Podcasts about Central America

We all remember the keywords of the scandal known as Iran-Contra: Oliver North, Fawn Hall, potted plant, Nicaragua, Sandinista, “I don't recall.” The Reagan Administration was covering SOMETHING up, but what were they up to, exactly? Jack Bryan, creator of the riveting new podcast “Lawyers, Guns, and Money,” talks to Greg Olear about Iran-Contra, the Vietnam War, the mythologizing of JFK, Nicaraguan politics of the 1980s, the CIA, what Donald Trump is like in person, and more. Plus: a little Cole Porter.Follow Jack:https://twitter.com/jackabryanListen to the podcast - Lawyers, Guns, and Money:https://t.co/x5jJ5IVsdd Thanks HelloFresh! Go to HelloFresh.com/prevailfree and use code prevailfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. Subscribe to the PREVAIL newsletter:https://gregolear.substack.com/aboutWould you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short. *

God's love knows no borders, boundaries, or limitations. It reaches every person, regardless of origin or language. When we strive to follow Jesus's greatest commandment, “Love one another,” we can begin to break down the walls that often divide us. This week, we speak to pastor Eric Costanzo and one of his church members, Yana Sherdis, who have dedicated their lives to serving and supporting refugees and international families through their church's powerful outreach program. We'll also speak with the director of a new docuseries, ACROSS, Julie Mirlicourtois who shares the inspiring faith of Christian asylum seekers from Central America.    Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Anthony Ray Hinton Upcoming interview: Father James Martin www.ReadRelief.com John 13:34 NIV   Eric Costanzo  Yana Sherdis South Tulsa Baptist Church English second language program ESL classes www.southtulsa.org   Julie Mirlicourtois ACROSS Oprah Winfrey Show CBS News  Maybe God  St. Luke's United Methodist Interview Quotes: “The biggest thing that made a difference was when folks who were from our church and had been there for a while really started to interact with their refugee and immigrant neighbors and they realized who they were, and they saw them, just who they truly are.” - Eric Costanzo  “When anyone is looking for a safe place or a refuge—it could be because of physical circumstances or emotional circumstances or legitimate issues of safety or spiritual issues—the church can be that kind of safe harbor, just like a ship comes to the harbor so that it might find safe passage.” - Eric Costanzo  “I think I had this gift of faith all along. I think I could feel God so clearly, I just had no clue who He was.” - Julie Mirlicourtois  “It kind of felt like I had been talking to this person on the other side of a closed door my whole life, wondering if He was real or just part of my imagination, and then He revealed Himself to me in so many undeniable ways.” - Julie Mirlicourtois  “I had believed for so long these lies, lies I'd been told about Christians, about Jesus, and I really became determined to cut through the noise of culture and politics and reach people in those secular audiences where I once was.” - Julie Mirlicourtois  “Following the lives of these asylum seekers for the past two and a half, three years, I've never understood more of what the Bible tells us when it says ‘Blessed are the poor.' Their faith has enriched and enhanced my faith and countless other people so much. It's taught me to shift my perspective that the hardships are there for a reason. I can't just make my life and my kids' lives in this comfortable place. I have to really thank God for the good and the bad and keep growing through it.” - Julie Mirlicourtois  ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Episodes:     https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7  Bonus Podcasts:     https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw  Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer:  https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C  Peace for Everyday Life:     https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj  Peace in Uncertain Times:     https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u  What's Good?     https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj  Enneagram:     https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website

Camping food is one of my favorites. I love a poorly roasted hot dog from a stick over the fire. Usually, the middle is not even warm and the ends are black.  Served over a cold bun and dressed in lukewarm Hormel chili with a little shredded cheddar cheese on top, maybe a few slivers of onion, and dinner is served.  I'm really not mocking it and am serious when I say I love that meal; however, I have also come to appreciate that camping food is also a great opportunity for switching things up a bit and trying out some new recipes. A little creative planning and some ingredient preparation can lead to some phenomenal camp meals. Some of the best fish dinners I have experienced were just foil-wrapped catch-of-the-day trout but paired with the simple addition of fresh rosemary or tarragon. The same goes for this pineapple and bear camp burger which is also very easy to make while camping. The sauce can be prepared at home, so there is no need to take mayonnaise, vinegar, and chipotle peppers on the camping trip. The patties could also be mixed, formed, and packed grill-ready in Ziploc bags and the pineapple comes conveniently canned.  The rest of the ingredients are easy to pack and quickly cook over the grill. A little imagination and preparation groundwork at home allows for a gourmet, restaurant-quality burger under the stars. Enjoy! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Lindsey Bartosh Rate this Podcast  Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends  About Pineapples Pineapples have played a surprising role in history as not only a food, but as a symbol. After hearing this podcast, you may start to notice pineapple symbolism in weird and curious places.  Let's get into it.  To start off, let's discuss what a pineapple actually is… I mean, we all know what one looks like, but where and how do they grow? Pineapples are in the bromeliad family and grow as a perennial small shrub with tough agave-like leaves, growing about 4 feet tall. Individual scarlet flowers, about 200 on an average plant, form small fruits, which fuse together to form a multiple fruit. That's right, every pineapple you see is a collection of 200 individual fruits! Other examples of multiple fruits are figs, breadfruit, and mulberries. Though the main fruit is grown on a short, thick stem, suckers may grow, causing fruit to grow off the sides of the plant.  The wild pineapple originated not in Hawaii, but in Southern Brazil, near the current border with Paraguay. There, the Tupi peoples enjoyed the fruit, calling it nanas, or ‘excellent fruit'. The Tupi also used the pineapple to ferment a type of wine, create medicines, and even craft poison arrows.  Tupi and Carib peoples traded and raided, eventually spreading the fruit to the Amazon delta, up through Central America and into the Caribbean.   When our favourite guy, Christopher Colombus landed on current-day Guadeloupe in 1493 on his second voyage, he encountered pineapples growing and being eaten by the inhabitants of the island. He took some pineapples with him across the ocean after enslaving and brutalizing the natives there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lifestyle Editor Seán Keenan joins the podcast from Central America, on location as he researches his next feature story for International Living magazine.His first stop is Nicaragua, once a high-profile expat destination, now slightly under the radar. Times change, fashions change, but Seán's travels in this fascinating country bring him from the delightful Spanish Colonial streets and plazas of lakeside Granada to the upscale opulence of the region's premier gated community—Rancho Santana. It's a journey of discovery and contrast as podcast host, Jim Santos, speaks to roving editor, Seán Keenan in this week's episode.If you're enjoying the podcast, we would really appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform: https://lovethepodcast.com/internationalliving.Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 29, 2023 is: detritus • dih-TRYE-tus • noun Detritus refers to debris—that is, the pieces that remain when something breaks, falls apart, or is destroyed. // On her trip to Central America, she was fascinated by how much people have learned from the detritus of ancient civilizations. See the entry > Examples: “[Artist, Fiona] Connor's one-to-one scale version of the sidewalk squares required a single concrete pour in her studio before she got to work painstakingly recreating the cracks, fissures, graffiti, blackened chewing gum debris, stamps and metal plates common to L.A. sidewalks. She is chronicling the detritus of urban life, the echoes of the city's past evident in the patches, and nature's attempt at reclamation all visible in the humble squares of concrete and asphalt.” — Marissa Gluck, The Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2023 Did you know? If you use detritus in speech, remember to stress the second syllable, as you do in the words arthritis and bronchitis. Once you've mastered its meaning and pronunciation, you'll find that detritus is a term—originally a geology term referring to loose material, such as broken rock fragments, resulting from disintegration—that can be applied in many situations. After the first hard freeze of fall, gardens are littered with the detritus of summer's plants and produce: stalks, leaves, vines, and maybe even an abandoned hand trowel. As a flood-swollen river retreats to its banks, it leaves detritus—debris gathered by the raging waters—in its wake. The detritus of civilization may include junkyards and abandoned buildings, while mental detritus may include all kinds of useless trivia. (We're not saying it qualifies as such, but detritus comes from the Latin root deterere, meaning “to wear away, impair.”)

Our featured guest on this episode is none other than Michael Cobb. After achieving remarkable success in the computer industry, he embarked on a new adventure in 1996, founding ECI Development. This visionary residential resort development company has left its mark across diverse landscapes. ECI Development is a true advocate for harmonious living, crafting tropical neighborhoods that seamlessly blend homes, condominiums, golf courses, and hotels within beachside, agricultural, and mountain settings.  Today, Michael shares with us international moves and tells us about the new low-EMF, low-toxin home community he is building and how restrictions can help to ensure the neighborhood can remain as safe as possible in perpetuity.    In this episode, you will hear:  How Michael made the leap from the computer industry to international development and funding. North American perspectives on South America - ideas and misperceptions.  Taking advice on travel safety from those who have been and lived there.  The best investment you will ever make is a plane ticket to the country you're thinking of moving to.    Living in a community of the same values and priorities.  How COVID opened doors that were never previously available.  The Consumer Resource Guide that you need when considering an overseas move.    After success in the computer industry, Michael formed ECI Development in 1996. This residential resort development company builds communities in Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, and Portugal. Tropical neighborhoods include homes, condominiums, golf courses, and hotels located in beach, agricultural, and mountain settings. Michael served on the President's Advisory Group for the National Association of Realtors (2016), the NAR Board of Directors (2017), sat on the Global Business and Alliance Committee for the NAR (2018). From 2002 through 2016, Mike, and his family made their home in Central America.   Connect with Michael Cobb: Website: https://ecidevelopment.com/  ECI Development - https://www.facebook.com/ECIdevelopment Gran Pacifica - https://www.facebook.com/GranPacifica Best Western - https://www.facebook.com/BestWesternSanPedro ECI Travel - https://www.instagram.com/ecitravelguide/ ECI Communities - https://www.instagram.com/ecicommunities/ Gran Pacifica - https://www.instagram.com/granpacifica/ Best Western - https://www.instagram.com/bestwesternsanpedro/ ECI LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/eci-development-ltd./ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/ECIDevelopmentLTD   Check Out the ECI Development Resource Guide Here: https://info.ecidevelopment.com/consumer-resource-guide/HealthyTech      Connect with R Blank and Stephanie Warner:  For more Healthier Tech Podcast episodes, and to download our Healthier Tech Quick Start Guide, visit https://HealthierTech.co and follow https://instagram.com/healthiertech Additional Links: Shield Your Body website: https://ShieldYourBody.com Shield Your Body Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/shieldyourbody Host R Blank on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rblank9/ Shield Your Body on Instagram: https://instagram.com/shieldyourbody

