Comunicas America.- The world financial crisis and safe guarding  Latin America's growing economies were the main topics of discussion Friday when the region's leaders met in Caracas for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit.

Several presidents stressed at the start of a two-day summit Friday that they hope to ride out turbulent times by boosting their local industries and increasing trade within the region.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff led such calls, saying that if the nations are to keep thriving they will need to look more to their neighbors.

"The economic, financial crisis should be at the center of our concerns," Rousseff said. "We should respond to this crisis with a new paradigm."

Rousseff said Latin America should "realize that to guarantee its current cycle of development despite the international economic turbulence, it means that every politician must be aware that each one needs the others."

As a region, Latin America and the Caribbean have so far weathered the economic woes better than the U.S. or Europe, achieving economic growth of more than 5 percent last year.

Brazil is now one of the world's fastest growing economies, and its government said this week that it's willing to contribute funds to the International Monetary Fund to help minimize the effects of the European debt crisis.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said the region has immense potential "in this world that's going through great uncertainty, where there's a hurricane that's hitting the so-called industrialized economies hard." He said Colombia's current trade with Brazil, for instance, is minimal and could grow significantly.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez read aloud a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulating the leaders on forming a new 33-nation regional bloc, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Hu pledged to deepen cooperation with the new group, which he said will "contribute in a significant way to strengthening the unity and the coordination among the region's countries to face global challenges together."

The U.S. remains the top trading partner of many countries in the region, with exceptions including Brazil and Chile, where China has become the biggest trading partner. China has also made diplomatic inroads, including by granting about $38 billion in loans to Venezuela in exchange for increasing shipments of oil.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández noted that experts believe the region could be vulnerable to fallout from the economic crisis. She said trade within the region should be a priority.

Some countries, such as Brazil, expressed interest in reducing imports from outside Latin America.

"Together we can be stronger, together we can grow, and that should be beneficial for everyone," Rousseff said.

Chávez and some of his closest allies, meanwhile, called for the new regional bloc to be a tool for both integration and for countering U.S. influence.

"Only unity will make us free," Chávez told the more than two dozen heads of state.

Cuban President Raúl Castro said that if it's successful, the creation of the new bloc known by its Spanish initials CELAC will be "the biggest event in 200 years."

The group includes every country in Latin America and the Caribbean. Unlike the Washington-based Organization of American States, it will have Cuba as a full member and exclude the U.S. and Canada.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/12/03/latin-american-leader-talk-world-economy-at-celac-meeting/#ixzz1fXjEubqb

Comunicas Libya.- After months of bloody conflict, embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi was reportedly killed in his hometown of Sirte.

Although more information is still pouring from Libya, rebel leaders and many of the Libyan people are rejoicing over the news of his death.

Gaddafi ruled the country for over 40 years, after a military coup in 1969. Gaddafi, who viewed himself as a “brother leader,” was a Pan-Africanist and worked to unite African countries and fashion it into a sort of “United States of Africa.” His goal was to develop “a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent,” while including other countries, like Jamaica and Haiti, whose population was majority Black. Although his “United States of Africa” idea didn’t work out, many of the principles influenced the formation of the African Union, of which he served as chairman from 2009 to 2010.

While he was embraced by many at home, Western leaders shunned him. After denying involvement for years, Gaddafi took responsibility for the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland which killed 270 people.

After coming to power, Gaddafi was reportedly suspicious of a possible coup and was very active in crushing dissidence. However, after other countries in the region–namely Egypt and Tunisia–saw their leaders fall, many Libyans took to the streets to oust Gaddafi. As a result of 6-months of protests and bloody conflicts, rebel forces were able to overthrow the government, and many are claiming responsibility for Gaddafi’s death.

Via Clutch

Comunicas United States.- OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway / Via New York Time

Comunicas Venezuela.- Venezuelan presidente, Hugo Chavez,  has announced that he will nationalise Venezuela's gold industry to boost the country's reserves.

"The area is run by the mafia," he said on state television. "We're going to nationalise gold. We can't keep allowing them to take it away."

The biggest gold miner is Rusoro, a Canadian-listed company controlled by the Russian Agapov family.

The move comes after Rusoro and others complained that Caracas prevents them from selling enough gold abroad.

Last year Venezuela raised the limit on gold exports from 30% to 50% of output, with the rest to be sold to the country's central bank.

But even so, mining companies said the limit still prevented them from being able to raise foreign financing to invest in developing the mines further.

"We are going to nationalise the gold and we are going to convert it, among other things, into international reserves because gold continues to increase in value," said President Chavez on Wednesday.

