When a small plane carrying a mother and her children went down in a remote part of the Amazon, the odds of their survival looked bleaker as the days went by. How could they be found? by William Ralston A longer version of this piece first appeared in The Atavist Hernando Murcia was the kind of pilot… Read More Forty days lost in the rainforest: Colombia’s miracle rescue
Ecuador’s worsening security situation deteriorated further in spectacular fashion this week, with gunmen armed with explosives storming a TV station during a live broadcast. The country has been rocked by blasts, police kidnappings and prison disturbances in a wave of violence authorities are struggling to contain. The immediate trigger was the prison escape of one… Read More What’s behind the chaos in Ecuador?
The Amazon rainforest brims with some of the world’s most diverse flora and fauna. Countless species of fungi dot the landscape, many still unnamed and awaiting discovery. Rockefeller and Quark carefully collect data by photographing and cataloguing each specimen for submission to the national herbarium in Quito and eventual DNA sequencing. Words and photographs by Rachel Bujalski… Read More Life, death and zombie mushrooms: in search of the Amazon’s rarest fungi
With short amulet-covered spears made of blackened chonta palm, GIS mapping phones, walkie-talkies and wearing black and green uniforms, the A’i Cofán seem to merge into the jungle as they march silently down a path through their land. Calling themselves the Indigenous guard, the 27-strong group patrols a territory of 243 sq miles (630 sq… Read More ‘Leave the gold in the ground’: Ecuador’s forest guardians mobilise against illegal mining in Amazon
Jonathan Watts in Altamira Cows, dust and smoke. That was what greeted me on my return home to Altamira, after several weeks on the road. An unusually fierce dry season has taken a horrific toll on the Amazonian landscape, swathes of which are already denuded by cattle ranches. Together, they threaten the integrity of the world’s… Read More ‘Everything is parched’: Amazon struggles with drought amid deforestation
Ideology is the most devilish variation of the lie: Hannah Arendt, Approaches to the “German Problem”; in Essays in Understanding, 1994 NB: The American establishment, its allies and a vast section of its media use the word evil with Nelsonian vision. As someone who has observed evil with both eyes and no national, religious, or… Read More Evil, with one eye
By TIK ROOT August was another month of relatively good news for the Amazon rainforest: The rate of deforestation has continued to decline significantly. Earlier this week, Marina Silva, Brazil’s environment minister, announced a 66.1 percent decrease in Amazon deforestation compared to last August. That amounted to a loss of about 217 square miles, according to… Read More Amazon deforestation continues to plummet
Chile is a dagger pointed at the heart of Antarctica – Henry A. Kissinger. By Melvin Goodman / CounterPunch Our 240 years of history have not produced a more controversial secretary of state than Henry A. Kissinger. There are enormous achievements associated with Kissinger, including the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in… Read More More Evidence Regarding Henry Kissinger’s Lies About Chile
Water levels at Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world and South America’s largest – are dropping precipitously after an unprecedented winter heat wave. The shocking decline is affecting tourism, fishing and agriculture, which locals rely on to make a living. “We don’t know what we will do from now until December because the… Read More Titicaca: the world’s highest navigable lake is drying out
NB: This story is heartbreaking as well as wondrous, it leaves me speechless. Nothing can be said aside from wonderment at the joy and tragedy of human life. God bless you María Angélica, God bless you Jimmy Lippert Thyden, enjoy the miracle of finding each other after four decades. We all love you too. DS… Read More ‘Hi, Mom. I love you’: US man kidnapped as a baby in Pinochet’s Chile reunited with family
After the truth-shower 