I'm thrilled to have Mach Millett, the Chief Innovation Officer and Alternative Investment Practice Leader at Lockton Financial Services, join us on The Innovation Storytellers Show. Mach's impressive background spans over a decade at Marsh and a legal career at Skadden Arps, equipping him with a unique perspective on managing risks in innovation. In this episode, we're not just talking about insurance in the traditional sense. We're delving into how to protect the future - the innovations and potential within our organizations. Mach's role at Lockton involves creating new insurance products for unaddressed risk exposures and serving as a technical expert in various complex fields. His experience crafting insurance contracts and resolving disputes gives him a unique vantage point on the intersection of innovation, law, and insurance. Our conversation travels from Central America to the intricacies of the legal profession and deep into the insurance world. We discuss the importance of involving legal, compliance, and PR teams from the onset of an innovation project, forming an 'Innovation Council' to ensure all potential issues are addressed early. Mach shares his experiences with the challenges and triumphs of navigating innovation's legal and compliance landscapes, providing insights into how to foresee and manage the unforeseen. This episode explores the support systems underpinning innovation. We delve into the importance of seeing around corners, anticipating risks, and extending a hand across different silos to foster successful innovation. Mach's journey from a legal expert to an innovation leader at Lockton illustrates the multifaceted nature of protecting and nurturing the next big thing.

With about half of the annual U.S. rice crop exported every year, maintaining & expanding overseas markets and finding new ones is a critical function for USA Rice. Reverse trade missions are an important tool for our export experts. One such expert, Ashia Grigsby, joins us to talk about a recently completed mission she led through the mid-South with several Central American importers, including El Salvador's Teresa Elizabeth Zelaya de Saade and Guatemala's Gerardo Pallais Montenegro both of whom sat down with Michael. With special guests: Asiha Grigsby, Director of International Promotion - Western Hemisphere, USA Rice, Teresa Elizabeth Zelaya de Saade, CEO Suministros e Inversiones S.A. de C.V, and Gerardo Pallais Montenegro, Supplies and Logistics Manager, Central de Alimentos Hosted by: Michael Klein and Lesley Dixon

Hurricanes in the Caribbean, By Christian Jesús Cancio Solis From the Pablo Elvio Pérez Cabrera School of Cuba, "Every year, between the months of June and November , it is common to face situations like this, especially in our geographical area: Central America and the insular Caribbean. These are the so-called tropical cyclones, tropical storms or hurricanes. Hurricanes begin as tropical depressions in the ocean when the water temperature exceeds 26 degrees Celsius, since from this temperature value the sea water evaporates and contributes a significant amount of humidity to that depression, which strengthens until a hurricane is formed." #mars, #universe, #science, #space, #nasa, #galaxy, #science, #space, #mars, #future, #technology, #culture, #chemistry, #physics, #mathematics, #dimension, #theory , #movie, #humor, #intelligence, #string theory, #drone collision, #environment, #ecology, #elements, #globalwarming, #covid, #pandemic, #robot, #artificialintelligence #mathematics #mathematics # logic #calculus #polynomials #division

Good to be back Stateside from Central America investigations, here's a quick update on projects. Some projects I became aware of on the home front and more...

Gene and cohost Tim Swartz present a thought-provoking talk with UFO historian and author Chris Aubeck, who reveals secrets about the origins of the terms flying saucer and ancient artifacts. Only these secrets were always in plain sight according to two of his books, “Alien Artifacts: The forgotten story of how we came to believe in visitors from the stars” and “Saucers: Tracing the Origins of Disc-Shaped UFOs.” Aubeck's interest in the historical and sociological aspects of unexplained aerial phenomena began at an early age. A student of language and folklore, he has helped compile the largest collection of pre-1947 UFO cases in the world. He has spoken on his research in many articles and on public radio. In 2008 he was awarded a prize for his contributions to the field by the Spanish organization Fundación Anomalía. In 2003 Chris Aubeck co-founded a remarkable collaborative network of librarians, students and scholars of paranormal history on the Internet. This group, known as the Magonia Project, extends from North and Central America to Russia and Germany.

This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Laura Killingbeck. Since age 18, Laura has traveled tens of thousands of miles by bike, foot, thumb, and boat; listening to peoples' stories, moving through landscapes, and seeking to understand patterns of human nature. In between journeys, she lived and worked for 13 years in experimental communities in the U.S. and Central America. For most of that time she lived in tiny houses, usually off-grid or low-grid, without WiFi or running water. She now works as a writer and visual storyteller. She often writes while hiking or biking long distances around the world. We zoom in on her recent 5,000 plus mile journey riding to the start of the tour divide in NM and riding north up into Canada. But this conversation is about life, tips on the bike, funny stories and Laura who is an amazing person and wonderful soul. Laura is the creator of Laura's Stories https://www.laurasstories.live , a unique, thoughtful newsletter to spark your spirit of adventure. You can also follow her adventures on Instagram or Facebook @laurakillingbeck. Thanks for listening! Find all our episodes at dayfirepodcast.com This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Get ready for a spicy and tantalizing journey as we dive deep into the taco universe with Alexander Bilzerian, the mastermind behind the epic 'Trying Every Taco Spot in LA' series, on the latest episode of Ride Boundless!

Produced in partnership with Eckard Enterprises - Learn how to build and protect your wealth through an alternative investment in minerals. Also sponsored by PearsonRavitz - helping physicians protect their most valuable assets.  In this conversation with Dr. Mark McDonald, the focus is on the changing dynamics of gender roles and the impact of the pandemic on children. Dr. McDonald discusses the decline in traditional masculinity, the challenges faced by men and women in today's society, and the need for action to reverse these trends. About Dr. Mark McDonald:  Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dr. Mark McDonald graduated from UC Berkeley before attending medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Trained in both adult and child and adolescent psychiatry at UCLA, he now works primarily with children in private practice in west Los Angeles. Dr. McDonald has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and Central America. He was the first to diagnose and popularize the phenomenon of mass delusional psychosis, and his opinions on topics such as the pandemic of fear and the need to re- open America's schools have been widely published in local and national news, including the Wall Street Journal and The Federalist. He has been interviewed on platforms ranging from radio shows (Dennis Prager's Ultimate Issues Hour) to mainstream news outlets (Tucker Carlson Tonight). He is co-host of the podcast Informed Dissent and the author of United States of Fear and Freedom From Fear. Links to his writings on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack can be found at the www.dissidentmd.com. Additional links: www.dissidentmd.com https://instagram.com/dissidentmd https://www.facebook.com/markmcdonaldmd https://x.com/MMcDonaldMD https://markmcdonaldmd.substack.com Looking for something specific? Here you go! 00:02:12 Communal living leads to filth. 00:09:29 Mentorship shapes career path. 00:14:07 Move away from relying on pharmaceuticals. 00:19:38. Action is key for change. 00:22:12 Embrace difficult challenges for growth. 00:32:31 Reversing societal changes is challenging. 00:37:09 Embrace traditional masculinity values. 00:39:45. Masculinity and societal redress. 00:45:29. Medical establishment profits from transgender surgeries. 00:54:30 Attack on masculinity destroys femininity. 01:00:18 Transgenderism threatens the extinction of humanity. 01:02:29 Moral clarity is essential. 01:07:40 Objective moral values are essential. 01:13:43 Pandemic of courage is needed. 01:18:29 Newsletter writing is emotionally impactful. Our Advice! Everything in this podcast is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute the practice of medicine and we are not providing medical advice. No Physician-patient relationship is formed and anything discussed in this podcast does not represent the views of our employers.  The Fine Print! All opinions expressed by the hosts or  guests in this episode are solely their opinion and are not to be used as specific medical advice.  The hosts,  May and Tim Hindmarsh MD, BS Free MD LLC, or any affiliates thereof are not under any obligation to update or correct any information provided in this episode. The guest's statements and opinions are subject to change without notice. Thanks for joining us! You are the reason we are here.  If you have questions, reach out to us at doc@bsfreemd.com or find Tim and I on Facebook and IG. Please check out our every growing website as well at  bsfreemd.com (no www)  GET SOCIAL WITH US! www.withkoji.com/@bsfreemd

