Archive for
June 8th, 2009
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Moroccans Love/Hate Affair with Obama
US President Barack Obama's Cairo address to the Muslim world sparked a blaze of reactions across the region and beyond; not least amongst bloggers from the Maghreb where a fiery of blog posts and instant tweets conveyed a whole spectrum of opinions ranging from outright, full endorsement to deep skepticism and even scorn and mistrust.
Even before Obama's inauguration, and well before he decided which Middle Eastern or North African country he would choose to deliver his so called foreign policy speech in, some Moroccan-Americans lobbied for President Obama to come to Rabat. Some others suggested Casablanca. A website, President Obama to Speak in Morocco, was even set up for that purpose:
[We invite] President Obama to make Morocco the home for his first foreign policy speech abroad.
Morocco is the ideal country to launch a message of peace to the Muslim world.
A peace loving country with a respected voice in the region, Morocco is a long time friend of the United States and would be proud to host President Barack Obama in this historical event.
Eventually, and to the big disappointment of many Moroccan Obama enthusiasts, the American President did not speak in Morocco but preferred - logically, some would argue - Cairo, Egypt.
Eagerly Awaited
The Obama Cairo speech was quite anticipated. “What if I met Obama?” wonders Mohamed Malouk. Blogging on Elmafjoue [Ar], he says:
If I met Obama, I would ask him to dedicate some of his precious time to our leaders so he could erase their ignorance when treating their people and teach them some basics of democracy and how to get rid of this fear they have of their own people.
Mohamed [Ar] continues:
If I met Obama, I would tell him that his predecessor left us with an ever growing hatred for America and that that only produced anger against it; a hatred cultivated amongst us; then you came out [President] with a deep hope and gave promises to every community whilst Arabs and Muslims usually see their hopes transform into pains.
Live-coverage
One of the innovations made by the Obama administration was the possibility for members of the public to follow the Cairo speech through quotes sent by SMS text messages. The speech was a hot topic on Twitter where many live reactions were reported.
Larbi_org [Fr] followed the event and he twittered:
Great and important speech of Obama in Cairo.
Although, Larbi later on, in a second tweet, wondered “What did Obama mean by ‘Muslim World’ ?”.
They were also some funny reactions when @annouss re-twitted @mbaa…
To all people inside Cairo university, Obama is not Husni Mubarak, you don't have to clap on each sentence.
Analysis
Citoyen Hmida has compared Cairo speech to the JFK's «Ich bin ein Berliner» speech. He stated [Fr]:
Le discours prononcé à l’Université du Caire a été ponctué par de nombreux applaudissements. En effet, le fait d’entendre un président américain dire « Assalamou 3alienkoum » peut redonner espoir. Cette formule rappelle le fameux « Ich ben ein Berliner » clamé par J.F.K. lors de sa visite à Berlin-Ouest en juin 1963.
Obama a eu également l’élégance intellectuelle de citer, fort à propos, certains versets du Coran.
The speech delivered at the University of Cairo was punctuated by much applause. The fact of hearing the American President saying «Assalamou Alaykoum» can give hope. This formula reminds the famous « Ich ben ein Berliner » stated by JFK when he visited Berlin in June 1963.
Obama had also the intellectual elegance to quote certain verses of the Quran.
Citoyen Hmida also wrote:
(…)ce discours tant attendu n’est en partie qu’un tissu de lieux communs sur la civilisation arabo-musulmane et sur les positions américaines contre « l’extrémisme violent ».
This long awaited speech has been, in part, a string of platitudes about the Islamic-Arabic civilization and about the American condemnations of “violent extremism.”
Abdoukili reacts in a similar manner. He wrote:
The words Obama used like quotations from the Koran (to which he referred four times) and Islamic expression like “assalaamu alaykum” , “azaan ” and “Mohammed (peace be upon them) ” is a good public relation strategy to have more effect on the Muslim audience.
Wait and see
Some other bloggers, even when they appreciated the Obama speech have adopted a «wait and see» position. Laila Lalami, a Moroccan author based in the US wrote:
One important test of this new approach, to my mind, is the settlements. Obama has already told Netanyahu that he wants a complete stop to Israeli settlements and that he won’t accept “natural growth” exceptions. If he can do that, then this speech will be remembered as a turning point; if he can’t, then it will go the way of all the speeches by the previous five administrations: nowhere.
