Archive for the ‘World’ Category
Will Smith Gets Spanish
4:05 pm By Maegan La Mala · Bizarro|Celebrities|Entertainment|Movies|Spain|World · Comments Off
13 Jan 2009Actor Will Smith was in Spain and stopped by a ridiculous show called El Hormiguero to promote his new movie, which I have no idea what it’s called in English, but is apparently titled “7 Almas” in Spanish. In the video above you’ll see Smith follow the conversation of the host via simultaneous translation, answer a couple questions in Spanish, cry about the Obama victory, and sing a flamenco song en español. Too much weird content for me here folks! I have to admit I pretty much despise him in his natural state, but since he’s so good-natured in Spanish he seems almost…ALMOST palatable.
Via / TV y Espectaculos
Flood of Cuban “Grandchildren” into Spain
8:45 am By Maegan La Mala · Cuba|history|Immigration|Latin America|Spain|World · Comments Off
31 Dec 2008
Spain announced last week the opportunity for mass nationalization of the grandchildren of Spanish citizens who were forced to flee to Cuba during the Spanish Civil War, and the response from Cubans fitting this description has been overwhelming.
Cuban cardiologist Norberto Díaz Reyes will be a Spaniard in 15 days. And he hopes to be in the “madre patria” in less than 3 months. “I always wanted to return to my grandparents’ country. I would like to live and work in Spain for many years”, he says, with a smile wider than the Havana harbor. Norberto, 38, was the first person in his country to take advantage of the so-called “Grandchildren Law”, part of the “Historial Memory Law”, which, starting yesterday and lasting for two years, will let some 150,000 Cuban descendents of emigrants and exiles, obtain Spanish citizenship.
150,000 may not sound like a lot, but that’s only a fraction of what the Spanish government is expecting. In looking at data, it appears that there should be a lot more people on their way to the Spanish consulate in Havana: in just the first third of the last century, over one million Spaniards had emigrated to Cuba. Another piece of data is that in 1905 there were over 100,000 Spaniards from Galicia — just one region of Spain – living on the island. These numbers point to a possible avalanche of petitions for citizenship, and the Spanish consulate has hired an extra 35 people just to deal with all of them.
El País reports that some people waiting in line (for days, some for weeks and months)could care less about living in Spain; what they want is a European passport so they can get to Miami.
Similar lines are forming outside of consulates around Latin America, such as the one in Buenos Aires, where the Spanish government has hired 150 extra employees to handle the demand.
Via / El País
Explosives found in Paris Shopping Mall
12:59 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · france · Comments Off
16 Dec 2008
It looks as if this war against terrorism thing has far reaching implications for more countries than just the U.S. The latest news out of France is that an upper-class mall in Paris was the target of an organization that calls itself the Revolutionary Afghan Front:
Detectives were alerted to the package by a note sent to Agence France-Presse, police spokeswoman Celine Diguignard said by telephone. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the explosives couldn’t be set off as they didn’t have detonators. Sarkozy, speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, told reporters he was “vigilant” and wouldn’t compromise with terrorists.
Responsibility was claimed by a previously unknown group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front which sent the note to AFP. The group is demanding the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan before the end of February, according to a copy of the note obtained by Bloomberg.
“Pass this message to your president and tell him to withdraw his troops from our country, otherwise we will take direct action in your capitalist department stores, and this time without warning you first,” the group said in the note.
Although this organization is calling for a withdrawal of troops, the news on CNN this afternoon is that as of April of this year, Sarkozy was actually planning on increasing French troop presence. We’ll see if that actually pans out.
The Universal DEclaration of Human Rights
10 Dec 2008How many violations is the U.S. guilty of?
Make a list while reading the entire document after the jump.
Images of Human Rights Violations on the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
12:33 pm By Maegan La Mala · Justice|World · 2 Comments
10 Dec 2008Egyptian Cleric Compares Shakira to a Puta
8:15 pm By Maegan La Mala · Arts|Egypt|Music|Women · 1 Comment
24 Nov 2008
Seems like Shakira’s hips my not lie pero they still have given her quite a reputation, at least in the eyes of one Egyptian religious leader who said that she is quite the lady of the noche.
An Egyptian cleric assured that (Shakira) “could be a lovely person. Yet beauty is something relative that cannot be found in the butt or legs of a woman, but in her moral values”…
Khaled Al-Gindi said: “it’s like being a prostitute. In this country we respect moral values ahead of the values of a superficial appearance.”
Pero what if you’re hot and have good real moral values? Certainly Shakira has done her fair share of community work with her Pies Descalzos foundation and ALAS.
Via / The Latin Americanist
Haitian Immigrants Still Face Hardship in the D.R.
