Aug. 25, 2007

That fateful summer, 8:15. The roar of a B-29 breaks the morning calm. A parachute opens in the blue sky. Then suddenly, a flash, an enormous blast — silence — hell on Earth.

The market is up! The market is down! The speculators are losing money! Government better do something quick! Interestingly, among the loudest voices calling for the Federal Reserve to take quick action were the same voices who call for smaller government and for government to “get out of the way of business” — a little odd, don’t you think?

August 15 is important in Venezuela. It’s the day Simon Bolivar dedicated himself to Venezuelan independence in 1805, the day President Hugo Chavez won a presidential recall vote by a 59 percent majority in 2004, and the day this year Chavez submitted proposed constitutional changes to Venezuela’s National Assembly.

Torrential rains and heavy flooding have resulted in a national disaster for the North Korea, killing hundreds, destroying homes and crippling production. But the government says it is determined to quickly minimize the effects, with help from international aid institutions.

On arrival in Pisco, Aug. 16, to set up a command post, Peruvian President Alan Garcia announced, “No one is going to die of hunger, that I can guarantee.” The day before, Peru’s worst earthquake in 37 years had leveled 80 percent of Pisco’s houses.

The charity organization CARE has announced that after 2009 it will no longer accept U.S.-donated food aid to Africa. The announcement has caused a stir among food aid agencies and spotlighted a festering controversy, especially in recipient countries.

Myanmar: Red Cross condemns human rights abuses
Iraq: Unions to launch new federation
South Africa: Communist Party head lambastes AFRICOM
Chile: Striking copper miners gain victory
Sweden: Conference warns of world water crisis

La resistencia puertorriqueña en contra de la guerra estadounidense tiene en Irak se lleva a cabo dentro del marco de las luchas por la afirmación nacional y la justicia económica. La oposición al reclutamiento militar y el hostigamiento de activistas jóvenes por el FBI muestra que la juventud está al centro de estas luchas

Puertorriqueños en ambos Puerto Rico y Estados Unidos están protestando por el asesinato a sangre fría de un hombre no armado por un efectivo de la policía de Puerto Rico. El asesinato del sábado, 11 de agosto en el municipio oriental de Humacao fue captado en vídeo por un residente del vecindario.