The Miami Herald (Continuación)

Opposition leader Leopoldo López, arrested in February, 2014 after he was denounced by Venezuela’s government, has become the country’s most prominent political prisoner. Alejandro Cegarra - AP

MundoAmérica,

To be a political prisoner is one of the worst things that can happen to a person, a family, or even to a larger metaphorical family, a country. However, it is an experience that grants dignity to the person imprisoned and debases those responsible for the injustice; an injustice that inspires indignation in those who were previously indifferent and those who simply looked away.

Every political prisoner in Venezuela pains me. Those who have at some point been denied medical treatment; who are imprisoned because they sent a tweet, or because they used drones during a protest, or who were tortured; those who have not been accused of anything, or are accused of crimes that do not exist; even those who risked their lives to leave the country and who face permanent political persecution wherever they go.…  Seguir leyendo »

After Hurricane Matthew, young men carry bags of rice they got from a food distribution center near Port Salut, Haiti. PATRICK FARRELL

MundoAmérica, ,

Hurricane Matthew devastated much of Haiti. The storm killed more than 800 people and leveled entire communities. Those who have visited have described scenes reminiscent of when the earthquake hit the island in 2010. There are food shortages, and a cholera epidemic has reached an alarming level. The World Health Organization has sent 1 million doses of cholera vaccine in response. The Haitian Ministry of Health was to begin a mass vaccination program last week.

It will take time to recover from this latest disaster. Then Haitians and the international community will once again embark on a rebuilding program.

After the 2010 earthquake destroyed much of Haiti’s urban society, the international community committed more than $1 billion to a rebuilding effort that was intended to set Haiti on the path toward sustainable development.…  Seguir leyendo »

Pope Francis was warmly greeted on his visit to Sweden last week to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Andrew Medichini AP

InternacionalIglesia Católica

Pope Francis is continuing along his remarkably liberal path, most recently by praising Martin Luther at a ceremony in Sweden beginning a year-long 500th anniversary commemoration of the Reformation. Yet despite the pope’s openness, and the corresponding good faith of the Lutherans, the two sides were unable to effect a reconciliation.

The episode raises two questions: Why try? And how is it that, in this post-theological age, not even Christian believers can get past their own wars of religion?

To start with the obvious, it’s moving that the pope would speak positively about Martin Luther, who is technically speaking still under a ban of excommunication issued by Pope Leo X in 1521.…  Seguir leyendo »

Venezuela’s money is so devalued and requires so many bills that instead of counting, businesses have to weigh the currency when accepting payment. Manaure Quintero Bloomber

MundoAmérica

Venezuela is collapsing. The economy is tanking. The health system has no medicine. Its democracy is dead. And there is no food. It is time for the elected representatives of Florida — where the greatest concentration of Venezuelan Americans reside — to speak out and take action.

Last week we saw our desperate brothers and sisters take to the streets to take a stand against the dictatorial edicts of President Nicolás Maduro. Hundreds were brutally detained in what were legitimate, legal and peaceful protests. Political figures continue to be locked up, media freedom is trampled upon, and food is trickled out to Maduro’s cronies while the average Venezuelan starves.…  Seguir leyendo »

Women left destitute after Hurricane Matthew bathe and clean clothes in a river cutting through Roche-a-Bateau. Patrick Farrell Miami Herald

MundoAmérica, ,

Haiti faces yet another humanitarian crisis, this time after Hurricane Matthew has left more than 175,000 Haitians without homes and 1.4 million in need of disaster relief assistance.

The small island-nation has had more than its share of natural disasters: Less than six years ago, it was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

Aid organizations providing humanitarian assistance in Haiti today should heed the lessons learned from the earthquake response in 2010. This includes addressing the critical needs of vulnerable populations, especially women, who are disproportionately affected and increasingly vulnerable after natural disasters.

Haiti was thrown into chaos in January 2010 when an earthquake struck, killing over 220,000 people and shattering infrastructure.…  Seguir leyendo »

People bathe and clean clothes in a river cutting through Roche a Bateau, Haiti, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew. PATRICK FARRELL pfarrell@miamiherald.com

MundoAmérica, , ,

With the number of suspected cases of cholera in Haiti now in the hundreds, the race is on to try to prevent further death and devastation following Hurricane Matthew.

With one million doses of cholera vaccine due to arrive this week, the hope is that we can prevent a repeat of the horrific outbreak in 2010 that infected nearly 800,000 Haitians, killing more than 9,000 people. But, even if we are successful in Haiti, the fact is for a highly preventable disease like cholera, vaccine stockpiles while certainly helpful cannot be a long-term solution.

