AltWeeklies Wire
A Reporter Finds Getting to Cuba Easier Than Getting Outnew
Officials on the U.S. side were polite but firm when my family returned to Vermont from a two-week visit to Cuba. They ripped apart a red Che Guevara T-shirt I’d bought for my daughter. And they sliced up the two necklaces — total value $2 — that Liam had bought on a beach.
Seven Days |
Kevin J. Kelley |
01-29-2010 |
International
Understanding North Koreanew
For years, the activists at the Korea Policy Institute have been trying to influence US policy toward North Korea. Finally, Washington may be listening.
East Bay Express |
Kathleen Wentz |
11-04-2009 |
International
How Canada Got Caught in an Afghan Election That Doesn't Add Upnew
The news on the Afghan election, backed so earnestly by Canada and its $35 million contribution, has gone from terrible to tragic.
NOW Magazine |
Paul Weinberg |
10-16-2009 |
International
Cuba's Black Market Moves Online with Revolico.comnew
On an island where selling almost anything on the street, over the airwaves, or in the newspaper is forbidden by the socialist constitution, Revolico offers tens of thousands of items. Legions of Habaneros shop on the site every day, making it the most obvious crack yet in the foundation of Fidel Castro's Cuba.
Miami New Times |
Tim Elfrink and Vanessa Grisalez |
10-05-2009 |
International
Mexican Citizens Seeking Help from the Dallas Consulate Get Snared in a Legal Grudge Matchnew
Lawyer Robert Lyons claimed that he was owed a piece of a $2 million fee collected by a rival lawyer in a case stemming from the accidental death of a Mexican truck driver in Dallas. His lawsuit would lead to allegations of kickbacks and corruption at Dallas' Mexican Consulate, charges denied by Mexican Consul General Enrique Hubbard Urrea.
Dallas Observer |
Megan Feldman |
08-17-2009 |
International
A Darker Look at Che's Revolutionnew
There's little question that, as former top CIA analyst Brian Latell puts it, Gustavo Villoldo played a "very critical role in the capture of Che Guevara." But while some exiles consider Gustavo a hero, Che fans and scholars such as UCLA's Peter McLaren call him a "narrow-minded ideologue who set out to avenge his father and took his anger out on a great man."
Miami New Times |
Tim Elfrink |
08-10-2009 |
International
Kidnapped Man Gets an Up-Close Look Into Nigeria's Oily Heart of Darknessnew
Members of the Niger-Delta Freedom Fighters held oilman Larry Plake hostage at their camp for three weeks. They didn't necessarily want to make a political statement. They wanted money -- more than $1 million per hostage.
Dallas Observer |
Chris Vogel |
07-13-2009 |
International
Facebook Revolution: Iran's Opposition Internetnew
During mass demonstrations in Tehran last week, the Western press couldn't stop writing about how protesters were using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to organize demonstrations, spread news and share videos of street battles. In this case, the hype was true.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
06-24-2009 |
International
Congress Votes Down a NAFTA-Mandated Trucking Programnew
After years of political shell games on Capitol Hill, yet another push to unleash Mexican trucks across the United States has been quashed.
Tucson Weekly |
Tim Vanderpool |
04-08-2009 |
International
Bush's Pasta Overshadows Torture Revelationsnew
A Red Cross report detailing prison abuse was released the day before George W. Bush's first post-presidency speaking engagement.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jeremy Klaszus |
03-19-2009 |
International
Canada Should Bar or Prosecute George W Bush: Lawyernew
As George W. Bush’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Calgary draws near, the federal government is facing pressure from activists and human rights lawyers to bar the former U.S. president from the country or prosecute him for war crimes and crimes against humanity once he steps on Canadian soil.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jeremy Klaszus |
03-05-2009 |
International
Orange County's Mexican Consul Sparks Protests, Burns Bridgesnew
Allegations of nepotism, elitism and favoritism all at the hands of Carlos Rodriguez y Quezada and his deputy consul have swirled throughout the county and the Spanish-language media since last summer. The situation heated up just before Christmas, when half a dozen longtime employees were fired without warning or reason and banned from setting foot in the consulate office.
OC Weekly |
Daffodil J. Altan |
02-24-2009 |
International
Evicted Again: Boise Refugees Down to Two Week's Rentnew
Refugee families resettled in Boise from Iraq and Bhutan are perilously close to the end of their housing allowance and few have found jobs. Aid agencies are not sure how to help.
Boise Weekly |
Nathaniel Hoffman |
02-18-2009 |
International
How a Mother of Two Ended Up in a Plot to Smuggle High-Tech Gear to Irannew
Shahrzad Mir Gholikhan maintains that she became accidentally caught up in her shady ex-husband's international plot. The feds have a different theory: That she was an operative of the Iranian government working to put U.S. security at risk.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Deirdra Funcheon |
01-13-2009 |
International
Israel Must Make Peace with Neighborsnew
The war against Hamas in Gaza looks more and more like the three-week Israeli war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, which could hardly be called a success. It will last about as long. It will kill about as many Arabs, probably a thousand or so. And it will end with Hamas, like Hezbollah, still able to fire rockets at Israel.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
01-13-2009 |
International
