latin american princesa {LAP}

via rumproast:

It was such a pleasure to watch this priest “bitch-slap” one of Bill O’Reilly’s idiots:

And if you are interested in learning more about MLK the man and his criticisms of this country’s policies (domestic and foreign) check out this podcast from The Brian Lehrer Show interviewing the Michael Eric Dyson, author of a new book April 4 1968.

This video introduces a tour arranged by Just Foreign Policy to counter the Bush administration’s calls for military confrontation with Iran. Please watch the video and check the site for dates when it will be near you!

We don’t need anymore war!! Peace and dialogue are the only way to ensure the survival and spread of democracy. And I don’t mean some Western definition of democracy but rather context-specific and self-defined.

This event has been launched and promoted through Facebook. If you read Spanish see the event’s site: Un MILLION de VOCES contra las FARC. Or read Plan Colombia’s commentary in English, which includes the translation of an article from Colombia’s El Tiempo about the importance of dialogue and minimizing highly-charged nationalistic ideology. The goal is peace, after all.

Mike Gravel was right when he exclaimed “his lips are moving, the President’s lying“. IPS interviewed Chuck Lewis from the Centre for Public Integrity on a report that documents the lies told by the administration to justify invading Iraq.

Eight key players in the George W. Bush administration, including the president himself, made at least 935 false statements in the run-up to and aftermath of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The analysis shows that Bush made the most false statements of all eight officials. His namesake, who couldn’t even lie about chopping a cherry tree down, must be rolling in his grave!! But who am I kidding? That’s just another lie in America’s history of lies.

I can’t say it better than Mr. Lewis:

What the world needs most, though, is real-time truth, not years later. Maybe, because of this debacle of the past five years, reporters and citizens will become more sceptical and discerning of politicians and those in power.

And while some may dismiss bloggers as being less credible and professional than journalists, journalism as an industry is in a crisis. Mr. Lewis describes the state of U.S. journalism like this:

Not good, emaciated economically, thousands of reporters and editors fired since 2000, still too easily misled, not sufficiently sceptical of officialdom, of government, of power.

In ‘Can Newspaper Journalism Survive Blogs, Fox News, and Karl Rove?‘ David Wessel addresses several of the problems newspapers are facing today, but is rather positive about the future of newspapers and journalism. He also reveals an important validation for blogs: keeping reporters honest.

It’s very hard for the press, if it ever wanted to, to conspire to keep secret the foibles of the president today because some blog will put it out and everybody will be talking about it, and we feel we’ll have to respond.

There are people out there challenging the lies we are told everyday. Dismissing us as not credible or as crazy liberals is just another lie, much like calling extreme environmental activists ‘terrorists’. I don’t see blogs as a replacement for journalism, but as serving a check and balance role and giving ordinary citizens a chance to have their say. Why should we wait for the elite? It’s our freedom too. In my view, the elite only enrich themselves and protect their own interests.

I think one of the most frustrating things for me while living in Europe was listening to people exclaim the greatness of Europe (rolling my eyes) and complain about the U.S. The ease with which many Europeans ignore their history of imperialism and complicity in the destruction of the third world is astounding to say the least. The ease with which they ignore the EU’s attempts to further strangle the third world is just another example of the Eurocentric arrogance of today’s neo-imperialism.

I love the way Tetteh Hormeku discusses the free trade negotiations in IPS: Q&A: “The EU Is a Bandit in Trade Negotiations”

IPS: The EU constantly points out that it is the largest aid donor in the world. So the picture you paint of the EU would come as a shock to Europeans who believe it is trying to help developing countries.

TH (holding a beer bottle): People who believe that, have too much faith in European institutions. The EU is a bandit in international negotiations. It is no different to the Americans. Or the only difference is that the Americans say ”I want your beer, baby, and if you do not give it to me, I’m gonna shoot you”. The Europeans say ”I want your beer because it is in your own interests to give it to me”.

Tja, blind faith, brainwashed Europeans (not just Americans are brainwashed): wouldn’t it be better to stop putting down the US and make yourself useful by doing something about your own governments’ attempts to continue raping the developing world? Put down your beer. Put down your wine. And take some action. Or maybe you are really busy trying to stop US imperialism so you can control it all to yourselves?

Ugh, I so can’t stand hypocrisy.

It’s celebrity activism week here in my blog. I’ve been on a short hiatus since Time Warner took a month to show up and install Internet at my new place. At one point I got Internet on my cell, which saved my sanity, but wasn’t really ideal for reading and writing.

