A squad of government soldiers slaughtered his mother and eight brothers and sisters 30 years ago in their small village during the height of the civil war in Guatemala, and he had no idea that as a young child he had been abducted by an army lieutenant who led that assault, and raised as a member of his family....
Government soldiers allied with AmeriKa.
The notorious squad of commandos that killed more than 250 men, women, and children and wiped Dos Erres, his village in northern Guatemala, off the map....
Justice is slowly coming to pass in Guatemala, where members of the military and government officials guilty of ordering mass murder have evaded prosecution for years....
--more--"
Let's run the rest down alphabetically, readers:
"Falkland Islands residents plan referendum on political identity" Associated Press, June 13, 2012
LONDON - The Falkland Islands government said Tuesday that it plans a referendum next year on the political future of the tiny south Atlantic archipelago, seeking to end Argentina’s claims of sovereignty and to secure its status as a British territory....
Tensions have risen ahead of the June 14 anniversary, with Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernandez, planning to press her country’s case at a meeting of the UN’s decolonization committee to be held on Thursday in New York....
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Related: Why Bother Voting in Britain?
Or anywhere else for that matter?
"BRAZIL'S RAINFOREST REGION HIT HARD -- Municipal workers in Manaus, Brazil, scooped garbage Thursday out of the flood waters from the overflowing Rio Negro, one of the two main tributaries of the Amazon, after it broke the all-time record high set in 2009. The water continued to rise, and specialists said that the peak was still not in sight (Boston Globe May 18 2012)."
Nor was that Boston Globe printed photograph on its web version.
"Homage to Pinochet heats up debate over legacy" Associated Press, June 11, 2012
SANTIAGO, Chile - General Augusto Pinochet’s loyalists held their biggest gathering since his death in 2006 on Sunday, and it has ignited a national debate about the limits of freedom of speech as groups on the other side sought to block the event and then staged protests to try to disrupt it.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse hundreds of anti-Pinochet demonstrators protesting the premiere of a documentary about the run-up to his dictatorship years.
The good guys always get the gas and water.
The film casts him as a national hero who saved Chile from communism
and who died victimized by vengeful leftists who accused him of
embezzlement and human rights crimes.
When his grandson, retired Captain Augusto Pinochet Molina, took the stage, they gave him a long standing ovation.
Related: Chileans Cheer Return of Pinochet
The screening was organized by Corporacion 11 de Septiembre, named for the day when Pinochet seized power in a bloody 1973 coup that brought down the democratically elected government of Marxist President Salvador Allende.
See: Another 9/11 Anniversary
Ever hear of Operation Condor readers?
Another view of Pinochet’s legacy was expressed on a poster on one of the pock-marked walls at Londres 38, a former detention and torture center where 96 people were killed or disappeared during Chile’s long dictatorship. It reads: “Pinochet, may your legacy die.’’
See: Chile's Catholic House of Horrors
The pro-Pinochet movement is led by Juan Gonzalez, a retired army officer.
“We want to set the record straight on Pinochet,’’ Gonzalez said. “We have stoically put up with the lies and cheating and seen how the story has been manipulated.’’
Reminds me of another fella, regardless of what you think of Nazi methods.
Although Gonzalez’s own sister Francisca has said publicly she was tortured by Pinochet’s forces, Gonzalez disputes that there were human rights abuses during the dictatorship. He says those killed and tortured were casualties of a war against leftist subversion.
“Why can’t we have a documentary if they have their monument to Allende,’’ he said, referring to a statue outside the presidential palace with Allende’s last words: “I have faith in Chile and its destiny.’’
Relatives of the disappeared and more than a dozen human rights groups sent a letter to President Sebastian Pinera asking him to ban the event.
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"Ruling party leads in Dominican presidential race" May 21, 2012
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - A long-time official of the governing party took an early lead in Sunday’s presidential race as he faced off against a brash former president whose last term ended with the deepest economic crisis in the Dominican Republic’s modern history.
With 60 percent of the vote counted, Danilo Medina of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party led with 51 percent, and Hipolito Mejia, the former president, and his Dominican Revolutionary Party had nearly 47 percent. The winner needed more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff.
Mejia’s representative on the Electoral Commission accused the ruling party of fraud, saying the former president should have received many more votes than what was being reflected in the results. “We all know what party the director of the Electoral Commission belongs to,’’ he said at a news conference.
Voting appeared smooth, though several people said that backers of Medina were offering people payments of about $15 to vote for their candidate or to turn over their voting cards and withhold their vote for his opponent. Medina campaign organizers denied the allegations, which have circulated in the country for weeks....
Observers from the Organization of American States confirmed several instances of vote-buying but not enough to taint the vote, which was “successful’’ overall, according to the head of the mission, Tabare Vazquez, a former president of Uruguay.
Many voters said they were eager for a stability in a country with a history of economic and political turmoil.
"I don't want major change," said Amauris Chang, a 59-year-old shop owner. "I want the country to grow and I want it to be peaceful, and I think that's a common idea among people who are civilized."
*******************************
Medina's only real opponent was Mejia, who lost his bid for a second presidential term in 2004 because of a deep economic crisis sparked by the collapse of three banks.
Mejia, a garrulous populist, and his Dominican Revolutionary Party have a devoted following. His supporters sought to portray some of the public works spending as wasteful and benefiting backers of the president, and insisted he wasn't to blame for the 2004 economic crisis....
And he lost, huh?
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Also see: Paraguay’s president recognizes another love-child
Anything else on TV down there?
Venezuela abuzz over Chavez TV appearance
How interesting that when I "click to continue reading this article," it isn't the same piece.
What was scrubbed from the web:
"Chavez governs like the host of a reality show, cameras always rolling as he presides over summits, hectors opponents, and warns of diabolical American plans to unseat him. But.... "
They forgot the 2002 coup.
Also see: Venezuelan President Chavez Hints U.S. Could Be Behind Cancers Affecting South American Leaders
Venezuela's New Leader
Btw, did I mention I'm sick of pot-hollering-kettle media insults?
