Support for vote prompts accusations of backpedaling

By Mary Beth Sheridan Sunday, November 29, 2009
TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS — This Central American country holds a presidential election Sunday in a bid to regain international legitimacy after a coup that has rattled the hemisphere and frustrated the Obama administration’s efforts to improve relations with Latin America.
For someone who is on top of the news try this site Here

The greatest threat to the future of humankind has been revealed. It is quiche. Again. You remember  the social threats of quiche, don’t you? In the 1980s, “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” was a satirical book about masculinity and what makes a real man easily identifiable was that he didn’t eat girly foods like quiche. Manly men ate red meat. Most of those manly beef-eaters are now probably dead, but that is another story. “Real men don’t eat quiche” was a cultural truism at the time and it was easy to identify the wimpy, effeminate, maybe-gay, men like actor Alan Alda and talk show host Phil Donahue, and any man who was sensitive and kind. They were the men who ate quiche. In the 2000s they were metrosexuals. Who knows where they are hiding today.

I have a handmade sign in my office that I picked up off the floor at a professional wrestling match  from the same time period. I was studying wrestling and the Wild Samoans were a fascinating team: big burly guys who were supposedly semi-primitive fellows from Samoa. Not under any circumstances were they guys you would want to cross. The discarded fan’s sign read, “Samoans  eat quiche.” It was the ultimate insult of the time  and I hope the guy ran after he waved that sign.

So, when I heard in the new movie 2012 that quiche was once again the threat that this time would cause the earth to upheave and humans to build new arks complete with giraffes and rich Middle Easterners, I should not have been surprised. But of all the wacky things that this wacky movie pronounces, it is the renewal of the fear of quiche (and bedwetting, but more on that later) that was the most disconcerting.

I am using pronounce literally here. In the beginning of the movie, a television journalist is reporting on the suicides that have just taken place at Tikal (pronounced, oddly, “tickle”), an ancient site of the Maya civilization. This mass suicide is due to the predictions of the end of the world that would take place on December 21, 2012. The source of the predictions is supposedly the “Mayan Quiche calendar.” The word Quiche is pronounced “keesh” like the egg pie. So for the next two hours and 30 minutes I am thinking about girly brunch food raining down on an unsuspecting world.

There has been plenty of debunking of the 2012 predictions and most of them do a good job of explaining that like all calendars the Maya one is cyclical and has beginnings and ending that are marked but not that result in the world melting into its core. So, I will tackle here instead the language used in 2012. First, I love disaster movies and it is hard to rile me while I am watching floods and earth fissures and ash storms devour human beings. But 2012 is not honest to its form. The best disaster movies are carefully researched “what if” scenarios and a big part of making “what if” worlds believable is getting the language right.

So quiche, that sort-of-French dish that is an egg and custard and cheese pie, is pronounced “keesh.” It is not a dish of the Maya, ancient or otherwise. The word the reporter in 2012 mispronounced and that the movie misunderstood is Quiché (with an accent) and pronouced keech-chay. The Quiché (or K’iché’) are one one of several Maya people who still live in Mexico and Central America. You will notice I said “Maya” and not “Mayan.” The people are called Maya, singular and plural. The civilization is called “Maya” and the calendar is a “Maya” calendar. The term “Mayan” is not a generic adjective. “Mayan” is generally restricted to the languages of these people: “Mayan” to refer collectively to the languages of all the Maya people, K’iché’ Mayan to refer to the specific language of the K’iché’ people. How hard would it have been to call up an expert on the ancient Maya culture to find this out.?

Most people, of course, didn’t get annoyed by this and spent the rest of the movie watching people fall into abyss after abyss as the world fulfilled the ancient quiche’s prediction. I pictured a bubbling crusted pie opening a slit (like Harry Potter’s sorting hat) and proclaiming the end of the world, with male quiche-eaters the first to go. By the way, there was not one Maya person depicted in the film so clearly this prediction was not coming from the Maya people but from the brunch food that had apparently escaped from the 1980s.

Mayan Quiche.  Serve it at your next “girly-man” event.

Muy bueno. Gracias por preguntar!

Knew that high school Spanish would come in sooner or later….

Late here in Nicaragua. No problems with the flights here today. Newark to Atlanta to Managua. Quick, but warm, shuttle ride from the airport to the hotel. Always gives one pause when you finally get into your hotel room, drop your bags…and the first thing you see is Safety Procedures In Case Of Earthquake.

It’ll be interesting to see the local city tomorrow in the daylight. On the drive in, I saw a lot of Vive la Daniel [Ortega] and Vive la FSLN [Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional] graffittied on walls. However, according to our doorman, that’s a small faction of people that are that vocal. Daniel Ortega isn’t well liked by the majority.

All of this political awareness was juxtaposed by the many Christmas lights and Nativity scenes dotting the homes and stores we passed. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebreated on December 8th and already great monuments to the Virgin Mary are being erected and lit. Hope to get some shots of some but nighttime walks are spotty so we’ll see what we can get.

Cerveza, though, is not spotty. Yes, I’m in Central America. Weather report is calling for 86 tomorrow, the first day of scouting and some shooting for the team.

© Mark V. Krajnak 2009 | JerseyStyle Photography | All rights Reserved
Unless otherwise noted, images captured with a Canon 50D, SanDisk digital film, finished with PS2 or PSE6 and Nik Software.

The political crisis that has gripped Honduras for the last five months will hopefully be over after elections on Sunday handed the Presidency to conservative rancher Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. Lobo received 56% of the vote, well ahead of the nearest challenger at 38%, and turnout was exceptionally high as 61% of eligible Hondurans voted. The numbers bolster the credibility of the electoral outcome and should persuade most Western democracies to accept the result.

Interestingly, the high turnout is a direct repudiation of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who had urged supporters to stay home in protest. The United States has already accepted the winner, along with Costa Rica and Panama, and Mexico and Canada seem likely to approve as well. Brazil and Argentina, however, are still providing opposition that will prove tricky to resolve for both the incoming President and the US State Department.

The source of the opposition to Lobo’s victory is one that evades me on logic. No matter what your stance on Zelaya’s ouster – and it’s my opinion that Honduras was well within their rights to get rid of him and that the Obama administration was incorrect to continue to back him – the simple fact of the matter is that even if Zelaya was still in power, he would be unable to run in this 2009 election due to constitutional term limits – term limits, by the way, that Zelaya was trying to roll back and got him into trouble with the Honduran legislature, Supreme Court, and military.

I’ve been writing about the struggles of Honduras for a while now, so I feel a certain personal connection to this story, and I’m heartened to see this nasty chapter in its history come to a hopeful close. With the support of America and probably Mexico, the rest of the world governments should make the right decision and recognize the legitimacy of these elections, allowing Honduras to move past the ugliness of the last few months. In a Latin American geopolitical situation that includes Zelaya’s buddies Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega, future unpleasantness can never be completely ruled out, but it’s my fervent wish that the people of Honduras can finally get back to their lives without this pointless drama being played out in front of the rest of the world.

Congratulations, President-elect Lobo. I wish you the best of luck.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Jeff helps Camilo with a lens cleaning lesson. Photo by Stu Estler

Originally trained as a photographer, I love making pictures, and have always made that activity a big part of my journeys. For several years I sold my travel images in summer art fairs and festivals across the Western United States. After winning a “People’s Choice Award” in 2005 I began looking for ways to use my talents to help people. After doing several fund-raising photo exhibits for worthy organizations in Asia, where I had traveled a lot, I came to learn about the work of two inspirational photographers using their talents to help kids in a direct and interactive way.

I was deeply touched when I encountered the story of photojournalist and former Reuters war correspondent Nancy McGirr who began a 6-month project teaching photography to kids living in the Guatemala City dump. 18 years later Fotokids has lifted hundreds of kids out of poverty. As soon as I saw the work of those kids and read Nancy¹s story knew I had to somehow work with them.

About the same time I met the renowned humanitarian photographer Phil Borges who founded Bridges to Understanding. Bridges teaches kids how to use photography and digital technology to tell meaningful stories in movie form and connect with peers all over the world. When Phil told me that the fall
2007 Bridges International Workshop in Guatemala would be working with Fotokids I signed up.