Gold had hit a new all-time high earlier in the day of $1,795 (£1,084) an ounce.

A day earlier, an opposition member of parliament disclosed a leaked government report that recommended repatriating 90% of the country's gold reserves, some 63% of which are currently held abroad.

Via BBC

Comunicas England.- The riots that broke out across England this week were the consequence of years of built-up resentment among Britain's young, mostly black, underclass, the Caribbean-British writer and activist Darcus Howe told The Huffington Post on Wednesday.

"It's an insurrection of a generation of poor, primarily, black people from the Caribbean and from Africa," said Howe, who became something of an Internet sensation on this side of the Atlantic after his recent appearance on the BBC turned into a testy exchange over his claims that the authorities were failing to listen to the riots' underlying cause.

The police "do not have any sense of what informs the explosive character of what is happening here," Howe said, pointing his finger at the increasingly controversial practice of stopping and searching youth in working class neighborhoods.

The killing by police last week of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man from the London neighborhood of Tottenham, has been widely credited with setting off the flood of outrage that led to the riots. (The police say that Duggan was armed, and suggest he may have fired first; an investigation is underway.)

"That was the catalyst, and residing in the catalyst is the cause," Howe said. "And the cause was the constant stopping and searching of young blacks."

The few emerging voices of young people who took to the streets in London -- or shared their common cause -- in recent days point to much the same set of complaints.

"Why did people do this?" asked Yohanes Scarlett, a student who said he knew some of the rioters, on the BBC show "Newsnight" Tuesday. "There's a lot of anger and aggression in the streets. There's many people out there who knew this was coming, who saw that this was coming, and have warned this was coming. Government, police ... they have not listened."

By and large, the response to the riots across British society has been outright rejection and condemnation, with the youth in the street branded wholesale as thugs and criminals.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron told the press that "nothing was off the table" in the government's response to any future rioting, including the use of water cannons or rubber bullets.

"This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped," Cameron said. "We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets."

In a poll published Wednesday by the conservative newspaper The Sun, a third of respondents said they would welcome the use of live ammunition against the youth in the streets.

Howe told The Huffington Post that while he did not condone the rioting, he did not think the government's response had shown much indication that conditions would improve.

"They're all behaving like President Assad," he said, referring to the embattled Syrian leader who has lately confronted a popular uprising inside his country with tanks and mortar shells.

"What we found out recently is the prime minister and his ilk have no idea who their citizens are," he added. "Even the blacks among them do not know who they represent. There is a black member of parliament from Tottenham when the riots broke out, and he said, 'These people who burned the place down are not from Tottemham; they came from elsewhere.' Nobody knows where Tottenham begins, and where it ends."

Howe, who was born in Trinidad and is 68 years old, has a long history of social-justice activism in England, and has become a familiar face to British television viewers on the subjects of race and urban discontent.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a leading figure of a movement of West Indian-born immigrants to the outskirts of London who deplored their treatment by the police and government officials.

"Since 1968 he's been a black radical, organizing street-level campaigns against police racism," said Robin Bunce, a politics professor at Cambridge University and author of a forthcoming biography on Howe.

Howe, Bunce said, was instrumental in organizing a 1981 demonstration in his neighborhood of Brixton, that was a near precursor to the now famous riots there -- but was not a participant in those riots.

"He was living in Brixton but not involved other than as a kind of commentator," Bunce said. "Darcus' big concern today is police stopping and searching black people, mainly black young men, and this is really the same thing that started the Brixton riots in 1981."

The youth of today, Howe said, are much more determined and disappointed than even his own generation, and they see in the present moment an opportunity to express their discontent.

"They are much more mature and they have greater expectations," Howe said. "[In the 1980s], we'd say, 'Well, we weren't born here, we must accept that.' But this is a generation who has this feeling, like instinctive animals, about who they are, and what they won't put up with, and that is what has brought them to the streets today."

"There is a sense of uprising, because the kids see it on the television," he added. "They see the Arab Spring. And once [the police] killed Mark Duggan, they felt, 'No. They've gone too far.'"

Via Huffting Post

Comunicas Venezuela.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived back in his country after receiving medical treatment in Cuba.

A video shown on state TV showed the leader saying goodbye to Cuban leader Raul Castro then getting off a plane at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas.

Mr Chavez has been in Cuba since 8 June, where he underwent an operation to remove a cancerous tumour.

His return comes a day before Venezuela marks its independence day.

Mr Chavez, wearing a blue and white tracksuit, was seen on TV shaking hands with officials on his arrival at the airport near Caracas.

