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Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Beijing Rescinds Textile Duties
This matters because more clothing produced in China means less clothing produced in El Salvador. Personally, I'm
conflicted on finding the right answer. Everyone deserves suitable and fulfilling employment in a safe working
environment.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 31, 2005; Page A3
BEIJING – China hardened its position in a brewing textile-trade spat with the U.S. and the European Union,
rescinding duties meant to slow rising exports and criticizing its trading partners for restricting Chinese imports.
In an announcement yesterday, Beijing said it will revoke some tariffs that it had voluntarily imposed this
year to assuage U.S. and EU concerns over a surge in inexpensive textiles exported by China following the lifting of a global
quota system. China's reversal on the tariffs affects 81 types of textiles, including more than a dozen categories of goods
that the U.S. and the EU this month had moved to restrict into their markets.
China's move wasn't totally unexpected, as Beijing had suggested last week that it would take such a step on
the duties following restrictive actions by the U.S. and EU. Beijing went further than it had suggested, in effect scrapping
a plan announced two weeks ago to raise the tariffs, in some cases by 400%, on 74 types of products as a way to restrain exports.
Moreover, China went beyond the items targeted for retaliation by the trading partners, canceling tariffs not only on those
goods but on some of its fastest-growing exports, such as skiwear, not subject to import limits....
Beijing had hoped that the end of the global quota system would prove a boon to its textile industry, which
has undergone major restructuring in hopes of capturing a huge portion of world trade.
The U.S. decision this month to impose safeguard quotas on seven kinds of China-made items, including cotton
trousers, knit shirts and underwear, and the EU's limits on T-shirts and yarn, which are to take effect in two weeks, are
among the first times that safeguards have been invoked since the quota system's dissolution.
[More in the WSJ]
Monday, May 30, 2005
"Nothing is Solved with Marches"
On the eve of the first anniversary of the Saca administration La Prensa Grafica, in its editorial, urges
the left to give up on marches as a way to change things. The editorial urges the left to enter into working with the
institutions of government, rather than public demonstrations. The editorialist expresses concern that these demonstrations
can easily turn violent. [It should be noted that the parties of the left (FMLN and PDC) are represented in the legislature.]
Ambassador Barclay
Ambassador and Mrs. Barclay (left and third from left) with
Vice President Escobar and her husband at the reception
in honor of the independence of Israel given by the
Israeli ambassador.
Mon, May 30, 2005 | link
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Report from Convention
Ginny Schlesselman has just returned from six days with our amig@s. Below is a short note from her. -------------------
Hello All,
I arrived home safely from El Salvador late last night/early this morning. "Hurrican Adrian" was no match for the moutains
of El Salvador, and turned out to be merely some heavy downpours on Friday. Thanks be to God. Many people were evacuated from
their homes--mostly the poor people who live in wood/cardboard shanties on the moutainsides, but the majority of people were
not severely affected.(Notably, the threat of diahrea made the national newspaper headlines for Friday as a result of the
storm--to my knowledge, that did not materialize either).
The storms did affect the convention however, because people were afraid to travel to San Salvador from the countryside
parishes. The Thursday evening reception was cancelled, and the opening Eurcharist Celebration scheduled for Friday evening
was moved to Saturday morning. We had a private 'reception' with Bishop Barahona on Friday evening in his office, and spoke
at length about the strengthening and continuation of the Sister diocese relationships. The remainder of the convention took
place on Saturday. It was an amazing trip. I have many stories to share and a message from the Bishop. It would be best written
up --maybe for the spirit, or for a display in the parish hall. I'll need to work on that.
For now, suffice it to say Mission Accomplished: I've returned with a renewed sense of purpose, 60 pounds of Salvadoran
Coffee, $200 worth of Cool New Stuff for the World Market , 150 photos, many new friends and lots of work for St. James to
do. I also bring with me 'saludos de parte Padre David and Irma, and muchas gracias from the beautiful people of El Salvador.
Paz y bendiciones,
Ginny
San Salvador Buses
Cute story... and accurate, too... (except that the bus fare has increased becasue of the cost of fuel)
------------------------
No schedules, no stops, no change—but at least your bus has plenty of personality.
There are no bus stops in San Salvador. Well, there are places where buses stop and people get on and off, but
there are no signs with pictures of buses, no benches, no helpful words to reassure you that you won’t just be waiting on
the street all day like an idiot.
