Highbrow Magazine - Julian Assange https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/julian-assange en ‘Love Is All You Need,’ Star Trek: Into Darkness’ Arrive on DVD, Blu-ray https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2781-love-all-you-need-star-trek-darkness-arrive-dvd-blu-ray <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 09/10/2013 - 09:30</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/LoveIs.jpg?itok=ucwlbAtO"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/LoveIs.jpg?itok=ucwlbAtO" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> This week’s home video releases range from an intimate foreign film about love and romance to a big-budget, science-fiction spectacle.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Love Is All You Need</strong></p> <p> <strong>3½ stars<br /> Rated R<br /> Sony Pictures Classics<br /> Available on: DVD, Blu-ray and on demand</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Danish writer-director Susanne Bier (“Things We Lost in the Fire,” “In a Better World”) delivers one of the best romances of 2013 with “Love is All You Need,” an off-kilter international film about wounded souls who bond in an unlikely fashion.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In one of the great breakup scenes in film history, a cancer-stricken hairdresser named Ida (Trine Dyrholm) finds her husband, Leif (Kim Bodnia), making love to another woman. Rather than beg for forgiveness or plead false innocence – the typical reaction in screen portrayals of infidelity – Leif turns the situation around, off-handedly admitting guilt but arguing that Ida’s illness is a burden for him. He then leaves, saying he’ll see Ida in Italy where their daughter is planning her wedding.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Bier also uses early scenes to introduce Philip (Pierce Brosnan), a serious-minded Englishman who, having failed to recover from his wife’s untimely death, has immersed himself in work. Because he is handsome and wealthy, women approach Philip constantly, but his anger prevents him from acting on their advances.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Ida and Philip are from different worlds, but they literally collide in a minor, parking-garage auto accident. As they trade information, they learn that it’s Philip’s son will marry Ida’s daughter, and the stage is set for an unusual-but-fulfilling romance.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Bier does a lot of things right with “Love is all You Need.” Most importantly, she draws fantastic performances from her actors. Every character in the film is well drawn even though there’s a lot going on. This is particularly true when the action moves to Italy for the wedding of Ida’s daughter, Astrid (Molly Blixt Egelind), and Philip’s son, Patrick (Sebastian Jessen).</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many movies are set during wedding preparations, and most aren’t as dramatic or funny as their creators intended. Bier finds the perfect tone, however, by giving her characters darkly comic material and treating it with extreme realism. For instance, it’s farcical when Ida’s husband brings his mistress to the wedding, but Bier establishes the man as such a cad that the moment is as honest as it is comical.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> The most noteworthy flaw in “Love is All You Need” is that too little screen time goes to the developing relationship between Ida and Philip. Bier, Brosnan and Dyrholm do such a fine job fleshing out the characters individually that it’s natural to want more interaction between them, especially since they are the engine that drives the project. This is, however, a minor complaint in a drama that is otherwise sincere, emotional and executed with finesse.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> “Love is All You Need” is presented in a broad mix of English, Danish and Italian with subtitles, so anyone lacking fluency in all three tongues will be reading constantly. This actually adds to the picture’s realism, making it an immersive cultural and emotional experience.</p> <p>  </p> <p> DVD and Blu-ray extras include cast interviews from the 2012 Venice Film Festival, an audio commentary with Brosnan and Bier, and a Q&amp;A session with Brosnan, Dyrholm, Bier and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/Star%20Trek%20-%20Horizontal.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 449px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Star Trek: Into Darkness</strong></p> <p> <strong>4 stars (out of four)<br /> Rated PG-13<br /> Paramount<br /> Available on: DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, digital download and on demand</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> In 2009, director J.J. Abrams gave the “Star Trek” franchise a boost by presenting the earliest exploits of Starfleet officers James Kirk, Mr. Spock and others from the original television series. His approach was so creative that he rebooted the series without discarding any of the mythology long-time fans hold dear.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Using the old science-fiction trick of time travel, Abrams built a world where two Spocks (one young and one old) coexist. By so doing, he made it clear that his “Trek” is meant to deepen – not destroy – one’s appreciation of the original series.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Abrams maintains the same reverent tone with “Star Trek Into Darkness,” but the movie is not a simple homage. Despite countless references to the original show and the movies that followed, “Into Darkness” works as a standalone product. It has the spectacle one expects from a modern blockbuster, but it also has depth, both in plotting and characterization.