The polls

I am in the leap program in which I worked the polls on nov 2, 2010 .  This was the first time I had worked the polls and noticed that the majority of voters that came out to vote were elderly americans and many were from different origins such as latin America, Korea and China.  My table had about 200 votes and they system could use some a better layout format.  The workers are usually older,  so they are slower and the lines begin to get line for the voters that are actually there. On one or two occasions I could see the frustration in the wait, influencing the whether or not they would vote. Perhaps if they had a more smoother system the process could flow more efficiently .  It seemd to be a bit chaotic but after a long day everyone seemed pleased that they got to vote themselves. One person said that it was important for her vote to count because then she has the right to complain about what our governmental system does or doesnt do for the people. I can concur.

dead draft

The Amazon Forest has been a place that is home to Ecuadorians in that area. It is one of the Worlds greatest natural resources. At the moment those resources are being destroyed and depleted by oil companies.  A major lawsuit taking place with a U.S. based Oil Company called Chevron in Ecuador shows the struggles Ecuadorians are facing as of now on their land and how money plays a role on where and how things get done.  The upper hand presides with the cooperation like chevron because of their ability to outsource all of the requirements needed for research in protecting the reputation of the company .With limited finances, education, and means the people of Ecuador are not as fortunate, suffering on different levels with no finances to back their fight against a cooperate giant like Chevron. The situations have become increasingly difficult for those living around the area showing their limited amount of resources available to them and how the responsible parties are not aiding to their needs. Although their government is a representative democracy it does not seem to be able to resolve the issues placed by the United States based cooperation demonstrating just how powerful the U.S is over Ecuador. Having the ability to deplete the lands resources for monetary gains and not have their ideologies shown for the Ecuadorian people as they would like to imply on themselves.

Revised Brainstorm

Now that my topic of choice is done, I will be able to become more focused on exploring the relationships that are played on the subject.  For instance the political and governmental impacts on the decisions made by the country of Ecuador with US corporations.  The website theamazonpost.com  which was created in the event that took place has many topics that relate to Cheverons issues and views on the Ecuador Lawsuit.  This is an outlook on the coorperations take on the matter versus the the group of Ecuadorians that they claim is sueing them. Also google scholar linked me to articles on Wiley online give information on a meeting that took place at the headquarters for CONFENIA (Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indeginas de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana) on oil matters.  Its a good source to understand where they stand on the issue and what the arguments may be between both sides. I will search further for other sources over the weekend.

Researching

Links through the Library Media Resource center lead me to sites with articles, such as Ebsco's search engine I was able to modify my inquiries with the subject matter title, for instance U.S relations with Ecuador from their a source an Article describing the Executive Assaults and the Social Foundations of democracy in Ecaudor. Jstor also sent me to a site that called Land Economics is dedicated to the study of land use, natural resources, public utilities, housing, and urban land issues. I like this site although it will not post recent articles but if I am interested in doing research for past periods or history on the subject matter they are available. Also, I was referenced a book on how to rule the world as a source for chapter reading material on my choice of country . I still have more options available but need to balance the art of gaining more time for my research as I find that it is time consuming just to get information to incorperate in my research even if its just a line or two or facts the back my story.

Human Heartbreak

The film hearts and minds was orally descriptive and visually graphic in reciting the events that took place during the war in Vietnam.  Interviews were heard that gave a voice for every different aspect that was experienced from political leaders, military officials, civilians, and the american public, Injured or lost families members from both sides. What I heard most from the interviews in the film was that the Americans did not really know what the war was about nor the troops that were sent out.  The impression that was made was that they were fighting a war against communisim.  What strikes me the most about not knowing why the war was taking place, was the fact the events taking place were publicly broadcasted for everyone to see.  Its heartbreaking to see that while all of America was watching  no-one in the film straight out said the notion,  that the ideology they were forcfully inflicting on a people was so contradicting to the issue at hand.   When in reality the vietnamese were fighting for the right to freedom and independece. Isn't that what America represents?  I think that the the film maker wanted to present that image to the viewer at least he did that for me, along with how many became obsessed with engaging a winning mentatility outside the realm with part of their eveyday day lives, like football games being coached with such conviction to win. Or the ignorance and denial being expressed with human need with the u. s soldeirs at the brothel abroad. Soldiers discriminated against the people catergorizing them a nooks and the enemy but had no problem sharing sexual intimate actes with them. At the same time the resentment of military officials that were pilots in the airforce expressing resentment after realizing that they participated in the genocide of a country.  Along with the ignorance of veterans returning home with the same dicriminatory attitude trying to justify their actions as a good loyal american soldier. It seems the whole operations is a state of confusion filled with lies, deciet and dissapointment for many.  For myself its difficult to watch but more heartbreaking to know that it actually happened and is still taking place now.  In our current war sitiation with Afghanistan we aren't as informed although I'm sure that alot of the same tragedies are occuring now as they did then. The public eye is just not as informed,  with a veil around the reality. It is said that human rights #1  is:  we are all born free and equal.  How can that be fought then justified? When will the value of a human being come before the need to overpower one?

My country of choice

My country of choice to research is Equador.  This country is part of my parents decent. Particulary my fathers side.  That being said it is more of a personal inquiry for me but I feel that since I was born in America and have very little knowledge of it ,  I am very interested in knowing about my ancestral culture, history and econimical relations with the U.S from a factual point of view, other than what has been taught to me by previous generations within my family.  So far I feel as though equadorians migrate here for ecomonic exchange but I am sure as I do my research I will other areas that contribute to their migration, and relations with the United States. I have gone to wikipedia and  found it provides many references and links that my guide me to cites that pertain useful information on inquiries being made for the topic of my choice. One link that I found to be useful was http://www.imf.org/ which particulary gives information on monetary funds such as financial analysis and crisis that are developing in other countries. So in my search of my country of choice Equador I was guided to IMFC statements including the most recent which can be downloaded to find issues on the meetings being held. I found this to be convinient and very informative. Those where a few things I was able to get .What it can't give me based on our discussion in class, is the perspective to my argumentive question.  That, I will be able to develop based on the facts I obtain from sources such as Wikipedia and others that I will come across.

1) Lucy's Experience

Upon Lucy's arrival she first describes the time of day and what her surroundings felt like such as the weather and the time of year. Her experiences with things she had never done before such as riding in an elevator, being in an apartment and eating food out of a refrigerator that had been prepared a day before.  She was shown many sites of the city. Many of which she imagined would be spectacular but in her story she expressed that to her, it looked dirty, ordinary and worn down with people coming and going.  She seemed to be unimpressed with all of it and her lasting impression appeared to be more disappointing rather than exciting.  Lucy described a time when city life was a fixture fantasy of hers.  She dreamt of it as a place of happiness to replace of her inner sadness which she found difficult to name. When I read her story she sounds like a very depressed woman that feels out of place. She mentions how the family she is staying with looks at her and laughs as the things she says.  Also she didn’t realize that she would miss all and whom she has known her whole life. Like Lucy, many immigrants have their own feelings about being in America, no ones story is the same and many struggle with trying to adjust in this country with limited means but one thing they all have in common is that they are entering a whole new life and leaving the one they have known behind with a great expectation of something better