I love Bono/U2

Sólo él podía lograr ésto.
Por eso y un millón de cosas más, yo, que no pertenezco a ningún ismo, ni me adscribo a ningún grupúsculo, ni profeso ninguna otra preferencia delirante, soy su FAN.

Acá va algo de antología. Enjoy it.

16 May 2006 15:20
This article is from the (RED) edition of The Independent, guest-edited for 16 May 2006 by Bono. Half the revenue from the edition will be donated to the Global Fund to Fight Aids.

The Big Question: Can rock stars change the world?

By Paul Vallely, Associate Editor
Published: 16 May 2006

Do celebrities have the power to effect change?
No, according to our guest editor, Bono. And a lot of people agree with him. Even those people who most want the world changed. Indeed, perhaps especially them.

But didn't Live8 and the Make Poverty History campaign rely on rock star power?
After the leaders of the rich world issued their communiqué at the Gleneagles summit there was a bit of a hoo-haa. Kumi Naidoo, the leader of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty - the international campaign of which Make Poverty History was just the UK end - stood up at the press conference and voiced his disappointment. Some 157 million people had joined that campaign in 75 countries right across the globe. Not to mention the 3.8 billion people - more than half the population of the world - who had tuned in to one of the 10 Live8 concerts at some point. And the 38 million who signed the Live8 petition which Bono and Bob Geldof took into the leaders of the G8 on the eve of Gleneagles. The people have roared, said Kumi and in response the leaders of the rich world had merely whispered.
Geldof was irritated. Of course the G8 had not delivered everything that the poor of the world needed. But they had pledged to double their aid contributions each year globally, half of which was to go to Africa. They wiped away 100 per cent of the multilateral debts the continent owed. They conceded, for the first time, that developing nations should be allowed to integrate with the global market at a pace which suited them and not the rich world. And they endorsed more than 50 of the 980 recommendations of the Commission for Africa on which Geldof had toiled for the past year. Not everything, by any means, but a dramatic step forward. And one which should be praised before moving on to ask for more. Anyone who didn't acknowledge that was an utter disgrace, he added with characteristically unminced language.
In the audience, representatives of some of the more hardline campaign groups shook their heads. This was terrible. Geldof, the unguided missile, had boomeranged in their direction. The backlash began. In the days that followed there was much muttering about the inadequacy of celebrities, how they wouldn't follow the party line, how they didn't know what they were talking about, and how the campaign should never have enlisted their support in the first place. And anyway, whose idea had Live8 been in the first place? Er.

So is it campaigners and activists who change the world?
Up to a point. Certainly last year saw one of the biggest gatherings of protest at the way that Africa was being neglected and - in the case of the rich world's trade policies - wilfully maltreated that has ever been seen. A tremendous momentum built up in the United Kingdom with aid agencies, churches, trade unionists, student groups and others creating an impressive coalition demanding action. It impacted upon Tony Blair and Gordon Brown who, it has to be conceded, were receptive to change. Certainly the knowledge that there was a significant domestic political constituency which would award them brownie points for action on Africa did no harm. But it was not enough. Geldof had assumed that the cogency of the case made by the Commission for Africa, and the depth of the economic analysis on which it was based, would - in combination with this impressive phalanx of activism - be enough to do the trick. The trouble was there was no significant equivalent elsewhere. Campaign groups in France, Germany, Japan and - most crucially - the United States were nowhere near as influential. Though Blair and Brown were, for the first time, really pushing Africa's case at the top table, the rest of the world's leaders felt they could safely ignore them.

So how come so much was achieved?
When Bob Geldof finally realised that political leaders in the rest of the world were not under the same public pressure as Blair and Brown he acceded to Bono's request to do a Son of Live Aid concert. It was only when details of the Live8 concert in the backyard of each of the G8 leaders was made public that the mood began to change in the backroom preparations for Gleneagles. Suddenly the sherpas - as the top civil servants preparing summit agendas are known - began to put things on the table which they had earlier resolutely refused even to consider. That was when the significant increases in the annual aid commitment came on stream, and when the deal on debt was finally agreed.