</p> <p>  </p> <p> As in the original series, Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) are opposites, yet they are so well rendered that their bond is easily comprehended. Other key characters, including Uhura (Zoe Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban) and Scotty (Simon Pegg), are equally well built. This puts “Into Darkness” among a rare breed of blockbusters: the sort that value emotion and character drama as highly as action.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> The story takes place shortly after the events depicted in Abrams’ 2009 film, and it sends Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew on a deadly journey. When a former Starfleet agent named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) turns traitor and launches two attacks on Earth, Kirk is given the OK to hunt and kill him. The mission is troubling, particularly since Starfleet officers are trained to use force as a last resort. Also, as Kirk draws closer to his prey, he and the rest of his crew realize they’re pawns in a game they don’t understand.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Pine, Quinto, Saldana, Urban and Pegg deliver terrific readings of their characters. Out of necessity, they mimic traits of the actors who originated their roles, including William Shatner (Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock), but they avoid simple replication. Because their versions of the characters are younger and less refined, the actors give them edge. For long-time fans, the result is a new look at old friends, and it’s refreshing.         </p> <p>  </p> <p> Abrams presents his material with a compelling visual style that – apart from a strange and annoying penchant for lens flares – is sleek and beautiful. He also paces the story perfectly, giving viewers all the information needed to invest in the plot without letting things bog down in details. If “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry were still alive, one imagines he’d be proud.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The DVD of “Star Trek Into Darkness” has no extra features, but the Blu-ray releases come with seven making-of featurettes.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/peeples.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 356px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Tyler Perry Presents Peeples</strong></p> <p> <strong>2½ stars<br /> Rated PG-13<br /> Lionsgate<br /> Available on: DVD, Blu-ray, digital download and on demand</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> In theaters, “Peeples” ranked among the poorest-performing movies ever produced by Tyler Perry, a fact that’s unfortunate because it has more charm than most of the films in his catalogue. Realistically, it’s difficult to hold Perry accountable for the movie’s successes or failures. Although his name is attached to the title, “Peeples” is the brainchild of Tina Gordon Chism, the project’s writer and director.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The story centers on Wade Walker (Craig Robinson) and Grace Peeples (Kerry Washington), a young couple who have one big issue: Grace is afraid to introduce Wade to her ultra-stern father (David Alan Grier). When Grace takes off for a family retreat in the Hamptons, Wade pushes the issue by showing up unannounced. Although he is welcomed into the Peeples home, he quickly discovers that Grace’s dad is indeed difficult. Nevertheless, he spends several days attempting to insinuate himself into the family.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Obviously, “Peeples” isn’t novel or inspiring. In fact, it’s little more than an urban version of “Meet the Parents.” Nevertheless, Chism draws fine performances from her cast, and they make the most of the tired material. Robinson and Grier are particularly strong, and it’s fun to watch them spar with one another. Although best described as a romantic comedy, “Peeples” isn’t laugh-out-loud funny. Cute is a better adjective, and the film has warmth that’s missing from many of today’s dramedies.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Chism also does a decent job with pacing. She seems to realize her script is insubstantial, so she brings the project home in a breezy 95 minutes. Because “Peeples” is over so quickly, viewers don’t have much time to think about how often they’ve seen this story before. They can, however, smile at the antics of Robinson and Grier. Whether that’s enough, depends on who’s watching.</p> <p>  </p> <p> DVD and Blu-ray extras include a making-of featurette, a gag reel and an audio commentary with contributions from many of the cast and crew.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/wikileaksmovie.jpg" style="width: 439px; height: 650px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>ALSO OUT THIS WEEK</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“We Steal Secrets – The Story of WikiLeaks”:</strong> Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney looks at Julian Assange and his controversial WikiLeaks website. The movie also spends considerable time on Pfc. Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of espionage for passing government secrets to WikiLeaks.    </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Parade’s End”:</strong> Five-part HBO miniseries based on the novels of Ford Madox Ford. The story is set during the World War I era, and it centers on a love triangle between an honorable Englishman (Benedict Cumberbatch), his manipulative wife (Rebecca Hall) and a young suffragette (Adelaide Clemens).</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Chicago Fire” – Season One: </strong>The second season of this drama – about paramedics and firefighters working in the Windy City – will debut toward the end of the month on NBC. That gives newcomers a couple weeks to watch the 22 episodes on this boxed set.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“La Cage Aux Folles”:</strong> Criterion Collection restoration of the much-loved 1978 French film about a gay couple who pretend to be straight when their son brings his fiancée and her conservative parents for a visit. Directed by Edouard Molinaro. Presented in French with English subtitles.