Photo by Eric Lolkema

Coincidentally during lunch breaks Nancy told me about her plans to establish a design studio in Santiago that would serve the non-profits and business operating around the lake and provide employment opportunities for graduating Fotokids who wanted to pursue that path and who wanted to remain in their home community. Before I knew what was happening I was volunteering to come teach design, and bring other creative professionals along with me. That was the genesis of the first workshop which was held one year ago. We’re now about to embark on our third. Each one is getting better and better. Oh and David, well he’s been studying graphic design in the capital and has been a star in the first two workshops, and will be returning for his third one this week.

I can hardly wait to get back to see and work with these amazing kids, the unbelievable volunteers, and my friend and mentor Nancy McGirr. Be careful what you wish for people, it just may come true.

Ed. note: During the workshop we intend to post a student’s impressions of the workshop, some of their artwork, and of course pictures and video highlights. We want to make this a meaningful interactive experience for our audience so please let us know what you want to see more of, less of, etc., and if you have other ideas for content please tell us.

Ve estos videos de emprendedores sociales de Ashoka presentando sus proyectos y los temas relacionados con ellos en un encuentro de Ashoka en São Paulo:

Gregorio van Kirk / Microconsignación: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video764.html

Rebeca Villalobos / ASEMBIS: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video758.html

Pablo Ordóñez / El Arca Mendoza: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video765.html

Gustavo Gennuso / ETV: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video757.html

Diego Carvajal / Interrupción: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video763.html

Ederson Lucerna /Agencia Mandalla: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video768.html

Tiago Dalvi / Solidarium: http://www.emprendedor.tv/video769.html

The people of Honduras have spoken. With an estimated 55% of the popular vote, the Honduran people have chosen Sr. Lobo as their legally elected president.  The puppet, Zelaya, camped out in the Brazilian embassy since September dropped out of the race and did not participate.  Naturally the chorus of socialist Latin regimes, aka: Castro-Chavez-Lula-Kirchner quartet, rejected the legitimacy of the election and call on the United [socialist] Nations (UsN) to reject the legitimacy of the results.

I don’t know where they feel empowered to interfere in the sovereign affairs of Honduras.  It must be the waning influence of socialism throughout Latin America.  I still don’t understand why Zelaya or any of the Chavez quartet would think that Hondurans would want to elect a president who not only attempts to subvert the Honduran constitution, but also hangs out in the Brazilian embassy for “protection.”  This does not sound like a leader who is loved and respected by the “Honduran People.”  In fact, it doesn’t sound like a leader who even cares about Honduras or Hondurans.  He sounds like he subscribes to foreign interests.  I think even El Libertador, Simon Bolivar, would have a problem with this skunk, Zelaya.

President Porfirio Lobo

Zelaya LOST the trust of his people when he chose to deepen his alliance with Hugo Chavez.  His alliance with Hugo compromised the democracy and the people of Honduras.  The people rejected Zelaya and acted to protect their sovereignty and right to self-determination.

I believe the Honduran elections were fair, as does the governments of the US, Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.  Zelaya knew he would lose and dropped out to “save face.”  The regional socialist regimes should take a note.  Socialism has failed the people.

Socialism is a failed political experiment.

The new war that El Salvador faces is that of gang violence. The rising amount of youth that are joining up to these so called “families” is alarming. Most documentary makers that have had the guts to enter into that particular war zone in El Salvador have time and time again heard from the horse’s mouth the reason for why so many of the youth of El Salvador join these gangs. The primary reason is that they are looking for a family. They are looking to be accepted, loved and cared for.

Many of the kids who join these gangs have either lost a parent, in particular their father, or their parents are illegally living and working in the USA. Many of these kids for one reason or another run away from the family who were looking after them while their parents left to seek a better life in the US.

The irony is that the parents took risks to illegally enter the US to work and make money to better the life of their families back in El Salvador and their children are the ones who now are making hell on earth both in the US and in El Salvador.

The gang members are often far too uneducated, backward thinking and so entrenched in their erroneous belief that somehow gang violence and activities is going to better their life and El Salvador’s. These gangs do not realise that all their activity and action is doing is impeding economic growth and causing a brain drain on the country. Gang members often do not think of the cause and effect of their actions. The gang mentality is a mentality of cyclical revenge and it can only end in death.

Many gang members claim that they want respect, they do not want to be oppressed, they want to have money and power. They don’t realise that their way is the wrong way; their way will never bring them to a place of peace and prosperity. Most of these gang members are nothing but drug addicts, drug sellers and murderers. These gangs are large and well organised but they never reach the heights of life that they aspire to live, or if they do its short lived because they too are killed.  

How did MS13 and 18 Street get to El Salvador? The answer is easy: deportation from the US. In the video below “killing to belong” gang members cite “white oppression on Hispanics” as the reason why their gangs started. Entire families illegally entered the US over the past decades running away from poverty and desperation only to find life in the US worse as they were no longer in their homeland. Their children have little education; their children fall into the wrong company and adopt the bitterness and hatefulness of those that preceded them in the gangs. More often than not the gang members have no real idea why they truly feel all that hate and anger, its usually because they are just told “that’s how this gang works” and that’s it. When these young people and adults are caught committing crimes in the US the US government in the 90’s adopted the easy solution of getting rid of the problem by transfer it somewhere else… El Salvador. Now this problem has rapidly spread not only in the US but into other central American countries.

There have been many methods tried and tested in El Salvador to try and eliminate gang violence. None have yet to be proven as fruitful as what is known as ‘sombra negra’. The term ‘sombra negra’ translates to black shadow. The Sombra Negra were death squad groups  that emerged in the 1990’s who target criminals and gang members for vigilante justice. The gangs emerged in greater number after the US deported large numbers of criminals and gang members and upon arriving in El Salvador were deemed to be free men. At the risk of sounding like I am lowering myself to the gang member’s standard I will admit that this has been the only known effective method that has in the past controlled the aggravated violence perpetrated by these street gangs. Other anti-gang policies failed to even make a dent into the problem.

In the 90’s and early 00’s the governments of central America and El Salvador tried to introduced the unsubstantial plans of ‘Mano Dura’ and ‘Super Mano Dura’ or Iron Fist and Super Iron fist plans. These plans had all fairies and lights but not guts and did little to curb gang violence and activities. Perhaps sombra negra is the answer, for now.

A great article on El Salvador’s gangs is located here.

After a brief respite at home, the plane is being gassed up as we speak and I’m getting ready to head out again.

OK, it’s not like I travel by private plane or anything. I’m sure Delta will have it ready to go by the time we have to pick the wheels up tomorrow.

Another pretty interesting local though….one I’ve never been to before.

We’ll fly into Managua and that’s where we’ll set up camp. But most of the week will be spent in Jinotepe, meeting and photographing a family there. More on that when I can.

Not really sure what to expect out of this trip. Excited, to be sure, but a bit wary as well. This area is the second-most poor area in Central America and, of course, it’s been riddled with political strife in the not-to-distant past.

To be sure, the 50D will be with. Wondering if the Kalashikov that I picked up in Russia* should as well….

But please….Delta….no cookies for me, OK? Save’em for the photog rock stars that travel your way.

See you out there…..And honey, I promise to finish the Christmas decorations when I get home next weekend.

*I jest. I didn’t really pick up an AK-47 while in Russia.

© Mark V. Krajnak 2009 | JerseyStyle Photography | All rights Reserved
Unless otherwise noted, images captured with a Canon 50D, SanDisk digital film, finished with PS4 or PSE6 and Nik Software.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for the formation of a “Fifth International” of left parties and social movements to confront the challenge posed by the global crisis of capitalism.

The president made the announcement during an international conference of more than fifty left organisations from thirty-one countries held in Caracas over November 19-21.

“I assume responsibility before the world. I think it is time to convene the Fifth International, and I dare to make the call, which I think is a necessity. I dare to request that we create my proposal,” Chavez said.

The head of state insisted that the conference of left parties should not be “just one more meeting,” and he invited participating organizations to create a truly new project. “This socialist encounter should be of the genuine left, willing to fight against imperialism and capitalism,” he said.

During his speech, Chavez briefly outlined the experiences of previous “internationals,” including the First International founded in 1864 by Karl Marx; the Second International founded in 1889, which collapsed in 1916 as various left parties and trade unions sided with their respective capitalist classes in the inter-imperialist conflict of the First World War; the Third International founded by Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, which Chavez said “degenerated” under Stalinism and “betrayed” struggles for socialism around the world; and the Fourth International founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938, which suffered numerous splits and no longer exists, although some small groups claim to represent its political continuity.

