Hans E. Offerdal

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Hans E. Offerdal

@hofferdal.bsky.social

Adviser for international affairs at the University of Bergen (UiB). Latin America & liberation theology aficionado. Strong supporter of free speech, academic freedom and a humane world! Opinions are my own. Reposts are not necessarily endorsements.
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With respect to those running for political office, and/or holding political power, in countries across the world, this great quote from Adam Smith comes to mind.
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The Iranian HispanTV is highly controversial, to put it mildly. Together with CGTN and Russia Today (RT), they transmit so-called 'news' to a Latin American audience. However, is cancelling voices we do not like - as ADL now is calling for - the best way to defend democracy? tinyurl.com/yc24m9t7
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Opposing assaults on academic freedom is not partisan politics. It’s a defense of public institutions and civil liberties, which enjoy a long history in Western culture, that benefit everyone. 👇👇👇 www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Trump taps J.D. Vance, sharp critic of higher ed, for VPwww.insidehighered.com The Yale Law School graduate has used sharp criticism of elite higher ed to help establish his MAGA bona fides and build a national brand.
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New issue (also available in pdf) of AQ, focusing on U.S.-Latin American relations. Samuel Pérez of the Movimiento Semilla stresses (p.40) that "Governments throughout the hemisphere...have the responsibility to... prevent radical authoritarianism from seizing more power." True for all governments!
What the U.S. Election Means for Latin America - Americas Quarterlyamericasquarterly.org
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JD Vance telling Vanity Fair's James Pogue who he is, 2022. www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04...
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Bukele’s Ideology Is Opportunism: "Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa recently described him as such: “The guy is arrogant and all about controlling power for himself and making his family rich.” elfaro.net/en/202407/op...
Bukele’s Ideology Is Opportunismelfaro.net
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”To be absolutely clear, there is no politician in America today who has done more to stoke political violence than Donald J. Trump", claims Sasha Abramsky in a provocative, but solid documented, piece for @thenation.com
A Brief History of Trump and Violencewww.thenation.com The assassin’s bullet that grazed Donald Trump’s ear thankfully missed its mark. But that can’t be allowed to erase the long, ugly history of Trump’s dalliance with violence.
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@folha.com According to state media in Belarus, Paulo Pimenta (Secretary of Social Communication for president Lula da Silva), has told Belarus 1TV that "countries should have such strong leaders as Aleksandr Lukashenko." Seriously, is this for real??? #authoritarianism
SB newswww.sb.by Countries need powerful leaders like Aleksandr Lukashenko – as stated by Paulo Pimenta, the Minister of the Brazilian Secretariat for Social...
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"The finding is 'evidently a very important structure, because ball courts are normally found only at major Maya sites, which were centers of the regional political organization,' Šprajc told Live Science in an email."
Mysterious Maya underground structure unearthed in Mexicowww.livescience.com Archaeologists in Campeche, Mexico, have found an underground structure beneath a Maya ball court, as well as offerings on top of a Maya pyramid at another site.
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Some front pages from the European press this morning.
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Y tres paginas en la Revista Dominical (La Nacion, Costa Rica). www.nacion.com/revista-domi...
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Report from Cristosal on El Salvador’s State of Exception: - 3,643 reports of abuse, 80% from women - 265 deaths incl. 4 children - babies born and died in prison from lack of medical care - rape, sexual favors traded for medicine, women held w/male gang members cristosal.org/ES/wp-conten...
cristosal.org
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Según la información proporcionada en un nuevo informe de Articulo19, las agresiones contra la prensa en #Mexico durante el sexenio de AMLO "representa un incremento del 62.13% en las agresiones contra la prensa en comparación con el sexenio previo."
Derechos pendientes: informe sexenal sobre libertad de expresión e información en Méxicoarticulo19.org • En su informe ARTICLE 19 señala que durante el sexenio de Andrés Manuel López Obrador se registraron 3408 agresiones contra la prensa, equivalentes a una cada 14 horas.• El total representa un...
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"Some claim #AMLO has damaged Mexican democracy by centralizing too much power in the presidency. Arguably, he has done more damage by giving too much power away to abusive and corrupt governors", argues Will Freeman in an interesting (and somewhat polemic) article for @cfr.org #Mexico
In Latin America, Your Zip Code—Not Just Your Nationality—Determines Whether You Live in a Democracywww.cfr.org Many big cities are doing well, but in flyover country organized crime and corruption often smother democracy.
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Un nouvel épisode -il y en a tous les jours- sur les paradoxes de la "4ème transformation mexicaine soi-disant progressiste et démocratique. Depuis la publication de cet article, la nomination de ce nouveau chef de la sécurité publique a été confirmée. nacla.org/rebirth-omar...
The Rebirth of Omar García Harfuchnacla.org Mexico City’s former chief of police is believed to have participated in the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students in 2014. A decade later, president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum is poised to
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"From Venezuela to #Mexico to Libya to Hungary to Japan, we’re seeing a semi-coordinated effort among wealthy countries to abolish one of the few legal responsibilities the world’s rich and comfortable have toward the poor and afflicted."
The World War on Asylumtheintercept.com From Mexico to the Mediterranean, rich countries would rather see refugees die than recognize their legal asylum rights.
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"Dicho informe debió haber sido entregado la semana pasada, cuando los padres y madres fueron citados en Palacio Nacional para recibir una supuesta actualización referente a los avances de la investigación."
Conferencia mañanera. Se entregó informe del caso Ayotzinapa, pero no se hará públicowww.laizquierdadiario.com
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Across Mexico, FIFA World Cup infrastructure threatens biodiversity and communities "In Mexico City, locals say they haven’t been consulted about new roads and building projects that could threaten their water resources as well as tree cover." Read the full story: news.mongabay.com/2024/07/acro...
Across Mexico, World Cup infrastructure threatens biodiversity and communitiesnews.mongabay.com GUADALAJARA, Mexico — “It was such an incredible emotion to spot pumas in the Primavera biosphere reserve in Guadalajara City, close to Akron Stadium,” says Pedro Alcocer, coordinator at the NGO Anill...