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“The Smurfs” – The Legend of Smurfy Hollow”:</strong> Twenty-two minute animated film where the Smurfs explore a supposedly haunted hollow. Because the movie is so short, the suggested retail price is just $6.99, and some retailers are selling the title for less.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Supernatural” – The Complete Eighth Season:</strong> This long-running CW series returns for a ninth season in October, and fans can get back in the mood with the 23 episodes included in this set. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki star as brothers who battle demons, ghosts and other forms of supernatural evil. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Blue Bloods” – The Third Season:</strong> Twenty-three recent episodes of the CBS drama about a family with a long history of service to the New York City Police Department. Donnie Wahlberg, Will Estes, Tom Selleck and Len Cariou star. </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>“Star Trek” – The Original Series – Origins:</strong> Folks enamored by “Star Trek Into Darkness” may want a deeper look at some of the characters and issues presented in the film. This release contains five key episodes of the original series, each one dedicated to the first screen appearance of a major “Star Trek” character or species.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Forrest Hartman, a</em> Highbrow Magazine contributor<em>, is an independent film critic whose byline has appeared in some of the nation's largest publications. For more of his work visit <a href="http://www.ForrestHartman.com">www.ForrestHartman.com</a>. </em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/love-all-you-need" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">love is all you need</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/star-trek-darkness" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">star trek: into darkness</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tyler-perry" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Tyler Perry</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/peeples" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">peeples</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wikileaks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wikileaks</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/julian-assange" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Julian Assange</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/supernatural" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">supernatural</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/blue-bloods" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">blue bloods</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Forrest Hartman</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sony Pictures Classic</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 10 Sep 2013 13:30:42 +0000 tara 3477 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2781-love-all-you-need-star-trek-darkness-arrive-dvd-blu-ray#comments From Arab Spring to Autumn Rage: The Dark Power of Social Media https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1556-arab-spring-autumn-rage-dark-power-social-media <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 09/14/2012 - 14:59</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumyemenviolence%20%28AP%29.jpg?itok=K3XnCwlP"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumyemenviolence%20%28AP%29.jpg?itok=K3XnCwlP" width="480" height="361" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/from-arab-spring-to-autumn-rage-the-dark-power-of-social-media.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> In 2010 <em>Time Magazine’s</em> prestigious Person of the Year title went to two individuals. While its readers picked Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, <em>Time’s</em> editors picked Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Facebook is now the third largest country on earth and surely has more information about its citizens than any government does,” the magazine noted. “Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, is its T-shirt-wearing head of state.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Assange, founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, on the other hand, undermined entire nation states’ public narratives of themselves by providing a platform where individuals can anonymously whistle blow and show their government’s dark underbellies by uploading top secret documents. Spy agencies can only look on with envy and alarm.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In 2011, a fruit vendor made the cut. Mohammed Bouazizi, a Tunisian who set himself on ablaze protesting police corruption, became literally the torch that lit the Arab Spring revolution that spread quickly throughout the Middle East. Bouazizi achieved this in his very public death because many who had cell phones saw it and the subsequent videos kick-started the uprising. The revolution took all governments by surprise.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Convicted Filmmaker’s Many Aliases</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> This year no doubt <em>Time</em> can add “Nakoula Basseley Nakoula,” aka “Sam Bacile,” as a major contender. An unknown amateur filmmaker until this week, fanned the flames in the Middle East with incendiary video clips. In effect, the film mocked and insulted the prophet Mohammed and turned the whole Arab Spring of 2011 into Autumn Rage of 2012 Against the USA.