Saturday, May 11, 2013

5.11.13 - Shared Newslinks Review


San Juan
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San JuanCapital city
CayeyHome of Monument to the Puerto Rican Countryman

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MFS - The Other News: 1/3 Population of Puerto Rico Gets Food ...
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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) for Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, received $2 billion in Nutrition Assistance Block Grants in fiscal ...
Efraín Ríos Montt Found Guilty of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
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Guatemalan de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt was declared guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. After organizing and fighting in courts for years, Guatemala's Ixil Maya indigenous achieved justice.
The verdict was live-tweeted and streamed [es].
While Ríos Montt was declared guilty and sentenced to 80 years in prison, former Intelligence Director José Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez was declared innocent.
Rios Montt ruled Guatemala from March 1982 to August 1983 during the country's 36-year civil war. As Xeni Jardin explains in BoingBoing: “The 86-year-old former General and head of state was charged with the crimes over a counterinsurgency campaign in 1982-1983 that resulted in the deaths of 1,771 Maya Ixil.”
Rios Montt Genocide Trial Day 26
Rios Montt Genocide Trial Day 26. Photo by James Rodriguez of MiMundo.org, used with permission.
Guatemala's indigenous were severely impacted by the war; they lost land, houses, animals, crops, and had to live in hiding in the mountains. After the war the country offered little opportunities.
Today, the Ixil communities are among the poorest in the country, with up to 77% living in poverty [es]. In Guatemala, where up to 40% of the population is indigenous, eight out of 10 indigenous peoples are poor. Furthermore, racism impacts their education and employment opportunities.
In spite of their poverty, the survivors were not asking for reparations -they were asking for justice, as Mr. Benjamín Jerónimo, plaintiff of the genocide case, told the tribunal in the closing arguments of a very complex trial which Amnesty International summarized in ten facts:
Genocide was committed, crimes against humanity were committed and today, 100 witnesses came to tell the truth, to ask for justice for all that we suffered, publicly… We are not looking for vengeance, we are looking for a true peace with justice, with respect, with equality, with dignity, that is why we are here.
It takes more than ten hours to travel in public transport from the Ixil region to Guatemala City, where the trial took place. In spite of their modest income and the distance, members of the Ixil community were present in the courtroom every day, as photo records by James Rodriguez of MiMundo.org and the coverage by Xeni Jardin in Boing Boingshow. Xeni live tweeted the final verdict from the courtroom.
Picture by James Rodríguez, Mimundo.org used with permission.
Picture by James Rodríguez, Mimundo.org used with permission.
video explaining all the evidence leading to the charges was aired this week by PBS in the United States, generating debate about president Reagan's involvement. The article “The Final Battle: Rios Montt's Counterinsurgency Campaign: U.S. and Guatemalan Documents Describe the Strategy Behind Scorched Earth” by The National Security Archiveadds:
Ríos Montt's scorched earth tactics are documented in a collection of Guatemalan army records created in July and August 1982, connected to Operation Sofía — a series of counterinsurgency sweeps through the Ixil region to kill EGP combatants and destroy their “base of support” (the Maya Ixil population). The Operation Sofía documents were given to the National Security Archive in 2009 and the Archive in turn provided them as criminal evidence to the prosecutors in the genocide case.
The trial has been an example of open justice, with translation available for the Ixil peoples during the entire trial, unrestricted access to press and a strong interaction in social media.
Parallel to the debate in court, a conversation -a battle of ideas and facts- took place online.
Netizens used the hashtags #riosmontt#genocidegt and #sihubogenocidio (“yes, it was genocide”), and there were livestreams here (audio), here (audio) and here.
There are also netizens who deny that there was a genocide, and they are using the hashtag #nohubogenocidio (“there was no genocide”) to share their views.
During the trial citizens all over the world took a pledge and shared a photo showing their support for justice.
International volunteers from NISGUAPeace Brigades InternationalCollectif Guatemala and other NGOs worked and supported families of survivors during the trial. They also produced content in English and French to share with the world.
After thirty years, this landmark verdict materializing the spirit of the Genocide Convention and the enforcement ofcrimes against humanity is an insurance for each and every human being, as it sets a precedent for current conflicts around the world. It is a ray of hope for entire villages labelled as “the enemy” in Syria, for the suffering of the Rohingyain Myanmar, and for all the conflicts to come.
Furthermore, it also marks a new beginning for an inclusive Guatemala, embracing and learning from the values and differences of 24 nations, starting with the lessons of courage, patience and non-violent struggle for justice taught by the Ixil. As Salvadoran digital journal El Faro said, the Ixil peoples already achieved a victory [es].
Photo via @xeni: "Juana Sanchez Toma, Ixil rape victim whom we interviewed for @newshour. 'I dreamed of justice. And now here it is.'"
Photo via @xeni: “Juana Sanchez Toma, Ixil rape victim whom we interviewed for @newshour. ‘I dreamed of justice. And now here it is.'”
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Monica Puig: Puerto Rico's Rising Tennis Star - Latinos Post
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Latinos Post