There are also no bus schedules. The buses cough back and forth from one end of the
route to the other at their own pace, determined by traffic, the number of regular passengers, and how many people flag them
down at random places on the side of the road. As I wait for Ruta Uno, I watch two 9s go by, one after the other, followed
by a 44, a 30, a 9, two 44s, and another 9. Then a bus pulls up with psychedelic letters that look like they belong on a surfboard
or guitar case. I study the fluorescent glyphs, trying to make them out. It could be a 4, or maybe a 7, or maybe it’s not
a number at all. Only after the bus leaves do I realize the sign said “R-1.” That was, in fact, my bus.
A 9 goes by,
followed by a 30, a 30, and another 9. I study each carefully, making sure the numbers are not optical illusions that will
again transform themselves into R-1’s in passing. But it’s not always easy to find the route number. Sometimes it appears
on a little card taped to the front window instead of professionally painted in illegible Day-Glo script above the windshield.
In the latter cases I wind up spending six or seven seconds staring at the swirling colors before realizing that they are
not route numbers, but rather messages like “Dios es Amor” (God is love), “El Salvador,” or, on one occasion, a cryptic, “Jeniffer.”
The bus drivers don’t own the buses, but they do drive the same ones every day. The vehicles themselves are old discarded
American school buses, complete with English-only evacuation procedures printed over all emergency exits, though all traces
of National School Bus Yellow, the official color, have been painted over as required by law. To the drivers, these are their
offices, their cubicles, their mobile homes away from home, and they do their best to personalize them. A few weeks ago, they
all brought out their political flags in honor of the upcoming presidential elections. The majority of drivers are left-wing,
and had FMLN flags taped to windows or hung from rearview mirrors; I saw only one flag from ARENA, the ruling party, on a
starkly clean blue bus with no other signs of personalization. I have also seen Salvadoran flags, Canadian flags, and American
flags, plus one flag with the randomly English slogan, “In God We Trust.”
A bus goes by with glowing green shark fins
attached to its top edges. I am so distracted by the spectacle that I miss another R-1. I curse under my breath, then wait
impatiently as a 30 goes by, then two 44s, and then a 9.
I play with the coins in my hand: a dime, a nickel, and three
pennies—seventeen cents, exact bus fare. They’ve switched to the U.S. dollar in El Salvador but it’s always dangerous not
to have exact change. You give them a one-dollar bill and they ask if you have anything smaller. You give them a five and
they wince. With a ten, you’re lucky if they don’t swear at you. One bus driver didn’t have change for a quarter. I let him
keep it, my noble eight-cent contribution to the bus-driver cause.
Finally an R-1 comes and I manage to identify it
before it pulls away. I climb aboard but freeze on the stairs, too astonished to continue. A two-foot stuffed ape hangs from
the ceiling, accompanied by half a dozen smaller stuffed animals, including a rabbit, a monster, and a grimacing dog. A flashing
red police light has been stuck to the ceiling and a fluorescent green strip blinks on and off, just above the rear-view mirror.
All of this is reflected multiple times in the surfaces of three dozen CDs that have been glued to the ceiling. I have just
climbed aboard a mobile fun house.
The other passengers appear inured to the spectacle, and the driver glares at me
for loitering on the steps. I quickly hand him my seventeen cents and take a seat, but not before the bus lurches forward
and I almost fall. I sit next to a man calmly reading a newspaper. The lynched toys swing back and forth all the way home.—Katherine
Glover
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
A Major Swipe At Sweatshops
From Business Week, May 23
Remember sweatshop exposés? They haven't hit the headlines much in the past few years. In part that's
because high-profile companies such as Nike Inc. (NKE ) and Gap Inc. (GPS ) now work regularly with labor rights groups to monitor their vast global networks of supplier factories.
Still, only about 100 U.S. and European multinationals participate in such efforts to find and remedy abuses. The vast majority
of Western companies haven't followed suit even after a decade of activism on the issue. Perhaps the most troublesome absence
has been that of the large retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT ). and Target Corp. (TGT ) These giants increasingly control the pricing power in overseas manufacturing that in turn dictates how
much money factories can spend on improving labor conditions.