In the early days of facebook Mark Zuckerburg would wander into the company bathrooms and if he noticed someone sitting down in the stalls he would pop his head over and try to talk to them about their projects. Or if he was taking a poop he would host an emergency meeting and he would tell them to come over and pop their head over the stall to talk it out. Everyone just went along with it because it was either YOLO SILICON VALLEY LMAO or they were just too intimidated. That all stopped when Michael Moritz, legendary silicon valley investor, and one of Facebook biggest early investors and shareholders, was at the campus doing research for leading a 2nd round of funding. He was doing diligence all day and at one point had to poop and that's when Zuckerburg popped his head over with a smile to ask how's the diligence coming along. Michael Moritz, not one to mince words, was apoplectic. 'GET THE FUCK OUT HERE YOU IDiOT LIZARD LOOKING FUCKER.' Mark Zuckerburg nervously tried to laugh it off and persisted, because he really loved intimate poop conversations 'Aw c'mon Michael, it's silicon valley'. Zuckerburg finally withdrew when Moritz flung a poop at him. 30 minutes later, Mark was in a very import meeting when Moritz walked into the conference room. 'Everyone except Mark Zuckerburg, OUT'. As intimidated as they were of Zuckerburg, at the time Moritz was the bigger deal, and they all scurried out of the room. Zuckerburg, however, is not one to be intimated by anyone. Not the Winkewoz twins, not Eduardo Savarn, not Peter Thiel, and not one of his biggest shareholder Michael Moritz. Zuckerburg passionately defended his practice, but Michael Moritz was having none of that. Moritz told him that it was a ticking PR and HR catastrophe, and threatened to pull out of leading the 2nd round of funding if Mark continued, which would have been a calamity for the company. Zuckerburg pretended to arbitrate 'Ok fine, but you need to give me a good reason'. Moritz was flabberghasted at this response. Was this a serious question? He answered with the most obvious answer 'Because it's not FUCKING NORMAL'. Unknown to Moritz, Zuckerburg had guessed a conversation like this would happen as soon as he was kicked out of the toilet stall, and began formulating a strategy to counter Moritz demands. Zuckerburg knew that Moritz would have all the leverage, but Zuckerburg was a master strategist. Zuckerburg went for the pounce. 'Okay, I'll lets write out an agreement, in writing I'll rescind the policy because it's not normal'. Moritz was dumbfounded, but he was used to being dumbfounded by eccentric tech founders, afterall he was also an early investor in Apple, and he still found Zuckerburg tame compared to Steve Jobs. Moritz had a long day of work so they signed the agreement so that he could go back to doing his due diligence. When Moritz left, a broad grin spread across Zuckerburg's face. " 'Not Normal' eh? " Zuckerburg said with a menacing laugh. Ever since then, Mark Zuckerburg has been on a life-long crusade to normalize poop conversations. He had a checklist of what he needed to accomplish in order to realize this. His advisors would tell him it's impossible, but one by one Zuckerburg checked off the list. From trusting Mark with their private photos, to normalizing people giving up their internet browsing privacy. In 2015, Zuckerburg knew he would hit a wall, having people watch you while you poop was still too much of a leap. That's when Zuckerburg decided to buy Occulus, and eventually shift his company towards virtual reality. If he could coax people into having life-like conversations while they were pooping in a virtual reality, then doing it in the real world wouldn't be too big of a leap. Zuckerburg only has 3 more boxes to check off before poop conversations are normalized. Mark Zuckerburg wants to watch you poop. Are you going to let him?   Yeah I said it. You might be offended. You've probably heard this a thousand times before, but believe me you will hear it again. Because it's deserved. You're French. A parasite. A slug. A leech. A failure. But, of course, you may think I don't have evidence to justify this. But you are wrong, as always, your failures stand out like a shining pile of manure among your pristine neighbors. So let me begin. First off, your cuisine. Dogshit. What have you got? Spoiled milk that smells like shit. Okay what else? Alcohol because you need to drown yourself in wine to escape your life. Sounds right. Frog legs? Snails? Yeah, that seems about right for you. But cusine doesn't matter compared to your successes or lack thereof. What is you history? A long, long list of failures and losses. So let's start off. The Gauls getting invaded and conquered by the Romans before getting conquered by the Germanic tribes. Getting invaded by the Vikings and forced to give up Normandy to them. You might say you conquered England, but no, those were the Normans who were Viking descendants and actually fucking useful. The Hundred Years' War. Which you lost. You even needed God to send you a warrior to try to save your sorry ass. Then what? Following the Spanish and Portuguese discovered to the New World and being kicked out of all the good land to an icy tundra. Server you right. Brutally enslaving people in Haiti? No surprise. And then proceeding to demand reputations for their revolt, which you failed to stop, until the mid 20th century, which was what kept your country barley afloat. Then your rulers were so incompetent they were all killed and you had a revolt. Then Napoleon, who wasn't even born in modern French territory, cause you lost it, and then proceeded to lose. And then you were appointed a monarch by Britain. You even had to sell most of your territory in America, which you couldn't develop or protect, to the U.S. Then WW1 were with the help of all the allied nations you barley managed to stop the Germans from getting to Paris. Then you built the Maginot line because you knew you couldn't stop them normally but you built it where they didn't even attack last time and didn't finish it. Then they attacked around it, surprised, and you were turned into a puppet nation of the Nazi surrendering almost immediately. Hell, French guards were some of Hitlers last men. It took the combined forces of all of the Allies to actually help you and kick the Nazis out for you. You've had so, so may revolutions since then because of your incompetence. You want to talk about shootings in the U.S? Well how about your history of bloodshed violence and failure. Unrest? Look at all your riots. Hell, at one point your naval flag was a white flag. TF2? Yeah you play spy cause you can't even fight correctly. What are you known for? Failure. Justly, you are losers, and always will be. Go fuck yourselves and become a decent country like your neighbors. But that's not all. Speaking of your neighbors, let's look at their successes. Spain and Portugal actually have good food and managed to colonize almost the entirety of South and Central America, conquering Empires and making a name. Britain, controlling almost a 1/4 of the land on Earth and kicking your ass almost every time. Germany, the heart of the E.U, able to fight against the entirety of Europe twice in a row, the Holy Roman Empire, fighting and controlling the Pope? Inventing Lutheranism and the printing press? Oh how about Poland, the winged Hussars, all of them coming together to fend off the Ottomans and Mongols. Italy, with some of the best cuisine in the world, the Roman Empire, which kicked your ass, the Pope, the Church, Florence, Rome, incredibly important. All of them so, so much better than you. Of course, you might say the past is no indication of the future. And you have a bit of a point. But really, what have you done? There is a short, short list of deeds in which you have not failed. You have an unstable, failing government. You have a weaker military than UK, U.S, China, etc, etc. You are by far the weakest member on the UN Security Council, an unfunny joke, a gag. Your economy is weaker than any of these good nations. Your “luxury” products suck and and overpriced shit shows. Culturally, you have jack shit. You seem to have missed out on the Renaissance and basically every other period of advancement. Ethically, you hate migrants, in fact you hate everyone. Your national anthem is so fucking baton is listing despite having nothing to be proud of, talking about using countries as fertilizer, yeah bud that's not going to happen. One thing you did good was have nuclear energy, but your government realized its mistake in doing something halfway fucking decent for once and is now removing power plants and nuclear energy. So fuck off. You are a failure without anything good to say for yourself. Not one accomplishment. Nobody wants you. They pity you for the whole you've dug yourself in. You will not get my respect or sympathy. So leave, and never come back.

This was an election that was meant to cement authoritarian rule and it became a democratic breakthrough.Rachel SchwartzAccess Bonus Episodes on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Rachel Schwartz is an assistant professor of international and area studies at the University of Oklahoma. Recently, she cowrote an article with Anita Isaacs for the Journal of Democracy called, “How Guatemala Defied the Odds." She also authored a book earlier this year called Undermining the State from Within: The Institutional Legacies of Civil War in Central America.Key HighlightsIntroduction - 0:33The 2023 Election - 2:46A Weak State - 17:18Democratic Backsliding - 30:53Rejuvenating Democracy - 39:39Key LinksUndermining the State from Within: The Institutional Legacies of Civil War in Central America by Rachel Schwartz"How Guatemala Defied the Odds" in Journal of Democracy by Rachel Schwartz"Guatemala: Resisting Democratic Backsliding in the Least Likely of Places?" by Rachel SchwartzDemocracy Paradox PodcastWendy Hunter on Lula, Bolsonaro, January 8th and Democracy in BrazilJennifer Piscopo on the Constitutional Chaos in ChileMore Episodes from the PodcastMore InformationApes of the State created all MusicEmail the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.comFollow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast100 Books on DemocracySupport the show

I am so excited to have Erick Andino trail name "Dogfoot" on the show this week! Dogfoot was born and raised in L.A. but traces his roots toHonduras, Central America. Erick served as a firefighter/medic in the Navy from Aug 2001 to April 2009. In 2022 he took on the PCT as his 1st thru hike with the ultimate goal of going for the triple crown.  We'd like to thank our sponsors:  Gregory Packs. To get 15% off your order, and help Andy out use promo code ‘Andy15' when you check out at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.gregorypacks.com  Music is licensed from Musicbed.com.   Subscribe to my YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@andyfilmsandhikes⁠⁠⁠ Follow Host Andy Neal on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/andyfilmsandhikes⁠⁠⁠⁠  Check out my TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠www.tiktok.com/@andyfilmsandhikes ⁠⁠ Buy Andy a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/andyfilmsandhikes  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adventureisoutthere/message

We start a new series: "World of Coffee". In this series, we  explore countries across continents to discuss their coffee traditions, unique coffee drinks, and coffee industry. In this episode, we cover Mexico and Central America which is part 1 of Latin America. Stay tuned for the remainder of Latin America and other continents! Visit our website: http:///coffeebreakpod.comLinks from our episode: https://www.coffeebreakpod.com/episode-notes-linksFollow us on Instagram: @coffee.break.podcastE-mail us: coffeebreaktexas@gmail.com 

Maria Cristina Sheehan is an expert on aging as we know it. At the age of 69 she stepped away from her academic career, where she served as a CEO for 20 years, and into the world of fitness. Today at the age of 77 she is a natural body fitness competitor winning multiple gold and silver medals in bikini, swimsuit and sports model categories in international competitions since 2017.She became a health coach and fitness trainer and coaching women over 55 both online and in person. She is a sought-after speaker for audiences that want to improve their health and turn back the clock. She also enjoys providing keynote speeches on wellness and longevity and working with executives and their teams to foster healthy lifestyle habits to enhance their health and improve productivity. She has been featured on the Aging and Awesome TV series and now hosts fitness retreats in Central America for women wanting to reclaim their bodies and energize their health. Her programs feature how to transform your thinking about aging while mastering the movement right for you and the meal plan that is sustainable to achieve your ideal weight and highest level of energy. She is the best example of her own philosophy which is we can get stronger with age. She believes adults, especially women over 55, should not expect to be frail and dependent as the decades advance. Her journey began at age 69 when she found herself aging typically, slowing down gaining weight and feeling the decline she was experiencing was inevitable. She was never an athlete, in fact the last picked for any sports team as a child and barely passing the PE requirement in college. In her 50s she tried everything from prepacked diet foods to exercise programs she could never sustain. Turning 69 she determined 70 was not going to go well. She took the advice of her financial consultant and turned to a bodybuilding pro expecting to solve all her weight issues in the 36 sessions he required to start working with him. She believed that she might gain hulk style muscles, which of course is ridiculous, and he told her so. Completing the 36 sessions taught her disciple and provided accountability and she saw that in that short amount of time she could gain strength. She needed the critical component to strength training which is nutrition and found the Health Coach Institute. She became a health coach and from there her journey continued to flourish. Now it is her mission to help others who wish to age well. Contact Maria Cristina Sheehan: Website: drmariacristina.comFacebook Group: Flourish with AgeInstagram: @sheehanhealthandwellness Dr. Maria CristinaElite Wellness Retreat:TV Segment About the Retreat: https://youtu.be/nnS2rmQOZZYMore Info and Sign Up Page: https://www.drmariacristina.com/panama-city/ Dr. Kimberley Linert Speaker, Author, Broadcaster, Mentor, Trainer, Behavioral Optometrist Event Planners- I am available to speak at your event. Here is my media kit: https://brucemerrinscelebrityspeakers.com/portfolio/dr-kimberley-linert/ To book Dr. Linert on your podcast, television show, conference, corporate training or as an expert guest please email her at incrediblelifepodcast@gmail.com or Contact Bruce Merrin at Bruce Merrin's Celebrity Speakers at merrinpr@gmail.com 702.256.9199 Host of the Podcast Series: Incredible Life Creator Podcast Available on... Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/incredible-life-creator-with-dr-kimberley-linert/id1472641267 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6DZE3EoHfhgcmSkxY1CvKf?si=ebe71549e7474663 and on 9 other podcast platforms Author of Book: "Visualizing Happiness in Every Area of Your Life" Get on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3srh6tZ Website: https://www.DrKimberleyLinert.com Please subscribe, share & LISTEN! Thanks. incrediblelifepodcast@gmail.com Social Media Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kimberley-linert-incredible-life-creator/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimberley.linert/

