A Global Community

The Border Between the US and Mexico

2011-11-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

I've chosen to write today's article in Spanish, if you're having difficulties translating it, don't hesitate to use Google Translate.

Yo leí sobre varios aspectos en relación con la frontera entre EE.UU. y México. Leí del muro en general, las leyes, unos datos sobre el muro, las críticas, el apoyo que ha obtenido, su relevancia en el estado de Arizona y el estado actual del muro ahora. La historia de los comienzos del muro con su construcción en el año de 1994 es algo muy interesante. La ley del 2006 que fue firmada por el presidente George Bush, aprobaba la construcción de 1125 kilómetros de malla a lo largo de la frontera y también autorizo un “muro virtual” que contaba con videos de cámara, radares y sensores. Curiosamente, en enero de 2011, Obama cancelo la construcción del “murovirtual.”

La evolución del muro entre los EE.UU. y México de una simple pared a un muro propuesto con radares, cámaras y sensores, que finalmente fracaso, ahora a una frontera que abarca aviones no tripulados, es algo increíble. Increible en el sentido de que es algo inesperado en mi opinión, que un país ponga tanto esfuerzo y fondos en algo que en realidad no resuelve el problema que se pretende. La frontera es un tema tan complejo que me resulto difícil tratar de centrarme en un par de aspectos relacionados con la frontera. Por otra parte, en hacer la investigación, a veces era confuso ver diferentes datos y estadísticas de diferentes artículos.

Todo esto me dejo con varias preguntas sobre el propósito del muro. Leí una metáfora interesante de la BBC, que el muro es como tratar de tapar el sol con un dedo. Esta metáfora muestra que el muro es pequeño en comparación con la frontera entre EE.UU. y Mexico y que en realidad no resuelve el problema de la inmigración indocumentada.

Here's an interesting link:

latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/11/02/catapult-used-to-fling-drugs-across-us-mexican-border-authorities-say

<ht

Ohhh Brazil...

2011-11-06T13:52:00.000-08:00

I had a tough time choosing an article or current event to cover for today. I considered speaking on the US-Mexico border, the Nazi vestiges in some Paraguayan villages and hotels or even the current rise of Latin American generals who are seeking out MBAs. I've decided though to continue on this topic that I touched on before, which is the expansion of Brazilian endeavors across Latin America. An expansion coupled with resistance from many. It comes as a surprise to see that so many countries including Argentina, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia have stalled and protested many projects which Brazil has tried to implement in their countries. There is an interesting dynamic in Latin America now. As the New York Times article mentions, it seems as though Brazil has begun to replace the United States as a major influence in Latin America. With its status as an economic powerhouse, how far will it go in terms of maximizing its personal benefit and sacrificing the utility and benefit of others?

Also, I'd like to know how much influence Brazil actually has over other Latin American countries.

Of course, Brazil's actions aren't entirely self-serving. With these new mining companies, hydroelectric plants and dam projects etc., in other countries, come jobs. So the issue isn't black and white. It's a complex one, a recurring one that is increasingly becoming more prevalent these days.

Let's just hope that Brazil decides to adopt some ethics in its business before you see the birth of…OccupyBrazil.

Summer 2012

2011-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

For today’s post, I plan on talking about my plans for summer 2012. Though nothing is concrete, I do have a general idea of what it is I would like to do this coming summer.

Go to Chile.

How you may ask? Good question. You see, the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has a program titled S.U.R.F., the Summer Undergraduate Research Fund. With this research stipend which can range up to $3000, I have the opportunity to travel to any country I choose to, or stay in the United States, and conduct research on whatever issue I desire. The stipend may be utilized to pay for equipment, travel, living expenses, fees and/or other costs that are related to my research work.

Why Chile you may ask? Chile is in an interesting position at the moment. I’ll be truthful from the get-go and let you know that I am no expert on Chile, far from one actually. I am aware of what has been occurring in the country though. For the past couple of months, student-led protests have been demanding an innovative framework for education in Chile, a new public education system that will help do away with the high level of inequality in the country.

