The Institute

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

This is how it's done my friends....


More info here.

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

Anthony Bradley

Bringing innovation, added value, and sustainable development to business, governments, and non-profits in Central, South, and North America. (website coming soon).--Anthony Bradley, Chairman and Managing Partner, Proxemics International, LLC

I'm also leading the US effort to support the social justice initiatives in Guatemala. It's called "Me Importa Guatemala USA" whose sole purpose is support "Me Importa Guatemala". Through www.MeImportaGuatemala.org we can work for the cause to mobilize people and press for justice in Guatemala, so that their will be more respect for the rule of law and there can be sustained peace, freedom, and prosperity.

Also, there's another piece to this that I'm not able to reveal just yet but, "New York City, I'll see you in a few weeks!!"

Abraham Sangha

I was surprised to learn that the Supreme Court ruled against the City of New Haven's discrimination. One legal professor had this to say:

...[in the past] Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience."

That's profound.

...the way people think about Ricci - and this includes the justices - is in large part shaped not by logic or law but by their attitudes about the world. In particular, it depends on whether they think it is more likely that minority candidates were simply not as good as the whites, or more likely that there was some unintended bias skewing the results. What drives these attitudes, as Holmes knew, is experience. The facts of Ricci are an inkblot in which we all see the pictures life has drawn for us.

Sounds like Sowell's Conflict of Visions. It's obvious from the way this expert framed the two visions, i.e. the racist one vs. the scientific one, which side he's on. Has he framed it well?

Abraham Sangha

This is stuck in my head. Note that Auto-Tune is not dead, it actually is used well. (Do I need to give a language warning?)

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

When the Sony Walkman was launched, 30 years ago this week, it started a revolution in portable music. But how does it compare with its digital successors? The Magazine invited 13-year-old Scott Campbell to swap his iPod for a Walkman for a week. Read the rest here.
Great article! A few takeaway phrases:

You can almost imagine the excitement about the Walkman coming out 30 years ago, as it was the newest piece of technology at the time.

Having said all that, portable music is better than no music.

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

It seems definitely that the song being played here is "Democracy at all costs"....the "system" has become an end. Sad.

Juan Callejas (Guatemala)

In Honduras they call it a "forced succession", outside Honduras, from Chavez (who even threatened military intervention) to Obama, from the UN to the OAS, they call it a coup. What really happened?
Simple. The former president, Mel Zelaya broke the law and the Constitution by attempting to conduct a referendum that would allow him to be re-elected, among other things. Congress and the Judicial Branch acted accordingly to defend the Constitution, and ordered the president's arrest and elected a successor.
Why isn't this a coup? By definition, a coup invalidates the current Constitution and establishes a military government. The Honduran government is acting in defense of its own Constitution.
The question remains, is it acting legally in defense of the Constitution? That is the lingering question. What is disconcerting is the lack of support that the country has from the international community. How can presidents from all over the region support a president that violate the constitution on purpose and with no remorse? Is democracy an end in and of itself? What does democracy mean anyway? What is the proper Christian response?
The implications of this for Central America are HUGE!

Shawn Reed

Alright, quiz time.
1) Name the most interesting thing in this image (from an American perspective).
2) Name the thing that SHOULD be there, but isn't.

Answers after the break...see if you can guess beforehand. Points will be awarded.

Anthony Bradley

Hard to stay seated when you get to 1:33 min. The dancers later on.

Classic

Anthony Bradley

This is what Friday's were made for. Saborrrr!!

Anthony Bradley

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told Los Angeles Times.

Wow.

Anthony Bradley

So painful. I feel so bad for the wife and the boys. Tough road ahead for everyone.

Thoughts?

Abraham Sangha

Truly, the UK needs the Gospel:

Men who go to church regularly prefer "proper macho songs" and feel uncomfortable with hugging and sitting in circles discussing their feelings, a survey for Christian men's magazine "Sorted" has found.

These guys need to be converted, stat.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they enjoyed singing, but were more motivated by "proclamational" hymns than sentimental-type songs.

Haven't these guys read the Bible verse proclaiming "Jesus, lover of my soul"?

Men were also uninspired by church discussion groups, with many suggesting that the pub would be a much better place for interacting.

Ok, enough sarcasm. Seriously, do small groups even work?

Anthony Bradley

(CNN) -- North Korea is warning the world to stay out of part of its eastern waters for 16 days, starting Thursday, saying it will hold a military drill, Japanese officials said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, as seen at Wonsan University of Agriculture in an undated photo

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, center, as seen at Wonsan University of Agriculture in an undated photo

North Korea's hydrographic department e-mailed Japan's coast guard Monday, according to coast guard spokesman Shinya Suzuki. Japan monitors that part of the region's waters.

North Korea plans to hold military shooting practice in the waters northeast of Wonsan, on the country's eastern coast, from June 25 to July 10, according to the e-mail, Suzuki said.

The reclusive communist nation did not specify consequences of ships entering those waters during the drill, but the dates fall within the timeframe cited by Japanese media last week for a possible North Korea missile launch toward Hawaii.

The North issued a similar notice before it tested a long-range rocket in April.

"Axis of evil" is a term coined by United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 in order to describe governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. President Bush named Iran, Iraq and North Korea in his speech.

Quiz question: looking at what is currently happening in Iraq and North Korea, was George Bush right? (HT: Tim M.)

Hmmm. . .