K2: Yes, I think Chavez is that delirious.
LDG: Correct about Panama.
“Gringo”: I said Correa has the eloquence of a street prostitute. His rhetoric is quite inelegant.

Okay guys if you check anonymous it works I hate to use my Google id for testing but the other way works.

Thanks guys I will try and fix the problem if I can figure out the problem.

to Marie–

you are so funny!

I sometimes wonder what part of their anatomy some of our “leaders” use to think with, and what part to sit on.

K2–

The article my friend sent to me in spanish stated Panama wants to keep its distance–

(in orther words, I am assuming a few of the countries were more inclined to see Correa, Chavez, and Colombia make peace than siding up with these guys)

Rod–

thanks for the Japanese lesson L0L- I am going to be quite fluent in other languages- LOL

Susan, am I understanding your post correctly?

Central American leaders were not supportive of Chavez and Correa’s positions against Colombia?

test

TEST

My friend from Panama sent me a link to La Prensa-

apparently President Torrijos was not persuaded by Correa to turn against Colombia–

My friend in Panama sent me a link to La Prensa–

apparently, President Torrijos was not buying into Correa’s plea for having these other countries turn against Colombia–

I guess Mexico’s President Calderon paid a visit to Panama too on Thursday to inaugurate the EXPOCOMER event—-

WOOOOPS…

Exclusive: Another Jerusalem yeshiva was saved from Palestinian attack four days before Mercaz Harav murders

March 8, 2008, 9:02 PM (GMT+02:00)
Second Jewish religious institution targeted

Second Jewish religious institution targeted

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources reveal that just four days before a single Palestinian killer murdered 8 Mercaz Harav students in Jerusalem on March 6, two Palestinians were frightened away from another Jerusalem yeshiva, Porath Yosef, on March 2. The pair were challenged March 2 by armed security guards on the door and they are still at large.

The Jerusalem police failed to sound the alarm after the guards reported the incident. The guards described two Palestinians who appeared at Porath Yosef demanding entry with a large carton like the one in which Ala Abu Dhaim carried his assault rifle, guns and ammo four days later. They claimed they had been commissioned to do some work in the institution and quoted the names of people associated with the yeshiva. But when asked by the guards to open the box, the two Palestinians backed off saying they were going to pick up tools from their vehicle. They were not seen again.

Responding to the guards’ call, the police dismissed the incident as a misunderstanding. No alerts were circulated and Mercaz Harav did not post security guards. It was only after the massacre Thursday that the police recalled the Porath Yosef incident and realized they had missed a danger signal.

They were also forced to conclude that one or more Palestinian terror cells are on the loose in Jerusalem and could be targeting any of the hundreds of Jewish religious institutions in the city.

The security services declared an immediate general alert across the country, focusing on Jerusalem, which remains in force. The West Bank was sealed.

The investigation has so far not pinned down the organization or organizations behind the yeshiva murders. The police commissioner Dudi Cohen’s insistence that it was a one-off operation and not the opening shot of a third Palestinian uprising (intifada), as some security circles are suggesting, is not taken seriously, given the spate of violence which has erupted across the country, Jerusalem and the West Bank in the last ten days.

The Shin Bet is awaiting the results of an inquiry into Jerusalem police procedures and their failure to sound the alarm after the Porath Yosef incident.

Well that’s just great. Triple posts! Sorry. I thought the blog was rejecting my posts for some reason. Apologies -Rod-

Susan,

Ohai wa goziamus, Konichi wa, konba wa

The spelling’s probably messed up. I took some japanese lessons in the 70’s but that’s about all I recall. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. -Rod-

Susan,

Now learn

Ohai wa goziamus
Konichi wa
konba wa

The spelling’s probably messed up. I took some japanese lessons in the 70’s but that’s about all I recall. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. -Rod-

Susan,

Now learn

Ohai wa goziamus
Konichi wa
konba wa

The spelling’s probably screwed up. I took some japanese lessons in the 70’s but that’s about all I recall. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. -Rod-

K2–

I dibbed first–
I was over at philosocop’s site– I hadn’t posted for awhile and I love his posts– You get to see a cop’s perspective–

xxxx

Susan……

Hello and Bye?

suspect you are aready gone and i need to get going…..