6:10 pm By Maegan La Mala · Dominicans|Haiti|Immigration|Latin America|World · Comments Off
11 Nov 2008
Nearly 3 years ago, I wrote about reports out of the Dominican Republic that Haitian workers and immigrants were being subjected to the most extreme forms of xenophobia and discrimination, and many were losing their lives. This post stirred up a lot of emotions, and it appears that now, 3 years later, things aren’t much better for Haitians in the D.R. The Inter Press Service reports on recent hate crimes and reprisals which are driving Haitians out of the Dominican Republic.
“A group of Dominicans armed with pistols, machetes and knives came to take revenge on us. I broke my leg trying to escape from my house, which was on fire. It’s not fair that all Haitians should have to pay for the crime of one,” Elena Piti, a Haitian mother of seven who lives in the Dominican Republic, told IPS.“I’m thinking of going back to Haiti, because I’m afraid that something might happen to me. Besides, I have nothing left here. I lost everything: my house, my money and my job,” said Franklin Jean, who IPS found hiding out in a precarious shelter in the surrounding fields.
The violence is reportedly a reprisal for a crime committed by a Haitian man against an elderly Dominican farmer. IPS reports that a mob burned down 25 houses in a Haitian settlement of El Cerro.
Prop 8 is Winning, Gay Couples Losing in California
4:59 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · California|GLBT|Politics|society|Spain|World · 11 Comments
5 Nov 2008
It’s 11 a.m. in Barcelona, and 2 a.m. in San Francisco, my home city. And after waking up to the news of the Obama win, celebrating it with people here, feeling overjoyed at the fact that 8 years of Republican reign is finally over and the impact that will have on the world, and that a person of color is in the White House…I got a sinking feeling. I climbed down off my cloud and back to reality to have a look at the voting returns on California’s Proposition 8.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Prop 8, it is a state ballot measure which would amend the California constitution to limit marriage to unions between a man and a woman, effectively making gay marriage illegal. You might remember that a few months back the California Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was unconstitutional. Marriages followed, among them that of TV star Ellen DeGeneres and her partner actress Portia De Rossi.
With 80% of precincts reporting, it looks like my fellow Californians have spoken, and their words are not what I expected. Prop 8 is winning by 4 percent, and the trend is likely to remain the same once all the votes are counted.
View from Abroad: Latin America’s Eyes on Election Results
4:53 am By Maegan La Mala · Argentina|Latin America|mexico|Peru|US Presidential Race 2008|World · 1 Comment
4 Nov 2008
Continued from a previous post.
No one feels the effects of what happens in the U.S. as much as Mexico. It’s as if the fault line we share were a conductor of not just seismic energy but also shared grief. And when things get bad in the U.S., they get worse in Mexico. Issues such as border control, the economy — which affects jobs done by Mexicans and subsequently remesas sent back home (one of Mexico’s top economic drivers) — and trade have Mexican analysts, politicians and journalists waiting with baited breath. The cover of today’s El Universal (Mexico City) newspaper could easily be mistaken for a U.S. newspaper. Under the masthead, prime page space is 100% occupied by poll information, predictions, photographs of the candidates.
And the ripple effect of the continues even further south. Buenos Aires’ Clarin proclaims, jubilantly, “Obama- McCain: an election that puts an end to the Bush era.” In the ranking of most popular news stories according to readers, a story about the death of Barack Obama’s grandmother is second only to news about soccer legend Diego Maradona.
And the same story in papers throughout the region and the world. Expectations are high in Latin America, perhaps as high as they are in the U.S., and the disappointment of 4 more years of failed Bush policy will be the same should McCain surprise us all with a victory tonight.
If you know a shaman, give him a call.
View from Abroad: The World Waits, Is Hopeful for U.S. Elections
4:51 am By Maegan La Mala · Media|Spain|US Presidential Race 2008|World · Comments Off
4 Nov 2008
As I sit in front of a TV in a major European city with a ton of problems of its own, the only thing that seems to be on anyone’s mind here in Barcelona — or in Spain — is what will happen today in the United States. Every network has sent not just their Washington or New York correspondents to cover the lead-up to the elections and their subsequent unfolding, but also their most prized journalists, who are Washington, Chicago and other locales. The familiar faces of the star anchors on the evening news are missing from the newsdesk, and they speak to us from a backdrop of American flags or images of the Capitol. Clearly this isn’t just any election.
9 hours ahead of those in my home state of California, my stomach is already churning with nervousness as my friends sleep. Today is the day. On the street, newspaper headlines — and talks in smoky cafés — predict a victory for Obama. In this fiercely liberal and progressive city, where I’ve encountered my fair share of skepticism (ahem, that’s a euphemism) towards Americans, I am finding that most people are convinced that we won’t make the same mistake again. It almost feels like if the U.S. elects Obama, Europeans will almost be capable of forgiving us for the last two failures of the American electorate. On the flip side, should McCain emerge as the new leader of the world’s most powerful country, there will be more than a lack of forgiveness — a resounding “you got what you deserved.”
Hola!
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