Saturday, September 6, 2014

Puerto Rico economic activity drops to 20-year low - Reuters

Puerto Rico economic activity drops to 20-year low - Reuters

1 Share

Puerto Rico economic activity drops to 20-year low
Reuters 
Puerto Rico says the index strongly correlates to the island's gross national product. Puerto Rico's economy has been in or near recession since 2006. However, the EAI, which began a steep decline in 2006 that did not halt until 2011, has shown some ...

Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6

Homes for Sale in Puerto Rico, Maine and South Carolina - New York Times

1 Share

New York Times

Homes for Sale in Puerto Rico, Maine and South Carolina
New York Times
Vieques is a small Puerto Rican island of about 9,300 residents, eight miles from the main island. Nearly half of Vieques belongs to a federal nature preserve, covering beaches, coastal lagoons, mangrove wetlands and subtropical forest. This house is ...

Virgin Islands Echoes Puerto Rico Gains Amid Stress: Muni Credit - Bloomberg

1 Share

Virgin Islands Echoes Puerto Rico Gains Amid Stress: Muni Credit
Bloomberg
The Virgin Islands, with less than 5 percent of Puerto Rico's population, is also hooked on debt to cover deficits, said David Ashley at Thornburg Investment Management in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “They parallel Puerto Rico to a certain extent,” ... The ...

and more »

Governor Claims US Citizenship Was Negotiated in 1952 ...

1 Share
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla late Wednesday asserted that Puerto Ricans could continue to obtain U.S. citizenship by birth if Puerto Rico became a sovereign nation in an association with the U.S. — a status that members of his ' Commonwealth' party are ... Additionally, representatives of the president of the United States and leaders of Congress made it clear that the territory's political statuswas not being changed — as it would if Puerto Rico became a nation.

Puerto Ricans flock to U.S. mainland as island's political and ...

1 Share
The island of Puerto Rico is depopulating, as residents stream to the US mainland fleeing the island's economic crisis and political gridlock in search of jobs. Since 2009, more Puerto Ricans have been living pn the American ... As a result, the island's population is aging, decreasing the productive population and forcing an ever smaller number of working people to fund the tax and retirementsystem. In 2010, the percentage of the population older than 65 in Puerto ...

What You Get for ... $2,000,000 

1 Share
Water views in Puerto Rico and Maine, and a townhouse in South Carolina

Puerto Rico Luring Buyers With Tax Breaks 

1 Share
Puerto Rico’s status as a tax haven is beginning to catch on, and some are betting big bucks that the trickle of Americans buying property there will soon become a stream.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 7

Four Slain in Northern Mexico

1 Share
Four people were killed and four others wounded Friday when armed men burst into a home in the northern city of Durango and started shooting, Mexican authorities said.