The Skeptic
But not everybody was impressed by Obama's words. Abdelhak al'Koush, blogging on Afinina [Ar], launched a strong attack on the American president and questioned his motives in a discourteous post. He wrote:
توفق الرئيس في شد أنفاس القطيع العربي بمن فيهم البلهى من المثقفين العرب، ثم لوح بيديه الكريمتين كما يفعل ملوكنا وجبابرتنا الطغاة في لحظات نفاقهم المتميزة ،ـ وصفق له الحاضرون بحرارة ، ولينتهي الفصل الأول من المسرحية
… جاء أوباما إذن ليقبل العالم العربي الميت ” قبلة الموت”
الحقيقة المرة هو أن أوباما يمنح الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية فرصة أن تلتقط أنفاسها بعد حروب متتالية، اٍذ لم يتردد بوش في [تعبير جارح] العربي البارد ثقافيا وسياسيا ودينيا وحضاريا ، والحقيقة الأمر هو أن العدوان الأمريكي سيشتد بعد مرحلة أوباما .
The bitter truth is, Obama is offering the United States the opportunity to take a breather after successive wars against the Arabs who are cold culturally, politically and religiously. After Obama, the American aggression will heighten.
The American president succeeded in capturing the imagination of the Arabic herd (sic) including those Arab idiotic (sic) intellectuals, and then waved his hands mimicking our kings and titan despots in their distinct moments of hypocrisy; and the audience applauded warmly ending the first chapter of a comedy[…]
A Last Note of Hope
Many things have been said about the Obama Cairo speech. Among them, Abdoukili expressed a note of hope when he closed his post by saying
On the whole Obama has carefully chosen his words and said what the majority of Muslims want to hear from him. It remains to see how he can enact his dream of an ideal relationship with the Muslim world where there is so much to do to eradicate the negative views many Muslims have towards the USA
This post was written in collaboration with Hisham
The illustration used in this post was graciously given by Hamza Lahloumi Art Director of IMAGENCY
Peru: Responsibility for the Casualties in Amazon Conflict
The recent events in the Peruvian city of Bagua, located in the jungle region have caused quite a reaction from the Peruvian blogosphere. Many are criticizing President Alan García and his government for their failure to enforce treaties and agreements that require the consultation with local communities before any action take place on their lands. This led to the protests and roadblocks in this region, and as a result of the police's attempt to clear the blockade, it produced the conflict in which indigenous community members and police were killed.
There is also criticism of the way that the media is handling the situation, and opinions that many outlets are minimizing the deaths of the indigenous residents.
Silvio Rendón of Gran Combo Club [es] writes about the neglect from the government to enforce the regulations outlined by the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the International Labor Organization, which stipulates that there must be consultation with indigenous communities in regards to the use of their lands. He continues:
El tema no es la inversión ni nacional ni extranjera, sino que se respeten los derechos de las comunidades nativas. Si el asunto arranca violando sus derechos, ¿por qué las comunidades tendrían que creer que la violación de sus derechos no va a seguir?
El gobierno accedió al diálogo en medio de la protesta nativa, con los bloqueos ya en marcha. Sin embargo, de repente el gobierno decide que no va a hacer nada si la medida de fuerza continúa. Un repentino cambio de reglas. Y además, ¿qué puso sobre la mesa todo este tiempo? ¿Consulta a los nativos? No. Modificaciones cosméticas de las leyes rechazadas por los nativos. Entretanto, varios decretos han sido declarados inconstitucionales por la Defensoría del Pueblo como por la Comisión de Constitución del Congreso. No es que los nativos no tengan razón. El gobierno viene forcejeando por leyes que han sido declaradas inconstitucionales.
The issue is not about national or foreign investment, but that the rights of native communities are respected. If this continues to violate their rights, why should the communities believe that the violation of their rights will not continue?
The government agreed to dialogue amid native protests with the roadblocks already underway. However, the government suddenly decides that it will not do anything if the measures continue. A sudden change of rules. And besides, what did it place on the table during this entire time? Do you consult the natives? No, only cosmetic modifications of the laws rejected by the natives. Meanwhile, several decrees have been declared unconstitutional by the Ombudsman and by Constitutional Committee of Congress. It is not that the natives are not right. The government continues to force laws that have been declared unconstitutional.
