Subject: March Newsletter from Blue Star Strategies
From: "Blue Star Strategies" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2012 11:16:19 -0500 (EST)

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Blue Star Strategies [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA606HnC34TNeP1jebkxkdGFPp5n8KywpXMa-1RYRRCsG7Be1FPU3oqyHqwsPFURmK-L3tdgxXVYN9fCPs0XERJ6FscYP_z0vtAsCgnhfWc_LXXkVgqdx3JpYq]
is a dynamic interdisciplinary government affairs firm based in Washington, DC and
servicing the world.

Read Gabriel Sanchez Zinny's article "Moving Latin American Education Forward" in
the Latin Business [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA604wViYnm3gPVq2W-niXmtgz6cq-NH3ykGexXc1ThmvS0rtsyz-W7OQ7zX2ZtU5DgF-UJTQTGdl06MCQ_zF9pPmoTtHpbU2BUksGM8uZ2TTN-VKQ4oYlIBo2Pg9xiBUfpdk7Psocv-IhSp01-cTP0xia4rQQDOMTu4U=]
Chronicle [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA604wViYnm3gPVq2W-niXmtgz6cq-NH3ykGexXc1ThmvS0rtsyz-W7OQ7zX2ZtU5DgF-UJTQTGdl06MCQ_zF9pPmoTtHpbU2BUksGM8uZ2TTN-VKQ4oYlIBo2Pg9xiBUfpdk7Psocv-IhSp01-cTP0xia4rQQDOMTu4U=],
and watch Karen Tramontano on Bloomberg Rewind [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA606804XYN-Rtm1cgO-YP0AwsOsA_mHjxQ2zn2LnJXABHIWFffTMXdqFin_vUDoPzdqKT-lp5gXgd3VaYM08pZ8xapIM55SdXazljqU1HGWDmvfGRjDlbugeYyL8s4yfW6eeUixhPoOQ8Hr1BhBlF-CtU-Dsy1XrNdXiZl_UCvVycSw==].

IN THIS ISSUE

The New Age of Social Media Activism
Russia's Rocky Relationship with Democracy
The Drug War Debate Heats Up
The Stock Market and Financial Crisis Impact

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"Kony 2012" and the New Age of

Social Media Activism

Before March 5th, very few Americans had heard of Joseph Kony, the charismatic leader
of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). A brutal militia that originated in Uganda 
and has cut a swathe of murder, rape, and child abduction across Central Africa,
 the LRA's leader has been targeted by multiple governments, subpoenaed by the International
Criminal Court, and profiled by NGOs attempting to raise awareness of his atrocities.
Despite all of this, he has remained out of custody and off of Americans' radar 
screens.

This all changed dramatically in the space of mere days after that date, in which
the advocacy group Invisible Children released its online video, "Kony 2012". The
half-hour mini-documentary, which immediately went viral, introduces the viewer 
to Kony's crimes through the story of Jacob, a Ugandan boy who was once recruited
as an LRA child soldier. Its purpose: to draw together a movement of concerned citizens
large enough to place real pressure on policymakers to maintain their efforts to
 kill or capture Kony. The tone of the piece is pitched perfectly to the "millennial"
generation, with its emphasis on personal creativity, crowd-sourcing, and global
 interconnectedness - indeed, the indie-music soundtrack, slick production, and 
soaring rhetoric evoke nothing so much as a 2008 Obama campaign production. And,
 like that campaign, the Kony 2012 film seeks to galvanize a movement as much or
 more so than promote a single policy.

The millennial generation has responded enthusiastically, raising awareness - and
money - for the cause. But the campaign's initial social media success - nearly 
40 million views on YouTube and climbing rapidly, a top trending topic on Twitter,
and Facebook ubiquity - has almost equally as quickly inspired a whip-strong backlash
and placed Invisible Children under intense scrutiny for everything from their finances
to their political allegiances.

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA607IxcwGXioKJWpk3nuUrEqiRRcL0hS5YtIXR4ywLh8Lxnlq2JwojORWGz3w8ycfm-6vspC5dDfk_u8cgMZ-PISEja3xcwjtuCeBZwHVzv7b0ZWs9kOKSMx1_Rz7RPwDx6UlF3iI90PgoMyQDPL8wio1VxwaP-gcpCeXTvadg0B5wg==].
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Russia's Rocky Relationship

with Democracy

A recent political cartoon by Arend van Dam of the Netherlands depicted two different
groups of voters casting their ballots on election day in Russia. The group on the
left drops their ballots into a container market "Putin," while the group on the
 right drops theirs into a container market "Opposition." What the voters can't 
see, is that both sets of votes are then funneled into one very large container 
labeled "Putin." This cartoon seems to have captured the feelings of opposition 
supporters and international observers alike. The results from last week's presidential
election in Russia were predictable.