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Nakoula/Bacile is currently in hiding and may in fact be fictitious. Much evidence now points to him as a Egyptian Coptic Christian, who allegedly holds grudges against Islam. On Thursday, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/feds-id-california-mans-role-anti-islam-film-164554115.html">U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced</a> that Nakoula was convicted two years ago on federal charges of financial fraud.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The jury is out on who instigated the violence against U.S. workers in Libya, resulting in the death of the American ambassador and three other personnel. The attack was carefully planned, it was reported, and not the mere work of angry protesters – but few doubt that the film has a direct effect in stoking a combustible anger in the Middle East against what many consider as yet another American act of profanity against the sacred.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In the global age, it seems that not only dictators or overzealous elected heads of state with power of preemptive strikes can direct history to the edge of an abyss, but also fruit vendors and lousy filmmakers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> If  Zuckerberg is a kind of head of state of the third largest country and Julian Assange has become the equivalent of a CIA institution gone rogue, then Bouazizi, a private individual, has become the modern equivalent Joan of Arc.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Soon, too, the director of <em>Innocence of Muslim</em>, whoever he is, will become a kind of knuckle-headed hater, who nevertheless emerged with the extraordinary power to incite violence against America. That would make Al-Qaeda, by comparison, seem tongue-tied.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> For all its planning, for all its propaganda and brainwashing of the illiterate and easily duped to blow themselves up – merely to garner dwindling media attention in the West --Al-Qaeda hasn’t achieved what an inane video has. The film and its 13-minute YouTube trailer quickly undermined much of the United States’ soft diplomacy in a region it considers of utmost important.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In a blog for the <em>Boston Globe</em>, a friend of slain Ambassador Chris Stevens shared her shock with this headline: “How Could Chris Stevens Die Because of a YouTube clip?” Alas, the answer is: Why not? In our information age, the break up of a virtual friendship can lead to suicide, and misinformation can create a real lynch mob, half a world away.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>A Digital Parallel Universe</strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> A while back, Robert Young, an Internet entrepreneur, noted, “People around the world are now learning how to leverage the incredible power inherent in the URL to create what is essentially a parallel universe of digital identities."</p> <p>  </p> <p> What he didn’t predict is that people do not only leverage URL power for self-promotion or product sales, but to change the outcome of world history. While governments worry about sophisticated cyber terrorism, a virtual town square is now available to any second-rate hater willing to desecrate what others consider sacred in order to push the buttons that might lead to mass protest.</p> <p>  </p> <p> It is important to note that within the 24-hour period after Ambassador Stevens and his staff occurred in Libya, Apple came out with its iPhone 5 version. “Larger, meaner, faster” is how one reporter at the convention described it. In the same news cycle, CNN published an <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/10/tech/mobile/our-mobile-society-intro-oms/index.html">article</a> with this headline, “How Smartphones, Tablets Make Us Superhuman.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The article cites Michael Saylor, author of the new book, <em>The Mobile Wave</em> and CEO of MicroStrategy.:</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The Agricultural Revolution took thousands of years to run its course. The Industrial Revolution required a few centuries. The Information Revolution, propelled by mobile technology will likely reshape our world on the order of decades,” notes Saylor. “But despite the turbulence ahead, we live at one of the greatest times in history. Software will suffuse the planet, filling in every niche, and exciting opportunities will lie everywhere.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> And so are the risk factors as the magic wand of history is bestowing incredible power to private citizens, to fruit vendors and hateful amateur filmmakers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Through the digital world people can attain real power to speak beyond their own geographical constrains. Erstwhile, unknown singers and performers can become famous practically overnight with a well-placed YouTube video. And haters can pinch the right nerve endings at the most vulnerable time so American missions anywhere at distant place can go up in flames.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Nation states are being stunned by the swiftness with which social media can change the outcome of world events. Excited copycats are waiting in the wing. Why not make a false video showing Japanese killing Chinese on Dao Yu island? Why not show blurry videos of Pakistani soldiers raping Hindu women in Kashmir? The list is endless.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Of course, there is only fairness in the law of exchange. Assange is now in virtual house arrest in London, living in a tiny space in Ecuador’s embassy, as he is a wanted man in the United States and elsewhere. Bouazizi is dead.</p> <p>  </p> <p> And this moronic filmmaker, whose identity is yet to be fully determined, is now in hiding, perhaps for good. Lawsuits and arrest may follow, death threats are only to be expected. He will learn soon enough: There’s a price to pay if you incite in these global days.