Become more worldly in only in 10 minutes !!!

A Reference

Rest of you!!For the

ColombiaF

U MM IE SD

RO

Includes the painful truth

for getting real in the

in a funny way and tips

XXI century

© 2007 , CIVISOL Foundation for Systemic Change . By, ADRIANA RUIZ-RESTREPO Author of this power point and many other dummy things more…. Like this one: tell me what you think of this presentation (no insults please) welcome@civisol.org

CONTENTS

1- Foolish Assumptions

2- Lesson 1

3- Lesson 2 ( plus key question )

4- If you only need one lesson this is it

5- BONUS > Tropical Lesson

6- Disclaimers

Foolish Assumptions

While doing this presentation I made a few assumptions about you. For example that you have at least a passing interest in what is happening in the world. Or that maybe you are aware of globalization and our interdependence or perhaps you care for people that suffer although they are not your relatives nor cute fluffy animals.

I also assume that you have a Colombian friend or that you may surf the web in order to verify what I am telling you through this presentation.

First things First

COLOMBIA is a country

- The district where the US government is found

- A prestigious university in NYC

- A sportswear brand

- A film or record company

- A province in Canada

Now COLUMBIA may be one of the following:

REMEMBER

The South American country is spelled with 2 Os

C O L M BO I A

I guess you are now thinking about Colombia and…

drugs…

Well, then you are ready for:

LESSON # 1

•The coca shrub is natural to our environment.

•It is basically a wild land shrub in Colombia.

•Just as it is in Peru, Bolivia and other Andean countries in South America

FACTS

In our region chewing coca leaves –just like bubble gum- is an ancestral tradition. When chewed, the coca leaves naturally release cocaine. The “–ine” in the coca is just as natural as the “-ine” of the Caffeine that is extracted from coffee beans or the -”-ine” in the Theine that is released from tea leaves. So, when mixed with saliva or water the –ine substances of coca leaves, tea leaves and coffee beans go to your stomach and from there to your system .

SURPRISE SURPRISE !!!!!

Theine, Cocaine and Caffeine are just leaves and seeds, completely natural, and their ingestion is a ritual tradition in many different cultures around the world.

Things change when the leaves of coca are cooked in chemicals. Evidently the leaves are killed, the “–ine” is not natural any more and the process is far from being legal. Actually that it is how COKE, the infamous white powder is produced. The demand of coke from millions of murderous noses around the word pairs with a multinational network of criminals that ensures that by hiding deep in the South American mountains and jungles, coca leaves are cooked and then delivered, by grams, to individual noses all around the world. Once paid and received, the noses sniff it up and straight to their brain.

Coke is an extremely harmful alkaloid that

basically…

fries the brain and poisons the blood.

Are you by any chance an environmentalist ?

Think of the impact of chemical waste on rivers and soils after the chemical process of transforming natural coca leaves into an alkaloid powder.

• Coke is extremely well paid for by customers in rich countries, mainly the industrialized countries north of the equator line where the coca shrub is not a native plant.

International distribution by sea, land and air is then necessary to bring the coke from hidden mountains and jungles in the south to the north.

That is why :

THE DRUG SPOTLIGHT FOCUSES ON COLOMBIA….

Unlike Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela, Colombia is the only Andean country with access to 2 oceans, the Pacific Ocean to the West and the Atlantic Ocean to the north; one next to another. (And yes, it is perfect for trade.. that is why the Canal was built in neighboring Panama…). It also has 2 massive “green seas”: the dense Amazon Jungle to the South and the extensive Oriental Plains or “llanos” to the East.

Besides, the Andes mountain range, running long the pacific ocean coastlines of South America, ends in Colombia by splitting in 3 parallel mountain ranges or “cordilleras” forming many beautiful valleys but, yes.. perfect hiding spots .

Colombia is a land of extraordinary geography and a privileged geographical position. Oceans, jungle, mountains and plains are packed all in one single country in the corner, and the middle of the Americas.

Are you by any chance against Global Warming ? Just imagine the carbon print of coke per gram demanded by

millions of irresponsible noses…

• The illegal culture of coca, and the activities of : • Illegally hiding it,• Illegally taking care of the illicit crop, • Illegally trading with the required chemical for cooking it,• Illegally processing coca leaves into coke powder, • Illegally trafficking it by air, land or sea, and then,• Illegally offering and selling coke to clients,• Illegally seeking and demanding coke, • Illegally paying for the above services rendered to satisfy murderous noses, and• Illegally laundering the blood out of coke-driven money

..is a multinational chain of illegal actions of individual noses and organized crime that jointly fuel and sustain drug trafficking.

