People Before Profit blog

Brazil approves racial equality law, but “much yet to do”

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva signed the "Statute of Racial Equality." But he was the first to recognize that in achieving this legislative landmark "we didn't get everything that we wanted" and "there is much yet to do."

The statute, whose passage required a fight lasting ten years, recognizes the fact that Brazil is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic state in which Brazilians of African descent who have been the victim of four hundred years of slavery as well as pervasive historical current patterns of racial discrimination.

In a statement in support of the law, Senator Paulo Paim of President Lula's own Workers' Party said, "Last year, research institutes connected with the federal government indicated that Blacks are the poorest, the least educated, are those who when employed receive the lowest wages and who are the overwhelming majority of workers pushed into informal employment and unemployment...the proportion of Blacks below the poverty line is 50%, while among whites it is 25%..."

The senator went on to show that these differences show up in social indices such as life expectancy and other things.

To remedy this, the law creates a number of new measures:

A new social action agency called Sinapir (Portuguese anagram for National System for the Promotion of Racial Equality).
A requirement that schools at all levels include detailed instruction on the history and culture of the Africans in Africa and Brazil and their descendents, especially but not only in the teaching of history.
Prohibition of racial and ethnic discrimination including with regard to access to any public or private resource or benefit.
Protection of Afro-Brazilian religious beliefs, practices and religions (such as Candomble, Macumba, Umbanda and others), as a matter of freedom of religion.
Recognition of the descendents of escaped slave "quilombola" communities and financial help for them.
Recognition of Afro-Brazilian kick-boxing, called "capoeira" as an official sport worthy of receiving government support.

Lula however pitched into the right wing opposition for having gone to court to block sections of the law that would have established affirmative action quotas in jobs, education and television programming. Opposition to the law was based on the argument, which will be very recognizable to people in the United States, that there is no official racism in Brazil any more, so the law was not needed.

This is what Lula was referring to by "much yet to be done".

The total population of Brazil is about 192 million. Of these, the 2000 census identified about 6% as Black, but another 38% as "pardos" (mixed race), who would certainly be considered African Americans if they lived in the United States.

Slavery was abolished in Brazil only in 1888, after numerous slave rebellions, but economic, political, social and military elites connected to the slave system continued to have power in the society for a long time afterward, and continued to promote both legal and de-facto racial oppression.

Lula also signed legislation authorizing the creation of a "Federal University for Luso-Afro-Brazilian Integration" in the Eastern state of Ceará. This university, which is to be ready in 2011, is intended to bring together Brazilian students and faculty and those from African countries, especially those which were former Portuguese colonies -- Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Sao Tome and Principe.

The promotion and passage of these two laws comes has, like everything else, its national and international context.

The national context is the Brazilian national election scheduled for October 3. The presidential candidate of Lula's Workers' Party and its allies, former energy minister Dilma Rousseff, as well as the left generally, hope to mobilize poor Brazilians who are often left out of national electoral politics; the Racial Equality Statute is just one of numerous progressive social policy initiatives related to this aim.

But Brazil also has been reaching out to African countries to form new trading partnerships and diplomatic alliances; the recognition of the huge role that African people played, and keep on playing, in Brazilian history and society certainly can't harm these efforts.

Photo: (Agência Brasil/CC)

Bicyclist Contador crowned “King of Tour”

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:01:00 +0000

After 20 stages, 3 weeks and 2,200 miles, over cobblestones, up 6,000 foot mountains in the Alps and Pyrenees and speeding down at 100 kilometers an hour in relentless heat and baking sun; through rain, bad roads, crashes on oil slicks, injuries, illness and an ejection of one Mark Renshaw by the tough rules committee, 197 riders who began the world renown most physically challenging Tour de France cycling race were pared down to a very elite 170 men who reached Paris, July 25.

The last stage consisted of relatively flat roads ending with an insane sprint up the Champs- Elysees for the final chance to get the maximum points and win the sprinters' green jersey.

The green jersey continued to be a battle until this last sprint in Paris in which "Ale-Jet," Allessandro Petacchi collected the most points to capture the green jersey. However, in the nail biting last stage at breakneck speeds, the "Manx Missile," Mark Cavendish catapulted from nowhere to go over the finish line first, winning the stage and living up to his fame as the "fastest man in the world on a bike."

The Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey), the Golden Fleece of cycling, was won by Alberto Contador of Spain in what had been a daily duel with the "best young rider" from 2009, Andy Schleck of Luxemberg. He had no help from his brother Frank, who was injured in the earlier stages. Up the brutal Col du Tourmelat, Andy Schleck won the stage. These two top challengers for the yellow jersey equally challenged each other only eight seconds apart.

The next day in the time trial, Contador pulled ahead and won the tour by 39 seconds.

There have been few such closely matched opponents perhaps, since 1989 with the duel of American Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon.

Before the last stages, Anthony Charteau had clinched the red polka dot jersey for "King of the Mountains" and there was no question that Andy Schleck was again wearing the Maillot Blanc or white jersey of the best young rider for the 3rd time as he took 2nd place in this year's tour.

It was fun to spend three weeks in awe of these amazing riders with nicknames like "The Little Prince" (Damiano Cunego); "The Can, Can Man Fabian" (Fabian Cancellara), also called "Spartacus," multiple winner of the time trial; and the "Silent Assassin," Denis Menchov, there when you least expect, who won 3rd place on the podium in Paris.

The most famous rider during this last decade, Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor and only winner of seven tours de France came in 23rd in this year's tour. A large sign displayed by the French said "Hats Off to Lance!" He did not win as an individual this time but won as part of the 'best team,' "Radioshack" and stood proudly with his complete team of 9, all of whom had made it to Paris together. Only 8 of 22 teams made it to Paris intact.

To win at any point in the Tour de France, it is said you must have "fire in your belly!" I certainly agree!

Photo: Alberto Contador during the 2009 Tour de France. (hyku/cc)

Venezuela cuts ties with Colombia

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:46:00 +0000

Once again, tensions are rising between the right-wing, U.S.-allied government of Colombia and the left-wing government in neighboring Venezuela.

At a special meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) on July 23, Colombian representative Luis Alfonso Hoyos echoed outgoing President Alvaro Uribe's earlier accusation that Venezuela was harboring rebel guerrillas belonging to the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (National Liberation Army). Hoyos called for international verification of Uribe's claims to be accomplished within 30 days. The U. S. State Department concurred.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez immediately ordered Colombian diplomats to leave Caracas, announced a military alert along Venezuela's 1,400 mile border with Colombia, and warned of possible U.S. military intervention. "Some time ago, Colombia lost its sovereignty. [It was] delivered," he said, "to Yankee imperialism."

Chavez threatened to cut off oil to the United States, should U. S. hostilities mount.

Hoyos presented photos and video and satellite images purported to represent guerrilla encampments. The material, according to the Colombian government, came from seized computers belonging to Raul Reyes, the FARC leader killed in Colombia's U. S. assisted raid on a guerrilla campsite in Ecuador in 2008. The diplomat accused the Venezuelan government of complicity with drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal arms deals and political repression.

Of note is that Reyes' computers are alleged also to have demonstrated additional FARC networks in Brazil and Panama. However, many are dubious of the reliability of the "magic computer" which has been used to claim FARC connections with a large proportion of the Latin American left.

The Venezuelan government and a bevy of international supporters attribute the burgeoning crisis to ongoing provocations mounted against an objectionable socialist government. Already, Colombian paramilitaries have intruded into Venezuela, Colombia has supported Venezuelan separatists, U.S. drones have flown over Venezuela, and assassination schemes against government leaders have been traced to Colombia.

Last year Colombia handed over seven bases to the U. S. military to enhance, according to official documents, U. S. capabilities of monitoring unfriendly states. In response, the Chavez government restricted Venezuelan commercial dealings with Colombia.

Latin American nations have undertaken to resolve the crisis on their own. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, having expressed "surprise" at the Colombian action within days of Alvaro Uribe's departure as Colombian president, encouraged President Chavez to call for a meeting of UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) to deal with the dispute. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, the UNASUR president pro tem, obliged by calling for an "Extraordinary Summit" of UNASUR foreign ministers on July 30.