So is it politicians who change the world?
Not exactly. Left to their own devices politicians will do as little as possible. The relationship between Africa and the developed world is a story of hopes raised, and constantly dashed, of promises broken and opportunities squandered. Pledges of "education for all" have gone unfunded. So have commitments on HIV and Aids. Initiatives to curb corruption went unratified and unimplemented. The world says "never again" after every major atrocity, but its politicians turned a blind eye to the trade in small arms. Trade rules are applied vexatiously. Debt forgiveness schemes are hedged about with intractable restrictions. Wealthy nations make well-intentioned pledges at international conferences only to later decide that the promises, or their timetable, were unrealistic. Goals are set, reset, and recalibrated yet again so that all the rich world ends up doing is mitigating the extent to which it has failed. The catalogue of shattered undertakings by the leaders of the wealthy world is a source of some shame. Without the spur of campaigners and activists little would happen. But there is something else too. At the time of the terrible Ethiopian famine of 1984-85 policy on development was, in British politics, handled by a minister who had less status than the poor sucker who was given Northern Ireland. Then Live Aid aroused the conscience of a new generation. It was seen by 98 per cent of all the television screens in the world. Among the fans watching Queen and Status Quo were two young men called Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. They were children of Live Aid and their conscience was seared in a way that could not be ignored decades later when they became Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. It perhaps explains why they became the first politicians to take Africa to the top table.

So rock stars do change the world?
Oh all right then. But with a little help from their friends. Which includes all of us - fans, activists, politicians and now - as Project RED so clearly demonstrates - shoppers too. "Celebrity is ridiculous," said Bono yesterday, "but it is currency and I want to spend mine wisely". Who changes the world? The answer is all of us. For we each, in our very different ways, have our own currency to spend. And we must spend it wisely.

DOES FAME CARRY ANY REAL POLITICAL CLOUT?

Yes...
* By virtue of their fame, rock musicians or film stars can help raise public awareness of issues like the Ethiopian famine or Darfur
* Politicians are careful to take notice when big names become involved in a campaign and shame them into action
* Celebrity involvement can make campaigns fashionable, helping to build momentum that NGOs would otherwise struggle to achieve

No...
* Despite the participation of so many megastars, some activists believe the political outcome of Live8 fell well short of expectations
* NGOs, aid agencies, churches, student groups and others can be just as, if not more, effective in hammering home a political message and highlighting injustice
* Nothing can happen if politicians fail to take the right decisions

Morandé de lujo

Después de leer ésto, me queda claro que seguiré sin ver TV local por harto rato más, no sólo sin perderme de nada importante, sino que evitando el serio riesgo de deformar mis niveles de tolerancia a la vulgaridad, al llegar a acostumbrarme a escuchar y asumir con naturalidad comentarios tan degradantes y groseros como éstos.
Y Cristián Warnker sin pega...

Lo que nadie cuenta por acá

Me sorprendió encontrar hoy este artículo en The New York Times, diario reconocidamente liberal. Aquí va para aquellos de ustedes que puedan leer in english.

Scientists Will Gather to Discuss Safety of Abortion Pill

By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: May 11, 2006
Worried about a bacterial infection that led to the deaths of at least five women who took the abortion pill RU-486, scientists from the nation's leading public health agencies will gather in Atlanta today for the first meeting in 10 years on the drug's safety.