My plan is to go to the country and interview student protestors, professors and anyone else with a knowledgeable opinion on the topic. I would like to know what exactly incited these huge, nationwide protests, what has the progress been, what has motivated them to continue to protest after months and what is their ultimate, realistic goal. My inquiry will not end there though. Upon gathering all the necessary information, I will conduct an analysis. Not only will I reflect on my findings, but I will also compare them. I will compare the protests in Chile to the ones in California. Nearly two years ago, students protested against the University of California and other public higher-education tuition fee hikes. The protests seceded after some time with questionable success. The tuition hikes, on the other hand, remained. Tuition went up and after a while, students seemed fine with it. The original push to do away with higher tuition washed away with time.

This is the relationship I would like to study. I am not an expert right now and I do not expect to be after conducting the research. I do hope to gain a better understanding of the mentality that drives the students of Chile and compare it to that of those of the United States.

USC Alternative Spring Break: Honduras

2011-10-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

Today I interviewed for the USC Alternative Spring Break in Honduras. The Alternative Spring Break program offers students, staff and faculty the opportunity “to engage in service learning and volunteerism in communities outside the Los Angeles area.” Last year, I was able to attend the ASB trip to Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy, Quintana Roo, Mexico, both islands off the coast of Cancun. This trip focused mainly on studying the impact of tourism on Isla Mujeres meanwhile partnering with local schools to do environmental clean-ups, provide English workshops and other beautification projects for the schools and islands.

The purpose of this post is not to highlight how amazing this trip was though, instead, it’s to continue the conversation on the underlying theme for both trips.

THE EFFECTS OF GLOBALIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA

As I mentioned, the purpose of the trip to Isla Mujeres was to gain knowledge on the impact of tourism on the islands and to spread awareness upon reflection. After spending only a week on both islands, it was interesting to realize that the dynamic of the island had been drastically changed due to tourism and the construction of massive beach houses for those Americans wishing to retire there. Isla Mujeres has been split into two parts essentially, one side for retirees and the other for natives. The island has an extreme focus on tourism, a huge economic factor for the island, and so I worry for the preservation of the genuine culture of the natives.

The focus for the Honduras trip is different. We will study social entrepreneurship and how that serves as a remedy to many of those who are disenfranchised. While there, we will visit “coffee farmers who have previously struggled with agricultural technology and unfair, unethical business practices.” At the same time though, we will gain knowledge on how the social enterprise has drastically bettered the lives of many of these coffee farmers.

I don’t drink coffee, although I do like the smell of it, but that had no weight on my decision to apply to this trip. This opportunity will provide me with the quintessential experience to broaden my knowledge and to help spread awareness on this issue. Service learning is a hands-on-approach of providing service to a community meanwhile gaining knowledge and wisdom upon reflection. What better way to study globalization than to go to the actual fields of coffee and listen to the perspective of “that” group which is rarely heard. As the integration of national economies forms into this global economy, the effect of this takes its toll on those less privileged, and so I would like to hear them out.

Yes, you have a majority of economist who argue that globalization is a wonderful thing, but it will be interesting to hear how globalization has impacted these people of Honduras, one of the least developed countries in Latin America.

Here's a video for you:

Free Trade Agreements

2011-10-14T04:38:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday October 12, 2011, Congress Republicans and Democrats passed three free trade agreements with bipartisan consensus. South Korea, Colombia and Panama now offer the U.S. the hope for more economic growth as liberalized trade policies eliminate tariffs, barriers and other policies whose aims are to protect domestic manufacturers.

Interestingly enough, and at no surprise of course, controversy was amidst the passage of these three deals. Concerns over the treatment of unions in the country of Colombia were raised, yet it passed 262 to 167 in the House and 66to 33. Colombian goods will now be cheaper in the United States.

“Labor, human rights and several consumer groups haveopposed the agreements… Supporters of the agreements note that they werereshaped under the Obama administration to address some concerns, withprovisions added dealing with auto tariffs in South Korea, labor rightsguarantees from Colombia and assurances about tax transparency in Panama.”