Chavez said that a new international would have to function “without impositions” and would have to respect diversity.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in San Carlos.

Representatives from a number of major parties in Latin America voiced their support for the proposal, including the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) of Bolivia, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) of El Salvador, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua, and Alianza Pais of Ecuador.

Smaller parties from Latin America and around the world also indicated their support for the idea, including the Proposal for an Alternative Society (PAS) of Chile, New Nation Alternative (ANN) of Guatemala, and Australia’s Socialist Alliance, among others.

Sandinista leader Miguel D´Escoto said, “Capitalism has brought the human species to the precipice of extinction… we have to take control of our own destiny.”

“There is no time to lose,” D’Escoto added as he conveyed his support for the proposal of forming a fifth international. “We have to overcome the tendency of defeatism. Many times I have noted a tendency of defeatism amongst comrades of the left in relation to the tasks we face,” he continued.

Salvador Sánchez, from the FMLN, said “We are going to be important actors in the Fifth International. We cannot continue waiting – all the forces of the left. The aspiration of the peoples is to walk down a different path. We must not hesitate in forming the Fifth International. The people have pronounced themselves in favour of change and the parties of the left must be there with them.”

Other organisations, including Portugal’s Left Block, Germany’s Die Linke, and France’s Partido Gauche expressed interest in the proposal but said they would consult with their various parties. A representative of the Cuban Communist Party described the proposal as “excellent,” but as yet the party has made no formal statement.

Many communist parties, including those from Greece and Brazil, expressed strong opposition to the proposal. The Venezuelan Communist Party said it was willing to discuss the proposal but expressed strong reservations.

The Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) from Colombia expressed its willingness to work with other left parties, but said it would “reserve” its decision to participate in an international organisation of left parties.

Valter Pomar, a representative from the Workers Party of Brazil (PT), said its priority is the Sao Paolo Forum – a forum of various Latin American left, socialist, communist, centre-left, labour, social democratic and nationalist parties launched by the PT in 1990.

A resolution was passed at the conference to form a preparatory committee to convoke a global conference of left parties in Caracas in April 2010, to discuss the formation of a new international. The resolution also allowed for other parties that remain undecided to discuss the proposal and incorporate themselves at a later date.

Chavez emphasised the importance of being inclusive and said the April conference had to go far beyond the parties and organisations that participated in last week’s conference. In particular, he said it was an error that there were no revolutionary organisations from the United States present.

The conference of left parties also passed a resolution titled the Caracas Commitment, “to reaffirm our conviction to definitively build and win Socialism of the 21st Century,” in the face of “the generalized crisis of the global capitalist system.”

“One of the epicentres of the global capitalist crisis is the economic sphere. This highlights the limitations of unbridled free markets dominated by monopolies of private property,” the resolution stated.

Also incorporated was a proposed amendment by the Australian delegation which read, “In synthesis, the crisis of capitalism cannot be reduced to a simple financial crisis, it is a structural crisis of capital that combines the economic crisis, with an ecological crisis, a food crisis and an energy crisis, which together represent a mortal threat to humanity and nature. In the face of this crisis, the movements and parties of the left see the defence of nature and the construction of an ecologically sustainable society as a fundamental axis of our struggle for a better world.”

The Caracas Commitment expressed “solidarity with the peoples of the world who have suffered and are suffering from imperialist aggression, especially the more than 50 years of the genocidal blockade against Cuba… the massacre of the Palestinian people, the illegal occupation of part of the territory of the Western Sahara, and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, which today is expanding into Pakistan.”

The conference of left parties also denounced the decision of the Mexican government to shut down the state-owned electricity company and fire 45,000 workers, as an attempt to “intimidate” the workers and as an “offensive of imperialism,” to advance neoliberal privatisation in Central America.

In the framework of the Caracas Commitment, the left parties present agreed, among other things, to:

• Organise a global week of mobilisation from December 12-17 in repudiation of the installation of U.S. military bases in Colombia, Panama and around the world.

• Campaign for an international trial against George Bush for crimes against humanity, as the person principally responsible for the genocide against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Commemorate 100 years since the proposal by Clara Zetkin to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, through forums, mobilizations and other activities in their respective countries.

• Organise global solidarity with the Bolivarian revolution in the face of permanent imperialist attacks.

• Organise global solidarity with the people of Honduras who are resisting a U.S.-backed military coup, to campaign for the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya and to organise a global vigil on the day of the elections in Honduras, “with which they aim to legitimise the coup d´etat.”

• Demand an “immediate and unconditional end to the criminal Yankee blockade” of Cuba and for the “immediate liberation” of the Cuban Five, referring to the five anti-terrorist activists imprisoned in the United States.

• Accompany the Haitian people in their struggle for the return of President Jean Bertrand Aristide “who was kidnapped and removed from his post as president of Haiti by North American imperialism.”

Stu leads a group of students and mentors during the second Design4Kids workshop June 2009.

Isn’t it amazing, the feeling of experiencing new places, new cultures and new people, and the way it stimulates new ways of thinking and opens the mind to new possibilities? By engaging and developing our creativity, we grow our abilities to approach all aspects of life with creative thinking. And for me, photography is the way to create!

I’m committed to helping develop creativity and possibility thinking in people everywhere, young and old. When we travel and work with people from different cultures, we all get to share the insights of our unique cultural perspectives, and see possibilities that we weren’t aware of from within our own experiences and influences.
We begin to see ourselves in new ways, and gain a fuller, richer understanding of both ourselves and the world we’re a part of.

Being invited to participate in the Design4Kids workshop is a tremendous opportunity. I’m excited to be able to share my knowledge and insights with the students, and am looking forward to learning as much from them as they do from me. Que oportunidad tan increible!

Stu Estler

Ed: Returning for his second Design4Kids experience Stu brings a wealth of photographic knowledge and a heart of gold. See his commercial work at StuEstler.com, and/or connect with him via has blog at ThePhotoMentor.com.

The next Design4Kids workshop runs December 5-13, 2009. During that time we will post students artwork, theirs’ and their mentors impressions of the workshop, and photos of the action. If you have ideas for other material you’s like to see please leave a reply below. We’d like to make this an interactive experience. Thanks for reading.

Repost from the old site. More from Sexmaniacman, philosopher, legal scholar and libertine.

Sexmaniacman kept reading the news in the papers and on the Net, and could not believe his eyes anymore.

A US diplomat goes to Brazil and “molests” some “little girls” aged 14-17, which Sexmaniacman assumed is perfectly legal in Brazil. He comes back to the US and gets arrested on “pedophile” charges.

A gay man “molests” a 15-year-old gay “little boy” prostitute in the Philippines, comes home to the US, and is arrested and labeled “pedophile”. His arrest is uncovered when he goes to work for a local politician and his career is shot.

A local US mayor with long hair and a beard like a ZZ Top musician “molests” a 15-year-old “little girl”. He’s sentenced to prison and reviled by a town who hopes he stays away for a long time.

Roman Polanski gives a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude long ago, “molests” her, flees the phony prosecution for the sanity of France, where he remains to this day.

Mark Foley does little more than talk dirty to some “little boy” pages aged 16-17 (some of whom apparently enjoyed it), never touches any of them even once, and is labeled “pedophile”.

In the UK, a father takes pictures of his kids on a slide in the park and insane irate mothers order him to stop taking pictures, and when he refuses, they go to the cops. Obviously he’s a child molester. Whoops. He’s just a father taking pics of his own kids.

Sexmaniacman looks at all the “pedophiles” above and cheers them on, despite the hysteria, although he thinks Mark Foley was an idiot. Sexmaniacman figures that if these guys want to have sex with teenagers, that’s their business. Sexmaniacman realizes it’s illegal, and he hopes he won’t do it himself, but he can’t see it as a sin.

We’re in the midst of madness. Child Molester Mass Hysteria, to be precise.

Sexmaniacman did lots of “molesting”, and had lots of fun, back in the day. He was 18, 19 and 20, and the women and “little girls” never stopped coming. The females were all ages, but plenty were 14, 15, 16 and 17. He had sex with them all, and then he got up in the morning and did it some more. He’s proud of it to this very day. Nowadays, he’d be a “pedophile” for doing that. Back in the day, it was just good times.