In his blog Conflictos Sociales en el Perú [es], Erick Garcia continues the criticism of the government for its role in this conflict and its lack of prevention in this matter. Despite governmental intelligence and even common knowledge from reports from the media, it was well known that there were outside populations joining the protests:
Ahora me pregunto si un par de Decretos Legislativos valen todo el odio y dolor que generarán estas muertes. Se podrá ahora hablar de una solución pacifica y concertada con tantas muertes a cuestas (sobre todo cuando ya la Ministra del Interior ha declarado que Pizango y compañía deben ser detenidos y puestos a disposición de las autoridades – RPP 16:30) Lamentablemente comenzará la casería por encontrar a los responsables “políticos” e “ideológicos” de esta masacre; qué actitud que tomará el parlamento respecto a los decretos aún es incierto (seguramente estarán pensando más en la censura ministerial que en otra cosa); lo único claro es que el tema de fondo que en algún momento pudo discutirse “el modelo de desarrollo amazónico” solo sabe Dios cuando volverá al debate público.
Peruvian ex-pat in Spain, Jomra unequivocally criticizes President García [es], who said [es] that the protesters were wrong and that they cannot tell 28 million of Peruvians that they are not welcome in that region and by doing so they are stepping into irrationality and “primitive retreat.” Jomra writes about García:
No solo es mentiroso, sino que es intolerante e ignorante de la propia Constitución y los tratados que Perú ha firmado. … Pero lo importante es el fondo: El presidente asume que puede aplastar lo que la Constitución y el Convenio OIT nº 169 Sobre Pueblos Indígenas y Tribales en Países Independientes (de 1989, entró en vigor en el 91 y Perú lo ratificó en el 94), en la primera se establece una entidad jurídica especial para las Comunidades nativas y campesinas que el ejecutivo debe respetar y en el segundo se obliga a que toda decisión que afecte a las comunidades sea previamente consultada. El DL 1090 no lo ha sido.
García cada vez que puede acusa a la dirigencia de las comunidades de manipular a los pobres ignorantes, a la vez que pone que todo esto está orquestado por otros países, no se atreve a acusar a Venezuela pero indica que a quien conviene es a Chile (supongo que en el vecino del sur se mueren de risa al oír los despropósitos de García).
Not only is he a liar, but he is intolerant and ignorant of the Constitution and treaties which Peru has signed. … But the most important thing is: The president assumes that he can discard what is outlined by the Constitution and ILO Agreement No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (1989, entered into effect in 1991 and ratified by Peru in 1994). The first establishes a special legal entity for the indigenous and peasant communities and farmers, and that the executive branch must respect this entity. The second requires that any decision affecting the community must be in consultation. Decree 1090 was not in consultation.
Whenever García can accuse the community leaders of manipulating the poor and ignorant, he does. At the same time, he says that this is orchestrated by other countries, he does not dare to accuse Venezuela, but he said that this benefits Chile ( I suppose that in the southern neighbor is dying of laughter when they heard this nonsense from García).
Amazilia Fracaso of Perú Apartheid [es] writes about the failure of Peruvian society and one of those symptoms is that the deaths could have been avoided. She also criticizes the media for their role during this crisis:
También lo es que la indiferencia e incluso la justificación de muchos comentaristas y bloggers, que haya gente que es capaz de aceptar estas muertes como necesarias para mantener el orden y el desarrollo significa que aún estamos muy lejos de ser un país que pueda caminar hacia adelante.
Es vegonzoso como los medios de comunicación como Peru21, El Comercio, RPP, desinforman a la población y se dedican a poner a la opinión pública en contra de las protestas sociales, ya sea minimizando las muertes que los nativos han sufrido, escondiendo información o exagerando y dandole un spin tétrico a las noticias. Esto también pasa con alguna prensa internacional, Simón Romero del NYT hace una nota sobre la protesta, mezcla el conflicto con Sendero Luminoso, (y) presenta a los nativos como anti-desarrollo.
It is also the indifference and even the justification from many commentators and bloggers, who are people that are able to accept these deaths as necessary to maintain order and development, that means that we are still far from being a country that can move forward.
It is shameful that media such as Peru21, El Comercio, RPP, misinform the public and devote themselves to sway public opinion against the social protests, either by minimizing the deaths that the natives have suffered, hiding information or by exaggerating and giving a grim spin on the news. This also happens with some international press, Simon Romero of the New York Times writes an article about the protest, but mixes the conflict with the Shining Path, (and) presents the natives as anti-development.
There are videos of the events from news reports on YouTube as well as a very graphic Flickr set from the National Coordinator of Human Rights (caution: strong images) of some of the causalities.