Now, I’m not an expert in the Free Trade Agreements signed, nor have I read them, but they warrant much attention. Yes, liberalized trade policies may lead to economic growth, but at what costs? A huge concern is over the possible loss of thousands of American jobs, but what about the treatment of the Colombian workers? Will they remain working under the same conditions? What about their income, will that change? Ultimately, how will these Free Trade Agreements affect their daily lives?

In moments like these, I may sound extremely cynical but the truth is that it’s better than being naïve. Of course, the North American Free Trade Agreement has not gone a single day without criticism. Corporate interests outweigh everything else and at the end of the day, self-interest wins. Everyone wishes to maximize self-interest as they rationalize personal utility.

So what of Colombia, Panama and South Korea? I suppose only time will let us know the effects of these new policies. ‘Till then, let’s see where globalization decides to make its presence at next.

"We live in an interconnected world"

2011-10-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Luis Alberto Moreno, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, interviewed withThe Economist and touched on several important points when it comes to Latin America, it's future, development and growth. He mentioned it’s a tense time for the global economy, indeed it is. Though it’s not really Latin America who we should worry about, it’s the shocks outside Latin America that can affect Latin American economies.

Latin American domestic markets have grown largely with little inflation. Many of these countries also have extremely large amounts of reserves and small deficits.

He mentions that it’s clear that Europe needs to straighten things out. From the IMF meetings we should see them as the decision making unit. Shocks in a stock market across the world will certainly be felt on the other side. Personally, I’m interested to see what comes out of these debates.

To end the interview, Moreno spoke on the development challenges in Latin America. INFRASTRUCTURE and HUMAN CAPITAL. How can these countries invest only 2% of their GDP on infrastructure? Infrastructure is extremely important in attracting Foreign Direct Investment, so why not focus more on developing it?

Better infrastructure + Foreign Direct Investment = more capital flow in your country (I don’t believe there’s anything entirely wrong with that)

We then reach the human capital challenge: the quality of education which should lead to betterment in the quality of innovation in the sense of technology.

Both great challenges but I have faith that with Mr. Moreno’s efforts and with the collaboration of the Latin American countries, both of these challenges will be surpassed.

Finally, Latin America has undergone a great evolution, the “advent of democracy” as Moreno puts it. With this inevitably comes trade liberalization.

Trade liberalization is an interesting topic. After watching this interview, I can’t help but question the future of Latin America? When will it experience negative effects due to trade liberalization? I hope to continue seeing much development and growth in these countries. It’s clear that countries like Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Costa Rica are doing something right. Let’s wait and see what the future holds for the rest of Latin America.

Globalization spares no one

2011-09-30T00:35:00.000-07:00

Globalization spares no one. Give it time, just give it time. I’m sure the ants crawling up the trees of the Bolivian rainforests never thought it would affect them one day.

The indigenous living in the Isiboro-Secure Indigenous Territory and National Park, TIPNIS, are threatened today by globalization. A Brazilian company aims to construct a road that will “give Brazil access to Pacific Ocean ports by connecting to highwaysin Chile and Peru.” Bolivian President Evo Morales, the same president who was elected largely through the support of the indigenous, seems to contradict himself now as he supports the construction of a road that will not defend, but instead harm those same individuals that got him into office.

Is it necessary that this road run through and destroy the communities of these individuals? Is it a surprise that those individuals who live in the communities of those nature preserves take part in these protests? Is it really a surprise that violence has arisen among the police and indigenous groups protesting?

I don’t think so.

“Many critics say the road would open up the TIPNIS even more to coca growers and lead to further deforestation and destruction of the indigenous way of life.”

So with this coca road comes the potential of the replacement of other types of plantations with coca leaf plantations. On the other hand, supporters of the road argue that it will make it much more feasible for the indigenous to travel from one point to another, not to mention that medical travel can be improved at the same time.

Of course globalization isn’t entirely malevolent but what’s one to think when situations like this arise? These issues of transportation and trade will surly benefit many but harm many as well. This is the reality nowadays. The indigenous will protest, but what are their odds against these corporations that show little to no sympathy? A referendum is required so that they may begin on the project and President Evo Morales has issued a temporary halt to the construction. He wants dialogue between both communities, but is it too late to turn back now? I hate to sound extremely pessimistic but if matters have reached this point and only until now is dialogue being sought, do the Bolivian President and those seeking to construct this road really pursue compromise?

