#years beforehand. and then dc goes and brings her back into continuity in the past few years only to basically say “yeah wonder woman DIDNT | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wolainterns · 5 years

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Cutting Off Aid to the Northern Triangle is a Lose-Lose Situation

By Ricardo Espino, Citizen Security Intern

"White House | DC" by solsken The Northern Triangle is a region that is plagued by many issues that affect areas such as the government, economy, and development. Following the civil armed conflict and afters years of weak institutions permeable to corrupt influences, Guatemala established an international body known as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). CICIG’s main role was to investigate and prosecute serious, high level crimes within Guatemala, which it successfully did for several years, giving the Guatemalan people hope for a brighter future for their government. Current President Jimmy Morales terminated the mandate of the CICIG earlier this year.

However, the international anti-impunity body enjoys widespread support from the Guatemalan people and the decision to terminate its mandate is central to this year’s presidential elections. For many Guatemalans, the debate centered on which candidates would be able to continue progress toward a just and corruption free government. One such candidate was Thelma Aldana, former Attorney General; however, her candidacy was revoked soon after she registered due to corruption accusations made against her, many of which came from individuals who she investigated during her term as Attorney General. With Aldana’s candidacy revoked, there were very few, favorable candidates that represented a future such as the one Aldana possessed. Thelma Cabrera, an indigenous woman representing the campesino organization-backed Movement for the Liberation of Peoples (MLP), won fourth place, which many saw as an important consequence of the rejection of traditional political elites left competing for the presidential bid. This is to say that public restlessness in regards to corrupt systems and institutions is becoming more and more apparent because Cabrera’s outcome was something that seemed unlikely to ever occur.

By looking at the results of the recent Guatemalan election, including the events that took place beforehand such as Aldana’s unjust disqualification from the presidential race, it is clear that the Guatemalan people, as well as people in other countries, are looking for ways to trust their government and its institutions once again. Public trust, which is often overlooked, is an important political tool that many countries fail to foster within their societies. As seen in Guatemala with the CICIG, one way of rectifying established corrupt systems is through the regulation and development of the justice and security sectors.

The justice and security sectors provide citizens with an atmosphere of trust because these sectors are, in their basic form, what secure the right to fairness and safety. In a country grieving from difficult pasts or current realities of violence, these institutions also help bring justice to light. If the justice and security sectors work fairly and efficiently, the population has reason to confide in their justice systems. This in turn builds public trust, which the government can utilize as a tool that ultimately helps progress and stability. Many people who flee their countries are fleeing because the systems that were set up to help them, have let them down. Whether it be the courts, the police, the administration or another institution, each one should be held responsible for mishandling their responsibilities and failing to protect and serve its citizens.

In 2015, the US began a multi-year program in Central America by approving a $750 million aid package meant as a way to help stabilize the region and address the root causes of migration from these countries. A lot of this aid was used by Central American countries, mostly nonprofits and civil society organizations, to fund and develop different social, economic, and security programs. Earlier this year, President Trump announced that he would be cutting off all foreign assistance to Central America, specifically the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, as a result of their inability to stop their citizens from leaving in order to seek refuge in the US. The cutting of Central American aid does nothing to address the root causes of migration nor does it provide a sustainable solution for the Northern Triangle.

The aid has provided some relief as can be seen in Guatemala through the CICIG and in Honduras through the existence of the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), which serves a similar role as the CICIG except in Honduras. Aside from these two international bodies, there are smaller programs aimed at addressing smaller and more local issues. The Central America Monitor is a program run by WOLA that tracks how US assistance is used in certain countries to fund programs meant to combat corruption, aid economic development, strengthen law, etc. One of the areas that they track involves “security, justice sector & violence prevention” programs, for which they mention the total assistance per country in the Northern Triangle. During the 2017 Fiscal Year, Guatemala directed $48,228,250 to security, justice sector, and violence prevention, while Honduras dedicated $65,500,000 and El Salvador $84,737,529. According to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, homicide rates have dropped noticeably from 2015 to 2017: 42% in El Salvador, 13% in Guatemala, and 23% in Honduras.