Sexmaniacman had some “pedophile” friends. One was 28 years old, had a 16-yr-old “little girl” girlfriend, and “molested” her regularly.

Sexmaniacman cheered his friend on for this dastardly “pedophile” episode.

Sexmaniacman had another friend, Killerdude. He was 29 years old, and they were over at Killerdude’s Mom’s house getting high as kites and laughing their asses off. Killerdude’s little sister’s 15-yr-old girlfriend walked out of the bedroom and out the front door, waving goodbye. Killerdude confided to Sexmaniacman that he had just had sex with that “little girl” the other day.

His sister had approached Killerdude, said her friend wanted to have sex with him, and would he do it? He obviously obliged. What else could he do but “molest” her, right?

Sexmaniacman approved, and cheered his “pedophile” friend on.

Sexmaniacman gave up on the young girls when he turned 21. After that, they needed to be 18. In dubious cases, he even asked for ID.

Sexmaniacman read a pdf on the Net about Costa Rica. There are all kinds of American men down there having all sorts of sex fun with girls and women. In Costa Rica, a girl is a woman at age 13.

So you could say that Costa Rica is just a nation of sex perverts and child molesting sick fucks, and the whole country needs to be arrested. The males all need prison or castration or preferably both, and the females all need lifetime therapy for “getting molested”.

Sexmaniacman cheers on Costa Rica in their freedom of choice and thumbing their nose at Child Molester Mass Hysteria.

There are men down there, American men, the pdf said, older guys, and some are having sex with underage girls. It didn’t really give ages, but the implication was they were 14-17 years old. The guys were also doing it with women. They were just screwing anything, like any real man does if he gets a chance. The Costa Ricans wouldn’t do anything about it because they didn’t think it was a crime.

Sexmaniacman cheered them on, all of them, the American men doing this, the Costa Ricans for shrugging their shoulders, and the girls for having a good time. He didn’t think he would want to go to Costa Rica, or any foreign land, and do it himself, since teenage girls hardly interested him much anymore, but he didn’t care if another guy did.

The idiots in the US government, egged on by the Child Molester Mass Hysteria sweeping the land, passed a weird and retarded law. Only women and pussy-whipped married men would ever pass such a bitchy law, but pass it did.

It bizarrely extended the purview of US law overseas! If an American man of any age goes to a foreign land and has sex with a girl or boy who is 17 years and 11 months old or younger, he goes down on US child molesting laws!

Although at first it would seem that US law should never extend to crimes committed in foreign lands, which are properly the purview of those foreign lands, Sexmaniacman realized that this happened for a reason.

Actual Western pedophiles were going to Philippines, Thailand and other places and having sex with really young kids, because it was more or less legal over there, and the locals didn’t care. In order to put a stop to this, the US and Western Europe passed some laws to bust pedos when they went overseas to molest little kids.

Otherwise, Western pedos would run around the world seeking out 3rd World hellholes where no one cared about pedo stuff, and dollars shut up everyone. In order to put a stop to this, anti-pedo laws were passed in the West extending Western law to other nations.

Sexmaniacman thought long and hard about this, and finally decided that this was really weird and legally obtuse, but still unfortunately right and proper in the case of Westerners having sex with actual little kids, but not with teenagers.

One thing Sexmaniacman bemoaned with the coming of Child Molester Mass Hysteria was the extinction of statutory rape, a perfectly valid category, and its blurring with actual pedophilia with young kids. Child Molester Mass Hysteria came to America, and quickly, a 17-yr-old girl and a 9-yr-old girl were the same thing. They were both “children”, and those of all ages who had sex fun with them were all sick evil pedo fucks.

Even teenage boys were going down on these sissy, bitchy pedo laws for the crime of proving their manliness by sticking it to their teenage girlfriends. It was as if Iraq or Iran had come to the USA. A 13-yr-old boy and his girl have some sex fun, videotape it on cell phones and pass it around. The boy, but not the girl, goes down on charges of distributing child pornography. Just as the feminazi bitches would have it.

The anti-pedo laws, the blurring of teenage sex fun with sick child sex, the idiot wind attacking virile teenage boys and young men – they were all part of the war American women and girls were waging on real American men and boys. The bitches’ wormboy boyfriends, vaginized male allies and pussy-whipped husbands defending the chastity of teenage daughters – they were all behind this bullshit too.

Real American men and testosterone-charged American boys, the few that were left, should have stood up to this attack on manliness, but they were too scared of the pedo charge to speak up.

Millions of vaginized males and girlymen all over America stood up alongside their pants-wearing, hysterical girlfriends and wives, screeching defense of the fake honor of hymenless 17-yr-old girls all over our fair land.

There were some serious issues here. Sexmaniacman had to agree. What was to be done?

You couldn’t exactly legalize sex between adults and teens all the way down to age 14 or so. Otherwise you would have guys 40 and 50 walking down the street in broad daylight with their 15-yr-old girlfriends in tow. Sexmaniacman decided that that would not do.

How’s about we went back to the old days, Sexmaniacman suggested?

Two laws.

One called statutory rape , judiciously prosecuted against egregious cases of sex between men and girls and gay boys 14-17. Another, child molesting, for sex between adults and girls and boys under the age of 14.

Overseas, clearly there was a national interest in the West to stop pedos from heading to SE Asia to have sex with little kids. If the Thais won’t stop it, doggone it, we will. Sexmaniacman nodded his approval.

But Sexmaniacman could see no national interest in busting a Western man of any age for messing with a teenage girl in some sweltering foreign land. That was beyond absurd.

Child porn. Sexmaniacman pondered the very phrase, and lately did so frequently, and he didn’t even feel guilty. He loved to think about child porn, since it offered so many legal and philosophical quandaries.

Child porn! The phrase alone drove Americans to paroxysms of madness.

It actually posed a most difficult case, Sexmaniacman noted. To merely look at the stuff was a crime. Child porn was on the Net, and you could find it if you really, really tried. Could you stumble upon it? Highly dubious.

Sexmaniacman felt that in analogy, child porn seemed like the case of a book in a library. It sat on a special shelf called the Internet Shelf. The book was out there in plain view, but there were signs next to it saying DO NOT LOOK AT THIS BOOK! ILLEGAL! LOCAL ORDINANCE BLA BLA BLA! Now and again, some maniac thrillseeker would grab the book and sneak a glance at a few pages.

They would almost always be caught, and the police would haul them away. They would be bashed in the press and their communities as sickos for looking at a book in the library, and their careers and lives would be ruined.

Although this scenario seems absurd, Sexmaniacman realized that that’s pretty much how it is with child porn. It’s out there on the Net, but if you look at it, you’re going to prison. It has to be just about one of the only things on Earth, Sexmaniacman noted, that, if you look at it, you go to prison. Think about it, real hard. Anything else illegal to steal a glance at? Anyone?

Sexmaniacman pondered the weird legal and philosophical arguments for why looking at something , say, child porn, or anything, really, should be illegal:

Child porn is the portrayal of a crime.

Therefore, when you look at it, you violate the kid’s privacy. Ok, but the kid has no idea you looked at their pic. Sexmaniacman felt it was impossible to argue that by stealing a glance at their porn pic, you have psychically harmed this kid via telepathy.

Furthermore, Sexmaniacman pointed out that there are all sorts of videos out on the Net that depict crimes, sometimes homicides. Should those not be illegal too? After all, they portray a crime, no? Or should they be allowed because the victims are dead and can’t be harmed anymore?

When you look at child porn, you create a market for it, and that makes producers abuse more kids.

Well, ok, Sexmaniacman nodded. But once again, the criminal appears to be the person who made the child porn, not some guy looking at a picture.

What about trafficking? Sexmaniacman agreed this was a tough one. Here things get more dicey. Now you are actually making money off kids getting molested. He noted that this is getting quite close to actual harm, but there are still some problems.

Sexmaniacman offered up the scenario of the stuff being traded back and forth by pedos for free. No profit is involved, but Sexmaniacman figured we can’t really legalize it, can we? If we did, child porn trading sites would open up all over the web, and probably those who make the stuff would create more of it. Sexmaniacman felt that society had an interest in preventing that.

No matter that merely looking at the stuff constituted quite a bizarre sort of crime. Sexmaniacman offered up, “What if we acted logical and said it was legal to look at the stuff, but not to peddle it?” But then he noted that child porn sites would pop up all over the web, just for folks to “look at”. Society clearly has an interest in preventing that.

