NED’s Journalist in Haiti
Regine Alexandre, a freelance reporter working in Haiti who has written for the AP and New York Times, was recently outed as a consultant for the controversial National Endowment for Democracy. The AP terminated its […]
Year: 2006
No Justice in Peru
Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo has come under fire for backing the creation of what many perceive as a kangaroo court to "prosecute" military officials accused of human rights violations. Toledo recently backed the creation of a judicial […]
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Movement: Its Promise and Perils, Pt. I
Venezuela today, under its democratically elected President, Hugo Chavez Frias, is imbued with the spirit of Bolivarianism. It’s based on the vision of Simon Bolivar, the Caracas born 19th century general who defeated the Spanish, liberated half of South America, believed in redistributive social policies and a united South America—all things Chavez has adopted in his rhetoric and actions. The ultimate objective is to overcome what Bolivar perceptively characterized as the imperial curse "to plague Latin America with misery in the name of liberty."
Five Lessons Bush Learned from Argentina’s Dirty War and Five Lessons for the Rest of Us
It began as a far-reaching war against a vague enemy. Any questions about the war were considered unpatriotic and dissenters risked being violently repressed by the government. The government helped the economic elite profit at the expense of the poor. When the regime was losing its grip on power, it turned to a conventional military war that became a disaster. This synopsis describes the Dirty War of 1976-1983 in Argentina and the current US "War on Terror."
Gold Fever in Patagonia
2005 saw two trends in the mining industry: the spectacular rise in gold, silver and copper prices accompanied by a growing interest in the activities of the industry in Latin America. Investigative reports focusing on the "dirty deeds" of big global companies such as Placer Dome, Barrick, Newmont, and Anglo American appeared in major dailies such as the New York Times. I want to bring to your attention the activities of smaller gold mining companies in Latin America know as "juniors".