Group items tagged

This article discusses the implications of the US giving surveillance aid to Latin American countries. US officials have in recent years aided Latin American governments with surveillance equipment in order to bolster their reach in their own territories. The primary thought has been that this will help the governments with anti-drug traffickin operations, however, recent evidence has emerged that these technologies have been repurposed to silence judges and opposition voices. This goes to illustrate the danger in providing potentially corrupt governments with US aid, that is, the danger of misappropriation (this true for any form of aid). As such, as the United States becomes more and more comfortable with the idea of Latin America as a global player in the tech market, we must still utilize caution in regards to where and how we provide aid to bolster these governments and markets.

Of particular interest in this article is the methodology utilized to combat the increasing threat of Mexican drug cartels. Operation Fast and Furious underlines the fact that at the core, Americans are being forced to consider with more and more gravity the problem of Mexican drug cartels. The fact that "hundreds of weapons" were able to be lost, and subsequently passed into cartel hands, just goes to show the desperation of the United States government in concern to this real and visceral threat on our southern border. Furthermore, the article shows the problem in using weapons and ammunition to further a purpose. We saw the misguided delivery of weapons backfire on us during the Soviet-Afghan conflict, so it leaves one wondering when we'll figure out that this may not be the best way to engage in foreign policy.

To what extent do you think this is a domestic policy issue for the US as well as a foreign policy issue? Certainly the Central and South American countries rightly point out that if demand for drugs wasn't so fierce in the US the drug trade would be greatly diminished. Not to mention that drug crimes are one of the reasons that we have so many people in prison, along with the enormous costs (in money and lives) that are consumed in keeping the prison system going. Is this a topic where social scientists should be able to help out? To what extend does what we know from social science and medical science inform our laws? Even if we couldn't work out completely the demand issue on our end, is it possible if we made a significant dent in it, that it would make enough of a difference that progress could be made at the production end in disrupting that node? It seems to me we don't hear much from scientists in regard to this issue -- why not?

Another article on the war on drugs. This article explains that the Guatemalan president suggested drug decriminalization in front of the UN General assembly, and said that it should coincide with increasing military pressure on drug violence. Legal drug use would be state controlled, much like the use of tobacco and alcohol in the United States.

It certainly seems like decriminalization would take the money and violence out of the equation (or at least, a great deal of it). Certainly, Prohibition in the US re alcohol was a big mistake in regard to criminal activity, and even with the problems alcohol currently causes, there are still forms of control (laws, public attitudes, health advisories)...Would it help if we put more effort into scientific studies on addiction? Do we know enough in that regard to circulate public information that would be relevant? Why don't we have conferences about this topic where the issues are debated? I'd like to see something like that at OU, with input from the law school, and the sociologists, psychologists, law enforcement, Latin Americanists, etc. etc. It could be very enlightening. Too dangerous a topic, though? But we should be able to talk about anything at an education of higher learning...

Essentially this article describes a long drawn out legal battle, starting in the 70s, between Chevron and the residents of a region in Ecuador. Apparently the oil company, then Texaco, released billions (yes, billions) of gallons of toxic waste in an area affecting parts of the Amazon. Despite the opinion of the Ecuadorians, Chevron claims their end of the issue has been long settled. - This case seems to bring to light several noteworthy factors. Involved is a major pollution event as opposed to accumulative issues such as global warming. So the immediate responses to these differing kinds of environmental problems is, of course, quite different. With a major event an expeditious 'clean up' is always a priority, but there is still a paradigmatic similarity regarding the effects of pollution on the environment over time. That is, the difficulty and/or unwillingness to accept and deal with the long term damage incurred. Also relevant, one may consider the global political implications of cases like these. The consequences of American companies destroying foreign lands seems interesting in itself, but equally so is the relationship of courts and legal systems in different countries.- I will be interested to see if Chevron ever pays. tl;dr- 1970s Chevron spill shows a glimpse of political complications across borders.

