News of the Restless

You can clearly see in this video that the footage was taken with a camera phone by Georgian troops on the attack in mainly-Russian South Ossetia (an ethnic cleansing mission, according to the Spanish subtitling about midway through), but the Spanish TV anchorwoman claims it's Russians attacking Georgia. The Georgians are shooting at Ossetian civilian buildings, but of course it's being made out as yet another example of the bloodthirst of the Russians!

Where have we seen this before?

CNN got the story oh, SO wrong.

So did FOX...and when a 12-year-old tried to set them straight, they cut her (and her aunt) off abruptly.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 04:46 PM | Permalink

El Ecuadorable is so not going to like this:

Translation follows:

The Spanish civil guard is investigating a video made on a cellphone in which one can see the beating of an Ecuadorian teenager by a Spanish girl. The hair-raising recording was taken on July 25, in the Colmenarejo neighborhood of Madrid.

In the video, the aggressor's friends can be heard egging her on amid laughter. The phrases "kill her" and "hit her hard" are repeated several times.

According to sources, a group of girls between 14 and 16 years old lured the Ecuadorian victim, Maria Jose, to a vacant lot. Once there, Belen, one of the teens, began to punch and kick her all over her body, up to the head.

"Kick her in the head" can be heard as the aggressor drags the South American victim to the ground by her hair. Also, while the victim lies semiconscious, Belen keeps hitting her.

The video circulated on cellphones throughout the town, until one person recorded it onto a CD and brought it to a police station.

This isn't the first time this sort of thing happened in Spain; in October of last year, a 16-year-old from Ecuador got beaten up on a train in Barcelona by a racist thug, aged 21, who called her a "piece of immigrant shit" and told her to go back where she came from. It comes at around the same time two Gypsy girls in Italy drowned before the indifference of hundreds of beachgoers at Naples, amid a climate of anti-Gypsy sentiment perpetrated by the right-wing government of Silvio Berlusconi. Racist, xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiment are all on the rise in Europe, and the new anti-immigrant legislation tabled by the EU has only made it worse. Economic migrants will now have to fear that gangs of thugs like these will act with impunity, seeing themselves as doing a job that the police won't or can't.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 06:24 PM | Permalink

Why won't he shut up? Because he's just too much fun to listen to.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:49 PM | Permalink

...and in time for Chavecito's upcoming birthday:

I found this at Inca Kola News. Apparently it's an actual mural from Caracas. It's also one of the funniest takeoffs I've ever seen on Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes. It's got Fidel Castro as God, Chavecito (looking hunky in a patriotic Speedo!) as Adam, and Evo, rather appropriately considering his dimples, as a cherub (at lower right).

I'm pretty sure Chavecito was not really "made" this way, but it made me chuckle anyhow.

PS: Speaking of chuckles, check out the video at the bottom of this page. I can't make out much of what's being said, but the body language speaks for itself: Chavecito is getting the last laugh on the King of Spain by charming the royal pants off. Oh, he's good.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:46 AM | Permalink

He's a Spanish anarchist, he's alive, he's the last of his kind, and he's in Bolivia. He survived over 100 attempts on his life. He helped hold Franco off when the latter marched on Madrid, then went on to spend five years in Dr. Death's infamous camp at Mauthausen. And yet he never broke.

If there is a cooler person on the planet, I don't know who he might be. This dude is BADASS. I wonder if Evo's met him? I bet they'd get along great.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:08 AM | Permalink

Another one bites the dust! Damn, how many more myths does Chavecito plan on busting this week?

The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, directed a message to the new chief of the FARC, Alfonso Cano, on Sunday, in which he called for the unconditional liberation of all the group's hostages. Then he assured that in Latin America, "the age of guerrilla wars is history."

"It's time for the FARC to release everyone they're holding in the mountains," Chavez demanded of Cano, adding at the same time that "it would be a great gesture, a change from nothing."