Criminals LOVE Coke Users.

International Murderous Noses International Murderous Noses rely totally on a multinational network of criminal gangs devoted to run the business of satisfying their demand, that is to say payment and support to:

•Drug lords who corrupt institutions for smoothening production and trade•Illegally Armed groups for combating big obstacles like Colombian soldiers and police, •Organized Hitmen/hitwomen to ”remove” good politicians and engaged authorities everywhere. •Individual Drug Dealers all around the world to deliver coke to millions of neighborhoods, parties, offices and schools around the world where coke is demanded and/or tolerated.

They are committed to serve their noses 24/7 , 365 days a year no matter the pain, blood and sufferance that is needed to satisfy their demand.

Colombia has been fully engaged in fighting drugs for decades and many, many Colombians have only seen coke in films. (Although, shamefully, some Colombians and nationals of other producing countries are increasingly using coke too). However for many years now, absolutely all Colombians of all age and in every corner of its territory have been paying an immense price of pain, fear, frustration and stigmatization due to a problem that is widespread and global.

The War on Drugs and the Party with Drugs happen simultaneously; actually the Party depends on the War.

Stupid and Ignorant Noses sustaining this bloody business worldwide should start

learning and assuming CO-RESPONSIBILITY

PS: Rehab Centers are welcome to use this presentation to try to awaken ethics when helping to end drug addiction.

REMEMBER:

DOING COKE IS FAR FROM BEING COOL

•Implicates severe environmental degradation

•Contributes to the forced displacement of rural peasants and indigenous tribes in Colombia, making them poorer. (Check for news in FB and #COL4DUM)

•It fuels drug warfare

•Supports human trafficking and kidnapping

•Makes Colombian Drug lords and other criminals around the world extremely rich and powerful.

LESSON # 1

COKE LOOKS WHITE, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK CLOSELY

COKE IS RED WITH THE BLOOD OF MANY

SO, NOW YOU ARE READY FOR :

LESSON # 2

FACTS

• The ideology that Latin-American guerrillas pursued in those old black and white TV documentaries or sepia colored romantic times of Che Guevara and long dusty motorcycle trips is long gone for better or for worse.

It is true however that insurgence, rebels and

revolutionaries were well intentioned at the time. Those

Latin-American and Colombian guerrillas were born in the

middle of the last century and remained popular for some

decades more. But now it is not so. At all.

Facts

• In Latin America only Colombia still has guerrillas.

• And not only one but two different guerrilla organizations: the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia / Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia) and the ELN (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional / Army of National Liberation)

Hereinafter referred to as Guerrilla # 1 and Guerrilla # 2 (Won’t give them any publicity….)

QUIZ:

Now, why do you think that Colombia is the only Latin-American country where guerrillas (atomized armed groups living and hiding in

the mountains and jungle) still exist?

The multinational business of drug trafficking fuels the

Colombian guerrillas.

Colombians don’t support GUERRILLA # 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Colombians don’t support GUERRILLA # 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please listen carefully :

REMEMBER :

COLOMBIANS DON’T SUPPORT ANY GUERRILLAS!!

By the way, we are way beyond tired with many outdated foreigners who support guerrillas thinking they are lending their support to the Che Guevara himself, like if they were supporting Mickey Mouse's role in Disney. Wrongfully they try to build their own concept of intellectual sexiness by supporting the ideologically coated-drug businesses hidden in the mountains and jungles of Colombia.

• Key question : If these people are so convinced…Why don’t they request an ideological internship and go to Putumayo and Guaviare jungles with the Colombian guerrillas ? Not only would they be more consistent with what they preach but furthermore it would give them the opportunity of living and seeing how theory is turned into practice in the deep jungle. Oh and good luck coming out…PS. Insights on this can be provided by the 13 years kidnapped men and the 6 years kidnapped Ingrid Betancourt….

FACT

The AUC (Autodefensas Unidas of Colombia / United Colombian Self Defense a.k.a. paramilitaries or “paras”) are also an illegal and extremely violent armed group, but this one is completely in the opposite ideology.. it is right winged.

Actually they say they appeared around the 1980s to “exterminate” the left winged guerrillas # 1 and # 2

Guess what ?

The multinational business of drug trafficking fuels the

Colombian paramilitaries.

AGAIN, PLEASE LISTEN CAREFULLY :

COLOMBIANS DON’T SUPPORT THE PARAMILITARIES !!!!!!!!!!

