Latin American History
- Coffee and Miscarriage
- Tezcatlipoca
- Paintings Stolen from SP Museum
- Chavez' Reform Proposal Defeated
- Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca
- Anita Garibaldi
- Whale Discovered in Amazon Forest
- Flooding in Mexico Traps 300,000
- Undersea Explorer William Beebe
- Election Victory for Kirchner
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
A new report shows that coffee consumption during pregnancy can lead to increased risks of miscarriage.
Coffee plantations in Brazil and other Latin American countries might have reason to fear a decline in coffee consumption among pregnant women.
A new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has revealed that even moderate coffee drinkingin early pregnancy raises the possibility of miscarriage.
Coffee drinkers who consume more than 200 mg of caffeine a day, or just over two cups, doubled the risk of miscarriage compared to abstainers.
A new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has revealed that even moderate coffee drinkingin early pregnancy raises the possibility of miscarriage.
Coffee drinkers who consume more than 200 mg of caffeine a day, or just over two cups, doubled the risk of miscarriage compared to abstainers.
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
The Aztec god Tezcatlipoca embodied many darker aspects but was also a force for good. At some point he joined forces with the god Quetzalcoatl to create the Earth.
Tezcatlipoca, or "Smoking Mirror," was the god of the darkness, ancestral memory and time. He was also the Lord of the North and represented change through conflict.
Along with the god Quetzalcoatl, he created the world. While doing so, he sacrificed his foot as bait for the earth-monster Cipactli.
Tezcatlipoca usually appears black with yellow stripes across his face, and often assumes the shape of a jaguar.
Tezcatlipoca has the ability to tempt humans into self-destruction. However, when he assumes the form of a turkey he can also cleanse mortals of contamination and remove their guilt.
Along with the god Quetzalcoatl, he created the world. While doing so, he sacrificed his foot as bait for the earth-monster Cipactli.
Tezcatlipoca usually appears black with yellow stripes across his face, and often assumes the shape of a jaguar.
Tezcatlipoca has the ability to tempt humans into self-destruction. However, when he assumes the form of a turkey he can also cleanse mortals of contamination and remove their guilt.
Paintings Stolen from SP Museum
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
A Picasso and a Portinari painting have been stolen from Sao Paulo Museum of Art. It has now emerged that neither of them was insured.
Art thieves in Sao Paulo made off with paintings during a Thursday night don't-mind-if-I-do raid at Sao Paulo Museum of Art.
The art world is now mourning the loss of Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch as well as the Coffee Worker, a famed painting by Brazilian Candido Portinari.
The thieves were in and out in just 180 second-hand ticks of the clock. Museum officials have admitted that there were no alarms and no movement sensors in the galleries, all of which smacks suspiciously of an inside job.
Security cameras -- without infrared capability of course -- produced only unclear images of the raid.
To complete this Keystone Cops picture, it has now surfaced that none of the museum's paintings were insured, which has come as something of a monocle-popping-out shock to the more sensible and conservative outside art world.
The value of the 1904 Portrait of Suzanne Bloch is estimated to be about $50,000,000. As for the 1939 Coffee Worker (or O Lavrador de Cafe in Portuguese), its value is said to be around 5,000,000 big ones.
Would-be art thieves, take note. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art still has paintings by Renoir, Van Gogh and Modigliani that, apparently, are ripe for the picking.
The art world is now mourning the loss of Pablo Picasso's Portrait of Suzanne Bloch as well as the Coffee Worker, a famed painting by Brazilian Candido Portinari.
The thieves were in and out in just 180 second-hand ticks of the clock. Museum officials have admitted that there were no alarms and no movement sensors in the galleries, all of which smacks suspiciously of an inside job.
Security cameras -- without infrared capability of course -- produced only unclear images of the raid.
To complete this Keystone Cops picture, it has now surfaced that none of the museum's paintings were insured, which has come as something of a monocle-popping-out shock to the more sensible and conservative outside art world.
The value of the 1904 Portrait of Suzanne Bloch is estimated to be about $50,000,000. As for the 1939 Coffee Worker (or O Lavrador de Cafe in Portuguese), its value is said to be around 5,000,000 big ones.
Would-be art thieves, take note. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art still has paintings by Renoir, Van Gogh and Modigliani that, apparently, are ripe for the picking.
Chavez' Reform Proposal Defeated
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
A referendum that would have given Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez the right to run for re-election indefinitely has been narrowly defeated.
