http://www.mcentellas.com/ a blog about life, politics, and more (since 2002) en Copyright 2009 Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:43:44 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss I’ve spent the better part of a week on my research in Bolivia. One of the odd things about this, of course, is that in a whirlwind trip I have limited time to pay attention to “current event” news in detail. Sure, there’s the kind of soaking & poking that happens (including reading interesting graffiti everywhere), but that never really makes up for careful, thorough analysis of facts (as opposed to knee-jerk reactions based on ideological prejudices). But balancing time between spending hours tucked away in the Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional & entertaining w/ Javi (my 18-month-old) limits that kind of thorough “on the scene” analysis. Still, there were a few interesting moments. http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/one_week_of_research_down.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/one_week_of_research_down.html Bolivia Bolivia Evo Morales La Paz politics research Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:43:44 -0500 We arrived in La Paz Monday afternoon, a bit tired after a long bus trip from Cochabamba, and feeling the effects of altitude (Javi, not so much). We´re settled into our cozy little habitación in Casa Hermanos Manchego (though sans the promised wifi). There are changes in La Paz, but so far the city seems oddly "depoliticized" compared to previous visits, despite the frequent tv/radio government (and some opposition) spots. I´ll try to comment on some of the news later. http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/in_la_paz_bolivia.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/in_la_paz_bolivia.html Bolivia Personal Bolivia La Paz Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:47:50 -0500 K8 posted some photos to her Facebook account, but I’ll wait to post photos until I’m in La Paz & have a bit more time. But Javi is having a grand time in Santa Cruz. The weather is cooperating nicely (not too hot, not too humid), even though many of the local attractions are closed for “winter” (it can get as low as the mid-70s here!). http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/random_thoughts_on_santa_cruz_w_javi.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/random_thoughts_on_santa_cruz_w_javi.html Bolivia Javi Personal Bolivia Santa Cruz Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:16:48 -0500 Our first few days in Santa Cruz are mostly devoted to catching up w/ my parents & relatives, so I’ve not had a chance to really scour the Bolivian news. There will be much more of that when we get to La Paz, obviously. But the two main stories that seem to dominate everyone’s attention are swine flu (N1H1, here called A1H1) & deteriorating Bolivia-Peru relations. http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/first_bolivia_update_very_brief_very_rushed.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/first_bolivia_update_very_brief_very_rushed.html Bolivia Latin America Bolivia Evo Morales Peru politics Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:23:49 -0500 We finally arrived in Bolivia after a long journey that started in Chicago on Saturday afternoon & ended in Santa Cruz on Sunday night (w/ a midnight to 7pm layover in Miami). Both flights were fine. And Bolivian immigration was actually rather easy (though it seemed hard at the end of a 30 hour trip). But once again American Airlines showed itself to lack any understanding of the words “customer service.” http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/in_bolivia_no_thanks_to_american_airlines.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/in_bolivia_no_thanks_to_american_airlines.html Bolivia airports American Airline Bolivia travel Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:28:55 -0500 @arpiel posted a link to an interesting (and provocative) piece of independent journalism about USAID’s links to Bolivia’s anti-Evo opposition. ]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/the_controversy_over_usaid_in_bolivia.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/06/the_controversy_over_usaid_in_bolivia.html Academia Bolivia Global Issues Latin America Bolivia decentralization Evo Morales political parties politics USAID Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:32:42 -0500 Pronto* Recommends book list. I hope you enjoy them!]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/summer_reading_list.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/summer_reading_list.html Books Tue, 19 May 2009 15:59:45 -0500 Economist has a story suggesting that Colombia’s Uribe is “edging towards autocracy.” While I think the term “autocracy” is perhaps a bit exaggerated (just as it would be to call Venezuela’s Chávez an “autocrat”), I agree w/ the overall sentiment.]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/uribes_presidential_temptation.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/uribes_presidential_temptation.html Current Events Latin America Colombia Latin America politics presidentialism Uribe Tue, 19 May 2009 15:21:35 -0500 early predictions for Bolivia’s December 2009 elections. I decided to make up a table showing some possible vote distributions based on some possible scenarios.]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/more_election_prediction_breakdowns.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/more_election_prediction_breakdowns.html Bolivia Latin America Bolivia elections electoral systems Evo Morales politics Thu, 14 May 2009 08:49:36 -0500 I’m going to forgo a lot of the he/she speculation about a number of Bolivian topics swirling around the internets. But let me address those briefly, before turning to the upcoming December elections. http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/some_very_preliminary_2009_bolivian_election_predictions.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/some_very_preliminary_2009_bolivian_election_predictions.html Bolivia Latin America Bolivia elections electoral systems Evo Morales Latin America presidentialism Wed, 13 May 2009 16:22:27 -0500 Baltimore Zoo (excuse me, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore). It was part of our Mother’s Day outing, which began w/ our second visit to Miss Shirley’s Café. We highly recommend both. ]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/mothers_day_at_the_baltimore_zoo.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/mothers_day_at_the_baltimore_zoo.html Baltimore Javi Personal Baltimore Baltimore Zoo Mother's Day Wed, 13 May 2009 15:28:00 -0500 How Soccer Explains the World again in my introduction to comparative politics course. Again, I was relatively happy w/ how that went, as we tried to tie Foer’s observations back to the material we covered earlier in the semester. I was particularly happy w/ the final exam questions (all essay, all open-ended). Here they are, for your amusement:]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/comparative_politics_final.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/05/comparative_politics_final.html Academia Mount Saint Mary's Teaching comparative politics soccer teaching Fri, 08 May 2009 12:22:28 -0500 We’re experiencing something of a bizarre heat wave, coming on the heels of a cold snap. So we’ve gone from highs of low 50s to mid 90s in only a few days (yet, ironically, some of my students still believe global warming is an evil conspiracy/hoax). Sadly, the air conditioning in our building doesn’t kick on until May 15 (?!—but I’m trying to push them to do it sooner) even as our elevator’s been broken for most of the past month or two. Frustrating. http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/heat_wave_update.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/heat_wave_update.html Baltimore Books Javi Personal Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:40:49 -0500 So apparently my son is a pirate. Javi was diagnosed yesterday w/ amblyopia. So far, he doesn’t seem to mind wearing his eye patch. We find out in about two weeks if he’ll need glasses (my cousin’s daughter wears glasses for the same reason). It’s certainly not the worst thing that could befall a toddler. And all things considered, he’s doing amazingly well.]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/my_little_pirate_a_javi_update.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/my_little_pirate_a_javi_update.html Javi Personal Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:28:32 -0500 WYPR 88.1) about same-sex marriage laws. It reminded me of a column I wrote for the WMU college paper about five years ago. I dug it up. I still believe in every word of it, despite more than two years into my own marriage. I’m reposting it here, unedited, in its entirety. Enjoy.]]> http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/samesex_marriage_laws.html http://www.mcentellas.com/archives/2009/04/samesex_marriage_laws.html Current Events Essays NPR politics same-sex marriage Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:37:47 -0500