Written by Wall Street Journal on .
Posted in Headlines.
Cunha spearheaded impeachment proceedings against former President Rousseff
São Paulo, Oct.20.─ Eduardo Cunha, Brazil’s former House speaker who spearheaded the impeachment proceedings that toppled former President Dilma Rousseff, was arrested Wednesday in connection with a sprawling corruption scandal centered on the nation’s state-run oil company.
Mr. Cunha, 58 years old, was indicted earlier this year on charges of corruption and money laundering. Prosecutors alleged that he pocketed millions in bribes from a company seeking contracts with oil firm Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras.
The time has come to widen our political and intellectual horizons, writes Muxe Nkondo
Johannesburg, Oct.17.─ Both participatory democracy and professional expertise are defining values of South African society. Although many social scientists have tried to understand the two as mutually supportive, the tension between participatory democracy and professional expertise has long been a critical theme in South African politics.
Whereas participatory democracy stands for transparent and inclusive deliberation on the part of all citizens, professional expertise has always been regarded as the exclusive domain of professional elites. Whereas participatory democracy seeks to canvass a wide range of perspectives on a given topic, professional expertise strives to limit the number of participants in pursuit of facts and truth.
Written by Jerusalem Post on .
Posted in Headlines.
Former Portuguese PM Antonio Guterres was elected UN Secretary General - He is considered friendly to Israel and was close to Peres
Guterres is a a vocal advocate for refugees
United Nations, Oct.7.─ Incoming United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been and will always be a friend of Israel, former Israeli officials who have met with him told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
Guterres came to Israel in 1993 as secretary-general of the Portuguese Socialist Party and leader of Portugal’s opposition.
Bogota, Oct.3.─ Colombians narrowly rejected a peace deal with Marxist guerrillas in a referendum on Sunday, plunging the nation into uncertainty and dashing President Juan Manuel Santos' painstakingly negotiated plan to end the 52-year war.
The surprise victory for the "no" camp poured cold water on international joy, from the White House to the Vatican, at what had seemed to be the end of the longest-running conflict in the Americas.
Written by Wall Street Journal on .
Posted in Headlines.
Even if voters approve the tainted bargain with narco-terrorists, it won’t bring peace
Up to 2012 ─not counting the last 4 years─ FARC killed 177,307 civilians in their guerrilla operations
FARC and the Colombian armed forces lost 40,787 in combat
Thousands of girls and boys under 14 were forced to join as FARC soldiers
Sept.25.─ The paradox of Obama foreign policy is that its compromises with enemies of liberty in the interest of peace are leaving the world more violent, polarized and dangerous. This is especially true in Latin America.
On Oct. 2, Colombia will hold a plebiscite to ask the nation to approve or reject an Obama-backed agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. The deal gives the FARC amnesty for its war crimes, which include the recruitment of thousands of child soldiers, massacres of villages, political executions, bombings and kidnappings.
Under the agreement, negotiated and signed in Havana, the FARC will also get unelected seats in Congress and special welfare benefits. It will be given dozens of radio stations—so that it can disseminate its propaganda, a privilege no other political party has.
