2008 Woodie Awards
Vote Absentee
Mayhem in Paris, author banned from Iran, Chavez at odds w/ Colombia & Spain
Jesus Ron
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: News
Paris Riots
It began with the death of two teenagers and it ended with violence and flames.
The riots flared after 15-year old Lakamy Samoura and 16-year old Moshin Sehhouli who were riding motorcycles were involved in a crash with a police car on Sunday Nov. 19.
Violence followed after the two teens died. Local youths protested with two nights of rioting which ended last Tuesday Nov. 22..
At least 77 police officers were injured, over 30 cars were burned and numerous public buildings were set on fire including a library.
Rioters reportedly used Molotov cocktails, stones and shotguns to attack police officers.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to keep the rioting youths at bay.
Currently, the riots have died down but there is still a strong police presence in the Paris suburbs whose residents consist mostly of poor immigrants, many of them African and Arabic. The majority of Police officers in the area are white.
French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, called the riots a result of a "thugocracy" in a televised statement last Friday and said that using money to fix the problem would not work. He advocated an increase in law enforcement.
Critics say that Sarkozy is not paying enough attention to some of the problems responsible for the tensions in poor neighborhoods which include unemployment and racil discrimination.
A similar situation occurred in 2005 when the deaths of two teens who were electrocuted while hiding from police caused three weeks of rioting. Increased funding and social programs in the area have not been effective, according to state officials.
Venezuelan prez on rampage
Hugo Chávez, the outspoken president of Venezuela who is in the midst of drastically altering his country's constitution was involved in fiery disputes with both Colombia and Spain this month.
He threatened to cut political and business ties with both countries.
However, Chávez may face his biggest criticism at his home where over one hundred thousand people gathered last Thursday in protest of the constitutional reforms which are set to be voted on Dec. 2.
The reforms would extend presidential terms from six to seven years and also allow indefinite state of emergencies where Chávez can assume extensive control, have extensive power to jail suspects and censor media.
Chávez says the extended term is necessary for him to efficiently implement his socialist policies.
Other amendments in the referendum include shortening the work day and restrictions against racial and political discrimination.
According to the Associated Press, tens of thousands Chávez supporters who endorsed the referendum marched through the same city streets last Friday.
Squabbling with Spain, King tells Chávez to Shut Up:
The dispute with Spain erupted during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile where leaders from 22-nations, including Spain, Portugal and various Latin American countries, met to discuss the theme of "social cohesion."
During the summit Chávez called the former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar, a fascist and then compared him to a serpent.
The current Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, responded by asking to Chávez to be more diplomatic adding that Aznar was a democratically elected leader.
Chávez, whose microphone was turned off at the time, made brazen attempts to interrupt Zapatero.
It is at this point that King Juan Carlos of Spain boldly stepped forward and asked Chávez, "Why don't you shut up?"
Later, Chávez announced on Venezuelan television that he expected an apology and threatened trade relations with Spain.
According to Reuter's, Chávez has named Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., owners of top Venezuelan banks, as possible targets, saying that Venezuela, a major oil exporter, does not need their business.
Other Spanish companies in possible danger include Telefónica, the largest mobile phone company in Venuzuela and Repsol an oil company.
According to Reuters, Spain is one of Venezuela's largest foreign investors, with $2.4 billion invested by Spanish companies in the South American nation since Chavez took office in 1999.
,b> Quarrel with Colombia
Chávez also found himself in a spat with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia earlier this week.
Chávez and Uribe were working together to negotiate with a Colombian guerrilla group to have 45 hostages released in exchange for jailed rebels.
Uribe decided to drop out as a mediator of negotiations after Chávez called a Colombian military commander despite explicitly being told by Uribe not to.
The break led to angry remarks from both presidents, Chávez and Uribe.
"President Uribe is lying . . . in a shameless, horrible, ugly way," said Chávez in a televised statement, "I think Colombia deserves another president, it deserves a better president."
Uribe responded by saying Chávez was a, "legitimizer of terrorists."
Chávez is well known for his heated statements; last year he called President Bush "the devil" while endorsing a book by Noam Chomsky at a United Nations meeting.
Recently he accused the news network, CNN of seeking to incite an assassination attempt on him after a video error showed an image of Chávez alongside the text "Who killed him?" CNN reported it was an error and apologized.
García Márquez Banned in Iran
Only 5,000 people in Iran will be able to read Gabriel García Márquez's recent novella, "Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores."
A translated version of the book appeared in Iran with its provocative title changed to the more benign, "Memoirs of My Melancholy Sweethearts."
After an initial printing of 5000 first editions which quickly sold out, the book was banned by Iranian officials who refused to allow subsequent printings.
Iran claims that the book initially slipped by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which approves all books for publication, due to a "bureaucratic error," according to a BBC News report.
The novella tells the story of an elderly man who has never been in love and who decides to celebrate his 90 th birthday by engaging in a night of debauchery with an adolescent virgin. A brothel madam sets up a meeting, but when the man arrives the woman is asleep.
The man returns night after night only to watch the young girl sleep and discovers true love for the first time in his life.
The novella's plot along with its original title caught the attention and incensed religious conservatives in Iran who reported it to the authorities.
García Márquez, a world renowned Colombian author, was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1982.
Other books by García Márquez such as One Hundred Years of Solitude have been published in Iran in the past.
It began with the death of two teenagers and it ended with violence and flames.