MAKING ETHICS EASIER Now global labor monitoring may get a big leg up. Nike,
Patagonia, Gap, and five other companies have joined forces with six leading anti-sweatshop groups to devise a single set
of labor standards with a common factory-inspection system. The goal: to replace today's overlapping hodgepodge of approaches
with something that's easier and cheaper to use -- and that might gain traction with more companies. After two years of debate,
the parties quietly signed an agreement in late April to run a pilot project in several dozen Turkish factories that produce
garments and other products for the eight companies. If it works, the 30-month experiment would create the first commonly
accepted global labor standards -- and a way to live up to them. Essentially, it would provide a private-sector analog to
the International Labor Organization principles that most countries have long endorsed but rarely enforce. The rights groups
hope that the Wal-Marts of the world will ultimately sign on, finding it easier to join in than to explain why they can't
embrace a norm that is accepted by other large companies. "One guiding goal of this project is to bring in those companies
still standing on the sidelines [that] have said there's too much disagreement on the right system," says Alice Tepper Marlin,
president of Social Accountability International (SAI), a New York-based anti-sweatshop group involved in the initiative. More
broadly, the Turkey experiment will shed light on a fundamental conflict between multinationals' desire for decent factories
and their constant search for the cheapest suppliers. Typically, Western companies monitor supplier factories, then work with
them to fix the problems they find. Usually, that costs money. But companies also switch suppliers frequently as they bid
out production to the cheapest and most efficient plants. "We hope the initiative will test this relationship, since a factory
that can lose the next order to the guy across the street will always feel pressure to cut corners on labor standards," says
Scott Nova, executive director of Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), a group founded by U.S. students. The desired outcome, says
Nova, is that common guidelines will keep companies from undercutting one another on labor standards. Right now, three
major groups oversee factory inspections: SAI, whose members include Toys 'R' Us ( TOY ) and Otto Versand, the German direct-mail giant; the Washington-based Fair Labor Assn. (FLA), which was set up by shoe and
apparel makers such as Nike, Reebok International ( RBK ), and Liz Claiborne ( LIZ ); and Ethical Trading Initiative, a London-based group of European unions, nonprofits, and companies such as Marks &
Spencer Group ( MAKSY ) and Sainsbury's Supermarkets. Each has different, often conflicting aims. All three groups have codes of conduct that spell
out standards, such as no child labor or excessive overtime. They also oversee factory monitoring aimed at enforcing their
codes and remedying violations in countries such as China and Vietnam. Yet there's little agreement on methodology. Many companies
have responded to the confusion by fashioning some form of self-monitoring. Wal-Mart says it inspects thousands of supplier
factories each year in dozens of countries. But since no outside body such as SAI or the FLA is involved and Wal-Mart won't
release its audits or even its factories' names, the public is left to take the company's word for it. Given how contentious
the issues can be among the rights groups, much less the companies, it may well take the full 30 months to sort everything
out in the Turkey project. The Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability & Workers' Rights, as the effort is called,
took two years just to reach the formal start point. Public disclosure has been one stumbling block. For years activists have
demanded that Western brands and retailers disclose the names of the factories that supply them. Most have refused, saying
their sourcing information is highly competitive. But the WRC, which is involved in the Joint Initiative, insisted the factories
in the Turkish project be disclosed once they're chosen (a task due to be completed in June). Then, after months of
debate, the groups and companies agreed that brands that feel comfortable disclosing their factories could do so, while those
that don't can use code names to report problems. Only if serious abuses surface can the WRC or another group publicize a
factory's name. The disclosure wrangle eased considerably in April when Nike, after years of reluctance, released the names
of all of its 750-plus factories around the globe. Says Frank Henke, head of social and environmental affairs at Adidas-Salomon
( ADDDY ), another member of the Joint Initiative: "Right from the beginning, we've been committed to disclosing our factories." A
larger question the groups are tackling is how factories should be inspected. The two primary models used now differ greatly.