Acuerdos de Confidencialidad 

1 Share
Por: Sergio M. Marxuach
Hace unos días nos enteramos, a través de un documento subrepticiamente colgado en la Internet, que después de negociaciones hasta las altas horas de la noche, y sabrá Dios de cuantos manejos arteros en cuartos oscuros, la AEE llegó a unos acuerdos con un grupo de bonistas, dos bancos comerciales, y con el Banco Gubernamental de Fomento para posponer ciertos pagos y enmendar los documentos que evidencian las obligaciones de la AEE con estos prestamistas, entre otras cosas. Se nos informa también que la AEE ejecutó varios acuerdos de confidencialidad y que los documentos evidenciando las enmiendas no se harán públicos.
¿Por qué el gobierno de Puerto Rico insiste en ocultarle información al pueblo?
Creo que parte de la repuesta la ofrece Friedrich Hayek en The Road to Serfdom cuando escribe que en los gobiernos con tendencias autoritarias “Toda información que pudiera causar duda sobre la sabiduría del gobierno, o que pueda crear descontento, le será negada al pueblo. La base de comparaciones poco favorables con condiciones en otros lugares, el conocimiento de posibles alternativas al curso tomado, cualquier información que pudiera sugerir el fracaso de parte del gobierno en cumplir sus promesas o de tomar ventaja de oportunidades para mejorar condiciones, todo esto será suprimido.”
Tal y como dice Hayek, este proceso en la AEE ha sido poco transparente simplemente porque el poder ejecutivo no quiere que el pueblo que alega representar tenga la información necesaria para cuestionar la supuesta sabiduría de sus decisiones. Esto es inaceptable. En el siglo 21 un puñado de burócratas, actuando como hacendados enguayaberados, no puede pretender gobernar el país como si fuera su finca privada. Tal vez eso era lo que se esperaba en aquel tiempo en que Luis Muñoz Marín y sus discípulos caminaban por los campos de Puerto Rico. Hoy resulta imperativo fortalecer nuestra cultura cívica y forjar nuevos canales para la participación ciudadana efectiva.
Mas allá de los detalles de las propuestas para atender la crisis financiera en la AEE, creo que este proceso apunta a la existencia de varias deficiencias importantes en la operación de nuestro sistema democrático. El pueblo de Puerto Rico en general, y su clase gobernante en especifico, tienen un concepto truncado de la democracia.
De acuerdo con Guillermo O’Donnell aquello que llamamos “democracia” es el producto de la interacción de tres tradiciones políticas muy diferentes. La primera es la tradición democrática clásica con sus orígenes en la antigua Atenas. Esta tradición favorece vigorosamente la primacía de las mayorías, lo cual puede ser peligroso para las minorías, los disidentes, y los inconformes, como el suicidio de Sócrates nos recuerda.
El republicanismo del siglo 18 es la segunda de las tradiciones que menciona O’Donnell. Esta tradición favorece la esfera pública en general sobre la privada. Se basa en el principio de que nadie está por encima de las leyes, la división y el balance de poderes, así como en el principio de que solamente los ciudadanos suficientemente virtuosos tienen la capacidad necesaria para atender los asuntos públicos. Esta última característica también es peligrosa ya que se presta para el elitismo y la oligarquía.
La tercera tradición es la liberal, que favorece la esfera privada sobre la pública y se caracteriza por una desconfianza general del poder gubernamental. Esta tradición se enfoca en limitar los abusos que pudiera generar la democracia, y en proteger a las minorías y los derechos civiles, tales como la libertad de culto, la libertad de reunión, y la libertad de prensa, entre otros.
De acuerdo con O’Donnell, cada una de estas tradiciones se asocia, a su vez, con unas formas especificas de rendición de cuentas (“accountability”). La tradición democrática se asocia con la “rendición cuentas vertical” que se caracteriza por la elección de oficiales públicos, elecciones justas y libres de fraude, y el derecho de todos los ciudadanos a postularse a puestos electivos, entre otras características. Por otro lado, la tradición republicana enfatiza la “rendición de cuentas horizontal”. Aquí el énfasis es en que nadie se encuentra por encima de la ley, la existencia de instituciones especiales para investigar la corrupción, y en evitar la usurpación de los poderes de una rama de gobierno por otra. Finalmente, la tradición liberal se caracteriza por la “rendición de cuentas social” mediante la cual la prensa, los ciudadanos, y los movimientos sociales participan activamente en la reivindicación de los derechos civiles a través de diversos medios, tales como demandas de amparo constitucional, investigaciones periodísticas, protestas, desobediencia civil y otros métodos similares.
En Puerto Rico todas las modalidades de rendición de cuentas son ineficaces. Las elecciones son una burla. La impunidad y la corrupción son rampantes entre la clase gobernante. Y la violación de derechos civiles es constante, empezando por la corrupta Policía de Puerto Rico. El resultado es que la democracia puertorriqueña se puede catalogar como una “democracia delegativa” en la que los oficiales gubernamentales asumen que pueden hacer lo que les da gana hasta las próximas elecciones sin rendirle cuentas a nadie. O’Donnell asociaba esta conducta con democracias inmaduras que acababan de terminar la transición de un régimen autoritario a uno democrático.
Además de (1) sufrir de una paranoia que los lleva a esconder toda información en el curso normal de su trabajo; (2) desconocer cómo funciona un sistema democrático; y (3) rehusarse a rendir cuentas, la conducta de la gerencia de la AEE se debe también al miedo de lo que se pueda encontrar allí si se comienza a escarbar. El juez Brandéis expresó este fenómeno sucintamente en su libro Other People’s Money and How Bankers Use It (1914), cuando escribió que la “luz del sol es el mejor desinfectante.” Las alimañas y las sabandijas, por lo general, prefieren vivir en la oscuridad. ¿Quién sabe que especímenes extraños saldrán corriendo de las esquinas oscuras en que operan si se abren las puertas y las ventanas de la AEE para que entre un poco, solo un poquito, de luz allí?
El autor es Director de Política Pública en el Centro para una Nueva Economía. Esta columna fue publicada originalmente en el diario El Nuevo Día el 24 de agosto de 2014.
Read the whole story
 
