Part of the daily routine at IKN Nerve Centre™ is to check on news stories doing the rounds in the region and to help that along, your humble scribe has a Google News widget that separates news stories by country. It’s always Spanish language reports, but for some unknown reason this morning the whole Google feature had lapsed into English language (I have no idea why…first time ever).
Anyway, one shrugs one’s shoulders and gets on with it. As usual I skimmed across the various country buttons such as Brazil…
Bogota – Brazil and the International Committee of the Red Cross agreed to provide logistical support for the planned release of five Colombian public …Fox News View related stories »
- Brazil Stocks End Higher As Banks Rise In Thin Pre-Christmas Trade –
Wall Street Journal - Brazil: Lula’s Legacy – part one –
BBC News - Brazil Said to View Credit Curbs as Equivalent to 50-100 Point Rate Rise –
Bloomberg - Brazil launches peacekeeping force in the favelas –
MiamiHerald.com - Maersk Oil to acquire Brazil’s SK do Brasil Ltda for $2.4 billion –
Invest in Brazil - Brazil American Legion post closes after 70 years –
Chicago Tribune
…which had the usual mix of bizstuff, a bit of Lula-talk, political bits and bobs etc. And so it continued with Peru….
BY KIMBER SOLANA • ksolana@thecalifornian.com • December 24, 2010 About a dozen Salinas High School students will welcome the New Year in Peru by working …The Salinas Californian
- Market Vectors Planning Andean ETF –
ETF Database - Children’s skeletons with throats slit, chests opened found in Peru –
Sify - U.S. Senate Extends Andean Trade Benefits –
Wall Street Journal - Peru’s President Signs Law Creating Mortgage Bond Market –
NASDAQ - Peru’s Main Stock Indexes End Up; Sol Slightly Stronger –
Wall Street Journal - Peru’s Main Stock Indexes End Mixed; Sol Slightly Stronger –
Wall Street Journal
…and its general, newsworthy infromative mix, then to Colombia….
Bogota – Brazil and the International Committee of the Red Cross agreed to provide logistical support for the planned release of five Colombian public …Fox News View related stories »
- 20 Missing in Colombia mudslide –
Fox News - Vergara Appeals For Colombia Aid –
Contactmusic.com - South Colombia landslide kills 13, injures 29 –
Colombia Reports - Colombia’s Economy Grows Below Expectations –
Wall Street Journal - Ventana Gold urges Batista bid be rejected –
The Province - Colombian Stocks: Fabricato, Coltejer, Acerias, Tablemac –
Bloomberg
…and the same kind of thing, even Paraguay…
By PEDRO SERVIN AP ASUNCION, Paraguay — The Paraguayan government worked closely with the DEA earlier this year to expand its capacity to spy on cell phone …Washington Post
- Paraguay’s GDP Of 14.5 Percent – Best In The Last 32 Years –
Bernama - Soccer: Reds’ Hosogai moving to Leverkusen in Bundesliga –
Mainichi Daily News - Paraguayan rights activist files former dictator Stroessner’s son of illegal … –
Winnipeg Free Press - Cabanas set to appeal to CAS over pay dispute –
USA Today
…and Bolivia got the same type of journalistic, no-nonsense information-first headlines that keep you up to date with things happening in the country.
(RTTNews) – Latest in a trend of growing Latin American political support for the Palestinian people, Bolivia recognized Palestine as a “free and …RTT News View related stories »
- China helps Bolivia fund satellite –
News24 - Petrobras Receives Approval For Bolivia Gas Stake –
Wall Street Journal - New gas project launched in Bolivia –
Fox News - INVO Bioscience Announces First Shipments of INVOcell Into Bolivia – PR Newswire (press release)
- INVO Bioscience Announces First Shipments of INVOcell Into Bolivia – PR-USA.net (press release)
- Bolivian president says he’ll recognize Palestine –
Washington Post
But then I clicked on the Venezuela button:
by Anna Mahjar-Barducci Due to the Venezuelan flood emergency that resulted in more than 130000 homeless nationwide, the Parliament gave President Hugo …Hudson New York View related stories »
- Venezuelan politician sentenced to prison –
Washington Post - Hugo Chávez tightens his grip in Venezuela. Can US do anything about it? – Christian Science Monitor
- IUS Nominee Ambassador Palmer “Cannot Enter the Country” says Venezuela’s Chavez –
Bay Area Indymedia - Venezuela May Take Control of New Gas Projects, Universal Says –
Bloomberg - Venezuela Prosecutors Investigate Comments By Business Leader –
Wall Street Journal - Venezuelan eye care program suspected as anti-American effort – AHN | All Headline News
Notice anything different about the coverage, folks? This was all a bit of an eye-opener to me, because I usually get the Google news service piping me Spanish language reports and features which never hold this amount of obvious media bias. For sure they’ll cover the polemic issues out of Venezuela, but there’s no obsession on Chávez, pseudo-human rights issues and general vitriol towards the country, because Venezuela has all its own business, political and social affairs worthy of report and comment. In Spanish language reports, headlines will tell you what to expect in the report, they don’t immediately try to enforce an image that’s been built up around a country.
No wonder you guys get South American affairs so wrong.