Guatemala: Technology and Web Topics in 120 Second Videocast
120 seconds logo
120 Segundos is one of the newest projects by the Maestros del Web community. The name for the community comes from a literal Spanish translation to the term Webmaster and consists of a technology, programming and design related website as well as one of the most active Spanish speaking forums. A year ago they started producing video content for the web, condensing online content to make 120 second information pods in Spanish.
For example this one, made back in December, features members of the Foros del Web. Here, the forum members tell anecdotes, funny and strange stories of things that have happened to them through the forums, for example, a member from Argentina speaks about how he was threatened by a forum user, who would denounce him for spreading viruses unless he helped him out with his problem. Another helpful forum member answered to someone's request for help in designing a logo: he did so, but then the person just changed a color and now it is the company's logo, and no thanks or payment in return. A Spanish member also tells of the risks of participating in the forum: it has made him a halfway willing cheese and ham smuggler.
120 Segundos: algunas anécdotas de Foros del Web from 120 Segundos on Vimeo.
This next one is of a more serious nature: in it, Stephanie Falla, who hosts the webshow, tells of how the Webmaster for the community, Christian Van Der Henst S. was victim of online identity theft back in February 2009, when someone hacked his website managing accounts, and from there was able to block access to other important sites such as email services and social networks. This is the background used to present some tips on how to protect oneself from such risks: not to access important websites from insecure networks, changing passwords and using good passwords to begin with among other recommendations.
120 Segundos: experimentando el robo de identidad en carne propia from 120 Segundos on Vimeo.
This last one focuses on how to work productively from home. It talks about some of the advantages that come from working from home, such as the savings that come from not having to commute, eat out for lunch and not having to purchase clothes specifically for work, but also some of the pitfalls: how the lack of structure could result in low productivity, not leaving time for personal activities unrelated to work and wasting time. Some of the tips include, setting a schedule, using online tools to track assignments and reminders, separating an area at home as an office space where one goes to work, and also making time for oneself: taking care of health such as exercising and eating healthy.
120segundos: trabajar desde casa productivamente from 120 Segundos on Vimeo.
Hong Kong: Say No to CCTVB
On 4th of June, there were more than 150,000 Hong Kong citizens gathered in and around the Victoria Park to commemorate the 20 anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. The number of attendees has broken the record since 1990, telling the world that Hong Kong people have not given up the demand for vindication of June 4th. However, more than half of the local newspapers and the most viewed TV station decided to downplay the news.
ESWN collected the front page of local newspapers on June 5. Among the 13 Chinese newspapers, only 4 had placed the candle night vigil on the frontpage. Headline News and Sing Pao put the passing away of a local actor Sek Kin on the front page; Hong Kong Commerical Press and Hong Kong Economic Journal put up the interview of the future-to-be CEO of Hong Kong stock exchange; Sing Tao, Hong Kong Daily News, Oriental Daily and the Sun highlight stories on youth's deviant behavior - drug abuse and sex work. Wen Wei Po stressed Chinese government's favorable polices to Hong Kong. Below are the images of the 4 cover stories (via ESWN):
The Backbone of China, The Vanguard of History 200,000 Commemorate 6.4 in Sorrow
Sek Kin passes away from illness
Li Xiaojia: Need to be familiarized with Hong Kong market Affirms the contribution of Chinese capital agents
Sniffed ketamine early inside park Three students unconscious
Apart from printed papers, T.V company's self-censorship have more pervasive effect in Hong Kong as television broadcasting sector is highlight monopolized because of the government's license policy. There are currently only 2 over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong, TVB and ATV, and the Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) alone, has taken up 80% of viewership. In recent year, there are more and more criticisms saying that the TVB's news department has been harmonized (adopting self-censorship).