According to the president, the situation in which Latin America and the United States now find themselves "appears to be creating favorable conditions for a peace process in Colombia", for which the release of all hostages "would be the first step" toward success.

Continue reading "And another one's gone, and another one's gone..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:22 AM | Permalink

And for some reason, I found a lot of funny pix from it...and for some reason even stranger, most of the funniest ones had Evo in them. In some funny context or other.

Like this one, in which he's chatting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel:

What do you suppose is going through her mind? My educated guess is it's something like this:

Continue reading "Festive Left Friday Blogging: Some summit that was in Peru" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:43 AM | Permalink

I don't care if the current German chancellor is a woman. I have scant respect for her at the best of times, because she is not an uppity woman. She licks Bush's butt. And do you know what the implications of that are?

Ask Chavecito, if you're still unsure. He knows!

Continue reading "Chavecito calls it right again" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:19 PM | Permalink

Once more, the FARC release some hostages in the Colombian jungle.

And guess who got them sprung? And, evil mean tyrannical bastard that he is, even sent Venezuelan search-and-rescue helicopters to collect them, with the Red Cross logo on board?

You'd think the Venezuelan lamestream media would for once be bursting with pride in the influential skills of their president, who really seems to have a knack for getting the FARC to play nice, but oh noooo. Instead, they're reporting a completely irrelevant whimper from the Spanish prime minister (not president, Spain is not a republic, it is a monarchy--get a clue, El Luniversal!) saying you have to play nice with the opposition.

What a strange thing to say, considering they are fascists who refuse to play nice themselves. There they are, once again, trying so hard to draw attention to their own nonexistent oppression. What a pity it's not very convincing. It's awfully hard for them to argue that they are oppressed when this same president they so love to hate is now working to assure that Venezuelan players in big-league baseball are NOT oppressed, and is even hauling ass to make sure there's milk in Mercal for the traditionally oppressed (who voted for him repeatedly because he's the one guy who made good on his promises to un-oppress them).

Of course, the thing setting these fine young fascists apart from their predecessors is that the current crop have no sense of style whatsofuckingever. But hey! You can trust even their "educated experts" to get things oh, so wrong. With such a Simple Simon act to follow, is it any wonder the ol' goose-step has turned into a bit of a limp?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:36 PM | Permalink

Heh, heh, heh. Didn't see this coming, did anyone now?

Hugo Chavez says Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz is welcome to perform at his presidential palace and denied Thursday that his government retaliated against the Latin Grammy winner because of critical comments he made.

More than 80 performers and other celebrities signed a statement supporting Sanz after his concerts were cancelled in Venezuela. Signers including Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Penelope Cruz and even soccer star David Beckham said they "believe in a Latin America where we are all free to express our views."

Venezuelan organizers said Sanz's sold-out Feb. 14 concert in Caracas was cancelled because it lacked "the appropriate conditions." The announcement came after government officials said Sanz would not be allowed to hold the concert at the state-controlled stadium because of his past criticism of Chavez.

Chavez denied any attempt to censor or retaliate against Sanz. "Come here and sing in Miraflores," he said, referring to Venezuela's presidential palace.

Aporrea has more:

Continue reading "Taking the wind out of an overblown pop star" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:07 PM | Permalink

Usually, I tune out all mass-media traveloguery. Having been to j-school (and having had the misfortune to study under a "magazine writing" instructor who preferred throwaway travel and celebrity puff pieces to actual, worth-paying-money-for MAGAZINE JOURNALISM), I guess I'm just plain prejudiced. I certainly had a lot of blinders ripped off my eyes as to what passes for "good" in the Industry--and in a word, it is DRIVEL. It has to be; it's just page-filler. Its sole purpose is to take up the space the advertisers didn't want, and to titillate the casual newsstand browser into buying a fish-wrapper or birdcage-liner she probably didn't want either. If magazines could be all ads and still get bought on the newsstand by paying customers, trust me--they would be. But we fickle consumers, we still insist on some semblance of substance, however vague. And if we wanted to read nothing but ads, there's all that junkmail cluttering up our recycle bins.