· · · ·

Transparencia 

1 Share
lupa-transparencia
Por: Miguel Soto Class
Recuerdo que fue durante mi época de universitario cuando me enfrenté por primera vez a una de esas curiosas idiosincrasias puertorriqueñas. En muchas ocasiones necesité estadísticas del gobierno para trabajos de investigación y – para sorpresa de pocos – generalmente me resultaba casi imposible obtenerlas. La agencia en cuestión rehusaba compartirlas, y en vez, contestaba mi pedido con la pregunta, “¿para qué  quieres eso?”.
Siempre logré conseguirlas – por pala o por maña – pero lo que más me sorprendió fue darme cuenta de que las agencias no tan solo no compartían las cifras cuando eran negativas: tampoco las compartían cuando eran positivas.
Entonces entendí que en Puerto Rico impera una cultura de secretividad. Uno puede entender que las administraciones públicas, por su componente político, traten de esconder sus fallas y realzar sus logros. Pero cuando aún esconden sus triunfos, y cuando la primera reacción de los funcionarios es de miedo y ocultación, sabes que te enfrentas a una cultura de opacidad y secretividad.
Para ser justos, debemos reconocer que esto no es sólo un problema del gobierno. En muchas ocasiones son los amigos de Wall Street quienes le exigen al gobierno mantener la secretividad de los acuerdos suscritos con ellos, pues no desean que nadie se entere o del trato preferencial que recibieron o del tumbe que dieron. Y típicamente, el gobierno es sumamente dócil ante ese requerimiento de opacidad.
Obviamente, no todo debe ser público. Hay cierta información que legítimamente debe ser confidencial: algunos asuntos de seguridad nacional, por ejemplo, información íntima de individuos o alguna información de negocios como lo podría ser la fórmula de productos, etc.
Pero en Puerto Rico mucha de la información crucial para la buena gestión gubernamental y la evolución de la política pública permanece enterrada en las tinieblas de la burocracia gubernamental. Nuestro gran reto es cómo movernos de una cultura de secretividad a una cultura de transparencia. Es algo muy difícil de lograr, que requerirá tiempo, gente e instituciones con la fuerza y el temple para mover al gobierno a ser más transparente. En la medida en que la ciudadanía exija más apertura, la norma – aunque sea forjada al son de los empujones de la opinión pública – será la de compartir información y ser más transparente.
Es importante señalar que la transparencia requiere no solo el acceso a documentos, datos einformación sino que requiere también la capacidad de interpretarlos, evaluarlos y entenderlos, así como también la facultad para actuar sobre la información recibida. La transparencia es importante no tan solo para que el pueblo esté enterado y participe de la gestión gubernamental sino también para que los funcionarios sepan que serán evaluados y que sus acciones serán conocidas. Esto funciona como disuasivo a la corrupción y a la desidia burocrática, y provoca un mejor desempeño porque los funcionarios adquieren consciencia de que sus malos actos no permanecerán impunes.
Me alegró ver la semana pasada que la actual administración gubernamental decidió publicar el acuerdo suscrito entre la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica y sus acreedores. En primera instancia, esta información es de naturaleza e interés público. En segundo lugar, el estado jurídico en Puerto Rico establece la presunción de que todo documento en poder de una autoridad gubernamental es público y, como tal, debe estar accesible a los ciudadanos. Es lamentable que el acuerdo no se haya hecho público desde el principio, y que tuviera que asomarse una demanda de otro grupo de acreedores para que el gobierno lo difundiera. Pero algo es algo.
Por lo menos evité tener que pedirlo, y que me respondieran, “¿para qué  quieres eso?”
El autor es presidente del Centro para una Nueva Economía. Esta columna se publicó originalmente el 27 de agosto de 2014 en el diario El Nuevo Día.
Read the whole story
 
