I spoke at UT before the black faculty and staff for MLK birthday celebration, 1/15. The hardest task for me was to try and salute, honor and uplift the role of the individual while trying to downplay the Obama factor. The biggest danger I see is for people to fall asleep at the wheel, to give him the Moses/Messiah role…I’m not worried about the “dream factor” on our youth, as for inspiring their own self confidences more than ever. Barak is the chief executive of an empire, one with over 700 military bases world wide, spending over a trillion dollars a year on weaponry (more than all the other nations of the world combined!), handing out 1 billion dollars a day to Israel alone, and engaged in two wars at once. We need a people’s movement here more now than ever, but I’m afraid we’ll be watching it on our tv’s rather than out in the streets making it happen. Someone said that for LBJ (in 1964) had his MLK and the people’s movement to pressure him and force him to do the right things; now (post election) it’s just Barak and an audience. In Ghana (1966?) the cia paid a few generals a few million dollars to overthrow the democratically elected Nkrumah (the first independent sub Saharan Black republic in modern history!) The people boarded their homes, hid under their beds while only the 300 palace guards resisted. WE do need all hands on deck.
I’m turning in for now….
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
January 28, 2009 A quote from Ernest
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
January 20, 2009: Houston Marathon
Johnny Hanson: Chronicle January 20, 2009 USA/World: The New America - Obama's Inauguration
Pictures and text from BBC.
Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, at a historic ceremony in Washington DC.
Mr Obama swore his oath of allegiance on the same bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861, held by the new First Lady Michelle Obama. 
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we, the people, have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
Serious challenges
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
Nation of 'risk-takers'
We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
'Remaking America'
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Restoring trust
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
'Ready to lead'
As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
'Era of peace'
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
'Duties'
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
'Gift of freedom'
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
January 13, 2009 Afghanistan: Snow falls in Kabul
A burqa-clad woman walks on a road as snow falls in Kabul Jan. 13, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
A girl smiles as she walks on a road as snow falls in Kabul Jan. 13, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Women beg on a road as snow falls in Kabul Jan. 13, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
A man selling coal warms himself as snow falls in Kabul Jan. 13, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Friday, January 09, 2009
La Guerra del Pacífico 1879 (Perú, Bolivia y Chile)
Blog dedicado al tema de la Guerra del Pacifico 1879, que enfrentó a tres países sudamericanos (Chile, Perú y Bolivia) Donde se pretende dar a conocer algunos hechos, presentar documentos, biografías, articulos relacionados sobre este tema. Cualquier aporte al email: JOENSARE@HOTMAIL.COM
Eliodoro Camacho
Militar y político nacido en Inquisivi, en 1831.
Combatió en el Alto de la Alianza, última batalla donde fue herido y llevado prisionero a Chile por dos años
Del libro de Francisco Machuca, tomo II
“Apenas el coronel Camacho recibe el nombramiento de comandante en jefe discernido por las tropas acantonadas en Tacna, a raíz de la deposición del general Daza, comunica la nueva situación al almirante Montero, que esperaba ansioso el resultado del movimiento, del cual tenía conocimiento anticipado, prestándole su apoyo moral. Camacho, se pone a sus órdenes para cumplir su deber en defensa de la Alianza.
Igual comunicación hace a S. E. el Dictador del Perú, afirmando su adhesión y la del ejército boliviano a la Alianza, y su firme propósito de continuar la lucha hasta vencer al enemigo.
El pronunciamiento no acarreó cambio alguno en la constitución interna del ejército, que continuó normalmente sus ejercicios y distribuciones diarias de campaña.
Los tres generales que se encontraban en las filas, señores Casto Arquedas, Luciano Alcoreza y Pedro Villamil, firman un manifiesto que fue leído a las tropas, en EL CUAL RECONOCEN AL CORONEL CAMACHO COMO GENERAL EN JEFE. Este les confía respectivamente honrosas comisiones en su patria, que se apresuran a desempeñar.
A las 8 P. M. del día 27 11 80, se reúnen en consejo, el coronel don Julián López, los jefes de la Guardia Nacional, y de las fuerzas de línea de guarnición en la plaza, para acordar la manera más expedita de destituir al general Daza, y nombrar un gobierno que diera garantías al país. Acuerdan convocar a un comicio popular, para el día siguiente 28.
Esta asamblea destituye a don Hilarión Daza del puesto de Presidente de la República y del comando en jefe del ejército.
Se procede a designarle sucesor, y recae el nombramiento en el jefe de la 5ª División, general don Narciso Campero. La Asamblea ratifica y sostiene la Alianza perú boliviana, para continuar la campaña contra Chile.
Los jefes del movimiento, en Tacna y la Paz, obraron separadamente.
EL CORONEL CAMACHO y su secretario don Belisario Salinas, dan cuenta a la Junta de los acontecimientos de Tacna, y solicitan el pronto reemplazo por funcionarios de su elección.
La junta confirma en su puesto al coronel Camacho, hasta que el general Campero, ingrese al ejército de Tacna, como jefe del ejército boliviano en campaña”
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Foto del archivo Courret, Camacho (sentado) junto al sr Fernando Guachalla e hijo 1884
Saludos,
Jonatan Saona
Biography of General Eliodoro Camacho
Biografía del General Eliodoro Camacho By Joaquín de Lemoine
67 Aceptación del mando en Gefe del Ejercito Bolivano por el Coronel Eliodoro Camacho
Estado Mayor General del Ejercito de Bolivia Cuartel General en Tacna a 27 de Diciembre de 1879
El Coronel Eliodoro Camacho nombrado en esta ciudad Comandante en Gefe del Ejército por el voto espontáneo y unánime de todos los señores Generales, Gefes Oficiales y tropa de los cuerpos bolivianos tiene el honor de aceptar esta delicada comisión y de manifestar su reconocimiento por distinción tan inmerida saludando y felicitando á sus compañeros de armas por el patriotismo y circunspección con que han operado en este dia un cambio en la dirección del Ejército de acuerdo con el pronunciado sentimiento nacional y en armonía con las exigencias de la Santa Alianza Perú Boliviana. Art 1 Todos los señores Generales Gefes y Oficíales del Ejercito continuarán en el ejercicio de sus funciones como hasta el dia de hoy. Art 2 El distinguido General don Casto Arguedas que ha sido llamado á nombre de la Patria á desempeñar el cargo de Gefe del Estado Mayor del Ejército seguirá prestando sus importantes servicios en dicho puesto. Comuníquese en la Orden General del Dia para conocimiento del Ejercito El Coronel Gefe de Estado Mayor General Miguel Aguirre.
December 8, 2009 Sallani, Bolivia
As shown the location above, among the Andes mountains in Bolivia, in a valley dominated by a temperamental river is located the old family hacienda Sallani. Following are few recent pictures of what is there.
Uncle Lolo, his family and friends standing by his summer house.
Lolo and Alfonso
Enjoying the day in the shade.
At the base of the mountains
Rainy season brings lots of melted water to the river bed
View of the old a portion of the old house on the right which was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Newer structure is Uncle Reno's summer place
Typical views of the mountain area in the old Sallani
A couple interesting pages found on Bolivian wine, Eliodoro Camacho, and Caracato.
