Archive for January, 2009
Today Show Nixes Coulter Last Minute
12:48 pm By Maegan La Mala · Controversia|Media|Politics|TV · Comments Off
6 Jan 2009
Ann Coulter, after Condaleezza Rice and Michelle Malkin, comes in third place on my list of ladies I don’t love (I’m, of course, being classy in my classification). And according to Ann, someone at NBC’s Today Show feels the same way, as the Republican polemicist was bumped from today’s broadcast at the last minute. As would be expected, Coulter cried foul and blamed it all on — who else — the liberal media agenda:
I guess this ends the ‘they just want to get ratings’ argument about liberal media bias,” Coulter grouses on her website.Coulter was due to appear on the first and fourth hours of Today to promote her new book, Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America, and while the Drudge Report yesterday upped the conspiracy ante, breathlessly reporting that Coulter has been permanently banned from the show, NBC News says hooey.
NBC says that increased coverage of the situation in Gaza led to Coulter’s bump, to which Anita, in classic style, replied:
“I know the whole thing was a setup to block me from other TV shows,” she said. “I think if my book does well I can buy NBC.”
What a payasa!
Via / Yahoo! News
Why Obama Remains Silent
6 Jan 2009
Following up on Mala’s post about the relative silence from Obama about Gaza comes this article by the BBC News which explains possible reasons why Obama may be staying silent on this issue–at least for now:
Gaza is a political minefield for Mr Obama.
If he makes a statement that suggests he would pursue a different Middle East policy from that of the Bush team, it would pull the rug from under the current administration’s diplomatic efforts in the region.
It would also cost him Republican goodwill at home if he were to undermine President Bush in that way.
If he issues a statement which puts him in lock step with the Bush team’s approach, then he loses flexibility when the issue arrives in his in-tray in two weeks time.
Whatever he says now will be regarded as policy, but the political landscape in the Middle East could be quite different when he is sworn in.
I think the essay offers some really great reasoning–but I also think that it’s vitally important to question why so many people seem to think that there are no connections to be made between Gaza and Puerto Rico. Does taking different paths on the road of resistance make situation of colonialism less present? Does a colonial country “giving” your country to another country really make colonialism “ok”? In a more abstract sense–does Puerto Rico (or Mexico or any other (former) colonial outpost) really not suffer from the effects of colonialism today as we speak? Is there a reason why so many former colonial outposts in Latin America are so unconscionably poor, politically unstable, and chronically dealing with guerrilla warfare? Is it really because Latin@s (along with Gazans/Arabs apparently) are inherently violent and unable to civilized? Or are the effects of colonialism perhaps more devastating than we are willing to admit?
Israel’s Assault on the People of Gaza: Cluster Bombs, White Phosphorous, and Depleted Uranium
11:00 am By Maegan La Mala · Gaza|israel|Palestine · Comments Off
6 Jan 2009
Israel, with United States sponsorship is now using chemical weapons against the people of Gaza, including white phosphorous.
From Kabobfest:
What did Saddam Hussein use in his Halabja poison gas attack, along with other chemical weapons?White phosphorous.
The US used this very same chemical weapon in the attack on Falluja in 2004.
The Geneva Conventions make the use of white phosphorous as a chemical weapon illegal and when you read the effects of it, it’s easy to see why.
It ignites on contact with oxygen. Particles on a person can be temporarily extinguished with water, but as soon as they are dry they will recombust. Longer-term exposure causes poisoning, which leads to wounds of the mouth and eventual destruction of the whole jawbone.
Exposure to white phosphorus smoke in the air can also cause liver, kidney, heart, lung or bone damage and even death.
Israel insists that it is using white phosphorous as a smoke screen.
Navidad Isn’t Over : Hoy es Dia de Reyes
7:20 am By Maegan La Mala · Culture|New York City · Comments Off
6 Jan 2009
Despite growing up in the U.S., I was gifted with childhood Navidad seasons in the patria of Puerto Rico and that meant not just Santa Clos pero also the three kings! The tradition based on the Epiphany, when three kings following a star gave gifts to the baby Jesus. Claro que when children put grass and water out for the camels of the kings, they don’t want gold, frankincense, or Myrrh (or socks and panties as my abuela Lila always used to give us, although I will accept cute socks and panties now, go figure).