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Still, this amateur with a camera crew and a group of funders has made his point. No longer do heads of states and sophisticated terrorist organizations have the monopoly of power to press those dangerous buttons. Those buttons are available now for those who want to spend $199 or, for swifter downloads and uploads, $399 for the 64 GB version of the latest iPhone.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p> New America Media editor Andrew Lam is the author of <em>Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora</em> and <em>East Eats West: Writing in two Hemispheres</em>. His book of short stories, <em>Birds of Paradise Lost</em>, will be published in 2013.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>Follow Andrew Lam on Twitter:</em> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/andrewqlam">www.twitter.com/andrewqlam</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/09/from-arab-spring-to-autumn-rage-the-dark-power-of-social-media.php">New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/us-embassies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">u.s. embassies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/middle-east" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Middle East</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/innocence-muslims" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the innocence of muslims</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sam-bacile" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sam bacile</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nakoula-basseley-nakoula" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">nakoula basseley nakoula</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/eric-holder" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eric holder</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chris-stevens" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">chris stevens</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/julian-assange" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Julian Assange</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mark-zukerberg" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mark zukerberg</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/facebook" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Facebook</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/twitter" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Twitter</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wikileaks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wikileaks</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew Lam</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AP</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 14 Sep 2012 18:59:07 +0000 tara 1557 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1556-arab-spring-autumn-rage-dark-power-social-media#comments How the Assange Case Catapulted Ecuador to the Limelight https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1481-how-assange-case-catapulted-ecuador-limelight <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 08/21/2012 - 10:14</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumEcuadoreanPresident.jpg?itok=UXynkw2j"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumEcuadoreanPresident.jpg?itok=UXynkw2j" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/08/in-assange-asylum-a-stand-against-neo-colonialist-policies.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> Rafael Correa, the president of one of South America's smallest countries with almost 15 million inhabitants is taking a dramatic stand against Great Britain, Sweden and the United States by granting political asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Last Wednesday the Ecuadorian foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, told the press in the country's capital, Quito: "Today we have received from the United Kingdom an explicit threat in writing that they could assault our embassy in London if Ecuador does not hand over Julian Assange." Correa in an address to the Ecuadorian people on Saturday said, “I don't know who they think I am or what they think our government is. But how could they expect us to yield to their threats or cower before them? My friends, they don't know who they are dealing with.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> He added: "They haven't found out that the Americas are free and sovereign and that we don't accept meddling and colonialism of any kind."</p> <p>  </p> <p> Correa has spoken openly of 21st century socialism, and positions himself as part of Latin America’s leftward tilt that is pledged to open up more participatory governing structures. “Personally, I am not a communist, I am a socialist,” says Correa, though he acknowledges, “almost no one can define” what 21st century socialism is. He is clear, however, that it “differs totally from the idea of state control over the means of production and traditional socialism,” and can be encapsulated in one word: justice.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Correa, who took office in 2007, has joined with other leaders in Latin America in searching for new solutions to persistent problems of poverty and inequality.</p> <p>  </p> <p> On the international front, the 48-year-old Correa believes it is important to push for Latin American integration and fight for sovereignty in the face of attempts by the dominant powers and the international financial institutions to re-colonize Latin America. He has repeatedly confronted U.S. interests in the hemisphere. In 2009 he refused to renew a lease for the U.S. military base at Manta on the west coast of Ecuador. In response to U.S. pressure he ironically declared, "We can negotiate with the U.S. about a base in Manta, if they let us put a military base in Miami..."