Cool Calderón Bags a Barbie (part 1)
Holy hot tamales my amigos! Mexico is on fire, and I’m not talking about jalapeños either! President Felipe Calderón and the Mexican government’s war against drug cartels has ramped up in violence and death count in a very big way in the last 4 years, impacting all levels of society both within Mexico but also neighboring countries/regions. Instead of delving in the dirty details of the daily violence, the Plaid Avenger explains the “Why here?” and “Why now?” behind the rise of these cartels in northern Mexico here in the 21st century.
Related Plaidcasts:
Mexico Madness: Cartels Crashing the Country
Related Stories:
Mexico fired 10 percent of federal police in 2010
Mexico rethinks drug strategy as death toll soars
U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Marijuana Traffic
Gang violence in Central America
Who's responsible for US illegal drug traffic? (GREAT graphics!)
Keywords: Mexico, drug cartels, Felipe Calderón, US, Central America, Colombia, NAFTA
Nuke Group Review: part 2
Synopsis: On April 12th and 13th, US President Barack Obama hosted the first-ever ‘Nuclear Security Summit’ which was attended by leaders from 47 states plus a handful of international organizations. This summit mostly focused on getting a handle on loose nuclear material around the world in order to eliminate the threat of possible ‘nuclear terrorism.’ However, in the bigger picture this move is just a warm-up to a revamping of the all important NPT, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is coming up soon. In Part 2 of this plaidcast, the Avenger does a roll call of important cats at the convention (as well as those not invited), and what the hell they actually agreed on to limit those loose nukes.
Related Plaidcasts:
Proliferation Frustration
Mohamed ElBaradei: Call him ‘Cool Hand Nuke’
Nuke Deal for New Delhi kicks off New Age of US-India Relations
Related Stories:
Among leaders at summit, Hu's first
Netanyahu Cancels Trip to U.S. Nuclear Summit
Big Challenges Lie Ahead Before 2nd Nuclear Summit
Ukraine Agrees to Eliminate Highly Enriched Uranium Stock by 2012
Keywords: US, Obama, Russia, Medvedev, Sarkozy, Hu, Gordon Brown, P5, P5 +1, Merkel, Germany, Singh, India, Netanyahu, Israel, Calderon, Lula, Harper, Kirchner, Zuma, Erdogan, Yakunovich, Hatoyama, Lee Myung-Bak, Ban Ki Moon, UN, Yukio Amano, IAEA, Iran, North Korea
Nuke Group Review: part 1
Synopsis: On April 12th and 13th, US President Barack Obama hosted the first-ever ‘Nuclear Security Summit’ which was attended by leaders from 47 states plus a handful of international organizations. This summit mostly focused on getting a handle on loose nuclear material around the world in order to eliminate the threat of possible ‘nuclear terrorism.’ However, in the bigger picture this move is just a warm-up to a revamping of the all important NPT, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is coming up soon. In Part 1 of this plaidcast, the Avenger chats about what the hell this NPT thing is all about, how it came about, and how its working out…..so check check check it out!
Related Plaidcasts:
Proliferation Frustration
Mohamed ElBaradei: Call him ‘Cool Hand Nuke’
Nuke Deal for New Delhi kicks off New Age of US-India Relations
Related Stories:
The New Anti-Nuclear Movement
New Nuclear Threat Tops Summit's Agenda
A Good Start: 'Global Zero' reminds us that eradicating nuclear weapons should still be our ultimate goal.
Keywords: US, Obama, Russia, Medvedev, NPT, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Sino Sniping Has International Impacts
Synopsis: US-Chinese relations suddenly seem to be at a recent all-time low. The US arms sale to Taiwan, US President meeting with the Dalai Lama, Google China getting hacked, and US Secretary of State Clinton commenting on human rights in China, have collectively caused the Sino-Giant to super-size its rage against the US machine. But the Plaid Avenger tells you why there’s nothing really to fear from this…it is really just business as usual…and it won’t result in any big changes to the relationship between these two world titans. However, China’s fury will be causing impacts on the international agenda of the US and Team West, namely in regard to Iran, North Korea, and even global warming. Check it out!
Other Plaidcasts mentioned:
02.05.10 - Taiwan’s Tricky Sticky Status
10.06.09 - Diplomatic Dali Diss to Save 6-Party
Related Stories:
U.S.-China growing pains
Testing Time for U.S.-China Relations
US-China tensions continue over Google
China Renews Opposition to Iran Sanctions
Keywords: US, China, Taiwan, Tibet, Iran, North Korea, Obama, Dalai Lama, Hilary Clinton, global warming, human rights, Google
Why Does Haiti Suck? Part 3: The Political Repercussions of part 1&2
Synopsis: The catastrophic earthquake which hit Haiti on January 12th has killed perhaps a quarter of a million people and economically ravaged the entire state. More importantly, it has laid bare to the world a totally impoverished country that is ill-equipped to take care of itself even in good times, much less when disaster strikes. How is it that Haiti got to this point of sucking so bad?
In this final installment Part 3, the Avenger sums up how the negative aspects of Haiti’s bloody birth and internal people problems have played out over the last 200 years to produce this heavily indebted and desperately poor state which has seen more than its fair share of international intrigue, destructive dictatorships, and political chaos….right on up to the modern earthquake event which has flattened these fatigued folks. But there is hope for the future!!!
Related Stories:
A legacy of oppression in Haiti
Where is Haiti's government?
Imagining a Stronger Haiti Past the Pain
Keywords: Haiti, François Duvalier, Papa Doc, Baby Doc, Jean-Claide Duvalier, Tonton Macoute, Voodoo, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Mugabe