The Central American aid package once possessed the intention of helping a region that needed to revitalize several areas of their government and civil society. From this administration’s perspective, the US has poured in millions of dollars just so the problem that it was supposed to fix, actually persists. This, however, presents an issue with how the US sees foreign aid. The purpose that US foreign aid has thus far served can be thought of as achieving both long and short term goals. For example, some short term goals that the aid may have achieved or is looking to achieve have to do with humanitarian assistance such as food security, youth outreach programs and public health projects. Likewise, some long term goals may require more of an investment and development focus such as strengthening government institutions and creating, supporting, and providing civil society and international bodies, like the CICIG, accountability mechanisms to allow for reform.

Discontinuing the aid will disrupt the progress that has already been achieved and the progress that may be dependent upon it. The public trust factor that comes with the development of institutions such as the CICIG, MACCIH, and strong national justice institutions will disappear as there continues to be less and less funds made available to support them. In the governments’ eyes, if they are corrupt, justice programs are an obstacle that will prevent them from chasing after their own greed, and with no international aid present, there is less scrutiny on these countries, making the existence of such programs susceptible to government resistance. Once disposed of, the countries return back to square one and the situation goes back to the way it was, or worsens, and the US is faced with the same problem it was attempting to ignore and get rid of. Aid has to be seen as a tool for regional development, not as a unilateral measure imposing pressure from one nation to another. The US should continue investing in the Northern Triangle to help improve the livelihoods of neighboring countries and for the good of the region.

#summer19

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aion-rsa · 7 years

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Justice League of America: Rebirth Teases the DC Universe’s Future

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for “Justice League of America: Rebirth,” in stores now.

“Justice League of America: Rebirth” #1 features the formation of this latest incarnation of DC Comics’ most prominent super-team: the Justice League of America. Not to be confused with “Justice League” also being published, this version of the JLA’s line-up was publicized well in advance: Batman, Black Canary, the Atom, Vixen, the Ray, Killer Frost, and Lobo.

RELATED: DC Comics Has Solved Its Multiple Lobos Problem — For Now

But while Steve Orlando, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Oclair Albert’s basic introduction is fairly straightforward, with a few exceptions, the title also provides glimpses into what’s ahead for these characters in the months ahead.

MORTALS, NOT GODS

Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s “JLA” in the late ’90s made its inspiration very clear: The JLA was portrayed as the DC Universe equivalent of the Greek god pantheon of Mount Olympus. Morrison took that analogy to an extreme, directly connecting each member of its line-up to one of those deities. While no other version of the Justice League has been quite as blatant, the overall idea of the Justice League being composed of god-like heroes has stuck since then, a strong contrast to the B- and C-level heroes that populated the team prior to that revamp.

Here, Orlando is openly repudiating that idea to give a core reason for this version of the Justice League of America to exist. “I’ve started something new,” Batman explains. “A different team. Mortal. Not gods.” It’s an immediate contrast to the line-up in “Justice League” with the characters operating on a slightly different level. Later, Batman clarifies that the world needs, “heroes they can know […] to inspire them, show them they can be heroes.” It’s lining up directly with the initial statements surrounding “DC Universe: Rebirth” #1, with the emphasis on hope within the DC Universe. What better way to inspire hope in the general population than to remind them that they, too, can be heroes?

Almost certainly connected to the idea of a less godly, more everyday Justice League is that this team is headquartered out of a cave in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. That was the original location for the Justice League back in 1960 (their “Secret Sanctuary”), when the team was a bit more low-level. Interestingly, Orlando and Reis make it clear that this was at one point a team headquarters as well, with old staircases, computers, and the like already within its depths. Batman says that it’s been his for a long time, and calls it, “a remnant of a bygone era.” With the New 52’s Justice League team having only formed in the recent past, is this another hint of the pre-“Flashpoint” timeline seeping into the current reality?

TEASING THE FUTURE

A currently-popular story structure when launching a new superhero comic is to reserve the last page of the comic to show the audience planned stories for the series. Orlando and Reis give us just that, with four panels showing, presumably, four different stories to come. And while the panels may seems lightly oblique, there is at least some hints that can be gleaned from them.

