summer reading

Murders linked to organized crime in Mexico are up by nearly 50% this year according to Mexico's chief lawyer, Eduardo Medina Mora. In the first 18 months of President Felipe Calderón's administration, at leat 4,000 have died in drug-related violence and one out of 10 of those killed were prosecutors, soldiers or police. According to the New York Times: "Opposition politicians… have begun to question whether the president’s ambition has exceeded his grasp, with dangerous and destabilizing consequences for a country that shares a 2,000-mile border with the United States."

Clever ppl holding up classic album covers instead of their faces. (via mullingitover)

El Corillord offers a leak of Don Omar's Bom Bom from his forthcoming El Orfanato featuring a skittish high-hat and an English-language rap.

The man responsible for McDonald's french fries, J.R. Simplot, died at the age of 99. He had amassed a fortune of several billion dollars.

A judge in Chile has ordered the arrest of 100 former soldiers and secret police over human rights abuses committed during General Augusto Pinochet's reign.

The weekend death of the founder of the FARC guerrilla group in Colombia could mean hope for the release of hostages.

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has criticized a recent speech on Latin America by Democratic senator and presidentical candidate Barack Obama.