· · ·

Documents shed light on Prepa deals - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusinesspr....

1 Share

Documents shed light on Prepa deals - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
the government development bank has released copies of the puerto rico electric power authoritys recent financial agreements with creditors, bondholders and debt insurers.

PR police turn to ticketing to fund reform - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusi... 

1 Share

PR police turn to ticketing to fund reform - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
a new law enacted tuesday calls for the puerto rico police department to ramp up its traffic ticket operations to help pay for a far-reaching reform that is expected to take at least 10 years and $200 million.

Bill would make Spanish PR’s official language, put English second - Caribbean B... 

1 Share

Bill would make Spanish PR’s official language, put English second - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
�Establishing Spanish as the first official language would strengthen our cultural identity and acknowledge the reality that 80 percent of Puerto Rican don�t understand or speak English,� he said in a statement.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 8

Vice President of Forbes Latin America Discusses Economic Challenges in the Regi... 

1 Share

Vice President of Forbes Latin America Discusses Economic Challenges in the Region

Forbes Latin America Vice President Edward De Valle II speaks to Carlos Anaya about the economic outlook in Latin America.

Florida university opens campus in PR - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusinessp... 

1 Share

Florida university opens campus in PR - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
floridas nova southeastern university (nsu) cut the ribbon thursday on its new regional campus in puerto rico.

PR economic index drops again - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusinesspr.comThe...

1 Share

PR economic index drops again - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
The Government Development Bank�s Economic Activity Index for July was at 125.1, a 0.7 percent year-over-year reduction.

Back-to-Spain movement taking shape - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusinesspr....

1 Share

Back-to-Spain movement taking shape - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain for more than four centuries and was ceded to U.S. control as war booty after the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Cuba cracks down on goods in travelers’ luggage - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbea... 

1 Share

Cuba cracks down on goods in travelers’ luggage - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
havana — cubans braced monday for a clampdown on the flow of car tires, flat-screen televisions, blue jeans and shampoo in the bags of travelers who haul eye-popping amounts of foreign-bought merchandise to an island where consumer goods are frequently shoddy, scarce and expensive.

PR preps for medical tourism surge - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusinesspr.c...

1 Share

PR preps for medical tourism surge - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
the puerto rico government is launching a multifaceted push to grow the islands medical tourism industry into one of the worlds top markets, officials announced tuesday.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 9

PR dips on global competitiveness index; still tops in LatAm, Caribbean - Caribb... 

1 Share

PR dips on global competitiveness index; still tops in LatAm, Caribbean - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
puerto rico slid on a global ranking of the worlds most competitive economies, landing at 32 out of 144 countries and still outpacing all other latin america and caribbean nations.

Census data highlights PR-Florida flow - Caribbean Businesswww.caribbeanbusiness... 

1 Share

Census data highlights PR-Florida flow - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
new u.s. census bureau migration statistics released wednesday highlight the flow of puerto rico residents into florida in recent years.

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/pr-trade-surplus-widens-15-percent-in-fy... 

1 Share
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/pr-trade-surplus-widens-15-percent-in-fy14-exports-nearly-flat-imports-dive-100326.html


PR trade surplus widens 15% in FY14; exports nearly flat, imports dive - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
Exports totaled $62.45 billion in fiscal 2014 (ended June 30), nearly unchanged from $62.39 billion the previous year, according to Puerto Rico government statistics.

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/prasa-gets-creative-on-bill-collections-... 