Good point about discrete events vs. longer-term processes in regard to whether that makes them more manageable to resolve (you would think so, but....) Toxic waste is a huge global issue (and certainly not inconsequential in the US), and the electronic waste issue is a big one. At the very least, this kind of foot-dragging will hardly win the hearts and minds of those in other countries who know the US via the local reputations of US companies that don't see the local population as stakeholders. How do we shift the culture to thinking in long-range terms? Maybe the pushback by other countries will force a shift?

In this article a connection is drawn between the United States' increasing use of bio-fuels, particularly corn ethanol, and increased cost to import and sell food products in poor nations. Among others, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala are mentioned by name. According to the article, the amount of added burden from this is enough to undermine aid and relief efforts in these nations. It seems that poor crop yields, presumably due to climate change, are often pinned as being directly responsible for increasing food costs and shortages. Although environmental factors certainly play their part, it appears to be important for us to consider what other pressures may be mounting. Assuming this article is accurate, our domestic policies may have unintended not-so-domestic consequences. Countries who rely on imports for food products are typically doing so because they cannot produce enough on their own, and if they cannot afford the imports then a food-shortage results. The implications may even be further reaching than the author states. If I'm not mistaken, sugarcane is another crop which is often utilized as a bio-fuel source. If that is the case, then one may be compelled to consider the great number of products which include corn and sugarcane and what that may mean for already struggling populations. Reducing the reliance on fossil fuels is an important undertaking, but is relying on food for fuel the proper route?

An interesting story discussing an enrichment program directed at Peru's underprivileged schools. The aim of the program was to put a laptop computer in the hands of every student. With the help of this technology, the hope was that young Peruvian's would be able to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of literacy, mathematics, technological aptitude, etc. However the results of the project were not exactly as planned. The rural areas, which are often the neediest, suffer the greatest complications when trying to implement the technology in the classroom. It appears that these communities are simply not equipped to maximize the potential of the laptop devices. Remote locations, lack of prior understanding, and poor electrification infrastructure all play a part. Still, the use of the laptops did seem to improve some aspects of the learning experience, and at the least provided some exposure from which future interests may be sparked. This article seems to shed a bit of light on the dramatic discrepancies across cultures. In the U.S. individuals are so completely surrounded with technological resources that the assimilation of new technologies is often seamless. For other countries, like Peru, their lack of technological immersion creates systemic and epistemic faults which greatly affect their ability to actually make good use of information technologies. I thought this piece was fascinating and seems to point toward other worthwhile cultural questions.

I wonder what the impact was in more urbanized areas, as opposed to Lacachi.

This article lays out the reasons why Uruguay's government is considering legalization of marijuana. It has already been decriminalized and full legalization would allow the government to benefit economically from production. The profits could stimulate the economy and even be used to treat drug addicts and go towards drug education. Also, legalization would take power away from deadly cartels.

This article was very interesting. To me, it seems that Uruguay has been searching for a way to combat what the war on drugs has done to the cartels. This is vastly different to the approach the United States is taking in regards to marijuana. I wonder if we will see any of the affects here, in addition to how the U.S. government views government controlled marijuana. I feel that ong term, the different drug strategies could potentially change the U.S.'s current stance on drug policies if they prove their effectivness.

wow, great discussion! I've been working my way down from the top adding some comments and was wondering about decriminalization up above! This reminded me that there's a ballot initiative in Washington state this election year that could pass re legalization of marijuana, which would put the states vs the feds in an interesting position if so. I was looking for some info, and found this background on a site called ballotpedia -- which I didn't know existed and am definitely going to be using in the future! http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Washington_Marijuana_Legalization_and_Regulation,_Initiative_502_(2012)

This article describes a mining mountain in Bolivia, Cerro Rico, that is on the verge of collapse. This mountain has been mined for centuries by quechua slaves and although the people that toil in its bowels today are not technically enslaved, the harsh conditions and meager living workers make can still be equated to slavery. Unless something is done to stabilize the mountain, all the minors lives are in immediate danger. This article is very sad as it shows the ways in which colonial class stratification still exists today in Latin America.