Scientists from the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health will consider whether the means of administering abortion drugs make pregnant women more susceptible to the bacterium Clostridium sordellii.
They will also discuss whether the deaths may signal the emergence of a new and more virulent strain of the bacterium that poses a threat to pregnant women generally, not just those who use RU-486.
The five deaths were confirmed as resulting from infection by Clostridium sordellii, which can induce toxic shock. The cause of a sixth death has not been announced, although the same bacterium is suspected.
Clostridium sordellii infections are rare, but pregnancy appears to increase the risks, said Dr. David E. Soper, vice chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Abortion experts have been at a loss to explain why four of the deaths occurred in California. Initially, the F.D.A. investigated whether the pills used in California might have been contaminated, but an agency official said tests had found no evidence of contamination.
Another theory concerned the role a dry climate might play in encouraging the growth of Clostridium sordellii, which lives in soil.
Some experts believe that pregnant women who take RU-486 with another drug, misoprostol, are more vulnerable to infection. RU-486 by itself ends early pregnancies, but the pill is routinely given along with misoprostol, which causes uterine contractions that expel the dead fetus.
After examining many studies, the F.D.A. in 2000 approved a protocol that requires women to take misoprostol orally. But abortion providers have instead instructed women to insert misoprostol vaginally.
Some scientists say the vaginal insertion may introduce bacteria along with the drug.
"The tablets are small, and women don't necessarily know where their vagina begins and ends," said Dr. Phillip G. Stubblefield, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Boston University.
If women are not careful, Dr. Stubblefield said, they can easily drag the tablet across the perineum, between the rectum and vagina, and contaminate the vagina with the bacteria.
Other experts dismissed the contamination idea. "I'm still using the vaginal route," said Dr. Mitchell Creinin, director of family planning at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 2004, the F.D.A. put strong warnings regarding the risks of infection on RU-486 labels.
There has been no hint that the F.D.A. is considering further restrictions on the use of the drug.
Abortion rights advocates are also concerned over the F.D.A.'s indefinite delay in deciding whether to approve over-the-counter sales of Plan B, an emergency contraceptive that has a use different from that of RU-486. Most agency observers blame politics for the delay.
After the deaths, the National Abortion Federation's insurer insisted that its clinics use the F.D.A. protocol when providing abortion drugs or face the loss of their medical malpractice insurance.
In the United States, some abortion doctors have decided against using RU-486 altogether. Among them is Dr. Peter Bours of Portland, Ore., a member of the federation.
"I'm not sure I want to be in a shared insurance group policy with people doing medical procedures because you share that risk," Dr. Bours said.
Until March, Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, continued to instruct its doctors to give misoprostol vaginally, said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs. But with the sixth death, in March, the organization now uses an oral protocol.
The deaths linked to RU-486 have created an unusual split in the small world of abortion providers, a growing number of whom say that they will not dispense the drug. The risk of death with pill-based abortions now appears to be about 10 times that of surgical abortions.
Dr. James McGregor, a visiting professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Southern California, said RU-486 might make women more susceptible to Clostridium sordellii in part because the drug may inhibit mechanisms that moderate immunity. In cases of toxic shock, the body's immune response becomes lethal.
"The body ends up attacking itself," and RU-486 may encourage this attack, Dr. McGregor said.
Dr. Soper, of South Carolina, said that once a Clostridium sordellii infection took hold, there was little hope.
"I'll never forget when I was a fellow in San Diego, and I had this post-partum patient literally die before my eyes," Dr. Soper said.
After the patient gave birth, she told her husband that she felt extremely tired. He took her back to the hospital, and she died quickly, Dr. Soper said.
The oral administration of misoprostol is more common in Europe, but vaginal use there has been growing.
Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which provides 25 percent of all abortions in Britain, said her agency relied on vaginal drug insertion.
Clinics in Sweden and Hong Kong do the same, and vaginal use is growing in France, according to Gynuity Health Projects, a New York group that supports the use of RU-486 around the world.
In the debate over RU-486 versus a surgical abortion, women have diverging opinions. A 43-year-old New York mother of two who said that she had had "every kind of abortion," told her abortion provider during a counseling session recently that she would consider only a pill-based procedure.
"I do not like doctors and hospitals," said the woman, who did not wish her name to be used for privacy reasons. "Both of my children were born at home without anything. And that's how I want to have my abortion: in home, in my privacy, at my own pace and without somebody's other agenda over me."
Reached at home after taking both abortion drugs, the woman said she felt fine. After going to the bank, the pharmacy and the deli, she planned to nap much of the day, she said.
Anne Hawkins, 36, also of New York, said she, too, had had both pill-based and surgical abortions. But taking RU-486, she said, "was the worst experience, the most physically and emotionally painful thing, that I've ever been through."
Ms. Hawkins had another abortion in March, and she chose surgery.
"It was 10 minutes, max, and then it was over," Ms. Hawkins said of the surgical procedure. "The pill for me was the experience of having a baby. Contractions for 10 hours, sweating, screaming, being by myself. It was emotionally scarring and physically horrible."

Pirámides en Mendoza III

Pero bueno, a quién le importa tanta arquitectura cuando la vedette es el vino. Y en Catena Zapata lo tienen clarísimo.
Luego de recorrer los viñedos, observar el paisaje y conversar con los enólogos mendocinos, queda bastante claro que el gran tema acá es la altura. Mientras que en Chile nuestros viñedos se encuentran a escasos metros sobre el nivel del mar y el concepto de terroir - que se está convirtiendo en el factor determinante que avala la calidad de un vino a través de la definición de su identidad - no considera especialmente este factor, los vinos de Mendoza apuestan a ser diferenciados por las características únicas que parecen ser otorgadas por la altitud de la zona.
Es tanto lo que cree Nicolás Catena en ello, que en la descripción de sus vinos no habla de porcentajes de variedades distintas en la mezcla, sino que de porcentajes de altitudes distintas para una misma variedad (20% Malbec de 900 msnm, 30% Malbec 1.000 msnm, y 50% Malbec 1.500 msnm, por ejemplo), para un mismo clon y en una misma "finca", como componentes de un vino específico.
Y la diferencia se siente, sobre todo, en los niveles de acidez. Gran diferencia con los tintos chilenos, que suelen ser bastante más bajos en acidez producto de la exagerada demora en la cosecha, que causa finalmente una caída en los niveles naturales de acidez y hace que se terminen cosechando pasas que sólo entregarán un vino amermelado sin personalidad ni frescura.
En especial, el Cabernet Catena 2003 sorprende por su elegancia, vibrante color y el terciopelo de sus taninos, acompañado de notas frutales que hacen difícilmente creíble que este vino haya pasado más de un año en barrica.
Sin embargo, el gran descubrimiento fue el Chardonnay Catena 2004. De un estilo muy americano - cómo no -, entrega delicadas notas de mantequilla y almendras, una boca redondísima y profunda, un vino graso, de balanceada acidez mineral y largo retrogusto. Un vino sorprendente a este lado de la cordillera.
De hecho, el Chardonnay no es un blanco de mi preferencia, pero éste ha sido el primero que he bebido con deleite - después del Amelia - luego que aprendí a gustar de los blancos fermentados en barrica durante mi paso por K-J La Crema.
Es más, me tuve que comprar una botella. 

