GW Bush, The Moonies and Paraguay

We noticed a news item today, " Bush buys land in Northern Paraguay". Looks like it's going to be an interesting "latin American" neighborhood.

Undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia

Prensa Latina - Buenos Aires: An Argentine official regarded the intention of the George W. Bush family to settle on the Acuifero Guarani (Paraguay) as surprising, besides being a bad signal for the governments of the region.

Luis D Elia, undersecretary for the Social Habitat in the Argentine Federal Planning Ministry, issued a memo partially reproduced by digital INFOBAE.com, in which he spoke of the purchase by Bush of a 98,842-acre farm in northern Paraguay, between Brazil and Bolivia.[snip]

Then we noticed this tidbit, "Uproar after Moonies buy town"

The residents of Puerto Casado, in Paraguay, have demanded that their town be handed over to the local council after it was purchased by the sect known as the Moonies.

The Unification Church of the Reverend Sung Myung Moon acquired more than 300,000 hectares of land in the northern department of Alto Paraguay.

The land was sold by an Argentine company and includes the town of Puerto Casado which has about
6,000 inhabitants.

The Installation of a US Military Base in Paraguay

On July 1, the first contingent of 500 U.S. soldiers arrived in Paraguay, and on the 7th of that month, reacting to widespread alarm, the U.S. Embassy in Asuncisn issued a communiqui stating that the U.S. had not intention of establishing a permanent base in the country.

Finally, on Aug. 16, Rumsfeld arrived in Asuncisn for a brief tour that took him also to Peru, another country that's being pressured to grant immunity to U.S. troops.

And this:

"In the early stages of the Reagan Revolution that embraced the Washington Times and Moon's anti-Communist movement, it was embarrassing to be caught at a Moon event," wrote The Gadflyer last year. "Until George H.W. Bush appeared with Moon in 1996, thanking him for a newspaper that 'brings sanity to Washington.'" That was while on an extended trip to South America in Moon's company. A Reuters' story of Nov 25 of that year describes the former president as "full of praise" for Moon at a banquet in Buenos Aires, toasting him as "the man with the vision." (And Moon helped Bush out with his own vision thing, paying him $100,000 for the pleasure of his company.) Bush and Moon then travelled together to Uruguay, "to help him inaugurate a seminary in the capital, Montevideo, to train 4,200 young Japanese women to spread the word of his Church of Unification across Latin America."

News you missed!
Bush sets U.S. refugee ceiling at 70,000
Wed Oct 11, 7:16 PM ET WASHINGTON -

President Bush said Wednesday that up to 70,000 refugees from around the world can be admitted to the United States in the next year.

• 22,000 from Africa.

• 11,000 from East Asia.

• 6,500 from Europe and Central Asia.

• 5,500 from the Near East and South Asia.

• 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The remaining 20,000 can be allocated by the State Department to various regions as the need arises.

Jenna Bush in Paraguay for UNICEF plan

Local news media reported that Jenna Bush arrived Saturday in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion on a commercial flight, then dined Sunday evening with Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and his family at their official residence. She also met with U.S. Ambassador James Cason. Officials did not confirm those accounts.[snip]

Mexico president-elect unveils reform plan

Wed Oct 11, 1:12 AM ET

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's president-elect laid out a proposal for reform in Mexico in the coming years, pledging to tackle poverty, create jobs and promote equality.

In a speech before politicians and businessmen, President-elect Felipe Calderon stressed the need to join the club of the world's fastest-growing economies. He said his plan — which will be open for public consultation starting Thursday — will provide the long-term roadmap Mexico has lacked in the past.

"Our country can become one of the five most important emerging economies, along with China, India, Brazil and Russia," said Calderon, who pledged that his plan would allow Mexico to eradicate the grinding poverty afflicting about 20 percent of Mexico's 103 million people.

Calderon's plan addresses sustainable development, which he said could boost his country's per-capita income from the equivalent of about $8,000 today to around $30,000 by 2030.[snip]