Americas
Americas
Fair Observer provides insightful analysis of the widely differing countries on both American continents./div>
-
femicide / genocide Guatemala / Human rights in Guatemala / indigenous people's rights / trial of General Efráin Rios Montt / Focus Article / Latin America / CultureBy Dianne PostSeventeen years after the end of a brutal civil war, Guatemala’s human rights record remains appalling. Since its independence from Spain in 1821, Guatemala was ruled mostly by dictators and commercial interests. Late in the 20th century, resistance to the government grew and the country was devastated over the course of a 36-year-long civil war, which ended in 1996 with the signing of the Peace Accords. The war, in which the United States backed the government of Guatemala, sought to eliminate the leftist insurgency through the military’s “scorched earth campaign,” which ordered more than 626 massacres of native Mayans, who make up nearly half of the country...
-
360° Analysis / Free Press / Guatemala organized crime / Human rights in Guatemala / Otto Perez Molina / Press Freedom / violence against journalists / Latin America / CultureGuatemala does little to protect journalists from attacks. On August 19, Guatemalan television and radio journalist Carlos Alberto Orellana Chávez was abducted from his car in the department of Suchitepéquez and murdered shortly thereafter, a mere seven days after another journalist, Fredy Rodas, was shot in the same state. These assaults, amounting to four murders of journalists so far this year, come as part of a new wave of violence against reporters in Guatemala. A Guatemalan NGO, the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit (UDEFEGUA), has recorded 19 instances of aggression against journalists this year, ranging from intimidation to murder. The motive for these...
-
al-Shabab / Fair Observer / Golden Dawn / Human Trafficking / Iran / Kenya Attacks / Nairobi / North America / Obama UN General Assembly / Obama-Rouhani / Politics / Rachel Lloyd / Rouhani / Syria / Tariq Ramadan / United States / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / Latin America / Africa / Central & South Asia / Asia PacificPledge $1 to keep us going. Back in 1939, September was the month when World War II broke out. So in 2013, it is reassuring to see that the US and Iran might be beginning their first tentative steps to rest the ghosts of 1953 and 1979. The former scarred Iran because the CIA was influenced by the British to conduct a coup against a democratically elected Iranian government. The latter scarred the US because Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in a revolution and caused a hostage crisis that led to the fall of Jimmy Carter. After the saber rattling of the last few years, perhaps Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani might give diplomacy a better shot to resolve their difference, leading...
-
Amazon / Amazon Rainforest / brazil / Brazilians / Deforestation / Indigenous Brazilians / Mallory Smith / Native Americans / Native Indians / Rainforest / Focus Article / Latin America / EnvironmentA proposed amendment to Brazil's constitution threatens forests and indigenous rights. On April 16, 2013, the chanting of hundreds of citizens and the rattling of maracas flooded the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Brazilian National Congress. Traditionally dressed members of 70 indigenous tribes, who had congregated for an annual meeting, staged a sit-in of Congress to protest a proposed amendment to the constitution (PEC 215). PEC 215, if passed, would threaten not only indigenous land rights, but also the conservation of the Amazon rainforest. The 500-year-old history of indigenous rights in Brazil is extremely complex. But a lucid reality remains: indigenous lands are...
-
Best of the Month / Chemical Weapons / Egypt / Fair Observer / Human Trafficking / India / Mugabe / North America / Pakistan / Politics / sex workers / Syria / Zimbabwe / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / Latin America / Africa / Central & South Asia / Asia PacificFair Observer's five best articles of August. In large parts of the northern hemisphere, August is a month of humidity and heat. When it comes to developments this month, there has been no dearth of the latter. The Syrian saga carries on like a tragic and bloody melodrama. The Bashar al-Assad regime is suspected of orchestrating chemical attacks in contravention of international law. UN Inspectors have been fired upon and the British Parliament has bucked its prime minister to vote against military action. The US is likely to take a more hard-line stance but the situation in Syria is messy. The benefits of military action are likely to be hardline Salafists so the choices for the world...
-
#MakingSense / Fair Observer / Fair Observer Kickstarter / Kickstarter / North America / Politics / Touring With Fair Observer / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / Latin America / Africa / Central & South Asia / Asia PacificA special thanks from the team. Dear Friends, We can’t thank you enough! We are humbled by all the support we’ve received since our Kickstarter Launch last week. Messages of encouragement have been pouring in. Volunteers have been reaching out to campaign for us. In short, you have pledged, you have spread the word, you have lent a helping hand and you have inspired us. Our Kickstarter Crowdfunding Campaign has momentum and we will turn our snowball of support into an avalanche. In other words, we will continue to reach for the stars. In the coming days we will share our “Stretch Goals,” that describe what we can achieve with different amounts of cash...
-
Fair Observer / Fair Observer - Global Conversations on Issues that Matter / Fair Observer Kickstarter Campaign / Make Sense of the World / North America / Politics / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / Latin America / Africa / Central & South Asia / Asia PacificFair Observer is proud to announce the launch of its Kickstarter campaign. We have launched the first crowdfunding campaign in our history. We need your support in three ways: 1. Pledge: Even $1 goes a long way; $10+ goes further; $100+ revs up our engine; and $1,000+ fires us up big time. 2. Get friends to pledge. Spread the word to family, friends, and colleagues in all parts of the world. Announce your support on social media using hashtags: #MakingSense and #FairObserver. 3. Give us feedback so that we can run a great campaign. Enjoy our video below and a thousand thanks for your support! On behalf of the entire Fair Observer team, Atul Singh Founder & Editor-in...
-
Best of the Month / brazil / China / Coup d'etat / Egypt / Fair Observer / Fox News / India / July 4th / Morsi / North America / Pakistan / Politics / Pope / pornography / reza Aslan / Trayvon Martin / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East & North Africa / Latin America / Africa / Central & South Asia / Asia PacificFair Observer's five best articles of July. July is the month of turmoil and revolutions. July 4, 1776, and July 14, 1789, could appropriately be termed as the start of the modern democratic era when American guerrillas and French sans culottes overthrew the old monarchical order. Democracy did not materialize miraculously thereafter. Only after many decades if not centuries of turmoil and setbacks, were modern democracies established in Europe. After barely two and a half years, the Economist is posing the question, "Has the Arab Spring Failed?" First, it is too early to pose such a question. Second, the "Arab Spring" is a condescending term. The...
-
2014 World Cup / 360° Analysis / Brasilia / brazil / Brazil Protests / Confederations Cup / Dilma Rousseff / FIFA / Free Fare Movement / Politics / Rio de Janeiro / Sao Paulo / Latin AmericaBrazilians are tired of unending injustice and exploitation. Eager to boost its economic and political image on the world stage, Brazil’s government clung stubbornly to hopes that a trinity of world-class sporting events – the 2013 Confederation Cup, the 2014 World Cup, and the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games – would exhilarate the man-in-the-street with such excitement so as to shove his daily grievances off the list of immediate concerns. However, any effort to mollify public opinion is fraught with the risk that the target population will react in unpredictable ways. The world media enjoys depicting Latin Americans as lighthearted people, who prefer having a good...