Little Security for an Ex-Head of State

Black suits, ear pieces, and Men In Black style sunglasses. Okay, maybe the last bit is an over exageration, but I definetly picture CIA style security when I hear that the ex-president of a country will be speaking to the public. Instead, I met the ex-president of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, in a small auditorium with no visible security to speak of. He seemed alone, and during his two hour speech I found myself wondering why?

My lack of concentration frustrated me; however, I was torn between listening to him speak in Spanish and using the headphones that had a British man with too much spit in his mouth translating to English. Eventually I gave up trying to translate on my own, and put the headphones on to hear the entire message (trying to figure out what neo-constructizism is in Spanish is a challenge).

Sitting in the world renown London School of Econmics and Political Science, where the likes of the Kennedy's have studied, I felt intimidated by the scholars around me. I found out Mesa was a journalist for roughly 25 years before he became president. With a little internet searching before hand, I also found out he was elected as vice-president and took over for the president mid-term. He attempted to resign several times during his term before the Congress accepted his letter of resignation.

In his speech, he addressed several issues, comparing Bolivia to Brazil and Venezuela. Bolivia has one percent of Brazils GDP, and he cited the differences between Chavez's rhetoric and actions as the reason for some of their financial success. He stated that Venezuela needs the U.S. to sell their oil to, so Chavez does a good job of not making the U.S. too mad that they refuse to by his oil.

Indigenous people in Bolivia are not recognized as citizens, and I found out that the racism in Bolivia is unreal. One student in the audience addressed this issue during the Q and A session, and Mesa skirted around the issue. He said racism was still a problem but avoided addressing any potential roads to a solution.

After the speech, we got to meet Mesa in an informal meet and greet where wine and hor de

vours were served. There was a major language barrier, but he seemed pleasant enough; he was more than willing to take pictures with whoever wanted them and engage in both small talk and more in depth conversations with the native Spanish speakers.

So the question remains, was an ex-president of Bolivia just not that concerned with security, or was his security so good they remained unseen unless needed? I will never know, but I will find out if the Prime Minister of New Zealand shares the same sentiment next month when I go see him speak.

things that are on my mind...

Reed Cowan... www.digitalcommons.usu.edu/mediasociety/1

I attended this presentation of "8:A Mormon Proposition" and was amazed at the amount of knowledge and strength Reed Cowan has surrounding such a controversial issue. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, he displayed an amount of respect for those who blatently disapprove of him and his life choices. I watched this posting today per an e-mail from one of my profesors (Ted Pease), and my feelings on the matter washed over me as if I was back in that room. The anger and saddness I feel for those who are so closed minded to not be able to have this conversation runs rampant in my mind. Whether your personal feelings are agree, disagree, or still figuring it out-mutual respect and a willingness to open communications are crucial.

International Security...

What is the first thing you think of when you hear this title? Personally, I thought of current events, and the struggle world leaders have today in defining what international security is, and how that choice affects their policy making decisons. Unfortunately for me, the Brits seem to think otherwise. The class that I was most excited for has turned out to be an advanced political theory class, and as week two is now coming to a close, I have dwindling hope that any sort of current events or decisons will be addressed at all in this class. Will this class ultimately make me more informed about political theory (my least favorite topic in the discipline)? Yes, it will force me to do so; however, my hopes of learning about a British mentality on current security issues from my colleagues in a classroom setting is diminishing.

First Few Days In London

Two suitcases weighing sixty pounds each, a pack, and a breifcase-studying abroad for five months in this seemed impossible as I laid my clothes out a week ago. Upon arrival, I have realized my father was right, I brought too many shoes, but I am excited for the months in front of me. I am in London for this "term" as they call it, where they have too much change (one and two pounds are change here as well as tehir pence or cents), and put vinegar on their fries (which they call chips).

I thought I would be more nervous, maybe because I grew up in Chicago, this city seems normal to me. Take the tube (subway) to campus, walk to the grocery store, swipe cards to go everywhere. Where's the excitement? The non stop parties and cute boys with British accents? The mest of cultures? I've only met Americans so far in orientation; I thought there would be all internaional students, but we're all from the States.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be here, I guess I just expected something more. Maybe next week when classes start I'll find it. Right now it's overpriced crappy food though, and I'm wishing I was going to be home for the SuperBowl.

There's an overwhelming amount of information, I take notes everywhere I go, and I'm still afriad I'll miss something important for school. It's like being a freshman all over again, only I've been in college for four years and feel like I should know whats going on.

I have met some awesome people. `We have bonded over finding our way through the city and where to get cheap hangers for our clothes, already I can tell we will hang out all term long. Tomorrow's the tour through London, so I will come bearing my camera, and ready to take lots of pictures.