"I'm fine. I'm happy," he said. "A perfect landing."

In a telephone interview later, Mr Chavez told state television he was having breakfast and "devouring everything".

He said he had spent "very difficult days" in Cuba but that his recovery was going well.

A post on his Twitter account said: "Here I am, back home and very happy. Good morning my beloved Venezuela! Good morning beloved people. Thanks be to God. It is the beginning of the return."

Mr Chavez told state TV he was under very strict medical control "with medication, rest, meals controlled".

He said he would not be able to take part in Tuesday's independence day parade but would follow it from the presidential palace.

Speculation
State TV said Mr Chavez, 56, might make an appearance on the balcony of his presidential palace later on Monday.

"We are delighted the president is home," said Vice-President Elias Jaua, who was among those at the airport.

There had been widespread speculation about Mr Chavez's health after he left Venezuela more than three weeks ago for what officials said was an operation on a pelvic abscess.

Last week he revealed he had also had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour. He said he was determined to overcome his health battle and was on the road to recovery.

On Tuesday Venezuela celebrates the 200th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Spain.

Mr Chavez's extended stay in Cuba led to the postponement of a regional summit scheduled for 5 July.

BBC

Previous note.-

Hugo Chavez confessed has a cancerous tumour

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has revealed he has had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour, in his first speech since flying to Cuba for treatment.

Speculation about his health had been rife since he left Venezuela three weeks ago for what officials said was an operation on a pelvic abscess.

Mr Chavez said he was determined to overcome his health battle and was now on the road to "full recovery".

His absence forced Venezuela to put off a regional meeting on Wednesday.

Video courtesy Telegraph

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

'New battle'

Looking much thinner than when he last addressed the nation, Mr Chavez confirmed what many had suspected - his health problems were more serious than first thought, says the BBC's Sarah Grainger in Caracas.

Standing behind a podium, the president said he had made the "fundamental error" of failing to look after himself.

Former Cuban President Fidel Castro had first told him he had looked unwell while he was on a state visit to Havana, he added.

Mr Chavez said he underwent a first operation on a pelvic abscess on 10 June, just as officials had informed the Venezuelan public.

But during his recuperation, tests had "confirmed the existence of a tumour with cancerous cells", forcing him to undergo another operation. The extraction of the tumour had been "completely successful", he said.

He added that his condition had been "evolving satisfactorily" while he received a "complementary treatment to combat the different types of cells found, and thereby continue on the path to my full recovery".

"I deeply appreciate the demonstrations of solidarity by Venezuelans and other brotherly people," he said.

Mr Chavez called it a "new battle that life has placed before us", and ended the speech with the revolutionary slogan often used by Mr Castro: "Forever onward toward victory! We will be victorious! Until my return!"

The address was aired by the pan-American channel Telesur late on Thursday. It is unclear when it was recorded. Screen captions indicated that he was speaking from Cuba.

Afterwards, Venezuela's vice-president said the government was united and that Mr Chavez's reforms would be "deepened" despite his ill-health.

"This is not the time to go backward, it's time to advance," Elias Jaua said.

Mr Chavez did not say how much longer he expected to remain in Cuba recovering, but our correspondent says everyone hopes he will be back in Venezuela on Tuesday, when it celebrates 200 years of independence.

BBC

Comunicas United States.- Oliver Stone, the legendary and controversial American film director and screenwriter, recently shared his thoughts on Wikileaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning while speaking to students and faculty at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
In a series of rarely viewed YouTube videos brought to our attention by blogger Maria Technosux, viewers will hear Stone (JFK, Natural Born Killers, Platoon) comment on an array of topics including global politics, war and freedom of speech.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Via Wikileaks Movie

Comunicas Honduras.- Former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted from office in 2009, has returned to Honduras.

Mr Zelaya was forced into exile by the military after he failed to abide by a Supreme Court order to cancel a non-binding vote on changing the constitution.

Thousands of supporters greeted him at the airport in Tegucigalpa.

A deal signed by Mr Zelaya and current President Porfirio Lobo on Monday helped pave the way for his return.

Mr Zelaya arrived on board a private plane from Nicaragua.

He admitted that his exile had been "torture".

Later he told cheering supporters in Tegucigalpa: "We arrive full of optimism and hope to search for an exit to this crisis. At one moment we had almost lost it all, but they never defeated us."

He urged an end to "coups" in Honduras, saying that resistance should be "peaceful".

"The problem of poverty, of corruption, of the great challenges of Latin American societies won't be resolved through violence, but through more democracy," the former president said.