On paper, SAI has the strictest code. But participating companies can choose which of their factories will be inspected, thus
easily sidestepping plants that are likely to show problems. The FLA has a weaker code but stricter monitoring. Its
staff selects which factories to inspect, with no input from member companies. The FLA also audits 5% of a company's entire
factory list every year. So Nike, Reebok, and other FLA members can't say they're doing a good job based on just a few factories. WAGE WARS In the long run the most contentious issue is likely to be wages. Most company labor
codes say suppliers must pay at least a country's minimum wage. But SAI requires brands to pay a so-called living wage, which
is set with local rights groups based on area prices and living standards -- a controversial idea. "The living wage is probably
the single biggest sticking point in the whole process, so it will be a great learning process to see how it would affect
us," says Caitlin A. Morris, senior manager for global issues management at Nike. There may be little media attention
paid to Third World workers these days, but human rights groups still routinely find abuses of every description. If the Joint
Initiative ever takes hold, a floor could finally build beneath working conditions around the globe.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Hurricane News Report from ER-D
Hurricane Adrian battered El Salvador early Friday morning
with torrential rains causing the evacuation of 14,000 people from low-lying coastal areas. The eye of the hurricane made
landfall on the southern coast south of the capital of San Salvador, washing out roads and cutting off power.
According to reports from the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the hurricane hit with sustained winds of almost
75 miles per hour. Hurricane Adrian is the first recorded Pacific hurricane to hit the country. The storm is expected to weaken
as it moves through El Salvador before cutting across Honduras. Officials in both countries have reported flooding and landslides
in a region already vulnerable to the effects of heavy rains.
“We made the decision to close and evacuate the Diocesan office on Thursday and are closely monitoring and
evaluating the effects of Hurricane Adrian,” said the Most Rev. Martín Barahona, Bishop of El Salvador and Archibishop and
Primate of the Anglican Church of the Central American Region. “I have instructed parishes in the diocese to act as shelter
for anyone who needs it.”
Two years ago, Episcopal Relief and Development worked with the Asociacion Mangle to implement a radio-based
early warning system to aid in emergency situations in the region of Bajo Lempa. “This seems the perfect time to thank ERD
once again for its support of Bajo Lempa, specifically for the project to strengthen our early warning system,” said Ing.
Miguel Ramirez, a staff agronomist at Asociacion Mangle. “The system has allowed us to operate with haste during this difficult
time,” he said.
Effects of Hurricane Adrián
According to El Diario de Hoy the landslides and other damage to roadways has been almost
totally cleared as of this morning. All sections of the country have been heard from according to the Ministry of Public
Works.
Earlier.... (Friday @ 11:04 PM)
PUERTO LA LIBERTAD, El Salvador (AP) — Hurricane Adrian slammed into El Salvador’s coast
before dawn Friday, cutting off power and forcing officials to close schools and evacuate some 14,000 people. The storm quickly
weakened as it raced across Central America, and no deaths directly linked to the storm were reported.
.
The center of the hurricane hit a stretch of coast near the capital, San Salvador, according to the U.S.
National Hurricane Center in Miami, which reported maximum sustained winds of almost 75 mph as it made landfall.
.
Adrian weakened quickly as it moved out of El Salvador and across Honduras at about 12 mph. By morning,
its winds were down to 40 mph and the Hurricane Center said it could dissipate before reaching the Caribbean.
From Reuters
According to Reuters two men were killed in a landslide in Guatemala.
A Salvadoran man walks outside his house, surrounded by floodwater from the storm.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
More on Adrian
From La Prensa Grafica:
The military in El Salvador reports evacuating almost 15,000 people in advance of Adrian. (Thursday
@ 6:02 PM CST)
TACA and United Airlines have stopped flights out of El Salvador. (5:33 PM)
About 270,000 people are in areas of high risk according to aid agencies. (5:03 PM)
Trees downed in advance of the storm.
Refugees register at an evacuation center.
Hurricane Adrian
From NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
8 PM PDT THU MAY 19 2005
...CENTER OF HURRICANE VERY NEAR THE COAST OF EL SALVADOR...
A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE
COAST OF EL SALVADOR.
AT 8 PM PDT...0300Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE ADRIAN WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 13.4 NORTH...LONGITUDE
89.6 WEST OR VERY NEAR THE COAST OF EL SALVADOR AND ABOUT 35 MILES... 55 KM...SOUTHWEST OF SAN SALVADOR
EL SALVADOR.
ADRIAN IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 9 MPH ...15 KM/HR...AND A GENERAL NORTHEASTWARD MOTION...WITH
SOME INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED...IS LIKELY OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF ADRIAN BE MOVING INLAND OVER
EL SALVADOR DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND OVER HONDURAS ON FRIDAY.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 80 MPH...140 KM/HR...WITH
HIGHER
GUSTS...IN A SMALL AREA NEAR THE CENTER. ADRIAN IS
A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. STRONGER WINDS...ESPECIALLY
IN GUSTS...ARE LIKELY OVER ELEVATED TERRAIN. ADRIAN WILL WEAKEN AFTER MOVING INLAND.