As far as the Internet goes, Sexmaniacman felt that probably the present state of affairs is the best. Child porn is quite illegal, hence it is extremely difficult to find, although with enough effort and hours of searching by savvy Net users, it’s surely out there. So child porn is rare and very hard to find. It’s almost impossible to stumble upon it by accident. This is probably the way it ought to be, he agreed.

Sexmaniacman pointed out that if we allowed folks to look at it, websites would sprout up all over, and hundreds of thousands or millions of people would be looking at the stuff, just like they are feasting on all the other shock stuff out there. And that didn’t seem right to Sexmaniacman.

Sexmaniacman bemoaned the fact that child porn, child molesting and statutory rape are subjects that are banned from polite conversation, and frankly all conversation, in today’s Idiot America. The only talk allowed about these subjects is to rant about how we want to castrate the sick fucks who “molest”. No problem ever got solved by not talking about it, or only talking stupid about it.

Just to piss people off and make them hate him more than they already did, Sexmaniacman deliberately brought up these subjects, especially in public, just to watch the freakouts and hard stares.

Despite the fact that hardly anyone was talking sensibly about this sick stuff but Sexmaniacman, he noted that these areas opened up a lot of interesting philosophical and legal dilemmas that do not have easy answers.

While living in Central America!

With 4 more day left in Honduras, so many things are flashing before our eyes. We are trying to take it all it and enjoy every moment like it is our last! So we can not leave you with the images from our “Things We Won’t Miss About Honduras” post. So along with the 2 previous “Things We Will Never Tire of…” (click to read that post) and “More things We Will Never Tire of…” (Click to read that post) we are adding even more things we love and will miss about our second home, Honduras.

PEOPLE WEARING AMERICAN T-SHIRTS!
They wear high school, college, professional sport teams, 5k runs and just some whacky tee-shirts that make sense in the States but not here…like the old dude wearing a “I love mullets” T-Shirt! The same with the baseball caps too!

From Juayua Food Fest!

GETTING OFF THE BUS IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE!
People getting off the bus in the middle of no where with no houses around, just disappearing into the woods on some tiny trail on the side of the highway. It is like they live in a secret Narnia land!

MACHETES!
Can’t help it, but we love them. They are an every day tool here: need something cut no matter how small, whip out the machete; your kids wants to cut open a coconut, give them a machete; or your grass needs a mow, do it with a machete!

From Perquin

From Perquin

LOS GALLOS!
Central Americans love the Rooster, not only for a food source, but for advertising! We had a love for the Rooster before we came to Honduras, and now we love them even more! We will miss roosters and chickens walking the streets, under your feet and crowing at any and all times of the day and night!

From 2009 – Feb. Dogs and Roosters

From Roosters for Kris!

HONDURAS Y FUTBOL!
It is just so awesome to see a whole country cheering all for the same thing! All and any differences are shoved aside in order for all their energy to go towards another National Win! Our energy will be with Honduras in their World Cup 2010 matches!

From On the Street After World Cup Qualifying Games

From On the Street After World Cup Qualifying Games

HONDURAN COWBOYS!
We love to see campesinos/vaqueros riding through small towns on their horses for a few reasons. 1) Everyone loves a cowboy, a real cowboy. 2) In Honduras the horse may be that cowboys only source of transportation. 3) Some cowboys teach their horses to prance. And 4) The saddles are wonderful, whether a fancy leather one, a worn old one or a wood one!

From The People of Honduras – A and T's Trip

From The People of Honduras – A and T's Trip

THE GREAT LIGHT SHOWS!
What we are talking about is the awesome lightening and thunder storms. We have never, especially West Coast Jim, heard thunder so loud and close before in our lives. And the rain that comes with it, it is so hard and thick it is like a cleansing blanket that covers the dry dust covered city.

From Austino and Turnito's Trip Start to End

OUR BOYS!
We mentioned children in general in one of our other posts about things we will never tire of here, but in particular we would never tire of spending time with our boys at the Casa Del Nino orphanage. Even if we do not feel good or are super tired, we still have a blast with them and come out happy. We will miss them so intensely that we KNOW we will be back.

From Jim's B-day 2009

MOVIES FOR $2.00 – $3.00
We often go to movies every weekend watching whatever movie they have…some silly teen movies and even a horror movie once and I do not even like them. But in a town where there is not a lot to do and the movie is cheap, why not. And it is the only place I can get popcorn here!

OVERWEIGHT WOMEN!
Most Honduran women have meat on their bones…and it is okay.

From Gurifuna Fest – Corozal Honduras

From Carnival – El Sauce – May 09

THE TWO ON A BIKE MADE FOR ONE RIDE
First someone sits on the seat, and another person sits kind of side saddle on the bar that goes in between the seat and the handlebars. Okay, that might be do-able, but the person sitting on the seat is peddling with their hands on the shoulders of the bar sitter. The bar sitter steers the bike. I have totally wanted to try this with Jim, but I know we would break our necks!

OLD GARIFUNA WOMEN
In their old style cotton long dresses and head scarf, I often think that if I sat and talked with them, that I would get Maya Angelou type wisdoms. Hmmmm…maybe this is where Maya gets all her great quotes!

From Gurifuna Fest – Corozal Honduras

From Gurifuna Fest – Corozal Honduras

OUR WONDERFUL SUPER HONDO UMBRELLAS
I am sure you have heard me mention our umbrellas before….but we do so love them. They are super large, double paneled and double spoked. Forget the fancy super fold down Totes variety…the Super Hondo Umbrella is the way to go. We even bought two new ones to bring home with us…Jim’s is a sassy yet masculine lime green and dark green striped number, my new one is…rrrooooar…tiger striped (I heard that animal print is still in…please say it is so).

From Brullys & boots

From Brullys & boots

From Brullys & boots

THE NICKNAMES THE BOYS AT CASA DEL NINO USE FOR EACH OTHER!
Mono (Monkey) for little Andres who loves to climb on things. Siete Mundos (Seven Worlds) for Marcos who has a big head. Timba (big belly) for little Isreal that has a belly that grows when he eats! Vaca (Cow) for Walter, because they say he is heavy (he actually looks like normal teen – not skinny like the rest of the kids). And El Tunclo (Loud person) is Jonathon’s nickname because he makes this ear piercing whistle noise! El Diablo for Julio because he’s a bit of a trouble maker. And Jefe (boss) for Jan Carlos because he used to make crank calls saying he was the boss of a local gang. Ay Ay Ay! Some are mean…but the kids do not mind for some reason. Check out the album below with all the nicknames AND the nicknames they have for us!

Los apodos de los niños en Casa Del Niño (Nicknames of the boys at Casa Del Nino)

FLOUR TORTILLAS
Honduras make the best flour tortillas hands down!

From 2009-02-12 The Art of Baleadas

OUR BIG BLACK RAIN BOOTS
Although not attractive at all, I feel like a kid ready to jump into puddles when I have them on. Actually that is what they are for as the streets flood regularly in the rainy season…so bring on the puddles, uh, mini rivers is more like it!

From Brullys & boots

SNORKLEING
Although I have been a diver for along time and Jim became one at the start of this year away…we have both come to love snorkeling. Maybe that is so because the water is so clear off the islands you do not need to dive down deep to see a lot of great underwater life!

From Panama – San Blas Islands – March 2009

From Panama – San Blas Islands – March 2009

$1.00 TAXI RIDES
Especially if we move to any city in the U.S. of A. So long cheap ride home after a few cervesas!

OLD SIRENS FROM THE BANANA REPUBLIC DAYS
La Ceiba was a company town, Vaccaro Brothers’ Standard Fruit Company from New Orleans started up the banana business here. Everyone that lived here worked for the fruit company. Sirens still go off to mark certain times of the day for current day citizens. But back in the day here was their daily schedule; sirens go off at 6am for a wake up call, then at 7pm for work, again at 11am for lunch, back to work at 12noon and the day is done at 4pm! There is something homey about the sirens. Here is a link to United Fruit Company which is the current fruit company doing business out of La Ceiba for a history of their company, which does involve the above mentioned Vaccar Brothers.

