At a prison in southern Mississippi, guards can’t do basic population counts. They can’t keep cellphones, drugs, and weapons out of the building. They are at the mercy of gang leaders to control the inmates. Is this just what happens when you try to do corrections on the cheap?
At a prison in southern Mississippi, guards can’t do basic population counts. They can’t keep cellphones, drugs, and weapons out of the building. They are at the mercy of gang leaders to control the inmates. Is this just what happens when you try to do corrections on the cheap?
Now Peru is Mine: The Life and Times of a Campesino Activist (Duke University Press, 2016), tells the remarkable story of a campesino and indigenous political activist whose career spanned much of Peru’s twentieth century and whose achievements at the local and national level transformed Peruvian peasant politics. Structured as a testimonial biography co-authored by the activist Manuel Llamojha Mitma himself and framed by historian Jaymie Patricia Heilman, this book is a valuable document of both pre-Shining Path indigenous activism and the history of Cold War Peru.
Born into a poor Quechua family in a small community in Ayacucho, Llamojha became one of the most powerful peasant activists in the country, responsible for the expansion of the Confederación Campesina del Perú to the national stage in the 1960s and integral to the debates that shaped Peru’s left before the rise of the Shining Path. Although he was a contemporary of Shining Path founder Abimael Guzmán and a participant in Maoist peasant movements, Llamojha was never a member of the party and rejected Shining Path tactics. Nonetheless, like so many on the Peruvian left, Llamojha and his children were caught up in the repression waged against the party, resulting both Llamojha’s disappearance from political life and the death of his youngest son.
Llamojha was a consummate storyteller whose lifelong commitment to protecting his community was only matched by the ambitious scope of his political vision. Throughout his life, Llamojha articulated an indigenous identity and a politics of liberation that was expressed through class but not subsumed to it. His life story and political writings alike reflect thoughtful negotiation between the intimate demands of family and community and the national and international struggles for revolution that Peru and Llamojha helped lead. Heilman’s deft organizational choices and thoughtful framing help render Llamojha’s stories intelligible to specialists as well as readers without a strong background in Peruvian history or the history of indigenous activism. This book should be read by anyone interested in Peruvian or Latin American history, the Shining Path, the Cold War, and indigenous activism.
Elena McGrath is a Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Carleton College. She is a historian of race, revolution, and natural resources in the Andes.
CubeSat started life as a student engineering challenge: build a satellite that can fit in a little toy box. But now, as Tim Harford explains, these tiny satellites are changing the way we use space – and economics.
Jennifer Zeng grew up admiring the Communist Party of China and adhering to its stringent rules. But her life changed forever when she embraced religion and was swept up in a government crackdown on Falun Gong. Arrested four times as a young adult and held in as a prisoner in a labor camp, he quickly woke up to the horrors of living in a socialist state. After being subject to brutal torture, Zeng managed to escape China and now tells about the evils of socialism and communism.At a time when more Americans are embracing Karl Marx’s teachings, Chris Wright has helped Zeng share her story as part of a network called the Anticommunism Action Team. They recently spoke to The Daily Signal along with Darian Diachok, who escaped from Soviet-era Ukraine as an infant and has helped former Soviet satellite states democratize and overcome their failed communist systems.A lightly edited transcript of the interview is available at DailySignal.com. Some of the content is graphic and not suitable for small children.Also on today's episode, your letters to the editor on illegal immigration and voter fraud. Your letter could be featured on next week’s show. Send an email to letters@dailysignal.com or leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205.Finally, we share a good news story about one American soldier’s bravery and sacrifice. President Donald Trump recently awarded Army Staff Sgt. David G. Bellavia with the Medal of Honor, making him the first living Iraq War veteran to receive the recognition.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. Enjoy the show!
In the last 15 years, Texas has led the way among red states showing how small government is the path to prosperity. But the Texas economic miracle can’t be told without mentioning the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the leading conservative think tank in the Lone State State. Brooke Rollins built that foundation up to become a policy powerhouse promoting freedom and limited government. She talks about her years in think tank leadership, and how they prepared her for her current role in the Trump administration. Plus: A new poll shows Americans rarely seek guidance from their clergy. We also cover these stories:•Iran is officially in breach of the 2015 nuclear deal.•New York takes another step toward exposing President Trump’s tax returns. •President Trump isn't happy with Britain or Prime Minister Teresa May, after the British ambassador's unflattering comments about the Trump administration were leaked. The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at letters@dailysignal.com. Enjoy the show!
Meet the spider-inspired robot that one day might just save your life. Based on how spiders move, it could get to places too difficult for a rescue team to access. Just like our eight-legged friends, it can squeeze around obstacles and through small spaces.
With Patrick Aryee.
For more information and animations: www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals
#30Animals
Episode forty of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Drugstore Rock ‘n’ Roll”, by Janis Martin, an early rockabilly classic by the woman known as “the Female Elvis”. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
