[Singer and right-wing spoke person Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, best known as Shakira, has strong ties to corrupted groups and right-wing politicians in Latin America, the U.S. and Europe. That explains her silence on the brutal human rights violations occurring in her country Colombia during the current Uribe administration.]

[He banished straight lines, trained with Le Corbusier and transformed Brazil – and then he was sent into exile for his political beliefs. Yet even now, at the sprightly age of 102, Oscar Niemeyer still believes that his architecture can encourage a new generation to live more selfless lives.]

Swerve with Verve: Oscar Niemeyer the Architect who Eradicated the Straight Line

Sunday 18th April 2010, by Peter Godfrey - The Independent

[The military agreement between the United States and Colombia has caused outcry in Latin America. But perhaps the country whose sovereignty is most threatened is Colombia itself.]

The US Threat to Latin America

Tuesday 20th April 2010, by Grace Livingstone - The Morning Star

[The people's summit to tackle climate change is a radical, transformative response to the failure of the Copenhagen club]

Bolivia's Fight for Survival Can Help Save Democracy Too

Thursday 22nd April 2010, by Naomi Klein - The Guardian

[The World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth is going on this week in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Here are some media outlets and blogs reporting from Cochabamba in English on the conference with observations, photos, videos and analysis]

News Roundup: World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth

Wednesday 21st April 2010, by Upside Down World

[Government mobilises thousands of soldiers during negotiations with plantation occupation by farmers]

Honduran Campesinos Under the Gun Pt 1

Sunday 18th April 2010, by Jesse Freeston - The Real News

[Message of the author of the 'Open Veins of Latin America' to participants of the First World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba from April 19 to 22, as an alternative to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit]

Message to Bolivia: Nature’s Rights Are Also Human Rights

Monday 19th April 2010, by Eduardo Galeano - Znet

Alborada e-news: April 2010

http://www.alborada.net/

Amig@s,

Welcome to the April 2010 Alborada e-news. Our e-news will inform you about our activities, as well as the latest information related to Latin America.

Please feel free to forward this e-news to anyone who might be interested.

[The documentary examines the ultra-violent narco-wars along the US/Mexico border, framed in the context of ongoing imperial relations with the US, most clearly articulated in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) of 1994.]

In the early hours of January 1, 1994 a guerrilla army of indigenous Mayan peasants emerged from the highlands and jungle in the far southeast of Mexico and declared "¡Ya basta!" - "Enough!" - to 500 years of colonialism, racism, exploitation, oppression, and genocide.

Through an exploration of the Zapatista movement's origins, history, structure, aims, political philosophy and practice, and future directions this book provides a critical, comprehensive, and accessible overview of one of the most important rebel groups in recent history.