Crucially the United States looms large within the OAS, but is not one of UNASUR's 12 member states. According to Ecuador's Foreign minister Ricardo Patiño, the OAS lost credibility when General Secretary José Miguel Insulza staged the recent OAS meeting without consulting with individual national leaders beforehand.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro has toured six capital cities to confer with counterparts. President Lula da Silva announced plans to confer with Venezuelan and Colombian leaders on August 6 and 7, respectively. UNASUR executive secretary Nestor Kirchner, formerly president of Argentina, has likewise announced meetings in both capitals.

Venezuelan Communist Party leader Oscar Figuera called for an international campaign to denounce the "lies and verbal aggressions the Colombian government, acting on behalf of U.S. imperialism, has undertaken against the Bolivarian revolution." Jaime Caicedo, secretary general of the Colombian Communist Party, believes the fracas with Venezuela serves the Uribe regime as a distraction from scandals, most recently the common grave site found recently in Macarena containing thousands of bodies which many believe to be the victims of government repression.

In public, President Chavez cited a letter from a U.S. friend warning of U.S. plans to kill him and remove his government. Chavez sees the projected introduction of 7000 marines into Costa Rica as part of a U.S. offensive against Venezuela. And following the OAS meeting, Chavez called upon Colombia guerrillas to give up on armed insurgency, which he views as "the main excuse of the empire to penetrate Colombia deeply and from there attack Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Cuba." The insurgents are unlikely to assume state power, he suggested.

For Alfonso Velasquez of the Colombian CUT trade union confederation, President Uribe's version of national security is flawed: "Just last year, over 2,940 union and social leaders in Colombia were killed due to the inefficiency of the government in relation to security." And besides, according to rebelion.org writer Juan Alberto Sánchez Marín, Colombian borders are so porous that "guerrillas, paramilitaries, and common and not so common criminals" travel easily into Venezuela and four other countries.

Photo: According to BBC News, Colombians are forced to leave border towns or smuggle fuel and other items, shown here from Cucuta, Colombia, because of tensions caused by Colombia's decision to allow the United States to use seven of its military bases. (carlosfpardo/CC)

Iraqi union offices raided, solidarity campaign started

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:55:00 +0000

On Wednesday, July 21, Iraqi authorities pounced on offices of the country's electrical workers' union nationwide, closing the offices and seizing all equipment, assets and records. This draconian act was carried out on the order of the Ministry of Energy, evidently without any prior judicial determination.

A translated version of the order, provided by the British Trades Union Congress, under which this attack took place, the government's aim is to "prohibit all trade union activity in its ministries and departments, and to stop all official...interaction and communication with the trade unions that operate within the Ministry and its departments and sites. The ministry of electricity and in coordination with the police is ordered to close all trade union offices and bases and to take control of unions' assets, properties and documents and furniture and computers with proper listing of all the items seized. The concerned directorates of the ministry must take immediate legal action against those who resort to the use or threat of violence aimed to damage public properties...."

The order goes on to mandate a sifting through of union leaders so that the government can decide which of them will lose his or her union positions. The Terrorism Act cited was put in place in 2005 at the height of the U.S. occupation.

When the United States invaded Iraq, one thing it did not change was the anti-union laws that had been imposed by dictator Saddam Hussein.

The action has been protested by Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) of the United Kingdom.

To send messages of protest, go to LabourStart ActNow.

Photo: Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, center, president of the Electrical Utility Workers Union and the first woman to head a national union in Iraq, toured the United States in 200. She stands here with two members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Chicago. (Teresa Albano/PW)

Clinton issues vague pledge on Vietnam's Agent Orange legacy

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:17:00 +0000

(Morning Star) Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lectured her Vietnamese hosts on human rights and issued vaguely worded pledges to help the developing country to tackle the horrific legacy of Agent Orange.

During the Vietnam war, U.S. warplanes sprayed 12,000,000 gallons of the toxic chemical cocktail on the country to destroy forests in order to deprive resistance forces of cover and food.

After meeting her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Gia Khiem in Hanoi yesterday, Ms Clinton expressed concern over the alleged "arrest and conviction of people for peaceful dissent, attacks on religious groups and curbs on internet freedom."

She then pledged to increase U.S. co-operation with Vietnam "and make even greater progress" on the consequences of Agent Orange.

About three million people have suffered from cancers, birth defects and other ailments due to the effects of the herbicide.

After her talks with Mr Pham, Ms Clinton attended a luncheon hosted by the local American Chamber of Commerce.

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vietnamese Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong smile after signing a memorandum of understanding for the U.S.-Vietnam PEPFAR Partnership Framework at Ngoc Lam Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam, on July 22, 2010. (USAID photo/ Public Domain)

Same sex marriage gaining support in India

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:35:00 +0000

According to a recent poll, legalizing same sex marriage is gaining support in India one year after the Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexuality.

Before July 2009 homosexuality was illegal in India. That was overturned by the high court last year, which stated "the fundamental right to life and liberty and the right to equality as guaranteed by the Constitution of India."

Since then the country has seen an increase in health and social services for the LGBT community. Supporters say there has been a decrease in harassment, along with an opening of gay and lesbian establishments including pride parades in major cities.

SMS GupShup, known as the largest mobile social network in India conducted a Voice of India poll in June asking users, "Do you think same sex marriage should be legalized in India?"

Of the nearly 8,000 respondents, 31 percent said they support legalizing same sex marriage and 69 percent said they oppose it.

Conductors of the poll say the results highlight a major shift toward gay rights and same sex marriage.

Rachael Himsel with VSC Consulting and spokesperson for the poll said, "In India sexuality in general has always been a taboo topic in a very religious country."

She added, "But that has changed a lot and now there is an overall willingness to speak openly about sexuality in India."

When the courts decriminalized homosexuality it was a huge "about face," she said. She said the poll shows that "the people have a more liberal view about the issue than perhaps the government."

Most of the respondents are from urban areas including: 35 percent from Bangalore, 29 percent from Mumbai, 16 percent from Kolkata, 15 percent from Delhi and 3 percent from Chennai.

Supporters of gay rights in India say same sex relationships have been seen more in the arts and entertainment industry.

Vishal Nongbet, SMS GupShup senior director and head of marketing said Bollywood and American pop culture has had an impact in acceptance of the gay and lesbian community.

"We are seeing a growing number of films, TV shows, and music coming from India, the U.S., and around the world that show same sex couples," said Nongbet in a statement. "As more Indians are exposed to information and entertainment which show these relationships, one can see how acceptance grows."

Himsel notes the arts truly have an impact.

"I believe that when we see more and more LGBT relationships on television for example it puts a human face to the issue that people can relate to," she said. "And more Indian celebrities are embracing the equal rights of the LGBT community."

According to U.S. polls taken in 2009 an average of 44 percent of Americans support same sex marriage making the margin between Indian and U.S. support somewhat minimal at only a 13 percent difference.

SMS GupShup is the world's largest mobile social network and is similar to Twitter allowing users to communicate via text messaging to connect with family, friends and fans. It was launched in 2007 and has generated 26 million users in over 2 million communities and reaches 4 billion users worldwide.

Photo: AP

World Notes: Canada, Romania, Mozambique, India, Austria

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Canada: Cool reception to water access as human right

In late July the UN General Assembly will consider a Bolivian-sponsored resolution designating access to water and sanitation as a human right. In a letter to UN diplomats, Maude Barlow, founder of the Canadian-based Blue Planet Project, asserted that "lack of access to clean water is the greatest human rights violation in the world." (See www.blueplanetproject.net.) "Nearly 2 billion people live in water-stressed areas and 3 billion have no running water within a kilometer of their homes," she added. Barlow elsewhere condemned northern industrialized countries, Canada in particular, for opposing the resolution dear to developing nations. But, according to the Stockholm International Water Institute, sanitation problems pose more danger to the world's poor than reduced water access.

Romania: Opposition mounts to mining project

Greenpeace activists in early July blocked entry to the headquarters of the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation. They were protesting preparations for gold and silver mining operations in northwestern Romania that depend upon cyanide technology. Canada-based Gabriel Resources Ownership holds 80 percent ownership in the corporation with remaining shares controlled by the Romanian government, which anticipates at least $2 billion in income. Opinion surveys show that 80 percent of Romanians reject what would be Europe's largest gold mine. The opposition campaign has become "the strongest civic movement in contemporary Romania," according to Inter Press Service. Citing increased employment opportunities, the European Commission refused to implement condemnation of the mining project last May by the European Parliament.

