Missionary Man

Drugs and money and bricks and mortar in Bolivia

2011-12-13T12:55:00.001-04:00

AFP has this article out in several newspapers today. The title is "Drug money shows in Bolivia housing boom." But the article clearly states: "There are no studies conclusively linking the real-estate expansion to drug smuggling, but the last major surge in construction, in the 1980s, also coincided with a peak in drug activity." Perhaps the headline should read "Seems like drug money prolly

From Woodstock to Wall Street, via Bolivia: Some thoughts on the 99%

2011-10-11T02:15:00.001-04:00

There’s a moment in the movie “Woodstock” that always bugged me: at one point, counter-culture jester Wavy Gravy appeals to the crowd from the stage, explaining that a “hamburger guy” had his hamburger stand burned down the night before, and says, “for those people who still believe that, you know, capitalism isn’t that weird, you might help him out and buy a couple hamburgers.” It bothered me

Wal Mart, the Supreme Court, and the Catholic vote

2011-06-21T19:24:00.000-04:00

I may be in Bolivia, but I read enough online news to know that the U.S. presidential elections - still 17 months away - are already getting plenty of buzz. In the coming months, Catholic organizations like the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as other faith-based groups like Sojourners will start putting out voting guides helping Christian

On terrorists, gangsters, and the state: the ethics of killing and justice

2011-05-04T12:04:00.003-04:00

We’ve had a few days now to reflect on the killing of Osama bin Laden. I’ve seen debates about whether it matters, whether celebrating is appropriate, what a Christian response might look like, etc. I state here with some frequency that I am a pacifist, but I should be clear that being committed to a cause does not mean one can’t understand other positions, or even doubt in one’s own. I am

William James, SEAL Team 6, and me: The pacifist considers the troops.

2011-05-03T02:33:00.001-04:00

Reading about the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound today, one of the things I had mixed emotions about was the Navy SEALs who carried out the operation. They are killers, and that saddens and angers me. They are also amazing. I'm a pacifist. I'm far from overjoyed at what's been done. Whenever people demand that, whatever one's position on war in general or on a given war (Iraq and

The Man on the Mud Flaps: Bin Laden, Bolivia, and Mission

2011-05-02T17:13:00.004-04:00

A couple of days ago, driving home from the grocery store here in Cochabamba, I found myself behind a large truck with oversized mud flaps featuring portraits of Osama bin Laden. This is neither common nor unheard of in Bolivia. I've seen a bus in La Paz with a giant picture of bin Laden on the back window, and a scene of the smoking Twin Towers in the background. Less pointedly, but in a joke

Why write? Or: how the blog trumps the pillow.

2011-04-27T12:36:00.004-04:00

I just read how President Obama released his "long-form" birth certificate, concerned that carnival barker Donald Trump was threatening to turn a pathetic side-show into a three-ring circus. I have a lot to say about this - about Trump and the birthers, and about Obama and the White House response. I am convinced that my analysis is solid, insightful, and even touches on some elements I don't see

Guardian of good discourse?

2011-04-20T10:00:00.004-04:00

I don't know what the difference is. Maybe we Americans need to drink more tea and less coffee. But the comments section at the Guardian UK seems a lot less vitriolic and fraught with name-calling than the comment threads on most US-based websites I've ever read. Granted, there are only 9 comments so far under yesterday's blog post on Bolivia's environmental policy, and three of those are mine.

Bolivia's Morales and the environment: 10% inspiration and 90% exasperation?

2011-04-19T12:19:00.001-04:00

There is an interesting post on the Guardian UK's development blog today entitled, "We should look to Bolivia for inspiration." I've posted a long comment (it's the third comment down), which I'll quote here in its entirety: A post like this would have made me happier a few years ago. Glennie definitely understands many of the dynamics at play in Bolivia today better than most Western

The word for 2011 is: brevity

2011-01-01T02:00:00.001-04:00

Happy New Year's Day, 2011, everyone. I'm going to bed, but here's a very brief update on the situation in Bolivia: EvoMorales gave his speech trying to explain the gas price thing a couple nights ago. Lots of people were still angry. There were protests, strikes, a lot of harsh words from critics of all political stripes, and a little violence in the streets. At 10:15 pm on New Year's Eve,

Bolivia's Present Gassiness, Day 3

2010-12-29T01:46:00.007-04:00

A very brief update on the aftermath of the gasoline and diesel price hike announced Sunday in Bolivia (see previous two posts): The public transport strike seems to have failed. I think they were more interested in being allowed to raise their fares, and the government has now said they can, but only 30% - they can't double fares like they've been doing the last couple days. At any rate, while

The gasolinazo, day two.

2010-12-27T23:34:00.003-04:00

The drama that started with yesterdays announcement of an end to gasoline and diesel subsidies by the Bolivian government (see previous post) continued today. Strikes, threats, price hikes, a jittery marketplace, and an even-more-jittery citizenry marked the day. A national strike had been called by the public transit drivers union, to begin at midnight last night and last indefinitely. It is

Feliz Navidad... but prospero año, not so much: The "gasolinazo" in Bolivia

2010-12-27T00:38:00.006-04:00

I don't have a ton of insight right now, but here's the news: today, the day after Christmas, the Bolivian government surprised the whole country by announcing a near-doubling of gasoline and diesel prices effective immediately. Many news outlets are reporting it as a 100% increase, but the prices given actually come to a 73% increase in gasoline (from 3.47 bolivianos/liter to 6.47b/l, or ~US

The blogger as an aging columnist?

2010-10-26T23:40:00.000-04:00