I am sure more things will pop up after a couple of weeks back in the states. We love Honduras and I am sure we will be back sooner or later, if not because we need a baleada fix, but for sure to see “Our Boys” again.
————————————————————————————————————————————————-

———>VER LA CANCION EN INGLES AQUI <——–

Como otra salvadoreña estoy súper entusiasmada de escribir sobre esta chica nacida en Estados Unidos de padres Salvadoreños que inmigraron a EU. Solo me puedo imaginar el orgullo que sus padres deben de sentir de su éxito que empieza.

 Esta chica si puede cantar!! La canción es cool y personalmente, sé que soy un poco predispuesta a mi gente salvadoreña, pero estoy orgullosa de su contribución a la imagen de la comunidad latina. Aunque ella no lo sepa pero su éxito en American Idol la hace ejemplar.

 Chequean esta chica! Canta súper bien, es bella y trae un buen imagen a todos los latinos!!

 Aquí les presento la canción debut de Allison Iraheta… El Viernes me Olvido Yo

Tuve que reponer el video original de El Viernes te Olvido Yo porque lo quitaron de circulacion.. no se porque.. pero almenos lo tienen no??

El siguiente email que recibi de nuestro consular general: es para todos los Salvadorenos que se encuentren en Australia:

Estimados Compatriotas y Amigos:

Nuestro país ha sido golpeado duramente por la tormenta tropical “Ida” y dado los graves impactos humanos y a la infraestructura ocasionada por las lluvias producidas por el paso de este huracán en El Salvador se decretó Estado de Emergencia Nacional. Ante esta difícil situación muchos compatriotas se han organizado para colaborar con las victimas de esta tragedia y en la etapa de reconstrucción y  para ello, a raíz de este noble interés se conformó un Comité de Emergencia de Salvadoreños en Melbourne integrado por diversas asociaciones y personas particulares que de manera desinteresada estarán trabajando de forma conjunta y coordinada con el Consulado General de El Salvador organizando diversas actividades.

En estos momentos más que nunca El Salvador necesita de toda la ayuda que se le pueda ofrecer y les hacemos un llamado a que apoyen desde donde se encuentren las actividades que se realicen a favor de los damnificados de Ida – El Salvador:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXLpoQTpWfE&feature=player_embedded#

Anticipadamente les agradecemos el apoyo que puedan prestar a todas estas gestiones en beneficio de las personas que están necesitando de nuestra ayuda en El Salvador.  Si desean colaborar en alguna de estas actividades pueden comunicarse al Consulado General o bien hacerlo participando en los eventos que se lleven acabo, haciendo circular este correo electrónico y también les informamos que se encuentra abierta una cuenta en la cual pueden hacer donativos en efectivo:

CUENTA BANCARIA

Consulado General de El Salvador

Ayuda a damnificados

Emergencia Huracán Ida

Banco Westpac

BSB 033165

Cuenta Número 254894
EVENTOS BENEFICOS

Domingo, 13 de Diciembre: gran evento y fiesta bailable benéfica organizada por el Comité de Emergencia en el Glengala Community Centre, Simmie Street y Glengala Road, Sunshine de la 1:00PM a las 10:00PM.  Con la participación de bandas musicales, mariachi, bailes folklóricos y otras animaciones.  Entrada $20.00 todos los fondos recaudados se canalizaran oficialmente a las victimas. Mayor información en el Consulado General (03)9686 9151

Sábado, 19 de diciembre: Fiesta Navideña en Elio’s Bar, 770 Nicholson Street, Fitzroy con Banda Fuego.  $35.00 ($10.00 serán donados a los trabajos de FUNDECOM en San Vicente). Mayor información: 0412 943 648

Domingo, 20 de diciembre: Partido de futbol 26A Wardale Road, Sprigvale South. 12PM en adelante 2 partidos amistosos.  Mayor información: 0403 008 227

Al apelar a su sentido solidario y generosidad en estas difíciles circunstancias les enviamos nuestros más atentos saludos y agradecimiento por la ayuda que puedan brindar.

Mauricio Mena

Cónsul General

Consulado General de El Salvador

Level 7, 20-22 Albert Road

South Melbourne 3205, VIC

Australia

TEL 61-3-96869151

FAX 61-3-96865994

mauriciomena@rree.gob.sv

Eric teaches a course on outdoor portrait lighting to Design4Kids students.

People photography means it’s personal. I am not interested in a smooth outside or in a recreated scene that is all about pose. When working with a person I try to capture some of his or her personality. For me photography is about contact. I press the shutter the moment we connect. Making me a happy man when connection, framing, pose and lighting come together.

I like computing as part of the photographic process. Photoshop and Lightroom are my favorite software programs, replacing the traditional darkroom. I am certainly no traditionalist in photography and have been working 100% digital most of my career.

Coming to Guatemala for the fourth time means a chance to connect to kids who are working extremely hard to give direction to their lives. A direction away from traditional poorness. I am extremely happy to contribute to that.

Oh yeah, my first memories are from the 60’s. I was alive when Woodstock happened, I remember Jimi Hendrix coming to Holland for a concert and the protests against the Vietnam war. I am married more than 20 years, have been a vegetarian and now a modest non veggie. Still believe in organic farming and hope that one day people get wise and stop polluting. I don’t wear flowers in my hair and don’t oppose to private ownership. I immensely admire the Dalai Lama but am not very fond of modern day superficial spirituality. I listen to music from King Crimson and Led Zeppelin to Greek Laïka and Schubert’s impromptus. I hope to see you one day in Atitlan.

In my Spanish class when trying to explain my photographic interests, we came up with the next phrase. That sums it all up for me.
“A pesar de la adversidad la fotografía muestra una luz de esperanza.
Si no eres capaz de mostrar esto, la fotografia no tiene sentido”

Editor’s note: Eric is returning for his third Design4Kids workshop. He’s contributed to every workshop since even before they began. We met each other and Nancy McGirr, the director of Fotokids, during a “Bridges to Understanding” workshop in Santiago in the Fall of 2007 that spawned the idea to come back and teach design studio skills. He’s an awesome guy with a huge heart, and a brilliant photographer. Visit his website to see what I mean. –Jeff

To make this blog more interesting tell us what you want to see. Comment below, tweet me, or leave a note on the Design4Kids Facebook fan page. Thanks for reading.

Posted on Tuesday, 11.17.09

Voice of America expands its Latin American audience

BY JUAN O. TAMAYO

jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Facing a group of presidents loudly critical of Washington, the U.S. government’s Voice of America broadcast is expanding its audience in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua, VOA officials say.

VOA’s Spanish-language division also will step up its use of Radio/TV Martí’s production facilities in Miami because of budget pressures on both broadcasters, the officials added.

The VOA effort to grow its Latin American audience comes as the Obama administration tries to counter the attacks on U.S. policies by several presidents in the region: Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.

“Our focus is on the Andean region because of the upheavals that are going on there,” said Spanish division director Alberto Mascaro. “Our second priority is Central America, especially Nicaragua and Honduras.”

The Andean region includes Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, a Chávez ally, was ousted in July and is seeking to return to power.

VOA — which only broadcasts internationally — transmits its reports via shortwave radio, local FM affiliates and satellite television as well as its Web pages. Funded by the government, it is required to observe standards of “accuracy, balance, comprehensiveness, and objectivity.”

“We need to contribute to informed dialogue” in the Andean region and Central America, Joan Mower, VOA public relations and development director, told El Nuevo Herald in a telephone interview from Washington.

Mower said VOA has 319 affiliated radio stations in the Andean region that broadcast its free programs — 199 in Bolivia, 77 in Colombia and seven each in Ecuador and Peru. It also has 95 television affiliates, with the largest number, 23, in Colombia. The Spanish division has 21 staffers and a 2009 budget of $3.1 million.

VOA’s ruling Board of Broadcasting Governors decided to increase the broadcaster’s reach into the Andes and Central America after three board members toured the two regions this summer, Mower said.

The broadcaster, looking to hire a marketing specialist to increase the number of affiliates, recently completed a major update of its Spanish-language website and last month gathered 17 Latin American freelancers in Washington for training, she added.

Starting next month, VOA will run training sessions for journalists in Bolivia, Argentina, Panama and Haiti on how to cover the swine flu epidemic. It’s also working to give affiliates easier Internet access to broadcast-quality video and audio materials.

VOA’s most recent surveys in the five Andean countries plus Cuba showed a total audience of 1.9 million adults — 1.4 million on radio, 500,000 on television and 200,000 on the Internet, Mower said.