On June 4, the TVB Jade (Chinese) channel placed the candle night vigil in the third news item and outraged many people. A citizen took action to protest against the TV news department by holding a slogan in front of the camera when the reporter was having live report. Here is the youtube record:
The paper banner said:
無線新聞 事事旦旦
Erynnyes from those were the days commented on TVB news June 4th report:
昨天最多人討論的新聞，恐怕不是六四燭光集會有多少人参加，不是梁洛施為李澤楷產子相爆光，就是CCTVB在六四燭光集會新聞直播中，被在場市民舉起抗議牌，批評「無綫新聞、事事旦旦」！A對童工說，據聞CCTVB領導人袁花志偉，對事件怒不可遏云云，但正如A說，天作孽，猶可恕，自作孽，不可活，袁花志偉當日如何處理趙紫陽回憶錄新聞、以至CCTVB在六四當日，如何把六四新聞，放在當日6:30新聞第三段，市民、觀眾，可是看在眼裡，CCTVB所作所為，有沒有人為他們辯護？
要平反六四，首要守住香港的新聞自由，若連新聞自由也守不住，還談甚麼爭取平反六四、爭取香港民主？若香港傳媒也在自我審查的時候，還期望誰為港人發聲？CCTVB、亞視淪為中央台，只是一個開始，香港人是時候，為香港傳媒盡點力，悍衛香港媒體，不會被阿爺和諧掉！
He pointed out that the arrangement was not a careless mistake but a well thought arrangement that completely against professional journalistic judgment:
六四當日CCTVB六點半新頭條是「天水圍三男生疑濫藥於公園暈倒」，這個，童工還可以認為說得過去，二條可是「立法會通過盡快興建西港島線」！那只是立法會內交通事務委員會之下的鐵路事宜小組委員會會議決定！首先，當日CCTVB報道這段新聞，稱這個委員會做「鐵路事宜委員會」，已有誤導之嫌，立法會內眾多事務委員會，何來一個「鐵路事宜委員會」？那只是交通事務委員會內，一個小組委員會吧了！重要性有多大？童工可以說，CCTVB平日，連正式事務委員會會議也不會報道，為何六四當日，會把一個事務委員會轄下小組委員會決議，放在六四15萬人燭光集會之前？
Netizens started making fun of TVB by calling it CCTVB, a sister company of its China counterpart CCTV. In the facebook, a group was formed to protest against CCTVB and netizens have designed new logos for it:
Gabon: On President Omar Bongo's death
Sunday night, French media announced the death of President Omar Bongo of Gabon, who had spent 41 of his 73 years in power. French newspaper Le Point reported that they received news of his death, by cancer, in a private clinic in Barcelona, through a “source close to the President's entourage”. AFP, on the other hand, reported a French governmental source. But later Prime Minister Jean Eyeghe Ndong told Gabonese TV that he had been “very surprised” to read the reports.
When Omar Bongo was admitted in Barcelona's Quirón clinic earlier in May, a comment by Akin a the African Loft predicted his death away from his subjects:
The greatest indictment of his lamentable regime of 42 years is that Gabon does not have hospitals that could treat either himself or his wife.
What kind of leadership is one that cannot bring any appreciable benefits to its people whilst the leaders jet off to foreign lands for the slightest sign of discomfort?
This is an indictment that applies to probably the whole of African leadership, the inability to raise the standards of infrastructure, education, health and opportunity.
When would we be able to make all leadership really accountable for their years of disservice?
[…] The morale of this sordid tale is unAfrican in its context, the king shall not die in his palace surrounded by his subjects who “adore” him but in a non-descript expensive hospital room surrounded by strangers.
A king that fails to rule with probity will die in a distance in disgrace with everyone breathing a long sigh of relief - Good riddance! To them all.
Togolese blogger Rodrigue Kopgli, of Jeunesse Unie pour la Démocratie en Afrique [Fr], called Bongo “one of the last crocodiles of Françafrique“:
Ami de tous les gouvernements français depuis De Gaulle, Albert-Bernard Bongo devenu El Hadj Omar Bongo puis Ondimba (le peuple lui réclame du changement démocratique, il lui offre des changements de nom personnel), n’a jamais cessé d’être l’Agent des Services secrets français qu’il était à sa prise du pouvoir. Fort de sa longévité et de la fortune amassée au sommet du Gabon, Le Hadj s’octroie le luxe de financer des campagnes électorales en France notamment celle de François Mitterrand comme l’a écrit Pierre Péan dans « Affaires africaines ». Il laisse aussi un gigantesque parc mobilier et immobilier en France et des comptes bancaires secrets qui bien évidemment font et feront le bonheur des paradis fiscaux qui les hébergent. Le peuple gabonais pendant ce temps manque de tout. Avec un tel bilan, la terre ne lui sera pas légère du tout. Et les Africains qu’il prétendait cyniquement représenter ne se mettront pas en deuil, non plus.