1 Share
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/prasa-gets-creative-on-bill-collections-100324.html


Prasa gets creative on bill collections - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
the puerto rico aqueduct amp; sewer authority is launching a pilot plan to cut down a mountain of unpaid water bills at public housing projects.

http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/prepa-taps-alixpartners-donahue-as-cro-1... 

1 Share
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/prepa-taps-alixpartners-donahue-as-cro-100300.html


Prepa taps AlixPartners’ Donahue as CRO - Caribbean Business
www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com
Donahue has extensive experience in business transformation, operational alignment, cash management and cost reduction, negotiation, situational analysis, and debt restructuring for both domestic and international organizations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/realestate/puerto-rico-luring-buyers-with-tax-... 

1 Share
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/realestate/puerto-rico-luring-buyers-with-tax-breaks.html?_r=0


Puerto Rico Luring Buyers With Tax Breaks
www.nytimes.com
Puerto Rico’s status as a tax haven is beginning to catch on, and some are betting big bucks that the trickle of Americans buying property there will soon become a stream.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 10

FDA: Little evidence to support testosterone drugs

1 Share

FDA: Little evidence to support testosterone drugs

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration says there is little evidence that ...

Census data highlights PR-Florida flow

New U.S. Census Bureau migration statistics released Wednesday highlight the flo ...
Issued: September 4, 2014
The Puerto Rico government is launching a multifaceted push to grow the isl ...
Issued: September 4, 2014
Urban Train fares are doubling but service hours will remain unchanged as t ...
As CVS sharpens its focus on customer health, the nation’s second-largest drugstore chain will tweak its corporate name and stop the sale of ...
A key gauge of Puerto Rico’s vital manufacturing industry regained some ground in July but remained below a threshold pointing to a fourth s ...
Creditors lay out view in Detroit bankruptcy trial
Issued: September 4, 2014
DETROIT — Creditors who oppose the proposed settlement of Detroit's bankruptcy case have been having their say to the judge deciding whe ...
ECB cuts interest rates amid fears for recovery
Issued: September 4, 2014
RANKFURT, Germany — The European Central Bank has trimmed its benchmark interest rate to 0.05 percent from a record low of 0.15 percent.
Could the blood of Ebola survivors help patients?
Issued: September 4, 2014
LONDON — As West Africa struggles to contain the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola, some experts say an unusual but simple treatment might help ...

This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Read the whole story
 
· · ·

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority announced Thursday the

1 Share

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority announced Thursday the appointment of A ...
Puerto Rico slid on a global ranking of the world’s most competitive econom ...

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

PR trade surplus widens 15% in FY14; exports nearly flat, imports dive

1 Share

PR trade surplus widens 15% in FY14; exports nearly flat, imports dive

Puerto Rico’s trade surplus widened by more than 15 percent in fiscal 2014 as ex ...

Prasa gets creative on bill collections

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority is launching a pilot plan to cut ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
NBA star Carmelo Anthony says he is exploring investment opportunities in P ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
New U.S. Census Bureau migration statistics released Wednesday highlight th ...
Senate marks PR Coliseum’s first decade
Issued: September 5, 2014
The Puerto Rico Coliseum is marking its tenth anniversary among the most mo ...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be holding day-long workshops on September 11 and 12 at the University of Puerto’s Rio Piedras ...
Schindler Elevator Corporation recently completed the modernization and installation of its PORT (personal occupant requirement terminal) el ...
NEW YORK — Puerto Rican actress Rosie Pérez and Republican media operative Nicolle Wallace are joining ABC’s daytime chat show, “The View.” ...
Detroit CFO says higher taxes wouldn't help city
Issued: September 5, 2014
DETROIT — Detroit's chief financial officer says raising taxes isn't an appropriate remedy to fix the bankrupt city.
US employers add 142K jobs, fewest in 8 months
Issued: September 5, 2014
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added just 142,000 jobs in August, snapping a six-month streak of hiring above 200,000 and posting the smallest ...
Tesla CEO: ‘Nevada is it;’ $1.3B package offered
Issued: September 5, 2014
RENO, Nev. — The Biggest Little City in the World is about to get a new neighbor: the biggest lithium battery factory in the world that Neva ...
Ukraine signs cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels
Issued: September 5, 2014
MINSK, Belarus — The Ukrainian president declared a cease-fire Friday to end nearly five months of fighting in the nation's east after h ...
NATO approves new force aimed at deterring Russia
Issued: September 5, 2014
NEWPORT, Wales — Seeking to counter Russian aggression, NATO leaders approved plans Friday to post several thousand troops in Eastern Europe ...

