Monday, July 20, 2009

July 2009

Here in Honduras, July is typically one that it is very difficult to get a flight - in or out of the country. Most every flight in a typical July is filled with mission groups and others coming to be a part of helping this nation. The reason that the people keep coming back year after year is that most of the folks here appreciate the work and efforts of the visitors from the USA. There are amazing friendships developed between the villagers and the mission teams from the USA. Personally, July 2009 was going to be an amazing month. I had scheduled teams from the 28th of June all the way to the last of the teams departing on August 9. My teams were coming from all over the USA and all of us had planned to make July 2009 an amazing month of work for our Master. Through the month there would have been close to 250 people coming and going - every week from 50 to 85 people would have been here working, building, feeding, teaching, comforting, and serving. We planned to build something like 60 houses, one and maybe 2 school buildings, a small but much needed foot bridge, work on the Santa Katerina feeding center / church plant, feed more than 4,000 families, treat more than 1500 in med/ dental clinics, teach the gospel to many many people.
Most of this didn't happen - obviously something jumped in the way and stopped the plan in it's tracks.
Everybody following this blog knows that there is a governmental crisis here and that has sent most folks from the USA and the mission groups that come here scrambling for cover. Bringing people here right now just was not a prudent thing so - I cancelled all of the July groups and had to send the end of June group home early. Needless to say, I am not alone. I was in the airport today and there was not another "gringo" there - not one. The lines for the airlines were empty and nobody is coming or going to Honduras this July.
I gotta tell you this is a real problem for many of the mountain villages where we work. I was in Nueva Oriental on Saturday and talked to many many of the people that live there and are friends with many Americans. They are so sad that nobody is coming. The community still needs the 30 to 40 houses that the teams would have built there. They still need the food that is desperatly short in many many of the homes there. Nueva Oriental still needs the medical and dental clinics and the people that would normally come to share the gospel. They will really miss the new school building and the bridge that our teams would have built. It is truly sad that a poliitcal mess can do this to the people that the governments are set up to serve.
Makes me so sad!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Monday, July 13, 2009

Article By Brandon Smith

In a dark and warm room, a group of men gathered in secret to discuss what they should do. In this room are people who were vehemently opposed to each other’s politics, religion, and more. However, they were drawn together for one cause, to fight for freedom and liberty in their small country. They made a decision, the leader of their country, had to go. Who were these leaders? Where they the zealots of a political party? Were they religious extremists? Was it a military force? No. The men and women who decided to oust Manuel Zelaya from his role has President of Honduras represent an overwhelming majority of the nation’s people. Imagine the American equivalent. General Colin Powell, General David Petraeus, Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele, Nancy Pelosi-the Democrat-Speaker of the House, Sara Palin, Justices Scalia, Ginsberg and Kennedy (my law school friends will appreciate this!), and Presidents Bush and Clinton: no imagine all of them coming together to condemn the actions of a leader as dangerous to the future of America’s existence as a democracy. Now imagine that all of these people worked together to kick the current president (republican or democrat) out of office. They do this openly, after months of public debate, and with the support of the public. Would this be condemned? Of course not!This is what happened in Honduras. The majority of the legislature, the High Court, the military generals, and the leaders of Zeleya’s own political party choose Roberto Michelett to replace him. Michelet is the leader of Zeleya’s political party in order to preserve democracy. This was supported by over 80% of the population. Obama says "We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not.” If this is really true, why does Obama ignore the actions of all of the other elected officials in Honduras, acting in concert, to defend their democratic form of government? The High Court of Honduras ordered Zeleya to be arrested, and kicked out of office. There was no violence or even significant level of unrest until Zeleya tried to return, one week after he was kicked out of office. So, what did Zeleya do to warrant such a drastic response from the ENTIRE government of Honduras? He was attempting to eliminate term limits so he could remain in office. Admittedly, this does not seem very dangerous. However, if you are familiar with the rise and fall of so many other Latin American democracies, you will understand just how dangerous this action is. In 2004, for example, Venezuelan despot, Hugo Chavez, rewrote the constitution, so as to take over the judicial system, the national electoral council, militarize the government, and began his anti-American/anti-democracy rhetoric. He has since proposed to spread this “revolution” around the world. The “election” he then held was approved by Jimmy Carter and many democrats in America, but has since been widely seen as illegitimate and corrupt. He the poured his nations money into disrupting the Bolivian and Ecuadorean democracies, and helped sex-offender, Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega return to power, as he once was while a member of the military leadership in the Sandinista revolution. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Hondurans have seen their neighbor struggle and fall into despair as their liberty is lost and their oppressive leaders rise to power. Hondurans had the gall to push back. Rather, they had the courage and the strength of will to say NO to the end of democracy in Honduras. The Obama administration is simply pandering to undemocratic despots like Hugo Chavez. What else can explain Chavez, Castro and Obama all supporting Zeleya in his unilateral attempt to rewrite the Honduran constitution? Americans must speak out. Whether we like it, or not, our voice is strong in the Americas. We must choose to support the rule of law, and democracies. Remember what we just celebrated this past weekend. A group of rebels who had a vision of a free and democratic nation. A group of doctors, lawyers, inventors, farmers, preachers, who came together to take a stand against oppression. This is what Hondurans have done. IN the name of democracy, we must choose to support Honduras’ recent actions. Our President has made it clear that he does not support the Honduran fight for democracy, but rather, is appeasing the dictators of South America. DO NOT BE CONFUSED! This is a fight not just for Honduran freedom, but for the perception of freedom worldwide. If we don’t support those who fight against oppression, we are sending a message to all dictators that they can do what they want. This is a fight for freedom in Honduras, it is also a fight for the preservation of Democracy’s place in the Market Place of Ideas. We must choose to speak out on behalf of democracy, on the behalf of freedom and on behalf of the Honduran people who have been silenced in the international media. The number one message coming from Honduran citizens to American citizens is “pray for me.” My family recently left Honduras, and the most trouble they had was the large groups of men, women and children begging them to pray for democracy and to tell Obama to support them. We must make the choice to be voices of truth. If you think this battle is not important to you, here in America, or elsewhere, you are wrong. Democracy is on trial in the international court of public opinion, and we must weigh in. After all, God has called us to:“Speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Friday, July 10, 2009

