UIC Lecture on US-Latin American relations

Extra credit opportunity:

A conversation with Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro: A Look Into U.S. and
Latin American Foreign Relations

February 5, 2009
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Latino Cultural Center
Lecture Center B2

For more information: 312-996-3095 or lcc@uic.edu

Ambassador Charles Shapiro will be discussing challenges in Latin America
with a focus on the economy and trade.

Ambassador Shapiro is leading the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Task Force for the Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Colombia, and Panama.
He joined the Department of State in 1977. In addition to his posting as
Ambassador to Venezuela, he has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at
the U.S. embassies in Santiago, Chile and Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago.

Territory Granted by God

This article presents an interesting perspective on peace in the Middle East. While I do not agree that the conflict is religious, the follow statement is supported by my own research.

"Across the world, people believe that devotion to sacred or core values that incorporate moral beliefs — like the welfare of family and country, or commitment to religion and honor — are, or ought to be, absolute and inviolable. Our studies, carried out with the support of the National Science Foundation and the Defense Department, suggest that people will reject material compensation for dropping their commitment to sacred values and will defend those values regardless of the costs."

So when a good transcends typical values it defies rational calculations and compensation.

"Indeed, across the political spectrum, almost everyone we surveyed rejected the initial solutions we offered — ideas that are accepted as common sense among most Westerners, like simply trading land for peace or accepting shared sovereignty over Jerusalem. Why the opposition to trade-offs for peace?"

"This strongly implies that using the standard approaches of “business-like negotiations” favored by Western diplomats will only backfire."

So what is the path to peace? Its pretty simple actually. Simply apologize.

"Absolutists who violently rejected offers of money or peace for sacred land were considerably more inclined to accept deals that involved their enemies making symbolic but difficult gestures. For example, Palestinian hard-liners were more willing to consider recognizing the right of Israel to exist if the Israelis simply offered an official apology for Palestinian suffering in the 1948 war. Similarly, Israeli respondents said they could live with a partition of Jerusalem and borders very close to those that existed before the 1967 war if Hamas and the other major Palestinian groups explicitly recognized Israel’s right to exist."

Territorial Dispute between India and Pakistan

This article outlines the Sir Creek territorial dispute that has flared up between India and Pakistan.
"The narrow, 60-mile-long estuary has been a bone of contention between the two nations for decades. But the dispute has been given new urgency -- and stoked new controversy -- because it featured in the buildup to the Mumbai terrorist attacks that left 171 people dead in late November. It was in the Sir Creek area where the 10 hijackers who set sail from Karachi, Pakistan, hijacked an Indian fishing boat that provided them with the cover to reach Mumbai undetected."

Battlestar

I heard a bit of snickering when I said I watch Battlestar Galactica. I snickered too when I first heard about it and avoided the show until three months ago. Yes, I do feel like a huge dork admitting I watch this show, but its really good and probably the best study of politics and warfare on TV in recent memory. Variety backs me up here.

USC and Sanchez

Great article on Mark Sanchez of USC and his role in the Latino community.

Slumdog

Here is an interesting article that calls Slumdog Millionaire the first movie of the Obama era. I would not go so far as to say that, but it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. As the article points out, its shows the growing city of Mumbai in all its positive and negative lights. As global cities expand, there is the good: the tech industry, expanding business, but also the bad, the pimps, gangsters, and mafia of old preying on the unsuspecting poor. It is true though that Slumdog is an example of diversity in movies. The book was changed to make the main character a Muslim which adds a few interesting wrinkles to the portrayal of modern Indian life. It also does not utilize a common white face to sanitize the film. It is all around a great movie and something I encourage everyone who wants to have a global perspective to see and enjoy.

The first striking thing about this British-made film is its even-handed, generous spirit of universality. It is set in India and it's about Indians. There is no hint of Merchant Ivory decorum, the predicaments of rich westerners far from home, nor any notion that Boyle and his team were engaged in a David Lean-style imperial adventure in what was once one of the pink regions on the globe. Refreshingly, there is also no white character to "explain" the story (which needs no explanation) to western audiences.

Gaza, Gaza, Gaza

Here is an interesting NYTimes article on the war in Gaza and the tricks of urban combat. This conflict is hard to cover since both sides are using the media to cover up their activities. While I don’t support war at all, this article at least explains why Israel would attack civilian neighborhoods and schools.
“Hamas, with training from Iran and Hezbollah, has used the last two years to turn Gaza into a deadly maze of tunnels, booby traps and sophisticated roadside bombs. Weapons are hidden in mosques, schoolyards and civilian houses, and the leadership’s war room is a bunker beneath Gaza’s largest hospital, Israeli intelligence officials say.”

Military Weary of Obama

A good percentage of those who have served in the military are pessimistic about Obama as President. They are wary of having a leader who has never served in the military, but consider that only 10 percent of the entire American population has served in the first place, and a good percetage of that number includes WWII/Korea/Vietnam vets who were drafted.