Ten million people live in Haiti alone, and yet fewer than 6 million doses of cholera vaccine are currently produced each year, to maintain a global emergency stockpile of 2.2 million, with two doses recommended per person.…  Seguir leyendo »

A UNESCO resolution essentially denies Jewish and Christian ties to Jerusalem’s Old City, which contains sites considered holy by both religions, as well as Islam. Sebastian Scheiner AP

MundoOriente Próximo, , , ,

There is no shortage of outrages and lies spewing forth from high places these days, but one lie that received little attention deserves close notice: UNESCO, the United Nations cultural and education body, approved a resolution that goes a long way toward denying Jewish and Christians ties to Jerusalem’s Old City.

It is a resolution that denies reality, that erases facts and, most importantly, one that marks a step against reconciliation and peace. It will serve only to embolden extremists on all sides and confirms Israelis’ fears that the international community, especially the United Nations, remains committed to an anti-Israel agenda.…  Seguir leyendo »

A quiet street in Jerusalem’s Beit Hakerem neighborhood, where the first community building went up 90 years ago.

MundoOriente Próximo,

Earlier this month, our neighborhood grocery in Jerusalem celebrated its 20th anniversary, and we were all treated to a lavish party, with barbeque, beer and wine.

Why would the three owners, Shai, Eli and Nir, care about us so much? Because we care about them. Twenty years ago they came to our neighborhood, Beit HaKerem, took over a lousy, sleepy grocery, changed its name to Market, and turned it into an institution.

If Israel is a Startup Nation, then Market is a social startup. The three energetic Jerusalemites discovered the secret of all startups — a special need — and then went on to find the perfect solution for it.…  Seguir leyendo »

In 2012, Bob Dylan received a Medal of Freedom. Charles Dharapak AP

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia, ,

Bob Dylan is the songwriter who opened up the doors of possibility to all who followed. He was the mysterious bard with a guitar who sent out a clarion call — first as the acoustic Voice of His Generation, then as the plugged-in rocker who remained a master of the unexpected for five decades — that the words pop singers sang were worthy of being taken seriously.

“Dylan was a revolutionary,” Bruce Springsteen said in his 1988 speech inducting Dylan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “The way that Elvis freed your body, Bob freed your mind.” Early masterpieces such as “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Visions Of Johanna” and “Like A Rolling Stone” fueled a debate: Are rock lyrics poetry?…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

On the surface, Israel’s relationship in the world seems well established and comfortable. Just over a week ago, the gathering of world leaders at the funeral of former prime minister and president Shimon Peres was impressive by any standard. The presidents of France, Germany and a host of other countries were present. President Obama and former President Bill Clinton led the U.S delegation. Most dramatic of all was the presence of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Last month, the United States and Israel and signed a 10-year $38-billion deal for military assistance to the Jewish state. It is the largest aid agreement in U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfricaInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional,

A few weeks before school began this year, I learned an important lesson about courage and strength. My teacher’s name was Sa’a. She is one of the 276 teenage girls kidnapped by Boko Haram more than 900 days ago. As she shared her story at a recent town hall meeting at the Arsht Center hosted by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, she transported the audience to that frightful night.

Sa’a was just a couple of years older than I am now when it happened. She was studying for her final exams in her dormitory room late at night when she and the other girls heard gunshots and shouts.…  Seguir leyendo »

A year-long exhibition at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel features Israeli scientists and tells the story of their remarkable innovations. Kobi Gideon Kobi Gideon

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia, ,

If you are planning to visit Israel in the near future, take an extra 30 minutes for a remarkable exhibition. On the wall of the corridor leading to departures hall at Ben Gurion Airport, you will find large pictures of Israeli scientists and their inventions. Arriving last week as always at the last moment, I almost missed my flight because of it.

Flying many years in the Israeli Air Force made me different from the other travelers who were watching the exhibition with me: Unlike most of them, I knew how air traffic worked. When they made it to their seats inside the plane, they just relaxed, while I — unconsciously — asked myself if all the aircraft systems will perform smoothly, if the radar monitoring the heavy air traffic will not fail, and more such annoying thoughts.…  Seguir leyendo »

President Dilma Rousseff was ousted from office after her impeachment trial in Brazil’s Senate. AP

MundoAmérica

Well before the Brazilian Senate threw Dilma Rousseff out of office on Wednesday, by a commanding 61-20 vote, even her most fervent supporters sensed her days as head of state were numbered. Yet to judge by the commotion from her loyalist rear guard, you’d think a political comeback were under way.