Mozambique: Biofuel production exacts human toll

At a summit meeting in Brasilia on July 14, European Union and Brazilian leaders agreed to expand biofuel production in Mozambique. Anabela Lemos of Friends of the Earth Mozambique responded: "The expansion of biofuels in our country is transforming natural forest and vegetation into fuel crops, taking away fertile farmland from communities growing food." (See www.foeeurope.org.) Rural poverty there exceeds 64 percent, malnutrition approaches 40 percent, and foreign corporations have targeted 12 million acres of land for biofuel production. In a recent comprehensive report, Friends of the Earth warned that conversion of land to industrialized jatropha production threatens food sovereignty and livelihoods. Jatropha plant oil used for diesel fuel satisfies anticipated EU requirements that vehicle fuels be made from 20 percent renewable sources.

India: Massive poverty highlights contrasts

The Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative has devised a new way of looking at poverty to be incorporated into the next UN Human Development Report, one that looks at broader measures of deprivation than income data alone. An OPHDI study released July 20 utilizing its "Multidimensional Poverty Index" showed that while 26 of the poorest African nations claim 410 million poor people, eight of the poorer Indian states are home to 421 million of the poor. Three years ago, 46 percent of Indians were malnourished. Commenting on the report, the Hindu newspaper highlighted "another India," one out of step with the newly refurbished Delhi airport, the launching recently of five satellites, and this year's 8.5 percent GDP rise.

Austria: Good news, and bad, on fight against HIV/AIDS

With one million HIV-infected people beginning treatment last year, the worldwide total of those receiving anti-HIV medications rose to a record high 5.2 million patients. The World Health Organization released the data this month at the 18th International Aids Conference in Vienna. Encouragement was tempered, however, by the UNAIDS program reporting that donor nations' financial support for HIV treatment and prevention had fallen off after eight years of increasing monetary contributions. Waning support jeopardizes prevention and early treatment regimens essential to victims' survival, according to the UN News Center. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé indicated 10 million infected people lack treatment and that the campaigns to reach the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals and to combat HIV infection are linked.

Photo: A demonstration in Vienna, July 20, demands more support for AIDS victims. (AP/Ronald Zak)

Mexican electrical workers continue hunger strike

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:38:00 +0000

A long running hunger strike by laid-off electrical workers in Mexico City has reached a point of high drama. Meanwhile, the United States corporate controlled media, which have paid huge attention to Cuban hunger striker Guillermo Fariñas (who has now ended his strike), is not covering this dramatic story at all.

The strikers belong to the independent and left-led Mexican Electrical Workers Union (SME). This union has been a thorn in the side of various governments going back to the days of the Mexican Revolution. Not only has it consistently fought for and achieved higher than usual wages and benefits for its members, it has been a politically progressive force in opposition to the neo-liberal policies of "free" trade, privatization of public resources, austerity and repression. It has been at the center of a major coalition of workers, farmers and others calling for the renegotiation of NAFTA.

This got to be too much for Mexico's right-wing president, Felipe Calderon, and his National Action Party. So on October 14 of last year, federal agents forcefully took over the facilities of the government owned Central Light and Power Company (Luz y Fuerza del Centro), which provided electrical service for Mexico City and a wide swathe of the central part of the country and for whose workers SME was the collective bargaining representative. The action led to the immediate laying off of 44,000 active electrical workers. The government then announced that another state owned company, the CFE, Federal Electricity Commission, whose union has a reputation for submissiveness and corruption, would take over all Central Light and Power's functions. The government tried, but failed, to order the SME to be dissolved. However, efforts by SME and its political allies to get the courts to declare illegal the dissolution of Central Light and Power also failed. The SME and its allies accuse the government of trying to break their union so as to clear the way for eventual privatization of electrical services.

Since the takeover of the company, there has been a psychological and media war against the union. The right wing has accused the union of destroying Central Light and Power by demanding excessive wages. The union has responded with information showing that the company had been systematically starved of resources because a large number of private and public institutions were contriving to get electrical service at practically no cost.

But the union has now given up the effort to restore Central Light and Power to life, and is using political pressure to get the government to hire the laid-off Central Light and Power SME workers to work at CFE. Mexican labor law states that in a case like this, the workers in the dissolved entity have a right to employment from a "substitute employer", i.e. CFE. Also, frequent blackouts since the government takeover lend credibility to the union's claim that more workers need to be on the job.

The union's campaign has involved many marches and protests, but also a hunger strike which now involves 14 union members. Two of the strikers have been refusing food for so long that their lives are now seriously endangered: Cayetano Cabrera, Esteva, who has been fasting for 88 days, and Miguel Angel Ibarra, who is right behind him with an 84 day fast. Both, who are being attended by medical personnel on a round the clock basis, can hardly move or speak, but hold firm to their demands. On Monday July 19, Cabrera demanded that President Calderon and Interior Secretary Jose Francisco Blake meet with them face to face.

The publicity and pressure generated by the hunger strike has been enough to get the Interior Department to meet with SME leader Martin Esparza to discuss solutions, but as of Wednesday the government had not agreed to the hiring of the SME members by CFE. The Permanent Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Mexican Congress has announced that it is going to form a multi-party task force to try to end the dispute.

The high drama of the SME hunger strike is not being covered at all in U.S. corporate media, even though the number of strikers is greater and they have been on strike longer than the Cuban, Fariñas. We should ask ourselves why. Could it be that while Fariñas was a right-wing protester against a left-wing government, the Mexican hunger strikers are left-wing protesters against a right-wing government?

What’s at stake in Brazil’s election

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Brazil holds national elections on October 3. This nation of over 190,000,000 people, the fifth most populous in the world and a prosperous and growing economic and diplomatic heavyweight, will elect a new president, to replace current President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva who is constitutionally forbidden from succeeding himself, all 513 members of the lower house of Congress plus two thirds of the 81 senators.

The corporate controlled media in the United States and worldwide are promoting the idea that this is a ho-hum affair, because the differences between the major candidates are "small" except in the area of foreign policy. As the campaign, which started at the beginning of July, heats up, we see that in fact the differences are not small at all. And in foreign policy, at stake is whether Brazil will continue on a progressive and independent course, or whether it will be brought back in line with U.S. desires.

In the presidential contest, the candidate of Lula's Workers' Party (PT) is former Energy Minister and presidential chief of staff Dilma Rousseff. Daughter of an émigré Bulgarian communist, Rousseff was active in left-wing guerilla organizations fighting against the U.S. supported military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from the 1964 coup d'etat until 1985. While working underground, Rousseff was captured by agents of the dictatorship, imprisoned and tortured. After her release and the end of the dictatorship, Rousseff worked for political change in Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, until becoming part of Lula's national administration. Besides Lula's Workers' Party, Rousseff's candidacy is being supported by the Socialist Party, the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) and others.

Though Brazil has dozens of political parties and several are running presidential candidates, Rousseff is challenged most strongly by Sao Paulo State Governor Jose Serra of the Social Democratic Party of Brazil - a party that is actually center-right. Although Serra also had opposed the dictatorship as a student leader and had to go into exile, developments during the election suggest a move to the right. This week, Serra's vice presidential running mate, Indio da Costa, shocked many by off-handedly claiming, without citing any evidence, that Lula's and Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT) was "linked to the FARC", the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an assertion which Serra later endorsed. Currently in Latin America, right-wing regimes and politicians make a regular practice of claiming that their adversaries are "linked to the FARC"; this is the current form which red-baiting takes regionally. That da Costa and Serra would resort to such tactics is seen as a bad omen for how they would rule. On Monday, the Workers' Party initiated legal action for libel and election offenses against da Costa and his party.

In fact, Lula's domestic policies, while progressive in some ways, are hardly revolutionary and in fact are sharply criticized by some on the left, not all of which supports Rousseff's candidacy. In foreign policy, however, Brazil, under the leadership of Lula and Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, has played a bold role that has been applauded by left-wing governments such as those of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Brazil was and is firm in opposition to the June 2009 coup d'etat in Honduras and permitted overthrown president Manuel Zelaya to remain for a considerable time in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Brazil also annoyed the United States by joining with Turkey in trying to come up with a peaceful solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear policy. Brazil's size and wealth are an important factor in efforts by the Latin American left to move the region away from U.S. hegemony. Should Serra be elected, it seems very probable that he would move Brazil away from this independent foreign policy - not a "small" change indeed.

Currently Rousseff and Serra are running practically neck and neck. But since the brief election campaign has just begun, Rousseff's supporters are hoping that as the extremely popular President Lula begins to make his views known, millions of poor Brazilians will begin to move into the column of Rousseff, who is not very well known to them at present.

