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Showing posts from November 24, 2008

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Chavez hails election victory

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Chavez hails election victory Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has hailed the victory of his allies in local elections, praising the outcome as a sign of the strength of the country's democratic system. "Who can say there's a dictatorship in Venezuela?" Chavez said on Monday. "A new stage is beginning. For me, as the leader of the Venezuelan socialist project, the people are telling me: 'Chavez, keep on the same path,'" he said. However, the country's opposition won five states and Caracas, the capital, out of a total of 22 state polls, gaining ground on Chavez's Socialist Party. More than 65 per cent of 17 million eligible voters turned out to vote for governors, mayors and heads of regional councils in Sunday's polls.

Informed Comment: Wertheim: There is Racism and There is Racism II

Informed Comment: Wertheim: There is Racism and There is Racism II After I wrote my article “There is Racism and There is Racism’’, I received quite a few often very emotional reactions. At the Trouw website, in personal emails and at any number of blogs. Some of the readers who responded are just as concerned as I am that the latest developments can lead to violence. The distinction I drew between the two kinds of racism and the mechanisms that go along with them have encouraged them in their efforts to head us all in a more peaceful direction. Others reacted with indignation. But all things considered, it is clear that a newspaper article like this about such a complicated issue can also evoke misunderstandings. . . In your article in Trouw you agree with Harry de Winter, who compares Islamophobia to the Holocaust. That is total nonsense! Harry de Winter compares Islamophobia to how the public mind set was primed for the Holocaust in the 1930s. How considerable percentages of the Eur