Wonderful blogs

Even though I feel that foreign policy in regards to Colombia is the only topic that needs to be discussed in this election.... just kidding! I am aware that many other topics are incredibly important in this election and in the future of this country. It is important that we examine each candidate and their stands in regards to a wide variety of issues. That is essential to truly decide where we as voters stand, and to expand our knowledge about this Presidential election that will inevitably affect each and every one of us. This said I have had the opportunity to read insightful blogs that talk about the other issues involved in this election. Below are the ones that I find the most thought provoking and interesting. Please take the time to learn about them, you won’t regret it.

Renewable Fuels: Search and Transition by Kevin
I think this blog is very important because it discusses the necessity of finding alternative energy resources in order to end the foreign dependency on other countries that are causing an increase in the prices of gas. The blog also discusses how our dependence on nonrenewable resources affects our environment. Kevin expresses the importance of finding alternative energy resources, and talks about a wide variety of renewable energy resources, and the effects that each of them would have on our country. Through his blog you are able to see that even though both presidential candidates are in favor of renewable energy resources, each of them has a very different approach. This could be one of the factors that will play an important role in helping you decide which candidate you support.

Illegal Immigration and Immigration Reform by Duckblogger
Definitely this is the blog that moves and makes me question my principles the most. Through his blogs, Duckblogger has shown his view on illegal immigration. I think this has been one of the blogs that has developed the most. At first he focused more on defending his point of view and failed to question many of his opinions. Now he has found a balance that allows him to take a stand for his opinions and values, but that also allows him to realize that to every issue there are always two sides. He talks about both presidential candidates and their plans in regards to immigration. He shows that both candidates have different approaches but that ultimately neither of them is truly prepared to fully deal with immigration and the reform that is necessary. I feel that this is difficult topic to talk about and Duckblogger has so far done a great job and exposing his readers to a wide variety of important information about immigration.

Bailout or Failout by Merritt
This blog deals with the terrible economic situation as well as the desperate actions to repair it. It focuses on the bailout plan and the effects that this plan will have on our financial situation in the present and for years to come. Merritt’s main focus is on discussing how each presidential candidate is prepared to deal with the economy if elected President. She outlines both of their plans and points out that while Obama’s plan seems great, it lacks details as to how it will be funded. She notes that McCain… well he doesn’t have much of a well structured plan. She points out that McCain has even said that our economy is just fine.. leaving me speechless. This blog is a source where you can find any changes to the bill and our economic situation.

The Links Post

The election is finally coming to an end. Many have already chosen the Presidential candidate that they support. However polls show that many are still undecided as to which candidate they will vote for. On my earlier posts, I mentioned that educating ourselves about the policies each candidate supported was essential for this election. Through my blogs I have tried to express how each candidate feels about Plan Colombia as well as the effects that U.S. intervention has had on the country. If I haven’t been clear enough in regards to the subject, below I have posted some links that should further clarify where the candidates stands as well as the approach to win the war on drugs.

http://www.cipcol.org/?p=693
This link talks about the Presidential Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. It focuses on the previous experiences that the candidates have had in dealing with Latin American countries. They talk about how both candidates support Plan Colombia but show the different approaches that each would take if either were to become President based on previous decisions each has made in regards to Latin American Countries. This is a helpful link if you still find yourself somewhat confused about where each candidate stands.

http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/fs/2001/1042.htm
This link describes Plan Colombia and shows the original idea behind it. It talks about why the U.S. assistance is necessary as well as explaining where and how the money would be used to end the war on drugs as well as improve the lives of those who live in the country and are many times deprived of their human rights.

http://www.waronwant.org/Plan20Colombia2020a20plan20for20war3F+3469.twl
This link shows how Plan Colombia has failed to end the war on drugs and has accomplished and increase in poverty and destruction in the Colombian country. This site mentions the realities the plan has accomplished. Many times all the media talks about are the accomplishments the plan has obtained, failing to mention what has been sacrificed in order to achieve the result.

http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/cha042407.htm
Finally as I mentioned before the voter has to form their own opinion. For the sake of that above is a link that talks about why the plan is necessary and should therefore be supported. Hopefully the links that I have posted above will help you solidify your beliefs in regards to the issue and maybe make it a little easier to decide which candidate you will support.