A complicating factor is that Lula's former environmental minister, Marina Silva, who had resigned because she thought that Lula and Rousseff's policies were too heavily "developmentalist" and did not stress sustainability and the environment enough, is running as the Green Party's candidate and pulling about 15% support.

The left is also hoping to make gains in the Congressional election so as to put an end to the situation in which the government has to reach agreements with parties well to the right of it, such as the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party of Senate President José Sarney, to get legislation done.

Corrected: It is da Costa (not da Silva!) and Serra whose tactics are seen as a bad omen. An earlier version confused the names.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/agecombahia/4357395115/sizes/o/

In landmark vote Argentina legalizes same-sex marriage

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:49:00 +0000

Making it the 10th country in the world, Argentina legislators backed by President Cristina Fernandez, voted 33-27 in the Senate with 3 abstentions in a landmark decision July 15 to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

After 15 hours of debate at the Buenos Aires Congress building and thousands of supporters both for and against outside, Argentina has become the first Latin American nation granting gays and lesbians all the legal rights, responsibilities and protections that marriage gives heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples will share equal rights when it comes to adoptions, social security and family issues.

"It's a positive step which defends the rights of minorities in Argentina," said President Fernandez, currently on a state visit to China to the media.

Leading up to the vote a fierce and concerted campaign by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical groups worked to stop and oppose the measure. The Catholic Church fought against the vote and unsuccessfully called for a national referendum on the issue, which drew support from opposing political parties. Clerics who supported the right to same-sex marriage were sanctioned by the church.

Argentina is a nation of 40 million and 90 percent describe themselves as Roman Catholic.

Buenos Aires archbishop and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio called the bill "a plan to destroy God's plan. In a recent statement he said, "This is no mere legislative bill, it is move by the father of lies to confuse and deceive the children of God."

Defending the bill President Fernandez said she is disappointed in the Catholic Church's crusade to block the measure.

"It's very worrisome to hear words like 'God's war' or 'the devil's project,' things that recall the times of the Inquisition," she said.

Speaking to the Associated Press Sen. Norma Morandini, member of Fernandez' party compared the discrimination gays face to the oppression imposed the nations past dictators.

"What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance," she said.

Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transsexuals told AP, "Nearly every political and social figure has spoken out in favor of marriage equality for everyone. And we hope that the Senate reflects this and that Argentina, from today forward, is a more just country for all families."

Argentina follows the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal and Iceland.

Same-sex civil unions have been legalized in Uruguay, Colombia and Buenos Aires, as well as the northern Mexico state of Coahuila, and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Buenos Aires was the first Latin American city to legalize civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in 2002.

Mexico City legalized gay marriage in 2009 but not the rest of the country. After hearing the news about Argentina Mexico City's tourism minister is offering a free honeymoon to the first gay couple to marry there under the new law. The couple would have all expenses paid in the Mexican capital and in the beach resort of Cancun. The offer was made as a recognition of tolerance and a way to promote gay tourism in Mexico, officials said.

The new Argentine law broadly declares, "marriage provides for the same requisites and effects independent of whether the contracting parties are of the same of different sex."

Rachid notes Argentina may be the first country in Latin America but that others are surely to fallow suit.

"A lot of countries will come after Argentina approving and recognizing the legal equality of all families," she said.

Photo: Natacha Pisarenko / AP

Basil Davidson, path-breaking historian of Africa, dies at 95

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:22:00 +0000

Basil Davidson, the radical journalist whose books introduced a mass audience to Africa's history, died on July 9 at the age of 95.

Davidson was a participant in, witness to, and chronicler of people's struggles against imperialism, fascism, and racism. He battled alongside partisans in Europe during World War II, traveled with guerrillas fighting for independence in Portuguese colonies, and campaigned against apartheid in South Africa. Davidson was a true scholar-activist who was as determined in the combat zone as he was behind a desk.

Born in Bristol, England, Davidson left school at 16 to pursue a career in journalism. He worked as a foreign correspondent for notable London publications such as the Economist, before joining Britain's anti-Nazi Special Operations Executive in the late 1930s. Multilingual, imposing, and daring, Davidson coordinated resistance activities in several countries. He parachuted into Yugoslavia, where he joined Tito's Communists in 1943-44, then led a band of partisans who liberated Genoa in neighboring Italy.

After the war, he returned to reporting, based in Paris and writing for leading British newspapers, and he was active in labor causes. In the 1950s he traveled to Africa, the continent to which he devoted his research skills, literary talents, and political militancy for the remainder of his life.

Inspired by the anti-colonial movement sweeping Africa and committed to the Pan-Africanist program of Africa's new leaders, Davidson immersed himself in writing about Africa's present and past. His early, now classic, studies of Africa were published at a time when much of the continent was under colonial occupation, Jim Crow racism prevailed in the American South, and most Western intellectuals dismissed African history as nonexistent.

Davidson highlighted the magnificence of Africa's distant past, from the ancient city of Meroe to the powerful empire of Mali, in award-winning books such as Lost Cities of Africa (1959). In his effort to counter Western ignorance and stereotypes about Africa, Davidson emphasized its role in world history, educating readers about the invention of iron-working in sub-Saharan Africa, for example. An Afrocentrist, he rejected colonialist scholarship which separated ancient Egypt from the rest of the continent, showing that Egypt was an African civilization. His books also explored the negative consequences of Africa's more recent engagement with Europe, most notably in The African Slave Trade (1961), one of the first comprehensive studies of the subject.

Davidson covered current events in Africa, too, especially the fight for self-determination. His articles and books written on the front lines of the anti-colonial struggle in Africa helped raise awareness around the world. He shaped British public opinion in favor of decolonization and his publications were devoured by civil rights activists and proponents of ethnic studies in the U.S.

His first African monograph, A Report on Southern Africa (1952), was an eyewitness account of the implementation of the newly enacted policies of racial segregation known as apartheid. His 1951 trip was arranged by the Garment Workers' Union of South Africa and during his visit he met with Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and other leaders of the African National Congress. Later he was deemed a "prohibited immigrant" by the apartheid government and denied entry to South Africa and other white-ruled colonies. Unbowed, he continued to speak out about the crimes of apartheid and he served as vice-president of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Britain from 1969 to1984.

Davidson celebrated the independence of Ghana in 1957 and the policies of its president, Kwame Nkrumah, who welcomed liberation fighters from throughout Africa to study and train in his country. In 1964, Davidson taught at the University of Ghana and later he published a biography of the Ghanaian leader entitled Black Star: A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah (1973).

Davidson was the first Western journalist to travel to the liberated zones of the Portuguese colonies of Guinea-Bissau and Angola. Amilcar Cabral, the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde who in 1967 invited him to the freed areas of Guinea-Bissau, wrote that Davidson "accepted every risk and fatigue that could bring him into personal touch with the way our people live now." Davidson later recounted his trip in the book No Fist is Big Enough to Hide the Sky (1981).

At the height of the armed struggle, Davidson walked 300 miles on foot to eastern Angola to visit the zone liberated by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola. His account of this epic journey, called In the Eye of the Storm: Angola's People, was published in 1972.

In more recent years, Davidson explored the problems of postcolonial Africa which he principally attributed to the imposition of Western institutions such as multiparty liberal democracy. His most important work on this topic was titled The Black Man's Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State (1993), in which he argued the solutions to Africa's troubles must come from Africans themselves rooted in a keen sense of their own history and cultures.

Although Davidson was never a member of any communist party, he often was labeled a "communist" and at times he was blacklisted like many leftists during the Cold War era. A decorated military veteran, his own country nevertheless vetoed his appointment as an editor at UNESCO, as punishment for his radical politics.

But, Davidson remained true to his principles. He once described his work as "obviously anti-imperialist." He championed Marxist organizations and leaders - including Nkrumah and Cabral - who fought against colonialism and apartheid. And he condemned the hypocrisy of Western liberals who turned a blind eye to the crimes of imperialism.

Davidson is remembered for the sacrifices he made and the role he played in liberating Africa. The MPLA, which now governs an independent Angola, issued a statement this week mourning his death. "At this moment of grief and sorrow," it reads, "the Politburo, on behalf of all party members, bends before the memory of so eminent personality and forwards to the bereaved family and the Mozambique-Angola Committee, of which he was a member, the deepest condolences."

