Archive for May, 2007
Journalists wield a long banner for freedom of the press
3:48 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism|Media|Politics|Venezuela · Comments Off
21 May 2007
Freedom of the press doesn’t appear to be alive and well in Chavez’s Venezuela. In drastic moves like revoking the license of the country’s oldest television network, to more below-the-radar moves, Hugo Chavez has taken steps to control what media says about his government. Many journalists, not surprisingly, are outraged, and hundreds took to the streets of Caracas today to protest. In more than just a march, they took a document to the European Union and the Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) headquarters to
“express their concerns about freedom of the press in Venezuela and the closing of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV).”
The journalists carried what they referred to as the “longest protest banner in Latin America”, which stretched over half a mile and weighed almost 400 lbs.
Via / El Universal (Venezuela)
Image via El Impulso, by Globovision
Senate Debates Immigration Reform (Yes, Again)
2:34 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration|Politics · 2 Comments
21 May 2007
Despite some cheers about the alleged immigration agreement, today the U.S. Senate begins a debate on the terms of immigration reform. Amendments will be suggested to the proposal currently on the table which includes a $5,000 fine and an end to family visa requests. So where does that leave the millions of undocumented immigrants? Still in limbo.
Off Duty NYPD Officer Kills Honduran Immigrant : Community Cries Brutality
1:15 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Justice|New York City · Comments Off
21 May 2007
In the NYC borough of the Bronx last Friday night off-duty police officer in plain clothes,Raphael Lora, shot and killed 41 year old Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. The community of the Longwood neighborhood are clamoring for justice saying the officer did not identify himself when he approached Fermin who allegedly drove his minivan in the wrong direction and crashed into a parked car.
According to published reports, police sources say Officer Raphael Lora thought Arzu was going for a weapon in his glove compartment, but no gun was found. Witnesses say Lora caught up to Arzu about a block away and was talking to him when the van lurched forward. Police say Lora fired five times, striking Arzu once in the back and piercing his heart.
For democracy’s sake, Lula won’t seek a third term
5:23 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Brazil|Latin America|Politics · Comments Off
18 May 2007
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva announced earlier this week that he won’t run for a third term as the leader of his country, and in what may or may not be a nod to his Venezuelan counterpart said:
“I do not play with democracy. And because I don’t play with democracy, I will not consider the hypothesis of a third term,” said the leader in the first press conference he’s given since he was re-elected in October of 2006 and the second since he assumed poswer of the governments in January of 2003.
Could be trying to tell Huguito something? Lula went on to say that if he were a legislator, he’d try to set term limits of 5 years, which is one term in Brazil.
Via / El Universal (Venezuela)
Death toll rises in Mexican state
12:21 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · crime|mexico|society · Comments Off
18 May 2007
Last month, we told you about the wave of drug-related violence that had claimed the lives of over 50 people in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. Today Mexico’s El Universal reports that the violence that has brought that state to its knees hasn’t ended, with the death toll now at 64 victims. Yesterday, the number reach 61 when several armed suspects followed a man to his home, where they killed him by shooting him several times. The suspects escaped and their whereabouts are unknown.
This morning, at 7:00 am local time in Monterrey, three more victims were found on a city street, bound and executed, bringing the total number up to 64.
According to El Universal, this week alone police have found more than a dozen victims of kidnapping in different parts of the city.
Rican Pride Parade Season Begins
10:40 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · history|New York City|Puerto Rico · Comments Off
18 May 2007
Here in NYC, you know that the Puerto Rican parade season has begun when cars drive by with the red, white, and blue one star and stripes on the hood. A walk past an Old Navy store revealed Puerto Rican flags on tank tops for sale. Many Puerto Ricans complain that some of our own wave the flag but once a year and with little knowledge of the history behind the flag. For example did you know that the Puerto Rican flag was designed in New York City and that its inspiration was drawn from the Cuban flag? So before you start singing Que Bonita Bandera make sure you know where the roots of your bandera are.
TatoBrujo over on MySpace gives a great detailed history of the Puerto Rican flag.
Colombian Drug Trade Impacts More than the Human Animal
8:00 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Colombia|Environment · Comments Off
18 May 2007
The drug trade in Colombia certainly has a human toll many are familiar with. Paramilitary violence and kidnappings are just some examples. But the actions of coca farmers in the South American country are also having an impact on the environment according to some researchers. Ornithologists specifically say that the slashing and burning of land to grow illegal crops is threatening the habitat of a rare hummingbird called the Gorgeted Puffleg.
They want the government declare a natural reserve of 494,000 acres to preserve land in the area.
The Hummingbird Conservancy estimates that coca-growing and other agriculture destroys 1,235 acres of forests surrounding the Gorgeted Puffleg’s habitat each year.
Too bad we can’t figure out a way to preserve the humans as well.
Via / CNN
Underwear thief on the loose in Colombia
5:08 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Colombia|crime|Women · Comments Off
17 May 2007
It sounds like a bad script from a La risa en vacaciones movie, but it’s real: there is a ladrón de ropa interior — an underwear thief — at large on the streets of Pereira, Colombia.
Diana was assaulted on the streets of the Colombian city of Pereira 15 days ago. The thief stripped her of her watch and her wallet, but when he told her to take off her underwear, she feared the worst.However, the deliquent only took that garment and took off running. The victim felt deep relief, but the indignation came later.
“If they were fancy garments, okay. But to take panties that cost 2000 pesos (about one dollar) is ridiculous,” she said.
According to the BBC via 20 Minutos, investigators believe that the “asaltabragas” could be a few different underwear thieves who form part of a gang, as the victims descriptions of the perpetrator do not match.
Via / 20 Minutos
Congress reaches landmark immigration agreement
4:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration · 1 Comment
17 May 2007
It’s not amnesty, and it calls for further securing borders, but at least on the surface it seems that the agreement reached in Congress this morning on how to handle the immigration issue in this country has some points in favor of immigrants currently in the U.S. While President Bush immediately praised the proposed legislation, Senator Ted Kennedy simultaneously lauded it, saying the agreement would bring immigrants and their families “out of the shadows and into the sunshine of American life,” by providing them opportunity to immediately correct their status.
So what are the key points of the proposed immigration bill and what would change? Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:
A temporary worker program. A system would be created which would “give weight to immigrants’ education and to job skills deemed helpful to the economy in deciding whom to admit, using a point system to evaluate those qualifications. Family ties would remain an important factor,” according to the New York Times.
Wanna Coke in Cuba? No Problem !
10:36 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Money|Politics · 2 Comments
17 May 2007
Believe it or not, despite the U.S. Embargo against Cuba, you can drink a Coke while smoking a Marlboro, wearing your Jordache jeans and Nikes and I’m not talking a warm can you bought in a back alley on the black market. According to a recent report on MSNBC, U.S. companies are making money in Cuba and both governments are turning a blind eye.
Trade sanctions bar American tourists from visiting Cuba and allow exports only of U.S. food and farm products, medical supplies and some telecommunications equipment. But wholesalers and distributors in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Canada routinely sell some of America’s most recognizable brands to Cuban importers.
Hola!
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