HAM RADIO REPORTED A WIND GUST
TO 81 MPH...130 KM/HR...AT COMALAPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATED ABOUT 15 MILES... 25 KM... SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF SAN SALVADOR.
HURRICANE
FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 15 MILES... 30 KM... FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD
UP TO 70 MILES...110 KM.
ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 985 MB...29.09 INCHES.
RAINFALL
ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES...WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS OF NEAR 20 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS...CAN BE EXPECTED IN ASSOCIATION
WITH ADRIAN. THESE RAINS ARE LIKELY TO CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES.
STORM SURGE FLOODING
OF 2 TO 4 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...CAN BE EXPECTED NEAR AND TO THE
EAST OF WHERE THE CENTER MAKES LANDFALL.
Monday, May 16, 2005
On CAFTA....
From today's WSJ...
Trade Liberalization Earns Mixed Marks As Fighter of Poverty
By BOB DAVIS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 16, 2005; Page A2
The newest way to sell trade pacts is to trumpet how much they help poor countries. Thus, a new round of global
trade talks is dubbed "the development round." And President Bush promotes a Central American trade deal as a way to bring
"good jobs and higher labor standards" to the region.
While the pitch may assuage liberal guilt and make conservatives feel compassionate, trade liberalization has
a mixed record as a poverty fighter. China and some Southeast Asian nations have lifted millions out of poverty through jobs
created by foreign investment and exports. But Latin America, which has followed the same free-trade model, remains impoverished.
"Trying to sell trade policy as a high-powered way for helping the poor -- you can't do it with intellectual
honesty," says Gary Hufbauer, an economist at the free-trade Institute for International Economics. Trade aids overall growth,
he argues, but the benefits aren't targeted toward lower-income people.
A different policy would help: opening the borders of wealthy nations to more temporary workers. More work
visas would equal more wealth for the world's poor. If rich countries allowed in enough temporary workers to increase their
overall work force by 3%, that would raise global income by $150 billion annually, with the bulk of the gain going to low-income
workers, according to calculations by World Bank economist L. Alan Winters. "Even a relatively small change in labor mobility
is worth at least as much as any reduction in quotas and tariffs," he says.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Conversational Spanish in Rome
The following
information from Mohawk Valley CC was provided by Mary Hunt, Zion, Rome:
We are offering
Conversational and Travel Spanish this summer on Tuesday evenings from 6-8pm. This class is scheduled to run for 8 weeks
from 7/19 – 9/6 and the cost is $99.
Although our
summer non-credit brochure has not been distributed to the community yet, you are welcome to come in to our Registrars Office
PC117 on the Rome Campus and register for the course using the Course Registration #32676 (please bring this number with you).
If I can answer
any questions for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you! Stephanie Verostek
Stephanie Verostek
Office of the Dean
Rome Campus, MVCC
1101 Floyd Avenue
Rome, NY 13440
(315) 334-7705
sverostek@mvcc.edu
Monday, May 9, 2005
New Prayer List
The prayer cycle for the companion relationship is now posted through the end of 2005. Click on Prayer Cycle in the navigation bar above.
Saturday, May 7, 2005
Opposing Violence: An editorial from La Prensa Grafica
There isn't a single Salvadoranean who has not been affected directly or indirectly by violence. Unfortunately,
we are all victims of crime. Since we all are victims we must oppose it.
We must be committed to work against violence at all levels -- verbal and physical agression in the home
as well as killings and other violent acts in the community.
This is a fight for all of us. It is never too late. We don't have to live in a climate of insecurity.
Disarmament is a struggle that is easy, but there are politicians who oppose this becasue of special interests. Why?
Only the police, the military and security guards should have guns.
The quality of life will not improve if we continue to live with the uncertainty caused by crime.
No one should remain on the side lines. All must be against violence.
[Not an exact translation]
Salvadoran President Depands Explanation from Honduras
President Saca has asked the Honduran government for an explanation for an incursion into El Salvador by
Honduran soldiers last Thrusday. It is reported that twelve solders entered Chalatenango and demanded food and money
from the locals.