It should go without saying that the people who write those expensive, cloth-bound travel guidebooks have actually done a lot more homework than the professional tacky tourists who "do travel writing" for The Media. (Stands to reason; they don't have to fill non-ad space, and they have to be certain that their writing will be of use to someone--and not end up getting pulped for toilet paper.)

And I'm positively certain that well-travelled progressives could revolutionize the travel-book industry if they ever chose to go that way. Happily (or unhappily, depending on where you sit, yearning for progressive adventures), they're not in the Baedeker business. Leftists may profit from their travels, but they don't travel for profit. They're in it for something more than money. They don't give a hang if they've seduced you into shelling out for a package tour of the latest ecotourism hotspot (and if they do, you can be sure that they're NOT real leftists). What they do care about, is making sure that whoever deigns to read gets an accurate, socially-aware picture of what's going on elsewhere--the good and the not-so alike.

I bring this up for a reason.

Continue reading "The difference between "sucks" and "ROCKS!"" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:53 PM | Permalink

But would they listen to me? Nooooo. They just had to figure out for themselves that certain interrogation methods don't work as well as advertised...

A threat of possible terrorist attacks in Germany, based on a tip from Lebanese authorities after they interrogated an al-Qaida suspect, is less severe than initially thought, authorities said Monday.

The tip came after Lebanese police arrested suspect Mohammed Naddoum last Thursday on allegations that he called the German Embassy in Beirut threatening to strike German security targets.

Officials have given no details of the possible threats, but German news reports said Lebanon told officials that the suspect indicated terrorists inside Germany were prepared to attack targets such as Berlin's Justice Ministry building. The ministry said it had heightened security.

The details of the tip have now been checked out, and have led to no concrete results, said Federal Criminal Police Office spokeswoman Sandra Clemens.

"At this point in the investigation, an attack can be ruled out," she said.

My guess is they got it out of him by what's euphemistically called "coercive interrogation", and what is more correctly called TORTURE. Lebanon is not exactly free from it.

But I could have told them that Germany is not on the terror shit list. Why? It's not involved in the war on Iraq. Spain was; that's why Spain's trains were bombed, and why the Spaniards wised up and got rid of Aznar in their next election. Australia was; that's why a nightclub in Bali catering to Aussie tourists was bombed in '02. Britain still is; that's why ITS subway trains were also bombed. (The Brits, alas, have not gotten wise and thrown out THEIR warmongers.)

Logic should dictate that Spain is now off the terror shit list. And that Australia, too, will soon follow suit. And that Britain should watch its back.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:41 PM | Permalink

"It seems to me that those who have tried to make the rebel cause the Christian cause have no shame. All those who are heart and soul with the rebels have made a clear cut choice between the things that are Caesar's and the things that are God's. They are on the side of property rights against human rights."

--Morley Callaghan, Canadian author, writing during the Spanish Civil War as a Catholic in support of the Republican cause. The Vatican notably took the opposite side, and still does.

Posted by Sabina Becker at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Okay, their king is an arrogant pissant. But the country as a whole is not the King, and the parliament has just done something long overdue and very decent:

The Spanish parliament has passed a law of "historical memory" which condemns Franco-fascism and rehabilitates the memory of the victims of the Civil War and the dictatorship.

The law, which will come into effect in a few days after its publication in the official gazette, was approved on Monday night by the Senate, which rejected the veto petition of the Popular Party (PP) and the Leftist Republic of Catalonia (ERC).

The PP considers the law to be a "divisive element", while the ERC considers it to be insufficient.

The law will not provide for annulment of the trials of the Francoist tribunals, as requested by the ERC. But the United Left (IU), whose votes made possible the passing of the bill, interpreted it as in effect allowing the reopening of the cases, without impunity.