This is a topic matter that has garnered much attention and much criticism but you can’t just go around pointing fingers. Yes, there are key players in the decisions being made but no one person is really at fault. Globalization is an integral part of today’s society; it’s the integration of national economies into the international economy. It’s the bonding of the world’s economic order that has become stronger over time and continues to. To blame President Evo Morales solely for the misfortunes that these indigenous may encounter would be wrong. Then again, he is the President of Bolivia, the protector of the Bolivian people and one who has constantly defended Mother Earth.

Semi-Social Bookmarking Soulmate

2011-09-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

Disappointingly, I have not been able to locate my social bookmarking soul mate just yet. I looked long and hard but all efforts were in vain. I’ll continue the search another day, but for now I’ll stop and show you someone, with similar purposes an interests, whom I was able to find.

Berenice de’ Medici has been a contributing member of diigo since March 19, 2009. After searching for tags like “Latin America”, “globalization” and “development” I’m glad I stumbled upon Berenice. She has a total of 68 tags so it probably would not have been that difficult to find her anyway. Her top tags have been politics, Spain, culture, development, law, US and a couple more. But the reason that I remained on her page and browsed her page after finding it is different. Under her most recent Bookmarks and Annotations, I found World Bank Faults Itself for Slow Progress in East Timor - NYTimes.com and Does foreign aid do more harm than good? and Bolivians lose wonder food to world demand and Huh. Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World? - NYTimes.com and so many more. I found this humanitarian in Berenice de’ Medici. Although she may not focus solely on Latin America, she provides this forum where anyone critical of the effects of globalization can visit and really expand their knowledge even more. With 288 Bookmarks, it’s nearly inevitable that you won’t find something which could interest you.

I was able to find smh.com.au through clinking on her bookmark Does foreign aid do more harm than good?. The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), I found after doing some research, is actually a fairly conservative newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney. It’s also the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. A newspaper I never even knew existed, yet it was brought to light through the social bookmarking of Berenice de’ Medici.

Though I am familiar with the New York Times, Berenice did bookmark a blog within the New York Times titled “Dot Earth” which I wasn’t previously familiar with. “Dot Earth” is written by Andrew C. Revkin and examines the efforts to balance human affairs accordingly with the planet’s limits. In the article bookmarked my Berenice, A 10-Year Checkup on Global Goals, he outlines a couple of goals which are essential to the prosperity of future generations.

Her second to last Bookmark People Power , Sojourners Magazine/May 2011 was accompanied with approximately 17 annotations, all related to the topic of civil resistance, “nonviolence”, campaigns, diversity, peaceful mobilization and civil disobedience. These date a couple of months back and she actually hasn’t bookmarked anything since that day of April 26.

Despite the fact that Berenice has few followers, her bookmarking is quite extensive and organized. She’s definitely an asset which I will continue to look into.

Trio

2011-09-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello World Post
Who would have thought that I would have spent a month of my life, needless to say during the summer, in the state of Iowa? Aside from joking around with the children of the corn, what else was I to do, go cow-tipping?

Yes, embarrassingly enough, this was my poor perception of the fine state of Iowa prior to my engagement in the Hubbard Law Fellows Program at the University Of Iowa College Of Law. While there, I had the opportunity to take classes at the superb institution, visit a highly reputable law firm, go canoeing and most importantly, get to know fellow students from across the United States.

One simple incident during this month is the actual motivation for this blog. After class one day, I met with a friend and was challenged to play this online game: http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php . “Can you name the countries of the world?”: 15 minutes, a map and the pressure to name all 196 countries of the world. I took on the challenge, exuding confidence and dashed through the first five minutes naming countries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and wherever else came to mind. Of course, the inevitable came around the sixth or seventh minute and I was out of countries to name. I was stuck at 50/196. I stared at the map for the time remaining and just couldn’t realize I only knew 50 out of 196 countries. Of course I knew a couple more that I had just forgotten about but the bottom line was that my performance had been…pathetic, I know. So once my fifteen minutes ran out, I made a pledge to my friend that I would excel at this game and have the ability to recognize all 196 countries by the end of the summer. The truth is, I still haven’t been able to master the game, playing it every so often, though I have improved to a mediocre 120/196.

