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Why are so many people so scared? Maybe it’s because of our rulers’ enormous “fear machine.” So says Eduardo Galeano, in this rare and charming interview. But there is reason for optimism. Find out just why, <a href=”http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1892801,00.html”>back in April, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez gave Barack Obama a copy of Galeano’s book, <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0853459916?ie=UTF8&tag= lauraflanders-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN= 0853459916″>Open Veins of Latin America. Eduardo Galeano is the author most recently of <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568584237?ie=UTF8&tag= lauraflanders-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN= 1568584237″>Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone, published by Nation Books. His poignant, poetic stories– several of which he reads aloud here–reveal history while inspiring more.

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