At the presentation of an honorary degree from the University of Bristol in 1999, Davidson was recognized as "one of the great radical figures of the 20th century." The presentation continued, "He has pursued, throughout his life, a just cause, without fear for his own personal safety. He has provided an inspiration for millions, through his books and television work, and by his academic writings gave us African history, when many denied there could be any African history."

Davidson's impact is evident in the high school and university classrooms across Africa and beyond where his textbooks, such as West Africa before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850 (1998), as well as his acclaimed eight-part documentary series, Africa: A Voyage of Discovery (1984), are required learning materials.

Enter any bookstore or library with a section devoted to Africa, and you certainly will find several of Davidson's works on display. Pay homage to this great scholar-activist by reading one of those books, and follow his example by committing yourself to the struggle against imperialism in its many forms today.

Photo: http://africasacountry.com/2010/07/14/basil-davidson-r-i-p/

Cuba releases prisoners, will U.S. reciprocate?

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Last week, the Cuban government first announced and then began the process of releasing 52 individuals who had been in prison since a 2003 crackdown on people who received money from U.S. government and private funds aimed at destabilizing the 51-year-old socialist government. It now remains to be seen whether, or how, the United States might respond with a reciprocal gesture that could begin to thaw the long-frozen relations between the two governments.

The release of the prisoners was negotiated with the Roman Catholic Church and the Spanish government. The 52 individuals had been arrested and convicted when Cuban undercover agents presented evidence in court that those involved had received money and other material considerations to further their work against the socialist government. In the U.S. and international corporate media, they have been portrayed as "dissidents" whose only crime was to express disagreement with the Cuban government. The Cuban government, for its part, points out that merely dissenting does not get you hard time; these people violated a specific Cuban law which prohibits Cuban citizens from taking money from specific U.S. agencies whose purpose is openly stated to be the destabilization of Cuba.

The original number of people convicted in the case was 75, but since 2003 some have been released for health and other reasons. Of the group of 52 whose release was promised last week, some, but not all, are expected to emigrate to Spain and other countries. Last week, an initial group of seven arrived in Spain.

In response to the release announcement, Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas announced the end of a 134-day hunger strike which had become life-threatening.

Now Cuba-watchers of all political persuasions are waiting to see what the Obama administration will do. Since Obama was elected, Cuban President Raul Castro has been broadly hinting that his government would be willing to negotiate reciprocal exchanges of prisoners, meaning Cuban "dissidents" versus the Miami Five (also known internationally as the Cuban Five), as a first step in the direction of thawing U.S.-Cuban relations.

The initial response by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to characterize the release announcement as a positive step. However, in a talk to Jewish groups last week, Clinton added to the mix the case of Alan Gross, a U.S. citizen under arrest in Cuba for actions similar to those of the 2003 arrestees.

Gross was arrested as he was leaving Cuba in December 2009. Although he has not yet been formally charged, the offense of which the Cubans suspect him was that of acting as a courier for a U.S. State Department contractor, Development Alternatives Inc., bringing in sophisticated electronic equipment which the island's government suspects was designed to help internal destabilization efforts. The suspicions are partly grounded in the surreptitious way that Gross was working, but also in the fact that the money that was paying for his work appears to have come from funds allocated to support dissident groups in Cuba to destabilize the government.

Gross claims he was merely trying to help Jewish groups in Cuba with basic communications equipment, but there are problems with that story: He entered Cuba on a tourist visa without coordinating his visit with Cuban authorities, and some major Jewish leaders in Cuba say they have never heard of him. To do what the Cuban government accuses Gross of doing would be a violation of specific Cuban laws, and would entail a jail sentence of three to eight years. However, he has not yet been charged.

At any rate, Secretary of State Clinton called for Jewish organizations in the U.S. to pressure the Cuban government to release Gross.

The U.S. corporate-controlled media are, as one might expect, doing their best to muddle the situation. For example, a hunger striker who died in February of this year, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, is regularly portrayed as having been imprisoned for dissident activities, but in fact he was imprisoned for hitting a fellow citizen over the head with a machete and similar actions, and only became a "dissident" once in prison. On the other hand, hunger striker Fariñas was portrayed as a prisoner; in fact he is not in prison and has been carrying out his hunger strike at his home. Now Gross is being depicted as a victim of Cuban anti-Semitic persecution.

The media "forget to mention" that in the United States, anybody who distributed or accepted money or other material resources from the Cuban government without U.S. government permission would also be subjected to fines and possible jail terms.

Photo: Cuban prisoners who were released from jail in Cuba and flown to Spain, at a July 15 news conference in Madrid. (AP/Paul White)

Costa Ricans protest military pact with U.S

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:05:00 +0000

The political opposition in the Central American country of Costa Rica is raising questions about an announced agreement that would allow 7,000 U.S. troops to operate on Costa Rican soil, coordinated with 46 U.S. ships in territorial waters.

Costa Rica is often praised in corporate media for having abolished its armed forces in 1948 and turning the resources thus liberated to better use in maintaining a social safety net superior to that of nearby countries. The truth is a little more complicated.

During World War II, the then-existing international association of communist parties (known as the Comintern) had urged member parties in Latin America and elsewhere to enter into coalitions with all sorts of governments in power, as long as the latter would commit to supporting the worldwide effort against Nazi Germany. This led to a number of "strange bedfellows" situations. So, for example, pre-Castro Cuban communists worked in coalition with the later dictator Fulgencio Batista. The Communist Party in Costa Rica, then called the Popular Vanguard (Vanguardia Popular), cooperated with Costa Rican President Rafael Angel Calderon and his immediate successor, Teodoro Picado, both of the National Republican Party. Out of this alliance came legislation which greatly improved labor rights and social welfare for poor Costa Ricans.

However, the conservative opposition questioned the legitimacy of Picado's election in 1944, and organized a business shutdown, which in turn led to street disturbances. The 1948 presidential elections, in which ex president Calderon tried to get back into office, were also fraught with problems. When the Congress intervened and declared victory for Calderon, a businessman by the name of Jose "Pepe" Figueres launched an armed uprising and, with U.S. and Guatemalan support, overthrew Picado (who was himself supported by dictator Somoza of Nicaragua).

The abolition of the armed forces by Figueres in 1948 probably had something to do with the fact that there were many communists in the officer corps and the ranks (Figueres also banned the Popular Vanguard Party). Though Figueres, in his three terms as president of Costa Rica, continued progressive social reforms started under Calderon and was publicly critical of U.S. support for the more brutal dictatorships in Latin America, he also did not shrink from working with the CIA and taking the "Agency's" money when it suited him. So Costa Rica has developed into a relatively prosperous country with a better-than-average social safety net for the region, but with a foreign policy that has tended to be subordinate to U.S. interests.

Figueres' ideological successors, former President Oscar Arias and current President Laura Chinchilla, are mistrusted by most of the Latin American left. The role played by Arias in the aftermath of the June 28, 2009, coup which overthrew Honduran president Manuel Zelaya greatly heightened existing suspicions. Arias was seen as working in tandem with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deflate regional and international pressure on the coup regime so that Zelaya would not be returned to power. Chinchilla, from Figueres' and Arias' own National Liberation Party, was elected earlier this year, defeating both left and right-wing challengers. Though her party is a member of the Socialist International, her views on some issues, such as reproductive rights, are decidedly conservative.

So when Chinchilla's supporters in Congress approved the plan for 7,000 U.S. Marines and 46 warships to come into Costa Rican land, airspace and coastal waters on an anti-drug, anti-crime and "humanitarian" mission which, moreover, would be suddenly over on Dec. 31 of this year, alarm bells automatically started ringing, both within Costa Rica and regionally. The U.S. embassy in Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, downplayed the importance of the pact, pointing out that similar ones had been signed in past years, but failed to note that in the past there was no question of so many U.S. troops within a country that does not even have its own army. While it is indeed the case that geography condemns Costa Rica to be a preferred route for drug traffickers moving their wares from South America to the United States, opposition parties and leaders accused the government of compromising Costa Rica's national sovereignty. Luis Fishman, formerly the presidential candidate of the United Social Christian Party (PSUC) has filed a suit questioning the constitutionality of the presence of the U.S. forces, but it is not known whether or when the Costa Rican Supreme Court will rule on this.

The left-wing, socialist-oriented Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party raised the issue of possible threats to neighboring left and left-center governments such as the ones in Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Regionally, the issue of U.S. troops in Costa Rica now joins that of the seven U.S. bases in Colombia as a bone of contention between the United States on the one hand, and left and left-center governments on the other.

