Monday, September 22, 2008

Two Stories

First, Project Censored highlights work from Upside Down World, the NACLA, CISPES, and AlteNet, with reporting on the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in El Salvador (basically, a School of the Americas for the police). While centered in Central America, it gives a glimpse at the influence the U.S. is trying to exert on other places in Lating America, too, with a mention of Bolivia at the end of the report. Check it out. Very informative: "Is the U.S. Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America?"

Also, the BBC reports that the "Russian Navy Sails to Venezuela," which would indicate that American power, influence and prestige has dissipated to such a low point that, well, the Russian navy is sailing to Venezuela. Isn't the U.S. Fourth Fleet still hanging out down there? Jesus.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

re: the ruskies in the carib...

fun, eh? Something you might flip through when you get a chance in Jim Dunnigan's Strategy Page. He analyzes world events from a military strategy perspective. Accordingly, instead of watching newspapers and press releases - because everyone lies and/or shades reality with politics - he watches where the countries are putting their money and troops. He often has articles on Venezuela.

My father once asked him about Bolivia, and Dunnigan concurred with the rest of the world: Bolivia is utterly unpredictable. The forces active in Bolivia, like Venezuela and the U.S., are easier to track... but when it comes to Bolivia, even the external forces get caught up in the delightful insanity and can't be pegged as tightly as usual.