I WANT TO PERSONALLY EXTEND A WARM "MUCHAS GRACIAS" POR LAS F.A.R.C.....

Monpirri says on Aug 10, 2007, 11:19:

I also would like to express my most sincere gratitude for this novel act.

The life spam of a taste bud is ten days

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 11:30:

How kind of them.

Now if they could just stop kidnapping and bombing the shit out half the towns in El Huila, I might be able to visit my in-law's finca without any worries.

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Monpirri says on Aug 10, 2007, 11:32:

yeap me too, I can even go skinny dipping on some wild river in anywhere in Colombia.

The life spam of a taste bud is ten days

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Lcacique says on Aug 10, 2007, 12:26:

ColombianoGringo, where do your in-laws live? Have you ever been to los termales in Rivera? If I remember right, it is about twenty minutes outside of Neiva. Just saying "Neiva" makes most people sweat since it is always so hot there, but at night it is nice to go out to Rivera and sitt in the hot springs with a few rounds of Tapa Roja. I really want to get back down there.

Hoy se nota en la floresta un ambiente de alegría. ¡Y el rumor de ranchería es mas dulce y sabe a fiesta!

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 14:33:

My in-laws live in Neiva and their finca is in a small town in the mountains of western Huila.

My mother is actually from Neiva and my grandfather is from Rivera although they live here now. I go to Neiva several times a year, but the termales don't really blow my skirt up so I haven't gone in ages.

Yes Neiva is always pretty hot, but I think the Southern and Eastern US are way hotter right now. We are about on the verge of melting in Houston.

Peace,
CG

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 15:00:

Luckily I'm in Michigan for one more week. Maybe by then the temps in Houston will return to normal....in the 90's!

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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BaJaHa says on Aug 10, 2007, 15:28:

FARC is a terrorist organisation, get real, if they do anything that looks like a change in their strategy, it is to make the numb nuts in a bewildered society lean towards them.

Left wing or right wing. Think about it, they are all after their own nefarious political aims.

You have now an elected political party. Elected by the majority. Do not knock it! You will end up like the Venezuelan people who are too afraid to do anything else. Or the Cuban prat who has held the people of that nation under his withering thumb whilst every other country who has denounced this kind of despotic totalitarianism has prospered.

Why do these people exist in the first place? As long as there is enough people poor and miserable enough, and these people are always the poorest and most miserable people in the land, then there is a wedge that will let the opportunist and agitator in.

Please think carefully, what is your motive for your thoughts, is it good for you and a tragedy for everyone around you?

I do not speak of this matter as an idle spectator. I was there. Been there done it, got the ‘T' shirt so to speak.

~ This is too serious to make smart assed remarks ~
~ I shall refrain from doing so ~

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 15:31:

BaJaHa,

Thanks for chastising us, but we could do without the Poli Sci lesson.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 15:33:

HG,

Have you a "normal" Houston summer yet? This year has been quite mild and the temps we are experiencing now are closer to what is normal for a Houston summer.

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BaJaHa says on Aug 10, 2007, 15:47:

OK. We know whose side you are on then. Have a short life and for the time being, be happy.

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houstongal (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 16:58:

Yeah, I know CG...it's been a very mild Houston summer. Wouldn't you know that the dog days of August would slap us back to normalcy! Stay cool!

"It is now official: there's no place on earth where you will not find a Peruvian band." David Sedaris

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 10, 2007, 17:59:

You have me pegged. A guerrilla sympathizer.

They really won me over when they bombed my wife's neighborhood twice and on another occasion destroyed a large part of her hometown with gas cylinders . I especially liked how they almost killed my cousin in the Parque Lleras bombing. Sadly, some of his friends were not so lucky. It could have been when they stole two fincas that belonged to my family. My families experiences are quite tame and we have been very lucky not to lose anyone. Sadly, too many Colombians have much worse stories. So think twice before you hand out labels like that.

As far as wishing a short life upon me... Well, I'll write those off as the spiteful ramblings of someone who has very little life left.

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critter says on Aug 10, 2007, 18:46:

Wow, CG you don't pull any punches do you??? Ouch! I guess he just walked right into that land mine (no pun intended). Maybe now he'll stick to only talking about India, where he chose to spend the rest of his days???