The first panel gives Lobo and the Ray in battle; as the Ray stabs Lobo through the chest, Lobo’s shouting, “Come on, ya bright bastich! Gimme yer best!” It’s clearly meant to imply that at some point that Lobo — already a slightly untrustworthy member of the team — goes bad.

But is that really what we’re seeing here? When Lobo and Batman visit the Atom, it’s worth noting that Batman is the one ready to dismiss Ryan Choi out of hand on behalf of being Ray Palmer’s teaching assistant. On the other hand, Lobo is the one recognizing the Atom’s scientific brilliance, first fiddling with one of the pieces of technology in the lab, then being impressed with the formulas written on a board by Ryan and noting that it, “ain’t bad work… fer a human.” This incarnation of Lobo isn’t a moronic space-biker. He’s got attitude, sure, but there’s intelligence there as well. Could this scene really be a moment where Lobo is deliberately asking Ray to stab him, perhaps as a training sequence, or to exorcise some sort of control or possession? And if the latter, who better for the Ray’s powers to work upon than the ultimate villain behind Lobo’s return in “Justice League vs. Suicide Squad,” aka Eclipso, with a power that depends on darkness?

The second panel gives us Killer Frost in some sort of ancient ruin, while a mostly-unseen figure warns her that Frost’s life, “hangs on an impossible choice.” All we can see of the speaker is a human hand, part of what appears to be red robes, and a few links of chain. The speaker calls Frost a “sister,” heavily implying that the speaker is female. But beyond that, who could it be?

One possibility could be Pandora, the character who wore reddish-purple robes and was central to the early days of the New 52, as well as being associated with old Greek mythology. That said, with Pandora’s disintegration within the pages of “DC Universe: Rebirth” #1, chances are high that DC Comics isn’t ready to bring back an ultimately failed character concept.

If we stick with the idea of the ruins hinting at mythology, this could also be a reincarnation of the Greek Fates; they were destroyed during the Meredith Finch and David Finch run on “Wonder Woman” with their powers given to Donna Troy, but considering how much of both Wonder Woman and Donna Troy’s current history is being rewritten, anything’s up for grabs. The dialogue certainly leans towards a character that can sense the future, after all.

The third panel features Batman holding a shield with the word “Liberty” at the top, five-pointed stars on either side, and what appears to be a cross insignia. It’s hard to tell if the center is a reflection of the person talking to Batman, or merely a glyph of someone with an old-fashioned revolutionary-era hat (complete with feather) and a domino mask. It would be easy to assume it’s the speaker, but the dialogue makes that less than certain. Whoever used the shield beforehand died in the process, while going up against Batman’s foe.

Add in the old-fashioned nature of the shield, and the fact that in “DC Universe: Rebirth” #1 we got blatant hints that the Justice Society of America will be re-entering DC Comics continuity, and we wonder if this could be a relic from the early days of the JSA. If so, the original owner’s face might be engraved on the center of the shield. Add in the word “liberty” and it could be more than just a nod towards the United States; perhaps it was once owned by a JSA-era Liberty Belle? The original version of the character was created back in 1942, and while she was part of the All-Star Squadron, there’s no reason why she couldn’t retroactively be added into the new Justice Society, especially since the two teams have shared members over the years.

The fourth and final panel in many ways feels the easiest to parse, as Ryan Choi appears to have finally found the missing Ray Palmer. (Of course, since the person in question’s face is hidden, we can’t be certain that Ryan Choi’s statement is correct.)

What’s interesting here is how Ray Palmer is dressed. With a hood and doublet over what appears to be some sort of armor and metal cuffs, while wielding a slender looking gun, Ray Palmer looks more at home in the days of the Three Musketeers rather than the modern era. It’s hard to keep from thinking about the Jan Strnad and Gil Kane “Sword of the Atom” comics, which plunged the character into a setting more in line with “Conan” comic books than typical superheroes. Wherever Ray Palmer is trapped this time, chances are now high it won’t look like the world outside our window.

With “Justice League of America” #1 arriving in stores later this month, we hopefully won’t have long for the future to become the present. In the meantime, Orlando and Reis are deliberately teasing readers on what the future might be. Let the speculation begin!

The post Justice League of America: Rebirth Teases the DC Universe’s Future appeared first on CBR.com.

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