The Venezuelan citizenry has spoken. They have narrowly rejected their ambitious president's grand scheme to reform the constitution. A "yes" vote would have given President Hugo Chavez the right to run for president for the rest of his natural life.
The vote was 51% to 49% against the Chavez' proposals.
Meanwhile in Washington, long-time arch-enemy rival George Bush can hardly contain his glee that Chavez' days are numbered.
The bad news for Mr Bush? Chavez won't be leaving office until 2013, when his term expires. This will be long after Bush has left the scene and rode off into the sunset of his dude ranch in Texas.
The vote was 51% to 49% against the Chavez' proposals.
Meanwhile in Washington, long-time arch-enemy rival George Bush can hardly contain his glee that Chavez' days are numbered.
The bad news for Mr Bush? Chavez won't be leaving office until 2013, when his term expires. This will be long after Bush has left the scene and rode off into the sunset of his dude ranch in Texas.
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca was one of the early Spanish conquistadors intent on conquering the New World. In point of fact, the New World nearly conquered him.
Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca was--no reliable confirmation exists-- born around 1490 and died about 1557.
In the year 1527 Cabeza de Vaca sailed on a Spanish ship to Florida, which then included part of Mexico, as part of an ill-fated expedition to conquer it. He ended up leaving Florida to sail to Texas on a raft. After a harrowing journey by raft, he and a few survivors then made their way overland from Texas to Mexico City after spending time being both rescued and enslaved by Indians.
Cabeza de Vaca later explored the Paraguay River in South America and became a governor. He was the first European to see Texas and was also among the first to see the American buffalo.
In the year 1527 Cabeza de Vaca sailed on a Spanish ship to Florida, which then included part of Mexico, as part of an ill-fated expedition to conquer it. He ended up leaving Florida to sail to Texas on a raft. After a harrowing journey by raft, he and a few survivors then made their way overland from Texas to Mexico City after spending time being both rescued and enslaved by Indians.
Cabeza de Vaca later explored the Paraguay River in South America and became a governor. He was the first European to see Texas and was also among the first to see the American buffalo.
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
Brazilian-born Anita Garibaldi was wife of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the unifier of Italy. Anita fought alongside her husband in several South American battles.
Ana Maria de Jesus Ribeiro da Silva di Garibaldi (1821-1849) was born in Brazil. She is famous for her association with the revolutionary Italian hero Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), who brought about the unification of Italy starting in the 1850's.
The couple met in Brazil, after which Anita, in 1839, left her husband, Manuel Duarte Aguiar, to be with Giuseppe Garibaldi. Upon seeing her for the first time, Garibaldi is said to have muttered, "You must be mine."
She took active part in the battles with him in the south of Brazil as well as in other South American countries. They were married in 1841.
Anita Garibaldi was said to be a skilled horsewoman and could handle a sword. She gave birth to four children and died while sick and pregnant with her fifth child. She and her husband took part in the defence of Rome, which was under siege by French troops. Advancing French and Austrian troops pursued them following a retreat from Rome. She died in her husband's arms.
The couple met in Brazil, after which Anita, in 1839, left her husband, Manuel Duarte Aguiar, to be with Giuseppe Garibaldi. Upon seeing her for the first time, Garibaldi is said to have muttered, "You must be mine."
She took active part in the battles with him in the south of Brazil as well as in other South American countries. They were married in 1841.
Anita Garibaldi was said to be a skilled horsewoman and could handle a sword. She gave birth to four children and died while sick and pregnant with her fifth child. She and her husband took part in the defence of Rome, which was under siege by French troops. Advancing French and Austrian troops pursued them following a retreat from Rome. She died in her husband's arms.
Whale Discovered in Amazon Forest
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
Whales are usually found in the ocean, which is why the sight of a whale deep in the Amazon Forest made the headlines this week.
On Wednesday a 12-ton whale that had been separated from its herd ended up on a sand bank 1600 km (994 miles) off course from the Atlantic Ocean deep in the heart of the Amazon Rain Forest. It is said that it may have spent the better part of two months in the river Tapajos, a tributary of the mighty Amazon River, which, incidentally, is now recognised as the world's longest river, ahead of the Nile.
After being the recipient of some local hospitality in which people splashed water on the minke whale to keep it cool in the steamy jungle, the whale was then freed on Friday. Its back and dorsal fin were said to have been directly exposed to the merciless sun. Having been refreshed and freed, the whale then promptly swam away and was quickly lost to sight, no doubt with a more favourable view of mankind if its ever lost a relative to a harpoon-happy Japanese whaler.