Aside from revealing my ignorance, this country game catalyzed new thoughts. What did it signify that I struggled to name one-fourth of the countries in the world? Was my view of the world really that narrow? I have always had a special interest in Latin America, frequently reading current events regarding South and Central America but I realized that even this knowledge wasn’t enough. It didn’t strike me until then that I had a duty to expand my intellectual and geographic knowledge. Where was this geopolitical man I sought out to be? As a college student, I’m constantly preoccupied with different obligations on campus and I place myself in this bubble. If my plans in life were to remain in California for the rest of my life, I suppose it would be fine only preoccupy myself with local and national issues. The truth is that I plan on traveling and working abroad so I can’t allow this ignorance to accumulate. There is so much going on in the world that it would be foolish to attempt to keep up with every current event but I realize I can do so much and I have already taken a step in the right direction this semester. I have committed myself to perfecting my Spanish speaking, reading and writing skills so I have enrolled in a Spanish course at USC. In addition to this, I plan on learning Portuguese sometime in the near future (I might just invest in Rosetta Stone). Meanwhile though, I’ll continue reading articles from http://www.cnn.com/ , http://www.ap.org/ , all the new bloggers I’ve found and other sources as I attempt to understand the global community.

For the purpose and effectiveness of this blog, I would like to cover and blog on the effects of globalization on Latin America. Normally, I’m all for inclusivity and I would be interested in giving coverage to the worldwide effects of globalization but so that I may fully understand the ways of globalization, I’ll blog exclusively on Latin America. I realize this may limit the knowledge of the world which I seek, but the interconnectivity of the countries in the world allows me to indirectly broaden my understanding of the countries of the world.

My blog list:

Latin American Thought: http://latamthought.org/

Gateway to the Americas Political Desk: http://gatewaytopolitics.blogspot.com/

The Latin Americanist: http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/

Profile

Oh Latin America, how I love thee. If I could, I'd travel to you every year. Luckily, the blog "The Latin Americanist" provides a forum for all things Latin American, covering business, politics, and culture (excellent). It has several contributors and so there's much information and updates on current events from Latin America. I chose ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com because they post a blog daily and their vision aligns with my initial purpose for my blog (originally, I had considered creating a blog that would be very much like an online news forum). Fortunately for them, their blog has garnered much success through its professional and informative means. It has coverage on several current events from different Latin American countries and other countries from different continents as well and it provides brief descriptions for each.

The post titled, "Today's Videos: Mad Science" explains the 1940’s incident in Guatemala where researchers from the United States government experimented on thousands of Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases. It also brought to light current findings regarding these exploitations. I enjoyed the structure of this post because it’s brief, factual, to the point and it provides a humanitarian outlet. The use of bullet points to display some information also makes the post easier to read as opposed to having the paragraph structure throughout the entirety of the post. Though this blog may seem like any other news outlet, I argue that its presentation makes it different. It's everything but mainstream, yet it's no less effective. There are no advertisements, yet I believe its 1,165,482 page view is a testament to the blogs success.

At the end of the post, a video is provided of an interview with Wellesley College professor Susan Reverby, the academic who ironically discovered the documents on the Guatemalan experiments while researching other occurrences. Throughout the whole post there are links which direct the reader to the original source of where the author retrieved the data and information. This form of linking other websites and providing a video adds to the blogs credibility, in addition to making it more interactive.

The following post from Tuesday August 30, 2011 titled, "World Watch: Deadline" ventures outside the stated goal or mission statement of the blog and provides coverage on different countries such as Libya, Asia, South Africa and India. Brief descriptions such as "Libya: Rebels gave besieged leader Muammar Gaddafi a deadline of the Saturday to "peacefully surrender," or "Asia: The Food and Agriculture Organization warned of a possible resurgence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in several Asian nations," make it extremely easy for a reader to become informed of several current topics while having the choice to follow a link to learn more.