So now I am catching up on news and happened to be skimming through NPR’s Popular Culture category. First, Garrett caught my eye and now Pitt. Two very different looks, but well they are both sexy.

Anyways, Pitt’s New Orleans project Making It Right is intriguing to say the least. As a designer the simple beauty of the homes pleases me immensely and the environmental aspects are icing on the cake.

I hope that Pitt and the project have the staying power to make this thing work. It’s a serious, long-term commitment. Budgeting and project management will have to be creative and flexible, but tight and determined.

I also hope that out of the tragedy of Katrina, the city’s most vulnerable residents, will actually benefit from this project. In other words, that it doesn’t turn into some sort of gentrification that forces the weakest and poorest out. Finally, I hope the homes are truly functional and comfortable for the people who have to live in them and this doesn’t turn into yet another planned community failure, like projects of the past (i.e. De Bijlmer, Brasilia, etc.).

Is Pitt’s team really talking to the residents? How much input will they have in the process?

When I was 14 I fell in love with Midnight Oil. Punk and politics, a combination I can’t resist. Like me beloved Beasties this band used their success to fuel their activism and let their activism fuel their music. Peter Garrett, former lead singer, has gone into politics.

From NPR:

Garrett is the environment, heritage and arts minister in Australia’s new government.

Good-bye John Howard. Who’s beds are burning now?

I just can’t wait to say “Good-bye GW and good riddance.”

Well, I survived a major gas leak in my new apartment!

I just received a reminder about an old cause. The American Anthropological Association sent an email calling for renewed support of a boycott of the Coca-Cola Company and all its products. This boycott was originally called by the Colombian union SINALTRAINAL.

The AAA boycott arose from concerns that the Coca-Cola Company has not done enough to protect workers and their families from intimidation and violence, has not respected workers’ internationally recognized right to organize unions, and has not disclosed information that independent sources can easily verify.

Consult the Coca-Cola brand list so you know what NOT to buy!! And spread the word about Killer Coke please.

I’ve been catching up on my race fix with the Addicted to Race podcast and in one episode Carmen was discussing Jena Six and the media with Baratunde. They talked about how the blogosphere, in this case the blackosphere or bloggers-of-colorsphere, kept the Jena story alive, beating out the mainstream media. Exposing these kinds of stories is important because many have the misguided idea that well “the blacks” got their civil rights so “what are they always complainin’ about?” Well civil rights (as well as equal rights for women) was the first step. There is so much to do still.

I’ve been away for a few years and things have changed. Blogs, activism, protests, people standing up for their rights and the things they believe in. This is what is different. And perhaps the increase is due to growing discomfort and disgust with the economy and Iraq, but it’s also about a change in power. Somehow these new connections and interactions in the virtual world signify a shift in power. Or is it just me? No, there is some serious empowerment going on.

But not just here. No, I’m not going to play that Amero-centric game. Let’s go to Myanmar. Photos, videos and news traveled through an international blogosphere and brought the historic protest to the world. Until the Burmese rulers shut down the Internet ostensibly to stop the outside world from witnessing the crackdown, but the real reason, I think, was to quelch the hope of its citizens. Isn’t that the “real” (I mean is real anyway) link? The Internet and mobile phones are links to hope, to our fellow human beings. Not virtual beings, but real flesh and blood humans with feelings, emotions and issues.

Pakistan is in lockdown now too. Why? Because another megalomaniac doesn’t want to give up power. And the idiots in Washington can’t even pretend to condemn the removal of freedom for our allies, the Pakistanis. What are we doing in Iraq? Freeing the Iraqis? Hmmm, but we don’t mind if the “Pakis” lose theirs in the meantime. There are still some other Bush family members who might want to start another war later. But I digress…. With TV shut down, Pakistanis turn to another external connection: the web!

Back in September I went to visit a good friend in Istanbul. Well to my disappointment I could not blog while there because wordpress had been blocked. Why? Because a certain man wanted to censor blogs that “defamed” him. The Internet, the web, and now bloggers are being subjected to more and more scrutiny and repression.

And while this news is disturbing and we should worry about it and most definitely fight against it…it heartens me to know that we are big enough to get the big guy’s attention. Remember a tiny virus can bring even the biggest man down.

Via Latina Viva:

Shakira does it again, as Colombia’s most beautiful ambassador, showing the world that Colombia is capable of producing incredible beauty and generosity. Marquez, Shakira and Juanes are just three Colombians that make me proud of my heritage, reminding me of the beauty that this world is capable of…and I don’t mean looks, but the beauty in art, music and literature.

Can you help them help the victims of natural disasters in Latin America? Visit Fundacion ALAS