Those most affected by drugs and drug policies — from urban youth to coca farmers — usually find themselves sidelined in the debate over drug policy.
Finally, a Forum for Victims of the “Wars on Drugs”
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Latin America & Caribbean
Costa Rica’s Love-Hate Relationship With Heavy US Military Footprint
Costa Ricans are both frightened and reassured by the 46 U.S. warships and 7,000 U.S. Marines patrolling its shores.
Donating to Haiti and Beyond
Media coverage of humanitarian crises appears to influence charitable giving. Using internet donations after the 2004 Indonesia tsunami as a case study, Philip Brown and Jessica Mintyof The William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan, show that media coverage of disasters has a dramatic impact on donations to relief agencies. According to Brown and Minty, an additional minute of nightly news coverage increases donations by 13.2 percent of the average daily donation for the typical relief agency. Similarly, an additional 700-word story in The New York Times or Wall Street Journal raises donations by 18.2 percent of the daily average.7
A Bad Week for the Monroe Doctrine
In her address to the delegates, Clinton complained that the OAS “has not always lived up to its founding ideals.” Now it is, and Washington is less than happy.
U.S. Support for Israel Mirrors 80s Support for El Salvador Junta
The differences between the policies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama are not as great as we think.
The Times, Lula and Lily Tomlin
Blind criticism of Iran deal seen as spot on Paper of Record’s legacy.
Iran, Brazil, Turkey and the Ghost of Lord Palmerston
The U.S. State Department’s claim that the “international community” is behind the U.S. is increasingly sounding like whistling past the graveyard.
A State of Emergency in Paraguay: The Risks of Militarization
Since Apr. 26, a state of emergency has been in effect in five northern provinces of Paraguay, which represent a third of the nation’s territory. The government maintains that there is an active guerrilla presence in the region, although it has never been able to prove its existence. However, what is certain is that acts of violence have been committed by mafia organizations and the government is trying to resolve the situation through militarization.
Radio, TV Marti Seen as Bust
Despite spending more than half a billion dollars over the last quarter century, U.S. government broadcasts to Cuba have gained only a tiny audience and have had virtually no effect on the island’s politics, according to a new report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Relentless Pursuit of Extreme Energy
It took President Obama 24 days to finally get publicly angry and “rip” into BP and its partners for the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. What was he waiting for? The pattern has been obvious enough: however bad you thought it was, or anyone said it was at any given moment, it’s worse (and will get worse yet).