Self Analysis Post

Now that I take a look back at my blogs and analyze how much I have learned about Colombia I realize that when I wrote my first blog I had a limited knowledge about what was happening in the South American Country. The information that I knew about Colombia resulted from being born in Venezuela and attending school for many years in the country. We had classes that focused on Latin America and therefore I knew that Colombia was known for having one of the best coffees in the world as well as being a main producer of illicit drugs like marijuana and cocaine.
I had also heard my parents talk about the “Guerrilla Colombiana” but it wasn’t until 2002 that I realized the serious threat this armed force represented for the Colombian country. During this year the FARC guerrilla kidnapped the Colombian Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt as well as other congressmen with the hopes of exchanging them for rebel commanders that had previously been captured.
At the time I was still very young and Venezuela had their own headache to worry about, President Hugo Chavez started approaching his goal of turning the country into a socialist… more like communist nation. So I thought that the guerrilla was simply Colombia’s Hugo Chavez.
Then I was confronted with choosing a topic to blog about during this election. I chose to talk about the U.S. foreign policies in regards to the South American country. I wanted to simply talk about foreign aid to the nation but I didn’t understand the link between aid, drugs, and armed forces. I felt like the drug problem and the armed forces were simply and internal problem like many of those that take place in third world countries. Then I started researching about Plan Colombia and many of my initials blogs dealt with how the plan was structured, its goal and what it was actually accomplishing. I focused on the damage and unbalance that the Colombian country was suffering as a result of being the center of the war on drugs. It was then that I realized that the U.S. was linked to the Farc Guerrilla. The fumigations of crops drove the country into a deeper poverty because it damaged all sorts of crops. This increased recruitment for the Guerrilla. The military equipment designated to dispense the pesticides were being used by the guerrilla as military equipment.
The country that was already in difficult conditions began to fall even deeper. People were getting sick from the pesticides and the war on drugs was unsuccessful since coca is stronger than many of the other crops and can grow in difficult soil. It just moves from one place to another without much difficulty. I thought that the poverty of the country was simply caused by lack of natural resources, but the reality is that the U.S. intervention has caused an unbalance in the country, aggravating the already unstable conditions. It was then that I started questioning the power the U.S. had to intervene in other countries without acknowledging the damage this intervention will inevitably cause. At first I thought the U.S. was concerned about Colombia and wanted the best for both nations. But after reading more in depth I realized that this was another one of the U.S. interventions that are made only for the sake of American country. They had a problem with drugs so instead of fighting it at home they figured it would make more sense to fight the war in another country. I realized that the country of Colombia finds itself in a more difficult situation each day. How are they ever going to have a sustainable legal economy when the countries natural resources are being destroyed? The formation of the armed forces and the production of drugs in the country were not caused by the U.S. but the intervention has damaged their ecosystems, strengthened the rebel group and definitely increased the production of drugs. So the “internal” problem I once believed to be simply another form of rebellion in the third world country is now a big part of the country and has linked itself to its economic system.
Reasearching this topic has made me realize that as a power nation a country should not only have priviliges, but it should also have responsibilities. The reality is that America goes on power trips and intervenes whenever the oportunity is available if they see something that will benefit them. Sadly it is safe to say that this clear violation of other countries sovereignity will continue to take place in the years to come. The U.S. has a long history of intervening in other countries affairs. They currently find it beneficial to intervene in Middle Eastern Countries as well as Latin American countries and always find "problems" they need to immediately "help" the chosen country to deal with.