Mascaro said the increased use of Radio/TV Martí’s Miami studios is the result of budget pressures on both broadcasters.

“In a time of tight budgets, we see a need to maximize resources, and the OCB has a great infrastructure,” said Mascaro, a Cuban American who was chief of staff at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), in charge of the Martí operations. He was hired by VOA in August.

Radio/TV Martí now has about 170 employees and a 2009 budget of $34.8 million, but its 2010 budget is under attack by congressional critics who argue that Cuban government jamming blocks virtually all TV Martí reception on the island.

In August, Radio/TV Martí began shedding 35 employees amid expectations that Congress would cut $4.2 million from its proposed 2010 budget. But a recent proposal in the Senate would cut $15 million, in effect killing TV Martí.

Mascaro’s hiring by VOA and the plans to use the Martí production facilities have fueled speculation that the Miami stations will eventually be folded into VOA, perhaps with the Spanish division moving from Washington to Miami.

Mascaro and Mower said they could not comment on the speculation, and noted that no staff moves to Miami are included in VOA’s proposed 2010 budget. “

Source: David Rothscum Reports

It is little known but well documented that major self proclaimed philanthropic organizations have been involved in covert sterilization, carried out through vaccination campaigns.
The method, as explained in the description of this patent on the invention works by causing the female body to make antibodies against it’s own pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, HCG. The body’s immune system is fooled into seeing one of it’s own hormones as dangerous and if done correctly will make antibodies against it for years. Antibodies against this important hormone have been proven to render women infertile, and even IVF therapy won’t allow these women to give birth to children. It’s difficult to cause the human body to make antibodies against one of it’s own hormones. The way this is done according to the patent earlier mentioned is by linking a part of the HCG hormone, called beta hCG, to a carrier, a toxic chemical the immune system will react to. The one specifically mentioned by the patent is the tetanus toxoid. The patent dating back to 1994 says only a single injection is required to sterilize someone, but references similar previous versions that require up to 4 injections. This newer version is far more effective, a single injection made enough antibodies in rats to keep them infertile for months, without any signs of the level of antibodies dropping.

Vaccines like these are used against people who aren’t aware about the fact that they are being sterilized, possibly for the rest of their lives. There have been countless examples mentioned in different media of women receiving tetanus vaccinations and suffering violent and repeated miscarriages as a result. The BBC documentary “The Human laboratory” published in 1995 interviewed a woman who was given a tetanus vaccine that ended up sterilizing her and other women in her community. The full transcript can be found here, I’ve posted an excerpt below:

NARRATOR: The latest scientific research promises the ultimate in easy-to-use and safe contraception. Contraceptive vaccines are being developed. In the future, one jab may prevent reproduction for years. It offers great hope, but how could it be used, and by whom? In the Philippines women believe they have been tested with a contraceptive vaccine, secretly.

SISTER MARY PILAR VERZOSA: I first got suspicious of the vaccination programme by the way it was being carried out. The government would announce one or two days a year which they called national immunisation days. They made announcements that only women of reproductive age, that is from 14 to 45-year-old, should come to the health centres for their tetanus immunisation shots.

NARRATOR: Records show two-thirds of tetanus deaths in the Philippines are amongst men, so why would they target the women? She was even more suspicious when she discovered the jabs were to be given five times in three years, when usually a tetanus is given much less frequently.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: That really put a lot of questions in our minds. The Department of Health would send their teams into the schools, they would just tell the teacher in charge that this was a government programme, it’s a service being given, it’s good for the girls.

NARRATOR: Then she started to hear disturbing reports from women when she was working in the slums.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: The women would say why is it that the tetanus shots that we’ve been getting have had effects on us? Our fertility cycles are all fouled up, some of the women among us have had bleedings and miscarriages, some have lost their babies at a very early stage. The symptoms could come soon after their tetanus vaccination – some the following day, others within a week’s time. For those who were pregnant on their first three or four months the miscarriage was really frightening.

NARRATOR: There are several research programmes around the world testing the contraceptive vaccine linked to tetanus which creates an immune response. The vaccine contains Beta HCG, part of a hormone necessary for pregnancy. This Beta HCG stimulates antibodies so that if a woman’s egg becomes fertilised her own natural HCG will be destroyed and pregnancy will not occur.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: I began to suspect that here in the Philippines that’s exactly what’s happening. They have laced the tetanus toxoid vials with the Beta HCG. The only way I could make sure that they hadn’t done that was to examine the vials, and how to get a hold of those vials was going to be a problem. Who was I to collect them from the health centres?

NARRATOR: Sister Mary was helped through the Catholic network. A friend who worked in a health clinic removed the vials unnoticed. The nuns packed them with ice and sent them to an independent laboratory.

MARY PILAR VERZOSA: Oh boy that was really something when this came out of my fax machine. Report on HCG concentration in vaccine vials. Three out of those four vials registered positive for HCG, so my suspicions are affirmed that here in our country they are not only giving plain tetanus toxoid vaccination to our women, they are also giving anti-fertility.

NARRATOR: Sister Mary was not alone. Many women and doctors reported similar findings. Dr. Vilma Gonzaga became suspicious when she had two miscarriages, both times after receiving the tetanus jab. She is now suing the government since tests showed she had very high levels of antibodies to Beta HCG.

DR VILMA GONZAGA [SUBTITLED]: Women should have been told that the injection would cause miscarriage and, in the end, infertility. The Department of Health should have asked beforehand, so that only those who didn’t want to have children had the injection. I really hope and pray to God that I will still have a baby and get a normal pregnancy. And I am still hoping that the Department of Health will find an antidote to the antibodies in my body.

NARRATOR: But the government has denied any contamination of the tetanus vials and their tests have led to different conclusions.

DR RAYMUNDO LO: We found insignificant traces of what the machine read us HCG and I interpreted this as plain background noise, in other words anything could have caused that signal which caused the machine to read it thus HCG, so I think the notion of tetanus toxoid being laced with HCG to cause abortions is plain hogwash.

NARRATOR: Medical practitioners in Manila do not accept this and have called for further investigations.

DR REYNALDO ECHAVEZ: We in the Philippine Medical Association doesn’t believe in what the government is saying. The test that were made in both big medical centres were all positive for HCG, Beta HCG, and they claim that this is insignificant. To me this could not be insignificant because it can produce anti-HCG. At the moment there is a presence of HCG in the vaccine. It can produce anti-HCG and this can now neutralise the HCG that a woman will produce during pregnancy and abortion will set in.

The fact that the women injected with the tetanus vaccines had anti-bodies against HCG proves the vaccine was responsible for their infertility. Similar disturbing reports have come in from many other regions in the world.

Matthew McDaniel is a human rights activist active for an ethnic minority living in Thailand, called the Akha. In the following video he is seen interviewing two women. This woman reports her fetus died during her eight month of pregnancy, after she had received the tetanus vaccine. Another interview by McDaniel shows an Akha woman who reports being forced to take the vaccine, because otherwise her child will not receive an ID card from the government.

A report from 1995 shows how the same activities were witnessed in Mexico. Women of childbearing age were recommended to be vaccinated against tetanus. They received multiple injections, while tetanus normally protects for at least ten years after just a single shot. This means that it could not have simply been a case of someone mistakenly giving these women the wrong vaccine. Similar reports come from other countries, including Nicaragua.

More information about the forced sterilization through vaccines that is going on in 3rd world countries can be found in this video presentation by David Ayoub, M.D. He mentions among other things that the numbers on tetanus infections are inflated.

A document dating back to 1987 reports the Population Council being involved in the development of these anti-fertility vaccines.
The Population Council has a history tied to forced population control and eugenics. Independent researcher Daniel Taylor has documented that Frank W. Notestein, one of the early directors of the Population Council, supported coercive population control.
The Population Council was founded by the Rockefeller family, a family with a long history of involvement in population control and eugenics. According to Edwin Black:

Eugenics would have been so much bizarre parlor talk had it not been for extensive financing by corporate philanthropies, specifically the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune. They were all in league with some of America’s most respected scientists from such prestigious universities as Stanford, Yale, Harvard and Princeton. These academicians espoused race theory and race science, and then faked and twisted data to serve eugenics’ racist aims.

The Rockefeller family was also among the first to support the activities of Margaret Sanger.

