Archive for February, 2009
Obama: Turn in Your Golden Parachutes
4 Feb 2009I think Obama will win reelection just for this speech alone.
Woman finds mouse in food. Vomits.
4 Feb 2009Poor little mouse.
FARC Liberates One More Hostage
11:09 am By Maegan La Mala · Colombia|Justice|Latin America|Politics · Comments Off
4 Feb 2009Colombian rebel group FARC has liberated yet another hostage, just days after it freed 3 military men and one civilian in the Colombian jungle. Alan Jara, an ex-provincial governor who was abducted in 2001, was freed yesterday.
What is interesting to me is the calm with which Jara emerged from captivity after having been imprisoned for nearly 8 years, a sharp contrast with the faces of the first hostages released by FARC last year — among them Ingrid Betancourt. Jara looks great, and acted as if he’d just gone out for a walk.
Upon his return, Jara thanked Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and in a press conference had a poignant message to the Colombian government: “I believe that the FARC has made a gesture, and that gesture should be returned.” Jara is urging for dialogue to put an end to the violence.
Speaking of violence, while Jara was being released, the FARC was bombing a neighborhood in Cali, leaving 3 people dead and 30 injured. That is quite a gesture as well. Why would you release a hostage then set off a car bomb? It doesn’t make sense.
Via / Senator Piedad Córdoba’s website
Speaking of Super Bowl Ads
4 Feb 2009The following was apparently an ad that NBC refused to show during the Super Bowl. It is a commercial featuring an ultra sound of an unborn baby–which all wraps up into an image of Obama. The basic message being: if Obama’s mother had aborted him because it was going to be “hard” to raise him, the U.S. never would have achieved the historic election of a black man.”
Sweet.
Although I seriously doubt that the people who created this video meant the racial politics of it to exist much beyond “First African American president! Hooray!” it is still interesting to me to think about what racial message this clip is really sending.
A single white mother controlling whether or not the entire black community will be able to celebrate a historic moment?
Hmmm. What does that say about single black motherhood that it took a white woman to get us our first black president?
And what does it say about ‘fertility issues’ in general that even when we’re talking about African American children, it’s *white women* whose choices are put under the microscope and interrogated–more specifically, it’s white women whose choices are *valued* (obviously not respected, but very clearly valued)?
Shakira Opens Up School in Barranquilla
10:19 am By Maegan La Mala · Celebrities|Colombia|Latin America · Comments Off
4 Feb 2009
Shakira, la Colombian singing sensation and humanitarian, just added another another gold star to her already spotless reputation for being a great role model. In her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, Shaki has opened up a school which will take in 1,500 underpriveleged children, an initiative of her charitable organization, Fundación Pies Descalzos:
In an interview with Caracol Televisión, Shakira explained that ever since adolescence she wanted to find a way to help children who, in spite of a lack of economic resources, want to study. “I’ve been coming here to the La Playa neighborhood since I was 15. I came with the nuns and my classmates to teach children to read,” said the artist.
Shakira called the opening of the school — built with her own funds and donations from various U.S. and European businesses — “a dream come true”.
Via / El País
Obama, Obama, Obama….
3 Feb 2009So, Tom Daschle went and screwed it all up for the Obamanator. The thing I’m wondering–what’s gonna happen when *I* “forget” to pay over a hundred thousand dollars in taxes? Will I only have to not take the promotion I was shooting for–while my boss apologizes for me? Or do they have a special place in Guantanamo hell reserved just for me?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Although, I admit, it is a *shock* to see a politician take responsibility for their fuck ups (cough, cough, ALBERTO).
Alberto, Alberto, Alberto….
3 Feb 2009
So our good friend Alberto Gonzales is back out in the public eye, defending his (bull)shit and irritating the pimple on my ass. Campbell Brown was the latest to tell him to F**k off…I can’t wait until it’s my turn:
Alberto Gonzales: Well, I hope history will reflect the fact that during my tenure both at the White House and at the Department of Justice we did a tremendous job in protecting our country and also as attorney general we focused on protecting our kids from sexual predators, we focused on making our neighborhoods safe from guns and drugs. The level of prosecutions with respect to public corruption far exceeded what the previous administration did and so many people are focused on the little negatives that occurred.Campbell Brown: But …
Gonzales: As soon as mistakes were made. But a lot was accomplished.
Brown: These were not little negatives. And we can go through the list, but let’s talk about — let’s start by talking about how politicized the Justice Department became. An inspector general found that. There is nothing partisan about that. Your office fired nine U.S. attorneys for political reasons. There has been no disagreement about that. I mean, how could you let that happen?
Oregon and Chatham County , NC Make Pro-Immigrant Moves
2:00 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration|North Carolina|Oregon · 1 Comment
3 Feb 2009Not all cities and counties in the U.S. are putting anti-immigrant measures into effect. Chatham County NC, which towns include Pittsboro and Siler City, home to the majority of North Carolina’s poultry processors, passed a resolution indicating strong opposition to any of its law enforcement agencies contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (ICE)
The program in question is called the 287(g) program. It authorizes ICE and local law enforcement agencies to enter into an agreement to provide local law enforcement officers with training so they could function under the supervision of sworn ICE officers.
Under the program, every person charged with a crime, whether it’s for driving without a license or murder, is asked certain questions to determine if they are legally within the United States. If a person is determined to be an illegal alien, then the person would be held for deportation.
Meanwhile, in Oregon:
Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Ted E. Grove today issued a preliminary injunction that will prevent an anti-immigrant ballot measure from taking effect on February 2.The ACLU/NWJP challenge contends that Measure 1-590, which would fine employers for hiring or employing undocumented immigrants:
• Exceeds the powers of Columbia County as granted by the state of Oregon;
• Violates the Single Subject requirement of the Oregon Constitution; and
• Is preempted by existing state laws, as well as land-use statutes and regulations.Measure 5-190 relies on E-Verify, a federal database designed to check employees’ names against Social Security records. That database has proven to be very flawed and ineffective. One transposed digit or misspelled name could flag longtime citizens as “illegal.”
Last Friday a synagogue inside the Israeli Association of Venezuela, Caracas, was broken into and vandalized. The attack came just days before the 10th anniversary of President Hugo Chavez’s rise to power, which seems terribly convenient from multiple perspectives.
I am not saying the horrible attack was not real. It is an act that must be condemned especially if, as some sources have indicated, the house of worship was not only vandalized but also robbed of important documents that identify Jewish residents of Venezuela.
Pero the attack is being used by Chavez opposition and supporters and is spurring the creation of vast conspiracy theories of state sponsored hate in the South American country.
One Year Ago Today…
10:01 am By Maegan La Mala · Politics|US Presidential Race 2008 · 1 Comment
3 Feb 2009
…a lone Obama campaigner preached to the choir in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district. Nice to know his hard work paid off.
Obama seems to be holding steady a couple of weeks into his presidency…if you don’t count his silence on Gaza and his appointment of this person.
How are you feeling about the first couple weeks under Obama? Let us know in the comments.
Via / Me on Flickr
Hola!
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