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What you need to know about Ecuador…

8 April 2009 2,072 Comments

Keeping in the spirit of “Ecuador Awareness Week”, I went on the the CIA’s World Book to get some important information about Ecuador. Be prepared to be enlightened…

  • Major infectious diseases: of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosis (Luke will catch all of these)
  • Stock of quasi money:$7.974 billion (What is the exchange rate on Quasi Money? I am going to start paying for things with Monopoly money, “No, no, it’s cool, this is kinda like money, it’s quasi money”. )
  • Agriculture - products:bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp (My instincts tell me that they are purposely leaving out some things here)
  • Industries:petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals (Again, missing info, I can read between the lines) 
  • Disputes - international: organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia penetrate across Ecuador’s shared border, which thousands of Colombians also cross to escape the violence in their home country (Sure Ecuador, always blaming poor Columbia)
  • Illicit drugs:significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru, with much of the US-bound cocaine passing through Ecuadorian Pacific waters; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents (Ok blaming Columbia is one thing but now dragging Peru into this? That is just crossing a line. No one is buying this Ecuador. Why don’t you take some ownership. Your like that kid who gets caught with a dirty magazine at school, who cries when you get caught and blame some other kid saying you got it from him. I am disappointed in you, Ecuador. For shame.)


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