Category Archives: News
Picture of the Day
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Quote of the Day
“My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.”
– Rush Limbaugh apologizing on his web site Saturday
Thanks, Rush! After a national backlash and several corporate sponsors pulled ads from your show, I can tell this comes from the depths of your enlarged heart. You besmirched the reputation of someone you don’t know, but that happens all the time in your business. Now, take some Vicodin and shut the hell up!
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Picture of the Day
Oklahoma state Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, left, holds a sign borrowed from a protester against the state’s “Personhood” bill outside her office.
The photo naturally got the state’s conservative extremists all riled up who thought it was of McIntyre’s design.
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Quote of the Day
“For a people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all, for the human dignity of all.”
— Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, in signing legislation that made his state the eighth to legalize gay marriage.
Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Gov. Martin O’Malley and House Speaker Michael Busch, from left, sign the state’s same-sex marriage bill into law at the Maryland State House in Annapolis. Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images
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Venezuela’s Book Import Controls Threaten Cultural Isolation
Latin America has produced some of the best writers the world has ever known: Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes, Isabel Allende, Octavio Paz and Pablo Neruda among them. As the nations of the region move towards more democratic forms of government, their citizens are becoming increasingly connected to the world around them. And, of course, literature assumes its usual role as a conduit of culture and ideology. It goes without saying that political freedom allows a populace to consume anything it wants to read. Just ask residents of the former Soviet Union. But, amidst the glory of Latin America’s revitalization, Venezuela seems mired in literary seclusion. According to Roger Michelena, owner of Librerias Michelena and founder of Ficcion Breve (Short Fiction), an independent literary trade publisher in Caracas, barely 1% of titles published in Spanish ever make it to Venezuela.
The nation isn’t just dealing with the usual problems involving distribution and marketing. It has to contend with a government that imposes strict exchange controls – much like the former Soviet Union did to its literary elite and what China often does now to its own writers. It shouldn’t be a surprise to even a minor student of international politics.
Since assuming the presidency in 1999, Hugo Chavez has ruled Venezuela like…well, like Stalin. As with many Latin American leaders, Chavez came to power with a socialist agenda; promising radical changes for the poor and daring to take on the “predatory oligarchs” of the old order. But, in the 13 years since, he’s become more of an autocrat; holding onto his position in much the same way any dictator does. And, when the power and wealth of a nation go into the hands of a few, the lower classes suffer the most. And, among the first things they’re forced to sacrifice is education.
It’s up against this backdrop that Michelena finds himself. In this interview with “Spanish World Book News,” Michelena explains his mission and his passion.
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Picture of the Day
Siku, a polar bear born November 22, 2011 in a Danish wildlife park, is getting a taste of the world around him. The cub’s daily activities are being tracked by Explore, an international wildlife organization. Photo by Søren Koch.
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Quote of the Day
“I hate to say this, but in Texas we can fight all day long, but there’s a propensity to write us off. They think, ‘That’s Texas. Texas is a place where those kinds of things happen.’”
— Texas state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, discussing why there was little national attention to Texas’ sonogram bill but similar legislation in other states has received national media coverage.
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