Monica Puig: Puerto Rico's Rising Tennis Star
Latinos Post
Now take a young player from an Island with a short history in the game and one major player of note, and you can appreciate how far Monica Puig, from Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, has come. As of May 6, 2013, Monica is currently ranked 88th in the world.

Immigration's Odd Couple - Daily Beast
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Daily Beast

Immigration's Odd Couple
Daily Beast
Born and raised to Puerto Rican parents in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, Gutierrez endured his own sense of fear and loss when, after his freshman year in high school, his parents retired and moved the family to a small mountain barrio in Puerto ...

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Podcast: The Arecibo Observatory
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The mighty Arecibo Radio Observatory is one of the most powerful radio telescopes ever built - it's certainly the larger single aperture radio telescope on Earth, nestled into a natural sinkhole in Puerto Rico.
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Sean Hayes To Star In 'Sean Saves The World,' As NBC Picks Up Gay Actor's ... - Huffington Post
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Sean Hayes To Star In 'Sean Saves The World,' As NBC Picks Up Gay Actor's ...
Huffington Post
History was made in October when active professional featherweight boxer <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/orlando-cruz-comes-out-gay_n_1939204.html">Orlando Cruz of Puerto Rico came out</a>. He said in a USA Today article, "I've ...

coachella
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  1. Family Tree on HBO

    • 1 month ago
    • 28,451 views
    A comedy series from Best in Showdirector Christopher Guest.
      • 10 views
      • 19 views
    1. Family Tree on HBO

      • 1 month ago
      • 28,451 views
      A comedy series from Best in Showdirector Christopher Guest.

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    Puerto Rico to Cut Off Water to Non-payers
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    Puerto Rico's heavily indebted state-owned water and sewer authority announced that it is cutting off service to customers who don't pay their bills, including the municipal government of Arecibo.
    Puerto Rico to Cut Off Water to Non-payers
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    Puerto Rico's heavily indebted state-owned water and sewer authority announced that it is cutting off service to customers who don't pay their bills, including the municipal government of Arecibo.
    Leave Food Out for the Mail Carrier; Stamp Out Hunger is Today - Patch.com
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    Winston-Salem Chronicle

    Leave Food Out for the Mail Carrier; Stamp Out Hunger is Today
    Patch.com
    It is the nation's largest single-day food drive, and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Last year, letter carriers collected ...
    Letter carriers' annual food drive this SaturdayClay Today Online

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    Timeline PhotosPor si te lo perdiste: Mujer nada con tiburones blancos para cort...
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    Timeline Photos
    Por si te lo perdiste: Mujer nada con tiburones blancos para cortometraje. http://ow.ly/kUJwL
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    Gay Puerto Rico shared VictOr Ferreira's photo.
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    The Wall Street Journal A 408-foot spire was placed atop One World Trade Center
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    A 408-foot spire was placed atop One World Trade Center Friday.http://on.wsj.com/10nqCrl

    The tower reached a symbolic 1,776 feet above the ground in Lower Manhattan.

    Credit: European Pressphoto Agency
    A 408-foot spire was placed atop One World Trade Center Friday. http://on.wsj.com/10nqCrl  The tower reached a symbolic 1,776 feet above the ground in Lower Manhattan.  Credit: European Pressphoto Agency