TORCH 2009 NEWS

Dear TORCH,
As you know, there is a mess here in Honduras. On June 28th, the situation became volitile as this small nation made the decision to remove their president Mel Zelaya. Mr Zelaya was doing a number of illegal things and both the Supreme Court and the National Congress approved of the ouster - 100%.
The world has not supported this change and there are factions within the country that continue to cause disturbances - some violent. The US State Department has recommended that US Citicizens not travel to Honduras during this crisis. This advisory continues through the 29th of July.
I would love to be able to tell all of you that none of this makes a difference and we need to move ahead with our July 20 mission. At this time, I just can't. We need to cancel the July 20 - August 2 mission to Honduras. The nation remains unstable, the chance of further problems here remain high, and if those happen, we could see Tegucigalpa and the airport shut down for a much longer period than we have already experienced. Additionally, I am not willing to risk your safety.
We are working with the airlines to determine how refunds, flight credits, etc will work. At this time we just don't know.
I know that some of you would love to say, I am coming any way. At this time, I would encourage you to wait and be patient.
We do have some fall and winter mission opportunities planned and we would gladly move you to some of those groups. Email Terri or me for details on those trips.
You cannot imagine my saddness in making this announcement. Our team is a big part of my life and I have waited as long as possible to make this decision. I am truly sorry that it is necessary.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc Tindall
Ps: People here that depend on groups like ours are still in need of homes and food. Please consider allowing us to utilize the portion of your trip that was to be dedicated to this effort. We will build the houses and distribute the food that would have happened anyway. Thanks for considering this.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Letter To USA

Here is an open letter to the USA from the president of the Tegucigalpa Rotary Club

Everybody here knows what is going on (exceptCNN En Espaloñ,which I formally denounce on misreporting the story.Even their CNN En Español map of Honduras is offensive tous, they place Tegucigalpa in another part ofthe country, much like we placed Las Vegas,Nevada as it were in Washington,D.C.).You already know that is was not a military coup -they havebeen and are being applauded as heroes- but as was reported and also mentioned on Catracho News "El Amigo de la Patria", they had to make a delicate decision -which although not the best legal solution,was the correct one.

Does somebody monitor the MEDIA in the US? We denounce CNN En Español, misreporting on our PLIGHT by the likes of "JOURNALISTS" Krupskaia Alis and Glenda Umaña, to be intentionally misrepresenting our GOVERMENT and Constitutional authorities POSITIONS,damaging Honduran precious interests.