Guaviare, Colombia Might be an Alternative

This war on drugs has been strategized by spraying the illicit crops. However, these pesticides also kill many legal natural resources. This has brought an economic destabilization in Colombia. Guaviare, Colombia is a region where natural resources including coca are predominant. A small business in the region could be considered an alternative to the production of coca. Tulasi is the name of this business that works with the exotic fruits and legal plans of Colombia. Instead of funding to spray coca crops the money of Plan Colombia could be used to help small businesses like this one progress. This would help the country solidify its trade and marketing business for the country of Colombia. However, small businesses like this one don’t have the technological equipment to make this a steady income for the country. “Effective diversification will require improvements in rural infrastructure, contract forming, marketing alliances, access to land and credit, and innovation strategies for small farmers.” This could be the best alternative to using force in the war against drugs. Below is the video of the person in charge of Tulasi, please check it out.

Implications Post

When considering the relations of the United States internationally, Washington said "the Great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign Nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible." These words have been ignored by the United States. The fact that the U.S. is a power nation is no secret. This sense of superiority can be viewed in many Americans who seem to believe that because they are “superior,” they have the right to tell other nations what to do. Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed that the United States, because it was a "civilized nation," had the right to stop "chronic wrongdoing" throughout the Western Hemisphere. This power has allowed the United States to continuously violate the National Sovereignty of other countries. They intervene in any country that is of economic interest to them. This United States intervention has been known to cause euphoria in many countries in many countries. Recent countries include many Middle Eastern Countries as well as Latin America. This intervention destabilizes those countries, destroying their political, social and economical system. The U.S. tries to shape countries in which ever way proves more beneficial for its own interests. This intervention also has negative effects on the U.S. It creates a negative view around the world in regards to this country. People all over the world view America as a country who thinks they have the right to do as they desire. This makes it easier for countries to form alliances against the American government. These rocky relations with other countries affect the economic situation of the U.S. since difficult trade relations in regards to oil are present with countries like Venezuela as well and Middle Eastern Countries. “Every U.S. policy shift, every military intervention, every CIA plot has been carried out to secure one main aim: to ensure the cheap and plentiful flow of the world's most important energy resource--oil.” If this need of interrupting other countries in order to solve domestic problems doesn’t stop it could cause the alliance of many countries against the United States and its undemocratic policies.

Theory: Reform of Plan Colombia

I have mentioned in my previous blogs that both Presidential Candidates seem to support Plan Colombia, but while John McCain believes that a free trade agreement with the country is necessary, Obama opposes it on the basis of not wanting to negotiate with a country that violates human rights. Aside from their disagreement in regards to Colombia, the reality is that Plan Colombia has caused great harm to the country and needs to immediately be reformed. The main cause of failure is that Plan Colombia was written with the purpose of convincing the American congress. The plan had to focus on stemming the tide of illicit drugs, not on fuzzy notions of how to strengthen a wobbly government or on old ideas of how to defeat communist insurgents. This is another plan created for the benefit of America. An attempt to win the war on drugs by intervening in another country. Limiting the consumption of drugs in the U.S. is something that many believe necessary. However, the problem lies in the approach taken to decrease the consumption. While some believe that Plan Colombia is the best solution, because it attacks the source; Others believe that as long as a demand exists, there will always be a source to supply it. Therefore, they believe that the war on drugs should be a local one that focuses on funding projects to help decrease the demand for it. What lies behind Plan Colombia is nothing more than a matter of National Sovereignty. The main problem with this intervention in Colombia, lies in that America seems to believe that there are no limits to the American Power. They are attacking the weakest point with all the damage that this means for the indigenous and peasant farmers who live in the area of coca cultivation.They spray their farms cause sickness among the poor civilians of Colombia and eradicate many of the food crops they are being encouraged to grow. They don’t care about the people of Colombia or the damage that they are causing while trying to find a solution for this war on drugs. The U.S. has been known to act only for their own benefit. The War in Iraq is another U.S. intervention that is still taking place. This World Power Nation takes advantage of their position and imposes itself among other countries that are not as powerful. They destabilize other countries in order to accomplish their goals. The U.S. violates the National Sovereignty of other countries. They are a powerful nation and without any doubt they use this power in very destructive ways in another nations. Even in negotiations with other countries the U.S. only worries about their profits "When they talk about "free trade" in countries like Colombia, they seek to conceal their real intent, which is to dominate that country's energy and other resources to serve the needs of the United States. The same is true for every country they sit down to negotiate with." The only way to put an end to polarized sides is for the United States to respect the sovereignty of other countries. To find solutions within the U.S and limit intervention in countries where the majority resents the imposed U.S. "help". The U.S. needs to realize that just because they are powerful, doesn't mean that they can step all over other nations.

