Thousands of Puerto Ricans rallied in the northwestern town of Lares on Sept. 23, the anniversary of the 1868 Grito de Lares (“Cry of Lares”), an uprising against Spanish rule. The events also marked the first anniversary of the death… Read morePuerto Rico: rallies honor Ojeda Rios
From our correspondent Jennifer Fasulo: Chavez’s Shameful Embrace of Iranian President Ahmadinejad: Show Solidarity with the Women and People of Iran, not their Oppressors! Hugo Chavez, one of the key important figures in the left populist movements spreading throughout Latin… Read moreFeminist dissent from Chavez embrace of Ahmadinejad
The Sept. 22 Daily News carries the front-page headline: “BIG APPLE TO BIG MOUTH: ZIP IT!” It gleefully quotes various New York politicians bashing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for calling Bush a “devil,” including Sen. Chuck Schumer (“despicable and disgusting”),… Read moreUS politicians bash Chavez …but that doesn’t mean he isn’t really getting a little wacky
Our one-time contributor Keith Harmon Snow has won an award from Project Censored for his article, co-written with David Barouski, “Behind the Numbers: Untold Suffering in the Congo” (ZNet, March 2006). Project Censored dubs the story “High-Tech Genocide in Congo,”… Read moreProject Censored v. WW4 Report: war of perceptions on African genocide
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 17, via Chiapas95: Labor turmoil following disaster draws in USW Accused by government of $55 million theft, leader of Mexican mine union flees to Canada with help of Pittsburgh-based labor giant The horrific Pasta de… Read moreUnited Steelworkers embroiled in Mexican labor showdown
From Indian Country Today, Sept. 19: NEW YORK – Tribal leaders and the Aymaran president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, held a historic meeting September 18 before Morales’ speech at the United Nations, where they discussed the dangers facing the natural… Read moreEvo Morales meets with Native American leaders
A little over a year ago, Mauritania’s long-ruling dictator Maoya Sidi Ahmed Ould Taya was overthrown in a coup d’etat led by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who promised to usher in democracy. This June, a popular referendum approved a… Read moreMauritania moves towards democracy …except for slaves
On Sept. 14, the House of Representatives voted 283-138 in favor of a bill calling for construction of 700 miles of double-layered fencing along several sections of the 2,000-mile US border with Mexico: around Tecate and Calexico, California; along most… Read moreHouse passes border fence bill
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans marked Independence Day on Sept. 16 by holding a massive meeting, which they called the “Democratic National Convention” (CND), in Mexico City’s main plaza, the Zocalo. The crowd voted up plans to carry on a… Read moreMexico: Democratic National Convention declares Lopez Obrador “legitimate president”
On Sept. 6, Chile’s Senate voted 20-13 with two abstentions against a bill introduced by Socialist senator Alejandro Navarro which would have granted conditional release to jailed Mapuche activists. In May, four Mapuche political prisoners ended a 70-day hunger strike… Read moreChile: Mapuche prisoners betrayed
Kyrgyzstan briefly surfaced in the headlines following the case of Air Force Major Jill Metzger of North Carolina, assigned to the US base at Manas, who managed to escape after being kidnapped Sept. 5. But the US media pays little… Read moreKyrgyzstan: Uzbek refugees charge forced repatriation
Freedom’s on the march in the USA’s closest South Asian ally. From the UK’s Independent, Sept. 12, via Common Dreams: In a setback for women’s rights in Pakistan, the ruling party in Islamabad has caved in to religious conservatives by… Read morePakistan: Musharraf caves in on rape law reform
