One of the most widely believed myths about the harms of marijuana is that it leads to the use of more dangerous drugs. Drug policy experts have debunked this claim and time again, but the “gateway theory” still holds a certain amount of traction, not least because of the misinformation peddled by drug war proponents. […]
Almost eighteen months after it spread out of the rural state of Veracruz in Mexico and gripped North America’s largest metropolis, the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic is over and done. That’s the ruling of World Health Organization. As it turns out, H1N1 was a rather benign strand of influenza, but it struck at an unexpected […]
In late July Haitian activists organized rallies in cities across the country to mark the 95th anniversary of the start of the US occupation of Haiti in 1915. Among the protestors’ concerns is the contingent of 11,000 uniformed UN personal – including 9,000 military troops – stationed in Haiti as part the United Nations Stabilization […]
The international community responded to January’s earthquake in Haiti with teams of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare experts. At first, the biggest problem to providing medical care to the hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors appeared to be a lack of electricity and inadequate sterilized space for surgery. As immediate infrastructure was addressed, many Haitians […]
Today marks the last day of a protest by the Awá, one of Brazil’s last remaining hunter gatherer tribes. The main message of the tribe is simple: we exist. The protest is largely in response to the comments made by the mayor’s office of nearby Ze Doca denying the existence of the tribe, which for […]
This past week was characterised by one major international news story and one minor one. The European Union and Canada gave notice to Iranian officials this week of their support for sanctions against Iran because its nuclear program. Canada was making a point of sounding off with the EU possibly due to Iran’s ironic and […]
Playing to public fear over drugs and crime is a tried and tested formula for electoral success. With the presidential race heating up, one has to wonder if José Serra’s gung ho views on drug interdiction are driven by personal conviction or political calculus. To curb imports of illicit drugs, Serra has called for Brazil […]
As I highlighted in my last post, violent crime is peaking in Brazil’s interior. A disturbing corollary to this trend is the high rate of targeted violence against indigenous communities. New data compiled by the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) for a report on attacks on indigenous peoples underscores the severity of the problem. As well […]
A vicious cold spell has gripped a large swath of South America, including parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay. At least 175 people have died in these countries over the past fortnight, 27 in Argentina and 18 in Bolivia. Hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty heaters are the direct causes in […]
Emerging economies such as Brazil, China and India have always been recipients of foreign aid from Europe and North America since the end of the Second World War and were the subjects of global development projects that often failed to bring BRICs and similar economies out of poverty and create sustained and viable growth. In […]
With the possible exceptions of soccer and samba, Brazil’s global reputation is shaped more by its high rates of violent crime than anything else. Romanticized in popular films and culture, the country’s favelas are the most visible symbol of the issue. But according to the Map of Violence 2010, a new report from the São […]
Apropos a reader’s comment in the New York Times comment forum: Anyone notice that the leading nations in the World Cup all allow gay marriage or gay civil unions? Spain (marriage), the Netherlands (marriage), Uruguay (civil unions), and Germany (civil unions). I doubt that there’s any causal link here, but it at least shows that […]
More than 50 “drug subs” have been seized by law enforcement from Ecuador to Mexico over recent months. Many of these vessels are considered “semi submersibles,” capable of travelling 5-10 meters below the water’s surface and carrying hundreds or thousands of pounds of drugs. At this depth, they tend to leave a surface wake, allowing […]
The biggest upset of this World Cup might not have been champion Spain’s opening defeat to Switzerland. For many the tournament’s main shocker was that South Africa didn’t plunge into a cesspool of crime and chaos, an outcome feared by many pundits who doubted the country’s ability to hold an event of such magnitude. One […]
You can find some of the biggest futbol fans in Spain and Holland, and that was before either of them reached a World Cup final. Neither team has ever won the prestigious title and Spain, while being the current European champions, have never been to a World Cup final in their history. Holland reached the […]