This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Read the whole story
 
· · · ·

Act 22 tax lure could net 250 this year

1 Share

Act 22 tax lure could net 250 this year

Puerto Rico’s Act 22 tax lure is expected to prompt 250 individual investors to ...

Piloto 151 wins national SBA grant

Piloto 151, a trailblazing co-working space in San Juan, is among the winners of ...
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority announced Thursday the appointment ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
The Puerto Rico Aqueduct & Sewer Authority is launching a pilot plan to ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
The Puerto Rico Coliseum is marking its tenth anniversary among the most modern and advanced facilities of its kind the in the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico slid on a global ranking of the world’s most competitive economies, landing at 32 out of 144 countries and still outpacing all o ...
Obama lays out immigration goals, not timing
Issued: September 5, 2014
WASHINGTON — Leaving his timing uncertain, President Barack Obama laid out ambitious objectives Friday for immigration steps he intends to t ...
August hiring slowed by manufacturing, retail
Issued: September 5, 2014
In recent months, a wide array of U.S. industries added jobs. Almost every sector — manufacturing, retail, financial services and informatio ...
Apple to tighten online security after recent hack
Issued: September 5, 2014
NEW YORK — Apple plans to tighten its online security measures to reduce the chances of its users being victimized by intrusions like the on ...
Clinton: 2016 decision likely by early next year
Issued: September 5, 2014
MEXICO CITY — Hillary Rodham Clinton says she will likely make a decision on whether to run for president around the beginning of the new ye ...
Federal budget crunch idles Guard units across US
Issued: September 5, 2014
CINCINNATI — Many of the nation's citizen-soldiers, whose motto is "Always Ready, Always There," won't be at regular train ...
Plane with unresponsive pilot crashes off Jamaica
Issued: September 5, 2014
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A private U.S. plane with an unresponsive pilot crashed into the ocean north of the Caribbean island Friday after a jour ...
Controversy in Venezuela over Chavez prayer
Issued: September 5, 2014
CARACAS, Venezuela — A rewriting of the Christian Lord's Prayer to commemorate the late Hugo Chavez is causing controversy in Venezuela.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Read the whole story
 
· · ·

PR aims to tighten trade ties with Brazil

1 Share
PR aims to tighten trade ties with Brazil
The Puerto Rico government is pitching business opportunities with Brazilia ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
New U.S. Census Bureau migration statistics released Wednesday highlight the flow of Puerto Rico residents into Florida in recent years.
Alibaba seeks to raise up to $24.3B in IPO record
Issued: September 5, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO — E-commerce company Alibaba Group is seeking to raise up to $24.3 billion to set a new record for an initial public offering ...
S&P 500 hits record on dividend stocks, Ukraine
Issued: September 5, 2014
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is closing at a record after a surge in dividend-rich utility stocks.

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Prepa turnaround boss targets ‘fair plan’

1 Share
Prepa turnaround boss targets ‘fair plan’
The new turnaround chief of Puerto Rico’s power authority said on Friday sh ...
Issued: September 5, 2014
NBA star Carmelo Anthony says he is exploring investment opportunities in Puerto Rico through his recently created technology investment fun ...

This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 11

Andres Oppenheimer: Who's best, who's worst in race for OAS top job - MiamiHerald.com

1 Share

Andres Oppenheimer: Who's best, who's worst in race for OAS top job
MiamiHerald.com
Human rights activists are especially worried by García Sayán and Almagro, who according to diplomatic sources, are courting the votes of Venezuela and its ALBA bloc allies in the region. In recent years, the ALBA bloc countries have actively sought to ...

