By ELLEN BARRY (New York Times, Sept. 27, 2008)

MOSCOW — Russia continued its international muscle-flexing on Friday, strengthening its ties to Venezuela through a $1 billion military loan and a new oil consortium as it announced an upgrade of its own military focusing on nuclear deterrence and permanent combat readiness.

After a military exercise on Friday in the southern city of Orenburg, near the border with Kazakhstan, the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, declared that by 2020 Russia would construct new types of warships, including nuclear submarines carrying cruise missiles and an unspecified air and space defense system.

The moves point to continuing tension between Russia and the West after the five-day war in Georgia. Response in Washington was muted, as officials weighed whether the moves were merely a restatement of existing initiatives or should be interpreted as one early sign of a new, if slow-motion, arms race. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with Reuters: “The balance of power in terms of nuclear deterrence is not going to be affected by those measures.”

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26 de Septiembre de 2008

El ex presidente cubano, de 82 años, sostiene que el imperialismo “trata de liquidarlo políticamente (a Chávez) o eliminarlo a cualquier precio, sin reparar en que su muerte constituiría una catástrofe para Venezuela y para la economía y la estabilidad de todos los gobiernos de América Latina y el Caribe”.

El ex presidente cubano Fidel Castro afirmó este viernes que el socialismo democrático del mandatario venezolano, Hugo Chávez, es la respuesta al “capitalismo democrático” del gobernante estadounidense, George W. Bush, en el tercer artículo que publica en tres días.

“El ‘capitalismo democrático’ de Bush tiene una respuesta exacta: el socialismo democrático de Chávez. No habría forma más precisa de expresar la gran contradicción entre el Norte y el Sur de nuestro hemisferio”, indica Castro en una nueva reflexión publicada en el sitio web “cubadebate.cu”.

El ex presidente cubano, de 82 años, sostiene que el imperialismo “trata de liquidarlo políticamente (a Chávez) o eliminarlo a cualquier precio, sin reparar en que su muerte constituiría una catástrofe para Venezuela y para la economía y la estabilidad de todos los gobiernos de América Latina y el Caribe”.

Castro elogia a Chávez en su artículo y dice que sus conversaciones con el presidente sudamericano se caracterizan por el punto de vista que sostiene de que “en este instante lo más importante es salvar a Venezuela de la embestida política del Gobierno de Estados Unidos”.

“Desde ahora hasta el 23 de noviembre la batalla que se libra es de gran trascendencia, y no deseamos que el apoyo a Cuba sea tomado como pretexto para golpear a la Revolución Bolivariana”, subraya Castro al agradecer la ayuda de Caracas a la isla tras el paso de dos huracanes a principios de mes.

El presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, visitó Cuba durante cinco horas entre la noche del domingo y la madrugada del lunes pasado, tras emprender una gira internacional por varios países, y se entrevistó con el presidente de la isla, general Raúl Castro, según medios oficiales cubanos.

El mandatario venezolano dijo tras su llegada a China que se había reunido con Fidel Castro.

“Los 92 obreros de la construcción venezolanos integrantes de las Brigadas Socialistas de Trabajo Voluntario, enviados a edificar viviendas en Pinar del Río (en el occidente de Cuba), constituyen todo un símbolo de nuestra época”, dice.

El líder cubano asegura que “se viven instantes de mucha importancia”, en referencia a la “consulta popular para aprobar la nueva Constitución en Ecuador”, de “gran trascendencia” dice; la reunión de Chávez el lunes en Brasil con el presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, y el debate entre los candidatos a la presidencia de EE.UU. Barack Obama y John McCain.

“Todas son noticias importantes. Por ello no quiero dejar para el lunes estas líneas, ya que Chávez mañana, sábado, estará de regreso en su patria y hablándole de nuevo a su pueblo el domingo. Él siempre utiliza algo de estas reflexiones en su batalla”, dice.

EFE

En una abierta crítica al liberalismo a ultranza, la Mandataria señaló que la actual crisis representa “una derrota de los que creen que nada se puede regular” y demuestra que “ha fallado” la voluntad de progreso.

El artículo completo, publicado el La Nación de Chile

Señor Presidente:

Hace ocho años, representantes de todos los países del planeta se reunieron en esta Asamblea General para aprobar la Declaración del Milenio, texto que constituye uno de los acuerdos más amplios y explícitos que haya elaborado la comunidad internacional en materia de desarrollo, bienestar y calidad de vida de las personas.

Esta Declaración, señor Presidente, fijó una serie de estándares muy precisos en materia de lucha contra el hambre, la pobreza, educación, salud, igualdad de género, medio ambiente y cooperación, donde se declara, para cada uno de ellos, cuál es el piso mínimo al que las naciones se deben comprometer.