The riots flared after 15-year old Lakamy Samoura and 16-year old Moshin Sehhouli who were riding motorcycles were involved in a crash with a police car on Sunday Nov. 19.
Violence followed after the two teens died. Local youths protested with two nights of rioting which ended last Tuesday Nov. 22..
At least 77 police officers were injured, over 30 cars were burned and numerous public buildings were set on fire including a library.
Rioters reportedly used Molotov cocktails, stones and shotguns to attack police officers.
Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to keep the rioting youths at bay.
Currently, the riots have died down but there is still a strong police presence in the Paris suburbs whose residents consist mostly of poor immigrants, many of them African and Arabic. The majority of Police officers in the area are white.
French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, called the riots a result of a "thugocracy" in a televised statement last Friday and said that using money to fix the problem would not work. He advocated an increase in law enforcement.
Critics say that Sarkozy is not paying enough attention to some of the problems responsible for the tensions in poor neighborhoods which include unemployment and racil discrimination.
A similar situation occurred in 2005 when the deaths of two teens who were electrocuted while hiding from police caused three weeks of rioting. Increased funding and social programs in the area have not been effective, according to state officials.
Venezuelan prez on rampage
Hugo Chávez, the outspoken president of Venezuela who is in the midst of drastically altering his country's constitution was involved in fiery disputes with both Colombia and Spain this month.
He threatened to cut political and business ties with both countries.
However, Chávez may face his biggest criticism at his home where over one hundred thousand people gathered last Thursday in protest of the constitutional reforms which are set to be voted on Dec. 2.
The reforms would extend presidential terms from six to seven years and also allow indefinite state of emergencies where Chávez can assume extensive control, have extensive power to jail suspects and censor media.
Chávez says the extended term is necessary for him to efficiently implement his socialist policies.
Other amendments in the referendum include shortening the work day and restrictions against racial and political discrimination.
According to the Associated Press, tens of thousands Chávez supporters who endorsed the referendum marched through the same city streets last Friday.
Squabbling with Spain, King tells Chávez to Shut Up:
The dispute with Spain erupted during the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile where leaders from 22-nations, including Spain, Portugal and various Latin American countries, met to discuss the theme of "social cohesion."
During the summit Chávez called the former Prime Minister of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar, a fascist and then compared him to a serpent.
The current Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, responded by asking to Chávez to be more diplomatic adding that Aznar was a democratically elected leader.
Chávez, whose microphone was turned off at the time, made brazen attempts to interrupt Zapatero.
It is at this point that King Juan Carlos of Spain boldly stepped forward and asked Chávez, "Why don't you shut up?"
Later, Chávez announced on Venezuelan television that he expected an apology and threatened trade relations with Spain.
According to Reuter's, Chávez has named Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., owners of top Venezuelan banks, as possible targets, saying that Venezuela, a major oil exporter, does not need their business.
Other Spanish companies in possible danger include Telefónica, the largest mobile phone company in Venuzuela and Repsol an oil company.
According to Reuters, Spain is one of Venezuela's largest foreign investors, with $2.4 billion invested by Spanish companies in the South American nation since Chavez took office in 1999.
,b> Quarrel with Colombia
Chávez also found himself in a spat with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia earlier this week.
Chávez and Uribe were working together to negotiate with a Colombian guerrilla group to have 45 hostages released in exchange for jailed rebels.
Uribe decided to drop out as a mediator of negotiations after Chávez called a Colombian military commander despite explicitly being told by Uribe not to.
The break led to angry remarks from both presidents, Chávez and Uribe.
"President Uribe is lying . . . in a shameless, horrible, ugly way," said Chávez in a televised statement, "I think Colombia deserves another president, it deserves a better president."
Uribe responded by saying Chávez was a, "legitimizer of terrorists."
Chávez is well known for his heated statements; last year he called President Bush "the devil" while endorsing a book by Noam Chomsky at a United Nations meeting.
Recently he accused the news network, CNN of seeking to incite an assassination attempt on him after a video error showed an image of Chávez alongside the text "Who killed him?" CNN reported it was an error and apologized.
García Márquez Banned in Iran
Only 5,000 people in Iran will be able to read Gabriel García Márquez's recent novella, "Memoirs of My Melancholy Whores."
A translated version of the book appeared in Iran with its provocative title changed to the more benign, "Memoirs of My Melancholy Sweethearts."
After an initial printing of 5000 first editions which quickly sold out, the book was banned by Iranian officials who refused to allow subsequent printings.
Iran claims that the book initially slipped by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which approves all books for publication, due to a "bureaucratic error," according to a BBC News report.
The novella tells the story of an elderly man who has never been in love and who decides to celebrate his 90 th birthday by engaging in a night of debauchery with an adolescent virgin. A brothel madam sets up a meeting, but when the man arrives the woman is asleep.
The man returns night after night only to watch the young girl sleep and discovers true love for the first time in his life.
The novella's plot along with its original title caught the attention and incensed religious conservatives in Iran who reported it to the authorities.
García Márquez, a world renowned Colombian author, was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1982.
Other books by García Márquez such as One Hundred Years of Solitude have been published in Iran in the past.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Gustavo Gonzales
posted 5/01/08 @ 2:43 PM EST
Hugo Chavez is not a representative of anything except himself, and that is a very sorry I repeat ver sorry representation of a leader even more so of a man . (Continued…)
Post a Comment