Another organization that is linked to the sterilizing vaccine now used in forced sterilization is Unicef. LifeSiteNews.com reported that:

A UNICEF campaign to vaccinate Nigeria’s youth against polio may have been a front for sterilizing the nation. Dr. Haruna Kaita, a pharmaceutical scientist and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, took samples of the vaccine to labs in India for analysis.

It goes on to say that:

This is not the first time UNICEF has been embroiled in a controversy over sterilizing agents in vaccines. LifeSiteNews.com reported that in 1995, the Catholic Women’s League of the Philippines won a court order halting a UNICEF anti-tetanus program because the vaccine had been laced with B-hCG, which when given in a vaccine permanently causes women to be unable to sustain a pregnancy. The Supreme Court of the Philippines found the surreptitious sterilization program had already vaccinated three million women, aged 12 to 45. B-hCG-laced vaccine was also found in at least four other developing countries.

One large multinational corporation that is currently funding Unicef is Procter and Gamble. They have chosen to fund Unicef’s vaccination campaign, to be more specific, the vaccination against tetanus of women in childbearing age.

The website of this Fortune 500 company says:

For every pack of Pampers nappies purchased during the campaign, Pampers UK donated the funding equivalent to one tetanus vaccination to UNICEF for distribution to the world’s most vulnerable mothers through UNICEF’s immunisation programmes.

It also claims that:

To protect the newborn, women should receive at least two doses of tetanus vaccine at least four weeks apart, with the last dose at least two weeks before delivery.

However, vaccines against Tetanus have existed since at least 1993 that could protect women and their children against this disease through just a single injection during the 3rd trimester.
It seems odd to me that these vaccines are not being used. First of all, I would assume that after the scandal in which Unicef was involved of women becoming infertile due to their vaccines they would take great care to make sure no women could ever unknowingly be sterilized again. Wouldn’t it reduce the chance of a woman receiving a large amount of HCG contaminated vaccines if she only had to be vaccinated against Tetanus once during her pregnancy?

It seems odd at first that Procter and Gamble decides to specifically fund the spread of this single vaccine that has been proven to sterilize women in the 3rd world. Furthermore, they’re funding the specific organization that was responsible for spreading tetanus vaccines with HCG, Unicef received a court order to stop it’s vaccination campaign because of this. However, a look at the history of some of it’s (past) shareholders might provide some explanation why this specific goal was chosen for the money raised.

Clarence Gamble, was a descendant of one of the original founders of this company. Femist author Angela Franks has the following to say about this man:

He wrote: “To date less [sic] than 2,000 insane and mentally defective North Carolinians have been sterilized under the existing law–a figure that represents less than one out of every 41 of the State’s estimated mentally unfit. This means that for every one man or woman who has been sterilized, there are 40 others who can continue to pour defective genes into the State’s blood stream to pollute and degrade future generation.” (Clarence J. Gamble, “Better Human Beings Tomorrow, ” Better Health, October 1947, 14, 15)

Eugenics-Watch.org has the following to say:

Clarence J. Gamble used part of the fortune made by Procter & Gamble products (including soap) to finance birth control projects for the poor in many parts of the world. He helped to push through legislation in 1937 legalizing birth control in Puerto Rico; the law specified that birth control material was to be distributed by trained eugenicists. He supported birth control distribution in Appalachia and in rural Japan. A leader in Margaret Sanger’s Birth Control Federation, he suggested that they set up a “Negro Project,” using black clergy and physicians to promote birth control. He founded the Pathfinder Fund, to promote population control around the world.

And BlackGenocide.org, a website about the so called “Negro Project” mentions:

Prior to 1939, Sanger’s “outreach to the black community was largely limited to her Harlem clinic and speaking at black churches.” Her vision for “the reproductive practices of black Americans” expanded after the January 1939 merger of the Clinical Research Bureau and the American Birth Control League to form the Birth Control Federation of America. She selected Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, of the soap-manufacturing company Procter and Gamble, to be the BCFA regional director of the South.
Gamble wrote a memorandum in November 1939 entitled “Suggestions for the Negro Project,” in which he recognized that “black leaders might regard birth control as an extermination plot.” He suggested black leaders to be placed in positions where it would appear they were in charge.

Kevin Begos writes:

Gamble was sure that eugenic sterilization was a good idea, but after World War II few states were willing to consider the kind of aggressive program that he wanted. Gamble contributed time, money and a keen public-relations sense to the Human Betterment League. He also paid for most of the sterilizations in Orange County during one year, and he paid for the research that went into the book Sterilization in North Carolina, written by researcher Moya Woodside.

(…)

Though he considered himself a progressive believer in birth control, Gamble had an especially nasty edge, Schoen said.

He composed “poems” that extolled sterilization for “morons.” In one, a young woman and man are led toward sterilization, and Gamble concludes that “the North Carolina MORONS lived happily ever after.”

(…)

There are signs that some in North Carolina were horrified by Gamble. He suggested that the N.C. Mental Hygiene Society use his poem to promote the sterilization campaign; when its leaders firmly declined, Gamble was puzzled.

“Your unfavorable criticism of the story of the two moron families interested me,” Gamble wrote in a January 1947 letter. “It will be helpful if you can tell me the reasons behind this.”

But at least in the beginning, the Winston-Salem elite accepted Gamble into the fold, and genteel manners may have helped smooth any rough edges.

Dr. Gamble spoke informally, reviewing the survey of students in Winston-Salem schools made by psychiatrists working under the supervision of Dr. A.M. Jordan, financed by Mr. James G. Hanes.
Dr. Jordan’s findings are arresting and intensely interesting. As presented by Dr. Gamble, with a wealth of collateral comment, they were received with keen concern and an animated discussion followed.
At the adjournment, Miss Wulkop served tea to those present.
— Human Betterment League minutes, 1948

Gamble’s support of Population Control and forced sterilization did not keep him from having five children himself. These children still serve on the board of the Pathfinder Fund, an organization founded by Gamble for Population Control. The website of the Pathfinder Fund mentions the following descendants of Clarence Gamble as directors, some of them also appear to be connected to Planned Parenthood.

Julia G. Kahrl, PhD
Secretary

Julia G. Kahrl, Ph.D., board Secretary, a daughter of Pathfinder’s founder, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, is a former free-lance photographer, psychotherapist, and educator. She is currently involved with land conservation efforts in Maine. Dr. Kahrl has served on the board of the Kairos Foundation, La Leche League International, and a variety of other organizations. She teaches courses in human development and is the author of articles that have appeared in publications related to her interests. Dr. Kahrl has observed family planning programs in the Far East, Africa, and South America.

 READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE HERE

MEXIDATA.INFO, 11/23/09

The everyday realities of Mexico’s drug war are grisly and overwhelming. On a daily basis, both Mexican media outlets and U.S. news sources report the latest mass murders that have resulted from turf wars between Mexican cartels and internal organizational discord.

Security in Mexico is perceived as mostly an internal problem. But Mexico is not an isolated country, and the ongoing turmoil in neighboring countries is having both a direct and indirect impact on Mexico’s security situation.

Read More…

I wrote this to my friend Seth in response to an email he sent weeks and weeks ago – cleaning out the ole’ inbox, and that sort of jazz.  Anyway, what it comes down to is that there’s a bit in the middle that I think people ought read.  Sounds pretty arrogant, but hey, wouldn’t be me without it.

Portrait of Two Girls by Fotokids student, David Ixbalán

Today’s feature is an award winning photograph by David Ixbalán. David is 17 years old and he wants to be a graphic designer. A student in the Fotokids after-school program he has been nurturing this dream for many years. And, he’s making great progress. In his second year of a professional training high school in Guatemala city David would like to return to his rural village on the shores of beautiful Lake Atitlan to pursue his profession after he graduates.

That’s where we come in. Fotokids is establishing a design studio on the shores of Lake Atitlan to serve the businesses and non-profits operating there. The Design4Kids project was founded to help by providing twice a year workshops sharing the collective wisdom of experienced creative professionals with talented young teens.

One of the logo designs selected for presentation to the client.

To make this blog more interesting for you the reader please let me know what you want to see–more student features, volunteer profiles, views of life on Lake Atitlan–what interests you?

Leave comments and suggestions in the reply section below. You can also tweet me, or leave a note on the Design4Kids Facebook fan page. Thanks for reading.