Vladimir Putin, BRICS Bank and Eclipse of South American Idealism - Huffington Post

1 Share

Vladimir Putin, BRICS Bank and Eclipse of South American Idealism
Huffington Post
Chávez backed other innovative measures too such as the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (or ALBA) a trade bloc designed to promote complementarity and reciprocity outside of the usual corporate structures, and the Venezuelan leader even created ...

and more »

The Common Market of the South: the long and difficult path to integration - Voltaire Network

1 Share

Voltaire Network

The Common Market of the South: the long and difficult path to integration
Voltaire Network
In this way, industries from the rest of the bloc are subjected to the granting of permits from the government of Cristina Fernández. In mid-2014, Brazil and Argentina agreed to ... Definitively, the industrial power of both countries puts limits on ...

PBS NewsHour full episode Sept. 5, 2014 

1 Share
Tonight on the program, we take a look at a tentative deal reached between Ukraine and Russian separatists. Also: the new jobs report doesn't indicate a strong labor market, Mark Shields and...
From: PBS NewsHour
Views: 0
ratings
Time: 49:40More in People & Blogs

Puerto Rico Cops Fired for Sex Video - Latin American Herald Tribune

1 Share

Latin American Herald Tribune

Puerto Rico Cops Fired for Sex Video
Latin American Herald Tribune
SAN JUAN – The chief of the Puerto Rico Police Department, Jose Caldero, announced on Friday the dismissal of two officers for making a sex video at La Fortaleza, seat of the island's government. Caldero said in a communique that the cops who were ...

Puerto Rico Cops Fired for Sex Video

1 Share
The chief of the Puerto Rico Police Department, Jose Caldero, announced on Friday the dismissal of two officers for making a sex video at La Fortaleza, seat of the island’s government.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 12

Hillary Clinton to Decide Early Next Year on Presidential Run

1 Share
U.S. former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that she expects to decide early next year on a possible 2016 presidential bid.

Spanish Priest to Return Home after Suspended Sentence in El Salvador

1 Share
Spanish priest Antonio Rodriguez is to return to his homeland after being sentenced to a two-and-a-half year jail term in El Salvador for helping gang members.

Puerto Rico turnaround boss targets 'fair plan' for utility - GlobalPost

1 Share

Bond Buyer

Puerto Rico turnaround boss targets 'fair plan' for utility
GlobalPost
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The new turnaround chief of Puerto Rico's power authority said on Friday she was targeting a "fair plan" in the restructuring of PREPA, with all options on the table but said it was too early to say if job cuts or a privatization ...
PREPA Appoints Turnaround Vet Lisa Donahue as Chief Restructuring OfficerBond Buyer

all 4 news articles »

Galaxy of U.S. and Spanish Stars to Attend San Sebastian Film Festival

1 Share
A galaxy of American and Spanish film stars are to attend the upcoming San Sebastian Film Festival, event organizers announced Friday.

