GERMANY IS STILL INTERESTED IN THE EAGLE FROM THE GRAF SPEE

Alfredo Etchegaray, owner of the rights of the Graf Spee, told Montevideo Portal that Germany is interfering with the exploring and recovery of the rests of the German ship that sunk in the bay of Montevideo, Nazi eagle included. The businessman added that he wasn’t discarding taking legal actions .

Etchegaray added that “Germany has no right to claim the Graf Spee. It’s the country that has the most historical pieces taken from other countries like Egypt for example. Germany even has the head of Nefertiti".

According to the businessman, Germany has put enormous pressure to block the exhibition of the Eagle of the Graf Spee in Montevideo. He reminded people that after the exhibition had been held for free for a month on the Palladium hotel “German pressure blocked further exhibition in the Municipal Atrium and then later in Punta del Este”.

Based on these records and quoting the constitution which guarantees the “sacred right to the fair compensation for ones work”, Etchegaray considers that the German government is producing a non compliance on behalf of the Uruguayan Government since the Graf Spee project is being detained because of German pressure.

When asked about the reasons that would lead the German government to put so much pressure to avoid the exhibition of the Graf Spee,  Etchegaray considered that “they probably imagine, wrongly, that we could use the piece inadequately, or maybe they have some sort of prejudice against the horrible history of the second world war, but this history has to be analyzed and seen with equanimity so that it’s not repeated”.

During an official visit to Uruguay this week, the German Minister of foreign affairs, Guido Westerwelle, expressed the will of his government to exhibit the remains of the Graf Spee in a museum.

Regarding these declarations Etchegaray said that he hoped the contracts he had signed with the Uruguayan government would be complied with and that Germany, would propose a practical and pragmatic solution that contemplated all the parts.
Golden opportunity

The mythical Eagle that was rescued from the Río de la Plata is two meters tall and 2.80 wide. It weighs 300 kg and in the bottom part it has a swastika in perfect conditions. Upon its recovery the eagle had worldwide repercussion.

Apart from the Eagle, a 155mm canon was recovered in 1998, a telemeter in 2004 and at the beginning of the year the recovery of the emblematic 280mm canons was delayed due to technical problems in the crane that was being used.

Etchegaray has documentation which proves that Germany sold the rights of the Graf Spee to Julio Vega Helguera in 1940. The purchase was made for 14.000 English pounds and the ship was then sold for scrap. Etchegaray also has documents that show that this money was supplied by the UK Intelligence Service.

 

According to a report by the OEA, young Uruguayans are second in the Latin American ranking of consumers of marihuana, cocaine base paste, tobacco and other inhalable substances. In alcohol and cocaine consumption we are first.

The survey was carried out in a random sample of 170,000 teenagers between 13-17 years of age from Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay.

Chileans hold the first place in consumption of marihuana, with around 23%, and they also hold first place in consumption of inhalable substances and cocaine base paste, which is used in the process of making cocaine and is consumed by about 2.8% of the youth in this country.

The report reveals the precociousness of young people in the region, since 42% of marihuana consumers tried it before they were 15.

In the case of Chile, the percentage of students that claimed to have tried the substance (22.7%) is double the region’s average. The country which follows is Uruguay, with 18.3% and then Argentina, 11.6% followed by far by Ecuador with 6.8%, Bolivia (5.6%) and Peru (4%)

Even though marihuana is the most generalized illegal drug, alcohol is the one that is consumed the most in these countries since 7 out of 10 of the teenagers surveyed had already tried it.

There were some very big variations in some countries as was the case in Ecuador and Uruguay, where 80% of those surveyed had tried alcohol compared to only 43% in Bolivia.

Among those extremes were Chile (75.3%) and Argentina (73%) while alcohol consumption in Peru was slightly above half of those surveyed.

Cocaine base paste, an intermediate product in the production of cocaine chlorohydrate, presents lower percentages on average but with some differences that go from 0,6% in Ecuador to 2.8 in Chile.