Third Presidential Debate Mentions Colombia

I have been watching the Presidential debates in hopes of finding some information related to my topic. Finally the third presidential debate mentioned Colombia (for a whole second!) I have to say I know that our economy is in a terrible condition and that the presidential candidates need to talk about how they plan to improve it. However, I found that they just repeated themselves in regards to the economy. It wouldn’t have killed them to talk about other issues that are also important. “Latin American countries were completely neglected by the two candidates,” I find this ridiculous even when the debates were supposed to be dealing with foreign policy they found a way of turning it into the economy. The debate consisted of the two presidential candidates attacking each other whenever possible. McCain threw one of his punch lines by saying “Free trade with Colombia is something that's a no-brainer. But maybe you ought to travel down there and visit them and maybe you could understand it a lot better.” I found that McCain was a little conceited, in regards to his knowledge about Colombia. Even though McCain has traveled to Colombia, it doesn’t mean that Obama is completely ignorant when it comes to a Free Trade Agreement with the country. If anything McCain is the one that needs to research more. He affirmatively said "the goods and products that we send to Colombia, which is our largest agricultural importer of our products."Colombia is not in any form the largest importer of U.S. products. If anything else the U.S. is the one that proves a stable market for Colombia’s drugs. I feel that McCain is simply using his trips to Colombia to try to appeal as more Latin American friendly and maybe increase his popularity. Sadly I don’t feel that many voters will be even moved by the situation in Colombia.

Nationalizing Banks

This dying economy. Rapidly ending life as we know it. Terror overwhelms the scared civilians of this unsustainable nation. Encouraging the approval of an impulsive 700 billion bailout plan to buy distressed securities tied to mortgages.Bush said affirmatively that nationalizing the banks will stabilize the tumbling economy. That money should be used to buy stocks. The dry economy affected other countries. The damage is felt internationally. Nationalizing the banks could be the only way out. Regardless, this proves controversial for a capitalist nation. In which government should not control privately owned institutions. The plan will use 250 of the 700 billion government rescued program. Promising positive needed effects on the currently frozen economic system. It will be done by injecting large amounts of money to the most influential banks. Its goal is to end the fear of lending. Helping good banks lend money to poor businesses. By doing this it strives to keep our breathless economy alive. Avoiding a deadly depression. This effort includes local and international banks. This threatening plan scares me. It’s all we can do.

Colombia's FTA

In this election foreign policy has lost all of its importance. Yet President Bush is trying to force Congress into passing a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. He believes it is essential for the U.S. relations with their pretty much only South American Ally. He forgets the anti-American sentiment that gets stirred up when negotiations go sour, or when Congress balks because of differences with the administration over issues such as labor standards? What the President also seems to ignore is that this agreement would violate once again human rights in Colombia. The FTA was conceived by violating the rule of law. It was not consulted with Afro-Colombians or Indigenous Peoples as required by the Colombian constitution and ILO convention 169. So we would be supporting another terrible plan that would cause even more suffering to the belligerently attacked minorities. How can Bush urge us to support this direct assault of human rights? Shouldn't we unite instead in preventing the many atrocities that the Colombian government allows in the country? International Trade Critic Peter Julian said "The Harper government seems to be willing to sign anything with the Colombian government, no matter how negative the impact on human rights. This is completely irresponsible," If in fact the agreement does pass wouldn’t we be supporting a somewhat dictatorship government?

Uribe...... can we really trust him???

