I LOVE POCOYO!!!

One Sunday afternoon we found this wonderful animated show called Pocoyo. 

 

 Pocoyo is a show for preschoolers, it is the cutest thing I have ever seen. We could not stop watching. This show is very well made, it is currently all over the world and translated to many different languages. What I liked the best was that it is incredibly innocent and enjoyable.

The show is about Pocoyo a 3 year old (dressed in blue) and his friends and their little adventures. His friends are Pato (duck in Spanish), Eli a Pink elephant, Lula a dog, and even an octopus.

Here is a link to their website and their official blog

For a taste of Pocoyo, I have a video here, and you can find them in different languages in Youtube.

Race-Ethnicity, can you tell who is who?

These are from the Secret Asian Man…great comic strip.

Click on the image to see it larger.

Immigration Nation

Caption: Immigration nation. They speak funny. They look different. They don’t behave like us. Excellent! New Zealand need immigrants more than ever.

This is a different take on immigration from Idealog a business magazine from New Zealand you can find their article here  

Homophobia

I grew up in a homophobic culture, I have never considered myself that, but after living here for a while I can say I was a homo-ignorant.

I have always thought that I had an open mind, but since I moved to the US I have realized how much more it has and could open. I can really appreciate the openness that I perceive here toward the LGBT community.

Not too long ago I was at a diversity summit and I was talking with the man that was heading the LGBT display. He needed to go and ask me to stand there for a while until his replacement came. While I was waiting an Alien, like me, came by and started reading the display. He was from a different part of the world, but just like me Alien. He looked at me and asked “what is Homophobia?” I tried to explain the best I could and then I thought of the meaning of the word, homophobia = fear of homosexuality.

Fear that is the fuel for hate. I came to the realization that some people hate homosexuality and gender difference and all of it, because they are afraid. Most people on the LGBT community may say now DUUUH… It was an epiphany for me, okay?! LGBT people are Aliens in their own planet, for some people.

I believe that this culture, US culture, is a lot more open than the one I come from and I know that information and keeping and open mind is the only way of tearing down those barriers that still exist. I am a information/knowledge junky, so I watch shows on discovery channel about LGBT, issues I watch the Logo channel to learn about the culture, I ask questions when I feel it is appropriate and I even signed up for a training so that I can be a safe person for them to turn if they need a friendly face.

Some people think that homosexuality is contagious, that it can be brought upon by your parents attitude, or that it is a choice. I know that there is a lot of judgment from all sides and I pity those that miss having wonderful friends and meeting exceptional people for fear of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

I can say I am not LGBT-literate, but I am a little less ignorant and my mind has opened a lot. I still have a lot to learn. I truly believe that we are all the same, and I act accordingly…Do you?

Immigration Raids in Michigan

I attended a meeting this morning at a local church where people told their personal stories about their recent encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE. In the past couple of weeks there have been several raids in Washtenaw County, aided by Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township police departments. It is heartbreaking to hear their stories.

I understand the sentiment that people have against illegal or undocumented immigration, but there has been a campaign to dehumanize those people that feel the need to risk their lives coming here to work and try to make a better life for their families.

There were stories of areas targeted because of large Latino populations. There is an apartment complex where a lot of Latinos live; all of the people that I have met that lived there were college students. Well they raided there, just for their looks. I think that is called racial profiling.

I also heard the story of a 20 year old woman that was detained, after the verified that she had no criminal record she was told she could be let free on bail the following day…That did not happened. She was detained in Detroit and spent two weeks being shuffled to different detention center all over the country, living among convicted murderers and dangerous criminals. Each time she was moved she was subjected to strip-searches and other humiliating practices. I thought that law enforcement officials were trained to be able to distinguish between dangerous criminals and people that are not a risk to anybody. She was finally released two weeks later in the US Southwest. She is now awaiting deportation.

I also heard stories of abuse, interrogation techniques that border in torture, women separated from their children who are latter released and cannot find the whereabouts of their children.

There were stories about employers’ mistreatment, unpaid wages, and even banks that would open savings accounts to latter deny access to their money for lack of documents.

I know… Why do they come in the first place?

Well  I also learned about how US foreign policies and agreements have contributed to increase the impoverishment of other countries; and about the way in which these foreign workers contribute to the US economy. I want to learn more about these two issues, I don’t know enough to form an opinion.

My point here is not whether it is right or not for them to be here. My point is the subhuman treatment some of these people receive. I would like for people to put a human face to this issue and not see them as disposable labor, unwanted “Brown” people, pests invading our cities.

If your family was facing starvation, wouldn’t you do whatever you can for your parents, siblings, and children?  Some people are born with all odds against them, with little or no choices. We can’t compare a person born here to a disadvantaged family, to somebody born in some of those countries. Even most pets have a better live than some of those people, there is even a special police to protect them.

A lot of people in this country have a better regard and treatment for their pets… Does this make any sense??