an excellent piece, Josie, that reminds us that although we live in the shiny new hi-tech world of the 21st century that the 20th and even the 19thc are still with us literally in some parts of the world. We need to remember that fact. This situation also recalled one closer to home, in Picher Oklahoma. This wikipedia article notes that: "Picher is one of only a few locations in the world (along with others such as Gilman, Colorado and Wittenoom, Western Australia) to be evacuated and declared uninhabitable due to environmental and health damage caused by the mines the town once serviced." The cross-cultural comparisons would be interesting.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma

This article continues analysis of Latin America's potential as an economic and technological powerhouse of the future. Christopher Johnson writes, " As Europe attempts to cope with its financial crisis and Asia braces for the looming slowdown of China's economy, Latin America - in America's backyard - is witnessing an unprecedented expansion of its indigenous technology economy." Of course, the region is not without its problems: violence in Northern Mexico, lack of Brazilian infrastructure, and the attempts of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to kindle anti-US sentiment, to name a few. However, the result of the diligence of a number of independent technological startups in countries such as Peru, Brazil, and Argentina give many hope that Latin America will become a significant player in the global marketplace sometime in the near future.

This article analyzes claims by Sebastian Pinera, president of Chili in his article for the Economist. Economic potential in Latin America seems quite high recently, with the earnings of top bankers in Brazil moving past those in New York or London. If these claims are true, the influx of business capital in the Latin American region should be a harbinger of an information revolution, as Latin America tries to keep up with the US, Europe, and Asia in this increasingly wired world.

This article again illustrates the nature of the Latin American technology market: largely consumer driven. This stands in opposition to the American model, which is mostly a top-down funding model where infrastructure is the primary concern for investors. In fact, most infrastructure spending in Latin America is imported from Japan, China, and the US, while in consumer markets, these global players have a hard time competing with local providers. Latin American must diversify its tech industres foundation to include local businesses focusing on infrastructure technologies if it wishes to be a competitor on the global scale in the future, rather than remaining dependent on these global powers for tech innovation.

This article in regards to Google's new data center in Chili highlights the paradox facing Latin American IT. Latin American use of the internet has increased rapidly in recent history (the online population jumped 16 percent in 2011), but Latin American users have yet to view the Internet as simply more than an entertainment source. Online banking and business continues to struggle to catch on, despite attempts by the Chilean government to spur growth in this sector. Many believe the implementation of this data center will help Latin Americans make this transition.

I felt that this article was interesting leading up to the election. It explains the varying differences between Romney and Obama's policy regarding Latin America. Romey's policy plan that he has adopted seems to be very agressive and confrontational regarding Latin America. Reading this article made me heavily question Romney's plans. I do not always feel agression grants the best results. After the ongoing violence that has risen from the insuing war on drugs, this approach seems harsh. Although it does point out Obama's hands off approach (for lack of a better term), the article does outline Romey's opinions and strategies.

I'd sure like to hear more about other parts of the world in terms of the issues in the presidential and senatorial/congressional elections. I know that the Middle East is incredibly important, but in this increasingly interconnected global world other regions are vital as well, given the global scope of issues such as climate change and the global ocean, not to mention the issue of adjusting to working together across cultures as a general issue. But I'm always surprised that we don't think more "hemispherically" when we think about international relations in terms of public debates. Perhaps as the percentage of US citizens with Hispanic ancestry increases this might change? Perhaps it is related as well to the fact that Americans don't put as much effort into learning foreign languages as other countries do...perhaps if more of us were fluent in Spanish there might be more awareness of what is going on elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere? Maybe more foreign exchange programs as well as a consequence would help?

This article explains a new road that has been built that is working to revitalize a road for farmers. This road creates a direct path to the super market in order to boost earnings for the farmers. It was funded by the United States supported "Millennium Challenge Cooperation."