</p> <p>  </p> <p> In June 2011, Ecuador was the only holdout when the Organization of American States (OAS) voted to readmit Honduras after evicting it when a 2009 military-backed coup removed president Manuel Zelaya from office. Correa stated that Ecuador would only recognize the Honduran government of Porfirio Lobo if those involved in the coup were punished.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Similarly, in April 2012 Ecuador was the only country to boycott the sixth Summit of the Americas in Colombia because of Cuba's exclusion from the meeting. Then in June of this year Correa ended Ecuadorian participation in a U.S. sponsored military program that has trained thousands of Latin American military officials over the years, many of which led or participated in coups against civilian elected governments.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumjulianassangeposter%20%28posterboy%29.jpg" style="width: 370px; height: 600px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> Ecuador is also a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA). The group encourages “fair trade,” not free trade, and promotes integration through complementarity and solidarity. Founded by Venezuela and Cuba in 2004, Bolivia soon joined and later Nicaragua, Ecuador, and five Caribbean countries.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Most of the foreign press has chosen to ignore the principled positions of Correa, diverting attention to issues like press freedom. The New York Times alleges Correa has “presided over a crack down on journalists.” The Guardian of London quotes favorably a columnist with El Comercio, a right wing newspaper in Quito: "By drawing the world's attention with this superhuman effort in Assange's favor, the government will revive the debate over its own intolerance against the independent press."</p> <p>  </p> <p> These comments are debunked by Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington D.C., who writes that such reports are “a gross exaggeration and misrepresentation of Ecuador, which has an uncensored media that is mostly opposed to the government. And for most of the world, these misleading news reports are all that they will hear or read about Ecuador for a long time.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> It will surprise many that the harshest critics of Correa in Ecuador are to his left. Indigenous movements, environmentalists, and at least two of the country's socialist parties lambast the president for his “extractivist” economic policies that allow foreign petroleum and mining corporations to exploit the country's resources much like they did under previous governments.</p> <p>  </p> <p> To contain protests against these policies the government has arrested over 200 activists, who Correa refers to as “infantile leftists.” The country's leading indigenous organization, CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, applauded Correa's decision to grant asylum to Julian Assange, while at the same time denouncing the president's double standard of “insulting, persecuting and jailing indigenous leaders and those who struggle for social justice.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The tensions between Correa and the left opposition began in 2006 in Correa's first election when the relatively obscure economics professor who earned his doctorate at the Illinois University ran against a CONAIE backed candidate. Today Correa's major political organization is called Alianza Pais, or the Country Alliance. The party is based largely in the urban areas of the country, while CONAIE draws its support largely from the rural areas and is allied with small middle class social movements.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The two groups will square off with opposing candidates in the 2013 elections. One position not likely to be in dispute between them is the granting of asylum to Julian Assange.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Roger Burbach is the director of the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA) based in Berkeley, CA and is the author with Michael Fox and Federico Fuentes of</em> Latin Americas Turbulent Transitions: The Future of 21st Century Socialism<em>, to be released in January, 2013. Marc Becker is the author of the chapter on Ecuador in the book, and is professor of history at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. He has written extensively on Ecuador.</em></p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2012/08/in-assange-asylum-a-stand-against-neo-colonialist-policies.php">From New America Media</a></p> <p>  </p> <p> <em><strong>Photos: New America Media; Poster Boy, Flickr (Creative Commons).</strong></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/julian-assange" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Julian Assange</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/wikileaks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">wikileaks</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ecuador" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ecuador</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rafael-correa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Rafael Correa</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/asylum" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">asylum</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/london" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">London</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/great-britiain" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Great Britiain</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ecuadorian-embassy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ecuadorian embassy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Roger Burbach and Marc Becker</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:14:15 +0000 tara 1426 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1481-how-assange-case-catapulted-ecuador-limelight#comments