Jack Delano’s Puerto Rico: A Masterwork Spanning 40 Years and One Island

1 Share
Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 11.26.29 PM
I just came across this article on Jack Delano. It is from 2011 and was written by David González. Lovely gallery of photos. This is the second of two pieces on the work of Jack Delano. Part One is here.
An offhand comment Roy Stryker made to Jack Delano changed his life. Mr. Stryker had called Mr. Delano in November 1941 to suggest that he go to the Virgin Islands to document a Farm Security Administration project.
“And while you’re there,” Mr. Stryker added, “you might want to stop by for a few days in Puerto Rico.”
He agreed, and cut short his current assignment in Georgia. Then he dashed off to find an atlas to figure out exactly where he was headed. A few days turned into more than three months – thanks to the United States’ declaring war after the Pearl Harbor bombing – as Mr. Delano, later joined by his wife, Irene, crisscrossed the island. They were so captivated that they managed to return in 1946 – on a Guggenheim fellowship that turned into a permanent move.
Today, Mr. Delano’s vast archive of Puerto Rican images – augmented by a series he did in the 1980s where he revisited some of the same villages, valleys and people he first encountered in the 1940s – is both his masterwork and valentine to his adopted island home. They depict poverty and progress, back-breaking labor and lush landscapes, urban sprawl and modern materialism.
Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 11.27.13 PM
“I was fascinated and disturbed by so much of what I saw,” he wrote of his first trip to the island in his memoir, “Photographic Memories,” which the Smithsonian published shortly before his death in 1997. “I had seen plenty of poverty in my travels in the Deep South, but never anything like this.”
But true to his guiding principle — respect for the thing in front of the camera, as Paul Strand had declared — he saw deeper.
“Yet people everywhere were cordial, hospitable, generous, kind and full of dignity and a sparkling sense of humor,” he noted. “Wherever we went, no matter how dire the poverty, we were welcomed into people’s homes and offered coffee.”
Consider this: When a thunderstorm forced them to seek shelter one day, an impoverished woman welcomed Jack and Irene into her ramshackle home, where the rain fell through holes in the roof. As Irene handed out chocolates to the excited children, the woman explained how her husband had hurt his back and could no longer work the cane fields. She did laundry for her neighbors, and coaxed an egg from a hen when she could.
“Don’t worry, Señora,” he recounted in his book. “We take care of ourselves.”
When the storm let up, the Delanos, stunned by what they had seen, left. One of the children called out after them and put a brown paper bag in Irene’s lap.
Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 11.27.48 PM
“What’s in it?” Jack asked after they had ridden in silence for a while. “She looked inside and said, ‘Two eggs.’ ”
Mr. Delano’s work is perhaps a lifetime’s repayment of that woman’s generosity. When he and his wife returned in 1946, he joined the island’s Department of Information, which had modeled itself after the Farm Security Administration. He traveled the island, photographing schools, religious festivals, fairs, hospitals and railroads.
The group included two of his friends from the administration, Edwin and Louise Rosskam, who joined him in a later venture when they were persuaded by the future governor, Luis Muñoz Marin, to establish an agency that would use film and graphics to improve education in rural areas.
That decision led to Mr. Delano’s gradual movement away from photography, as he went into making documentary films, then to work at a newly established educational television station. He would later go on to rediscover his first love, music, as a composer, too.
But in the late 1970s, as a new generation discovered the Farm Security Administration photos, he had the idea to revisit his early work on the island. Several grants underwrote the cost, as the Delanos returned to the scenes of their youthful adventures. They found an island – and people – that had been transformed, and not always for the better. At the same time, they were able to discern the fundamental spirit that had so moved them decades earlier.
Among the 200 images in the resulting exhibition — later published in “Puerto Rico Mio” by the Smithsonian – was one of a funeral, taken in 1946 in Fajardo. A man walks down the street toting an infant’s coffin on his shoulder, a handful of people behind him. A visitor to the show wrote in the guest book: “Mr. Delano – Thank you for making it possible for me to witness the funeral of my little sister, who died before I was born.”
A son, Pablo Delano, himself a photographer, sees no coincidence in the fact that his father had no idea where he was heading in 1941.
“It was totally serendipitous,” he said. “It changed a lot of lives, and produced this whole body of work.”
Even in his final years, Pablo Delano said, his father was always willing to share his insights. Jack Delano’s phone number was listed, and people would call, asking him to come and talk at a school.
“He went to what I think were extreme lengths for somebody of his age and physical condition,” Pablo Delano  said. “But if some sixth-grade teacher called and said, ‘Mr. Delano, we’re learning about Puerto Rico in the 1940s and wondered if you could come to speak to the kids,’ he would get into his Honda Civic and drive out there. And his driving was terrible, like Mr. Magoo. He’d drive to a mountain town, find the school, hobble in and talk to the kids.”
Respect for the thing in front of the camera. And when he died, his adopted land repaid that respect.
“The flag of Puerto Rico was draped on his coffin,” Pablo Delano said. “We still have that flag. It’s a very meaningful thing to us.”

Like this:

Like Loading...
Read the whole story
 
· · · · · · · ·