Friday, May 6, 2005
Earthquake Near San Salvador
A minor earthquake (4.8) struck between San Salvador and Santa Ana (about ten miles from Izalco) early on
the morning of May 4. Sixty three families were evacuated, but there were no injuries. Eight houses have been
condemned; 55 more were damaged.
Apparently typical damage caused by the earthquake to the concrete block wall of a house. All newer
homes are constructed of block with cement and re-enforcing bar in every opening in the block.
Salvadoran Supreme Court Overturns Article 10
Article 10 of the Law of Migration was found unconstitutional by the Salvadoran Supreme Court. The
decision, reached on April 19, was published yesterday. Article 10 says, in part, "In no case will allow the entry into
the national territory (...) to people who profess anarchical or ideas opposed to democracy”. There had been some danger
of Nobel Prize winner José Saramago being blocked from visiting El Salvador in June.
Cuba's Castro Criticizes New OAS Leader
By JOHN RICE, Associated Press Writer Thu May 5,11:42 AM ET
HAVANA - Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized the Organization of American States and
its new Chilean secretary-general, accusing him of using "insolent, interventionist" language to suggest change is needed
in communist Cuba.
Castro used a three-hour appearance on Cuban state television late Wednesday to lambaste the
United States and several other governments around the region that he said were servile toward the United States.
Jose Miguel Insulza, a former socialist interior minister in Chile, was widely considered the third and last
choice of U.S. officials in the months-long struggle for leadership of the OAS.
U.S. Soldiers Sought for Questioning
By KIM HOUSEGO, Associated Press Writer May 6,2005 7:30 PM
BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombian investigators on Friday sought to interrogate two American soldiers accused of
selling munitions to death squads.
Allan N. Tanquary and Jesus Hernandez were arrested Tuesday at a luxury house west of the capital
where authorities discovered 40,000 rounds of ammunition allegedly destined for a right-wing paramilitary militia. They were
turned over to U.S. authorities on Thursday despite widespread calls for them to face trial in Colombia.
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Costa Rica Balks at Free-Trade Pact
By JOHN LYONS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 3, 2005; Page A2
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – With President Bush's plan to bind Central America and the U.S. in a free-trade
pact already facing tough opposition in Congress, an obstacle has surfaced that further threatens the pact's chances of passage.
Costa Rica, the most-developed of the six nations that have signed the Central American Free Trade
Agreement with the U.S., is balking at ratifying the accord. The country's parliament may not even vote on the pact until
after the presidential election next February. The other Cafta nations are Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and
the Dominican Republic.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mymod/hdln/z/afwsjthln/sty/SIG=137mdgnek/EXP=1115240974;_ylt=AnPhMAuX_GCJ_4A.qtYOuacE1vAI/*http%3A//online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111507115514722563,00.html?mod=yahoo_itp&ru=yahoo
The Final Word
Click here to go to the end:
Sunday, May 1, 2005
What we believe
It has been said that what a person really believes in can be measured by looking at their checkbook, or
perhaps their calendar. I suggest it can also be measured by the Recommendations page on Amazon.com
Secretary of State Visits El Salvador; Comments on New Secretary General of the OAS
Secretary of State Rice is greeted by President Saca in San Salvador on Saturday.
Secretary Rice expressed pleasure at the election of José Miguel Insulza of Chile as Secretay General of
the Organization of American States (OAS), saying he has a strong inclination toward democracy. Insulza's election was
assured when the other remaining candidate, the former Chancellor of Mexico withdrew. The Salvadoran ex-president
Francisco Flores was also a candidate, but withdrew several weeks ago.
[Beloved readers... If you knew that the OAS was electing a new S.G. you get one papusa. If you know Presidente
Flores was a candidate you get three papusas.]
Sun, May 1, 2005 | link
United States Cancels Visa of Presidential Candidate
Schafik Hándal, presidential candidate of the FMLN party in 2004, has had his visa revoked
by the US government, according to the US embassy in El Salvador. Hándal and the FMLN have been at odds with the US
government on CAFTA and other issues for several years.
Volunteer with Episcopal Relief & Development
ERD continues to send volunteer work groups to help rebuild after the two devastating earthquakes of 2001. Slots are still available this summer for the weeks of May 28-June 4 and Aug 27-Sept 3. More are
available for this fall, winter and in the spring of 2006.
To view a video of the experience of a group from Western Massachusetts click on the link.
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