Rabbi Mordechai Becher, originally from Australia, is an instructor at Yeshiva University and alumni Rabbi of Neve Yerushalayim College. He received his ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and holds an MA in Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate School. He taught at Ohr Somayach and Neve Yerushalayim in Jerusalem and served in the Israel Defense Forces. Rabbi Becher has answered thousands of questions on AsktheRabbi.org,  presents a Talmud class, Dimensions of the Daf, for the Jewish Broadcasting Service and was senior lecturer for Gateways for 20 years. Rabbi Becher's latest book, Gateway to Judaism, published by Artscroll,  is in its tenth printing. He has taught in the USA, Canada, England, Israel, South Africa, Australia and Russia, and is a scholar in residence for Legacy Kosher Tours. He has led tours in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, Central America and the Middle EastFor more Brainstorm go to...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aPCiuzsIoNKYt5jjv7RFT?si=67dfa56d4e764ee0Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm-with-sony-perlman/id1596925257Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@brainstormwithsonyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainstormwithsony/

Guest co-host Stephanie Iwata shares her impressive game portfolio in her first 10 months of refereeing. Lance VanHaitsma talks about his role as Manager of Refereeing at CONCACAF (The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) as well as his time as FIFA Futsal Referee. Umpiro Referee shoe at Official Sports https://officialsports.com/1708-umpiro-shoe/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Superepic by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Energetic Drink by LesFM | https://lesfm.net/energetic-backgroun... Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

(Nov 16, 2023) A new ProPublica investigation finds federal labor safety officials don't investigate farmworker deaths or injuries on small dairy farms in New York. Many of those workers are in the country illegally from Mexico and Central America and have few labor protections. Also: Advocates are celebrating the signing of the Clean Slate Law, which seals some criminal records for those who have already served their time in prison.

Chicago has received more than 20,000 migrants over the last 14 months. And it's not alone. New York City, Washington D.C, Los Angeles and other areas are all dealing with an influx of several thousands of migrants from Central America. As temperatures drop and winter sets in, tensions are beginning to boil over as this crisis reaches new heights. Learn More: https://viewpointsradio.org/viewpoints-explained-tensions-rising-in-the-migrant-crisis-why-one-city-may-shut-its-doors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Protests that began over a mining contract with a Canadian company have seized Panama for weeks, with key highways blocked, schools shut down, and a port choked with boats. Why has the situation reignited a century of anger over North American interests?  Freelance journalist Michael Fox has been covering the protests from Panama. The first season of his upcoming podcast, Under the Shadow, looks at the lingering impact of U.S. intervention in Central America. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

What drives people from leaving Corporate America for real estate investing? Today, Drew Kniffin shares why he decided to get out of the structured nature of the corporate world, how he started investing in real estate and eventually created a strong partnership that supports his vision and goals in the multifamily syndication space. Key Points & Relevant TopicsDrew's realizations on the corporate world that led him to invest in real estateAdvantages of having a partnership in real estate investingWhat it's like having your spouse as an investment partnerThe significance of being intentional and setting your goals when looking for a business partnerWhy consistency is important in multifamily investingResources & LinksApartment Syndication Due Diligence Checklist for Passive InvestorAbout Drew KniffinDrew Kniffin has a corporate finance and real estate investing career that spans two decades.  After finishing graduate school (JD/MBA), Drew was an investment banker providing valuation analysis and preparing small companies for refinance or sale events.  From there Andrew worked at a Fortune 500 company, where he negotiated and implemented Joint Ventures in Asia, Central America, and South America.  Drew began his real estate career in 2008, focusing on acquiring cash-flowing properties that maintain value throughout the economic cycle.  Drew is currently a Partner at Nighthawk Equity.  In that role, Drew oversees all aspects of investments such as deal prospecting, due diligence, money raising, investor communications, and strategic oversight of the investments from beginning to end. Nighthawk currently oversees $75 million of investor capital and controls in excess of $280 million in assets.    In addition to being an investor, Drew has been featured on multiple podcasts and also mentors aspiring multifamily real estate investors. Drew lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and four tax credits. Get in Touch with DrewWebsite: Nighthawk EquityLinkedIn: Drew KniffinTo Connect With UsPlease visit our website www.bonavestcapital.com and click here to leave a rating and written review!

In 1989, New York City declared itself a sanctuary city — a place where undocumented immigrants seeking asylum are safe from immediate deportation and eligible to receive city services. But living up to that promise is tougher than just passing a law. This year, New York City has received over 100,000 asylum seekers so far, including 15,000 unaccompanied minors. Most are from Latin America, where they face extortion from gangs, robbery, rape and LGBTQ+ persecution. The journey to the U.S. is deadly, but so is life back home. They set out by bus, train, and on foot through forests and the Rio Grande, often with babies and toddlers, to come to the U.S. In this episode of The Laura Flanders Show, produced in collaboration with the School of Labor and Urban Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY), hear the harrowing journeys and hopes of refugees coming to New York City — and the issues they face soon after they arrive — including trouble finding work, shelter, foster care placement, and legal battles. New York City is conflicted about their arrival, politicians say there are too many migrants, and far-Right extremists create a hostile and oftentimes dangerous environment. Stepping in is a growing network of volunteers and nonprofits comprised of social workers and lawyers on the ground and in the courts, who are working to give asylum seekers a welcome, shelter, and legal protection. New York City as we know it would cease to exist without migrants. Here are their stories.[Translated from Spanish] “A lot of the gay people in Guatemala or Central America, they get murdered. They either get killed or they hide their homosexuality by pretending to be someone else. If they do that, they don't get hurt, but if they dress like women, or if they present in a feminine way, they get attacked.” - Eswin “We work with young people who have been raped, who have been tortured, who have been kidnapped — many times on the way from their country to the United States — who've been abandoned, who've been starved. They are coming with the continued desire to thrive in this country despite the trauma that they've endured.” - Angela Fernández“Unaccompanied minors and immigrant children who are working are particularly vulnerable . . . They don't speak the language, they may not know their rights. They may not know what kinds of agencies to go to or where they can get help.” - Terri Gerstein“The people that we're getting are all working-class families. They're decent people . . . We should welcome everybody. We need the help.” - Father James Kelly“The first thing that [migrants] ask is not water, food, it's where can I find work. They don't want handouts. They want to be able to provide for themselves.” - Power Malu[Translated from Spanish] “. . . [Organized crime] began extorting people . . . Where I used to live, they killed a 13-year-old boy and a couple. I left my town of Tulcán. From there to Colombia. And from Colombia, we went through the jungle.” - Lady Mansilla“It's the volunteers that are on the ground receiving people in a respectful and human-centered way, and then they're coordinating access to services for them on a case-by-case basis.” - Jamie Powlovich“Going to foster care is an option that's deemed better for a child because they have the opportunity to live a life that's almost normal because you can go to school, you can have friends, you can go out, which they cannot do in detention. There aren't enough spots in foster care for immigrant children right now.” - Marie-Cassandre WavreGuests:Eswin: Asylum Seeker, EcuadorAngela Fernández: Executive Director, Safe Passage ProjectTerri Gerstein: Harvard Center for Labor & A Just EconomyFather James Kelly: Immigration Attorney, District 3 Immigration ServicesPower Malu: Founder,  Artists Athletes ActivistsLady Mansilla: Asylum Seeker, EcuadorJamie Powlovich: Executive Director, Coalition for Homeless YouthMarie-Cassandre Wavre: Supervising Attorney, The Door Full Episode Notes are located HERE.  They include related episodes, articles, and more.Music In the Middle:  “Borikén Keys” by Nickodemus featuring MC Baby Power, aka Power Malu, featured in today's episode. And additional music included- "Steppin," "Beachhead," and "Ocean Point" by Podington Bear.Newsreel featured clips from MSNBC, NBC Nightly News and PBS News Hour 

