caulfield2 has left 431 comments

caulfield2 comments on Screwed by Avianca - again

Hey, that last girl looks like Minnie Driver

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

Less than 15%, the majority goes directly to tutoring and program costs...

Most national charities in the US, over half of your donations go to paying their fundraisers and telemarketing people.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

Less than 15%, the majority goes directly to tutoring and program costs...

Most national charities in the US, over half of your donations goes to paying their fundraisers and telemarketing people.

caulfield2 comments on The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side

http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/11/gates-w.html

See what Bill Gates (SR.) thinks about RAISING the estate tax.

He is so super-rich that he thinks the rich should pay more in taxes, lol, even though they already paid the tax once when they earned it.

Working your way up from the middle class is hardly how I would describe Gates or Allen...they didn´t drop out of Corpus Christi CC, it was freaking Harvard.

And they didn´t event DOS, they bought the technolgy with their parents' money from some tech geek who didn´t know the commercial implications of what his invention would be used for. Bill Gates is, at best, an average programmer. But he was in the right place at the right time with the right idea.

caulfield2 comments on Columbiche, need your help

Okay, pick a philosophy here. You're against Bush, but you're also against government spending/programs/dependency, so that makes you, what, a civil libertarian? A member of the Reform Party?

And you're arguing that you have given more money based on what fact, that you've paid higher taxes, since you know me so well and what I have and haven't done...

Habitat for Humanity has done a good job of defeating the dependency rap because they are almost like a for profit entity, the only difference being they don't charge interest for their houses. You're against them too, because of their overtly Christian orientation?

I'm not going to argue that Plan Colombia has benefitted the average Colombian, although there's certainly the perception, at least, that the country is safer.....which leads to more tourism, more foreign investment, more jobs, more opportunities, which I can't helping seeing as a good thing, in general.

Then again, Bill Gates could give all of his money away and it wouldn't make a dent in the world for more than a week or so.

Do you like anything about the US? You sound like that LeStat Vampire guy who was caught trying to bomb buildings in Peru or Bolivia...really, you need to relax. Why don't you run for Congress or something if you feel so passionately about this? You sound like Michael Moore, without the sense of humor.

caulfield2 comments on Columbiche, need your help

Um...I have never voted for either Bush.

caulfield2 comments on Columbiche, need your help

Albatross, what have you contributed to the world that you consider to be of value? Just curious....

caulfield2 comments on

The problem is that people that are living on margin or overleveraged don't have much room to fall. Speculation is fine as long as things are moving up, but the leverage of owning multiple properties can also work against you on the downside. They see their stocks (or home values) going down 5-10 percent a day and no light at the end of the tunnel.

I wasn't around for the Great Depression, but I remember 2000-2002 very clearly....some are going to be eager to get out with any profit they can take, others are going to be stubborn and hold as the prices of stocks go down 50-75%, waiting for that rebound.

The problem with the tech stocks is that the majority of them never did rebound, and I would have been better off taking 25-50% losses (I did eventually do this, at least getting some tax relief as with capital losses) instead of sitting on them for five years waiting for a return that was never to be. If I would have put them right back into the market with a Berkshire/Hathaway, Legg Mason or Oakmark Funds type of investment, I would have been much better off.

But the irrational exuberance got the best of many...I remember how popular the different stock and fund message boards were back then. Now, you might find one or two posts a month on many boards.

The poster above was right...the contrarian or hedge investors that are buying when everyone is desperately selling. Usually doing the opposite of the madding crowd is the exact right instinct to have, but it's bold and gutsy and it's not something those people with an extra couple of hundred thousand can easily afford to do. This is always how the rich get richer and the poor/middle class get poorer, IMO.

caulfield2 comments on Colombian stock market collapse, dollar gain

Everyone knows there is another housing bubble developing in the United States, fueled by those buying houses for investment purposes with ARMs and Interest-Only Loans. When the tide turns the other way, things are going to get really ugly.