Pirámides en Mendoza II

Lástima que la originalidad le llegó hasta ahí, ya que al recorrer sus instalaciones, podemos darnos cuenta que la sala de barricas es casi la copia exacta del anfiteatro concebido por Robert Mondavi y la Baronesa Philippine de Rothschild para su bodega californiana del famoso joint venture franco-americano Opus One. Bueno, tampoco podemos reclamar mucho ya que en Chile hemos hecho lo propio en Apalta, pero al menos le incorporamos canto gregoriano...

Pirámides en Mendoza I

Que no lo sabía?
Pues claro. El economista argentino doctorado en Chicago y pionero del Malbec en la zona, Nicolás Catena, es tan amante de la cultura maya que decidió construirse su propia pirámide para dar vida a la bodega de Catena Zapata. 

Cavas Wine Lodge

O una sorpresa en medio de la nada. Así podría catalogarse este lodge que se encuentra escondido en medio de viñedos aledaños a la ruta internacional que conecta a Mendoza con Chile a través del paso internacional Los Libertadores.
Cuenta con 11 "cabañas" de diseño más bien mexicano - tanto por sus formas como por los colores - dispuestas alrededor de un edificio central que cuenta con amplios salones rodeados por grandes ventanales que privilegian la vista a los viñedos y a una pérgola que alberga una "pileta", adornada en sus bordes por figuras de sapos en bronce que disparan choros de agua, causando un curioso efecto visual. También en este edificio se encuentran un amplio living con sala de lectura y chimenea, y un restaurant de sofisticada factura, mezclándose en todos ellos elementos de diseño contemporáneo con materiales nativos y muebles de antigua data. El restaurant cuenta con un cuidado menú que privilegia, por supuesto, las carnes y la trucha local. También se ofrece una bien dotada carta de vinos con precios más bien excesivos, pero que incluyen buenos Malbec y Bonarda de las más prestigiadas viñas de la zona. Una pizarra anuncia la disponibilidad de los cubanos Cohiba, incentivando el inmisericorde vicio tal cual lo hacen todos los espacios públicos - abiertos o cerrados - de esta provincia argentina.

El Hall es bastante original, destacando en su decoración un bello piano de cola, algunas pinturas de brillantes colores y un arreglo de lámparas con sarmientos de parras. Y raudales de luz everywhere.

Park Hyatt Mendoza

O amor por el diseño.
Eso es lo que revela cada detalle de este hotel que, tras su fachada imponente y colonial, esconde un minimalismo de formas limpias y depurados colores opacos y brillantes, mezclados magistralmente para dar una sensación de calidez y relax que se evidencian en la delicadeza de espacios tan habitualmente obviados como los pasillos conducentes a las habitaciones.

El arte de las formas alcanza su grado superlativo en... el baño (Sala de Baño, para ser más precisos). Este espacio, con los closets incorporados en sus paredes detrás de paneles de espejos con correderas, se encuentra invadido de mármol y vidrio esmerilado, con una grifería de impecable diseño italiano que cuida cada detalle, desde las llaves hasta el espejo. La ducha se encuentra fuera de una amplia tina, ambos elementos separados adecuadamente por correderas del resto de la sala, y que se coronan con luces indirectas que parecen invadir los sentidos, repitiendo el mantra del relax, relax, relax.

El dormitorio - aaaaaamplio, alto, despejado - incluye una king-size casi zen, blanquísima, cuadradísima, comodísima. Madera, metal y vidrio en veladores, mesas de noche, escritorio. Tonos tierra y muy masculinos cafés moros.
Sobrio. Simple. Exquisito.
Super nice.