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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Jacob Ostreicher escaping Bolivia

So the story is that a gang of kidnappers set upon Jacob in Santa Cruz, demanded a ransom and
threatened to kill him...but decided to be nice and deliver him to his home thousands of miles away in Brooklyn. OK. Some believe it, some don't. At Chaplins and other comedy clubs in La Paz, this is a joke; the Russian customers call it skazka - fairy tale.
The sad part is that there are two sides left hurt in this - the Jewish Community and the La Paz government - but the real culprits are the drug dealers, extortionists and political opportunists; the latter of whom exasperated the La Paz governemnt, sending in clowns like Sean Penn and making the situation worse for all.
But what does this hold for the future? Should Bolivia ask extradition, will the US extradite or refuse? If the Brooklyn community thinks they have the US State Dept. and Obama on their side, maybe they are right; but maybe they are wrong, and the historical precedent for politicians is to get the lather and wash their hands. Today the NYT reports that Snowden is seeking asylum in South America in exchange for revealing secrets; the US has had bad year in Latin America, and keeping Jacob in New York might make for bad relations with an entire continent.
So the pendulum might swing the other way, and Jacob might be the token of appeasement the State Department will need.
And what of the lack of response from Melissa Mark-Viverito? She could have been a bridge between the Latin and the Orthodox communities, but she kept out of it, even when offered highly classified information that would have been of use to acquit Jacob and actually bring about better US-Bolivian relations; she is busy these days seeking the Speakers' seat in NYC politics.
So this saga may have more parts. Stay tuned. There may be more info leaked here than Snowden ever had.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Ostreicher case further notes

Hurry up and wait...this is the message from the US pols and big shot activists who claim to be helping Jacob Ostreicher.
Little do they take the time to comprehend that their activism is rude and ignorant, that they do not listen to those who have offered advice on the situation and that they only make more tension.
Presently a NYC Spanish speaking politician has been approached with this mission, and, ironically reproached on one site for not jumping in earlier - although this legislator's district does not include Ostreicher and they are not part of Ostreicher's community. The new batter has a better than average chance, but this situation is full of curve balls; speaking Spanish helps a lot, as does being a left wing politician, but it is not so easy. There is room to hit a grand slam; or, strike out.

Evo Morales, if he were to be briefed on the full extent of this case, I am sure would release Ostreicher and there would be more arrests in Bolivia, and hopefully in the US as well. A colleague
showed me recently an email in which there was nazi help for the GOP congressman in Brooklyn who replaced Weiner; as incidental as this seems to the Ostreicher case, I include it here without further explanation to tease the reader - huelga decir, es relativo pero yo voy a escribir mas de esto cuando me conviene. Este caso es muy complicado y muchos son involucrados - hay planes por cambios en Bolivia para agarrar los recursos - no es gran sorpresa a muchos - y como esto tiene relacion a Ostreicher yo voy a relevar.