We also know that a large percentage of US debt is owned by foreign countries, banks and individual investors...as well as the fact that the average credit card balance for American families is now somewhere between $10-15,000.

Eventually, the whole house of cards is going to start collapsing...which is going to scare the heck out of Baby Boomers in the process of retiring but might be the best thing to ever happen to those born in the late 70's and 80's who have really only experienced the recession of the early 90's and then the stock market collapse of 2000-2002 in the Nasdaq.

caulfield2 comments on Colombian stock market collapse, dollar gain

I just think China has such a huge advantage in technology now and cost efficiency that it can offset the transportation issues and tariffs.

I don't know about the hourly wage rates, but I think Colombia's might actually be higher than those of China. The other problem is that there is simply not an economy of scale to produce technology in Colombia, as there is a dearth of knowledge workers.

caulfield2 comments on World Cup comments & predictions

England played a very pedestrian first game. Nobody played that well for England, Lampard had the best shots on goal but the second goalie for Paraguay gamely stopped them. 1-0 on an own goal for Gammara (sp), one of Paraguay's best defenders.

The only Paraguayan I was really impressed with was their striker, Valdez or Valdes.

I think England really needs a healthy Rooney to go anywhere in the second round. Paraguay didn't dominate the second half, but they played England pretty evenly.

Crouch, the 6-7 striker for England must have had 10 fouls and a yellow card. It seemed that everytime he went up for a header, he was called by the Mexican ref. The advantage in free kicks for PARA must have been at least 2-1.

I'm pulling for Ivory Coast (memories of Cameroon over ARG) and Drogba is one of my favorites. I also like Chelsea in the English League. Ivory Coast has the strikers and defense, it will be interesting to see how their midfield will hold up.

Most are expecting Messi to emerge as the new world star after this Cup.

caulfield2 comments on Does anyone know anything about Tulua?

Well, I learned that it's not a great idea to walk around a 230 in the morning without a hotel to stay in (I was near the terminal)....I finally found a decent place and it was only $25 mil or something like that.

The name of the club I went to is Fenix, which I guess sounds like Fene's in English...I got to see my ex-Calena dancing on the bar, gyrating and having a guy simulate having sex with her from behind, lol. I wasn't jealous is the least, though.

They have a pretty cool shopping center that's nicer than what we have in Armenia. It's called Herradura and has a Royal Films where they had a lot of movies like Thanks for Not Smoking and the Disney movie about the huskies who are rescued from the North Pole...those types of movies never come here. Realized there are Lenos y Carbons, Frisbys, Corrals, Jeno's Pizzas and Prestos almost everywhere in Colombia, lol.

caulfield2 comments on Most beatiful women

Having a wife from Russia, I think on the basis of taking 100 random 25 year old women from Colombian and comparing them to Russians, Czech Republic, Ukraine...the Russians would win every time, if the objective was to find the highest percentage of women for a modelling contract.

The Eastern European women are taller and thinner, in general. Of course, having lived in Colombia for 10 months now (I was only in Russia for 3-4 weeks total), Colombian women have better hearts and spirits....more inner peace and contentment. Part of the reason is that many Russians don't believe in God. And when you have no orientation around anything but economic survival, the romanticism of life is stripped away.

There's more Latins that could stop me in my tracks with their smile and eyes, I can say that confidently...but I personally go for the long, athletic look and not the short, more compact appearance.

I've dated women from Egypt, Pakistan, W. Africa, Venezuela, Japan, Taiwan, Peru, China, Vietnam, Cambodia...in some ways, I like the Asian women and Russian women because many are more ambitious and academically oriented around their careers. They often speak near fluent English and have better communication skills, on average.

But give me a dancing, gyrating Eva Mendes any time you would like...or Jessica Alba, although she is closer to Morphus' age range than what I would ideally date.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone know anything about assault-domestic violence?

The landlord is talking to the roommate about moving to another apartment in one of their complexes that would be smaller and cheaper.

I basically told her to make the landlord believe that she is in imminent danger going back into the apartment. She has been staying with friends since it happened Friday night.

