In 1881 a group of indigenous people in Chile were captured by German explorers and were taken to Europe to be exhibited and displayed as curiosities in European cities. Eventually, six were allowed to return to Chile (one died during the voyage home). The other five died in Europe -- some of tuberculosis. The bones were discovered in Zurich, Switzerland. The remains were flown back to Chile, and they were honored in a ceremony. The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, apologized to the descendants of these indigenous people. She said the government had been guilty of "neglect in the face of such abuses." She said the mistreatment was due to racist attitudes towards "our indigenous forefathers, whose human dignity was trampled upon." The remains will now be buried in a traditional indigenous ceremony. (Full Story)
The Ugandan President Museveni says he is wary of a new bill that would propose the death penalty for some gay people. In Uganda, homosexual acts are already punishable up to 14 years in jail. This bill would increase that penalty to life in prison. It also proposes the death penalty if the person is HIV-positive, is a "serial offender", or if one of the participants is a minor. The bill also proposes jail time for family members or friends that knew about homosexual acts but didn't report it. The president has said that he is coming under international pressure, and he's trying to distance himself from the bill. He stressed that the member of parliament that proposed the bill, who is a member of the ruling party, did so as an individual and was not following government policy. Ever since the bill was proposed in October, the president has been silent on the issue. His first public comments on the issue have been that the handling of the bill should "take into account our foreign policy issues." Sweden has threatened to cut aid and many countries have called the president directly to voice their objections. The president said, "The prime minister of Canada came to see me and what was he talking about? Gays. Prime Minister Gordon Brown came to see me and what was he talking about? Gays. Mrs. Clinton rang me. What was she talking about? [All together now:] Gays. " (Full Story)
It's concerning that he's mostly upset about the negative criticism he's getting -- and not that he's upset about the bill itself and what that bill represents. I don't know the Ugandan political system well, but I imagine that he can condemn the bill and put pressure on them to drop it. Or veto it. I assume, as president, he has some sort of power. As is, he doesn't seem to mind the bill -- he just minds how people are reacting to the bill and what that means for Ugandan aid and international relations.
As a side note, I love that he didn't name the Canadian prime minister. Probably because he forgot his name or knew no one would know who that was. Haha. And I also noticed how he gave the titles for Stephen Harper (that unnameable Canadian prime minister) and Gordon Brown -- referring to them as prime minister -- but he just called Hillary, "Mrs. Clinton". No title. It's just as if someone's wife had called him and relayed a message. 'Oh I got a call from President Bill Clinton's wife today...and what did she talk about? GAYS!'
The Obama administration has released their quarterly report to congress on the $787 billion stimulus package. The report said that the stimulus plan has already created or saved up to 2 million jobs. "The report from the President's Council of Economic Advisers said the economy is a lot better off than it would have been without the stimulus. Citing it's own analysis plus a range of private sector summaries, the council estimated the annual growth rate last year would have been roughly two percentage points lower, and there would have been 1.5 million to 2 million fewer jobs."
However the administration's method of counting jobs has been controversial . Starting with fourth quarter figures, they're no longer trying to determine if a job has been created or saved, instead they're reporting only that it's funded by the stimulus. (Full Story)
No comments:
Post a Comment