Hi Kathy, was just over at your blog…. looks like a problem being able to post…..

‘dibs’ - the five of us in our family always did ‘DIBS’ and then fought over who said it first!
Have a good weekend and take it easy on the paperwork…….

Kathy in Texas–

before I leave here–

I am unable to post comments on your blog– Unable to process–

I love your stories and the great picture you posted of your brothers, your mom, and you!!!

xxxxx

Adam I saw you report live yesterday morning. Stay safe, and you are doing a great job! Been a busy week, hopefully next week will be better with more time for me to play.

What happened with this story?

SHOTS FIRED!
Local media in Colombia showing live pictures from border where a few Venezuelan troops allegedly crossed into Colombia and fired shots.
No more details yet.

And dear Adam-

I hope you get some yasumu–

been quite a week for you!!!!!

(sad me) You departed-

Kumano Kuma-

oyasumi nasai–

( Do sleep well) Hai?

and this has been fun!!!! I love learning new words– instead of expletives all the time- (grins)

oops- oyasumi nasai? Hai?

one minute now–
time for me to say oyasumi nasai?

@Susan-AZ

Please don’t worry about it, though. It is fun to tell you a little about such things.

I do need to go now, however.

oyasumi nasai
((departs))

Hai is an easy word– I want to use it when I ask questions– so I will put in parenthesis (yes) after hai– so the bloggers will understand–

they all know what chara means now when I use it– compliments of Avi- (smiles)

this is 2 minutes like at the end of a football game, BTW.

Oh dear–

the characters– I know about kana- the phoentic system of Japan– well one- kana- you taught me that two nights ago-

And I am so retarded– kumano kuma- servant to the princess– I forgot!

@Susan-AZ

I wrote (interpretation, not translation) “Yes, that is fine. But, all of the blog members won’t/don’t understand. They don’t read Japanese.”

((departing soon))

hai ii desu. demo mina no burogu-memubaa ga wakaranai yo. nihongo yomenai hito.

I know you need your sleep–

what does this mean? is mina- mine?
hai ii desu– yes it is? guessing-

@Susan-AZ

unless you can input the characters in kana or kanji there are *no* good online translators from Japanese into English.

addenda:
“…to be yasuming ”

you are silly.

Nothing like ruining a language– adding english to the original word– (grin)

What is a good place to use to translate from Japanese to English?

My places are not cooperating? I did find Hai though– it had several translations

@Susan-AZ

you got it.

two minutes and then I can say oyasumi nasai to you-

addenda:
“…to be yasuming ”

you are silly.

Don’t leave– I am going to see if the dictionary will translate this-
I want to see if I can find it first before I ask you what you just posted means-

@Susan-AZ

yes, need to go soon.

@Susan-AZ

The main educational segregation first happens at high school. You test to get into a specific one. The real cut happens at University, again based on testing but also on means.

It *can* be done to decide the matter from nursery school, but for about 99.9% of the population it happens as I stated here.

“So I can use-hai- now instead of yes? Hai?”

hai ii desu. demo mina no burogu-memubaa ga wakaranai yo. nihongo yomenai hito.

((grin))

It is 3:00 a.m. there- are you going to be yasuming here in a bit?

I got plenty of sleep last night– I feel so rested–

too many McDonalds there–

Just think- when I make my first million, and Marie and I go visit you in Japan, I will have a few words to say–

Except I could never learn how to make those characters or what is the word for the Japanese writing which looks like drawing– I would be at it all day just trying to write one word– I was awful at shorthand– glad they don’t use this anymore!