After researching about the damage that Plan Colombia causes, I was surprised to see that regardless people seem to support President Uribe. “Mr Uribe's approval ratings shot to 91% in Colombia after the rescue operation that freed French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 fellow hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).” Yidis Medina admitted that she was bribed by the senior members of congress to vote for the passing of a bill that would allow President Uribe to be re-elected a second term. Could it be that Uribe is also involved in this arrangement? Although it has not been proven he is being investigated. He even suggests that he wants to run a third time something that would require another constitutional change! I can’t help but be skeptical about Uribe’s true intentions. Even his cousin Mario Uribe is being investigated in regards to a certain alliance with paramilitaries. President Uribe’s reminds me of Hugo Chavez, the President Venezuela. He was adored almost worshiped at the beginning,so people were blinded by the hope that he would bring the "change" that the country needed. By changing the constitution many times he managed to pretty much become the Fidel Castro of Venezuela. The corrupt government is completely infected with his corruption and if you disagree with the government you better keep it to yourself. Will this happen to Colombia? Will President Uribe turn out to be corrupt like some fear he is?

Analysis Post

Drug policy has been the underdog in this election. With the current situation it doesn’t surprise me that the candidates have gotten away with excluding the subject from their debates. In certain occasions when asked to talk about the subject they have given some insight as to what their beliefs are in regards to the issue. Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain has been one of the few candidates to take a radical stand against drug use. He wants to increase penalties for selling drugs, and believes that proven drug kingpins should be given the death penalty. On the other hand Democratic Candidate Barack Obama has taken a somewhat indecisive stand in regards to drug policies. He said that the “war on drugs” was an “utter failure” and believed in decriminalizing marijuana. He has even said that if elected he wouldn’t approve of eliminate disparity between sentencing crack and powder cocaine. As different as these candidates are in regards to drug laws, they both seem to believe that the key to ending drug consumption in the United States is to attack the drug source. Which is why they both support the U.S. legislation designed to curb drug smuggling by providing funds for different drug activities in Colombia, this plan is better known as Plan Colombia. Yet the candidates once again disagree when it comes to discussing the Colombian Free Trade Agreement which in many manners can be closely related to Plan Colombia. McCain believes the FTA agreement is essential for our relations with this pro-American country, while Obama accuses him of supporting “unfair trade deals.”Obama believes in developmental initiatives for Latin American countries that should be funded through the increase of taxes.
The Statistics show that Plan Colombia has not been successful given that drugs are not limited in the United States and anyone who desires to buy some generally has a source that can supply it. In fact research has shown that “The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, whose 2006 figure of 78,000 hectares (193,000 acres) was half the U.S. government’s estimate, detected 98,000 hectares (242,000 acres) in 2007 - 20,000 hectares or 26% more coca.”Plan Colombia has simply been a waste of money in trying fund a war against drugs that simply has not accomplished any positive effects. Its strategy consists in spraying drug crops with an untested mycoherbicide known as Fusarium Oxysporum a strain of a biological warfare agent. Yet the plan was defined as a "Plan for Peace, Prosperity, and the Strengthening of the State.” When In reality it does completely the opposite. When they spray the drug crops it also lands on food crops, water resources, animals and the civilians of Colombia. It is killing their natural resources. This plan disregards human rights as people are forced to live with the fear of not knowing when the next plane will fly above their heads and spray this lethal substance. As a result “the Consultancy for Human Rights and displacement this week that at least 270,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes in the last six months. That’s an increase of 41% from 2007!" The situation is aggravated by poisonous U.S. funded fumigation.” Even though Obama has shown some concerns in regards to our relationship with Colombia a country that has one of the highest records on human rights violations, he failed to pursue Rice to declare that Colombia violated the human rights conditions. Both candidates are so concerned about other issues that they have put drug laws in the backburner.
Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement are similar and the FTA will add to the consequences of Plan Colombia. Plan Colombia was unsuccessful because it targeted the peasant coca growers in the south, and coca has been known to have the “balloon effect” and it simply moves to another area when eradicated from a certain place. Many of the soldiers trained by the U.S. Army School of Americas have been linked with participating in drug taxing and trafficking. This plan continues to put money in Uribe’s government of which many congress members are being investigated over their alleged ties with the AUC paramilitaries. The FTA threatens to cause an increase in drug trafficking and violence. Considering that in most Latin American countries economic globalization results in unemployment, which would cause people to go back to growing crops and join illegal groups like the FARC guerrilla. About 20% of Colombian’s depend of agriculture as their means of a sustainable income. By requiring Colombia to cut tariff on their agricultural products it would lead to a 35% decrease in employment. This lack of ability to provide for themselves and their families would only cause people to go back to growing the illegal crops or as an even worse alternative join the Farc guerrilla. In the past when Latin American countries have been faced with economic globalization, it has brought an increase in unemployment and an increase in production of illegal substances. This plan negatively affects Colombia, worsening its economic and social situation. Causing an expense on the U.S. that has shown no true positive feedback. The source will always be there as long as the demand continues to exist. The solution to the drug war my be within our country, because even if eradicated from Colombia, other sources of supply would be found.