Are they FOR Chávez-Castro-Ortega-José Miguel Insulza-Migueld´Escoto B. from UN-Correa-Morales-C. Kirchner XXIstCentury socialism???

CNN En Español reports only show they want, taking our benefit of the doubt, much like the weak O.A.S.,which we had to denounce The Carta Democrática Interamericana on Friday July 3, before Insulza and the rest of the O.A.S. members -who did not review our side of the case-accused and suspended us for the "savagemilitary coup". It was not a coup,much less a miltiary coup, and it was not savage: Not a drop of blood was shed.

Also, the Courts reuquested the Military to assist, because Mel Zelaya had sorrounded himselhwith thugs for the Círculos Bolivarianos (from Venezuela) BODYGUARDS and SECURITY PERSONNEL ?? Why in the world woulda HONDURAN PRESIDENT BE SORROUNDED BY FOREIGN MILITARY OR SECURITY PERSONNEL SENT BY HUGO CHAVEZ???

So,all in all, the way things happened was for the best.

Extraordinary (Excellent) job by the brave, professional, non-deliberative honduran military... then they needed to make a decision... and they wanted to prevent bloodshed, so they -and this was also a difficult decision- selected the best option avaliable and promptly sent citizen José Manuel "Mel" Zelaya Rosales to another country (Costa Rica).

Mel had -apparently forced by his own illegal position, that he created by going against the law.. againts the CONSTITUTION he swore to uphold and respect, under God- ...even his main legal advisors, including former Supreme Court of Justice President advised nottogoon with his illegalENCUESTA orSRUVEY (which it was not!), Mel´s stupidity, since no one is above the law, forced him to present a signed Letter of Resignation (We can, for all purposes admit he signed it on his own accord, but there is room to consider, that pressured by the circumstances he had created -a trap crap- he was forced to sign it.That might be the case, or not. We have not seen or reviewed a copy of his Letter of Resignation, and I am not a government authority to confirm or deny this specific issue).

So now there is no CONSTITUTIONAL way to turn the page back to Sunday june 28, 2009, before 4:00 a.m. anymore.That is history. And Honduras has broken the paradigms in defense of democracy. WE will be an example for generations to come.This is the DAWN of the ALBA and XXIst. Centrury Socialism by force and interference and violation of the principle of selfdetermination!!!

So, yes, we are not happy this had to be done, but we are EXTREMELY proud to have saved and defended our DEMOCRACY and CONSTITUTION..

Has anybody taken a survey oh happiness levels right now in Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, etc. BRAVE PEOPLE THERE have contacted us, sending messages and inviting us to go and assist them in getting their countries back!!! (We have our one little mess or "reyerta" here, and will will never surrender to the castrocommunist puppets,so that´s is why they call us "pitiyanquis", "oligarchs" and tell us -or spray paint or walls with "Death to the oligarchs".

The also in a very "organized"manner, throw, rocks, break windows, have hidden weapons -grenades included-, baseball bats, and spray paint messages where they refer to the CARDINAL Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga as "DOG". (God bless and protect our Cardinal and all of HONDURANS). We have plenty of pictures.

So we will not accept this -and the OAS condemned us without hearing us-, since we really, do not like that type of new Mel lies here. (Read the Catracho News)

Baron de Montesquieu lives in HONDURAS now...and would be proud, as would be our heroes Valle, Morazán, Cabañas and Lempira, whom we honored in a PEACEFUL manner, in order to promote PEACE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, RECONCILIATION and UNITY of the Honduran Family (total of 7.7 millions persons).

Has anybody mentioned to your US Authorities that U.S. businesses, like FRANCHISES such as Burger King, McDonalds, Chili´s, etc. have been damaged by the thugs infiltrated amongst the few thousand the Mel-Chávez (dictator-thug)-Castro (dictator)-CHE GUEVARA (democracy icon or legend?)- Ortega-Insulza-Morales-Correa-C. Kirchner-Fernando Lugo followers -which include the Bloque Popular and UD, and -as always- the TEACHERS (permanently on strike) and some labour organizations, and -if you know them- you know they do not need anything (or very little) to be "provoked!!!"

You can also follow me on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/GValle1 .

We know that today Tuesday July7 in the US (Staples Center?) many thousands ofpersonas -millions nationwide and all over the world- will be mourning during Michael Jackson´s (RIP) burial ceremony, probably us from here as well (he was truly a genius icon singer-dancer), but we will continue our 24/7 fight for DEMOCRACY, until the last day of our lifes... even if that last day that is TODAY!