@Susan-AZ

re: yours at 12:44 p.m.

Most of that is outdated. Modern Japan has tons of stress, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and a rising amount of obesity.

…and with 1.2 children per family average, nursing homes for the elderly are becoming neccessary in large numbers.

“Are you Japanese?” As close as you can get without ancesteral claim. I hold Permanent Residency in Japan, but U.S. of A. nationality.

So I can use-hai- now instead of yes? Hai?

Many years ago I did a study on the education of Japan– I don’t know if this is true today. But the Japanese children from an early age are already set to have their futures more or less decided- if the child is not as brilliant as maybe the future professional, that should from an early onset is taught a skill- yes?

@Susan-AZ

“…use that one everytime you depart to sleep”
most thoughtful of you. thank you.

“you are doing work for someone relating to Belarus- yes?”
finished first project there. remains to be seen if there is a follow-up.

“How do you say yes in Japanese?”
the short answer is –you can’t. The exact concept doesn’t translate. The closest is hai and can be used mostly the same as ‘yes’.

“yasumu” = to rest, or to sleep

equanimity is the Japanese’s way of handling stress– probably why they don’t have heart attacks as the other countries or high blood pressure- as well as the diet- and they don’t seem to have obesity as a problem–

And I like the fact they take care of their parents and don’t dump them in nursing homes– as we tend to do here–

Are you Japanese?

I have a print here by Hiroshige– The Four Seasons– it is pretty

@Susan-AZ

“…have to be so polite” it is actually formality for formality’s sake.

think of us as the opposite of Latin Americans… Showing you are emotional is a negative trait socially, not a positive one. So the most “macho” of Japanese men say… nothing, even if furious, and are respected for it.

Cultures differ.

yasumu–
would that be like- instead of saying good night- it is just- night?

I still haven’t done my homework for Belarus– when you get up, I will have a few questions– since you are doing work for someone relating to Belarus- yes? How do you say yes in Japanese?

I am going to use that one everytime you depart to sleep- oyasumi nasai– so after a few times of using it, I will have it memorized without having to look at my notes here-

Kumano Kuma-

FYI– I know expletives in polish, italian, french, hebrew, spanish— and of course English-

@Susan-AZ

oyasumi nasai : o- honorific + polite indicative form of yasumu. literally “please do rest”, used to say “good night” when time to sleep.

How come the Japanese have to be so polite– when they get upset, don’t they have one bad word?

Kumano-

and I’m *not* teaching you the ones I use in the rare case one is “needed”.

You are mean !!!!!!! (grinning)

this one did not translate either- oyasumi nasai

K2–

YES- Chile is quite interesting- I had a friend who came from Chile– she was a judge here- now she is in Idaho-

Chile is listed by Transparency International as having the least corruption in all of Latin America and ranked 20th in the world

Valparaiso is having some major fires right now–

Check out how elongated the country is– each region changes dramatically in weather-

@Susan-AZ

Glad to see you here, although I can not stay long this time.

“to translate kumano kuma to English” kuma (in one of several homonyms) is “bear”. kumano is the same plus the no meaning field or countryside, and is a legitimate family name.

… and you are out of luck on more expletives. Japanese has virtually none in common use, and I’m *not* teaching you the ones I use in the rare case one is “needed”.

LDG-

I see you are still here– and now that makes a few of us who don’t believe Chavez–

and by the looks of those two articles, it doesn’t appear to be that way!

papaya–

I get that feeling too– will have to wait and see- Chavez is not a good man so I don’t see this BS of his yesterday to be sincere– it was being in the limelight talk– since the whole world was focused on him- or a large part of the world-

Jen–

I slept for ten hours! LOL

ADAM– Are you going to get some R&R now?

Did Golinger know you were in Colombia? If so, I am sure she had something to say–any articles out there on this?

