Uruguay carries out EU-aided innovation program

www.chinaview.cn
2009-08-25 10:52:18

MONTEVIDEO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez on Monday announced a co-financed project with the European Union (EU), which would be worth 12 million euros (16.8 million U.S. dollars).
Vazquez said the project, "Uruguay Innova," was the result of the country's strategy to combine development and production. Innovation and technology development would receive a new boost, he added.
This initiative would make the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo a regional authority on biotechnology. This would constitute a consolidation between public and private innovations.
The plan would enhance the interaction of staff capabilities and research equipment with technological institutes and companies. It would also offer young researchers work opportunities at these companies.
The EU will disburse the money in two non-refundable installments. The first installment will be 8 million euros for the 2007-2010 period, and the second 4 million euros for the 2011-2013 period.

October is the Cruelest Month for Stock and Financial Markets

T.S. Eliot famously declared "April is the cruelest month" in his poem, The Wasteland. Apparently, Eliot was no stock investor. For those holding stocks, it is October which has been the cruelest month. October 1929. October 1987. October 2008 . . . Wasteland indeed.

The spectrum of national pessimism varies depending on one's political credo; from the communists, like our President, to the "Hannitized" and the Glenn Beck fans, who still feed into the party line shouting "mega-dittos!" and "You're Great American!" from Juneau to Tallahassee. Hannity implores his base, "let not your heart be troubled!" Easy for him to say. This once-great nation remains distracted with the prospect of national healthcare while the economy languishes in peril.Those with little capital have no choice but to weather the storm with a combination of precious metals and US dollars. Those with money to invest are seeking offshore safe havens. Outside the far right and the far left moves a segment of investors looking beyond the pale of American politics to growing worldwide sanctuaries.

Many Americans ask, where is it any better than here? Truthfully, not too many places unless you are a socialist, but there are oases where freedom is a way of life and not a marketing slogan. Paraguay and Uruguay are two countries drawing international investors because of tax benefits (Paraguay's income tax is 0%), cheap land and labor, political stability, and a variety of other merits. As free marketers know, economic stability is never built on a mountain of credit. Also, it is difficult for a central bank to control the population when 90% of the people do not own bank accounts.

Read full note in The Market Oracle

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One Semester of Spanish

Rio Platense Spanish

Rioplatense Spanish (Spanish: español rioplatense, although locally known as castellano rioplatense) is a dialectal variant (or simply, "a dialect, of the Spanish language which is mainly spoken in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin (or River Plate region), between Argentina and Uruguay. The usual word employed to name the Spanish language in this region is castellano (Castilian) and seldom español (Spanish) as in other parts of Latin America. Note that, while the article refers to Rioplatense Spanish as a single dialect, there are distinguishable differences among the varieties spoken in Argentina and in Uruguay, as described below.

Location
Rioplatense is mainly based in the cities of Buenos Aires, La Plata, Rosario (Argentina),Las Piedras, Punta del Este and Montevideo (Uruguay), the six most populated cities in the dialectal area, along with their respective suburbs and the areas in between. This regional form of Spanish is also found in other areas, not geographically close but culturally influenced by those population centers (e.g., in parts of Paraguay and in the entire patagonia). Rioplatense is the standard in audiovisual media in Argentina and Uruguay. To the northeast exists the hybrid Riverense Portuñol.

Influences on the language
The Spaniards brought their language to the area during the Spanish colonization in the region. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Río de la Plata basin had its status lifted to Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776.

Until the massive immigration to the region started in the 1870s, the language of the Río de la Plata had virtually no influence from other languages and varied mainly by the means of localisms. Argentines and Uruguayans often state that their populations, like those of the United States and Canada, comprise people of relatively recent European descent, the largest immigrant groups being those who came from Spain and Italy.

Read full Rio Platense Spanish article.

Uruguay Map

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If you'd like to read more about the country you can visit their Wikipedia site.

Evolution of Dance

And Evolution of Spanish Classes

Uruguay Outline

The Eastern Republic of Uruguay is a sovereign country located in southeastern South America. It is home to 3.46 million people, of which 1.7 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area.

It is bordered by Brazil to the north, by Argentina across the bank of both the Uruguay River to the west and the estuary of Río de la Plata to the southwest, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Its surface is 176.215 km² being by its territorial extension the second smallest country in South America, larger only than Suriname and the French overseas department of French Guiana.

Spanish is the official language of Uruguay and is spoken by almost all of the population. English is common in the business world though it is a minority language, as are French and Italian. Other languages include Portuguese and Portuñol, a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese. Both are present in northern regions near the Brazilian border.

Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1825-1828 following a three-way struggle between Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, where the president fulfills the roles of both head of state and head of government.
The economy is largely based on agriculture (making up 10% of GDP and the most substantial export) and the state sector, Uruguay's economy is on the whole more stable than in its surrounding states, and it maintains a solid reputation with investors.

According to Transparency International, Uruguay is the second least corrupt country in Latin America (after Chile), with its political and labor conditions being among the freest on the continent.
In November 2007 it became the first Latin American country and the second in all of the Americas to recognize same-sex civil unions at the national level. [3]
94.6% of the population are of European descent[4]. Just under half of the population are declared Roman Catholics. However, the majority of Uruguayans are only nominally religious.