She has lots of witnesses to the assaults in terms of people who saw the bruises, cuts and scratches on her body both times. She missed work Friday because of it...her roommate is the one that called the police in an attempt at a pre-emptive strike. The police had them at a table together, then decided there was no point in mediating the dispute and that they shouldn't be together until everything could be sorted out.

To make things worse, her roommate is 3 months' pregnant...of course, the boyfriend disappeared when he realized she was totally psycho, but she really played the fact that she was pregnant up with the police. Also, the father of her first child was in jail three years for drug trafficking.

I háven't discussed the restraining order issue with her yet, but it's a possibility. I think she just prefers to get out of the situation, knows she can never live with her again safely and wants to move on in life without being harmed again. The thing that also sucks is that her roommate and her son have done a couple of thousands of dollars of damage to the apartment. Right now, she's on the lease for $2,400 more in lease payments, through December.

By the way, thanks to everyone for their advice, it's a crazy situation I've never thought about before, and, as noted, there are many complicated legal aspects. However, I don't think it's wise to get a lawyer involved unless her roommate proves totally resistant to negotiating a way out that's mutually acceptable for both parties.

caulfield2 comments on Materialism in Colombia?

It's the same thing as sales tax, it disproportionately affects the middle class and especially the poorest...those who can least afford it.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

Well, gringo...I am sure part of the money from the project will come from my own funds, when I consider it ridiculous to make volunteers pay for their own transportation when I can easily enough pay them $2-3 mil

In essense, Strato 6 is subsidizing me, because there wouldn´t be American or English based schools in Colombia that could pay teachers $20-30,000 without the high tuitions charged by these institutions

I COULD get the money in the US, but I do prefer to have the support of Colombians, of course...then again, if I get money from USAID or the Inter-American Development Bank, I´m sure they will try to get their hands on it somehow, lol

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

I work for both. I only, being relative, of course, in Colombia, make $500,000 for teaching 8 hours per week of advanced and conversational English at the University.

Most of my money comes from the private colegio. The other schools I mentioned were also private colegios. I think the average for ESL or English teachers in places like Colombo Americano or Francesa is something like $15-16,000 per hour in Armenia.

That money is a little high, in the sense it includes health insurance, gym club membership, rent for my apartment...but it's a solid $20,000 or so (w- free rent), either in pesos or dollars (both, actually).

Yeah, I eat out all the time, go out 2-3 times per week, travel quite a bit and I'm still going to end up saving somewhere in the vicinity of $6-8K this year. I try to spend it, I promise you that.

We use the schools, and I will know more next week about needed materials. Anything in English is great, but it is really hard to come by. Our priority is teaching Spanish and Math, then, maybe a little English....

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

Oh....Gimnasio Ingles is main bilingual school but is around $4,000 USD per year. Expensive for here...there´s another bilingual school, but no native English speakers.

San Luis Rey, Carlomagno and Bethlemitas are probably the three best schools after ours...although SLR might be better, depends who you ask. Definitely cheaper, about half of our tuition.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

As far as Armenia goes....

Great climate in terms of temperature (like LA or SD), lots of rain though.

About 310,000 population, smaller than Pereira and Manizales, two other cities in Eje Cafetero.

Less cosmopolitan, more touristic, lots of fincas and haciendas. Good shopping, but not compared to the Big 4 cities.

Very safe, good security. I really like living here, it can get boring sometimes, but it´s nice. That´s true of most cities. Lots of different things to do outside the city....hang gliding, bolsaje, horseback riding, Parque del Cafe, Panaca, Salento and Sevilla are two of the prettiest cities (or views) in all of Colombia IMO.

If I didn´t live here, it would be Medellin or Manizales, maybe Pereira. Manizales has more universities....I teach at Universidad La Gran Colombia, Universidad del Quindio is our public university. There are a couple of smaller ones...

