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From Chile to Guatemala: A Gringo in Latin America

Benjamin Dangl November 17, 2009 Benjamin Dangl

Reviewed: Gringo: A Coming-of-Age in Latin America, by Chesa Boudin, 240 pages, Scribner, 2009.

In Gringo: A Coming-of-Age in Latin America, Chesa Boudin writes of sleeping in a hammock on his way up the Amazon River on a 200 foot boat, working as a translator in Hugo Chavez’s presidential palace, witnessing the rise of President Lula in Brazil and traveling through Argentina during the country’s economic crisis. His reflections and reportage on such experiences provide an exciting road trip through pivotal moments in Latin America’s recent history. read more

Afghans’ ‘Bravest Woman’ Calls on U.S. to Leave

Amy Littlefield November 16, 2009 Amy Littlefield

Malalai Joya

Malalai Joya, called the "bravest woman in Afghanistan," is finishing up a U.S. tour where she has pressed the Obama administration to pull the military out of her country. She says nothing could be worse for women than what she sees as the current civil war.

Arundhati Roy’s New Book Looks at What We Have Done to Democracy

Al Huebner November 12, 2009 Al Huebner

Arundhati Roy

The essays in a new book by the brilliant Indian writer Arundhati Roy cover topics that range from the attack on the Indian Parliament to the Armenian genocide, and the terrorist attack on Mumbai to George Bush's "triumphant" visit to India and

Pakistan

. But what runs through all of these essays is a critical look at democracy, as practiced in those countries that claim to be democracies.

The Plight of the Roma: From Europe to Canada

Reuel S. Amdur November 11, 2009 Reuel S. Amdur

Roma Camp in Italy

The media have not paid enough attention to the plight of the Roma in Europe. The Roma's living conditions are miserable, and they suffer from serious discrimination in education and employment, and attacks from racists and neo-Nazis. Because of the conditions they face in Europe, a number of Czech Roma fled to Canada in 2008 and 2009. Their Hungarian cousins quickly began to follow suit. Across these international borders, the Roma's struggle for rights and survival has not been an easy one.

The Peru Shoot Down: The CIA, DynCorp, and Why the Truth May Not Come Out

Greg Guma November 10, 2009 Greg Guma

Among the five cases of intelligence operation cover up currently being investigated by the US House Intelligence Committee is the 2001 shoot down of a small plane in Peru, resulting in the death of a Baptist missionary from Michigan and her 7-month-old daughter. The CIA inspector general has already concluded that the CIA improperly concealed information about the incident. So, what happened in Peru, and why? At first, of course, the CIA employed its usual tactics: denial and deflection of blame.

Public Option is Just Another Private Party – and We’re Not Invited

Sandy LeonVest November 9, 2009 Sandy LeonVest

The elaborate Congressional circus whimsically referred to as 'healthcare reform' - the one that has held the nation captive since President Obama's earliest weeks in office - came complete with dancing clowns, disappearing acts and trained tigers jumping through hoops. But today the magic is gone. The performance is degenerating. The public is beginning to understand what the political players knew all along - that this three ring circus was never meant to be more than a sideshow.