Photo: Costa Rica's President Laura Chinchilla, left, and Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom talk in June at the Central America Integration System, SICA, summit in Panama City. (AP/Arnulfo Franco)

World Cup fans cheer “Thank you Africa!”

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:54:00 +0000

SOWETO, South Africa -- South Africa will never be the same. That sums up the end of this World Cup 2010 Event. The big news was that it all ended so well, so successfully managed, so celebratory, so fun, so new, so different and so "unexpressionable." No words to describe the true atmosphere.

The other news of course was that Spain won the World Cup South Africa 2010, and because we knew this already, it was NOT the breaking news tonight. The Octopus Paul already told us so. So we were just looking for what else was new.

As we headed down to Soweto, Johannesburg South Africa for the last match, the final, at Soccer City between The Netherlands and Spain for the big end of tournament party everyone was already in a mood of celebration. The July 10th 2010 game between Germany and Uruguay had been magical. All the fans seemed to be supporting Germany. One African fan from Angola reminded me that it was because of the handball by Luis Suarez of Uruguay which had knocked out Ghana in the quarter finals. Every time Suarez touched the ball the Vuvuzelas stopped sounding and the booing started, it was like an orchestrated symphony. Germany won that game and made the fans happy.

The Spain vs. The Netherlands final however was a neutral for the fans. They were hoping for a fare play game and for the better team to win. The referee let them down. In the first six minutes he had issued five yellow cards and under dubious circumstances. Most fans thought the referee was a lot overwhelmed by the occasion and some thought he somehow, for some strange reason favored Spain. The red card that came for The Netherlands was inevitable. However the fans remained neutral only favoring fair play.

Thousands of fans in a stadium that was full at more than 98,000 people were so happy that the event on African soil had been a success. The best World Cup Event ever. The spectacular show that preceded the game was so awesome! The former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela showed up. The crowd went wild!

The Netherlands was the only team at the World Cup to have won every one of its games except the last one. That was game number 64 of the tournament.

No matter what happened on Sunday in Johannesburg, a brand-new World Cup champion was crowned in what was a second straight all-European championship final. Only seven teams have ever won the World Cup since its beginnings in 1930, but now it is eight.

In fact, Spain had never been in a World Cup final and was attempting to become one of the few reigning European champions to follow up with a world championship. The Netherlands, on the other hand, was well-known for disappointment at the finals, having lost twice to host nations, in 1974 in West Germany and then in 1978 at Argentina. Both teams were considered the best to never have won a Cup. Now Spain has got it.

Apart from the actual football game Africa has given new vocabulary to the world:

1. Jabulani: the ball meaning "celebrate."

2. Vuvuzela: The cheering horn. Traditionally made and inspired from the kudu animal horn. It was originally used to summon distant villagers to attend community gatherings.

3. AYOBA!! Meaning great! Or Enjoy! a slang term used by South Africans to express amazement.

4. Makarapa: The fancy very colourful hard hat worn by the fans.

5. Shibobo: Fancy style footwork of playing football.

6. Waka Waka: Fire-Fire or Hot-hot!

7. Idiski: Meaning football.

8. Tsamaya: meaning a breath-taking piece of skill.

9. "Ayeye" or "Ayoyoyo.": It was originally meant as an approval/appreciation of good dancing.

10. Leraparapa: A variation of vuvuzela design.

These are just a few of the many words the visiting fans will take away from Africa.

Football may often be called the universal language, but when you are in South Africa, there is a certain terminology you need to know to ensure an unforgettable experience in the Rainbow Nation. Actually many thousands of fans from all over the world are now saying that during this World Cup 2010; "Africa has given birth to a Rainbow World!"

Most of the South Africa's football lingo is borrowed from township slang or ikasi lingo as the locals fondly refer to it. This can be traced back to the 1950s when football was played predominantly in the townships in South Africa, although it has to be noted that the beautiful game also has roots throughout the rest of the nation.

South Africa is highly culturally diverse with no fewer than 11 official languages, though football fans across the country do pride themselves at discussing the sport in a way that transcends cultural boundaries. To get in the act yourself, just start referring to football as idiski and listening out for cries of ishibobo (nutmeg) and tsamaya (a breath-taking piece of skill). Thousands of visiting fans found themselves in the swing of things and feeling very much at home.

At the closing partying into the night on Sunday at Sandton City the DJ played the old song "Please don't go!" and there were screams of "Thank you Africa!" from the visiting fans. It was an emotional end to a month long indulgency into the world of football.

Photo: Octupus Paul made its debut at this World Cup by picking every winning team.

World Cup: a celebration of life

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:37:00 +0000

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Hugh Masekela the great South African trumpeter and band leader once noted that in 1999 while at the Oliver Tambo airport in Johannesburg he listened to the moans and whines of a white guy about the services of the Black government and interpreted them to be signs that the fellow suffered from PASS, the Post Apartheid Stress Syndrome. With the white government out of power and out of mind the fellow felt adrift in the new South Africa.

Make no mistake about it in hosting the 2010 World Cup the Black government of South Africa performed wonderfully and proved once and for all that apartheid is dead and truly buried. South Africa has made all Africans, and their descendants spread out in the diaspora throughout the world, proud of our culture, our intelligence, our organizational skills, our enthusiasm, and our fun loving wit.

Alas the rich full memories are flowing down upon me and bringing tears of joy into my eyes. What a wonderful time we had at the 2010 World Cup, it was unimaginably delightful; way beyond the most fantastic feast.

My opinion of my friends from the great host country, have risen to astronomical heights of esteem given the hospitality shown to me by them throughout the last month. They shall always hold a special place in my heart. I shall always remember them blowing vuvuzela horns on the front porch waking up the neighbors and dancing about the house in the evening celebrating the events unfolding on football fields throughout the land.

I shall always remember my girl, a golden woman of beauty, grace, and style, ecstatically dancing and running about hugging the fans near our seats and beyond after Donavan scored in the final minute of the game between the USA and Algeria which advanced us into the next round of the tournament. The vision of her having fun, shouting at the top of her lungs and smiling and chattering constantly as her team performed will be a dear memory forever.

To say that a World Cup match is entertaining is to underestimate the thrill because in victory it's beyond measure. Anyone that has lived near the ocean always recognizes the persistent sound of waves beating upon the shore. In turn perhaps the greatest gift this world cup has given to football is the vuvuzelas horns for they provide a cascading sound, a clarion call, a plea of the fans within the stands hoping to motivate their team on to greater heights of play. Save your voice and blow your vuvuzela horn to your hearts delight.

For those fans who came to the 2010 World Cup the memory of the great times we had shall stay with us forever. Indeed some of us shall go on to Brazil where the Samba boys will have some surprises in store for sure in 2014 but the 2010 World Cup shall always be special. Did we have fun? Yeah we did! More than the word. We partied, gained a lot of weight from the beer, the food, and the fine South African wine, and a lot of us are going to need vacations to recover from the good times.

After having gone through an extraordinary month in South Africa full of sensual pleasures I'm gonna be suffering from the post World Cup blues for awhile. By going to the 2010 games I gained a heightened sense of awareness of the importance of sports as an outlet for life's many travails. Every football game I view for a long, long time will be compared to those I saw live in South Africa during the last month.

Oh yeah the final game. Spain won the cup in a game full of surprises. I predicted it in this column. Just as important as the final match by the end of the 2010 World Cup games it was clear that South Africa and Africa itself had scored a tremendous victory. For more than a billion people watching the games throughout the world came to realize that in Africa there are places where Black people live rich full lives and have created a new sense of hope amidst the various trials and tribulations of our daily existence. South Africans and African people generally may not be perfect but we are out here struggling against all sorts of odds to make things right. With this World Cup we did not end poverty in Africa but we the African people showed the world that we are trying our best to fight against it and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

In closing I note that it's great to be alive, and have shared our experience of these moments of joy with people from throughout the earth at the 2010 World Cup games, and with you the readers of Mundo Popular and People's World.

Viva Africa, Viva Humanity, Viva the World Cup, Viva la Vida

Photo: Axel Bührmann/CC

UN lets all sides claim victory on Korea crisis

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:02:00 +0000

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council issued a statement July 9 allowing all sides in the latest Korea controversy to claim a victory. The statement reflected weeks of intense diplomatic wrangling, especially between the two Koreas, the U.S. and China, over the March 26 sinking of the South Korean military ship Cheonan. Nonetheless, it seems to have helped to diffuse some of the tension on the Korean peninsula.