As a legal drug, tobacco is the most generalized among the youth of the region, particularly in Chile where 67.9% claimed to have tried it at least once. Ecuador (48,8%), Uruguay (47,9%) and Argentina (47,2%) where the countries that followed while in Perú and Boliva percentages went down to 41.1 and 37.4% respectively.

Inhalable substances such as glue or other products that are usually associated to marginal populations are consumed the most in Chile (7.8%) and Ecuador (6%) while Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina and Perú consumption of those drugs is around 4%

On one hand Argentina, Chile and Uruguay present the highest numbers in mono-consumption of marihuana (between 55 and 67% of consumers) and on the other hand the lowest numbers in mono-consumption of solvents and inhalables.

The survey was carried out by professionals of the National Drugs Commission of Uruguay with the technical consultation of the Inter-American Commission for the Control of the Abuse of Drugs (CICAD and the OEA and the UNODC

 

COURIEL CAUGHT IN THE ACT

The informal attire worn by member of CAP-L, Pablo Alvarez at the senate at the moment in which he was substituting Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro, provoked the astonishment of his colleague Alberto Couriel.
Ex Representative Pablo Alvarez, currently substitute of Huidobro in the senate, has always been known for his informal and youthful aspect. His long hair and beard have contributed to a look that is far from the stereotype of the politician and has caused him a headache in more than one occasion. 
In 2005 for example, when he was a Representative, he was not allowed into a popular night club because of his aspect, which led to a great controversy that leaked into the press. 
In this occasion, the person surprised by Alvarez’s aspect was his own party colleague, Alberto Couriel, who was caught in the act while making some comments to the people standing next to him.
Alvarez was substituting Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro in the assumption of his position in the senate, and he went to the legislative palace wearing a striped t shirt, which contrasted with the formal and smart attire of the rest of the senators.
When asking Pablo Alvarez to take the stand so that he could take his oath, Couriel had his microphone on, which captured his surprise “I can’t believe he came like that, just look at what he’s wearing” he said, apparently unaware that his remarks were not being made in private.

 

MONTEVIDEO PORTAL IN CHILE
José Mujica was received on Wednesday in La Moneda by outgoing President Michelle Bachelet.

 

On her last day as president, Chilean Michelle Bachelet welcomed all the foreign delegations in one of the rooms of the Palace of La Moneda. First came the representatives of international organizations such as Luis Laberto Moreno, President of DIB, José Miguel Isulza from OEA and Enrique Iglesias, Iberoamerican Secretary General. Due to a scheduling problem there were spaces of ten to fifteen minutes between one delegation and the next. President Bachelet, having run out of small talk with Mariano Fernandez, took a tour around the room appreciating the paintings and flowers.
When it was Mujica’s turn,  Bachelet was quick to excuse herself “ I couldn’t be there, I couldn’t be there” she said, referring to the inauguration ceremony on March 1st, to which Mujica mumbled something indecipherable in a tone that implied that it wasn’t a problem. Behind Mujica came Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Almagro and Uruguayan Ambassador in Chile, Carlos Pita. Bachelet told them that there wouldn’t be a very important reception due to the situation the country was going through after the earthquake, and expressed her faith in the fact that Chile would soon recover from the consequences. When he was leaving, Mujica sent his greetings to the Brazilian press after being convinced to do so by one of the journalists. When he was thanked he replied with a radiant, “No, thank you!”
From there the whole Uruguayan delegation went to the main room where, even though the press wasn’t allowed in, an extroverted Mujica could be seen through the curtains.
After the meeting, which lasted less than an hour, Mujica went to the embassy to receive Uruguayan residents in Santiago. After having some pictures taken and signing some autographs, the President gave a short speech focused on the current needs of the country and the main challenges of the next administration. One of those present was Alfonso Carbone, Uruguayan music producer, “It was as if I had written half of the speech, I couldn’t agree more” he claimed “education is the secret of everything”. Mujica had dedicated a great part of his speech to education, an issue which he placed among the most important for his administration.
Apart from speaking about his government’s projects such as the elimination of indigence, the reform of the state and the progress that needs to be made in the matter of state policies, Mujica spoke about the different ways of organization that could generate wealth, adding that his administration was going to defend multinationals, classic companies and “brave” entrepreneurs.
He also made some reflections about the future, mentioning the failed or weak integration of Latin America and other more philosophical issues “ they say that my government can make people happy; life has taught me that happiness is reached with a little or it’s not reached at all. I’m not defending misery, but if happiness isn’t inside us, then we can’t have it” he concluded. 

