Argentina VP Facing Jail Time for Corruption

A court in Argentina has sentenced Vice-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in jail for corruption in a case that has shaken the country. Fernández was found guilty of "fraudulent administration" over the awarding of public works contracts to a friend.

Prosecutors said Fernández had led an unlawful partnership during the time when she was president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015. They said she had created a kickback scheme which steered lucrative public work contracts towards a friend of hers in return for bribes.

Businessman Lázaro Báez, the owner of a construction firm who was accused of being the main beneficiary of the scheme, was also sentenced to six years in prison. He had already been sentenced to 12 years in prison last year for money-laundering. Eleven other people were on trial. Seven were found guilty and sentenced to between three and a half and six years in prison, three were released and one had their case dismissed.

The prosecutors said that they uncovered irregularities in dozens of public work tenders awarded in the southern province of Santa Cruz, Fernández's political stronghold. Many of the construction projects were never completed.  Prosecutor Diego Luciani described it as "probably the biggest corruption operation the country has known". He also said the alleged kickback scheme had caused the Argentine state a loss of at least $1B.

Fernández has vehemently denied all charges, and is unlikely to serve actual jail time.  She has some immunity via her government roles and is expected to launch a lengthy appeals process. She has also been banned from public office for life, but will continue in her role as vice-president while the case goes through higher courts.

It is the first time ever that a vice-president has been convicted of a crime while in office in Argentina, and consequently, the case has proven highly divisive.   Supporters took to the street outside her apartment in Buenos Aires to show their backing for the vice-president. At times, they have faced off with critics of Fernández, who accuse her of being a "thief".  It was during one of these gatherings in September that Fernández became the target of an assassination attempt.   A 35-year-old man pointed a gun at the vice-president's head, but the weapon jammed as he aimed it at her. The man in that incident is facing charges of murder.

Indonesia Takes a Step Backward in Appeasing Hardliners

Indonesia's parliament has passed new laws that ban anyone in the country from having extramarital sex and also restrict political freedoms. Sex outside marriage will carry a jail term of up to a year under the new laws, which take effect in three years.

The raft of changes come after a rise in religious conservatism in the Muslim-majority country.  The laws are widely seen as a "disaster" for human rights, and a blow to tourism and investment.  It's expected the new laws will be challenged in court.

The new laws apply equally to locals and to foreigners living in Indonesia, or visiting holiday destinations such as Bali.  Under the laws, unmarried couples caught having sex can be jailed for up to a year. They are also banned from living together - an act for which people could be jailed for up to six months. Adultery will also be an offense for which people can be jailed.

Ajeng, a 28-year-old Muslim woman living in the West Java city of Depok, said she was now at risk for living with her partner for the past five years. "With the new law, both of us can go to jail if one of the family decides to make a police report," she told reporters.  "What if there's one family member who has a problem with me and decides to send me to jail?  "I think living together or having sex outside of marriage is not a crime. In my religion, it's considered a sin. But I don't think the criminal code should be based on a certain religion."

Rights groups say the new provisions disproportionately affect women, LGBT people and ethnic minorities.  Many businesses had also been opposed to the legislation, saying it discouraged visitors and investment.  But lawmakers have celebrated overhauling laws dating back to Dutch colonial rule. "It is time for us to make a historical decision on the penal code amendment and to leave the colonial criminal code we inherited behind," law minister Yasonna Laoly told parliament.

The new legislation contains scores of new clauses criminalizing immorality and blasphemy and restricting political and religious expression.  Human Rights Watch's Asia Director Elaine Pearson said it was a "huge setback for a country that has tried to portray itself as a modern Muslim democracy".  The group's Jakarta-based researcher, Andreas Harsano, said there were millions of couples in Indonesia without marriage certificates "especially among Indigenous peoples or Muslims in rural areas" who had married in specific religious ceremonies.  "These people will be theoretically breaking the law as living together could be punished up to six months in prison."   He added that research from Gulf states, where there are similar laws governing sex and relationships, showed women were punished and targeted by such morality laws more than men.

There are now also six blasphemy laws in the code, including apostasy - renouncing a religion. For the first time since its independence, Indonesia will make it illegal to persuade someone to be a non-believer.  New defamation articles also make it illegal for people to insult the president or criticise state ideology.

According to Ajeng, "People are angry that their liberty is being taken. Indonesia has plenty of problems like poverty, climate change and corruption, but instead of solving a problem they've created a bill that only adds to the problem."

Sad But True

Let Me Tell You a Story of a Hawaiian Hippie Nudist Camp

Where the road ends on Kauai’s north shore, a group of hippies in the early 1970s lived in an off-grid Hawaii community of tree houses, grew their hair long, smoked weed and chose to go nude.

Taylor Camp, as it would become known, was named after Kauai resident Howard Taylor, the brother of actress Elizabeth Taylor. Howard owned the 7 acres of land in Haena, a scenic coastline of white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and a tropical abundance of streams, caves and green cliffs. It was in 1969 that Howard welcomed homeless men, women and children to live on his beachfront property, with no rules or rent to pay.  “We’ve had no trouble,” Howard said in a 1970 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article. “Most of them are just here while they make up their minds to return to the ‘Establishment’ world and what they want to do there.”

When Howard moved to Kauai, he never expected to create a hippie community. He had been living on Oahu, working at the University of Hawaii, and fell in love with the Garden Island. He bought the beachfront property in Haena, moved his family to Kauai, and planned to build a home for his wife and five kids.  After Howard bought the property, he couldn’t get a building permit and no one would tell him why. He eventually found out that the state had plans to create a state park out of the land.

Left in limbo with no way forward, Howard bought land elsewhere on the island and abandoned his Haena land, until he found a purpose for it in 1969. 

Grammy Nominee Keeping it [Too] Real?

Best New Artist Grammy nominee Omar Apollo is reassuring fans that the queer themes evident in his work are very much a reflection of his true self.

The singer-songwriter had a very, um, detailed response this week after a fan on Twitter questioned whether he was “queerbaiting” audiences by peppering his songs with lusty allusions to same-sex love.

 Moments later, he continued to set the record straight by adding:

 

Unlike artists such as Nick Jonas and Harry Styles, Apollo has never been coy about his sexuality. His debut album, “Ivory,” released in April, features tracks with explicit references to men, performed in both English and Spanish.  Though Apollo has said he’s not fond of traditional labels when it comes to his sexuality, he told NPR in April that he is “very gay.” 

“Maybe I was trying to keep the mystique, you understand? But I don’t even care anymore,” said the musician, who is Mexican American. 

 

Backstreet Boys - Christmas in New York

Keeping it Real in Britain