“I know you don’t read the news, but it’s friday, I know this.

So I’m going to educate you today.

‘Cause it’s friday, you ain’t got no (real) job,

and you ain’t got shit to do – till 1am when you head to Pacha Jet!”

Did you enjoy that opening? It was a contribution by over-enthusiastic reader  Mychael H.

Great job Mychael! I’m gonna put it right here on the refrigerator door. And those who didn’t like it, take it up with him.

Now here’s everything you need to know:

Transgender people throughout the country celebrated that once again equality comes first. (Photo/Wikipedia)

• This week Congress seemed to remember that they are supposed to do something and passed two very important laws. First, the “Gender Identity” law, which seeks to provide citizens the power to “freely develop their personalities in accordance with their gender identity,” and the right “to be treated according to their gender identity.” This, of course, includes their DNI, which will have to state their gender of choice.

• The second law passed is the “Dignified Death” law, which grants terminally-ill patients the “right to express their will concerning the refusal of surgical procedures, artificial reanimation or life-support treatment.” This excludes, however, euthanasia and assisted suicide. Pretty fucking good, eh? Pretty fucking good… (except for religious conservatives, who are running in circles as we speak, horrified by society’s continuous moral decay). So while in the Northern Hemisphere half of the United States is kind of entering the 21st century and North Carolina is going back to the Dark Ages, Argentina breezes in to the 23rd century, maybe.

•  And now onto the Brits. They are pissed, you know? And rightfully so, since that Malvinas “Olympics” ad was kind of uncalled for. Sure, it poses a legitimate claim and it helps maintain the Malvinas sovereignty debate alive, but it also brings a political debate into the Olympics ecochamber, which we all know is verboten, even though it has been happening since Nazi Germany, when Jesse Owens (a black guy!) won a gold medal and Adolf Hitler pissed his pants in anger. So the political cognoscenti vowed revenge against the Argentine population and shot back with their ultimate weapon: this.

• Are you kidding me? From all the things you could use to mock Argentina you chose to make fun of… tardiness? I mean, this country is comedy gold and all you could think of was that? OK, at the risk of being deemed a traitor by the Argentine population, let me give you some advice on what you can make fun of next time you want to mock Argentina:

• What Cristina looked like before surgeries.
• Maradona’s 1986 infamous “hand of God” goal.
• The couple who married under the Maradonian church.  And yes, that is an actual wedding. Not a joke.
• Argentina’s Nazi past. Next time you enter the Luna Park stadium to enjoy some random concert, keep in mind that 74 years ago, the place looked like this. And that’s not a joke either.
• Mayor Mauricio Macri‘s cringe-inducing, embarrassing rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. And yes, that actually happened.
• The fact that these sideburns were president from 1989 to 1999.
• The fact that every 80′s movie in Argentina was a ripoff from a Hollywood blockbuster or a hit American TV series. Here are some excerpts of the local versions of: “Alf“, “ET“, “Ghostbusters” (or “Thriller”, if you will), “Airplane!“,  and Robocop. Also, I may or may not have one or more of those movies on DVD.
• Finally: please don’t send me emails saying “Legitimate claim? Bla bla bla islands are British bla bla bla self-determination.” I already know all that and I still don’t care.

• President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, of course, was offended at the British for being offended. Here’s her speech about it. Just so you know, she doesn’t say anything she hasn’t said a million times before. She rants about how creativity is a lot better than bombing other countries. A false analogy that I personally loved.

• Sure, now that the YPF expropriation bill has been passed no one in the country cares about it anymore. But the European Union has a long memory, and even though this whole thing happened like ten days ago the political confederation refuses to forget, and this week they warned that retaliation is imminent. Whatever it is they do, let’s hope it’s better than that fucking “tardiness” ad.

• Another dead body found in the Bosques de Palermo area. You sure you still wanna go jogging there? Because it’s all starting to sound a little too much like a scene from The Silence of the Lambs.

• Here’s another photo you can add to Vice-President Amado Boudou‘s Infamous Hall of Infamy, back from when he was a DJ for the fashion world. How he ended up in politics, we may never know. The photo joins other unforgettable classics, such as “Tongue Vs. Tongue” and “Drunk in my underwear.” Enjoy!

• “But this has no information value!“, you say? Oh please. As if you really came here every Friday to be informed.

• Are you one of the millions of Movistar users whose life was seriously endangered for several hours when the company’s service went down a couple of months ago and people couldn’t update their Twitter accounts? If you are not, then skip this, this doesn’t concern you. If you are, then congrats! The wait is over and after many days of great injustice and abandonment, you’re being reimbursed $10 (pesos, not dollars) for all the trouble caused. Yay, Capitalism.