Rents are reasonable but going up, nice 2-3 bedroom (without utilities) for around $350-550,000 per month, on average.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

jewisler at yahoo.com

The website for our organization is www.booksanddreams.org

We have about 33 contacts from our volunteermatch.org website that I´m going to ask for support when I go back to the US in three weeks...serving on board, as advisors, helping with PR or marketing ideas, fundraising events, etc.

Joe Hogue, who lives in Des Moines, Iowa, is the Executive Director.
You can e-mail him directly at jhogue99 at hotmail.com We are a 501-c-3 non-profit registered in the US.

Any help (financial or otherwise) would be greatly appreciated, and I´m sure Joe would echo those sentiments as well.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone know anything about assault-domestic violence?

To make it worse, both are models.

The crazy roommate actually looks a lot like Pamela Anderson, minus the implants. The difference is she takes about 45 minutes to an hour to look like that. Without the make-up, just another girl with blonde hair and a nice body.

My ex looks pretty without an ounce of make-up caked on.

I guess they did have a kind of race to see who would call the police first, with both thinking that would give them some kind of advantage against the other. It´s a mess, for sure.

caulfield2 comments on Does anyone know anything about Tulua?

In Armenia.

I´ll get the website for the club, or at least the one that Angela has pictures of her group posted at. I know a couple from her group go all the way from Cali to Pereira to dance at Mango Biche.

caulfield2 comments on Materialism in Colombia?

What always cracks me up is how many people call you, let it ring once, and then expect you to call back. Many don´t have contracts, so they´re always running out of minutes...so they can only receive incoming calls. It´s my gringo subsidization of the phone industry here I think.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone know anything about assault-domestic violence?

Can't edit this for some reason....she (the ex) was assaulted two or three months ago the first time. It happened the second time now this week. Two months ago, her roommate said quote I'm going to cut your face unquote and pushed-shoved her into the wall.

My ex is 5-6 and only 100 pounds, so she was outweighed by about 30 pounds in this battle, She is pretty fragile, physically.

caulfield2 comments on Anyone care to help with our non-profit volunteer project in COL?

Yes, I was in AmeriCorps for two terms.

I am the Program Director, so I won't be doing as much tutoring as I used to do, because management positions in non-profit are less direct service oriented. I've spent four years as a teacher and five plus years in non-profit leading volunteer projects...so I have had my share of tutoring, lol.

I am leaving my position as a teacher in COL to do this, it's something of a risk financially (I'm leaving a $24,000 position) for one that will pay quite a bit less.

HOWEVER, money is never the reason to do anything, and, if you really love what you are doing, you will do it well and be taken care of financially, IMO. Everything just tends to work out when you are doing things for others, although it is certainly easier when you are by yourself as compared to taking care of a spounse or family.

We are starting at least two programs in the Armenia-Circasia area, with the hope to expand to Barrio Nelson Mandela in Cartagena, maybe Bolivia...and two Central American countries, probably Honduras, El Salvador or Nicaragua.

It is a lot easier to collaborate with existing school networks than to create a program for students on the streets and who haven't been in a traditional school setting for months or even years...however, these kids are the ones we will fight to serve, as difficult and frustrating as it can be at times to see progress with a young person, then see them a week later in a morgue, on the streets, a prostitute, a gang member. No doubt, it's a battle worth fighting all around the world, as educational opportunity is the means to address most of the problems in the world.

caulfield2 comments on Materialism in Colombia?

Definitely. The irony is that a lot of my students never wear make-up when they come to school, but they always look nice when they go out.

I see young women working in a lot of these retail places making $4-5 mil per hour and spending half of their money on clothing. Of course, you have the same problem in the US, but it's not IMPOSSIBLE to save money in the US if you try. Sometimes, I almost feel like there's this sense that if you invest all your energy (as a young person) into looking good, it will be paid back to you by finding someone who will take care of you...

I know a few women (mostly my university students) who are very serious about their studies and really care very little about dressing to kill, wearing a lot of make-up or attracting the attention of others.

OTOH, there's that very visible segment of society that wears the high heels, cleavage-baring blusas (or, better yet, the ones tht show off both the abs and the low-riding, skin tight pants combination, with the underwear showing a little), European style sunglasses, etc.

