Category: South America
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The poet as hero
When the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) convened in Havana on January 28, proceedings began with a huge torchlight procession in tribute to the poet José Martí, born 161 years ago on that day. The celebration has been held every year since the revolution of 1959, but to have the participation of…
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Windows on the world
Translation, writes one of its outstanding practitioners, “helps us to know, to see from a different angle, to attribute new value to what once may have been unfamiliar. As nations and as individuals, we have a critical need for that kind of understanding and insight.” The words are Edith Grossman’s, from her 2010 book Why…
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Why is Kevin Rudd selling his mansion in Yarralumla?
If a millionaire politician puts his home on the market in Canberra, it’s not much of a story. When it’s Kevin Rudd, that’s another matter. Kevin Rudd’s mansion in Yarralumla is up for sale, prompting more speculation that he hopes to return to his former Canberra home, The Lodge, the official residence of the prime…
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Italian drama is no joke
Italy remains without a viable government a fortnight after the national election. Many in the media have treated the result as just another round of the country’s political circus, of interest only because of such bizarre candidates as convicted fraudster Silvio Berlusconi and populist comedian Beppe Grillo. The result gave Grillo’s Five Star Movement (M5S)…
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Looking for Garcia Marquez
Half a lifetime ago, when I was a student, I went to Colombia in search of the historical background to the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Recently there came news that there will be no more books from its author, the great Gabriel García Márquez. I’ve been moved to write an account of my…
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French protestors in the streets
IT’S begun in France now. After last week’s massive demonstrations in Greece and Spain, on Sunday thousands took to the streets of Paris in opposition to the austerity package introduced on Friday by President François Hollande’s Socialist Party government. Having called for austerity to be imposed on the economically troubled countries of southern Europe, Hollande…
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Ecuador shames Australia
The first responsibility of every democratic state is the welfare of its citizens, a responsibility that has been abdicated by the Australian government in the case of Julian Assange. As a result, Ecuador, a tiny republic in South America, has stepped into the breach vacated by the Australian government to protect one of our citizens.…
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A nation out of work
Unemployment in Greece has reached a new record high in April of 22.5 per cent, up 0.5 from March. The jobless rate is now 6.3 per cent higher than one year ago and climbing. Greece, in the fifth year of recession, has twice the jobless rate of the average in the 17 countries sharing the…
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Sweden stalks Julian Assange
As the Australian Government – in the form of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Foreign Minister Bob Carr – is cooperating in the extradition of Australian citizen Julian Assange to Sweden, I thought it was time to put the spotlight on the plucky Scandinavian kingdom. Most Australians regard Sweden as a shining…
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Ecuador protects Aussie Assange
Julian Assange remains lodged in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Knightsbridge while the Correa Government decides whether to grant him political asylum. Meanwhile, the WikiLeaks founder remains committed to standing for the Australian Senate whenever the next Federal Election is called. Whether he can campaign on the ground or not will depend on his circumstances but…