Palin's Foreign-Policy Chops

Based on their treatment of President Alvaro Uribe, who is here to plead for a free trade pact, it's almost as if Democrats don't want the U.S. to have allies. Uribe made a rare visit to Washington, and shamefully few Democrats agreed to meet him.
Uribe didn't come asking for much — only that Congress keep its word on an agreement that will drop tariffs on American goods sold in Colombia and help his country develop and prosper as a bulwark of democracy in a battered region.
"We consider that in the coming years if the free-trade agreement were approved... the main economic result could be the increase in investments in our country," Uribe told the Brookings Institution.
"And the more we increase legal investments in our country, the less difficult our task to defeat terrorist groups, to defeat illegal drugs."
Uribe also heads a country that last July put its own men in harm's way to free three innocent Americans held hostage by FARC Marxist terrorists. The rescue came off without a hitch or a shot being fired.
For that alone, Uribe should get his trade pact — with maybe a ticker tape parade thrown in for good measure.
But what he's getting from the Washington establishment is a lot less. President Bush did extend a warm welcome on Saturday, and Uribe also met with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and some CEOs in Atlanta.
But Democrats did all they could to slight him, generally hiding and making lame excuses for doing so.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who arbitrarily iced Colombia's free trade deal last April, refused to meet Uribe and didn't acknowledge a White House invitation to an event in his honor. Later, her staff regally complained that Uribe didn't call her.
This is part of a pattern. For years, Pelosi has insulted, slighted, road blocked and now ignored Uribe, the most valuable ally the U.S. has ever had in Latin America. Her motives are constantly shifting.
One minute she's complaining about human rights abuses in Colombia, despite an 86% drop in the murder rate of union activists. Then she says it's all about passing stimulus packages first. The common thread is serving Big Labor special interests at election time.
This is what passes for Democratic leadership these days. Uribe urged nonpartisanship in considering Colombia's case for free trade, but lesser Democrats were just as craven and irresponsible as Pelosi.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama only grudgingly permitted Uribe to talk with him by telephone, afterward disclosing no news about why he still opposes cutting tariffs on American goods to Colombia as the free trade pact provides. Nor did he make any public statements, seemingly to make the call go unnoticed.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who's fond of junketing to the luxury locales in South America, had no time to repay the hospitality to Uribe. And two Democrats held out as Latin experts, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, couldn't give Uribe the time of day.
Some pro-free-trade Democrats, including Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, were notable exceptions and did welcome Uribe. But none of the Democrats billed as foreign-policy heavy hitters could see that the implications of snubbing Colombia send a message to the region that it pays more to be America's enemy than its friend.
Into the vacuum, however, has stepped in Gov. Sarah Palin. The supposedly foreign-policy-challenged vice presidential candidate asked to meet with Uribe on Tuesday in New York to support our ally.
As chief executive of Alaska, Palin knows what it's like to deal with a Congress that dismisses her state as distant, lectures it on ecological virtue and then denies its citizens development. She understands perfectly how it must feel to be Uribe, who's gotten the exact same treatment from a Washington establishment.
Palin's reception of Uribe is a far more serious statement than Obama's visits to the tourist spots of Europe that he chalked up as foreign policy experience.
Palin's meeting with Uribe shows a commitment to American interests over Washington politics. Thank goodness Palin knows how to act when an important leader and true friend comes calling.

Source: Investor's daily

Uribe and Palin: my favorite duo

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe met with republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in New York today. The meeting took place in New York City, where Uribe is attending the United Nations General Summit. He and Palin spoke for about 30 minutes in what Uribe called ‘fruitful’ reunion. One of the main subjects they talked about was the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States.
Palin has been in New York these days trying to broaden her international credentials, and it has been said that her meeting with Uribe is a way of showing that she is indeed prepared for dealing with foreign policy issues.
President Uribe on the other hand has been in the United States since Saturday, day he met with president George W. Bush. They also mainly discussed the FTA, which has always had Bush’s support, but has not been as well received in Congress.
President Uribe also took time to meet privately with French president Nicolas Sarkozy during the UN Summit.

church in the mountains

Honestly, I don't know where this is inside Colombia. I just found it absolutely stunning and hope that you will too.

remembering

President Uribe met with the three liberated Americans [Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes, and Marc Gonsalves] at the Colombian Embassy in Washington D.C.