But we are always working for peace,in a non-violent, non-provoking way.

Later today TUESDAY, July 7 around 10:00 a.m. Tegucigalpa time we will HOLD -called by Unión Cívica Democrática (UCD)- a MILLION PERSON PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION ("Plantón") ALL OVER THE COUNTRY!!!

Please WATCH THE NEWS (BUT not the biased CNN En Español, which people here now refer to as Chávez-Castro News Network).

I enclose the final version of the CATRACHO NEWS, latest two numbers.

What can we do now? We must move forward, hold or move to a sooner date the 2009 General Elections,scheduled for Nov.29.

To now citizen Mel Zelaya we respectfully say: "Why don´t you stay there!" (in Nicaragua, Venezuela, etc.). That is the way it will most likey occur.

If he -stubborn as he is- chooses to come back, and he might (but not very likely), he will probably be apprehended by the authorities, face trial, and end in jail (99% probability).

Of course, the authorities have documented proof of the illegal acts-several of them like treason-and he has been charged. INTERPOL will now be looking for him in 187 countries or so.

We will gladly meet with your Honourable Senators or arranged the meetings with our constitutional authorites, so your Government can have information from both sides (Insulza should be fired or sanctioned, by not being reelected, for being anti-democratic. Why doesn´t Insulza or the OAS denounce or CONDEMN and suspend Venezuelas torturer-dicatator? Because of the PETRODOLLARS, which is what this is all about for Insulza and other countires).

Enclosed please find a word file with a drawing or "caricatura" of the Central American Map or new landscape being drawn up by Chávez-Castro-Insulza PERVERSE ALLIANCE. It´s not funny, because we know it´s TRUE, we received it from Nicaragua yesterday night! Scary would be a better word, but nothing scares me (us).

So everything we say and do, CNN En Español just lies about it. And, much like TeleSur, they do not give us equal or equitative coverage. How can we contribute to correct this problem with CNN en Español?

Regarding the DIALOGUE that we would like to have: To the O.A.S., our new government authorities -being totally respectful of national and international law-, mainly the Ministry of Foreign Relations (Chancellor Enrique Ortez Colíndres and Under-Secretary Martha Lorena Alvarado de Casco) confirmed, vía a National Radio and TV Message, to them that we would meet with 2nd. level personnel (since we know Insulza would notand will not LISTEN toour side of the story at all, because he is going for his OAS Secretary General reelection -he needs Chávez influence (A.K..A. Petrodollars to obtain the votes needed- and you know how he -a former presidential socialist candidate from Chile- thinks, so we do not like or trusts Insulza at all or anymore). And that is the truth.

It would be nice to have CNN En Español investigated. The joke today is that CNN En Español just confirmed Bernard Madoff had not PLEAD GUILTY,but now CNN has about US$5 billion more in the bank. (Or so it goes)

We do not want interventions from José Miguel Insulza, that is why on FRIDAY JULY 3, 2009 our Government, presided by our constitutional President Roberto Micheletti Bain DENOUNCED the OAS´ Carta Democrática Interamericana. So we left before they were going to KICK US OUT (suspension). UNCHARTERED TERRITORY indeed!

We might just be a small nation in the complicated world of the big political chess game, but we are working very hard to improve our democracy.

We are also very brave and despite promoting Non-Violence, we will NEVER GIVE UP and accept Castrocommunism, H. Chávez Socialism, Daniel Ortega Inc. Communism, etc.

And we condemn the death of a young pro-Zelaya protester, apparently by a rock thrown by his fellow protesters -when they were running scrambling from the tear gas- or a bullet from the military (the first option is very possible. The doctors from the morgue will determine exact cause of death). So that´s how things were on Sunday. Everything peaceful Monday. 98% of the population just want to -and need to- go on in peace, in this democracy.
If you would have all seen some of the videos of former President Zelaya (from Thursday June 25 at night to around 2:00 a.m.on Friday June 26, 2009), where according to a professional Dr., now citizen Zelaya appeared to be on drugs (actually this doctor told us it was COCAINE, but -of course-, no one did a drug test). This would have been enough proof that he was on something.

May Gos bless Honduras!

