https://womennewsnetwork.net/2011/07/07/doc-muslim-women-talk-hijab/

The hijab is a form of religious attire worn by Muslim women that is ‘shrouded’ in mysticism and misconception by Western Society. This article consists of a synopsis and review of the documentary of (Un)veiled, by WNN’s Claire Panetta, an accomplished Anthropologist fluent in Arabic and English.

This 36 minute documentary and it’s subsequent review found within this article centered around the ‘hijab’s’ role and influence within the lives of several Muslim women residing within Dubai. Including a lecture held by American Professor, Dr. Laureen Hamdan, at the University of Sharjah. Containing a variety of perspectives including those who were born into the Muslim religion, converts and those that have relinquished the hijab. Several of these perspectives compare and contrast the terms of the symbolism of the hijab, while others interviewed, criticized the negative impact that they perceived by what the hijab “robbed women of a component of their identity.”

The diversity provided by so many different perspectives lends strength to the article and the filmed documentary for reception by a wide variety of viewers. Unfortunately, acquisition of this documentary is rather difficult however, individual purchases of the documentary can be found within the link below:

Documentary Educational Resources. To purchase the film: http://www.der.org/films/unveiled.html

Women News Network (WNN) ‘Documentary: (Un)veiled: Muslim Women Talk About Hijab (Review) – Claire Panetta July 7, 2017 https://womennewsnetwork.net/2011/07/07/doc-muslim-women-talk-hijab/

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/El-Salvador-Vice-President-Ortiz-Wont-be-FMLN-Candidate-20180322-0027.html

The article I read for this global news post is titled “El Salvador Vice-President Ortiz ‘Won’t be FMLN Candidate’”. Ortiz chose not to stay with the FMLN party because he believes they need to make several changes within the party. Some of these changes include acting with intelligence, openness, and humility in order to correctly represent the left and the FMLN in their presidential candidacy. Ortiz explains that he expects the candidate of the FMLN to be strong and welcome new challenges which come with each new generation.
Former Public Works Minister and FMLN Gerson Martinez is a candidate under the FMLN party for the upcoming election in 2019. Martinez states in the article that instead of focusing on running for the coveted administrative position, he will devote his time to the tasks of the public that have been appointed to him as Minister since one’s mind can’t be in two places at once. Martinez has no intention of being FMLN’s only candidate “but insists that the election is done in a ‘democratic, transparent and open’ manner” (telesur).
Earlier in March, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) discussed the errors in the voting software during the legislative and municipal Midterm elections. The General Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) confirmed they would do an investigation of the votes to make sure no criminal activity was done. Francisco Campo, Smartmatic Commercial Director said the “human error” had listed the candidates in a disorganized way through the software, therefore it had to process 13,000 tally sheets a twice, which changed the results slightly.

I chose to write about this article because I did my Presentation on Country Report over the Midterm elections discussed slightly here. In the Midterm elections, the political party Arena beat FMLN by double in both the legislative and municipal elections. This was shocking to much of the population because the FMLN is currently in power with President Salvador Sánchez Céren and several major cities including the capital city San Salvador have a mayor in the FMLN party.
The FMLN has been in power since 2009 and has made a few important social-movement changes such as the Law Against Violence Against Women and Access to Public Info Law. However, the people of El Salvador want to see governmental changes such as the restructuring of the neoliberal economy and a crack down on gang violence. Unfortunately, ARENA is not planning on continuing the social-movements efforts that FMLN has started and they are going to instead make changes in El Salvador that mostly benefit the elite.
During the Midterm election there was a “miscount” and they had to count twice, so the results slightly changed due to the overly-exhausted volunteers. The Chamber, controlled by ARENA, forbid any political members from the FMLN to work the polls for the Midterm elections. Therefore, there were very few volunteers who had to work for about eleven hours, then tally up all of the results and take them to the TSE. This resulted in a mix up of the tally count but it was quickly fixed. Vice-President Ortiz is veering more towards the Right with his president candidacy in hopes of creating changes for the better. I don’t believe the Right’s agenda will help the public population as much as it will help the private, elite population of El Salvador, but I hope that Vice-President Ortiz truly has good intentions in mind to help these citizens who desperately need it.

