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 Editorials | At Issue
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Mapping Controversy in Oaxaca: Interview with Aldo Gonzalez, Director of UNOSJO
 Ramor Ryan
Zapotec leader calls for withdrawal of US military funded mapping project from rural Oaxaca communities, accusing geographers of counter-insurgency activities.
Latin America: Help the Poor or Learn From Them?
 Raúl Zibechi
The ideology that emanates from the international finance organizations maintains that the poor suffer from a "lack" of resources, that poverty is a scourge to be combated, and that the best method of doing so is to "help" the poor. On the other hand, the priests that live among the poor believe that it is more important to learn from them.
 Mexico Emerges as Concern for U.S.
 Jen Dimascio
After years as the compliant neighbor to the south — coping with the Bush administration’s benign neglect despite rampant illegal immigration and drug trafficking — Mexico is emerging as a focus of concern for the Obama administration.
Does Humor on the Internet Mold Political Thinking?
 Renate Bayaz
Jokes are not merely a source of popular enjoyment and creativity; they also provide insights into how societies work and what people think. Humor is so powerful it can help shape geopolitical views worldwide.
Progress in Mexico Drug War is Drenched in Blood
 Traci Carl
Headless bodies in Tijuana, kidnapped children in Phoenix and shootouts on the streets of Vancouver: These are the unwanted byproducts of progress in the Mexican drug war.
UN Report Says US Rendition Policy Broke International Law
 Julie Sell
A U.N. expert is accusing the United States and some of its allies of breaching international law for the so-called extraordinary renditions and subsequent alleged torture of terrorism suspects during the Bush administration's global war on terrorism, and is launching a probe into the detention of suspects.
Mexico's Catholic Church and President Felipe Calderon Charge U.S. with Corruption
 Michael Webster
The Catholic Church in Mexico this week chimed in and sided with Mexico´s President Felipe Calderon on the controversial subject of U.S. government corruption and demanded that the U.S. government have a "change of attitude" that involves a "serious anti-corruption program to eliminate the protection that is provided the traffickers."
Ranks of US Homeless Kids Climb
 Cynthia Hubert
A national study released Monday finds that one in 50 children in America is homeless. They're sharing housing because of economic hardship, living in motels, cars, abandoned buildings, parks, camping grounds or shelters, or waiting for foster care placement.
The Rich Flee Mexico Drug Violence
 James Pinkerton
Mexican businessman Jorge Hernandez has joined a growing number of affluent and middle-class Mexicans fleeing comfortable lives in Mexico for the comparative safety of Houston and other major Texas cities.
Growth in Military Contracting Blurs Lines of Accountability
 Jackie Cooper & Lee Herring
The thriving use of private military contractors in place of citizen-soldiers allows nations to externalize the costs of war and outsource accountability during wartime, according to sociologist Katherine McCoy, writing in the winter 2009 issue of Contexts magazine.
Breaking the Banks: The Struggle to Feed America's Nouveau Needy
 Nick Turse
The message is simple. Ever more Americans need food they can't afford. As tough economic times take their toll, increasing numbers of Americans are on tightened budgets and, in some cases, facing outright hunger.
US Downturn Dragging World Into Recession
 Anthony Faiola
The world is falling into the first global recession since World War II as the crisis that started in the United States engulfs once-booming developing nations, confronting them with massive financial shortfalls that could turn back the clock on poverty reduction by years, the World Bank warned yesterday.
World Bank: Global Economy Will Shrink in 2009
 Raw Story
In a report released Sunday, the World Bank predicted that the global economy would shrink in 2009 for the first time since World War II. The assessment of what's in store for this year is more pessimistic than what most private forecasters have predicted.
Mexico Morgues Crowded with Drug-War Dead
 Associated Press
Bodies stacked in the morgues of Mexico's border cities tell the story of an escalating drug war. Drug violence claimed 6,290 people last year, double the previous year, and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009.
Economic Crisis Scrambles Retirement Math
 Mark Trumbull
The recession has pushed retirement further out on the horizon for millions of Americans - and is putting severe strain on the 401(k) model of retirement saving.
CIA Confirms 12 Destroyed Videotapes Depicted "Enhanced Interrogation Methods"
 Daphne Eviatar
The CIA has reportedly just confirmed - conveniently late on a Friday afternoon - that 12 of the videotapes it destroyed while its interrogation methods were under investigation and the subject of a pending lawsuit depicted the "enhanced interrogation methods" that detainees' advocates were worried about.