TO MAKE IT VERY SIMPLE :

(YEP, THIS WOULD BE LESSON # 2)

COLOMBIANS ARE SICK AND TIRED OF THE VIOLENCE CAUSED BY

-GUERRILLA No. 1

-GUERRILLA No. 2

-PARAMILITARIES

THEY ARE ALL FUELED BY THE MULTINATIONAL BUSINESS OF DRUG

TRAFFICKING

KEY QUESTION :

Because as of today there has been no need. Although the despise is the same against all illegally armed groups working in drug trafficking and death, so far nobody in the international community has come to romanticize (publicly at least) paramilitaries nor justify their actions. Their image is not appealing to outdated fools and wannabe-intellectuals.

So, Colombians don’t have to lose their voice explaining how much their barbaric ways harm our country; in short, everybody is on the same page with regard to the paramilitaries. For instance, we are not aware of any foreign government or Hollywood actor or director calling them brothers like they often do with the guerrillas…

If there is no popular support for any of these 3 illegal groups, why are Colombians seen marching and speaking against the guerrillas and their

protest against the paramilitaries seems to be less visible ?

Foreigners that have never lived in Colombia, and with way too much free time in their lives, happen to serve the guerrillas through advocacy, financing, printing t-shirts, making donations, and even producing disco anthems for guerrilla # 1 (Yes, this are people with very unexciting lives and lack of inspiration, maybe so much guerrilla-love ended up in the kidnapping of their muses)

** Thought you should know why Colombians opposing to all illegal armed groups are continuously forced to internationally advocate and sometime speak more against the left side than the right one (as for now), and why -in order to explain this to many dear friends that could definitely become a bit more worldly- I had to stay home and completely ruin my Saturday doing this power point presentation.

Former guerrilleros of what was once ago known as the M-19 (fortunately enough I didn’t have to introduce you to Guerrilla # 3) signed peace and streamed their ideology to the democratic game. So, yes Colombia has functional democratic institutions (with many flaws just like in France or the USA). Those ex-guerrilleros that were interested in ideas of reform are now respectable politicians acting as mayors and senators. They make clear and solid strong arguments and plans of change and legitimately opposetraditional political parties and the establishment.

TRUE STORY

SO, FOR ANY GOOD COLOMBIAN AND COLOMBIANOPHILE, NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE THE WAY AND TIME FOR IDEOLOGICAL CONFRONTATION. ANY ONE THAT STRIVES FOR IDEOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM SHOULD (1) LOOK FOR POPULAR SUPPORT, (2) GET ELECTED AND (3) TAKE IDEAS TO THE EXECUTIVE OR LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.

COLOMBIANS NEED PEACE

AND THE KIDNAPPED FREE !!!!

FINALLY, IF YOU ONLY ARE GOING TO LEARN ONE LESSON THIS IS IT:

Illegally demands VERY SAD AND EXTREMELY

TIRED 99 % GOOD COLOMBIANS

EXTREME INTERNATIONAL IGNORANCE ABOUT COLOMBIA

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Leftist Guerrilla 1

Leftist

Guerrilla 2

INVISIBILIZED MURDEROUS NOSES FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD TEAMING WITH MULTINATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

Evil Colombians

COOL TIP

Less than one percent of Colombians (we are more than 40 million) are violently ambitious, armed and fully sponsored by millions of international criminal and rotten noses. They bring blood, tears, infamy and pain to other peaceful and unarmed Colombians.

Unfair and negative stereotypes add an extra burden to this already complex situation they are jokes only for one side and definitely not funny given the feeling of re-victimization. For Colombians the drug war is real and know that the rest of the word is partly responsible..

Don’t make it worse. Be respectful and don’t make lousy Colombian jokes to every Colombian you happen to meet in your life, making jokes to the 99% victims on being drug lords, coke addicts and criminals is precisely imposing on them the image they hate the most, that of the 1% Colombian criminals that daily inflict on them pain and war. It is everything but funny plus you appear regrettably ignorant in these times of globalization.

Please be knowledgeable, worldly and kind, give Colombians a break with the ignorant and negative MR-AND-MRS-SMITH HOLLYWOOD STEREOTYPE. Again it is not funny, and it is going to remain so until :

1- Drugs are decriminalized and individuals may freely include it as another available option to kill themselves. They will then be able to die by drowning in alcohol, stuffing with cholesterol, deep-frying their brain in drugs, old fashioned ceiling-fan hanging or plainly jumping off a tall bridge, among many other alternatives. Or,

2- Not far in the future, some brilliant scientist comes up with some formula capable of extracting and altering some kind of “-ine” from the leaves, beans or seeds of a northern hemisphere wild land shrub or tree …something like.. chestnutine. Or ,

3.-A colleague of the above scientist genetically crosses two plants so that through one of them, say corn, the other, the coca shrub can begin to grow above the equator line…OMG cornine !! now that is funny… very funny, just picture the immediate legalization of all sub products… the industrialized and official praise to cornine, the vast and unending kilometers of cornine crop, the praise to new jobs and source of taxes, the new brands of fast food chips and burgers made of meat coming from cows fed with a supplement of cornine, very funny…so nope, jokes are OK.