It goes with the plastic surgery phenomenon hand-in-hand IMO. You see the extremes in the poorest people and the richest people...the rich can afford to look this way, unfortunately, the middle and lower classes spend most of their money and don't save for university or college with the belief that sometimes, being beautiful can pay off more than being smart. Of COURSE, it's a generalization, and there are plenty of women all around the world who believe this, it's not a Colombian, Venezuelan, Brazilian or Argentinian thing.

I do notice that other countries in SA are much more tuned-down when it comes to this....less make-up, more conservative, less skin, less name brand or American label clothing.

caulfield2 comments on Questions about Chicas Aguilas!

You can meet them or have your picture taken with them, but don't count on more than that.

You're better off trying to put the moves on a dancer from Mango Biche in Pereira, a girl from Mango's, etc. These girls are too high profile...they're not famous as individuals names like many Colombian models that are represented by Stock Agency in Medellin, but they have a better lifestyle (parties, boyfriends, amigos con derechos, vacations, travel) than 98% of the people in the world could probably give them.

The last part, I'm sure was a joke that spectrasport didn't pick up. I am pretty sure there will never be any CHICOS Aguilas.

caulfield2 comments on Carls finally in colombia

Ooops, missed that, thought he was American.

caulfield2 comments on Too good for his own good?

Okay, that´s about the most ill-informed comment I´ve seen on here. Because a girl is skinny (can you put your hand around her ankle?) she has HIV-AIDS?

Well, try going to Asia. Almost every woman there is skinny, and they can´t all have AIDS....Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe...same story. Maybe, just maybe, they eat a better diet, don´t have cars and spend more time walking than the sedentary US population.

caulfield2 comments on Carls finally in colombia

Well, I am assuming you have a K3 visa. She has more rights, obviously, if she has passed the two year threshhold. Has she done her adjustment of status (AOS) yet? I have no idea where she is in the immigration process...

From my understanding, its pretty complicated to own something free and clear in Colombia when you are still married. You are going to have to wait until that process is adjudicated. Do you really want to stay in Pereira after this is over? So that you have visitation rights? She doesn't want to live in the US?

Is she divorcing you so she move to the US and stay their permanently with your partial support, or does she merely want half your stuff here in Colombia? How well protected are your US assets? Does she already have a lawyer, or is this just a threat?

I live in Armenia, about 45 minutes to the south. If you need someone to talk to, you can come down here and we can hang out. I have a couple of other American friends that teach with me, and there are quite a few Colombians, Peruanos, etc., that speak English.

Here's my e-mail jewisler at yahoo.com

caulfield2 comments on Too good for his own good?

Well, as Morphus says, if you have blue eyes, it does make you stand out. Opening your mouth and speaking heavily accented Spanish does the rest of the trick, usually.

If you´re a half-way decent looking guy, there are going to be plenty of issues deciding who likes you for you and who just wants to use you. Of course, there´s probably MORE issues if you are older and not so good looking, lol.

In all seriousness, are you actually saying women are going to be injured fighting over this person? I´m not sure I see the point here.

And that guy whose picture was posted looks like one of the stand-in actors cut from the new Miami Vice movie.

caulfield2 comments on Armenia continued

Unfortunately, the answer is none that I know of...

caulfield2 comments on Any certified English teachers out there? (through US State Education Depts.)

anyone that is interested, send an e-mail (with cover letter and resume) to...

heathhough at gmail.com

caulfield2 comments on Colombiche, need some help....(survey question for counseling class)

No, I´m going to be working to start a non-profit tutoring program in Colombia. Starting in Armenia-Circasia and also Cartagena and possibly Medellin eventually.

caulfield2 comments on Any certified English teachers out there? (through US State Education Depts.)

Send me an e-mail to jewisler at yahoo.com and I can send you more information.

caulfield2 comments on Extended Stays in Colombia

Work visas are now $205 per year

caulfield2 comments on Any certified English teachers out there? (through US State Education Depts.)