LDG–sorry I missed you– I went to the Japanese dictionary to translate kumano kuma to English and this dictionary did not translate- do you know of a good one I can use so I can learn a few words from you- Avi has taught me the expletives in Hebrew which I know by heart now– (chara, kosemec) balgan- means mess–

Max-your package went out yesterday- and yes- I did sign a customs form- I put it in as gift under four dollars so you won’t have to pay taxes!

alfredo, this “peace” wont last through the weekend. chavez and his puppet, correa, will start protesting uribe’s efforts in no time. since being antiamerican is their big thing, they’ll start with that arguement and go from there. theyll lie and pretend to be upset, talk smack about a possible war again, all bc they want to steer attention away from the fact that corrupt govts of venezuela and ecuador are players in las farc. this whole week was a big joke and it was all for show. tough guy chavez is a whole lotta talk and no action. he never intended taking it further than bringing his troops to the border. he’s smarter than that, believe it or not.

Marie-

Any sign of that happening yet?” No sign yet, too busy gloating. Press (pro-CH) headlines are saying that peace was achieved thanks to Chávez.

Uribe did what he had to do to defuse the situation. Now let’s see what will be in the works, as I doubt that he will stop now that he has momentum, he’ll just do it with less pressure. So far 2 down in one week. Today’s was done in by his own security guard. I wonder if the guard will get his $5 million and if he does, whether that will encourage others to try their luck? Wonder how FARC leaders are sleeping tonight?

———————————————————————————————————-
I wonder how many FARC leaders are sleeping tonight?

You are so funny!

Marie– what is the third language you speak at home? Doesn’t your husband speak five?

@Karen2

“- something is missing….. Or is it nothing has changed?”

That is the important distinction, and right now I can’t say which. Because if it is “nothing…” then we did get gamed this last week, and I just don’t have that feeling of being fooled (yet, maybe).

Reuters America Latina (their Spanish Language service) has two articles of related interest only:
“Ecuador will not immediately restore relations with Colombia”
and
“Chavez meets with Raul Castro…”

Gringo - ah, Chile?

Chile has a democracy type government…..yes?

And, they have a very good wine- Casillero del Diablo (it is sold at Costco!)

And, a big supplier of the worlds copper - an expensive item these days.

Uribe has too much evidence in is hands to bring the coca paste chewer Chavez to the Hague, better stop harboring the terorist and collaborate, or else.
let us see how far this “Peace” last, knowing Chavez bipolar condition, will not last much.

LDG - something is missing….. Or is it nothing has changed?

hrm.

The traffic level on this story appears to be near-nil.

quoting the AP as of ~6:40 a.m. Eastern time:

“Nicaragua said it would restore diplomatic relations with Colombia, broken off only the day before. Chavez said trade with Colombia should “keep increasing,” two days after saying he didn’t want even “a grain of rice” from his neighbor.”

Anyone else feeling just a little bit like there is something missing? …or is this gamesmanship?

Karen,

I have lived in South america now for 5 years. The country I selected is one of the safest in the world, believe it or not. I can walk into the downtown area of where I am without any trouble at all. there is poverty where I am, but not like there is in the northern parts of South America. There is a growing middle class where I am.

Not to change the subject, but did someone here call the president of Ecuador a “street prostitute”?

Good heavens…..

Gringo

testing

Adam, I just saw your live report with Bret Baier. Excellent report, as always

Columbia is the new Israel? Interesting.

Nice jacket by the way.

this isnt the end of this…

what about the letters? uribe says he will hand the letters to correa so he can start an internal investigation re: the links between ecuador, venezuela, and las farc. today’s ceremonial peace offering doesn’t solve the harboring of las farc in venezuela and ecuador. it doesn’t stop it, and they offered no real solution. hugging it out means nothing in regards to finding a solution to colombia’s 45+ year civil war that’s leaked it’s way through bordering countries. chavez, uribe, correa, and ortega (what’s HIS problem?!) say it’s over because their countries simply cannot afford to go to war- they need each other, whether they like it or not.
remember, in the last four years there have been attacks from las farc to the colombian military ON ECUADORIAN SOIL, and Correa did nothing to stop it. las farc isnt only colombia’s problem, so there needs to be actual cooperation from neighboring countries. peace is a long way from here, especially with so many corrupt government officials playing the role of “good guy” in colombia, ecuador, and venezuela.