Latin America: Everyone Pays for Domestic Violence
 Marcela Valente
According to statistics provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rebeca Grynspan, between 30 and 45 percent of women in the region suffer some form of physical, sexual or psychological violence.
Mexican Border City Braces for Troop Patrols
 Marina Montemayor
The mayor of the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez told residents Friday to prepare for a monthslong presence of army troops, but said the arrival of thousands of soldiers had already reduced killings by almost 90 percent.
Tourists Weigh Mexico Drug Violence
 Ken Ellingwood
Mexico's rampant drug violence has put the issue of safety front and center for would-be vacationers, and put the country's publicity-sensitive tourism promoters on the defensive.
Labor-Mexico: "They First Asked if I Was Pregnant"
 Emilio Godoy
When Paulina was interviewed for a job at a local Wal-Mart in the Mexican capital, the first thing she was asked was whether she was pregnant – a question she did not know at the time was illegal.
UNODC Launches Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking
 UNODC.org
Today at the Women's World Awards in Vienna, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa launched the Blue Heart Campaign with actors Claudia Cardinale and Monica Bellucci to rally world public opinion against human trafficking.
Felipe Calderon Speaks Out on Economy, Drug Warr
 Agence France-Presse
Mexican President Felipe Calderon talks to AFP about the economic crisis, and calls on the United States to do something about drug trafficking violence on the US-Mexico border.
California High Court Reviews Gay Marriage Ban
 Peter Henderson
Gay marriage advocates on Thursday will ask the California Supreme Court to overturn a second voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, in a cultural battle that has divided the United States.
Truth Commission May Not Lead to Prosecutions
 Matt Renner
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday to explore setting up a commission to investigate and report on potentially criminal policies of the Bush administration.
V.A. Productivity vs Veterans Rights
 David Lord
One policy worth scrutiny is the controversial method that the VA uses to assess the performance of VA employees and VA officials. Both promotions and some employee bonuses are traditionally linked to the number of cases completed annually.
Mexico's Drug War Creates New Class of Refugees
 Andrew Becker & Patrick J. McDonnell
Business owners, law enforcement officers, journalists and other professionals are among those seeking asylum in the U.S. - even when it means sitting in jail.
Pew Study: Cost of Locking Up Americans Too High
 Lisa Lambert
One in every 31 U.S. adults is in the corrections system, which includes jail, prison, probation and supervision, more than double the rate of a quarter century ago, according to a report released on Monday by the Pew Center on the States.
Why is Obama Leaving 50,000 Troops in Iraq?
 The Real News Network
Gareth Porter says Obama's speech at Camp Lejeaune, which was supposed to explain the Presidents' plan to end the war in Iraq is "not doing what it said it's doing."
Colombia: Equal Rights for Same-Sex Partners
 Helda Martínez
Members of the gay civil rights advocacy group Colombia Diversa just celebrated their fifth anniversary with a big event, which the occasion clearly merited due to a recent landmark decision by the Constitutional Court recognising equal rights for heterosexual and same-sex partners in common-law unions.
Memos Detail How Bush Ignored Constitution
 Devlin Barrett & Matt Apuzzo
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration determined that certain constitutional rights would not apply as the U.S. stepped up its response to terrorism, according to documents released to the public for the first time.
Campaign to Close the School of the Americas - Part 2
 The Real News Network
In recent years, one of the largest civil society movements in the US has been the movement to close the School of the Americas. Why? What is the connection between the school and the violence of today in Latin America?
Mexico: The War Next Door
 CBS News
60 Minutes: Drug cartel fueled violence has turned into war in Mexico, with thousands of deaths and the government battling well-armed gangs whose military-grade weapons come mostly from U.S. dealers. CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.
Obama Set to Overturn Bush's Abortion Rule
 Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
President Barack Obama plans to repeal a Bush administration rule that has become a flash point in the debate over a doctor's right not to participate in abortions.
Behind the Troop Surge at the U.S.-Mexico Border
 Ioan Grillo
The ebbing stretch of Rio Grande that divides the Texas city of El Paso from the Mexican city of Juarez may soon become one of the world's most militarized borders.
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