Sorry, not ESL or TEFL....needs to be a ¨certification¨ just like you were teaching in a regular high school in the United States or another country.

caulfield2 comments on Colombiche, need some help....(survey question for counseling class)

1.Ser una mujer hermosamente inteligente.
2.Construir una familia con bases solidas donde sus columnas sostengan la estructura teniendo un fin en común pero no columnas pegadas, deben conservar su independencia, cada una debe seguir siendo "columna".
3.$10.000.000 buen comienzo para un ahorro a futuro, aunque no niego que iría a un buen spa y me pondría más bella para después ir al banco a depositarlos (lo que quede)
4.Las "Brutas" NO cuestionan. Por eso los hombres con ellas se sienten seguros, pues no se siente vulnerada su inteligencia (la de los hombres...aclaro por si el del cuestionario es hombre)

caulfield2 comments on Colombiche, need some help....(survey question for counseling class)

1. Lo más importante para mí es ser una mujer inteligente, ya que la
inteligencia es un don adquirido por medio de la educación y las
vivencias cotidianas y que perduran hasta los últimos dias de existencia del
ser, mientras que la hermosura física es un don efimero que desaparece
en el ocaso de la vida. Cuando se és una mujer inteligente tanto
mujeres como hombres lo admiran , toda vez que hoy en dia la mujer se ha
inclinado más al cuidado de su cuerpo que a cuidado de su alma y espiritu.
Ser una mujer inteligente es vivir en armonia con la naturaleza y Dios.
Si pudiera escoger una de las dos, sería indudablemente ser una mujer
inteligente ya que con inteligencia atraigo la belleza a mi alma y
cuerpo mientras que siendo hermosa no siempre atraeria la inteligencia.

2. Creo que es mejor tener un esposo y un familia, lo más importante
para mí es tener una familia que una carrera exitosa, porque de que
valdría todo un sacrificio durante una vida productiva sino se tiene con
quien compartirla, teniendo una familia contaria con el apoyo moral y
fisico para lograr mi carrera exitosa como profesional porque además de
ello tendría el motivo para lograrlo.

3.Si recibiera $10.000.000 hoy lo invertiría en un negocio productivo
donde interactue mi familia de esta forma recopilaria todas las
habilidades de cada uno y lograriamos tener un buen negocio que rentaría el
triple de lo recibido.

4. No todos los hombres prefieren las mujeres brutas, si las prefieren
lo hacen por distraccion; hoy en dia el hombre es muy inteligente y
busca en una mujer tanto el apoyo espiritual como economico, motivo por
el cual buscan una muyer bonita e inteligente. los hombres las
prefieren brutas por que éstos tambien son brutos en sus proyectos de vida.

caulfield2 comments on Gringo Pimps in Medellin

There are jobs here as well, but they pay pitifully low. Many women make the decision to do this once or twice a month because they could make as much in a couple of hours as they would working a full month at 40 hours per week.

Everyone has their reasons. Some women do it because they actually enjoy it...the majority, no.

Unfortunately, most women don't save the money they earn or invest it. They spend it on clothing, vacations, cars, surgeries...when they finally look up and start struggling in their 30's, it is very difficult to start college or university after having been out of school for so long. Unless they simply luck out and find a man willing to take care of the woman and her kids, and also willing to overlook her past. It happens...but it is 1 in 100 odds against. They are much more likely to end up with someone who will abuse them or treat them like crap.

caulfield2 comments on Community Service in Colombia

I haven´t travelled to those Central American countries, but they do have the advantage of being considered more tourist friendly, particularly CR. I don´t know about the heat there, but it doesn´t get any worse than CTG....or I would like to see it.

Yes, Americus, Georgia, HABITAT HQ is also pretty darned hot...although it´s not unsufferable all year long.

I just don´t see the obvious connection between that tourist-LDV crowd and a community service orientation. Most of those guys are staying out until 2-4 am, I don´t think they are going to be waking up the next morning at 6 or 7.