Citing Togo's experience, Kopgli doubts Bongo's death will bring change:
La mort de Bongo n’apportera rien de salutaire au peuple gabonais, car les héritiers Ali et Pascaline Bongo sont déjà positionnés et portés par Bolloré – ami personnel de Sarkozy – et de Christophe de Margerie de TotalFinaElf et de bien d’autres vampires pour capter le pouvoir, comme ce fut le cas du Togo où les fils du défunt Gnassingbe ont été portés au pouvoir sous le double poids du viol et des violences.
Ivorian blogger Théophile Kouamouo [Fr], who also mentions Togo, ponders about what will happen after Bongo's death and wonders about the future of the Françafrique:
Maintenant que le “patriarche” n'est plus, l'on entre dans l'ère des incertitudes et des questionnements. Le schéma constitutionnel - remise du pouvoir à la présidente du Sénat puis élections - sera-t-il respecté ? Va-t-on vers un schéma de bataille fratricide à la togolaise […]? L'armée gabonaise, totalement invisible, entrera-t-elle en scène ?
Puis profondément, quel est le bilan d'Omar Bongo Ondimba ? Après sa mort, la Françafrique, dont il était le pilier, s'affaiblira-t-elle ? Pour ma part, je pense que oui - mais peut-être que je m'avance trop. Ce système-là était trop centré sur un certain nombre d'hommes, de petits secrets, de règles de départ qui n'existent plus, pour perdurer éternellement.[…]
La Françafrique s'affaiblira, mais la démocratie avancera-t-elle ? L'Afrique se retrouvera bientôt face à son destin et aux contradictions de son Histoire. Personne ne l'aidera à en démêler les noeuds. Mais observons d'abord ce qui se passera dans les prochains jours au Gabon.
More profoundly, what is the legacy of Omar Bongo Odinma? After his death, is the Françafrique, of which he was the pillar, going to weaken? Personally, I think so - but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. This system was too focused on certain men, on little secrets, on exit rules that don't exist anymore, to last forever. […]
Françafrique will grow weaker, but will democracy move forward? Africa will soon be faced to its own destiny and to the contradictions of its history. Nobody will help her to untie the knots. But let's first observe what will happen in the next days in Gabon.
Emmanuel Bellart of Cameroon [Fr] expressed his relief:
Dieu merci, car un autre est parti, l'afrique commence à respirer petit à petit, il ne fallait plus que ça pour que l'afrique puisse finalement ouvrir les yeux, monsieur omar bongo qui a mit 41 ans au pouvoir, ce qui est iraisonnable nous a montré combien ces vieux de la france voulaient vraiment detruire l'afrique, c'est claire que personne ne doit souhaiter la mort d'un être humain, mais d'un côté, c'est un soulagement pour le peuple gabonais, sauf qu'il y'avait une chose que monsieur bongo devait faire, c'est organiser le pouvoir et non de le preparer pour ses enfants […]
adieu le doyen, laissons le pouvoir au peuple et non à une personne, quand tu t'accapare du pouvoir , tu meurs et on t'oublit
Goodbye the most senior [dictator], let's leave the power to the people and not to one person, when you monopolize all power you die and we forget you
At the newsportal Gaboneco [Fr], a Gabonese reader named Ogwera left a comment asking for democratic elections:
Je suis un citoyen gabonais et j'exige des élections dans le strict respect de la constitution de La République!!!! et je dis non à ceux qui appelle la france à se mêler de la politique gabonaise notamment BEN MOUMBAMBA qu'on ne connait pas et qui pourrait être un pion de cette france! Les gabonais doivent s'unir et rester vigilants!
Links for Mon, 2009-06
Carlos Quiroz interviews Peruvian indigenous Congresswoman Hilaria Supa on video during her recent visit to New York City for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
It has been more than two years since the Venezuelan television station RCTV had its transmission license cancelled. Kira Kariakin of K-Minos [es] looks back at the events, and notes that another station, Globovision is now also under threat.
IZO translates part of an interview with Yuri Milner regarding his purchase of a 2% share in Facebook.
Hungarian Spectrum, Central Europe Activ, and Pestiside write about Hungary's vote for European Parliament.
Miguel Centellas of Pronto* writes about the controversy behind the operation of USAID in Bolivia. The post generated discussion and debate in the comments section.
Repeating Islands wishes West Indian writer George Lamming a happy 82nd birthday.
As the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister “sharpens his political cutlass”, Attillah Springer suggests that citizens are being led like lambs to the slaughter.
Repeating Islands notes that the DR has reported its first death from the H1N1 virus.
This Beach Called Life takes a look at crime in Trinidad and Tobago.
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