this isnt the end of this…

what about the letters? uribe says he will hand the letters to correa so he can start an internal investigation re: the links between ecuador, venezuela, and las farc. today’s ceremonial peace offering doesn’t solve the harboring of las farc in venezuela and ecuador. it doesn’t stop it, and they offered no real solution. hugging it out means nothing in regards to finding a solution to colombia’s 45+ year civil war that’s leaked it’s way through bordering countries. chavez, uribe, correa, and ortega (what’s HIS problem?!) say it’s over because their countries simply cannot afford to go to war- they need each other, whether they like it or not.
remember, in the last four years there have been attacks from las farc to the colombian military ON ECUADORIAN SOIL, and Correa did nothing to stop it. las farc isnt only colombia’s problem, so there needs to be actual cooperation from neighboring countries. peace is a long way from here, especially with so many corrupt government officials playing the role of “good guy” in colombia, ecuador, and venezuela.

Petition against the Farc. please sign. an copy paste.send to your contacts. God Bless You.

This terrorist group has killed thousands of innocent people in Colombia and Venezuela.
Venezuela Ecuador and Nicaragua want to fight to legalize this group. this can not be done. please sign.

——————————————————————————–
Subj: FW: Rogamos firmar esta petición a las Naciones Unidas contra las FARC

Firmar esta petición es muy importante. Por favor, reenvíenla a todos sus contactos. Esta petición irá al Tribunal de las Naciones Unidas para así poder demostrar el sentimiento de los colombianos con respecto a la guerrilla de las Farc… NO MAS FARC … (NO MORE FARC).

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Colombia/

@Marie

GMTA — great minds think alike

not sure I make that category, but you did great today. Thanks again.

Be well and safe. Good night to All.
((departs))

Re: FTA - I sometimes wonder what part of their anatomy some of our “leaders” use to think with, and what part to sit on.

Took a quick turn through the blogs. Nothing earth-shattering, so I will bid you all a good night. It’s been a week!

Right then, it looks like now is a good time for me to catch up on rest. Seems quiet on the Latin American news front for a bit, but I suspect even with it being the weekend there will be more on various things once daylight hits the sky there.

As always, a pleasure to have been here.
((departs shortly))

I would imagine so. Here at home we too speak three languages! Drives people crazy! We’ve actually had people stare at us open-mouthed! But what is the funniest is when any one of us answers someone in Spanish - appearances are deceiving, very!

Commentary regarding the Colombia FTA vote in the U.S. Congress, or lack therof:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/03/pelosi_reid_have_no_time_for_c_1.asp

@Marie

That would be fine by me.

off-topic but amusing: The most significant expatriate community in my neighborhood here are Peruvians of mixed Japanese heritage. Makes for some strange sidewalk conversations in a mixture of three languages.

(and I sound like a Texan) Heard that accent before Just asking in case there is something good in Spanish and I don’t have time to summarize. I could just post the link and let everyone have a go at it. Good practice.

@Marie

“How’s your Spanish?”

un poco
fair enough to sight-read for content. not good enough to converse (and I sound like a Texan).

Rick, are you by any chance related to José Román?

K2 - thanks. Daniel is very good.
LDG - you’re welcome. How’s your Spanish?

“Any sign of that happening yet?” No sign yet, too busy gloating. Press (pro-CH) headlines are saying that peace was achieved thanks to Chávez.

Uribe did what he had to do to defuse the situation. Now let’s see what will be in the works, as I doubt that he will stop now that he has momentum, he’ll just do it with less pressure. So far 2 down in one week. Today’s w