OTOH, there are more and more Colombians and foreigners retiring in Bocagrande-CTG and Santa Marta. There are plenty with the skills that Habitat needs...although I think we´re still 3-5 years of stability and increased tourism from making a CTG chapter of Habitat fully viable. Just an opinion.

You forgot the obligatory beach message and pasty gringo club meeting with Morphus at Tu Candela.

caulfield2 comments on Community Service in Colombia

I´m not sure a Cartagena chapter would work, simply because of the extreme heat there.

On the plus side, you have the possibility of drawing tons of volunteers from the US and Europe that have the time, energy, abilities and commitment to help out.

However, Cartagena is a little far removed for the typical mission trips that high school and university students usually make. So, the question would be, how many tourists would want to go to Cartagena and then work while they were there?

A lot of CTG is pretty much dead between 10-3 o´clock because of the heat. You would have to work in the early morning or late afternoon-early evenings.

I´m not sure how much rain CTG gets on a yearly basis....it REALLY rained like Noah´s Ark time when I was there, but not every day like it does here in Eje Cafetero. Rain could definitely have an effect on building projects as well.

You might want to spend some time researching Barrio Nelson Mandela. There are tons of people there in need of homes. OTOH, many of them are very marginalized and don´t have jobs, so they wouldn´t be able to afford the payments, even without the interest.

I´ve been to Americus, GA, am a big fan of Habitat´s ¨business model,¨ in that it´s very simple, understandable and logical...they don´t try to do 10 different things, they do one thing WELL, just like Wal-Mart. I had the opportunity to meet Millard Fuller at a non-profit conference in 1998 in St. Louis and he´s one of the good guys out there.

Some chapters are overtly Christian, others are less so. Of course, you would have to adhere to their mission and vision. It´s not any different from soup kitchens or shelters requiring clients to go to Bible study...however, it is a controversial practice in the non-profit field to connect faith and service. Half believe you can´t have service WITHOUT a direct connection to faith, while others argue the separation of church and state line and try to prevent organizations like Habitat from receiving Federal funding, despite their obvious efficiency.

caulfield2 comments on Movie: "Bandidas"

How would you compare it to Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn or Once Upon A Time in Mexico? Il Mariachi?

caulfield2 comments on What day is the election? When is the city closed down?

Are you sure the selling of alcohol doesn't stop at midnight on Thursday night? That's what my students told me, at least.

caulfield2 comments on Charity organization looking for paid representative

There is no set percentage....although it´s generally expected that at least 75-80% of monies raised go to direct services.

The problem, historically, has been non-profits and charities that outsourced fundraising to expensive telemarketing firms that sometimes received more than half of every dollar donated.

The idea, of course, is the organization is run with the idea of not giving a profit back to the owners or shareholders. There is public filing for all non-profits, and you would have to question managers making over $100,000 except at the biggest non-profits in the largest markets in the US.

The average program director usually makes mid 20´s through low 40´s, once again depending on the market and cost of living. My ex boss made $60,000 and that was about the going rate in Kansas City for a non-profit director, maybe a little on the low side, but the organization was national in scope.

caulfield2 comments on Charity organization looking for paid representative

I´ve been seriously thinking about getting back into the non-profit field the last couple of months. I´m really kind of getting burned out with teaching, although the money is very good down here. Where would the offfice be? I am located in Armenia, Colombia, now.

Education:
B.A. English, University of Iowa*1992
M.S. Sports Administration and Management, Georgia Southern University*1998
Certification in American Humanics, Non-Profit Management & Administration, Rockhurst University, 2000
M.A. Secondary Education, Curriculum & Instruction, UMKC*2004

*** 1999-2002
Program Director, Youth Volunteer Corps of Greater Kansas City
In charge of all aspects of the local Kansas City program, including volunteer recruitment and retention, public and media relations, adult volunteer recruitment, recruitment and supervision of AmeriCorps*VISTA staff of up to five, grant-writing/fund-raising from corporate and foundation sources, special events planning, volunteer database management, planning and implementation of community service projects year-round for 11-18 year olds. Worked with Tom and Mary Bloch (H&R Block) to publicize the President*s Community Service Awards Program. Planned a massive benefit concert (For Kids, By Kids) for 9/11 victims and families at Uptown Theatre with help of YVC board member Adele Hall and the Hallmark Foundation.


