Green

The Bad Economics Of Argentina’s Recycling Industry

Argentina’s informal recycling network, once a lifeline for thousands, is unraveling as falling prices and new policies make waste-picking unsustainable.

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Society

A Poet’s Darkest Verse: Malva Marina, The Daughter Pablo Neruda Abandoned

The Nobel Prize-winning poet was a renowned defender of humanitarian causes through much of the 20th century. Yet he had no time or interest for Malva Marina, his only child, who was born with hydrocephalus. Neruda’s mistreatment of his daughter is one more part of his biography that has feminist activists denouncing him after revelations of sexual assault and other predatory behavior.

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Green Society

Upcycling In Argentina: Latin Textures Lift A Fashion Trend For The Ages

Several Argentine fashion designers are among the pioneers of upcycling, turning used textiles from the home into unusual clothes with a focus on cultural regeneration and respect for the environment.

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Future

Who Owns Memes? From “Hide The Pain Harold” To “Success Kid” — It’s A Copyright Jungle

A look into how copyright laws may or may not be applicable to memes, which normally use an existing image without any consent. The question is a reminder of how the Internet has changed the basics of communication and commerce.

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Economy

Double Shifts, Empty Plates: Life As Working Poor In Milei’s Argentina

A year ago, Javier Milei’s government lifted price controls. Since then, food costs have spiked by more than 90%.

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climate change Green

Does A River Have Rights? Inside The Movement To Grant Legal Personhood To Nature

The Vilcabamba, the Atrato or the Whanganui have achieved recognition as living entities with rights. More and more rivers are achieving this type of legal protection (and respect). In Spain, the Tins was the first river to have its rights recognized.

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Society

Pink Cocaine, How The Designer Drug Cocktail Became A Favorite Of Argentina’s Elite

Former One Direction member Liam Payne, who died last after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, reportedly had “pink cocaine” in his system. Also known as “Tuci,” this “designer drug” has been spreading in Latin America and globally over the past decade.

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Society Women Worldwide

Abortion And The U.S. Election: Women Of The World Are Watching

A landmark decision last year by the Mexican Supreme Court is part of a push in Latin America to expand abortion access. But as seen by the U.S. overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the presidential election in November of this year the issue is moving in different directions around the world.

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Food / Travel Society

Salt Shakers, Knives, Toilet Seats: What And Why We Steal From Restaurants

Restaurateurs in Buenos Aires are baffled at the phenomenon of paying customers stealing cutlery or fixtures after paying for a meal. While many don’t bother to make it police matter, some admit they relish humiliating a culprit if caught.

Categories
This Happened

This Happened — August 27: Argentina’s Shock Olympic Win Over U.S. Dream Team

Updated Aug. 27, 2024 at 12:20 pm Twenty years ago, Argentina beat the star-studded U.S. basketball team at the Athens Olympics in a major upset. Who were the key players for Argentina in the game against the United States? Several key players contributed to Argentina’s victory against the United States, including Manu Ginóbili, Andrés Nocioni, […]

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Society

Thinking About My Late Parents On A Nostalgic Morning

A father goes back to the role of son for a while and discovers things about his parents: their music, habits and upbringing. Is it harder now to be a parent than it was before? What will the author’s children be left with from their upbringing?

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Ideas Society Women Worldwide

Next On Netflix: At 60, Mafalda Is Just As (Im)Pertinent As Ever

The Argentine comic strip, who is now about to get its own Netflix series, was created at a time when Latin America was going through political censorship. A testament to Mafalda’s innocent-but-serious attitude toward world problems, an excellent example of how young people often see more clearly than the rest of us.

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Economy Geopolitics

Why Trade With China Weakens Mercosur — And How South Americans Only Make It Worse

Asia and above all China, have shown how the size of a market can drive state relations, and nowhere is this truer than in the Mercosur bloc’s increasing dependence on Asian exports. But regional integration in South America is stalling, as Argentina and Brazil are in another nasty spat.

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Economy Geopolitics Ideas

Javier Milei And The Destructive Art Of Anti-Diplomacy

Argentina’s rabidly neo-liberal president, Javier Milei, is downsizing the state at home and curbing diplomacy to the bare minimum of promoting the free market, lambasting communism, and nurturing ties with just two, cherished states, Israel and the United States.

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Society Women Worldwide

Cosmeticorexia: The Risky Trend Of Teens Using Anti-Aging Skin Products

Influenced by social media, more and more teenagers in Argentina, and elsewhere, are using anti-aging products. Dermatologists warn that this trend is not only unnecessary but can also be harmful for their young skin.

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Geopolitics

Russia-Latin America: Is El Salvador’s “Cool” Strongman Cozying Up To Putin?

Through quiet diplomacy, Russia may be courting the rising star of Latin American populism, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele. In time, he must decide between international respectability and a bear hug from Vladimir Putin.