• Are you one of the millions of Claro users whose life was seriously endangered for several hours when the company’s service went down on Wednesday and people couldn’t update their Twitter accounts? If you’re not, then skip this, this doesn’t concern you. If you are, then you’re fucked. Yeah, that’s right. Claro outsmarted Movistar this week, and after many users complained about a massive service disruption the company blamed the Macri administration, accusing some City workers of accidentally “severing a fiber optics cable.” Sure, the Government is again considering a fine against the company, but they have warned that this case is “different” because it somehow accused Macri of fucking something up *wink, wink*.

• Are you a Personal user? Then watch out, you’re next.

• Next time you brag about how cool and elegant it is to live in Recoleta, remind me to bring this up so I can call you a destitute and shut you up for good.

• This guy died, and even though you never heard of / cared for him, it was a pretty big deal because he was one of Argentina’s most beloved cartoonist. Honor him by at least clicking on that link. You don’t even have to read the story, just click on it so you can at least pretend you care.

• Fame hath no glory! Last year it was Justin Bieber and the baseless, shameless accusations that he had
  

  This is the (possible) rapist Wachiturro, not to be confused with the other five Wachiturros who look exactly the same. In fact, I'm not even sure this is the one in trouble, but this is the only photo Wikipedia had to offer, so fuck it. (Photo/Wikipedia)

  impregnated one of his fans, which not only is ridiculous because Justin is like, the best guy in like, EVER and he would never do that, but also because he’s still like fifteen years away from producing sperm. So now, of course, it happened to one of the country’s youngest, brightest talents: Wachiturros smokin’ hot member DJ Memo. Mr. Memo was arrested (and later released on bail) in Santiago del Estero last Sunday after allegedly trying to rape a 13-year-old, who happened to be the daughter of a police officer. Lies, all lies! Also, probably true.

• By the way, considering that two months ago another Wachiturro was arrested before boarding a plane in a Chilean airport for cleverly making a joke about having a bomb or something stupid like that, I guess this means the boy band is now down to only four members. Come back in a few months when two of them are killed while trying to rob a bank and the boy band is downgraded to a duet.

• Also, that former playmate that caused a stir after appearing at a Mexican presidential debate last Sunday is, of course, Argentine.

• In the non-important news department (football), the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has announced a series of changes in their tournaments that I really don’t give a flying fuck about. But since you probably do, here’s some (probably inaccurate) info:  Starting in the 2012/2013 season, the new Argentine championship  tournament (thanks, Twitter nitpickers) will be divided in two tournaments, each one of them containing 19 rounds. The Apertura and Clausura tournaments will be re-branded “Inicial” and “Final” tournaments, and their respective winners will clash in a final match that will decide the fate of humanity.

• I don’t mean to brag, but I wrote that whole paragraph by myself, no help! OK, I had help. I pretty much stole the whole thing from here and just translated it. Whatever.

• Now here’s an idea that I’m sure is gonna go far: the AFA, that lugubrious nest full of backstabbing vultures, is “studying” the implementation of a possible new system labeled “AFA Plus” aimed at stopping “the power and influence of the barra bravas (or ‘hooligans’) in the Argentine football.” The idea is to register every single football club member and whoever has a history of violence will not be allowed into the game. The anti-hooligan movement was sparked by Independiente president Javier Cantero who said he was sick and tired of violence and is leading a personal crusade against them. Good luck with that! I mean, have you clicked on that Wikipedia link for barra bravas? Despite their absolutely hilarious names in English (“The heavy of the Port”, “The Drunkard of the Stand“), these guys are blood-thirsty goons that will not hesitate to kill you if you stand in their way. And considering that according to that Wikipedia page there’s like a million of them, stopping them means no more audience. Can you imagine? It would be like a dream come true (for me).

• Oh, shit. Here we go.

With an overwhelming 55 votes in favour, Argentine Senators approved a law last night that allows people to change their registered gender to that which they are, not necessarily the gender they were assigned at birth.

The law – which passed at 9.10pm last night – says everyone has the right to recognition of their gender identity, as each person feels, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. As such, any person may request a registry correction regarding gender, and change of first name and image if they do not coincide with their self-perceived gender identity, without any judicial or administrative proceeding.

Moreover, the Argentine newspaper La Nación pointed out today that minors can now change their name with a parent’s permission. If they cannot get a parent’s permission, they can do so through the court system.