His wife, Xiomara Castro, said: "Today we begin the true reconciliation in Honduras."

Mr Zelaya's return became possible after he signed an agreement with his successor, Mr Lobo, in Colombia on Monday.

The accord, negotiated by the Venezuelan and the Colombian presidents, also prepares the way for Honduras's re-entry in the Organisation of American States.

Honduras had been expelled from the regional body after Mr Zelaya's forced departure.

Constitutional crisis

The 2009 crisis was triggered by Mr Zelaya's decision to hold a non-binding referendum on 28 June to ask people whether they supported moves to change the constitution.

His critics said the move was aimed at removing the current one-term limit on serving as president, and paving the way for his possible re-election.

Mr Zelaya repeatedly denied he was seeking re-election.

The consultation was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court and Congress, and was opposed by the army.

When Mr Zelaya insisted the consultation go ahead, Congress voted to remove him for what it called "repeated violations of the constitution and the law", and the Supreme Court said it had ordered the president to be removed from office to protect law and order.

He was bundled on to a plane to Costa Rica.

Mr Zelaya repeatedly tried to return to Honduras.

On 5 July 2009, he boarded a plane headed for Honduras, but it was blocked from landing.

Later that month, he made a brief but symbolic crossing into Honduras across its border with Nicaragua, where he was then living in exile.

Two months later, he returned to Honduras, appearing in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

But just days after President Lobo was sworn into office in January 2010, Mr Zelaya decided to leave for the Dominican Republic.

Legal wrangling

His removal from office left Honduras politically isolated for several months.

However, a period of relative stability began with Mr Lobo's election and many governments, including the US, proceeded to recognise the Honduran government's legitimacy and re-established the ties cut during the height of the crisis.

Earlier this month, a court in Honduras dropped all corruption charges against Mr Zelaya, clearing the way for his return.

Mr Zelaya had described the charges of fraud and falsifying documents as politically motivated.

As part of the accord signed on Monday, Mr Zelaya will also be permitted to participate in Honduran politics.

BBC

Comunicas Spain.- Thousands of people have taken part in protests across Spain's main cities, defying a government ban on political protest ahead of local elections.

In Madrid, some 25,000 protesters occupied a main square. Others gathered in Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.

The protesters are angry with the government's economic policies and the country's high youth unemployment rate.

Spain's electoral commission had ordered those camped out in Madrid to leave ahead of Sunday's elections.

But, as the ban came into effect at midnight, the crowds started cheering and police did not move in.

The protest began six days ago in Madrid's Puerta del Sol as a spontaneous sit-in by young Spaniards frustrated at 45% youth unemployment.

The crowd camping out in the square overnight grew and the protest has spread to other cities across the country.

According to Spanish news agency, Efe, a total of some 60,000 protesters has gathered across Spain, in Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao as well as the capital.

The protesters, dubbed "los indignados" [the indignant], are demanding jobs, better living standards, a fairer system of democracy and changes to the Socialist government's austerity plans.

"They want to leave us without public health, without public education, half of our youth is unemployed, they have risen the age of our retirement as well," said protester Natividad Garcia.

"This is an absolute attack on what little state welfare we had."

Protest growing

Another protester said she was taking part because she had no employment prospects despite having a degree.

"This should make the political classes aware that something is not right," said 25-year-old Inma Moreno.

Many of the participants have drawn parallels between their actions and the pro-democracy protests in central Cairo that revolutionised Egypt.

Political rallies are banned under Spanish law on the day before elections to allow for a "day of reflection" - a ruling which was upheld by the electoral commission.

Some protesters had said they feared a police crackdown, but Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the police were "not going to resolve one problem by creating another".

As the midnight deadline to disperse approached, many of the protesters wore tape over their mouths to imply they felt they were being prevented from speaking.

The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Madrid, said there was a moment's silence as the ban came into effect, before the square erupted in jeers, cheers and chanting.

Police were on the scene but did not intervene and the outdoor sit-in appears to be growing rather than ending, says our correspondent.

What started as a spontaneous movement now looks like it could be here to stay for some time, she says.

Spain's 21.3% unemployment rate is the highest in the EU - a record 4.9 million are jobless, many of them young people.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has expressed some sympathy for the protesters, noting their "peaceful manner".

"My obligation is to listen, be sensitive, try to give an answer from the government so that we can recover the economy and employment as soon as possible," he told radio Cadena Ser.

However, his Socialist government is expected to fare badly in Sunday's local and regional elections.

BBC

Photos: Copyright by Monica Lopez. Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monicalopezphotography/