***1998
AmeriCorps National Service Volunteer
Wyandotte County Neighborhood Corps
Organized community clean-ups, boarded up drug houses, facilitated tutoring and mentoring projects in the KCK schools, coached soccer teams, planned and directed peace march in the Quindaro Neighborhood, worked in soup kitchens and commodities distribution centers, worked as a bus driver with the Economic Opportunity Foundation to transport homeless to jobs, appointments and life skills classes.


Related Exp: Put on charity golf tournaments, celebrity basketball games, dinners and special events while working as a Program Director for former NFL football player Arthur Marshall of the Denver Broncos and New York Giants. Proficient with computers and technology. Spent two seasons as Director of Stadium Operations and P.R. for the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league team in Augusta, GA. Daily Point of Light Award from President Clinton in 1998.

caulfield2 comments on being married to a colombian women

kernow, do you think you could help me find a laptop when I come back to the US at the end of June? I will be there for about 5 weeks.

I would really like to have my own computer down here, my other computer is a big desktop and there's no way I am bringing that down.

The Internet speeds are not so great down here, but I would like to find a laptop (maybe used, instead of spending $700-1000 on a new Dell) that has a decent processor and memory.

jewisler at yahoo.com

caulfield2 comments on Strategies for dating "good" Colombianas

Big A,

Anyone in the world that knows how to use a computer or can go to an archives building (from the National Archives on down the food chain) can get the blueprints and or documents for buildings like this.

Heck, if you´re smart enough to do the applications and have the necessary ingredients, you can make your own nuclear bomb from the info available on the Internet.

Even the best engineers can only predict eventualities in hypothetical situations...there's no way the terrorists KNEW that the WTC buildings would collapse, especially with the variable of where they hit them. There were hypotheses about the amount of jet fuel on board and the fact they were both cross-country flights filled to the brim with jet fuel, but it couldn't have been the primary reason they were selected, which was their symbolic importance as representing American economic hegemony. Same for the Pentagon (for military) and the White House or US Capitol, which were the purported targets of United 93 that crashed in PA. The White House has anti-aircraft batteries underground, the plane would never have made it, although it would have been interesting if that were indeed the first target of the day and not the last.

caulfield2 comments on Strategies for dating "good" Colombianas

You're not Terry Nichols, are you?

I would have to imagine that the Oklahoma City bombing would add up to be more than 87 deaths.

And some would define Pearl Harbor as a terroristic attack as well. The US Govt certainly gave more notice at Waco than the Japanese did on Dec. 11th, 1941.

In fact, the Waco and OKC events happened two days exactly apart from each other, April 19th 1993 and then then April 19th 1995 was OKC. Interestingly, Columbine happened on April 20th.

Just like the coincidence between the assassination of the Allende (By the US-CIA) on September 11th, 1973 in Chile and events 28 years later. You also might want to refer to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo.

The CIA was involved, directly or indirectly, in plots against seven foreign leaders: Castro, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, President Salvador Allende of Chile, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, President Francois Duvalier of Haiti and President Sukarno of Indonesia. Four of these leaders died violently, with the CIA's level of complicity and involvement varying widely.

caulfield2 comments on La Mejor Novela - Rebelde

At my school, the majority of middle school girls were dressed up with the skirts and ties of Rebelde for Halloween.

While I'm sure most of the performers are in their late teens or early 20's, they can pass for high schoolers, I guess, just as well as the twenty0somethings on Beverly Hills 90210. In fact, Gabrielle Carteris was in her 30's when that show ended.

You can't get away from Rebelde here in COL because it's very popular. They have hordes of young girls going to the malls for their promotional tours....heck, people just show up to watch the thing on huge, big-screen tvs as a group.