The Security Council said in the statement that it "deplores" the attack on the ship and also "deplores the loss of life and injuries and expresses its deep sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and to the people and government of" South Korea.

As for what should be done to the perpetrators of the sinking, it said "appropriate and peaceful measures" should be taken. But the statement clearly avoids any explicit blame. The council expressed "deep concern" regarding the results of the international investigation, led by South Korea, which found that the North was to blame for the sinking. But in the next paragraph, it also "takes note of the responses from other relevant parties, including from the DPRK, which has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident."

DPRK is short for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

For the statement to be approved, the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council - the U.S., the U.K., China, Russia and France - all had to sign off on it.

The U.S. and South Korea, as well as North Korea, have claimed a victory.

"The message to North Korean leadership is crystal clear," Susan Rice, President Obama's representative to the United Nations, told reporters after the UN meet. "The Security Council condemns and deplores this attack. It warns against any further attacks and insists on full adherence to the Korean armistice agreement."

She called for the North to respect the 1953 Korean armistice agreement, and added that all "outstanding issues" should be handled via peaceful diplomacy.

North Korean UN ambassador Sin Son Ho, who arrived 10 minutes or so after a press conference with representatives of the U.S., China and other Security Council members had ended, condemned the council for having "failed to bring the correct judgment or conclusion on the case." He also called for scrapping the armistice agreement and beginning direct peace talks.

Still, he said the lack of any direct accusation against North Korea in the statement was "our great diplomatic victory."

In reality, the most likely reason for the Security Council's vagueness was China's desire to see the issue settled quickly and without a direct condemnation of North Korea, which would likely have raised tensions in the region, possibly to the point of military provocation.

"We hope that relevant parties will continue to exercise calmness and restraint and take the opportunity to turn over the page of the Cheonan incident as soon as possible," Qin Gang, the spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said in Beijing. "We call for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks and joint efforts to maintain the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula."

North Korea has since sent contradictory signals. It proposed a return to talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula and, once again, called for negotiations for a peace treaty to replace the armistice that halted the Korean War. But, earlier Tuesday, the North, citing "administrative reasons," postponed scheduled talks with the U.S.-led UN Military Command, which oversees the armistice.

And though stating that he wants a peaceful resolution, a spokesperson for the North's foreign ministry said that, if "hostile forces" make any provocations or sanctions against his country, "they will neither be able to escape the DPRK's strong physical retaliation nor will be able to evade the responsibility for the resultant escalation of the conflict."

Nonetheless, many analysts see this as a beginning of a return to the icy "normality" that has existed between the two Koreas for the past few years.

Photo: A visitor takes a picture near the wreckage of the Cheonan at a South Korean Navy dock south of Seoul. (AP/Lee Jin-man)

Spain: new rulers of soccer world

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:23:00 +0000

History has been made as Spain won its first World Cup in "Soccer City" Johannesburg defeating Netherlands 1-0.

Being the underdogs, Spain still found a way to get the job done. They faced many struggles throughout the tournament, but overcame them and now are the World Cup champs.

The Netherlands just couldn't obtain perfection. Throughout the tournament the Netherlands seemed to be unstoppable. The Netherlands had a perfect record and didn't receive one loss, but that changed as Spain handed the Dutch their third lost in finals history.

The game wasn't quite exciting as expected. It had a record final of 14 yellow cards due to the frustration of the Dutch. They made some controversial fouls and some feel that the referees were lenient towards the Dutch.

Spain developed a new motto thanks to the final, "Defense doesn't win championships, possession does." The Spaniards had possession of the ball 63 percent of the game. Both teams played very good defense and had many chances to score but just couldn't convert.

Just when the game seemed to be dull, out of nowhere comes Andres Iniesta with the game-winning goal in the last four minutes of overtime.

The win of the World Cup has really helped the country of Spain. It gives Spaniards a break from the problems they have from economic crisis and nationalist regions trying to separate from Spain.

"It's very important, it helps us forget a lot of things, like the economic crisis, for example, or people's domestic issues," said Javier Sanchez, a 42-year-old photographer from Madrid, reported CNN.

Love it or hate it Spain is the new World Cup Champions for the next four years. Congratulations to Spain and its team.

Photo: Spain's Andres Iniesta, left, and Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder vie for the ball during the World Cup final soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 11. (Ivan Sekretarev/AP)

2010 World Cup: The last game

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:50:00 +0000

[Editors' note: This "Notes from the Edge" was written before the final World Cup game, which Spain won. But the article contains so much interesting background information about the games and about South Africa that we think readers will want to read it nevertheless.

We want to thank Wayne Edge and Frank Mabonga for their insightful coverage during this month of exciting and historic 2010 World Cup. And special thanks to Rossana Cambron for coordinating it for mundopopular.org and peoplesworld.org.]

PRETORIA, South Africa -- Well, the final game of the 2010 Football World Cup shall be played on Sunday, July 11, between Spain and Holland. The nation and people of South Africa have been gracious hosts to more than 500,000 fans from throughout the world who came to view the games held in Africa for the first time.

As the teams take the field the Dutch shall be cheered on and encouraged to win the match by about 75,000 screaming and vuvuzela blowing fans, the majority of the 85,000 people in the stands, for at least one tribe of South Africans, the Afrikaners, who are their direct descendants.

In a way sitting amongst the Black South Africans rooting for the Dutch team is super strange because most Black South Africans remember a time when they did not cheer their white native citizens on anything, but giving up political power and leaving the country.

Curiously, now we find ourselves confronted with a paradox of immense proportions because there are very few South Africans, of any racial hew, that would argue that the Afrikaners do not belong in South Africa.

For the South African descendants of the Dutch, South Africa is the only home they have ever known, and even though they installed apartheid, when it fell they stayed on the land they have grown to love over 300 years as the nation made the transition to a democratic developmental state, warts and all.

Unlike the rest of the continent the South African liberation struggle did not destroy the infrastructure of the country. Yet by promoting regional conflicts the old apartheid state engaged in proxy wars backed by the U.S.-led Western capitalist superpowers. Angola, Mozambique and Namibia were the scenes of horrific wars with direct South African intervention for decades, and they are only now recovering.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo hosted Che Guevara, as a revolutionary guerilla fighting side by side with the liberation army, for a time in the early 1960s, after the legitimate government of Patrice Lumumba was overthrown, in part by the CIA with racist South African government assistance, and the dictatorial regime of Mobuto Sese Seko was foisted upon the people. The DRC has not recovered from the apartheid government's intervention into its affairs, and it shall take decades before they find the type of peace, development and security South Africa is now blessed with.

Before they joined the African National Congress while in exile, the friends I stay with in South Africa were members of the Black Consciousness Movement and they, along with hundreds of thousands of others, were part and parcel of the SOWETO youth uprising of 1976.

One of the major issues of the revolutionary youth was the attempt by the apartheid government to make the learning of the ancient Dutch language of Afrikaans mandatory for all South Africans.

Now, in South Africa, we have 12 official languages, so no one is forced to learn a language they do not want. But millions of Black South Africans speak Afrikaans each day and tens of thousands are trying to learn it in schools throughout the country.

One of my friends is a director of the University of Pretoria, a former bastion of Afrikaner power where Afrikaans is the language of instruction. However, while he spends a disproportionate amount of time speaking Afrikaans in the midst of the White Afrikaner intellectuals each day, he once noted, "I never met an Afrikaner who openly stated that they supported apartheid. But they all benefited from it. We had a country where the entire infrastructure was created for the benefit of the small racial minority. The roads, schools, water system, electricity grid, and health care services were structured around the idea of being used by the thirty percent of the population who were White. Hence once democratic elections were held all these services, the entire social infrastructure, had to be upgraded so that it could be utilized by everyone in the country."

The cost for expanding the infrastructure of a nation as large as South Africa these days are astronomical. Just to host the World Cup games cost South Africa $4 billion (U.S.).

Yet the upside of the 2010 World Cup games is advancement for the majority of South Africans. The tourist needed the road system to be of a world standard, so it was upgraded to satisfy their needs. The visitors needed water, electricity and other services spread throughout the country, so even the poorest South African now has access to these services at relatively affordable prices.