El mundo precisó en ese momento, el marco civilizatorio al cual aspira.

Cuáles son los desafíos ineludibles y las tareas insoslayables para todo gobierno y para la comunidad internacional. Definió un verdadero horizonte ético para los líderes de las naciones.

Pero el mundo ha cambiado desde entonces.

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TVN is Chile’s state-owned television station. It has been running a poll asking voters to select “los grandes chilenos.” Here are the results:

	Salvador Allende		1.639.687[38.81%]
	Arturo Prat		1.624.181[38.44%]
	Alberto Hurtado		336.802[7.97%]
	Víctor Jara		154.998[3.67%]
	Manuel Rodríguez		102.625[2.43%]
	José Miguel Carrera		90.941[2.15%]
	Lautaro		83.351[1.97%]
	Gabriela Mistral		79.660[1.89%]
	Pablo Neruda		57.936[1.37%]
	Violeta Parra		54.690[1.29%

(Allende you know; Arturo Prat was a Chilean naval hero, famous for his actions in the War of the Pacific — when he was killed) By the way, about 7 million Chileans voted in the last election — 3 million in this one!

Henry Kissinger and Sarah Palin share a pleasant moment trashing Ivy League educations! (BTW, check out The Onion for its take on the Kissinger-Palin meeting. Priceless, as they say. Here’s just a slice: “‘Dr. Kissinger has given Gov. Palin thorough instructions for launching deadly covert military operations in tiny Southeast Asian countries in blatant disregard for human life and international law,” said McCain campaign spokesperson Tracey Schmitt of Palin’s brief consultation with the Nixon and Ford administrations’ former secretary of state and national security adviser. “In addition, the governor now feels completely confident that, if she is ever required to step in for Sen. McCain to mastermind the toppling of a democratically elected but left-leaning South American government without congressional consent, she will be fully prepared.’”

Hidden in the many, many stories about the massive Wall Street bailout now dominating the news was a nice piece of irony offered by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. According to Reuters (as reported in the New York Times), on September 19, in a speech in Caracas,
Chávez said: “The United States has spent $900 billion, four times what Venezuela produces in a year, to try to boost the troubled finance system and housing market…They have critized me, especially in the United States, for nationalizing a great company, CANTV, that didn’t even cost $1.5 billion.” Ca-ching!

Bolivia’s Popular Upheaval:

Social and Indigenous Movements March on Santa Cruz, Bastion of the Right Wing

By Tanya M. Kerssen and Roger Burbach

A popular upheaval is sweeping Bolivia, threatening the departmental capital of Santa Cruz, the bastion of the right wing rebellion against the government of Evo Morales. Some twenty thousand miners, peasants and coca growers are moving on the city to reclaim state institutions occupied by autonomist forces. They are also demanding the resignation of the Santa Cruz prefect (governor), Rubén Costas, and the apprehension of Branko Marinkovich, an agro-industrial magnet who heads up the Santa Cruz Civic Committee comprised of large land owning and business interests.

Five hundred kilometers away in Cochabamba in central Bolivia negotiations are taking place between the Morales government and the opposition. Thousands of demonstrators occupy the city’s streets, serving notice that the country’s social movements will tolerate no concessions to the right wing. The “Dialogue,” facilitated by Jose Miguel Insulza, the president of the Organization of American States, is to resolve the issues that have brought the country to the precipice of civil war. “I want to sign a document that will allow for the pacification of the country … and guarantee a new political constitution for the state,” proclaims Morales.

But the opposition is raising procedural and substantive objections to the governments’ proposals, even to an autonomy accord that contains concessions for the rebellious departments. According to Fidel Surco, the head of the National Coordination for Change, the coalition of Bolivia’s social movements allied with MAS, the Movement Towards Socialism: “We aren’t going to wait any longer…we know that the prefects are simply stalling so that no accords are reached.” Morales, in a warning to those in attendance at the Dialogue, said: “I have a letter from the mobilized social movements, they also want to participate. As far as I am concerned they are welcome, we await their participation.”

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Press Release from APA, September 17, 2008

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WASHINGTON—The petition resolution stating that psychologists may not work in settings where “persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the US Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights” was approved by a vote of the APA membership. The final vote tally was 8,792 voting in favor of the resolution; 6,157 voting against the resolution. To become policy, a petition resolution needs to be approved by a majority of those members voting.Per the Association’s Rules and Bylaws, the resolution will become official APA policy as of the Association’s next annual meeting, which will take place in August 2009.  At that time, the APA Council of Representatives will also determine what further action may be necessary to implement the policy.

