About corruption in the government

The author, Cindy Domingo, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, where the the names of her brother Silme Domingo and friend Gene Viernes, Fil-Am trade unionists, are inscribed. CONTRIBUTED SEATTLE – My heart is heavy with sadness and anger as I organize the annual dinner of A Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing (LELO) to honor the 41 st anniversary of the deaths of my brother Silme Domingo and his fellow union brother and friend Gene Viernes. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the son of the dictator who was responsible for their assassinations in Seattle on June 1, 1981, has been elected president of the Philippines. Many from Seattle and beyond still remember their cold-blooded murders by Marcos gunmen that took place during afternoon rush hour at the Pioneer Square offices of the Alaska Cannery Workers Union, Local 37, International Longshore and Warehouse Union. It took eight years, three murder trials, and a federal civil suit to bring to justice those who were … [Read more...] about A Time to Rise, Again!

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Leading Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro is roundly critical of the U.S.-led war on drugs and has questioned the extradition of a drug kingpin, views that may herald a shakeup of how the Andean nation battles the narcotics industry. Petro points out that despite billions of dollars in security spending and decades of U.S. pressure to reduce drug production, Colombia remains a top global supplier of cocaine and the site of bloody drug violence. A left-wing senator who was once the mayor of Bogota, Petro has about 40% support ahead of the May 29 election. He is expected to face a runoff vote. Petro decried the extradition this month of the accused leader of the Clan del Golfo cartel, Dairo Antonio Usuga. He also more broadly questions the effectiveness of extradition, a legal tool Washington considers a powerful deterrent to crime. "Extradition: it merits a discussion - a review of the figures - to see if what's been done for 40 years has … [Read more...] about Analysis: Left-wing Colombian candidate plans drug war shakeup

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Marc Rich, the legendary commodities trader, fled the United States for Europe in 1983 after being indicted for trading Iranian oil during the 1979 hostage crisis and evading $50 million in taxes. From Switzerland, Rich continued to operate Marc Rich & Co. until selling the trading house to his protégés in 1994. By the time President Bill Clinton pardoned Rich on his last day in office in 2001, the company had been renamed Glencore International. Rich died in 2013, age 79, a billionaire and a free man—an example that Glencore’s next generation of fat cats now seek to follow. Including Rich (and his longtime right hand Pincus Green, now retired with an estimated $900 million) the company has birthed at least nine billion-dollar fortunes. The richest of the Glencore gang is former CEO Ivan Glasenberg, at $8.9 billion, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire rankings. Others include Daniel Maté, 58, a metals trader … [Read more...] about Bribery Scandal To Cost Glencore $1.1 Billion, While Billionaire Execs Avoid Blame—For Now

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei could still attend the Summit of the Americas next month, his foreign minister said Thursday, barely a week after the leader said he would not be going to the U.S.-hosted gathering in Los Angeles. Giammattei said on May 17 that he would not attend the June 6-10 summit, speaking a day after the United States criticized his government for reappointing its attorney general, who Washington has accused of corruption. However, Foreign Minister Mario Bucaro told Reuters the United States was not attempting to impose "conditions" over the appointment of judicial officials and that the government was still awaiting news on whether Giammattei would go. "The country will definitely be represented by the Guatemalan delegation ... but we're also awaiting confirmation from the president to see if he'll be able to attend," he said. Bucaro stressed that the Central American country had a good relationship with the United … [Read more...] about Guatemala president could still attend Americas Summit, minister says

Chadchart Sittipunt rides a bike after casting his vote in the governor elections in Bangkok on Sunday. AFP Among the myriad of implications over Chadchart Sittipunt's thumping triumph in Bangkok's gubernatorial election last Sunday is the restoration of Thailand's self-confidence and Thais' sense of belief that tomorrow will be better than today. After years of political decay and entrenching economic stagnation stemming from societal divisions, Mr Chadchart brings into office what has been described as a "rainbow" coalition made up of people from different walks of life and political party lines, transcending the progressive and conservative sides of the political divide. But as his honeymoon period will soon subside, the Bangkok governor-elect faces daunting and dark challenges. High public expectation over his election victory reflects Thailand's longstanding political malaise and economic slump as well as the public's frustration with the incompetence of the powers-that-be in … [Read more...] about Chadchart’s effect on Thai politics