Like I mentioned earlier, the way I pictured my blog initially was as a forum where I could share news from different countries. This blog has me reconsidering this initial purpose. I would like to provide coverage in a concise manner similar to this blog, but as for my blog, I would like to focus on one area of discussion. At the moment, I have developed a genuine interest in the topic of globalization and since I have a strong connection with Latin America, I will blog on the effects of globalization in Latin America.

Voice Critique

Posts: Ideas, not money, will make Central America Safer

US-LatAm Relations

By: Eliot Brockner

Blog: latamthought.org

Eliot Brockner's Blog

Don't you hate it when you find yourself with a self-righteous, arrogant human being who won't let you speak your mind? No matter what you say, your input is worthless and you might as well just keep to yourself. Well, wait no more because Elliot Brockner is here and he has some questions just for you. Elliot Brockner, the author of the posts, “Ideas, not money, will make Central America Safer” and “US-LatAm Relations” gives an impression right-off-the-bat of an educated individual with opinions on the complexity of safety issues in Latin America and of the relations between the United States and Latin America.

In one post, Eliot commented on the necessity of more innovation when it comes to providing security in Latin American countries as opposed to simply funding current projects which don’t delve into the foundation of the problems in order to remedy them.

“Lead with good ideas, and the money will follow. Fund all (or most) ideas. Scrap the bad ones, and invest more in the good ones. Revise, tweak, and remain as nimble and creative as the enemy, which is very much both of those things.”

His philosophies are extremely simple in theory, but the same can’t obviously be said for their practice. He doesn’t come off as an academic, though he has contributed to The International Relations and Security Network and World Politics Review. His usage of parenthesis shows his understanding of the practicality of his theories. Even his sentence structures reflect on his theories. They’re simple, short and clear, meanwhile retaining his insightfulness, similar to his theories.

His knowledge manifests his post to the last sentence which says:

“The simple promise of more money creates the illusion, and the expectation, that the problem will be solved.”

Though he seems to be preaching, he remains modest and unpretentious. He distinguishes himself from other critics who may simply and solely bash on US foreign policy or Latin American economic policies. You find no self-righteous academic here.

In all his posts, Eliot creates links through words to English sources like Google News and many other Spanish media outlets to provide the sources for his claims.

Eliot begins a previous post on United States-Latin American relations with:

“My apologies in advance: the last thing the world needs is another blog post on US-Latin American relations. With that out of the way, there really are some interesting developments going on that warrant mention.”

The moment I read this, I again sensed the humility of Eliot Brockner as a writer. He’s clearly done is research, shown by his common use of linking to other sources, but he ends with questions. He demonstrates his knowledge but he enjoys interacting with the reader. He relies on the reader to make a conclusion of their own on the topic of “Latin America’s decade” and the recent inactivity of the United States in Latin America. More specifically, on the topic of the varying roles of the United States and which one it should and should not play. His voice isn’t made obvious through figures of speech or visual clues but through the overall structure of his blog posts which make them captivating and intriguing. Like I mentioned before, he concludes with various questions, one of them:

“Economic and cultural ties between the two regions are generally very strong, with the possibility the latter grows stronger as the Latino population grows in the US, and these are things that will likely not change in the immediate future. But what will US policy towards the region be (if there are changes), and how will it differ from the status quo?”

It takes a well-read, professional individual to provide input on these topics without giving off a self-righteous vibe. Eliot is able to do this gracefully without a problem.

Latin American Thought

2011-09-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

Elliot Brockmer, the author of the posts, “Ideas, not money, will make Central America Safer” and “US-LatAm Relations” is an educated individual with opinions on complex issues like safety issues in Latin America and United States-Latin American relations.

In one post I analyzed, Eliot was commenting on the necessity of more innovation when it comes to providing security in Latin American countries as opposed to simply providing funds which most times don’t remedy the issues.