The biggest direct beneficiaries of these games are the people involved in the tourist sector which created thousands of jobs. Just as importantly, by their interaction with people from all the countries of the world, those employed in tourism and entertainment gained a new sense of confidence that they can communicate effectively, deliver goods and services and get paid handsomely for it. There are going to be thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurs finding niches developed from these games and that in itself is a great blessing moving forward.

The game, oh yes the final game of the 2010 World Cup. Although I cheered for Holland against Uruguay this was only a result of my conviction that cheating should not be rewarded by victory. As the result showed "Ill-gotten gain is quickly squandered" and Uruguay was vanquished.

Now with all the African and Latin American teams out of the tournament, and Europe standing on the threshold of victory, I'm picking the Spanish to take home the cup. I doubt that anyone in the world can stop David Villa from scoring right now, and the Dutch do not have an equivalent striking force at their disposal. Moreover, playing the type of football inspired by Barcelona, with the Spanish team there is a kind of smooth flowing beauty to the game which one can only love and wish others to emulate of fields around the world.

I'm predicting the score will be 3 to 1 in favor of the team from Spain. However, the 75,000 fans in the stands cheering the Dutch on represent a home field advantage which just might turn the tide and help lead Holland to victory. We have watched some amazing football being played in a wonderful nation so to me the winner of the cup is almost secondary to the fact that it was played in South Africa and the people of this great land all won something here. Viva Espania, Viva Holandia, Viva the World Cup, Viva la Vida.

Photo: Axel Bührmann/CC

Tour de France thrills!

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:18:00 +0000

Since I was young, I have loved cycling, especially the Tour de France, race for the 'Maillot Jaune' (yellow jersey), the golden fleece of cycling.

On July 3, the 97th annual Tour de France began. Considered the premiere and most prestigious and difficult race of any sport, there will be three winners in Paris after 3 weeks of riding top speed over 2,200 miles of flat roads, pave (cobblestones) and precarious peaks in the Alps and Pyrenees.

From a handful of individual European riders and 5 stages, the race has grown globally to 21 stages through France and numerous nearby countries. It ends on Bastille day with the overall best time winner donning the Maillot Jaune, and his team prouder and richer by large financial prizes.

In the last few decades, special prizes were awarded for points gained by the fastest sprinters at designated points in the race and the stage sprint winner. The green jersey is awarded to the fastest man. Nicknames have developed such as "Ale-Jet" for 2010 stage 1 and 4 winner Petacchi, and the "Manx Missile" for Cavendish, thought to be the fastest man in the sprints and winner of stage 5 this year.

As the Tour starts into the Alps and then the Pyrenees, the test of the climbers will challenge everyone. The rider who does the best will be "king of the mountains" and receive the red polka dot jersey for each stage. Finally, the white jersey is awarded the best young rider.

As a young girl, I loved the wonderful feel of cycling and convinced my twin sister that it was too dangerous for her. She finally agreed to give me the one bike we owned. I never really regretted my trickery as I flew over the broken streets in the Bronx with a team of girlfriends.

When at 13 my son took off on his Sears special, the joy in my heart could not be contained. By 15 he was racing and building bikes by stealing parts from my bike and working to buy the other gear. We followed the Tour de France yearly for three weeks at 3am as it came on for half an hour once each night.

The original riders actually rode at night and then rested in the day.

In 2010, after the 2nd stage in which 60 riders were injured in a crash, they struck and Cancellara sacrificed the day 2 stage win in which he would have received the yellow jersey in order to help his teammates. The entire peloton (large group of riders) slowly moved as a single unit across the finish line after allowing Chavanel to cross first to indicate a protest against the dangerous day (stage 2) and this prevented any team from gaining the advantage. Another strike occurred in 1975 when 2 stages were scheduled for one day without rest and the riders won. Never again were 2 stages scheduled in a row.

At the time my son became inspired. He read about Greg LeMond, the first American to win 3 Tours on a European team, and so began his passion for the sport. Twenty years later, in 2008, Greg LeMond spoke at the Air Force Academy in Colorado and my son got to ride with LeMond and appreciate what he has given to the sport, including his current fight against drugs and doping. My son currently is a top category "cat 2" amateur rider. I have joyously come out with his children in the heat and frost as only a cycling Mom can do. He asked me to bake cakes for a race he planned for his college team, and when I asked, "how many?" he calmly replied "700"!

He had a chance to ride with Lance Armstrong who changed the sport in America when he built an American team and won 7 Tours, which was never accomplished before. Armstrong is a cancer survivor and has brought his courage and spirit to everyone who thought life was over when dealt a bad hand. His book "It's Not Just the Bike," says it clearly. In the past, there have been 4 men who have won the Tour de France 5 times ( Eddy Merckx, Jaques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain). No one but Lance has been able to win 7 Tours. He is in this year's tour at age 39.

The mountains lie ahead. They are the true test. Many are watching each stage on cable channel Versus, as it is broadcast numerous times throughout the day.

What a change! Stage 6 starts soon and the "domestiques," which are the riders of the team that not only protect and feed the team captain but help him by providing the draft for him to ride behind to give him the rest. They actually pull him up the hill if necessary so that at the right moment that 'best man' can force that last heartbeat and watt of energy to add just enough speed to cross the finish line first for himself and for the team.

Of course, there are dangers and there have been 4 deaths of riders over the years. The saddest and most recent was in 1996 when Fabio Casartelli sped down the mountain at 60 mph. When the riders in the peloton pass that place they pay homage to his memory.

At the end of stage 5, Cancellara wore the yellow jersey, the "Manx Missile" Cavendish, possibly the fastest man in the world on a bike, was the stage 5 winner. Pineau wore the polka dots as king of the mountains. Thor Hushovd pounded his chest in the green jersey and Geraint Thomas was the best young rider in white. Of course, all that can change the next day!

Photo: Tour de France in 2008. (CC)

Greek workers stage second general strike in two weeks

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:02:00 +0000

Two million Greek workers walked off the job for the second time in two weeks Thursday after the country's Parliament backed Prime Minister George Papandreou's slashing of the nation's pension system. It was the sixth general strike in the country this year.

The cuts, pushed by international financiers, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, include lowering pensions by at least 12 percent and raising retirement ages for most occupations. Members of the country's two biggest unions took to the streets, rallying and marching on Parliament in Athens as lawmakers debated the cuts, which carried by 159 votes to 137.

The prime minister committed himself to the pension cuts in order to secure a 110 billion euro loan from the European Union and the IMF that allows Greece to avoid defaulting on its debt.

The mass walkout grounded flights, kept ferries docked and shut down banks, hospitals and the news media. Even Parliament workers went out on strike, with only a few remaining to assist the pension debate.

"Workers don't want to strike every week but they can't stand by and watch their fundamental rights being obliterated every week either," declared Stathis Anestis, deputy secretary of the General Confederation of Labor, the nationwide federation for private workers. Stathis said the law will mean pension cuts of at least 12 percent, contrary to government estimates of 7 percent.

The pension cuts follow the approval in May of 30 billion euros' worth of austerity measures, including wage cuts and tax increases.

Papandreou, who won the elections last October after pledging higher wages, has ended up cutting salaries and raising taxes on fuel and alcohol. He says the measures are needed to reduce budget deficits of 13.6 percent of economic output, prevent default and restore investor confidence in Greece.

The country's labor movement says it is not government spending for social programs but tax evasion by the rich that is behind the crisis.

Globalization for Greece, labor leaders say, means that a quarter of the population lives in poverty while billionaires pay little or no taxes. Unions say higher wages and benefits are necessary to fuel the economic growth needed to sustain the economy and reduce deficits over the long haul.

World labor leaders gathered in Canada for a meeting of the G-20 recently heard Guy Ryder, the outgoing general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, call for "fundamental changes in globalization" and an end to the "dictatorship of the finance-atariate."

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, representing U.S. labor at that gathering, called for a "new economic order." He said that strong labor rights, human rights, collective bargaining and the right to organize were cornerstones of that new economic order.

Greece's private and public sector unions represent about 2.5 million workers, just over half the country's workforce.

The six general strikes this year have impacted on tourism, which accounts for 20 percent of the country's 240-billion-euro economy.

Olympic Air and Aegean canceled dozens of domestic flights and rescheduled international flights.

Seamen's unions shut down port authorities, with no ships leaving or docking at Greece's main ports.

Protesters climbed on top of the hill overlooking central Athens where they unfurled huge banners.

Photo: Workers rally in central Athens, July 8. (AP/Alkis Konstantinidis)