Alien Invasion

This video shows the view from the Alien side… It is an interesting prespective, and an even better message

WE NEED TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF OUR PLANET!!!

12 Steps to raise a juvenile delinquent

These comes from a leaflet from the Houston Police Department. It is apparently very old, there has been a little update. I believe it still applies.

1. Begin with infancy to give the child everything he/she wants. In thins way he/she will grow up to believe that the world owes him/her a living.
2. When he/she picks up bad words, laugh at him/her. This will make him/her think that it is cute.
3. Never give him/her any spiritual training. Wait until he/she is is twenty-one and then they can decide for themselves.
4. Avoid the use of the word “wrong”. He/she may develop a guilt complex. This will condition him/her to believe later, when he/she is arrested , that society is against him/her and he/her is being persecuted.
5. Pick up everything he/she leaves lying around. Do everything for him/her so that he/she will be experienced in throwing all responsibility on others.
6. Take his/her side against neighbors, teachers, and policemen. They are all prejudiced against your child.
7. Quarrel frequently in the presence of your children. In this way they won’t  be so shocked when the home is broken up later.
8. Give the child all the spending money he/she wants. Never let them earn their own.
9. Satisfy his/her every craving for food, drink, and comfort. See that his/her every sensual desire is gratified.
10. Let him/her read any printed material, what any movie or TV show, and listen to any music he/she can get his/her hands on. Be careful that the silverware and drinking glasses are sterilized, but let their mind feast on garbage.
11. When he/she gets into real trouble, apologize to yourself by saying, “I could never do anything with him/her.”
12. Prepare for a life of grief. You will likely have it.

What is up with U.S. women?

Since I have been here I have hear people talk about women as being selfish, only interested in the money, conniving. I have heard of friends trying to steal their “friend’s” man, and even their sister’s man?!?!?!

I refuse to believe that all of this is true.

I hear talk of the men code; I grew up with a women code. You never get involved with your friend or sister’s boyfriend, husband, significant other… Never!!

I hear people talking about women only interested in how much money the man makes, how good he looks, and how much she can get from him?!?!?!

The worse part is that I hear women saying that. This makes me wonder, is it that there are different value systems, or this is a gross generalization and there is only a few act like that.

It has been difficult for me to make female friends here; the cultural differences have hindered that a lot. I came to the realization that all of my female friends are either foreign born or first generation born here. Some of these friends have expressed a similar concern and also of being difficult making male friends without some assumption that there is going to be sex involved. One friend asked me, ‘do US women sleep with all their friends’?

I have two great friends from cultures that could seem opposite to mine, one is from Korea and one from Japan; but our core values seem to be the same or very similar.

I get teased because I enjoy cooking for my husband, because I love spoiling him by being affectionate. Because I believe he is a man and not my property and therefore can choose to do what he wants and not require my “permission”. I have met women that would only cook for themselves, or wash their own dish, but never their husband’s…

I want your input on this, is it a gross distorted stereotype or is it true?

Men is this true??  Women is this true??

‘Giant’ creepy gnome terrorises town

 I think this is not one of mine…

Why are we deporting widows of American Citizens?

Our current immigration law states that the alien spouse of a US citizen should be deported if their marriage does not last past two years.  This a period in which the alien’s residency is called temporary or conditional. This law was intended to prevent fake marriages where a non-citizen would marry a U.S. citizen to quickly gain legal residency and then just get a quicky divorce. After the two years the Alien has to apply for permanent residency.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, USCIS, states that they are required to deport aliens whose spouse dies within two years of being married. Because of this, women and men who entered this country legally are facing deportation when their spouses die during the sometimes seemingly endless administrative visa process. There are over one hundred cases across the country affecting women, mothers and children. 

In some of these cases the spouse died while serving the country. Now the widows not only have to endure the loss of their spouse, but the loss of their home and security. Cases like:

Dahianna Heard, the widow of Jeffrey Heard, killed in March 2006 when the Army soldier was shot in the head by insurgents while delivering equipment to U.S. troops in Iraq. Dahianna Heard, a citizen of Venezuela who lives in Florida, now could be deported even though she and her husband had applied for her residency permit and were awaiting completion of the paperwork. They also had a son who is a U.S. citizen but faces an uncertain future if his mother is deported.

Todd Engstrom was later killed in Iraq when an RPG hit the convoy in which he was riding, while he was helping the U.S. Army train Iraqi soldiers. Now his wife Diana if facing deportation.

Surviving Spouses Against Deportation

Honoring the fallen, but not their widows

There has been a law suit filed to prevent this from happening.

I cannot imagine how I would have felt if this had happened to me. I have been fortunate enough to pass all of the leagal hurdles of the immigration process all the way, to become a US Citizen, I will explain the process in a later post.

It is hard to move to a new country, it is a big adjustment. And after you make this new place a home, the old country is not home anymore. I can’t imagine loosing my husband and then my home.