 

José Mujica and Danilo Astori spoke at Plaza Independencia

"You know something people? When you’re 74 years old, it’s good to have the spare parts well oiled and prepared. This is why this is a team government” said Mujica at Plaza Independencia, where the inaugural ceremony was held. “Now we’re certified, we have the signature of the notary. You can’t say I’m not a domesticated creature” he joked.

"Friends of Latin America, the world, Presidents, and the diplomats  that represent us” he started “Everyone who has some responsibility and political authority, and you, dear people, with whom we are all committed. It’s good to remember that nobody is more than anyone else and know that governing is constructing teams, and that’s why I would like to ask my formula partner to give you his greetings”

“Before that, I invited a friend that’s here. He’s an old guy from Artigas, raised in the border, who was an orphan when he was a kid. This guy has been politically active for forty odd years and every time I go to Artigas I stop by his little house. He’s one of the essential people from below, those who never ask for anything, not a job, not a position, nothing” he continued, explaining that through him he wanted to remind everyone that he was no more than anyone else.

"I have to fight today for the integration of this country, for everyone and with everyone. But now listen to Danilo, because you know something people?  When you’re 74 years old, it’s good to have the spare parts well oiled and prepared. This is why this is a team government, that will not delegate responsibility but knows that it has to be skeptical about biology. With you now, Danilo “he said as he presented his vice president.

Astori started by thanking all the foreign visitors, from Latin America and beyond, the national authorities, military, colleagues from the last government and the new one “and, as Pepe pointed out, the Uruguayan people, from the bottom of our hearts, once again, thank you”.

“Thank you for what you have done, allowing Uruguay to have a second left wing government which of course opens its doors to all the political parties so as to work together for a better country, defining fundamental issues that could become state policies. We’re convinced that this is possible” he added.

"It’s very difficult to describe in words the emotions we have felt, the feelings of fervor, joy, and patriotic enthusiasm. What a responsibility! This is what we feel now, responsibility and commitment to carry out those transformations that will keep making Uruguay a developed country with justice, with social justice.
"Like Tabaré said on the 1st March 2005, and Pepe and I say today: don’t leave us alone, be with us, work with us” he concluded.

Mujica took the stage once more and continued his speech, speaking about the importance of the monument of Artigas and holding the ceremony there, since it symbolized National unity and Latin American conception.

“Now we’re certified, we have the signature of the notary. You can’t say I’m not a domesticated creature” he joked. “But friends, these ceremonies can be boring but they are an institutional need that we have to defend” he added.

“A government of five years. We have to achieve our little goals, go up one step at a time, trying to leave behind something that others will continue. So, we need the collaboration of all the sectors of society. We need people to invest and we need to give guarantees, because people will invest only if they have some guarantees” he said.

Mujica later highlighted importance of reducing poverty, indigence and the need to work on education and culture. “This is not negotiable!” he claimed.

“Today, let’s listen to the culture of our song. Let’s say no to hate, no to anger, no to skepticism, no to ‘it can’t be done’. Let’s say no to looking at the egg from every side possible over and over again until we can find a hair on it (…) Dearest people, with you we change and to you we succumb. If I could do like Fausto and make a pact with a higher force in order to make the great weight on the people a little lighter, I’d do it, but that’s just poetry, there are no miracles (…) long live Uruguay, long live Latin America” he concluded.