thenatureofmind

Sixty Languages at Risk of Extinction in Mexico—Can They Be Kept Alive?

Of the 143 native languages in Mexico, 60 are at risk of being silenced forever, linguists say.

One language, Ayapenaco, is spoken fluently by just two elderly men who aren't even on speaking terms. Another indigenous language, Kiliwa, is spoken by only 36 people.

While 60 of Mexico's native tongues are at risk, 21 are critically endangered, with only a few elderly speakers left, according to a statement released recently by Mexico's Centre of Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS).

Sixty Languages at Risk of Extinction in Mexico—Can They Be Kept Alive?.

Why Did the US Government and Big Oil Hate Chavez?

Chavez Democratized Venezuela Making it the Most Equal Country in Latin America

Seeking Instructions? 'No Surprise Venezuela Opposition Looks At US As Chavez Dies'

Throughout his presidency, Chavez was particularly hostile towards the United States, which he blamed for the failed 2002 coup against him. In December 2011, Chavez also speculated that the United States could be infecting the region's leaders with cancer. He objected to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said that he considered George W. Bush to be an "evil imperialist." He threatened to stop selling oil to the US in the event of another attempted coup, but also donated heating oil to help the victims of hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which destroyed fuel

Venezuela's Real Division Over Who Benefits from Oil Wealth

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Dies, New York Times Goes Crazy

Much maligned in the United States for making the international oil interests toe the line and give the bulk of the profits from Venezuelan oil to the poor people of Venezuela. The New York Times had this headline: "Chávez Dies, Leaving a Bitterly Divided Venezuela". I sometimes wish that the New York Times would give up their role as a mouthpiece for the United States industrial complex and get the story straight. Bitterly divided? Sure, the 1% who owned everything including all of the media outlets in Venezuela are bitter about the focus on bringing hope to the 99% who have nothing. Yes, the 1% are bitter. They had total control of the country until Mr. Chavez took over. Then, bit by bit the country shifted to one that controled it's own destiny and was able to use it's immense natural resources to bring education and hope to those who had been condemned by the 1% to lives of eternal poverty. 

It's hard to understand how the US which loves to portray itself as a defender of democracy, goes postal when a real popularly elected ruler does the right thing by his people. Economic justice is something that the United States cannot abide.

Long live Hugo Chavez. You and Simon Bolivar can now hang out together.

What really happened in Curuguaty?

What happened in Curuguaty? That’s the question that has been lingering in the minds of many Paraguayans after the controversial death of Vidal Vega, the peasant leader who was a key witness to the investigations of the Curuguaty massacre.

Vidal Vega, 48, leader of a landless peasant movement in Paraguay was shot four times on December 1 2012, by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a 38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report prepared at the police headquarters in the provincial capital of Curuguaty.

What really happened in Curuguaty?

Double defeat for the White House and the Pentagon in Latin America

In less than a week the foreign policy of the U.S. suffered two defeats on two closely related issues: the triumph of Hugo Chávez and the failure to impose the Pentagon’s objectives at the Tenth Conference of Ministers of Defense.

Just before voting began in Venezuela Oct. 7 before, Secretary Leon Panetta set off on his second tour of the region in less than five months. [16] He went armed with the “Defense Policy for the Western Hemisphere”, a document that outlines defense priorities as a continuation of the document released in January. In both documents, the objectives consist of “maintaining the U.S. as a world leader”.

Double defeat for the White House and the Pentagon

Mexico's drugs war: Lessons and challenges

"A perverse effect, however, of the strategy of arresting gang leaders and confronting the cartels has been the rise of mafias dedicated to extortion.

Some criminal cells, who belonged to now-defunct cartels, have recognised there is no space for them in the transnational drugs trade and have opted to focus on more local crimes.

Given the climate of conflict between cartels and the ineffectiveness of local authorities, people are more prepared to tolerate a gang that protects them in return for regular payments.

It could be that extortion already poses a greater public security problem in Mexico than drug-trafficking, at least from the viewpoint of Mexican citizens.

Although there are no reliable figures, statements from local people suggest that the "cobro de piso" (the protection payment) and reprisals against those who refuse to pay are systematic practices in various parts of the country."

Mexico's drugs war: Lessons and challenges