2008 Ecuador News

[planeta]

Ecuador News
viewforum.php?f=64

For those seeking media coverage, please review Google News

>> http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Ecuador
>> http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Quito

Spanish language coverage
>> http://news.google.com/news?hl=es&q=Ecuador
>> http://news.google.com/news?hl=es&q=Quito

TIP -- You can register for news alerts provided on Google
http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=es&q=Ecuador (English)
http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en&q=Ecuador (Spanish)

SOUTH AMERICA NEWS DIRECTORY

Also, please consult Planeta.com's directory of South America News Sources
>> http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/period/pubsouth.html

[planeta]

Jungle webcam to offer South American view - Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... cam118.xml

A pioneering jungle webcam will open up a window on a South American rainforest and give armchair naturalists the chance to spot a new species.

Webcam
http://www.wildlifefocus.org

[planeta]

New feature on Planeta.com

Satellite Internet in Ecuador
by Andres Hammerman
http://www.planeta.com/planeta/08/0802satellite.html

Although still expensive, VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite internet antennas have come down in price over the last few years. New systems in Ecuador cost approximately US$2000 plus US$200+ per month depending on bandwidth.

[planeta]

YouTube Video - Quito has it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMK9XskbSfc

[planeta]

Ecuador says US troops must leave Manta air base
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/ ... S-Base.php

QUITO, Ecuador: The U.S. military must stop using its only outpost in South America for anti-drug flights when Washington's 10-year lease on the base in Ecuador expires in 2009, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Leftist President Rafael Correa has repeatedly said that Ecuador would not renew the agreement to use the Manta air base, but Tuesday's Foreign Ministry statement said the South American nation has now formally notified the U.S. Embassy of the decision.

[planeta]

Ecuador's poor bank on referendum - Daniel Schweimler/BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7637458.stm

The people of Ecuador are voting on Sunday on some of the most wide-ranging proposals the country - any country in the region - has ever seen. The almost 10 million-strong electorate is being asked for a simple "yes" or "no" to President Rafael Correa's 444-article plan for the future.

[planeta]

Change Triumphs in Ecuador's Constitutional Referendum
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5571

Ecuador's new constitution was approved with 64% voting "yes" on Sept. 28. "No" won 28% of the votes, 7% were invalid, and 0.7% left blank, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

The results of the referendum reflect the high expectations for change that the majority of Ecuadorians are feeling, and which they have ratified with their votes in the last four elections. This desire for a profound transformation also extends to the immigrants that have left for the United States and Europe, who have been hit by the economic crisis. People voted for a more participative democracy and for the ability to intercede actively in political life.

The constitution combines a series of progressive traits that overcome some of Ecuador's current inequalities, discrimination, and injustices, such as the following: the balanced living concept (sumak kawsay), which implies living in harmony with oneself, society, and nature; nature's right to assure "the maintenance and regeneration of its vital cycles, structure, functions, and evolutionary processes"; national diversity and collective rights; the right to water and the prohibition of its privatization; food sovereignty and the permanent right to secure food sources; the right to communication, and access to public, private, and community media.

The constitution also has articles that are significant in terms of sovereignty and the prohibition of foreign military bases, as Article 5 states: "Ecuador is a peaceful territory. We will not permit the establishment of foreign military bases nor foreign facilities with military aims. It is prohibited to cede national military bases to foreign armed or security forces." Ecuador defines itself as a country that promotes peace, universal disarmament, condemns the use of weapons of mass destruction, and the imposition of bases or facilities with military purposes of some states in the territory of other nations (Article 416, 4). This is a victory not only for Ecuadorian organizations, but also for continental and worldwide networks that have struggled to abolish foreign military bases.