Categories
This Happened

This Happened — June 14: Happy Birthday, Che Guevara

Updated June 14, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. Che Guevara was born on this day in 1928. He was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, and diplomat. He played a key role in the Cuban Revolution, serving as one of Fidel Castro’s top lieutenants. What was Che Guevara’s childhood like? Che Guevara’s childhood was […]

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Society Women Worldwide

Why Milei’s Attacks On Abortion Rights Are A Risk For Women Beyond Argentina

Legalized in Argentina up to 14 weeks in 2020, abortion is now under attack by Javier Milei’s far-right government, which is compromising access to the procedure and spurring anti-abortion movements in the country — with implications for women in neighboring Brazil, Paraguay and Chile.

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Geopolitics Ideas

A Defense Of The Mexican Work Ethic — And Critique Of ‘Peronist’ Politics

An often dysfunctional state has turned Mexicans into a vigorously self-reliant, hard-working nation. But plans by the leftist presidential candidate to create a welfare state seem like the sure-fire way of pushing Mexico toward “Argentine-style” reliance on the government.

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Ideas Society

Sincericide — When Saying What You Really Think Can Doom A Relationship

We all know good communication is the bedrock of a healthy relationship. Here’s why keeping some of your thoughts to yourself, and a practiced lack of utter sincerity, is a bedrock of a healthy couple.

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Society

Narcos, Argentina-Style: Is Rosario Turning Into The New Medellin?

A recent spike in gang violence in Rosario in central Argentina is prompting comparisons to the old breeding ground of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. But where would organized crime be, without the quiet connivance of a host of social and political actors?

Categories
LGBTQ Plus

Testosterona, A Chilean Writer Confronts The Childhood Trauma Of “Gay Cure”

Chilean-born, Buenos Aires-based writer Cristian Alarcón says it took 30 years of therapy to get over his parents’ bid to “cure” him of being gay as a child, but insists it’s too late to be angry with them.

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Ideas Society

Meet Sigmund Freud’s Nephew, A Child Psychiatrist And Tough Love Advocate

Child psychiatrist Joseph Knobel Freud, a Barcelona-based descendent of Sigmund Freud, says modern parents are far too loose.

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Geopolitics

Decline Of The West? We May Find Out For Real In 2024

The West is a spent force, say China, Russia and their global clique, yet it retains plenty of decisive cards including a choice to back Ukraine to the hilt. The year may yet reveal the world’s rising, and ranking, powers.

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Ideas Society

End-Of-Year Notes: Our Eternal Hunt For Optimism

Wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, famines … The news gives us every right to despair – but as the author puts it: “Anyone can be cynical, the challenge is to be an optimist.”

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Ideas

Politics And Betrayal: A Defense Of The “Traitors” Of Compromise

The black-and-white view of the world which separates people into loyalists and traitors is incompatible with the compromises and moderation that make a liberal democracy tick, and which make society free and livable.

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Society

Meet Anita B Queen, The Korean-Argentine DJ Icon Who Can’t Be Categorized

Daughter of conservative Korean immigrants to Argentina, portrait of rising star in Latin America’s electronic music club scene.

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Geopolitics

The Javier Milei “Chainsaw” Inauguration: Who Showed Up, What It Means

From Orban to Zelensky to Bolsonaro, the list of those who did and didn’t travel to Argentina says much about the new president, and the current state of the world.

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Society

What To Do With The Complainers In Your Life — Advice From A South American Shrink

Argentines love to complain. But when you listen to others who complain, there are options: must we be a sponge to this daily toxicity or should we, politely, block out this act of emotional vandalism?

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Geopolitics Society

Javier Milei, Revolt Of The Global Disaffected Is Far From Over

Argentina has elected a “paleolibertarian” outsider with little experience, and by a wide margin. What does this say about the existing structures of power around the democratic world?

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Geopolitics Society

Milei Elected: Argentina Bets It All On “Anything Is Better Than This”

The radical libertarian Javier Milei confounded the polls to decisively win the second round of Argentina’s presidential elections; now he must win over a nation that has voiced its disgust with the country’s brand of politics as usual.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Milei’s Victory In Argentina: The Cult Of Personal Freedom At All Costs

Javier Milei has scored a stunning victory on a populist far-right platform promising maximum personal liberties and a shrunken state. But the deep rifts and economic hardship in Argentinian society present huge risks for the nation and its incoming president.

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Geopolitics Ideas

The Demagogue’s Biggest Lie: That We Don’t Need Politics

Trashing politics and politicians is a classic tool of populists to seduce angry voters, and take countries into quagmires far worse than the worst years of democracy. It’s a dynamic Argentina appears particularly vulnerable to.

Categories
Society

An Unearthed García Márquez Essay Collection Reveals: “Gabo, The Chronicler”

A noted expert of the late Gabriel García Márquez is putting to rest the idea that the legendary Gabo was just a fantasist and man of fiction, revealing poignant and pointed essays and literary criticism.

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