Continue reading "Time to give Spain some credit" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:54 AM | Permalink

Seriously, people, I want a Caganer for Christmas. Those kitschy little Catalan caca-makers are the shit!

Anybody know where I can get a Caganer in Canada?

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And this one might not go down so easily.

President Hugo Chavez indicated today that he has a list of Spanish businesses with investments in Venezuela, which he is prepared to revise if King Juan Carlos doesn't apologize for disrespecting him.

Chavez said during a press conference that it was the king who offended him, referring to an incident during the recent Ibero-American Summit in Chile in which the king told him to shut up.

Translation mine.

Guess royal prerogative just ain't what it used to be. And it's a good thing, too!

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Everybody sing! "Once I was the King of Spain, now I eat humble pie..."

Meanwhile, look who else is munching a hearty slice of homebaked humble goodness:

Continue reading "King eats humble pie" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:23 AM | Permalink

Not among some Spaniards, according to Aporrea:

Approximately 300 students gathered in the Plaza Civica de la Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), where a young man organized a burning of photos of the King, amid the applause and cheers of those attending.

[...]

Amid cries of "I'm burning the Spanish crown, too!" and "We Catalans don't have a king!", the youth set fire to a large portrait of the monarch. Two other young people, in white coveralls and with masked faces, displayed on the university building's roof a large placard reading "The UAB is burning the Spanish crown". They strung up an effigy dressed in a crown and a Spanish flag, with the face of the King.

Continue reading "So, Spain's king is newly popular, eh?" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

OMG, this was just too good to pass up. Reuters is so Chavecito-obsessed lately, I think they're letting their secret fantasies slip...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would not shut up for Spain's king but, over the weekend, he heeded a higher calling to stop talking -- his bladder.

Surrounded by a throng of reporters at an OPEC summit in Saudi Arabia, the president, who enjoys the media spotlight and often answers questions at length, excused himself.

"Look I have to go," Chavez said in comments aired on Venezuelan state television. "For a while now, I have needed to go to the bathroom and I am going to pee ... Do you want me to pee on you?"

Continue reading "Forget Clinton's cock, Reuters has a new obsession" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Oh, this is too good. First the King of Spain tells Chavecito to shut up. Now, the damage control begins.

The Spanish foreign minister has moved to defuse a public row between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Spanish King Juan Carlos.

"I don't believe it should affect relations with Venezuela", he said.

On Saturday the king told Mr Chavez to "shut up" at a summit in Chile after the president said ex-Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar was a "fascist".

The next day Mr Chavez said the king was "imprudent" and asked if he knew in advance of the 2002 coup against him.

Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said that he wanted dialogue with Venezuela to continue "on condition that we are respected".

Continue reading "Shut up the shuttin' up, already..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:26 AM | Permalink

And these come straight from Chile. Enjoy!

Sen. Alejandro Navarro on Monday demanded an apology from Chile's Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley for criticizing the behavior of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the XVII Iberian-American summit held last weekend in Santiago.

Continue reading "More truths the king can't shut up..." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 10:43 PM | Permalink

I just watched the CBC Sunday Report, and I could swear I was watching FUX Snooze. Only this time it was Evan Solomon instead of Bill O'Reilly pissing me the hell off.

Continue reading "Headline Howler: CBC commits its own "Misplay of the Week"" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 01:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Some people can't handle the truth. And it would figure that those people are royal-we fossils.

Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to "shut up" as the Ibero-American summit drew to a close in Santiago, Chile.

The outburst came after Mr Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist".

Mr Chavez then interrupted Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's calls for him to be more diplomatic, prompting the king's outburst.

Continue reading "The King has lost his crown" »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 09:08 PM | Permalink

Because this guy just majorly endeared himself to me with the following novel approach to an urghly problem:

Continue reading "Okay, I need a cute nickname for Rafael Correa." »

Posted by Sabina Becker at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)