More new stuff for me to learn about, thanks, Elizabeth! It's amazing that lack of reliable roads can be a stumbling block to development in the 21st century, but often this is the legacy of colonial regimes that in previous eras weren't interested in internal connections among the people, but in building only what was necessary in terms of transportation infrastructure to extract indigenous resources and get them exported (a problem in Africa as well). I didn't know anything about the Millennium Challenge Corporation, so began looking up some info. One interesting fact is that they are rated as the most "transparent" US agency and 9th most transparent out of 72 in the world by "Publish What You Fund: The Global Campaign for Aid Transparency" [one of 13 organizations marked "fair," the second highest category -- only two came in at the top category]. http://www.publishwhatyoufund.org/index/2012-index/ The pressure for transparency: a consequence of the Internet, since the cost of "publishing" the information is minimal? It will be interesting to see how well the federal and state governments at home and abroad do on this score in the coming years.

Rosling is a global public health expert, and is passionate about how statistical data should inform our understanding of global regions, individual nations in comparison with each other, and he challenges the possibly erroneous conventional wisdom about differences between "first world" and "third world" nations in terms of social markers that exist. This item is also useful background for understanding the foundational aspects of any area of the globe, and it also points you to relevant data sources.

This animated data software is available at http://www.gapminder.org/ It could make a great format for your final project in lieu of a more conventional paper -- something to think about?

This article details the rise of cell phone usage in Latin America during recent years. The growth of cell phone usage is such that in recent years, the number of users per 100 residents has grown to surpass that of even Germany. This is in a region where only between 3% and 7% of the population have access to the internet. This is indicative of the decentralized nature of Latin America's information networks, a significant problem facing Latin American leaders in today's global economy.

Mexico's president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto has asked the United States to extend the focus of the United State's relationship with Mexico beyond the war on drugs and illegal immigration. He asks that the two countries bolster economic ties and investments in energy. In general, the United States seems to portray a very negative image of Mexico that focuses solely on violence rather than emphasizing the ways in which the countries could develop together.

It's not an article, but I found it funny, and it pertains to Latin America.

Can't solve supply and demand problems without looking at the demand side, right? Seriously, though, the illegal drug trade is a good area for thinking about science and politics -- when we think about science and politics we tend to think of the hard sciences, but where the social sciences and medical sciences fit in terms of these human behavior issues is critical. To what extent are those in the behavioral sciences taken seriously by policymakers? When we think of legalization or decriminalization of drugs, are there interesting comparative medical and/or social scientific studies about the aftermath? Would that be useful info to know for the public, or are these matters only for experts? This would relate to the Ecuador article below as well--

Two south Texas city council persons wrote a book last year on the effect of the illegal drug trade out of Mexico and the effectiveness of US policy responses. Their conclusion: Legalization of marijuana the "least bad" option at this point, as the only way to effectively battle the criminal cartels that export drugs is economically. Here I think is an example of ways in which international black and grey markets, in this case the illegal drug trade, can affect policy.

Unfortunately, we won't know if legalization of a drug will have a net positive impact on society until we try it. Although history does provide some analogies that could help policy makers make a decision, such as prohibition.

Many Latin American countries seem to be considering drug legalization to be the "least bad" and necessary solution to the heinous drug trafficking problems present Mexico, Columbia, Bolivia and Peru for example. I believe legalization efforts are a step in the right direction. Sadly, wealthy countries such as the United States and Western Europe drive the demand for drugs from Latin America, but we do not suffer the consequences of trafficking or the war on drugs. Instead, people who have nothing, poor coca growers and drug mules who have no other options, are punished most harshly for rich people's cocaine. This is clearly unjust. Although legalization would be a complicated and messy process, I hope that in the future Latin American countries as well as the United States will come together and legalize drugs so that fewer people will suffer in the illegal trafficking process.