So Feliz de de Reyes. If you’re in NYC you should head up to el barrio to catch the Three Kings Parade sponsored by el Museo del barrio, featuring community members, artists and activists. Deatils for the parade can be found after the jump.
Music Monday
5 Jan 2009Because now that the kids are back in school and I can actually hear my own damn thoughts–now is the perfect time to not be able to get motivated to do anything right?
Thus, I curl up with a tragic Mexican song and go back to sleep.
Gaza Update From Al Jazeera
12:03 pm By la Macha · Palestine · 5 Comments
5 Jan 2009This is so awful, so disturbing. I am just sick watching it.
I got this video from Huffington Post, which did a really nice job of showing why independent media (or media that is not supported by mainstream corporations) is so vitally necessary.
I Am Sean Bell : A Film By Stacey Muhammad
11:27 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Movies|New York City|race · Comments Off
5 Jan 2009I remember being pregnant with my first child when Abner Louima was assaulted by the NYPD and feeling worried that I would have a boy, a boy in a city where brown boys grow up feeling that they can be shot at a moment’s notice. That bullet can come from generic street crime or from the police.
I gave birth to a girl but 12 years later the fears are the same.
I AM SEAN BELL, black boys speak from Stacey Muhammad on Vimeo.
Via / No Snow Here
Latin America Speaks Out For Gaza
9:27 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|Gaza|Latin America|Palestine · Comments Off
5 Jan 2009
People across Latin America are crying out against the Israeli attack on the people of Gaza.
In Oaxaca, Mexico, Mexican police arrested at least 20 people as they went to the U.S. Consulate to protest.
In the middle of the day, today, Saturday the 3rd of January, 2009, a massive detention took place of over 20 compañeros and compañeras who set out to peacefully protest in front of the U.S. Consulate in Oaxaca, repulsed by the genocide perpetuated by Israel against the Palestinian people.
From the information we have received, these detentions took place as the protestors headed toward the Consulate, located in Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in Oaxaca City. Without warning, the police forces, through unproportionable and unjustified force, launched an assault against them before the protest was even able to take place.
EZLN Celebrates 15 Year Anniversary, Criticizes Mexican Government
8:22 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism|history|mexico|society · Comments Off
5 Jan 2009
It’s hard to believe that 15 years have passed since we first heard about the Zapatista movement in Mexico, with its charismatic leader Subcomandante Marcos getting most of the international spotlight. To mark the anniversary of the EZLN, top Zapatista leaders gathered together with supporters in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, to celebrate and to speak about the current state of Mexican society. Marcos had a lot to say, particularly with regard to the government’s war on drugs:
Marcos couldn’t avoid addressing drug violence in his discussion of violence against social movements. He says Mexican President Felipe Calderon and the corporate media “use and abuse the word ‘violence’” for their own means. “They say they condemn violence, but in reality they condemn action.” Marcos accuses Calderon of using the drug war to pacify discontent with his government. “Mr. Calderon decided that, instead of bread and circuses, he would give the people blood.”Referencing the lack of confidence in Calderon’s government, which is ridden with corruption scandals and has failed to meet its own economic benchmarks, Marcos continued, “The professional politicians are the circus and bread is very expensive…. Perhaps…[Calderon's] goal is to distract people. The public is so busy with the drug war’s bloody failure, it could be that it doesn’t even notice Calderon’s failure in political economy.”
Alleged Police Brutality Case Rocks San Francisco Bay Area
7:27 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia|media justice|San Francisco · Comments Off
5 Jan 2009
As New Year’s Eve revellers crammed into the trains of BART — the San Francisco Bay Area’s local rail system — at around 2 a.m. on January 1st, little did they know they would witness one of their fellow passengers be shot down by the gun of a BART police officer and not make it home to his family that morning.
22 year-old Oscar Grant of Oakland was reportedly shot and killed by an unidentified BART officer, after officers broke up a fight on the train platform:
Video footage taken by passengers, first shown by KTVU television, shows officers forcing Grant to the ground and trying to hold him down. The officer who shot Grant appears to try to put cuffs on him before drawing his weapon and firing. In the video, Grant appears to struggle with the officers, though it is unclear exactly what he was doing.Burris said a single bullet went through Grant’s lower back, hit the ground and ricocheted through his upper body. Grant died at Highland Hospital in Oakland several hours later.
Among other things, BART police are looking into the possibility that the officer who shot Grant thought he was pulling the trigger of a Taser stun gun, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
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