Un periodista libre, faltan tres.

La Fundación Mexicana de Periodismo de Investigación (MEPI) muestra su preocupación por la aún desaparición de Jaime Canales, camarógrafo de Multimedios Laguna; Alejandro Hernández, camarógrafo de Televisa Torreón y el reportero de El Vespertino, identificado como Héctor “N”, quienes fueron secuestrados el 26 de julio en la zona de La Laguna.

El día de hoy fue liberado Héctor Gordoa Márquez, miembro de Televisa Ciudad de México, “levantado” también ese día.

De acuerdo con el gobernador de Durango, Ismael Hernández, los responsables de estos hechos es un grupo de la delincuencia organizada que estaba inconforme con la cobertura de los medios sobre la captura de la directora de la prisión de Gómez Palacio, ubicado al sur del estado.

La Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH), exigió “la actuación eficaz de las autoridades procuradoras de justicia y garantizar la seguridad de los periodistas” mediante un comunicado emitido el 27 de julio de 2010.

En redes sociales como Twitter se ha creado un hashtag denominado #losqueremosvivos para pedir la agilización de búsqueda y pronta localización de los periodistas.

Periodista colombiano lleva 20 días desaparecido

Rodolfo Floréz, reportero gráfico, camarógrafo y cineasta de la ciudad de Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, desapareció el 09 de julio de 2010. De acuerdo a fuentes de prensa locales, el comunicador supuestamente salió de su casa para recibir el pago de un negocio. Flórez es presidente de una fundación local llamada “Por una vida mejor” dedicada a promover proyectos artísticos, cinematográficos y periodísticos entre los jóvenes de la región.

Según fuentes consultadas por la Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) entre las personas que trabajaban con el reportero, se encontraban paramilitares desmovilizados, lo cual puedo haber generado molestia entre milicianos de las guerrillas, José Félix Ocoró, alcalde de Buenaventura, reprobó públicamente este acto e impartió órdenes para agilizar la búsqueda de Rodolfo.

En entrevista con EFE, Manuel Barrantes, presidente de la Unión de Periodistas de Buenaventura (UPB), aseguró que tanto la familia como colegas del desaparecido han recibido “llamadas anónimas advirtiendo que no hagan nada”

Journalist Disappears in Colombia

Photojournalist and filmmaker, Rodolfo Flórez, has been missing for 20 days. In addition to heading a foundation that teaches film and media projects to young people, Flórez worked with several local media outlets in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca. The Buenaventura Journalists’ Union stated that Flórez hadn’t received any threats, but some speculate that his disappearance is related to his collaboration with a national TV channel that has published some of his work. José Félix Ocoró, the mayor of Buenaventura, told local media that he has personally ordered the police to establish a search unit to quickly aid in the location of Flórez.

Read the Spanish article from FLIP (Foundation for the Freedom of Press)

http://www.flip.org.co/new/alert_display/0/1139.html

Or in English at:

http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/?q=en/node/8026

Education leads to less baby making

In 1873 college-educated women were less likely to get married and bore fewer children than noncollege-educated women. Professors at the turn of the century, including Harvard’s eminent professor of education, Edward C. Clarke, attributed this link to the shrinking of women’s wombs. Social scientists declared that if a woman’s brain grew her uterus would shrink.

Today, childlessness is still most common among highly educated women. In 2008, 24% of women ages 40-44 with a bachelor's degree had not had a child. However, our explanations for this relationship have changed dramatically. Researchers have found that improved career opportunities and contraceptive methods have created more alternatives for women than in the past.

Read the full study from Pew Research Center:

http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/758-childless.pdf

MEPI SE UNE A LA CONDENA REALIZADA POR DEFENSORES DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

La Fundación Mexicana de Periodismo de Investigación (MEPI)repudia la decisión del gobierno estadounidense de negar permiso de entrada a Estados Unidos al periodista colombiano Hollman Norris, cuyo único fallo, parece, es haber sido un duro crítico del presidente Álvaro Uribe.

Nos unimos a la condena que la comunidad defensora de los derechos humanos y otros periodistas han hecho por la decisión del Departamento de Estado.

(Juan Forero/The Washington Post)

El periodista, galardonado por Human Rights Watch, ha denunciado en sus programas televisivos los vínculos del gobierno de Uribe con el paramilitarismo, razón por la cual el mandatario lo calificó como un "permisivo cómplice del terrorismo".

Por lo anterior, la embajada de Estados Unidos en Bogotá le negó la visa a Morris bajo el rubro de ‘‘actividades terroristas'' de la Ley Patriótica.

Para más referencias lea:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070905438.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/07/us-bars-top-colombian-journalist-from-harvard-labeling-him-a-terrorist/1

Theaters and hair salons in Haiti

Haitians are opening makeshift businesses while the country rebuilds itself. Hair salons, movie theaters, and rice and bean stores are sprouting up in tent cities. Thousands of tents continue to provide temporary housing for those whose homes were destroyed, as well as those who are afraid to return to their house because of the fear of another quake. Despite the desperate conditions, Haitians are getting things up and running. The tents –mostly constructed of tarps and bed sheets– not only provide shelter, but are also being transformed into clean, organized businesses that include waiting benches, shelves full of products, and a communal atmosphere that returns a sense of normalcy to a world still encompassed by fear, destruction, and loss.

Follow the link to a brief article and video made jointly by PBS and Frontline:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/26/hair-salons-movie-theater_n_514988.html

Benefits of having the world’s largest hydroelectric dam?

Does the Three Gorges Dam in China have more benefits than negative consequences? When it was under construction, scientists expressed their concern over the risks involved in building the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. The costs, far exceeding 25 billion dollars, included the relocation of over a million people living along the river, the permanent flooding of 12,000 towns, and irreversible environmental effects.

Despite the arguments against the dam, China said there were huge benefits that outweighed the potential harm. The primary benefit was the dam’s ability to produce 18,000 megawatts of electricity for a country that was desperately seeking to wean itself from coal- and oil-based energy. Promoters also argued that the dam could finally control the constant flooding along the Yangzi River that had claimed the lives of thousands of people over the years.

However, only now that the dam is fully functional are we able to test its purported benefits. Right now, south and central China are plagued with heavy rainfall, but the dam appears incapable of solving serious flooding problems. Last week alone the floods were responsible for dozens of deaths, and have displaced tens of thousands of people. The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has reported that 2.48 million people have been affected, and some cities are completely submerged.

Read more:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-07/09/content_10089321.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5000092.stm