Colombia

From Europe to South America to Asia to his father's birthplace in Kenya, Barack Obama's candidacy has made an impact. Black Europeans are pinning their hopes for more representation in their government on a persuasive example set by the election of Barack. Citing his charisma and ideas, black community leaders say his race is not the only reason for the transatlantic support.

Meanwhile, Colombia has adopted a more spirited way to show support — making Obama the mascot of their lottery. Colombia's Metal region placed Obama's face on its Oct. 22 ticket. In a country whose president strongly supports President Bush, the lottery officials explained the mood of the people: "We picked Obama's portrait for our lottery because we're always looking for somebody people are raving about. He's ahead in opinion polls and right now he's the most popular guy around here."

In his NYT's column today, Nicholas Kristof recounts the disbelief a friend in Beijing shared when he told her there's a good chance America will elect a black man president. To see how he explained the potential of an Obama presidency, read more

Colombia violated the Geneva Convention when its military used the Red Cross' symbol to help free 15 hostages from FARC rebels last month, according to the International Red Cross. The first Geneva Convention prohibits using the Red Cross emblem in military operations because it could compromise the perceived neutrality of the group's humanitarian and medical missions.

The Colombia operatives posed as faux-humanitarian workers, and video shows that one soldier wore the Red Cross emblem. Colombia initially misrepresented its use of the emblem, but later apologized, calling the soldier's decision to wear the cross unauthorized.

While officials consider the details of their rescue, the most famous former hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, avoids discussing the details of her six-year captivity. To see what she has said however, read more

After the stunning rescue last week of 15 hostages held by FARC rebels in Colombia, Ingrid Betancourt — the most well-known of those rescued after being held hostage for six years — has urged the end of a vocabulary of hate against her former captors.

She says:

I think we have reached a point where we must change this radical, extremist vocabulary of hate of very strong words that intimately wound the human being.

Though her sympathy for her captors sounds a little Stockholm Syndrome-y, she says she has no illusions as to the true nature of the group, but that a honey trap of kindness would be a better way to ensure more hostage releases.

And there are many more to be released from the group one American is calling "terrorist." To see the extent of the situation, read more

• A Perfect Rescue Operation:
  French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages freed from FARC rebels in a daring rescue mission has called her release after more than 6 years, a "miracle." She says, "there is no historical precedent for such a perfect operation." The mission was accomplished without a shot fired after the Colombian military penetrated the highest level of FARC and tricked them into handing over the hostages. Among those rescued were three American military contractors and 11 members of the Colombian security forces, all said to be in relatively good health. FARC has been trying to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years, and still holds over 40 high-profile hostages, among up to 700 other captives.




• Mandela Not a Terrorist:
  US President George W Bush signed a bill removing Nelson Mandela and South African leaders from the US terror watch list. Mandela and ANC party members will now be able to travel to the US without a waiver from the secretary of state. The African National Congress (ANC) was labeled as a terrorist organization by South Africa's former apartheid regime.
• Jobs and Airlines in Trouble:
  The number of former workers signing up for unemployment insurance rose sharply last week. According to a Labor Department report, new applications jumped by 16,000 to 404,000, the highest level since late March. Meanwhile, the airline industry is predicting a $6.5 billion loss for the year, having been hit harder by fuel costs than expected.

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Drug traffickers now join rappers and models who have been ditching the dollar for the more exquisite euro.

White House drug officials announced this week that cocaine is being rerouted from the US and heading through Venezuela to West Africa eventually reaching its final destination — Europe.

With such a weak dollar, drug dealers have more to make by hustling in the Old World. Meanwhile, reports of cocaine use are up in Europe, and down in the US. Sounds like there will be some major blowouts in the discothèques this summer.

Of course drug enforcement officials credit the US war on drugs. Bush's drug policy director says successful control of US-bound routes in Mexico and Columbia are squeezing suppliers into Venezuela. The US alleges that Venezuela, a political adversary, acts as a cocaine safe haven, and is doing nothing to stop the drug trade.

Can Europe be more successful in convincing Venezuela to come down hard on the drug trade? Is a drop in cocaine use a benefit of a weak dollar and economy in general?

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Apparently it isn't essential that a guidebook writer actually visit the country he writes about. A Lonely Planet author is claiming that he made up large portions of his books, and dealt drugs to subsidize his measly salary. Think twice before going to the titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile, and South America, for some first-hand advice.

These damning revelations came out in the writer's, Thomas Kohnstamm, new book Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? He says that he wrote about Colombia without visiting the country because they didn't pay him enough to go to Colombia. He says: "I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating — an intern in the Colombian Consulate."

This guy has the coolest job ever — traveling around the world and writing about it— and he does the arguably hard part while, ditching the fun of seeing the world. I know he's not making a lot of money, but he accepted the job knowing how much he was going to make. Do you think phony travel writers, like Kohnstamm, should go to hell?

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Congress just denied President Bush by voting to delay consideration of the controversial trade agreement with Colombia until after the November election.

President Bush wanted Congress to approve a not-too-expansive trade pact with Colombia. But, this being an election year, a simple trade issue has become a vehicle for back and forth about jobs, the economy, and national security. The agreement was also problematic for the Democratic presidential candidates, who rely on the support of organized labor and large corporations.

OK here's how all the major players played it:

Pelosi: The Speaker of the House preempted Bush's plan to force a vote, by unilaterally (and legally) changing the rules of the House. The existing rules required the House to vote on a bill submitted by the president within 90 days. But, Pelosi played her cards, saying that she would not allow a vote until the president agreed to increased economic aide for Americans. So today, the House voted to delay.

Condi Rice: The secretary of state played the national security card on this one. She said that it is imperative to relations with US ally Colombia, and other US interests in South America, that the bill be approved immediately. Oh, well.

To find out where the presidential candidates, an ex prez, and other high-profile surrogates stood on the deal, read more

• Beginning a march from India to Tibet, more than 100 Tibetan exiles are waging a protest against Chinese rule in the region. Using China's time in the spotlight as the host of the upcoming Olympics, Tibetans say this could be their biggest protest since their exile in 1959. The Dalai Lama approved of China hosting the games as it provides a forum for the world to pressure the Chinese government to uphold Olympic ideals of freedom of speech and equality. Using very pointed words, the Dalai Lama said "repression continues to increase with numerous, unimaginable and gross violations of human rights, denial of religious freedom, and the politicization of religious issues" by China.



• The tension between the four Latin American nations that were facing a diplomatic crisis over a Colombian military raid in Ecuador has ended with handshakes and embraces at a summit meeting. The four leaders that had earlier been insulting each other and shooting accusations of treachery, resolved the situation within the span of the meeting. President Rafael Correa of Ecuador shook hands with Colombia’s president, Álvaro Uribe, and said “with the commitment of never attacking a brother country again and by asking forgiveness, we can consider this very serious incident resolved.”
• Yesterday, the leaders of the two major political parties who beat Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf last month combined forces and agreed that they would reinstate the judges fired by the president and would also take action to strip him of crucial powers. This agreement is a direct threat to Musharraf as the restored judges could now rule on petitions calling into question the validity of his re-election last October. Critics say Musharraf dismissed the judges last November exactly because he was afraid they would invalidate his presidency. Neither Musharraf nor the White House has commented on the agreement.