Vladimir Putin remains popular among segments of the population and past elections
in Russia have been tainted by allegations of ballot stuffing and other forms of
 election fraud. Election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) have reported voting irregularities this election cycle while also
noting that flagrant violations seemed to have decreased when compared to the parliamentary
elections in December, 2011. This may seem like progress if we consider democracy
to be merely the right to vote and have each eligible person's vote counted.

In truth, successful, vibrant democracy requires much more than the absence of "carousel
voting" and other election-day antics. For democracy to thrive there must be a free
press, electoral regulations must be fair and consistently applied, and intimidation
of rivals and voters cannot be tolerated...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA606NtICyhEmNQfgi6OLsON6Gpjv0YCHYh-gVGKEuLOAzm8Ccl-bpzzCvnYO5pv4JkDMK2SwCV9Se0D5VJ4u14Up30EX4knWJsbypj1Ffe1XB6N2WKtPPOcQR279KX0qt7LMNcpMRguvdFVYD0vXwdaUI3Wl3R6z8134z8VFWFLsY-g==].
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The Drug War Debate Heats Up as

Biden Visits Latin America

Historically, the debate over drug legalization has been a topic fraught with peril
for politicians, even as the U.S.-led war on drugs has assumed ever-larger proportions,
consuming more resources and more lives. While legalization (or, more often, some
middle ground such as partial decriminalization) has gained favor among the think
tank set, former leaders and the media - with the The Economist and former Mexican
president Vicente Fox among the more vocal and respectable proponents - for any 
currently elected official the issue has been something of a third rail. Those on
the right have seen it as a moral issue, refusing to consider anything that hints
of "surrendering" to the cartels, while those on the left worry about being seen
 as "soft on crime".

Suddenly, however, with a group of regional leaders led by Guatemalan President 
Otto Perez Molina calling for an open discussion of the legalization issue, it appears
as if that consensus of silence may have been shattered, revealing a region deeply
frustrated with the status quo.

This newfound openness comes at an awkward time for a U.S. administration that is
gearing up for a tough reelection campaign at home. Indeed, in the span of a week,
the Obama team dispatched both Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and 
Vice President Biden to visit Mexico and several countries of Central America, which
has become the primary conduit for the flow of drugs northward.

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA604XLnb7bOuK4XoGauFH5g_wmFK6e5UMQdVUf3i7-jiJpttSUPs1Bilj92I_8S3IXz3xemw0esSc-ZgmoBePb_DJdXlqaZRjXYId35M15Kn880Pih1O7QLgbsri8BUDk1PcVIqBhFn_-79RinE4WOmKfcPQqNpghIvXIs3TEu-y2Eg==].
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The Stock Market and

Financial Crisis Impact

The Stock market has been tumbling up and down these past few months.  Last week
 the S&P 500 peaked above $1,300, which is the highest it has been in the past 5
 years.  Recent job reports have been positive and the stock market has been going
well. Interest rates are remaining low and the US dollar has strengthened in comparison
to the Euro. While all of these indicators are moving in the right direction, is
 the economy really doing as well as we see in the indicators?

We have witnessed that the labor market has shown encouraging signs compared to 
the pace of economic growth. Slight signs of inflation and the increased gas prices
have reduced consumers' purchasing power.  We have seen many predictions and plans
for how to bring the economy back in shape, however, the safest methods for improving
the economy are by taking the least risky steps.  If inflation keeps rising and 
gas prices remain high, we could face another double dip recession as purchasing
 power reduces to a level where we might see people being forced to walk away from
their mortgage payments for the second time in less than five years.  In this case,
the banks would be exposed to another debt crisis.  If a scenario like this occurs,
cash flows will significantly decrease which could bring heavy consequences to the
private sector...

Read the full article here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1109490939661&s=956&e=001Pie8EjqA605xYlIkrSkOJIFZpZDMjJ9jOPa0TwQTMwvviLuoW1TkcYr7ZLO2v06RgrlNHYLW7A34wZg7ZAWu54dK_DlBUmxpXP_Vx31JPYmSX1nqi_p3FpnVf0bky58mL9ZhbS60lorfyqE7ZWrAUeP_0tnWGL1NL4iz1ph0htyZSZKZ8zVhRw==].

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