Deadly Plan Colombia

On my previous post I talked about how Plan Colombia was a failure that resulted in funding a terrorist group. Some seemed a little confused so hopefully I can clarify how this plan has failed and its relation to the FARC guerrilla. The main ideal behind Plan Colombia is drug crop spraying. Using planes they spread these deadly pesticides over marihuana and coca crops. Nothing wrong with that? well in reality they also spray the campesinos food crops, the same crops that U.S. encouraged them to farm instead of Coca. Shown in the video below, they spread these pesticides all over the place, falling directly on people and into their water resources. So not only do we ask them to grow food crops even though they don’t have the ability to produce a steady income from it, but we pollute their country. We continue to kill their farms over and over again, as well as their animals that inevitably drink the polluted waters. Now would we deal with having planes spraying pesticides over our farms and homes just to help put an end to the drug war…..? I don’t think so!
What does Plan Colombia really accomplishing? How is it related to the FARC Guerrilla? Plan Colombia causes conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla both of which have been connected to controlling the drug trade in Colombia. The FARC Guerrilla gets some of their funds from taxing drug producers, so logically they are not very happy with the U.S. intervention. Plan Colombia provides planes and equipment to spread pesticides; however this equipment is also used by the FARC Guerrilla making their technology more powerful and aiding them in going against U.S. intervention. Regardless of how much the U.S. claims this war is a success in reality it is a complete failure. The only thing it accomplishes is frustration among the poor people of Colombia. They find themselves starving because their crops have been exterminated and as a result go back to growing drug crops or join the FARC Guerrilla. We are simply making people want to join terrorist groups, so that they can help end an inefficient war on drugs that is killing more Colombian civilians that anything else.

Plan Colombia

Drug Policy in regards to Colombia

With the current devastating situation of our economy, it has been almost effortless for the 2008 Presidential Candidates Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) to avoid voicing their opinions on drug use and laws. Obama has said at times that he supported decriminalization of marijuana use, but when confronted once again about the issue his administration declared that he didn’t believe marijuana offenders should go unpunished. This indecisive stand might be a result of admitting to previously using marijuana and cocaine. John McCain takes a somewhat more solid opinion saying that he wants to increase penalties for selling drugs. Yet neither candidate has made their views on the issue an important part of their campaign. Neither candidate is willing to take a radical stand whether it be legalizing it or giving maximum punishments for offenders, because they don’t want to risk losing votes by upsetting Americans.
On another note, they both seem to support the Plan Colombia, a 1.3 billion spending bill signed by President Clinton with the goal of funding Colombia in a war against drugs. This plan is very controversial, nothing seems to have changed. Drug is still being produced and exported massively from Colombia to other countries including the United States. This is why many believe that the U.S. aid is used in funding the FARC guerrilla. The FARC guerrilla is a terrorist group known for the kidnapping and killing of many who oppose the Colombian government. Has America become so blinded by other issues that we have forgotten about the war on drugs? So blind that we are even funding a terrorist cell and most Americans don’t even know it?