Works Cited
“El Salvador Vice-President Ortiz ‘Won’t Be FMLN Candidate’.” News TeleSUR English, TeleSUR, 22 Mar. 2018, www.telesurtv.net/english/news/El-Salvador-Vice-President-Ortiz-Wont-be-FMLN-Candidate-20180322-0027.html. 25 Mar. 2018.

Global News Post #5 – El Salvador – Taylor Oates

The article I read was from a Russian blogger and political activist Alexei Navalny, who was bared from running in the 2018 Russian presidential elections. The election day for the next president of the Russian Federation was held on March 18th, and his blog post was published 3/19, the day after Putin was reelected as the president. Navalny encouraged the people of Russia to not panic or be discouraged, that their protests and voting strikes on election day did make a difference. The goal was to have as many people as possible to not vote, so that when Putin was reelected it would be obvious that the Kremlin had to falsify voting information to make it legitimate and make it seem like more people in Russia had voted for Putin than who actually did. The article shows a poll of the candidates that people said they were going to vote for once from in February compared to another poll in March closer to election day. This is important, Navalny says in his blog, because these types of elections are part of the struggle that the Russian people are facing with their government right now and shows how corrupt it is.

“Graph of Poll of Presidential Votes for Candidates .” Навальный, Alexei Navalny, 19 Mar. 2018, navalny.com/.

The unrest that has been brewing in Russia the past several years due to the increasing unstable political climate is one that will continue as long as people feel like their voices aren’t being heard. Navalny is a voice that people can relate to, especially the next generation of voters who have grown up with the corruption being talked about in his blog. Moving forward, this younger generation will have the opportunity to change the political course of their country how they think is best.

Tausende demonstrieren für “buntes Kandel”

The following article written for the German public via ard.de explains a counter protest in a small town of Kandel that occurred in late January. This protest has sparked controversy for further immigration debate in Germany. The original protest focused on the death of a fifteen year old girl named Mia in the town of Kandel. Her death was caused by her fifteen year old and asylum seeking ex-boyfriend. According to the source, a handful of locals had organized to address the potential problem of immigration in Germany, only to find many more supporters from outside cities coming to lend a hand. The group grew and ultimately pinned the name “Kandel ist überall” on banners and signs to suggest that the occurrence in Kandel is happening all over Germany. Other signs read “Wir fordern Schutz und Sicherheit,” meaning “we demand protection and safety” for those causing the problems (ie: immigrants).

The counter protest, occurring in the same city, brings together the leftist community members under the slogan “Wir sind Kandel” or “We are Kandel”. These activists see the original protest as the right-wing using the death of a young girl as a tool to highlight political gain. Since this death was caused by an immigrant, the left believe that the right want to use this as a way of emphasizing the potential threat of immigrants in Germany.

The article does not shy away from the numbers on both ends. The original protest rallied more than 1,000 protestors either for or against the “Kandel ist überall”. This was in early February. A month later, about 4,5http://www.dw.com/en/dueling-protests-in-german-town-after-teen-allegedly-murdered-by-refugee/a-4234555200 citizens rallied on either side to continue the debate with several protests between the two dates. Both sides have seen police force through batons and pepper spray.

With Germany’s new grand coalition finally starting to resolve itself, it will be interesting to see what the German government does with immigration and protests such as these. In its current state and according to the article, nothing has changed in terms of immigration policy and allowances of entry. This article tended to lean leftist in the reactionary stance it took on the original protest and the information that it covered. However, it doesn’t seem that extreme bias or opinion was noted. The perspective was used in an overview narration where simply facts and statistics were given. Further information on the original protest and death of Mia in Kandel can be found on dw.com, which seems to take a more leftist sympathizing.

Works Cited:

ARD. “Nach Tod Der 15-Jährigen Mia: Tausende Demonstrieren Für ‘Buntes Kandel’ | Rheinland-Pfalz | SWR Aktuell.” Swr.online, 24 Mar. 2018, www.swr.de/swraktuell/rp/nach-tod-der-15-jaehrigen-mia-drei-demonstrationen-am-samstag-in-kandel/-/id=1682/did=21393804/nid=1682/t4sbea/index.html.

Martin, David, and Elizabeth Schumacher. “Dueling Protests in German Town after Teen Allegedly Murdered by Refugee | News | DW | 28.01.2018.” DW.COM, 28 Jan. 2018, www.dw.com/en/dueling-protests-in-german-town-after-teen-allegedly-murdered-by-refugee/a-42345552.

