Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Helen Elizabeth Clark the 63 year old former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published an article on the IPS News Service titled ‘The BRICS and the Rising South’. Clark states “…Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as the BRICS …will examine proposals to create their own BRICS development bank. The readiness of the BRICS countries to offer their own new international development initiatives and policy ideas is a clear manifestation of the changing global development landscape examined in UNDP’s newly released 2013 Human Development Report, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World”. This dramatic change in global dynamics, however, goes well beyond the BRICS. More than forty developing countries are estimated to have made unusually rapid human development strides in recent decades, according to the Report. Together, they represent most of the world’s population and a growing proportion of its trade and economic output. The progress of these fast mover countries measured in human development terms has accelerated markedly in the past decade. These geographically, culturally, and politically varied countries share a keen sense of pragmatism and a commitment to people, as seen through investments in education, health care, and social protection, and their engagement with the global economy. Neither rigid command economies nor laissez-faire free marketeers, they are guided by what works in their own national circumstances. …A greater voice for the South also means greater responsibility, with shared accountability for solving problems and sustaining progress. A more engaged, successful South, meanwhile, helps the North, through its economic dynamism and collaboration on global challenges. As the 2013 Human Development Report says, the South still needs the North, but, increasingly, the North also needs the South.”

Inspired by Helen Clark, IPS News ow.ly/k4oC7 Image source Wikipedia ow.ly/k4ok2

Manuela Lavinas Picq the former professor and researcher at Amherst College and currently researching in Brazil on politics for indigenous women in the Andes, has released an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The politics of veils, ‘polleras’ and mini-skirts’, where veils and ‘polleras’ are modern expressions of “political contestation and negotiation” between state and society. In the article Picq states “What a difference a piece of cloth makes. Indigenous’ polleras, or Muslim headscarves tend to be read as signs of poverty and subjugation whereas a mini-skirt usually asserts a woman’s emancipation. Of course, women’s rights do not reside in dress. Yet the way one dresses has political significance. A mini-skirt or a headscarf can both be symbols of oppression or emancipation, depending on the context. At first sight, indigenous women wearing polleras in the Bolivian Congress do not seem to have much in common with young Muslim women defending their right to wear the scarf to attend French universities. Looking closer, however, their insistence in bringing cultural attire into public realms points at similar practices of resistance. In both cases, clothing becomes a strategic site of political contestation to negotiate rights and authority. …Both polleras and veils are perceived as signs of cultures that keep women down, cultures that have not yet achieved political modernity. As different as they may be, in the collective imaginary both are signs of the oppression of women, visual reminders of gender inequality and implicitly indicators of underdevelopment. …Today, wearing polleras on the floor of the Peruvian Congress or headscarves in French universities represents a more fundamental challenge to oppressive power structures than women donning high fashion silk “power suits” as they struggle for conventional forms of success in the executive suites of governments or multinational corporations.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/dtvQ8 image source Sertaobras ow.ly/dtvC6

Nikolas Kozloff the American writer and Latin American historian has published an article titled ‘Is Brazil the next cop on the beat in Africa? The Pentagon seems to hope so’ in which he argues that ‘any action Brazil takes in Africa should be based on peaceful cooperation and not military escalation’. Kozloff’s article on Aljazeera states “Facing budgetary constrictions and overstretched resources, the Pentagon knows that it cannot effectively patrol the entire globe on its own. …in Rio, Panetta [Pentagon] emphasized Brazil’s long held ties to Africa. Historically, Brazil was the largest destination of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and today a sizable portion of the country’s population is of African descent. …WikiLeaks cables suggest that some within the Brazilian political elite want to redirect Brazilian foreign policy toward Africa …Nevertheless, given all of the controversy about the US role in Africa, Brazil should firmly reject Panetta’s calls for closer military collaboration in the region. This doesn’t mean that Brazil should outright withdraw from Africa, and if anything the WikiLeaks documents serve to highlight the many shortcomings of the South American giant’s foreign policy on the continent. Hopefully, Brazil will become more engaged in Africa in the long-term, not less.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/bJ7k7 image source Twitter ow.ly/bJ7f3

Seriously a president has to be smart (October 21st)

Danilo Gentili Jr the 32 year old Brazilian Comedian talk show host, known for his pushing of humors boundaries has succeeded in opening the Comedy Central Apresenta (Comedy Central Presents). Gentili was chosen to host the channels stand-up night club show, receiving high ratings and reviews on its opening night. Gentili received notoriety 12 months earlier when he made a joke of the soon to be first female president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, regarding her torture as a former Marxist guerrilla fighting against the military dictatorship. Gentili joked that “Seriously a president has to be smart. If she was caught and tortured, it’s because she was an idiot.” However Gentili acknowledges that under the military regime this type of political humor “could never have happened. Probably in the first two minutes of the show the army would have moved in”.

Inspired by Tom Phillips http://ow.ly/6SjBu image source Júnia Machado http://ow.ly/6SjO6