“Lead with good ideas, and the money will follow. Fund all (or most) ideas. Scrap the bad ones, and invest more in the good ones. Revise, tweak, and remain as nimble and creative as the enemy, which is very much both of those things.”

His philosophies are extremely simple in theory, but the same can’t obviously be said for their practice. He doesn’t come off as an academic, though he has contributed to The International Relations and Security Network and World Politics Review. His use of parenthesis shows his understanding of the practicality of his theories. Even his sentence structures reflect on his theories. They’re simple, short and clear, meanwhile retaining his insightfulness, similar to his theories.

His knowledge manifests his post to the last sentence which says:

“The simple promise of more money creates the illusion, and the expectation, that the problem will be solved.”

Though he seems to be preaching, he remains modest, unpretentious and remains far from possessing any self-righteousness. He distinguishes himself from other critics who may simply and solely bash on US foreign policy or Latin American economic policies.

In all his posts, Eliot creates links through words to English sources like Google News and many other Spanish media outlets to provide the sources for his claims.

Eliot begins a previous post on United States-Latin American relations with:

“My apologies in advance: the last thing the world needs is another blog post on US-Latin American relations. With that out of the way, there really are some interesting developments going on that warrant mention.”

Once I read this, I again sensed the humility of Eliot Brockner as a writer. He’s clearly done is research, shown by his common use of linking to other sources, but he ends with questions. He leaves it up to the reader to come up with their own conclusion to the topic of “Latin America’s decade” and the recent inactivity of the United States in Latin America. More specifically, which role does the United States play and which one should it play? His voice isn’t made obvious through figures of speech or visual clues but the overall structure of his blog posts make his posts captivating and intriguing. Like I mentioned before, he concludes with various questions, one of them:

“Economic and cultural ties between the two regions are generally very strong, with the possibility the latter grows stronger as the Latino population grows in the US, and these are things that will likely not change in the immediate future. But what will US policy towards the region be (if there are changes), and how will it differ from the status quo?”

It takes a well-read, professional individual to provide input on these topics without giving off a self-righteous vibe. Eliot is able to do this gracefully without any problem.

Posts: Ideas, not money, will make Central America Safer

US-LatAm Relations

By: Eliot Brockner

Blog: latamthought.org

Profile a blog: The Latin Americanist

2011-09-02T03:32:00.000-07:00

The blog, "The Latin Americanist" provides a forum for all things Latin American, covering business, politics, and culture. It has several contributors and so there's much information and updates on current events from Latin America. I chose ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com because they seem to post a blog daily and their vision aligns with my initial purpose for my blog. Though I'm still not completely sure of the direction I would like for my blog, I'm glad that their blog has garnered much success through its professional and informative means.

The post titled, "Today's Videos: Mad Science" explains the 1940s incident in Guatemala where researchers from the United States government experimented on thousands of Guatemalans with sexually transmitted diseases and lists the current findings regarding these exploitations. I enjoyed the structure of this post because it was brief, factual, to the point and it provides a humanitarian outlet. Though this blog may seem like any other news outlet, I argue that its presentation makes it different. It's everything but mainstream, yet it's no less effective. There are no advertisements, yet I believe its 1,165,482 page view is a testament to the blogs success. It has coverage on several current events from different Latin Americans countries, and other countries from different continents as well, on a day to day basis and it provides brief descriptions for each.

At the end of the post, they provide a video of an interview with Wellesley College professor Susan Reverby, the academic who ironically discovered the documents on the Guatemalan experiments while researching other occurrences. Throughout the whole post there are links which direct the reader to the original source of where the authors retrieved the data and information. This form of linking other websites and providing a video adds to the credibility of the blog and it makes it seem more interactive.

The following post from Tuesday August 30, 2011 titled, "World Watch: Deadline" ventures outside the stated goal or mission statement of the blog and provides coverage on different countries such as Libya, Asia, South Africa and India. Brief descriptions such as "Libya: Rebels gave besieged leader Muammar Gaddafi a deadline of the Saturday to "peacefully surrender." or "Asia: The Food and Agriculture Organization warned of a possible resurgence of the H5N1 avian flu virus in several Asian nations," make it easy for a reader to become informed of several current topics while having the choice to follow a link to learn more.