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Azam Ahmed is an international investigative correspondent for the New York Times. He was previously the Times' bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, where he produced a series of stories on violence that was awarded the George Polk Award, the Overseas Press Club Award, the Michael Kelly Award and the Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism. His work also included a series of groundbreaking stories on the illegal use of spyware known as Pegasus in Mexico. Prior to that, Mr. Ahmed was the bureau chief for the Times in Kabul, Afghanistan. Fear Is Just a Word: A Missing Daughter, a Violent Cartel, and a Mother's Quest for Vengeance    A riveting true story of a mother who fought back against the drug cartels in Mexico, pursuing her own brand of justice to avenge the kidnapping and murder of her daughter—from a global investigative correspondent for The New York Times “Azam Ahmed has written a page-turning mystery but also a stunning, color-saturated portrait of the collapse of formal justice in one Mexican town.”—Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Directorate S Fear Is Just a Word begins on an international bridge between Mexico and the United States, as fifty-six-year-old Miriam Rodríguez stalks one of the men she believes was involved in the murder of her daughter Karen. He is her target number eleven, a member of the drug cartel that has terrorized and controlled what was once Miriam's quiet hometown of San Fernando, Mexico, almost one hundred miles from the U.S. border. Having dyed her hair red as a disguise, Miriam watches, waits, and then orchestrates the arrest of this man, exacting her own version of justice. Woven into this deeply researched, moving account is the story of how cartels built their power in Mexico, escalated the use of violence, and kidnapped and murdered tens of thousands. Karen was just one of the many people who disappeared, and Miriam, a brilliant, strategic, and fearless woman, begged for help from the authorities and paid ransom money she could not afford in hopes of saving her daughter. When that failed, she decided that “fear is just a word,” and began a crusade to track down Karen's killers and to help other victimized families in their search for justice. What do people do when their country and the peaceful town where they have grown up become unrecognizable, suddenly places of violence and fear? Azam Ahmed takes us into the grieving of a country and a family to tell the mesmerizing story of a brave and brilliant woman determined to find out what happened to her daughter, and to see that the criminals who murdered her were punished. Fear Is Just a Word is an unforgettable and moving portrait of a woman, a town, and a country, and of what can happen when violent forces leave people to seek justice on their own. Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

Mattes' new whistleblower starts working with a secret team of leakers within the Intelligence Community. As Mattes' investigation takes him to Central America, he finds himself dangerously caught in the CIA's crosshairs. Lawyers, Guns, and Money is available early and ad-free at lawyersgunsandmoney.supercast.com

Philip Wilson is the founder and CEO of Ecofiltro, a social enterprise dedicated to providing clean water to the rural poor of Mexico and Central America. He graduated with an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Notre Dame. He has over twenty-five years of experience as an entrepreneur in the United States and Guatemala, and firmly believes that the world's most pressing problems can be solved by applying business practices to social challenges. He is the founder and CEO of SolucionWeb, the leading web and social media services company in Guatemala. Philip is a member of the board of the Guatemalan Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, was named “Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Central America” by the Schwab Foundation in Davos, Switzerland and “One of the 10 most successful Social Entrepreneurs in Latin America” by New Ventures Mexico. To date, over 800,000 families in rural areas have been served by Ecofiltro and the goal is to reach 1 million families by the year 2025. In 2022, Philip founded El Cubo, an entrepreneurial center whose purpose is to help entrepreneurs create and grow companies in Guatemala. He was our guest on Episode 133 of the Agents of Innovation podcast, where we sat down with him at El Cubo in Antigua, Guatemala and toured the EcoFiltro facilities. Some of this can best be seen here on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/XYaiu5H8f44 You can learn more about Ecofiltro at: https://ecofiltro.com.gt/es/quienes-somos You can also follow Philip Wilson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipwilsonarzu/ Follow the Agents of Innovation podcast on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentsOfInnovationPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovationradio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/agentinnovation You can support this podcast and our Fearless Journeys community on our Patreon account: www.patreon.com/fearlessjourneys You can also join our network through the Fearless Journeys community at: https://www.fearlessjourneys.org/

Today on Specifically for Seniors, we're going to do something just a bit different. We have three guests who are here to tell you three completely different stories about parts of their lives. You've met two of them on previous podcasts, but they didn't have the time to tell you the rest of their stories. The third is new to Specifically for Seniors, but it's the story of a part of American history that our generation cannot forget. So make yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let these three men tell you about a part of each of their lives. Those of you who are regular listeners to specifically for seniors will recall Alistair Henry from our May, 2023 podcast. Alistair retired at 57, shed his possessions and went to live with the First Nations band in the Northwest Territory, then left Canada's North to volunteer, working with local NGOs. Those are nonprofit organizations in Bangladesh. He and his wife enjoyed budget pack packing for four months at a time in Central America and Southeast Asia in their sixties. In 2020, Alistair endured a double lung transplant. Alistair is back today to talk about the transplant and the work he is now doing as a Trillium Gift of Life advocate. On November 22nd, 1963, a 26 year old junior duty officer was on duty at Bethesda Naval Hospital when the casket containing the body of Jack Fitzgerald Kennedy arrived from Dallas. You met that naval officer on this podcast on May 3rd, 2023. Sorel Schwartz today is a professor emeritus of pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Senior Pharmacology advisor at the FDA Sorel is with us today as we near the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination. My third and final guest on today's podcast is Robert Norris. Robert's story is one that many of us who were draft aged during the Vietnam War era will have faced in one way or another. Robert is a Pacific Northwest, native Vietnam war, conscientious objector who served sometime in a military prison, an expat resident of Japan since 1983. He's the author of The Good Lord Willing, and The Creek Don't Rise. But, but let me let Robert tell you his story. We're talking to Robert from his home in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan. Book Availability: The Good Lord willing and The Creek Don't Rise https://www.amazon.com/Good-Lord-Willing-Creek-Dont/dp/180100000X

The Israeli military claims to have taken control of 11 Hamas military posts, as additional claims of fighting near hospitals raise alarms. A Pro- Palestine protest in New York City shuts down Grand Central station. The United States could lose its last perfect credit rating – we tell you why. Iceland declares a state of emergency as the threat of a possible volcanic eruption looms. And Puerto Rico has declared a flu epidemic early into the season, with more than 40 confirmed deaths so far.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The CLS Experience, we have a very delightful treat. She's an organizational expert, badass entrepreneur, author, and Co-Executive Director of OneKid OneWorld, a non-profit building strong educational foundations for children in impoverished communities throughout Kenya and Central America. No big deal. She grew up with family members who hoarded, and she knows firsthand that the effects of living amongst an accumulation of possessions go far beyond the home's walls. BIG facts. This personal experience gives her contrast since she has a unique understanding of the mindset of the organizationally challenged. She was working for a major television director in Los Angeles when she discovered she had the ability to see through any mess and clearly envision a clutter-free space, and bring that to fruition for the world. That, in combination with her keen time management, allowed her to reinvent herself as an entrepreneur and organizational MASTER, and dClutterfly was born. She's just a juggernaut in all facets of life, and a terrific human being! Please welcome the delightful, vibrant, and organized, the abundant and charismatic Tracy McCubbin. Need more Tracy in your life? Subscribe to Team Tracy and get weekly texts and videos to help you conquer your clutter: http://getscriber.com/go@tracymccubbinTo join our community click here.➤ To connect with Tracy follow Tracy McCubbin on Instagram➤ Order a copy of my new book The Reinvention Formula today! ➤ Join our CLS texting community for free daily inspiration and business strategies to elevate your day, text (917) 634-3796To follow The CLS Experience and connect with Craig on Social Media:➤ INSTAGRAM➤ FACEBOOK➤ TIKTOK➤ YOUTUBE➤ WEBSITE➤ LINKEDIN➤ TWITTER➤ CLS TOOLKIT➤ CLS MEMBERSHIP

We're going to review all the theories and talk about pros and cons of the promised land from Africa, Asia, North, South, and Central America. I'll be there are some theories you aren't familiar with! Check out our conversation.... https://youtu.be/voKps4g-vHs transcript to follow Copyright © 2023 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission transcript to follow Copyright © 2023 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Except for book reviews, no content may be reproduced without written permission

Protesters have practically shut down Panama for over two weeks now in an effort to keep the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals from operating Central America's largest open-pit copper mine. Michael Fox tells the story and analyses its implications.

(2:18) Disaster for GOP again. This time abortion was a winning issue. But the GOP didn't even show up to defend life, only to defend Trump. (18:48) Andy Beshear, one of the worst lockdown governors of 2020, reelected. There's no one in the GOP that wasn't tainted by pandemic medical martial law to some degree(39:19) Did Trump blow his fraud case while testifying on the stand or does his disclaimer exonerate him?(48:31) Reactions to the leaked manifesto of the Nashville killer(53:51) WATCH Chinese animated video showing how to illegally immigrate to USA and the path illegals will take from South America to, Central America, to the USA(57:08) RFKj calls for ZERO TOLERANCE on campus of speech with which he disagrees. We always knew he was lying when he said he didn't want to lock up his opponents on climate alarmism. But this time it's about anti-semitism on campus. Why did they never care about anti-white racism at the same colleges?(1:00:34) INTERVIEW Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning Xi Van Fleet, who survived Mao's "Cultural Revolution", went through EVERYTHING that's being done now (and falsely labeled "Woke") when she was a child in China. The author of "Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning" explains how the left is using Mao (and Stalin) tactics as a blueprint to take America into mass murder and totalitarianism.Mao's Cultural Revolution and its parallels in AmericaWhat Mao did in the schools"Woke" is actually a Maoist termStruggle Sessions — in Mao's China and today in AmericaRed Class and Black Class — and how media got gullible conservatives to identify as "RED" in USADestroying the "Four Olds"Destroying the familyChristianity — Mao's enemy(1:55:57) Listener comments on the interview(2:10:30 )Gates Deforestation — Pure Insanity and GreedRegardless of what you think about CO2, this latest Gates Grift should be obvious to everyone (2:16:17) Zero Energy, Zero MobilityJeremy Clarkson nails the smarmy propaganda of BBC/Attenborough "Planet Earth" FLASHBACK: Self-driving car goes "Christine".EV bus loses power on San Francisco hills, then plows into multiple cars.Tesla wins in first self-driving murder casePower companies turning your EV into a grid backup system is now being sold as a "feature" by Bloomberg Green(2:50:10) Unlike GOP, which refuses to talk about baby murder, BOTH Israel & Palestinians use our natural revulsion to the murder of innocent children and babies to galvanize their side Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.comIf you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money is only what YOU hold: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHT

(2:18) Disaster for GOP again. This time abortion was a winning issue. But the GOP didn't even show up to defend life, only to defend Trump. (18:48) Andy Beshear, one of the worst lockdown governors of 2020, reelected. There's no one in the GOP that wasn't tainted by pandemic medical martial law to some degree(39:19) Did Trump blow his fraud case while testifying on the stand or does his disclaimer exonerate him?(48:31) Reactions to the leaked manifesto of the Nashville killer(53:51) WATCH Chinese animated video showing how to illegally immigrate to USA and the path illegals will take from South America to, Central America, to the USA(57:08) RFKj calls for ZERO TOLERANCE on campus of speech with which he disagrees. We always knew he was lying when he said he didn't want to lock up his opponents on climate alarmism. But this time it's about anti-semitism on campus. Why did they never care about anti-white racism at the same colleges?(1:00:34) INTERVIEW Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning Xi Van Fleet, who survived Mao's "Cultural Revolution", went through EVERYTHING that's being done now (and falsely labeled "Woke") when she was a child in China. The author of "Mao's America: A Survivor's Warning" explains how the left is using Mao (and Stalin) tactics as a blueprint to take America into mass murder and totalitarianism. Mao's Cultural Revolution and its parallels in AmericaWhat Mao did in the schools"Woke" is actually a Maoist termStruggle Sessions — in Mao's China and today in AmericaRed Class and Black Class — and how media got gullible conservatives to identify as "RED" in USADestroying the "Four Olds"Destroying the familyChristianity — Mao's enemy(1:55:57) Listener comments on the interview(2:10:30 )Gates Deforestation — Pure Insanity and GreedRegardless of what you think about CO2, this latest Gates Grift should be obvious to everyone (2:16:17) Zero Energy, Zero MobilityJeremy Clarkson nails the smarmy propaganda of BBC/Attenborough "Planet Earth" FLASHBACK: Self-driving car goes "Christine".EV bus loses power on San Francisco hills, then plows into multiple cars.Tesla wins in first self-driving murder casePower companies turning your EV into a grid backup system is now being sold as a "feature" by Bloomberg Green(2:50:10) Unlike GOP, which refuses to talk about baby murder, BOTH Israel & Palestinians use our natural revulsion to the murder of innocent children and babies to galvanize their side Find out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.comIf you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money is only what YOU hold: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHT

José Miguel Vivanco, adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and former executive director of the Americas division at Human Rights Watch, leads the conversation on human rights in Latin America. FASKIANOS: Welcome to today's session of the Fall 2023 CFR Academic Webinar Series. I'm Irina Faskianos, vice president of the National Program and Outreach here at CFR. Today's discussion is on the record. The video and transcript will be available on our website, CFR.org, if you would like to share them with your colleagues or classmates. As always, CFR takes no institutional positions on matters of policy. We are delighted to have José Miguel Vivanco with us to discuss human rights in Latin America. Mr. Vivanco is an adjunct senior fellow for human rights at CFR and partner at Dentons Global Advisors. He formerly served as the executive director of the Americas Division at Human Rights Watch, where he supervised fact-finding research for numerous reports on gross violations of human rights and advocated strengthening international legal standards and domestic compliance throughout the region. He is the founder of the Center for Justice and International Law, an international civil society organization providing legal and technical assistance with the Inter-American Human Rights System. So, José Miguel, thank you very much for being with us today. I thought you could begin by giving us an overview of what you see as the most important human rights challenges and advances in Latin America today. VIVANCO: Well, thank you very much for this invitation. It is a pleasure to be with you all and to talk for an hour about human rights problems, human rights issues in Latin America. Let me first make a couple of points. First, I think it's very important that, in retrospect, if you look at Latin America in the 1960s, 1970s, and even 1980s, it was a region that was pretty much run by military dictatorships. So if you look at historically, the region is not in such a bad shape. I know that this comment is quite controversial and many experts who follow the region closely might disagree with that statement, but objectively speaking I think we need to recognize that most of the region is run today—with the exception, obviously, of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua—by democracies, weak democracies, the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America are facing very serious challenges and with endemic problems such as corruption, abuse of power, lack of transparency, lack of proper accountability, and so on and so forth. But in general terms, this is a region that has a chance to conduct some self-correction. In other words, electoral democracy is a very, very important value in the region, and the citizens—most of the people are able to either reward or punish the incumbent government at the times of elections. That is not a minor detail. It is extremely important, especially if you take into account that during the last twenty years in Latin America, if I'm not wrong, the vast majority of the governments elected were from the opposition. The statistics, I think, show that in eighteen of the twenty last presidential elections, the winner has been the party of the opposition; which means that even though our democracies in Latin America are dysfunctional, weak, messy, slow, you know, short-term-oriented, obviously, but at least citizens take their rights seriously and they exercise their powers so that is why you see a regular zigzag or, you know, transfer of power from a left-wing government to a right-wing government or vice versa. And that is, again, something that is, obviously, a very, very important tool of self-correction. And that, obviously, includes or has an impact in terms of the human rights record of those countries. You know, I'm not—I'm not addressing yet—I will leave it for the Q&A section—conditions in those three dictatorships in Latin America. Let me just make some few more remarks about one of the biggest challenges that I see in the region. And that is, obviously, the rise of autocracy or autocratic leaders, populist leaders, leaders who are not interested or as a matter of fact are very hostile to the concept of rule of law and the concept of independence of the judiciary. And they usually are very charismatic. They have high level of popular support. And they run and govern the country in a style that is like a permanent campaign, where they normally go against minorities and against the opposition, against the free media, against judges and prosecutors who dare to investigate them or investigate the government. Anyone who challenges them are subject of this type of reaction. And that is, unfortunately, something that we have seen in Mexico recently and until today, and in Brazil, especially during the administration of President Bolsonaro. The good news about, in the case of Brazil, is that, thanks to electoral democracy, it was possible to defeat him and—democratically. And the second very important piece of information is that even though Brazil is not a model of rule of law and separation of power, we have to acknowledge that, thanks to the checks-and-balance exercise by the Supreme Court of Brazil, it was possible to do some permanent, constant damage control against the most outrageous initiatives promoted by the administration of President Bolsonaro. That, I think, is one of the biggest challenges in the region. Let me conclude my—make crystal clear that there are serious human rights problems in Latin America today regarding, for instance, abuse of power, police brutality, prison problems. Prisons are really, in most of the countries in the region, a disaster. And you know, a big number of prisoners are awaiting trial, in detention and unable to really exercise their rights. And unfortunately, populist leaders use the prison system or essentially criminal law, by expanding the practice and enlarging the numbers of crimes that could be subject of pretrial detention, and—you know, regardless of the time that it will take for that case to be prosecuted in full respect for the rule—due process, and so on and so forth. And that—the reason is very simple. There is a real demand in Latin America for policies that will address insecurity, citizen security. If you look at statistics in terms of crime rate, it is going up in most of the country. Obviously, there are big difference between countries like Mexico, for instance, or Colombia, and if you link—if you look at the power of cartels and big mafias, and gangs in other countries, or petty crime impacting the daily life of the citizens. Regardless of that point, one of the biggest demands in Latin America is for better and more public security. And that's why political leaders, usually the solution for that request and demand is to put people in prison with essentially no real due process and increase the number of prisoners without conviction. There are challenges for free speech occasionally, of those leaders who resent scrutiny of their practice. And normally there is a campaign against free media. And there are some attempts in some countries to constantly look for ways to undermine the independence of the judiciary. Keep in mind, for instance, that now in Argentina the whole Supreme Court is under impeachment, and it's essentially an impeachment promoted by the current government because they disagree with the rulings, positions of the Supreme Court. All the justices on the Supreme Court are subject of this political trial conducted by the Argentine Congress. That is a concrete example of the kinds of risks that are present for judges and the judiciary in general, when they exercise their power and they attempt to protect the integrity of the constitution. So let me stop here and we can move on to the most interesting part of this event. FASKIANOS: Well, that was quite interesting. So, thank you, José Miguel. We appreciate it. We going to go to all of you now for your questions. (Gives queuing instructions.) We already have some hands up. We will go first to Karla Soto Valdes. Q: My name is Karla Soto. I'm from Lewis University. My question is, what specific measures could be implemented to address and/or prevent trafficking within the asylum-seeking community during their journey to the U.S.? VIVANCO: Irina, are we going to take several questions, or? FASKIANOS: I think we should do one at a time. VIVANCO: Well, Karla, there are multiple tools to address that specific issue. But this applies to essentially most of the human rights problems all over the world. The menu is pretty ample, but depends on one important factor—whether the government involved cares about its own reputation. That is a very important premise here, because if you we are dealing with a democratic government, once again, it's not—when I refer to a democratic government, I don't have in mind a sort of Jeffersonian model, I'm referring to the kind of democracies that we have in Latin America. But, if the leaders in charge are—you know, they care about their own reputation, they care about domestic debate, very important, because these types of revelations usually have ramifications at the local level. If they pay close attention to those issues, I think it's possible to apply, essentially, the technique of naming and shaming. In other words, collecting information, documenting what exactly is happening, and revealing that information to the public, locally and internationally. That is going to create naturally a reaction, a process, an awareness, and local pressure is—hopefully, it's not just twenty-four hours news, so splash—big splash, but also will trigger some dynamics. If we are dealing with a country that is run by a dictatorship, it is a very, very different question, because normally you're facing a leader, a government, who couldn't care less about its own reputation. They have taken already and assume the cost of doing business in that type of context. Now, sometimes conditions are kind of mixed, where you have democratic country in general—so there is still free media, there is an opposition, there is Congress, there are elections. But the government in charge is so—is run by an autocratic leader. That makes, you know, quite—a little more challenging to just document and reveal that information. And you need to think about some particular agenda, governmental agenda. Some specific interests of the government in different areas. Let me see—let me give you an example. Let's say that the Bolsonaro administration is seriously interested in an incorporation into the OECD in Paris. That is an important piece of information. Whatever you think that is relevant information regarding the record of that government, you could provide information to an entity that is precisely evaluating the record of the government. And the government will be much more willing to address those issues because they have a genuine interest in achieving some specific goal at the international level. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. We're going to go to Nicole Ambar De Santos, who is an undergraduate student at the Washington University in St. Louis: When we consider weak democracy in a more personal sense, like Peru, the controversy of obligation to help these nations arises. How much third party or other nations, such as the United States, intervene? VIVANCO: Tricky question. Peruvian democracy is quite messy. Part of the problem is that the system, the political system, needs some real reform to avoid the proliferation of small political parties and to create the real link or relationship between leaders, especially in Congress, and their constituencies, and so they are much more accountable to their community, the ones who elected them. I don't think the U.S., or any other government, has a direct role to play in that area. My sense is that when we are looking into a dysfunctional democracy that deserve some probably even constitutional reforms, that is essentially a domestic job. That is the work that needs to be done by Peruvians. Without a local consensus about the reforms that need to be implemented in the political system, my sense is that it's going to be very difficult for the U.S. or any other large democracy, to address those kinds of points. It's very different, that type of conversation, from a conversation or an assessment of universal values, such as human rights. When we are looking into cases of police brutality, for instance, the international community has a role to play. But if I were part of the conversation or evaluation by the U.S. government or the European Union with regard to this dysfunctional democracy in Peru, I would approach very carefully by suggesting creating the right type of incentives, more than questions of punishment, or sanctions. It's incentives for them to create the right conditions to address the domestic problem that is—has become quite endemic, in the case of Peru. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Matthew. Matthew, you don't have a last name, so can you identify yourself? Q: Hello. Yes, my name is Matthew. I am a junior student from Arizona State University studying business, but working on a thesis that has to do with human rights and the ethics of supply chain management. My question is, you were talking at the very beginning kind of just about history and how understanding history is important. And what I was hoping to get was, why is understanding history and culture important when working to address human rights issues, history of dictatorship, colonialism? In cultures it's socially acceptable things, like child labor, in some countries, that's not acceptable in Western ideology. So, yeah, just how is history and culture important when working to address human rights for the future? VIVANCO: Matthew, I think you're referring to two different issues. History is central. It's really, really relevant. Because that helps you—if you—if you follow your history, especially periods of time when massive and gross violations were committed in Latin America, it's important to put things in context and value what you have today. And the job is to—not only to preserve democracy, but also to look for ways to strengthen democracy. Because part of the problem is that domestic debate is so polarized today, not just in Latin America, all over the world, that sometimes people—different, you know, segments of society—in their positions, they're so dismissive of the other side, that they don't realize that we need to frame our debate in a constructive way. Let me put it—one specific example. If the government of Argentina, who is a government very receptive and very sensitive to vast and gross violations of human rights committed during the military dictatorship, so in other words, I don't need to lecture that government on that subject. They are actually the people who vote for the current government of Argentina—not the new government, the current government of Argentina—is deeply committed to those kinds of issues. I think that one of the biggest lessons that you should learn from the past is the relevance of protecting the independence of the judiciary. If you don't have an independent judiciary, and the judiciary becomes an entity that is an appendix of the ruling party or is intimidated by politics, and they could be subject of impeachment procedures every time that they rule something, that the powerful—the establishment disagree, I think they're playing with fire, and they're not really paying attention to the lessons that you learn from recent history in Latin America. That would be my first comment regarding that type of issue. And the second one, about you mentioned specifically cultural problems, culture, tensions or conflicts. And you mentioned—your example was child labor. And, and you suggested that that—the combination of child labor is something typical of Western ideology. If I'm not wrong, that was the language that you used. I would—I would push back on that point. And because this is not just a Western or European commitment. This is a universal one. And this is reflected on international treaties, and that are supposed to eradicate that kind of practice. If you give up to the concept of local traditions, you know, cultural, you know, issues that you need to pay attention, sure, as long as they are not to be in conflict with fundamental human rights. Otherwise, in half of the planet you're not going to have women rights, and women will be subject of traditional control. And you wouldn't have rights for minorities, and especially—and not only, but especially—the LGBTQ community. And you wouldn't have rights for racial minorities, or different religious beliefs. So, we have to watch and be very careful about what type of concessions we make to cultural traditions. I am happy to understand that different communities in Latin America might have different traditions, but there is some firm, solid, and unquestionable minimum that are the these universal human rights values that are not the property or monopoly of anyone. You know, these are—and this is not an ethical conversation. This is a legal one, because these values are protected under international law. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to combine or take two questions. The first question is from Lindsay Bert, who is at the department of political science at Muhlenberg College, who asks if you could speak on the efficacy of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in addressing the human rights violations you described. And the second question is from Leonard Onyebuchi Ophoke, a graduate student at Cavendish University in Uganda: Why is it almost impossible to hold the actors that violate human rights accountable? What could be done to make the mechanism more enforceable? VIVANCO: The inter-American system of human rights protection, there is nothing similar to inter-American system of human rights protection in the Global South. You don't have something similar in Asia, or Africa, or the Middle East. In other words, you don't have a mechanism where ultimately a court, a court of law—not just a commission, a court of law—handle individual cases, specific complaints of human rights abuses, and governments participate in public hearings. The parties involved have the obligation to present evidence before the court, and the court finally ruled on the specific matters where its decisions are binding. The number of issues that have been addressed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the last thirty years in Latin America are really incredible. And the impact—this is most important point—the impact at a local level is remarkable. In the area, for instance, of torture, disappearances. I'm referring to the elaboration of concepts and the imposing the obligation of local governments to adjust their legislation and practice, and to address specific problems or issues by providing remedies to victims. That is quite unusual. And the court has remarkable rulings on free speech, on discrimination issues, on indigenous populations, on military jurisdiction. One of the typical recourse of governments in the region when security forces were involved in human rights atrocities was to invoke military jurisdiction. So they say, no worries, we are going to investigate our own crimes. And the court has been actually very, very firm, challenging that notion to the point that I don't think there is a single case in Latin America today—once again, with the exception of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, that I hope that somebody will ask me a question about those three countries—and I don't think there is a single case where today security forces try to—or attempt to shield themselves from investigation invoking military jurisdiction. And the credit is to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. I can elaborate, and give you—provide you with a long list of examples of areas where the court has been actually really, really critical in advancing human rights in the region. Let me give you actually one last example that I think is very—is very illustrative, very revealing. In Chile, something like probably twenty years ago or fifteen years ago, full democracy. Full democracy. No Chile under Pinochet. The Supreme Court of Chile ruled that a mother who was openly lesbian did not qualify for the custody of her children because she was lesbian. And she had a couple. So that was sufficient grounds to rule in favor of the father, because the mother didn't have the moral grounds to educate her own kids, children. And this was decided by the Supreme Court of Chile. Not just a small first instance tribunal. And I will point out that the vast majority of the—I mean, the public in Chile was pretty much divided, but I'm pretty sure that the majority of Chileans thought that the Supreme Court was right, you know? The case went to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. And fortunately, after a few years, the court not only challenged that decision of the Supreme Court, forced Chile to change its legislation, and to change the ruling of the Supreme Court of Chile, which is supposed to be the last judgment in the country. And the impact of that one, not only in Chile, in the rest of the region, because it shapes the common wisdom, the assumptions of many people. It helps for them to think carefully about this kind of issues. And the good news is that that mother was able to have the custody of her kids. And not only that, the impact in Chilean society and in the rest of the region was remarkable. Now, the second question that was asked was about how difficult it is to establish accountability for human rights abuses against the perpetrators of those abuses. I mean, it's a real challenge. It depends on whether or not you have locally an independent judiciary. If you do have an independent judiciary, the process is slow, it's messy, it's complicated. But there is a chance that atrocities could be addressed. And that is— especially human rights atrocities or abuses committed during the military dictatorship. There are countries in the region, like for instance, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, where there are people in prison for those type of atrocities. In Brazil, thanks to an amnesty law that was passed in 1978, real investigation and prosecution of those atrocities actually never happened. And an important lesson that you could bear in mind is that Brazilian military are very dismissive of these type of issues, of human rights issues. But not only that, my sense is that Brazilian military officers at very high level are not afraid of stepping into politics, and give their opinion, and challenge the government. In other words, they were actually very, very active, and I'm referring to top officials in the Brazilian Army, during the Bolsonaro administration. There were top leaders who actually publicly argued that if they have to organize a coup again in Brazil, they are ready. That kind of language you don't find in Argentina, in Chile, in other countries where there have been some accountability. For one simple reason, the top military officers running the show are very much aware that if they get involved in politics, that they are part tomorrow of a coup d'état or something like that, at the end of the day they will be responsible. And they might be subject of criminal prosecution for atrocities committed during that period. And so there is a price to pay. So their calculation is much more, shall we say, prudent regarding this issue. But again, once again, how difficult it is? It's very difficult to establish accountability, and much more difficult when you're dealing with dictatorship, where you need to rely on the work done by, for instance, the ICC, the International Criminal Court, which is pretty active in the case of Venezuela. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next question from Fordham. Q: Good afternoon, Mr. Vivanco. My name is Carlos Ortiz de la Pena Gomez Urguiza, and I have a question for you. El Salvador is currently battling crime and gangs with strategies such as mano dura, which have shown a significant decrease in crime at the cost of violating human rights. Do you see a possible effective integration of such policies in high-crime-rate countries, such as Mexico, to stop the growth of narco and crime gang activity? And if so, how? VIVANCO: Well, look, yeah, Carlos, very good question. Bukele in El Salvador is a real, real challenge. It's really, really a complicated case, for several reasons. He's incredibly popular. No question about it. He has managed to—thanks to that popularity—to concentrate power in his own hands. He fully controls Congress. But, much more relevant, he fully controls the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today is subordinated to the executive branch. And he is constantly going after the civil society, and free media, and the opposition. Now, in violation of the Salvadorean constitution, he's going to run for reelection. And he will be reelected, because he's also very popular. And his policies to go after gangs are cruel, inhuman, and without—not even a facade of respect for due process. Essentially, the policy which is not sustainable and is—I don't think is something that you could export to other countries—is a policy—unless you have full control, unless you have some sort of dictatorship or quasi dictatorship. Which is based, in essence, in the appearance, in the number of tattoos that people, especially in the marginal communities in the periferia in El Salvador, where shanty towns are located. The police has a, you know, green light to arrest anyone who fit that profile. And then good luck, because it's going to be very, very difficult for that person to avoid something like several months in prison. The whole point of having an independent judiciary and due process is that law enforcement agencies have the—obviously, not only the right, the duty to prevent crimes and to punish criminals. Not physically punish them. You know, it's to arrest them, to detain them, and to use proportional force to produce that attention. But they need to follow certain rules. They cannot just go around and arrest anyone who they have some sort of gut feelings that they are involved in crimes, because then you don't—you're not—the whole system is not able to distinguish and to make a distinction between potential criminals and innocent people. But it is complicated, the case of Bukele, because, for instance, I was referring initially to the technique of naming and shaming as a technique, as a methodology to expose governments with deplorable human rights record. But in the case of Bukele, he couldn't care less about. In other words, actually, I think he used the poor perception that exists, already that is established outside El Salvador as a result of his persecution of gangs in El Salvador—he used that kind of criticism as a way to improve his support domestically. In other words, when the New York Times published a whole report about massive abuses committed by Bukele's criminal system, in the prison system in El Salvador, what Bukele does is to take that one, that criticism, as actually ammunition to project himself as a tough guy who is actually, you know, doing the right thing for El Salvador. It's a question of time. It's a question of time. All of this is very sad for El Salvador, one of the few democracies in Central America with some future, I think, because I think they managed after the war to create institutions that are—that were much more credible than in the neighboring countries, like Guatemala, Honduras, and I'm not going to even mention Nicaragua. But under the control of this strongman, everything is possible today in El Salvador. He will be able to govern El Salvador this way as long as he's popular. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has relaxed its attention and pressure on that government, based on the question of migration. So they are hostage by the cooperation of Bukele government to try or attempt to control illegal immigration into the U.S. So that point trumps or, I mean, supersedes everything else. And that is actually very unfortunate. FASKIANOS: Thank you. I'm going to take the next two questions, written questions. One is on the subject that you wanted, from Brittney Thomas, who is an undergraduate at Arizona State University: How come the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are socialist or communist while other Latin America countries are predominantly democracies? And then from Roger— VIVANCO: I'm sorry, I couldn't understand the question. Obviously, it's about Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, but? FASKIANOS: Why are they socialist or communist while other Latin American countries are predominantly democracies? VIVANCO: Oh, I see. OK. FASKIANOS: Yeah. And then the next question is from Roger Rose, who is an associate professor of political science at University of Minnesota, Morris: Given the recent decline in the norms of U.S. democracy in the last seven years, does the U.S. have any credibility and influence in the region in promoting democracy? And, again, if you could comment specifically on nations with the least democratic systems—Venezuela, Nicaragua—how could the U.S. play a more constructive role than it is currently? VIVANCO: The U.S. is always a very important player, very, very important. I mean, it's the largest economy in the world and the influence of the U.S. government in Latin America is huge. However, obviously, I have to acknowledge that our domestic problems here and serious challenges to the fundamentals of the rule of law, and just the notion that we respect the system according to which one who wins the election is—you know, has the legitimacy and the mandate to form a new government. If that notion is in question, and there are millions of American citizens who are willing to challenge that premise, obviously undermines the capacity of the U.S. to exercise leadership on this—in this context. And the autocrats and the autocracies in the region—I'm not referring to the dictatorships, but I'm referring to the Andrés Manuel López Obrador, once again, from Mexico, or Bolsonaro in Brazil—they take those kinds of developments in the U.S. as green lights to do whatever they want at local level. So that is a serious—obviously, it's a serious problem. And what is going on here has ramifications not only in the region, but also in the rest of the world. Now, Cuba is a historical problem. It's going to be too long to address the question in terms of why Cuba is a dictatorship and the rest of the region. Part of the problem with Cuba is that you have a government that violates the most fundamental rights and persecutes everyone who challenges the official line. And most of the Cubans today are willing to leave the country and to go into exile. But the problem is that we don't have the right tool, the right instrument in place, to exercise pressure on Cuba. And the right instrument today is the embargo. And that embargo, that policy is a total failure. The Cuban government is the same, exactly the same dictatorship. There has been no progress. And there's going to be no progress, in my view, as long as the U.S. government insist on a policy of isolation. You should be aware that every year 99 percentage of the states in the world condemned the isolation against Cuba, with the exception and the opposition of the U.S. government, Israel, and in the past was the Marshall Islands. Now, I don't think even the Marshall Islands joined the U.S. government defending that policy. So the policy is incredibly unpopular. And the debate at international level is about the U.S. government policy on Cuba and not about the deplorable human rights record of Cuba. That's why I was actually very supportive of the change of policy attempted during the Obama administration. Unfortunately, the isolation policy depends on Congress. And since the times of Clinton, this is a matter of who is the one in control of Congress. And the policy of isolation, it once again makes Cuba a victim of Washington. And Cuba, by the way, is not isolated from the rest of the world. So the U.S. is incredibly, I would say, powerless with regard to the lack of democracy and human rights in Cuba. And at the time, offers a fantastic justification for the Cuban government to present itself as a victim. I think that is the—this is one of the most serious mistakes of the U.S. foreign policy in Latin America that I hope that one day will be—will be addressed effectively. The case of Nicaragua and Venezuela is different, in the sense that we are looking into countries that—Venezuela in particular—have democracy for—a very questionable democracy, very weak, subject of tremendous corruption, and so on and so forth. But they have a system of political parties, free media, and so on, for many, many years. And they end up electing a populist leader whose marching orders and, you know, actually first majors was to establish some effective control of the judiciary. And the Supreme Court became an appendage of the government many, many, many years ago, which means that they managed during the Chavez administration to run the country with some sort of facade of democracy. Today, under Maduro it's no a longer a façade, it's a clear dictatorship responsible for atrocities. Fortunately, it is under investigation by the ICC. And the case of Nicaragua is an extreme case, similar to Venezuela. And it's—it's a dictator who has managed to put in prison everyone who is not in full alliance with the government, including religious leaders, and academics, and opposition leaders, civil society, et cetera. The case of Nicaragua is more complicated because Nicaragua is subject of sanctions by the U.S. government, and the European Union, and Canada, and some governments in the region. But still, we don't see much progress there. FASKIANOS: Great. I'm going to go next to Nassar Nassar, who has a raised hand. You can unmute yourself and state your affiliation. Q: Yes. Hello. FASKIANOS: Great. Thank you. Q: Hi. My name is Nassar Nassar. I'm from Lewis University. So my question is, which are the most significant actors in the global governance of human trafficking? And how effective are they in tackling that? VIVANCO: Well, this is a matter that is usually—the main actors—so this is organized crime. This is organized crime. This is a question regarding—this is a—it's a huge business, and extremely profitable. And if you want to address these kinds of issues, you need regional cooperation, which is very challenging. Keep in mind that at a local level, in many of the most democratic countries in the region, you have tremendous tensions among the local police and different police. For instance, the local FBI—equivalent to an FBI, is usually in tension with other branches of law enforcement. And if you expect to have cooperation from the rest of the countries in the region, it's extremely challenging. So these type of issues require effective cooperation, adjustment on legislation. Require more better intelligence. The reason why you have this type—proliferation of this type of business is because, obviously, corruption and lack of accountability. So this is—my point is that it is a reflection of how weak is our law enforcement system, and how unprofessional, and subject many times of corruption. FASKIANOS: Just to follow up on that, a written question from Patricia Drown, who's at Regent University. How are the cartels and mafia being armed, and by whom? VIVANCO: Well, in the case of, for instance, Mexico, weapons comes from the U.S. Sometimes even legally. You know, the Second Amendment plays a role here. It's so easy to have access to weapons, all kind of weapons, in the U.S. So that helps. And a lack of actually an effective control mechanism to stop that type of traffic. The amount of money that cartels moved in countries like Mexico, but Colombia as well, and this mafia scene in Central America is significant. So they do have capacity to corrupt local enforcement officials that belongs to the police, the army, even the judiciary. And as long as you don't address the root cause of the problem, which is the lack of presence of the state—in other words, there are vast—as you know, there are regions of Colombia that are not under the control of the government, the territories in Colombia. And there are regions of Mexico that, unfortunately, are increasingly under more effective control of cartels than law enforcement and legitimate officials. So that unfortunately, is the—in my view, one of the reasons why it is relatively easy to witness this type of proliferation of illegal business. FASKIANOS: Fantastic. I think we are out of time. We have so many written questions and raised hands. Maybe I'll just try to sneak in one more from Andrea Cuervo Prados. You have your hand raised. I think you also wrote a question. So if you can be brief and tell us who you are. Q: OK. Hello. I'm adjunct faculty at Dickinson State University. And, Mr. Vivanco, I have a question related to Colombia. What do you think about the state of the human rights in Colombia under the new leftist president, Gustavo Petro, compared to the previous president, Ivan Duque? VIVANCO: Andrea, I think it's pretty much the same. When we witness actually an improvement of human rights conditions in Colombia, it was during the negotiations with the FARC. I'm referring to the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos. And with the signature of the peace agreement, when they signed the peace agreement, the numbers shows a serious decline in the cases of, for instance, internally displaced people, torture cases, executions, abductions, and many other of those typical abuses that are committed in Colombia in rural areas where this organized crime and irregular armed groups are historically present. But then the policies implemented during the Duque administration were actually not very effective. There was a sort of relaxation during that period, and not effective implementation of those commitments negotiated with the FARC. That had an implication in terms of abuses. And today I don't see a major shift. My sense is that the local communities are subject of similar abuses, including human rights activists as well as social leaders, in areas where there is a very weak presence of the state. FASKIANOS: Thank you very much. José Miguel Vivanco. We really appreciate your being with us today. And I apologize. Great questions. I'm sorry, we couldn't get to all of the written ones or raised hands. It's clear we will have to do this—focus in on this again and have you back. You can follow José Miguel on X at @VivancoJM. And the next Academic Webinar will be on Wednesday, November 29, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Shibley Telhami, who's a professor at the University of Maryland, will lead a conversation on public opinion on Israel and Palestine. And in the meantime, I encourage you to learn about CFR paid internships for students and fellowships for professors at CFR.org/careers. You can follow us at @CFR_Academic. And visit CFR.org, ForeignAffairs.com, and ThinkGlobalHealth.org for research and analysis on global issues. Again, José Miguel, thank you very much for today, and to all of you for joining us. VIVANCO: Thanks a lot. FASKIANOS: Take care. (END)