The approval of the petition resolution represents a significant change in APA’s policy regarding the involvement of psychologists in interrogations. The petition resolution limits the roles of psychologists in certain defined settings where persons are detained to working directly for detainees or for an independent third party to protect human rights, or to providing treatment to other military personnel.

This new petition resolution expands on the 2007 APA resolution, which called on the U.S. government to ban at least 19 specific abusive interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, that are regarded as torture by international standards. The 2007 resolution also recognized that “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment can result not only from the behavior of individuals, but also from the conditions of confinement,” and expressed “grave concern over settings in which detainees are deprived of adequate protection of their human rights.”

APA will continue to call upon the Department of Defense and Congress to safeguard the welfare and human rights of detainees held outside of the United States and to investigate their treatment to ensure the highest ethical standards are being upheld.

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting human welfare.

For background, see the important article in the Chronicle of Higher Education by David Glenn, “Psychology and Torture,” August 15, 2008

Post from Maya Shulman-Ment

La Nacion (Buenos Aires), 18 septiembre 2008

El segundo aniversario de la desaparición de Julio López, el testigo clave del juicio que terminó con la condena a prisión perpetua al represor Miguel Etchecolatz, y de quien nada se sabe desde el 18 de septiembre de 2006 aparece reflejado hoy en la prensa española.

Bajo el título “Dos años sin el primer desaparecido de la democracia argentina”, el diario El País, en su edición internacional, asegura que la falta de avances en la investigación sobre su paradero implica que “el lema Nunca Más ha quedado incumplido”.

Tras relatar el secuestro y desaparición de López durante la última dictadura, el matutino reproduce las palabras del albañil ante el tribunal que juzgó a Etchecolatz, ex jefe de Investigaciones de la policía bonaerense.

Palabras de López. “´Soy detenido en mi casa, va el señor Miguel Etchecolatz y se establece en un auto. A la noche llegó toda la patota, primero nos agarran y nos tiran a todos en la celda juntos´”, recuerda el diario.

Enseguida, consigna que López “iba a ser testigo en otros juicios contra 62 militares y policías, pero volvió a desaparecer” y incluye el testimonio de Rubén uno de los hijos de López que le dijo al diario español: “Sigo a buscando a mi viejo con vida”.

El artículo también repasa las declaraciones públicas acerca del caso de las últimas semanas. Reproduce los dichos de León Arslanian, ministro de Seguridad bonaerense cuando se produjo la desaparición, en los que reconoció que cree que López está muerto y los del juez de la causa, Arnaldo Corazza, quien también admitió que la muerte es una de las hipótesis que maneja en la investigación.

Por último, da cuenta del último discurso de Néstor Kirchner, en el que el ex presidente afirmó que la desaparición de López “demuestra que hay muchos que siguen organizados para que no haya justicia en la Argentina”.

Hipótesis y marchas. La nota, acompañada por dos imágenes, una de López durante el juicio contra Etchecolatz, y otra de una de las tantas manifestaciones frente al Congreso para reclamar su aparición con vida, consigna una de las hipótesis que se barajan en torno al caso: que con la desaparición de el albañil “se intentó amedrentar a otros testigos a otros testigos de los juicios contra la dictadura”.

Hacia el final, el texto informa que hoy habrá marchas en la Capital, en La Plata y hasta en la placa de Jacinto Benavente de Madrid.

Here is a YouTube clip from a broadcast on Sept. 17, 2008 from Radio Caracol in Miami with Senator John McCain. In the image, the man on the right is Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. It becomes clear from the interview that McCain is attempting to answer a question about whether he would meet with Zapatero, a member of Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE) without having any idea who Zapatero is.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/WItI9It_Swc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

John McCain’s foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann defended McCain’s comments in a letter to the Washington Post arguing that McCain knew who Zapatero was and was simply restating his policyof refusing to commit to “a White House meeting with President Zapatero.” (Scheunemann, by the way, identifies Zapatero as Spain’s President; in fact he is the Prime Minister. What is odd is that five months ago McCain, breaking from the White House, said that he would be happy to meet with Zapatero and that the U.S. and Spain should put their differences behind them (Zapatero pulled Spain’s troops out of Iraq after becoming Prime Minister).

From “Talking Points Memo” of September 19, a handy update and summary:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/9mP8tuIMHMI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

As TPM points out, the most straightforward response for the McCain camp would have been to “spin” about how the candidate had had a grueling day, didn’t quite understand the interviewer’s accent, and had made an honest mistake. Instead, they now have turned his mistake (and we all make them) into an actual, honest-to-god diplomatic row…rather than admit a mistake. To make this as clear as possible: The McCain camp is now advocating stupid policy (i.e., isolating a NATO ally) rather than admit the ignorance of the candidate on this issue. Am I missing something here?