Comments for Maria NYC

Comment on When “Good Men Do Nothing.” by Jae

Jae — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:06:58 +0000

Good thoughts Maria.
I teach high school in central Jersey, and was feeling pretty disgusted yesterday after overhearing a student conversation.
There’s a popular sandwich place near our community. A scene of folks ordering from their counter is not unlike Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi bit, you’d better know exactly what you want, say it fast, and get out of the way.
The men behind the counter speak with a variation of accents (I believe a few of them to be Guatemalan or Honduran, am not sure.)
My student’s story revolved around a ’speak English or get out of my country’ concept, which is the part I found infuriating.
What I tried to say, but could not in a eloquent fashion, is… How dare he! How dare this little teenage snot disrespect the courage of someone who leaves behind all that they know in the dream of something better!
How dare he pick on the language skills of someone who while speaking accented English, is still fluent in two languages, when from my observation, he (the student) has barely mastered his native tongue!
And, knowing that the men at the sandwich shop are at the very least documented immigrants, if not naturalized citizens, how dare this ignorant boy who cannot name a single Supreme Court justice or list any amendment beyond the first, be so quick to disparage the patriotism someone who due to not having had the privilege of being born a citizen, has studied our constitution harder than he ever will.
So… I draw comfort from the realization that there are others out there who believe that although our nation is not without problems, the fact that most of us have a roof over our heads and food to eat affords us, in fact almost mandates, that we do all in our power to help others, both domestic and abroad.

Comment on La sublevación de Venezuela contra Chávez tiene una nueva voz: Twitter by uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:49:24 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by MariaNYC: @SaloumehZ Dear Saloumeh, as promised here is the link to the Spanish version of the latest article: http://bit.ly/bgd2LQ #IranVzla…

Comment on Venezuela’s rise against Chavez gets a new voice: Twitter by Chávez, Honduras, and the new Cold War « Ulf Erlingsson's blog

Chávez, Honduras, and the new Cold War « Ulf Erlingsson's blog — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:50:08 +0000

[...] elections. The opposition in Venezuela has taken a lesson from the opposition in Iran, and is using Twitter, much to Chávez’s [...]

Comment on Venezuela’s rise against Chavez gets a new voice: Twitter by uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:14:30 +0000

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This post was mentioned on Twitter by MariaNYC: @IKching @kakoparu @Wtiger50 @_Gyermo @Jose_Enrique @agamez @urru_urru @MexCAN @no_al_comunismo – Thank u! http://bit.ly/aNeq9r Venezuela…

Comment on Global Violence and Hate – Can this trend be overturned? by i would hate to be you

i would hate to be you — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:37:58 +0000

This was refreshing. It

Comment on The Phantom Menace – El Diario column, a Latin American Journal by Why is our president bowing to the Miraflores Cartel?

Why is our president bowing to the Miraflores Cartel? — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:21:41 +0000

[...] down to the will of Hugo Chavez and his dictator friends, his narco friends? Don’t they know the truth behind the Miraflores Cartel? Don’t they have intelligence on what is really [...]

Comment on The Phantom Menace – El Diario column, a Latin American Journal by FreeMarketeros

FreeMarketeros — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 04:32:05 +0000

Excellent piece. It’d be nice if the South and Central American communities in places like New York take a greater interest in such matters, and affirm their support for a strong economic and security partnership with the United States. Unfortunately, community news and the demands of family and work keep too many people too busy to be involved in politics.

I have it on reliable information that Esmeraldas province in Ecuador is filled with FARC or FARC-like leftist guerilla, and that it is no longer safe for visitors to remain outdoors beginning in the early evening, for fear of kidnap or running into trouble. This is all while the Correa government knows, and it is a disgrace to the potentially excellent US-Ecuador partnership that could be. I’ve visited Ecuador twice and found the people to be friendly and supportive of friendly US relations – why, I wonder, must their government be sympathetic to destructive alliances that bring insecurity in Ecuador and throughout the Americas. “Yankee Empire,” don’t make me laugh…what is Correa hiding? Remind me, who funded his campaign and how did his daddy make his living again?

Comment on Why is our president bowing to the U.S. enemies? by World Affairs Guy

World Affairs Guy — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:26:33 +0000

I completely understand your frustration regarding the recent acts by the US administration on the Honduran issue. You have accurately described the crisis and a real threat (ALBA) to freedom, democracy, development and economic growth in the Western Hemisphere.

I do not believe the administration’s acts are a result of a void of information, in fact I am certain they know exactly what is going on taking into account the size and budget of the US intelligence apparatus. My best guess is these acts are facilitated by a desire of the new administration to distance itself from its predecessor by playing the role of “unbiased” broker on this issue. This is consistent with their desire for a “multilateral” approach to foreign policy. Unfortunately this approach only works under the assumption that the majority of countries involved are morally correct in their assessment of a situation. In reality, this is not usually the case given multiple agendas in addition to the fact that many countries are not democracies and incite these issues to direct attention away from their own misgivings. In this particular case, a great example is Brazil. Their desire to lock up a reliable oil supplier (Venezuela) to fuel rapid economic growth, in addition to Lula trying to make a “socialist” mark before the upcoming Brazilian election (where he will NOT run) has driven Brazil’s morally bankrupt position on Honduras. This is especially true given Lula’s budding friendship with the tyrant Ahmadinejad. There are many other examples but I think my point has been made.

In summary, from a foreign policy perspective, I hope Obama will grow up and realize that sometimes the world needs a leader to take a principaled position on foreign policy, without giving credence to the global chorus of criticism. This has been partially accomplished by the US acceptance of the election results but unjustly punishing those in Honduras responsible for protecting freedom in order to make a last ditch effort to pander to vile anti-US dictators? Not a good start.

World Affairs Guy
http://www.worldaffairsguy.com
http://twitter.com/worldaffairsguy

Comment on Update on the Situation in Honduras 07/26/09 by uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:19:13 +0000

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Comment on Global Violence and Hate – Can this trend be overturned? by Global Violence and Hate – Can this trend be overturned? | Maria NYC | Honduras today

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:19:05 +0000

[...] Here is the original: Global Violence and Hate – Can this trend be overturned? | Maria NYC [...]