“Protestors hold up a sign that reads “Kandel is everywhere,” referring to the supposed nationwide danger posed by Germany’s open migrant policy” Dueling Protests in German Town after Teen Allegedly Murdered by Refugee, DW.com, 28 Jan. 2018, www.dw.com/en/dueling-protests-in-german-town-after-teen-allegedly-murdered-by-refugee/a-42345552.

There have been many attacks in the recent months in the city of Fortaleza ranging from human deaths to major destruction of property. Fortaleza is located to the north east of Brazil and it is a city that many visit for vacation purposes in Brazil. The arrests are of suspects that are allegedly members of criminal factions of Brazil. Criminal factions are at war with one another and also with the Government. These attacks have had an impact on day to day life in the city of Fortaleza where 50 cars were burned and public transport shut down because of the violence, the government has implemented helicopter policing and a state of vigilance to combat this . Violence still remains a major problem in the country  as there are places that the police alone cannot operate in do to factions strength and power in said areas, and only the national guard or military will attempt to enter.  And Ceara the “state” where Fortaleza is located in is one of the hotspots of violent crime, in 2017 almost 2000 homicides were reported almost doubling from the previous year in the city of Fortaleza.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2018/03/seis-pessoas-sao-presas-apos-10-ataques-em-fortaleza-e-outras-duas-cidades.shtml

A promotional tour for by Lula’s campaign ran into trouble as anti PT protestors blocked the entrance to the city of Chapeko. And encircled the bus making the former presidents team have to find alternate route to the city. Lula continues to be the favorite in the race for Brazil’s presidential seat according to polls despite a chance that he will be barred from taking on the job if he is convicted of the corruption charges that are pending.

After the incident in Chapeko where food was thrown at his team during the “blockade” by the protestors, Lula tweeted:Um abraço, Chapecó! Um beijo e até mais se Deus quiser. Um conselho: não vamos ficar raivosos. E fascistas: aprendam a viver em democracia. O ódio não leva a nada”. Which roughly translates to: A hug, Chapeco! A kiss and more, god willing. One piece of advice: lets not get angry. And facists learn to live in democracy, hate leads to nothing.

Ministra vocera de Gobierno: “Bolivia no tiene derecho a mar ni territorio chileno”

Chilean Press Secretary: “Bolivia has no right to Chilean lands or waters. ”

This article examines the current international dispute between Chile and Bolivia regarding Bolivian attempts to bring to the negotiation table a compromise for Bolivian access to the pacific ocean. It is important to note that Chile and Bolivia have a very deep hatred for one another that spans since the early 19th century. One of the principal reasons for this hatred has been territorial disputes and wars that left Chile in control of the pacific coast. Adamant that Bolivia has the right to access the Pacific ocean, Bolivian President Evo Morales has brought forth a long list of arguments to be presented to the International Court of Justice in Holland in support of a Bolivian-Chilean compromise. The borders between Chile and Bolivia were last settled in a 1904 treaty that Chile believes to be in effect in perpetuity. In response to Bolivia’s wishes, Chilean Press Secretary Cecilia Pérez has made it clear that Chile will not recognize Bolivia’s claim to the Pacific. Pérez believes Chilean land and waters have never belonged to Bolivia and will thus never correspond to Bolivia now or in the future.

This article was published in the Mercurio newspaper, a national Chilean newspaper that is right wing and conservative. For this reason, there can be no surprise that the tone of this article is very nationalistic and Pro-Chile. Bolivia’s case for access to the Pacific Ocean is simply outlined as ludacris, with Bolivian President Evo Morales being depicted very negatively. International sources such as the Washington Post have given fairer coverage of this issue  by presenting both sides of the story. In other words, Morales in an international sense is seen as brave and heroic, and has lauded applause from international leader such as Nicolás Maduro. Although Maduro is a heavily criticized figure, it is interesting to see how this issue is being analyzed within Chile and abroad.

S.A.P., Mercurio. “Ministra Vocera De Gobierno: ‘Bolivia No Tiene Derecho a Mar Ni Territorio Chileno.’” Emol, 23 Mar. 2018, www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2018/03/23/899831/Ministra-vocera-de-Gobierno-Bolivia-no-tiene-derecho-a-mar-ni-a-territorio-chileno.html.

Chilean Press Secretary Cecilia Pérez