"Spending eternity in a bad place is a long time!"

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goin_south says on Aug 10, 2007, 19:37:

OK. Let me restate my gratitude.
Gracias a Dios,...
And, to everyone who had anything to do with .... clearing the roads.

WTF knows why the block or unblock the roads?
No one has had any written reports in Las Noticias,
of any disturbances this past week.

But.... I know what I know, and I know who I know,... and I completely trust who I know....very, very....well.
And, I know if it weren't for these gracious bastards finally allowing traffic to finally flow, then she'd still be wanting, waiting, hoping to get back to Pasto.

Who knows why they do what they do?
No 'official' reports. Hummmh.

Work your a** off to keep up and get ahead in Colombia,...
and, then because of these mindless people...
you are immobilized for a weekagain, and again... feels like life slipping away...

I'd be hard-pressed to have mercy with one of those heartless wonders, if ever I was put in that situation. AND YOU CAN SEND THAT TO THE INTERNET POLICE!

Why Not Colombia?..........Stay Tuned, for more.... utterly worthless, self-indulgent gobbets of nonsense.

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john_stark says on Aug 11, 2007, 09:08:

You sound pissed, GS. Any wonder why people join with the paracos to rid their area of these scum. If the AUC had free rein over all Colombia let me assure you that not one FARC member or sympathizer would be left alive.

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Miguel says on Aug 11, 2007, 18:55:

john_stark, tu tienes razón.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 11, 2007, 19:07:

JS,

You're right about the AUC wiping out any sympathizers. However, the main problem is the Catch-22 that people have to live with. The paras can be even more brutal and deadly to the average campesino.

My uncle had a lot of land in central Colombia and he stayed out there a lot because it was a working finca. One time, a bunch of guerrilleros showed up with some wounded compatriots. They basically came up and told him that they were going to camp out on his land. Needless to say, he didn't have much choice. He was already in his 60s at the time and would have quickly ended up dead had he refused. So, they stayed there a few days, and moved on.

A few weeks after they left, the paracos showed up demanding to know why he was helping out the guerrilla. They also reminded him about the hospital in Bogota where his daughter worked. He ended up getting caught in the middle and had to get the hell out of dodge in a big hurry and never went back. He is really lucky the paras didn't just kill him on the spot. If he had been some poor campesino with nothing but his land, he would ended up on the streets as just another desplazado. So while I definitely despise the FARC, I have no love for the bastard paras either.

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john_stark says on Aug 11, 2007, 19:14:

Your post shows what "humanitarians" they were by letting him live. I guarantee you the FARC would have killed him right then and there if the situation had been reversed. Why didn't he work out a deal with the AUC before hand to keep the FARC off his land?

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Aug 11, 2007, 19:28:

Not sure why he didn't do something like that or if he even could.

However, a more typical example happens in small towns in Huila all the time. The FARC will come and "recruit" some kid against his will. A short while later, the paras show up and kill any other sons in the family because they are supposedly FARC sympathizers. So, some poor old lady ends up with all her sons dead or forcibly conscripted into the guerrilla. I have heard of many cases like this and you see them all the time in the Huila newspapers.

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Miguel says on Aug 11, 2007, 20:11:

Better get used to the paracos.

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Robert Jorge says on Aug 11, 2007, 22:22:

CG. Your story (catch 22) reminds me a lot of what my dad shared with me years ago. Different continent and country, but almost identical experiences. His story took place in Germany during the 30's and 40's. His father was the one that was forced to join the German army as WW2 was getting started. (Opa was a Lutheran pastor who refused to indoctrinate the youth of his parish into the Nazi, Hitler Youth program) After my dad's father was killed, and my dad's hometown was "liberated", my dad's house was ransacked and anything of value was stolen. Put it this way, somewhere in the US, there is very nice German silver that somebody's great grandpa "found" in Germany after the war. Anyway, not trying to hijack, but your story hit home.

He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.

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Robert Jorge says on Aug 11, 2007, 22:23:

Oh, and GS. That is good news. Hope she made it back to Pasto ok. Tell her Vivi and I say hello.

He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.

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