uribe and obama: pure politics

It looks like President Uribe isn't betting everything on a republican win this November. El Tiempo, Colombia's main newspaper, is reporting that Uribe spoke to Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama, before heading off to the U.S. to promote the free trade agreement that Congress has stalled indefinitely.
Maintaining good relations with the democrats is key for President Uribe because they are the main opponents to the passage of the free trade agreement with Colombia. Throughout his campaign, Obama has strongly opposed free trade agreements, claiming them to be a loss of jobs for Americans. The majority of the democrats in congress have opposed the agreement with Colombia because they claim that there are still too many murders there.
While President Uribe's trip was initially intended to lobby Congress for the passage of the trade agreement, he has cancelled all of his meetings with Congress due to the impending elections and the disaster on Wall Street. He is scheduled to meet with President Bush briefly, before heading to New York to attend the United Nations general assembly.
Links Below:
Obama reiteró a Uribe oposición al TLC porque las condiciones para los sindicalistas no han mejorado
Uribe Habló Con Obama Y Se Fue A E.U.

cartagena: the basics

Cartagena has become the new it place of Latin America. If you're interested in taking a trip to a beautiful, culture-filled place, below are some helpful tips.

• Air Travel: Spirit Air has started a new service to Cartagena from La Guardia, connecting in Fort Lauderdale, with fares starting at $513. Avianca Airlines flies from Kennedy Airport to Cartagena, with a connection in Bogotá, starting at about $530.
• Hotels: The old city is bookended by a pair of medieval convents that have been turned into luxury hotels. Their monk architects knew how to design for comfort.
• The Sofitel Santa Clara has 119 rooms, a spa and pool built around a colonial courtyard with tropical gardens. Rooms start at 555,000 pesos. Check Oanda to get your most updated exchange rate prices.
• The Charleston Santa Teresa was once a home to a Carmelite order. The hotel occupies a full city block and is built around a large courtyard with gardens of royal palms and tropical foliage. There is also a rooftop pool with spectacular views. Rooms start at 689,000 pesos.
• For more modest budgets, the Casa La Fe on the Fernández Madrid Park has 14 comfortable rooms equipped with Wi-Fi, starting at 200,000 pesos. A breakfast of freshly squeezed tropical juice and eggs is included.
• Nature activities: Slip back into nature at La Ciénega, a mangrove forest that teems with wildlife. Tours on a wooden canoe are available through Turinco. They cost approximately $30,000 pesos. You’ll see kingfishers, herons and pelicans on one side of your boat.
• Storm the walls: Cartagena is a city for walking, and its historic walled district feels like a Moroccan medina, with 300-year-old Spanish colonial buildings huddled along brick streets. The palette is saturated with deep blue, dusty rose, burnt orange and ochre. Cool sea breezes and plenty of shade make the old city feel quite comfortable even in the 90-degree heat. To get your bearings, wave down one of the horse-powered taxis. The 15-minute ride across the old city, a Unesco World Heritage site, costs 30,000 pesos (about $17 at 1,800 pesos to the dollar). The coachman will point out sites as you clip-clop along and, at sunset, will light the candles in the headlamps.
• Must see: Native crafts like hammocks, clay figurines and colorfully painted wooden masks are available everywhere. For more unusual items, head to the stores along Calle Santo Domingo and Calle San Juan de Dios. Even if you’re not female and size 4, check out Colombia's leading fashion designer, Silvia Tcherassi .The Abaco bookstore stocks photography books featuring local architecture and artisans. And the Galería Cano sells high-quality reproductions of pre-Columbian jewelry.

• Juicy Fruit: Take a fruit break. Palenque women peddle a rainbow of ripe fruit along the streets of El Centro, nearly all of it in nature’s protective wrappers: bananas, mangos, papayas, guamas, ciruelas, coconuts and guayabas. Try a níspero, a kiwi-shaped fruit with the texture of pear and the heavenly taste of chocolate, caramelized sugar and blackberry.

hard times: politics and paramilitaries

Venezuela is starting to cooperate with its neighbor, Colombia, again. The New York Times is reporting that Venezuelan National Guard troops have captured Álvaro Araújo Noguera, a former Colombian senator and agriculture minister who fled Colombia after being accused of conspiring with paramilitary operatives to kidnap a regional political leader. The soldiers took Mr. Araújo into custody Thursday at a checkpoint in the western city of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s official news agency reported. He was flown to Caracas to await his return to Colombia. Mr. Araújo’s daughter, María Consuelo Araújo, resigned last year as Colombia’s foreign minister after accusations surfaced of ties between paramilitaries and her father and brother.

ingrid and the pope.

The picture above is of Pope Benedict blessing Ingrid Betancourt and her family. The blessing took place in Castelgandolfo. Ingrid has always been a devout Catholic.