Teen held over 4-year-old’s death
This article mentioned that an 18-year-old high school student was arrested on suspicions of beating the 4-year-old son of his girlfriend, Morishima, a 27 year-old who is also arrested for harboring a criminal, sentanced to death in Nagoya. The teen attacked Morishima’s son and kicked him in the abdomen. The boy died of hemorrhagic shock. This article also mentioned that the number of child abuse is increasing in Japan. Also this case is unusual because the criminal is a teenage high school student. In recent years, there have also been other teenage crimes that are distinguished.
Continue reading "Wakako Nagamori"
I was surprised to know that here in the United States you still celebrate and remember Columbus Day. Some questions came to my mind. Did Christopher Columbus arrive in North America? Was he part of U.S. History? Knowing the answers to both of these questions is no, I started to think that any excuse is a good excuse to celebrate here!! It is so ironic because in South America this celebration is disappearing. In Ecuador, October 12th is not a holiday anymore. In 1992, the indigenous population started to play an important role in the Ecuadorian Society. After years and years of submission, they started to achieve some political power. They got politically active through the creation of a political party, the Pachacutik. In 1992, the year of the 500th anniversary of the “Discovery of America,” the indigenous population, more commonly known as Indians, put lots of pressure on the government for it to abolish that holiday. Their argument was very strong: “Why should we celebrate the day when the “Old World” came and ruined our culture? Why should we celebrate the day when we started to be subjugated to the Spanish Crown? Why should we celebrate the beginning of the destruction of centuries of History, Culture, Traditions, of LIFE!! In Ecuador, since the mid-1990s, October 12th has not been a holiday anymore. It becomes a day that commemorates one step forward for the Indians. It was time for them to have a place in the Ecuadorian Society since they represent 45%- 50% of the Ecuadorian population. Since then, they have realized how much power they can achieve and how they can influence the course of the country. After a lot of work and planning, they reached power when they became part of the government at the beginning of this year. In the presidential campaign last year, they supported Colonel Lucio Gutierrez. In 2001, the colonel tried to stage a coup d’ Etat, again with the support of the indigenous population. It didn’t work that time, but two years later, he became President of Ecuador democratically. His triumph was, of course, due in large part to the indigenous support and because of the numerous offers he gave them. Once in the Presidency, he was supposed to share the government with them. At first it worked and the indigenous leaders got some Ministries in their charge and some high positions in the government. But the Indians wanted more and more power, they wanted to make sure to keep power, to be listened, to be respected and to achieve big transformations for their profit. Their requests were so strong and incompatible with the politics of State that after 204 days of political cohabitation, the alliance was broken.
Their place in society has changed since. Of course they needed a bigger place in society and their culture to be respected as the roots of the Ecuadorian nation. But their strategy is still based in old times, in times where the world wasn’t globalized, where technology didn’t even exist, where corruption wasn’t present, where nature and human values were very important. They have to adjust themselves to the fast and unpredictable turnings of the world. They have to understand it is not a matter of months before their policies and demands can be heard. Rather, it is a longer process in which learning counts every bit as much as teaching the new generations the basis of Ecuadorian culture and the importance that it may have today .
Continue reading "Daniella Solano"
Michael Schuhmacher wins sixth title in Formula One
Germany's super girls bring home the World Cup title
These are probably the biggest headlines in Germany right now.
Formula One is a real big thing for a German man.
Of course Soccer is more important, but maybe not if women are playing,
But still we are very happy to be #1 in the world now.
And then if you go on reading the newspaper, on the cultural sites this here is a
big headline:
Susan Sontag Receives German Peace Prize, Criticizes U.S.
I think this is interesting to know for the people here in the US.
So have fun, go to these sites and get the German point of view ; )
Cet été la France n’a vécu au rythme des festivals comme à son habitude. En effet le gouvernement Raffarin a décide juste avant les vacances d’été de remettre en cause le régime de l intermittence du spectacle. Ce régime, qui n’a aucun équivalent dans le monde, permet aux artistes (essentiellement du théâtre, de la danse contemporaine…) ainsi qu’aux employés de petites structures culturelles comme les salles de concert de toucher une indemnisation une fois qu’ils ont accompli un certain nombre d’heures de travail annuellement. L’idée derrière cette indemnisation est de considérer la totalité du travail des artistes, c'est-à-dire les répétitions pour les musiciens ou l’écriture d’une pièce pour écrivain par exemple, afin de les aider financièrement et ainsi d’aider la création artistique française, européenne et parfois mondiale. Les artistes ont répondu a cette reforme, acceptée par le ministre de la culture Jean-Jacques Allaigon, par une grève générale qui a engendre l’annulation de nombreux festivals et notamment du plus prestigieux d’entre eux, le festival de théâtre d’Avignon, plus grand festival de théâtre du monde. Cependant ils n’ont pas obtenu gain de cause et l’avenir de plus de 25,000 d’entre eux risque de s’assombrir en janvier prochain quand le texte de la reforme entrera en vigueur. Avec cette reforme le gouvernement renonce a considérer la culture et la création contemporaine comme une mission de l’état alors que depuis 1981, date de la création de ‘l’intermittence du spectacle’ aucun gouvernement n’avait remis cette mission en cause de cette façon.
27 MPs Dumb as Oysters for Two Years
The author of the article talks about the inexperience and the unwillingness of some of the deputies in the 39th Bulgarian National Assembly. The article also ranks some of the best public speaker.
Continue reading "Hristo"
∙ Gen. Borissov: I've Failed to Stamp on Gangsters:
General Boyko Borisov is the Minister of Interior under the current government, headed by the Prime Minister Simeon Saxkoburgotski. In this article, Gen. Borysov admits that he has failed his task of fighting organized crime. According to him, the lack of communication between the Ministry of the Inferior and the judiciary system dooms the battle against corruption. The present inefficiency of the judicial power brings even more complications.
Continue reading "Rositsa"