Best regards and YIR,

GValle
Honduran Citizen, Patriot
Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., Honduras

Monday, July 06, 2009

WSJ Today July 6,2009

Hundreds of emails from Hondurans flooded my in-box last week after I reported on the military's arrest of President Manuel Zelaya, as ordered by the Supreme Court, and his subsequent banishment from the country.
Mr. Zelaya's violations of the rule of law in recent months were numerous. But the tipping point came 10 days ago, when he led a violent mob that stormed a military base to seize and distribute Venezuelan-printed ballots for an illegal referendum.
All but a handful of my letters pleaded for international understanding of the threat to the constitutional democracy that Mr. Zelaya presented. One phrase occurred again and again: "Please pray for us."
Associated Press
Raul Castro, left, Manuel Zelaya, center, and Hugo Chavez in Managua, Nicaragua, June 29.
Hondurans have good cause for calling on divine intervention: Reason has gone AWOL in places like Turtle Bay and Foggy Bottom. Ruling the debate on Mr. Zelaya's behavior is Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez, who is now the reigning international authority on "democracy."
Mr. Chávez is demanding that Mr. Zelaya be reinstated and is even threatening to overthrow the new Honduran president, Roberto Micheletti. He's leading the charge from the Organization of American States (OAS). The United Nations and the Obama administration are falling in line.
Is this insane? You bet. We have fallen through the looking glass and it's time to review how hemispheric relations came to such a sad state.
The story begins in 2004, when Mr. Chávez was still an aspiring despot and the U.S. pursued a policy of appeasement toward him. Not surprisingly, that only heightened his appetite for power.
Mr. Chávez had already rewritten the Venezuelan Constitution, taken over the judiciary and the national electoral council (CNE), militarized the government, and staked out an aggressive, anti-American foreign policy promising to spread his revolution around the hemisphere.
The Americas in the News
Get the latest information in Spanish from The Wall Street Journal's Americas page.
Many Venezuelans were alarmed, and the opposition had labored to collect signatures for a presidential recall referendum permitted under the constitution. As voting day drew near, Mr. Chávez behaved as if he knew his days were numbered. The European Union refused to send an observer team, citing lack of transparency. The OAS did send observers, and in the months and weeks ahead of the vote mission chief Fernando Jaramillo complained bitterly about the state's intimidation tactics against the population. Mr. Chávez gave OAS Secretary General César Gaviria an ultimatum: Either get Mr. Jaramillo out of the country or the referendum would be quashed. Mr. Chávez was appeased. Mr. Jaramillo was withdrawn.
The Carter Center was also invited to "observe," and former President Jimmy Carter was welcomed warmly by Mr. Chávez upon his arrival in Venezuela.
A key problem, beyond the corrupted voter rolls and government intimidation, was that Mr. Chávez did not allow an audit of his electronic voting machines. Exit polls showed him losing the vote decisively. But in the middle of the night, the minority members of the CNE were kicked out of the election command center. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Chávez claimed victory. There was never a credible audit of the paper ballots against the tallies in the voting machines.
Mr. Carter's approval notwithstanding, the proper U.S. and OAS response was obvious: The process had been shrouded in state secrets and therefore it was impossible to endorse or reject the results. Venezuelan patriots begged for help from the outside world. Instead, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, Roger Noriega, and the OAS blessed the charade.
There was never any explanation for the blind endorsement, but behind the scenes there were claims that Mr. Chávez threatened to call his militia to the streets and spill blood. The oil fields were to be burned. To this day, the opposition contends that the U.S. and Mr. Gaviria made a cold calculation that caving in to Mr. Chávez would avoid violence.
Predictably, Washington's endorsement of the flawed electoral process was a green light. Mr. Chávez grew more aggressive, emboldened by his "legitimate" status. He set about using his oil money to destabilize the Bolivian and Ecuadorean democracies and to help Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Argentina's Cristina Kirchner get elected. Soviet-backed Fidel Castro was able to intimidate his neighbors in the 1960s and '70s, and Mr. Chávez has done the same thing in the new millennium. This has given him vast power at the OAS.
Hondurans had the courage to push back. Now Chávez-supported agitators are trying to stir up violence. Yesterday afternoon airline service was suspended in Tegucigalpa when Mr. Zelaya tried to return to the country and his plane was not permitted to land. There were reports of violence between his backers and troops.
This is a moment when the U.S. ought to be on the side of the rule of law, which the Honduran court and Congress upheld. If Washington does not reverse course, it will be one more act of appeasement toward an ambitious and increasingly dangerous dictator.
Write to O'Grady@wsj.com