After being the recipient of some local hospitality in which people splashed water on the minke whale to keep it cool in the steamy jungle, the whale was then freed on Friday. Its back and dorsal fin were said to have been directly exposed to the merciless sun. Having been refreshed and freed, the whale then promptly swam away and was quickly lost to sight, no doubt with a more favourable view of mankind if its ever lost a relative to a harpoon-happy Japanese whaler.
Flooding in Mexico Traps 300,000
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
Over 300,000 Mexicans remain trapped in their homes, victims of the worst flooding to hit the southern state of Tabasco in more than 50 years.
Most of the Mexican state of Tabasco is under water, with one million people in danger. There has so far been just one recorded death.
Taking no chances at understating the gravity of the situation, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has called the flooding "one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country." And in a further no-bones-about-it comment, he also said that the flooding situation was "extraordinarily grave."
Elsewhere in Mexico, in the state of Chiapas, 21 people were confirmed dead last week after the oil platform they were on was thrust by storms into another rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Three of Mexico's most important oil ports have been closed, which has halted the movement of nearly all exports, including one fifth of the country's oil production. Thousands of people have been relocated to areas of safety.
As for the weather forecast in the state of Tabasco, it is precisely what the people there did not want to hear: the forecast is for yet more rain in the days to come.
Taking no chances at understating the gravity of the situation, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has called the flooding "one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country." And in a further no-bones-about-it comment, he also said that the flooding situation was "extraordinarily grave."
Elsewhere in Mexico, in the state of Chiapas, 21 people were confirmed dead last week after the oil platform they were on was thrust by storms into another rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Three of Mexico's most important oil ports have been closed, which has halted the movement of nearly all exports, including one fifth of the country's oil production. Thousands of people have been relocated to areas of safety.
As for the weather forecast in the state of Tabasco, it is precisely what the people there did not want to hear: the forecast is for yet more rain in the days to come.
Undersea Explorer William Beebe
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
The American explorer and scientist William Beebe was a pioneer adventurer in the natural world. His expeditions were chronicled in dozens of books.
William Beebe (1877-1962) was an American naturalist, undersea explorer and author.
Beebe's moment in the sun came--in the dark depths of the sea-- in 1932 when Beebe, along with engineer Otis Barton, descended 914 meters (or 3,000 feet) in a pressurized steel sphere known as a bathysphere, an invention of the two divers.
The descent was made off the coast of Nonsuch Island, Bermuda.
Beebe wrote dozens of books about this and other expeditions throughout the world. His appetite for adventure took him to the jungles of South America, Asia, Mexico and Galapagos Islands.
He was buried in Trinidad.
Beebe's moment in the sun came--in the dark depths of the sea-- in 1932 when Beebe, along with engineer Otis Barton, descended 914 meters (or 3,000 feet) in a pressurized steel sphere known as a bathysphere, an invention of the two divers.
The descent was made off the coast of Nonsuch Island, Bermuda.
Beebe wrote dozens of books about this and other expeditions throughout the world. His appetite for adventure took him to the jungles of South America, Asia, Mexico and Galapagos Islands.
He was buried in Trinidad.
Posted by
Henry Ramsager
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is projected to be the winner of the presidential election in Argentina.
With two-thirds of the vote counted and 43.6% of it in her favour, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has claimed victory against Elisa Carrio, with his comparatively pipsqueak 22.6% share.
Of course, claiming victory and actually being victorious are two different things, but it looks like Kirchner is well on her way to succeeding her husband, the incumbent president Nestor Kirchner.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will be Argentina's first female president. She has already drawn comparisons to Eva Perón, also known as Evita, who was the wife of Argentina's former president Juan Perón.
The challenge ahead that Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner faces is to deal with the growing doubt among the populace over official funny-business statistics indicating inflation is under control.
Like her husband, she prescribes to centre-left policies. She has been a senator for the province of Buenos Aires.
Of course, claiming victory and actually being victorious are two different things, but it looks like Kirchner is well on her way to succeeding her husband, the incumbent president Nestor Kirchner.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will be Argentina's first female president. She has already drawn comparisons to Eva Perón, also known as Evita, who was the wife of Argentina's former president Juan Perón.
The challenge ahead that Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner faces is to deal with the growing doubt among the populace over official funny-business statistics indicating inflation is under control.
Like her husband, she prescribes to centre-left policies. She has been a senator for the province of Buenos Aires.
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