Oh, and re. Hollywood, it is very frustrating to see celebrities that do coke describing how “cool” and “high” they were at a given party in any of the main capitals of the world…. and this with praise of the media and tolerance of authorities!!! I mean, is it illegal up the equator line too or it is illegal only if you are not famous ?

To make things worse those celebrities present themselves committed to world peace, indigenous tribes protection, fighting climate change for saving polar bears, ending poverty and devoted to stop the suffering of children in poverty… Really ?

•-And what about their responsibility to the children couriers that use their stomachs to carry coke to their murderous noses?

•-And the internal displacement of Colombian peasants and indigenous tribes that is needed to make room to grow the coca shrubs that satisfy their demand?

•-And their responsibility in the use of prohibited chemicals in the jungle that end up poisoning the soil , the water and killing fish (food) in the rivers ?

•-And the victims of kidnapping that have been kept for decades deep in the jungle for coating/insulating a drug business that is on which coke users rely?

•-And what about those who get murdered because of counter-trafficking; how hype cool an humanitarian is that?•

PLEASE STOP HUGGING POOR PEOPLE AND SIGNING CHECKS FOR THE CAMERAS…

STOP FUELING DRUG WARFARE AND GLOBAL WARMING* WITH YOUR NOSES FIRST !!

•Imagine the carbon print behind 1g of coke placed in NYC/ Madrid/London/Paris

Tropical LessonCUMBIA is 100% a Colombian rhythm. It is a beautiful type of music, the roots of Colombian Vallenato and the inspiration source of many other Latin-American rhythms. Sadly, we can not take pride on being at the origin of Salsa and Merengue but then Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans will confirm that we are pretty good at dancing both. And coming to this point, the city of Cali, in Colombia, is the Salsa capital of the world; no discussion.

TIP : Listen carefully to the lyrics of Colombian music and learn about our soul, about our real country and what we believe in and care for.

We sing to love, rivers, fruits, flowers, family and friends. (I strongly recommend to listen to Carlos Vives, Shakira, Juanes, Grupo Niche and Guayacan among many others more) Ask around and you will learn that we are a country of hard working, friendly and creative people.

Extra-tip: Regaetton is absolutely not Colombian music. However we will still dance to it trying not to pay much attention, or, god forbid, learn the lyrics. We will dance to it just as we will dance the Marseillaise French anthem or the Coca-Cola Christmas jingle if we are happy and more than two in a room. Well, that is actually not true, Colombians do dance a lot when they are all alone and with good music; usually in front of a tall mirror to check rhythm and steps… (I’ve seen my neighbors..)

Conclusions• You are more worldly than you were 10 minutes ago and will impress many people around you

• Your orthography is improved

• You are now better in geopolitics

• You know coke is red

• You know that coke also creates poverty, food insecurity and adverse ethno-cultural and environmental impact.

• You know that Colombians are intensely and disproportionately burdened in every possible way by the multinational drug trafficking business. (Although poor dear Mexicans and Central Americans are starting to carry the heavy burden of coke transport and transit too…)

• You know Colombians do not support guerrilla group 1, guerrilla group 2 nor the paramilitaries group 3 which has recently atomized in minigroups A to Z. (Called BACRIMS)

• You now know we don’t appreciate foreign nationals or governments trying to polarize us or make fun of our open wound.

• You know that cumbia is Colombian, that Cali is the best city in the world for dancing salsa and,

equally important, you know to never, never, ever, sing to the regaetton.

Ooops..The Disclaimers:

1. I think it’s evident, but just in case, I want to share that besides profound admiration I have no link or rapport whatsoever with the “For dummies: bestselling book series” from Wiley Publishing,Inc.

2. I do love animals, very much, and particularly the cute and fluffy (poodles included). I love them as much as human babies, all color children and the majority of grown up human beings whether I have

met them or not.

3. Apologies for my language mistakes. I guess that by now you have noticed that I am not a native English Speaker, that Spanish is my mother tongue (no, no, Latin-Americans don’t speak Latin) and that I am from Cali and Colombian …

100% Colombian, like good coffee.

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