Positive stories about Latin American immigrants and the United States are difficult to come by right now. But at least Pedro X. Molina and his family have found a happy ending.
Molina is an award-winning political cartoonist, whose scathing satire has been syndicated all across the world. Originally from Nicaragua, Molina was on staff at the Confidencial when their offices were raided and ransacked by police in December 2018. Like most dictatorial leaders, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was none-too-pleased with the Confidencial for doing such terrible things as, well, reporting the truth about his brutal and inhumane actions—you know, like ordering a violent police raid on journalists who dared to criticize him. Read the rest
During Trump's address this morning where he declared a National Emergency in order to get funding for the wall that Mexico didn't pay for, he also mentioned how excited he was about the idea of a death penalty for people who traffic drugs.
He talked about a meeting he had with China's President Xi Jinping, in which Xi attributed China's low drug crimes to the punishment of death. "That's frankly one of the things I'm most excited about in our trade deal," Trump said, referring to the death penalty given to drug dealers.
"If we want to get smart...you can end the drug problem, a lot faster than people think." Read the rest
A brass plaque memorializing Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein was spotted Sunday on a park bench in London. No-one's exactly sure how long it's been there, but it was gone by Monday evening. Victoria Richards took the photo and spoke to the BBC.
Victoria questioned the motive of whoever fixed the plaque on the bench: "Was it a prankster? What's the message? Was it a frivolous, dark thing to do?"
Reaction on social media has been mixed. Some thought it was funny while others were shocked.
Adds the BBC: "Some came to the conclusion there must have been another person called Saddam Hussein who was born and died on the same dates as the dictator, and lived locally in Wanstead." Read the rest
If you're not pissed off at the assassination of The Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, you should be.
As a permanent resident of the United States, Khashoggi should be protected by the U.S. Government, just like any United States citizen. But, instead of pouring pressure on Saudi Arabia to bring the perpetrators of Khashoggi's slaughter to justice, there's nothing but the flapping of gums over "rogue killers." Money, as always, is being put ahead of the sanctity of human life and the rule of law. Khashoggi's murder is also an attack on the freedom of the press. His brave, unwavering reports on corruption and human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia made him a target for the Saudi royal family and the nation's intelligence apparatus. He was killed for telling the truth. We can't force our governments to take action over Khashoggi's murder. But we can make our outrage known to those responsible for doing business with Saudi Arabia.
The Future Investment Initiative (FII) is a conference being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 23rd. Rich people will talk about rich people things to make themselves even more rich. The event is the work of Public Investment fund--one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. The PIF is a mechanism by which our aforementioned invest in things that only rich people can afford to spend their money on in order to be even more rich. The FII's October 23rd event is an orgy of money-grubbing elitists talking about how to secure further funding, build assets, and control even more of the world's wealth than the ultra-rich already do. Read the rest
President Trump’s recent phone call with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte wasn't released in detail by the Trump White House, but someone else leaked it. Trump praises Duterte on the call for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem,” which consists of Duterte literally murdering people in extrajudicial street executions. Read the rest
Belurusian leader Alexander Lukashenko calls himself "Europe's last dictator": he's a thug who steals elections and sends opposition politicians to forced labor camps, the kind of guy who can get away with arresting a one-armed man for clapping -- but when he imposed a "social parasite tax" on unemployed people in the recession-devastated country, it proved too much. Read the rest
My late father-in-law, a U.S. Army major, was posted to the Congo (then Zaïre) in the 70s and thusly was honored by his host, president Mobute Sese Seko. How sad life must have been in Brazzaville, over the waters, where there were no silk Mobute Sese Seko scarves. Read the rest