Like I mentioned earlier, the way I pictured my blog initially was as a forum where I could share news from different countries. This blog has me reconsidering this initial purpose. I would like to provide coverage in a concise manner similar to this blog, but for my blog, I would like to focus on one area of discussion since I will be alone in creating this blog. This leads me to my final concern. What will I blog about? With the whole world at my disposal, I’m finding it extremely difficult to choose one single topic which will truly satisfy me with my blog.

Re: Ten Points for "Reconstruction"

2011-08-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

PrarieMary’s blog on the theory and practice of blogging has a structure which I would like to use for my future blog posts. I, myself, am a list-type-of-guy so I almost always have a list of things to do. It keeps me organized and allows me to retain my sanity. Though it seems like this is her only blog with a list style, I enjoyed it. It was an easy read, with clear points.

Occasionally, I read the blogs of some of my friends but I’ve never had one before. My view on blogging is limited but I’d have to say that I think it’s common that most people blog to network with other bloggers with similar interests. I’ve also read some blogs which offer advice, these I enjoy reading as well. PrarieMary’s style of writing is engaging and I hope to develop something similar to it. It makes everything seem transparent as if she’s expressing everything freely.

I’m glad “prariemary” is so passionate about blogging to the extent that she describes it as “halfway between dreaming and preaching.” I’ve yet to reach this level of passion for blogging but I hope that once I accustom myself to being more open to sharing my thoughts with the world-wide-web then maybe I could enjoy this to the extent she does.

Original post: http://prairiemary.blogspot.com/2006/09/ten-points-for-reconstruction.html

Hello there World!

2011-08-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that I would have spent a month of my life, needless to say during the summer, in the state of Iowa? Aside from joking around with the children of the corn, what else was I to do, go cow-tipping?

Yes, embarrassingly enough, this was my poor perception of the fine state Iowa prior to my engagement in the Hubbard Law Fellows Program at the University Of Iowa College Of Law. While there, I had the opportunity to take classes at the superb institution, visit a highly reputable law firm, go canoeing and most importantly, get to know fellow students from across the United States.

One simple incident during this month is the actual motivation for this blog. After class one day, I met with a friend and was challenged to play this online game: http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php . “Can you name the countries of the world?”: 15 minutes, a map and the pressure to name all 196 countries of the world. Confident in myself, I took the challenge and dashed through the first five minutes moving from countries in North America to Latin America to Europe to Asia to Africa and to wherever else came to mind. Of course, the inevitable came around the sixth or seventh minute and I struggled to reach the 50^th country. I was stuck at 50/196. Once my fifteen minutes ran out, I made a pledge to my friend that I would excel at this game and have the ability to recognize all 196 countries by the end of the summer. The truth is, I still haven’t been able to master the game, playing it every so often, though I have improved to an unexceptional 120/196.

Aside from revealing my ignorance, this country game had me thinking. Was my view of the world really that narrow and limited? I have always had a special interest in Latin America, frequently reading current events regarding South and Central America but I realized that even this knowledge wasn’t enough. It didn’t strike me ‘till then that I had a duty to expand my intellectual and geographic knowledge. As a college student, I’m constantly preoccupied with different obligations on campus and I place myself in this bubble. If my plans in life were to remain in California for the rest of my life, I suppose it would be fine to block out the rest of the world and only preoccupy myself with local issues. The truth is, I plan on traveling and working abroad so I can’t allow this ignorance to build up at such a young age. There is so much going on in the world that it would be foolish to attempt to keep up with everything but I realize I can do so much and I have already taken a step in the right direction this semester. I have committed myself to perfecting my Spanish speaking, reading and writing skills so I have enrolled in a Spanish course at USC. In addition to this, I plan on learning Portuguese sometime in the near future (I might just invest in Rosetta Stone). Meanwhile though, I’ll continue reading articles from http://www.cnn.com/ , http://www.ap.org/ and other sources as I attempt to understand the global community.

This blog will provide coverage on interesting incidents happening around the world.