La Nación pointed out that more than a thousand supporters waited yesterday in front of Parliament for the passage of the law, which also provides that the hormone treatments and gender reassignment surgery should be covered by health plans without having to wait for a judge’s approval. Minors, too, can be operated on, but only if a judge authorises and someone who wishes it must wait 60 days.

The Parlamentario, an Argentine outlet that focuses on changes in law, reported on the discussion before the law was passed.

Front for Victory Senator Ada Itúrrez, who is also head of the General Law Committee of the Senate, said it was sad the law had not yet been passed.

“It is sad to have in our hands to be able to change these realities and we have not done it,” the senator said. “What are we waiting for? More deaths? More humiliation? More abuse?”

Radical Civic Union Senator Eugenio “Nito” Artaza said that “after this law, many will face the sun,” referring to the party support the project.

The general legislator and the justice commissions of general deputies yesterday voted in favour of a bill recognising an individual’s right to gender identity.

This will mean that anyone can change their documents to their self-perceived sex without difficulty, although, children under 18 must have permission from their parents.

The legislation was won by majority vote, from oppositional as well as ruling party members. Pro deputy Oviglio Julian was the only member to oppose.

“The whole project destroys public order on the sex and name of the people. If your genetic makeup male, the DNI cannot say that you are woman,” he told La Nación.

The project was developed by deputies Diana Conti and Juliana Di Tullio and a member of the radical party (UCR) Silvana Giudici.

The initiative also requires the state to guarantee access to surgical and hormonal treatment for individuals to change their bodies, without barriers, to their self-perceived sex.

On the 24th March, commemorations were made for the ‘disappeared’ and their families, by way of various parades and marches all over Buenos Aires, in particular in the famous Plaza de Mayo. The major human rights groups were out in force, including the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo), an organisation of women whose daughters or daughters-in-law were pregnant at the time of their disappearance. Many of these young women were held by the military dictatorship until after they gave birth before being killed, and their babies were adopted out to families.

The Abuelas believe some 500 children were adopted, and since the return of democracy in 1983, have successfully found and reunited 101 children with their extended families.

Their struggle has recently come to a head, as a legal tug of war has been going on between the Clarín media mogul Ernestina Herrera de Noble’s adopted children and the Abuelas to find out their real identity. The de Noble children were forced by court order to take DNA tests in December 2009 to find out whether or not they are children of the disappeared.

The Argentina Independent went to find out what the Argentine public thinks of the Abuela’s work and whether it is right to force adopted children and possible children of disappeared into DNA testing against their will.

Francisco Alejandro Lupo, 37, teacher, Lomas de Zamora

In my opinion it was a difficult period of time in the country, but everyone has a right to want to know or not know their true identity, no-one should be obligated. If they choose not to, it must be for a reason. I think it’s good to have the option of finding out your background, but perhaps it isn’t essential for everyone. It is the decision of each individual and I do not think it is right to obligate people to get DNA tested. The de Noble children are adults now, they chose to not find out their identity, it must be for a reason; therefore they should not have been forced to do the tests.

Sharon Robinson, 19, student, Congreso

It depends on the person. If you’ve been adopted and feel the need to out about your identity or have doubts about it then that is understandable. If someone wanted to find a missing piece of their past, what the Abuelas offer in terms of DNA testing is great. However, I don’t think it is right to force people into it though. It is the choice of each individual. They have got to want to get DNA tested. If they don’t wish to know, albeit hurting their potential family, their decision should be respected.

Luis Enrique Gomez, 57, customer service representative, Santiago de Estero

I don’t know a lot about the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo but as far as I’m concerned, they are doing a good job. It makes total sense because the de Noble children could be wrong about their identity, so it is a good thing that the Abuelas are enforcing their point by making them get tested. I say that everything they can do to help their work is ok and correct. From the little knowledge I have, for me the search is good. After all they’re discovering the true identities of human beings and uncovering people’s histories.

Alejandro Garac, 34, dental technician, Belgrano

In my opinion you have to be able to find equilibrium. On one hand I think it is good for a person to find out the truth, to be able to get on with their lives and be ok. On the other hand though I’m not for people being forced into having their DNA tested against their will. It goes against their human rights. There needs to be some sort of balance between what is forced upon people and finding out people’s identities. Whether the individual decides to be tested or not, at the end of the day it is their decision and it should be respected.

Camila Franco, 35, administrator, San Cristobal

You have to treat the subject with care as you’re dealing with a very personal aspect of people’s lives. With regard to the case of de Noble, there could be other interests and factors involved as to why her children are against being tested and being put to trial. I don’t know too much about the subject, but I get that feeling. I feel that there are other motives influencing the case away from just discovering their identity.

Photos by Beatrice Murch