The suspended president took the stand at her impeachment trial in the Senate chambers on Monday with protesters in the street, an impressive entourage in tow and blessings from Bernie Sanders all the way to Hollywood. “Impeachment is a political death penalty,” Rousseff said.

For all the drama of her trial — the partisan bombast, Rousseff’s 14-hour grilling in the Senate, the tear gas in the streets — political apostates were already negotiating the day after.…  Seguir leyendo »

In Zika fight, ‘don’t get pregnant’ is lousy advice

MundoAmérica, , ,

Don’t get pregnant.” Not now. Maybe not for two years.

This was the advice governments gave women in a number of South American countries when the connection was established between the Zika virus and microcephaly, a serious birth defect that can result in seizures and developmental delays. But details on how they were supposed to accomplish this in countries with limited access to contraception and strict abortion restrictions weren’t provided.

Now Zika has been locally transmitted in the continental United States. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a similar warning, saying women and men who visit affected areas, including Wynwood in Miami, should wait at least eight weeks before trying to get pregnant.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

How much more can he get away with? What must Daniel Ortega do before the United States and other democracies finally act, or even speak, against his demolition of Nicaragua’s democracy?

Over the past few months his lackeys on the Supreme Court have declared the principal opposition party illegal and banned it from contesting the November elections. Then Ortega had them expel that party’s representatives, who had been elected almost five years earlier, from the National Assembly.

He described the Organization of American States, European Union, and Carter Center as “shameless” and stated unequivocally that they will not be invited to observe the balloting.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo,

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently accused the United States of failing to honor pledges in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Citing “the futility of negotiations with the Americans,” he distanced himself from the nuclear deal he once supported.

Coming just weeks after the one-year anniversary of the agreement, his charge is just another in an escalating war of words from Tehran that reminds the world that the “era of good feelings” promised by U.S. negotiators never came to pass. Nor have Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Tehran’s change in tune should come as no surprise. Intelligence reports have long warned that the regime continued its attempts to obtain illicit nuclear material right up to the brink of implementation of the deal.…  Seguir leyendo »

Shoppers in Venezuela must wait in line for hours outside stores to find basic consumer goods like sugar and detergent. Fernando Llano AP

MundoAmérica,

It’s debatable whether it was Einstein, Ben Franklin, Mark Twain or none of them who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. What isn’t debatable is the validity of the statement. Individuals, institutions and countries should learn from past mistakes, but they don’t.

Take Venezuela. When Hugo Chávez, the self-styled democratic socialist, was elected president of Venezuela in 1999, the country was wealthy, possessing immense proven oil reserves. However, that source of wealth and others in Venezuela were predominantly in the hands of an intransigent upper class and corrupt politicians.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia

Miss, my brain hurts! You make me think too much.” Meant as an insult, this became the most meaningful compliment I’ve received since becoming a middle school math teacher three years ago. Learning to think, specifically to think logically, is not only the essence of mathematics, it’s a naturally beautiful way of explaining the complex world we live in. As math teachers, it’s our job to discover the art of mathematics for ourselves in order to share it with our students.

My students today see me as a super-math-nerd who gets way too excited about simple math discoveries (such as finding the area of a triangle by cutting rectangles in half).…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica, ,

This week I return to Washington to thank the American people and the U.S. government for the help they have provided Colombia during the last 15 years and to look ahead to the next 15 years for what it will mean for both our nations.

Despite being ravaged by more than five decades of conflict and crime, the Colombian people provided popular support to their military forces and the national police, who took the initiative to regain lost territory and forge relations in new spaces, creating the conditions for the victory that has made peace move from a long forgotten dream to a newfound reality.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaInternacionalTerrorismo Internacional, ,

Fourteen years ago in the Colombian town of Bojayá, FARC guerillas launched an explosive that landed on the roof of a Roman Catholic church, killing 79 men, women and children who were huddled inside, seeking safety.

A tragedy of such proportions was hard to comprehend even in a nation inured to the brutalities of conflict. But an event two months ago was in its own way just as extraordinary: The FARC apologized to the people of Bojayá for the “misery and misfortune” it had caused and sought forgiveness.

The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have been fighting their country’s government for more than 50 years, meaning most Colombians have never truly known a day of nationwide peace.…  Seguir leyendo »