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Surreal Sports News: U.S. Soccer Crushes Spain, the World’s Greatest Team

5:14 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Bizarro| Spain| Sports| Twitter · 4 Comments

24 Jun 2009

I’m not a huge sports fan, but I can get into futbol. One thing I always get from my soccer fan friends from Latin America and Spain is what a joke the U.S. team is. But what you expect from a country who thinks soccer is for sissies and only knows David Beckham for his modeling gigs. Sheesh.

So what was my surprise when I saw that the number one trending topic on Twitter was the word “Spain” and found that the world was tweeting this astonishing outcome in the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals today: the U.S. mopped up the floor with Spain in a 2-0 win. For those of you who don’t know, Spain is the number one team in the world, and boasts some of the sport’s most talented athletes.

Spain went into this game with the confidence of the jock who always clobbers the wimpy kid and got clobbered themselves. But this isn’t just shocking to me; this is world soccer history: the U.S. today became the first team to beat Spain since 2006 and some experts are calling the victory the best performance since they defeated England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

Might this help get some momentum moving in making soccer a more popular sport in the U.S.? I doubt it. I mean, how many of you had ever heard of the Confederations Cup before this? How many even care to know what it is? Yeah, I thought so. But it would be nice though!

In the end, Spain loses more than just a game (and their chance at the finals for this tournament): they lose face. As you might expect, Spain is devastated and fans are blaming the loss on the cockiness and overconfidence of their (nearly) invincible team.

Via / Twitter

Hugo Chavez Says “Drink Your Juice, Support Iran”

22 Jun 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez continues his quest to drive the population towards consumption of local goods and, like a good marketer, he’s telling his people to set down their Coca Cola and pick up a new grape juice product called Juvita. On Chavez’s weekly TV show this past weekend, the message rang like a late-night informercial: Juvita means eternal youth, Coke means evil. From Reuters TV transcripts:

“It is a soft drink that is healthy, nutritious, here it is, its called Juvita. To maintain eternal youth, Juvita. Drink Juvita. Be young eternally instead of drinking that soft drink that, I don’t know, coca, I don’t know, cola, I don’t know what. Drink Juvita. Let’s taste it to see, to stay young eternally. You fathers and the mothers, encourage all parents to drink Juvita.” CHAVEZ BEGINS TO DRINK FROM BOTTLE OF JUVITA SOFT DRINK, SAYING: “Let’s see. Ah, eternal youth. Drink Juvita. How tasty. Did you all try?”

Getting Latin Americans to put down Coca-Cola is a mission impossible. Kind of like getting people in América Latina to give up corn-based products. Not gonna happen. Read more…

Lessons in Swine Flu: How NOT to Wear a Facemask

11 Jun 2009

While most of the world media seems to be over its love affair with swine flu, in the world of viral video (no pun intended) it appears to still be thriving. Take this video from Colombia (where new cases of the flu are still appearing, including a death yesterday) that’s making its away around the Latin American web:

Not very effective.

This poor guy has since become a laughing stock. But to me what is really “interesting” is how after he puts the mask on, the journalist says “well, that’s one way”!

Via / CityTv.com.co

Fuerte Pushback Against Sotomayor Hate

7 Jun 2009

Don’t let the last post fool you. The pushback against the anti-Sotomayor messages and anti-Latino messages in general are coming strong from organizations in the form of websites, videos and kick ass images.

Take for example the art coming from Presente.org, seen here. Presente! also has a petition at their site urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to Confirm Judge Sotomayor.

Speaking of petitions, The National Council of la Raza, has set up a site along with a petition directed at Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, House Minority Leader John Boehner, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to stop the racist/sexist speech against Sotomayor and Latinos overall.

Does Venezuela Want to Ban the Internet?

6:56 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Internet| Venezuela · Comments Off

26 May 2009

chavez-conf-bests-04 So is access to the internet a right or a luxury? Decree No. 6649 coming out of Venezuela seems to side with it as luxury.

The decree seeks to eliminate “luxuries” or “superfluous expenses” among the public expenditure, among which includes the Internet.

This seems to go against an earlier decree No. 825 from 2000 that said that internet access and use were a priority.

A campaign, Internet Prioritaria, has launched in response to the latest decree, with a goal of keeping the internet as a government priority.

The Digital Divide Continues

9:49 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Internet| race · 3 Comments

25 May 2009

blogging The term digital divide traditionally is used to talk about the haves versus the have nots when it comes to internet access. The digital divide has been analyzed from a race/ethnicity perspective and an age perspective. Pero the digital divide is more than just an access issue, it’s about keeping up with the leaps in technology. It’s not enough to have internet access, it has to be broadband access. It’s not enough to have a cell phone, it has to be a smart phone.

According to the Census Bureau, more than 40 percent of all homes are not connected to the Internet or use antiquated “dial-up” technology. Communities of color are disproportionately affected by the digital divide. According to a 2008 report by Free Press, a national media reform organization, only 40 percent of households of color subscribe to broadband, while 55 percent of white households are connected. The nation’s Latino population in particular fares among the worst, with only 35 percent having a broadband connection.

As high-speed Internet becomes increasingly expensive, middle- and low-income families are less able to afford it. According to the same Free Press report, only 35 percent of homes with less than $50,000 in annual income have broadband, while 76 percent of households earning more than $50,000 per year are connected in that manner. For many Latino communities living on the margins in Los Angeles, paying for pricey broadband service isn’t even a possibility.

Via / Colorlines

Felicidades to Mi Sanctuary Gente on Winning NAM Journalism Award

9:42 am By Maegan La Mala · Activism| Immigration| Internet| Media| media justice · 1 Comment

16 May 2009

sanctuaryeye1 Some of the most important work I have done in the past year has been working with other people on building movement through justice media. And while it is done out great love, not to become famous or even recognized as an “important voice” in a careerist sense, it’s nice to be recognized.

The Sanctuary (ProMigrant.Org) will be receiving an award that, in 2006, Hillary Rodham Clinton described as “the equivalent of the “Pulitzer Prize” for journalism (including New Media of course) in ethnic media!

Felicidades to the entire Sanctuary – Promigrant.org team y pa’lante siempre.

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