diggin' up some dirt

Jasper

Bronze
Jan 10, 2002
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first of all, i am very suspicious as to why i put in a new post 30 seconds ago and then i come on to this political thread and i have to login again: hippo's watchin'? well, helllllllllllooooooooo hipppppooooo! nice to meet you! i just luv the work you doin'!

anyway, i need to know the following:

1) how is leonel's english?

2) hippo went to which college in usa? north carolina i think, huh?
if you know, then let me know where and which years. we'll bury
this wonderful graduate.

"i havink frends evri ver." - vladimir puta
 

WebDev

New member
Jan 1, 2002
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samana.net
Jasper said:
first of all, i am very suspicious as to why i put in a new post 30 seconds ago and then i come on to this political thread and i have to login again: hippo's watchin'? well, helllllllllllooooooooo hipppppooooo! nice to meet you! i just luv the work you doin'!

anyway, i need to know the following:

1) how is leonel's english?

2) hippo went to which college in usa? north carolina i think, huh?
if you know, then let me know where and which years. we'll bury
this wonderful graduate.

"i havink frends evri ver." - vladimir puta

1) how is leonel's english?

Leonel Fern?ndez

"Leonel Fern?ndez was born on December 26, 1953 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Jos? Antonio Fern?ndez-Collado and Yolanda Reyna-Romero.

As a child, he moved with his family to New York City, where he spent his first school years and also attended high school.

When he returned to the Dominican Republic, he enrolled at Universidad Aut?noma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo). At such time, Fern?ndez became fascinated by the most progressive ideas that were forcing their way through in the political debate that would soon drive him to read the work of the person who would later become his guide and mentor: Professor Juan Bosch. Fern?ndez, along with a legion of Dominicans, accompanied Juan Bosch when in 1973 founded the Dominican Liberation Party.

In 1978, Leonel Fern?ndez earned his degree of Juris Doctor with honors, which won him the ?J. Humberto Doucudray? award, for being the best student of his class.

An avid reader, Leonel Fern?ndez is recognized as one of the most brilliant academicians and professionals of his generation. He has earned prestige thanks to his solid educational background, great talent as a communicator, and good command of the English and French languages.

Fern?ndez has been awarded Honoris Causa Degrees by various renowned universities, including Sorbonne University in 1999; Harvard University in 1999; Universidad Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a in 2000, and Seton Hall University in 2000."

2) Hippo's College??
North Carolina "Burros College"

Regards,
WebDev
 

samiam

Bronze
Mar 5, 2003
592
0
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I guess you'll be voting for Leonel, huh?!

WebDev said:
1) how is leonel's english?

Leonel Fern?ndez

"Leonel Fern?ndez was born on December 26, 1953 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Jos? Antonio Fern?ndez-Collado and Yolanda Reyna-Romero.

As a child, he moved with his family to New York City, where he spent his first school years and also attended high school.

When he returned to the Dominican Republic, he enrolled at Universidad Aut?noma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo). At such time, Fern?ndez became fascinated by the most progressive ideas that were forcing their way through in the political debate that would soon drive him to read the work of the person who would later become his guide and mentor: Professor Juan Bosch. Fern?ndez, along with a legion of Dominicans, accompanied Juan Bosch when in 1973 founded the Dominican Liberation Party.

In 1978, Leonel Fern?ndez earned his degree of Juris Doctor with honors, which won him the ?J. Humberto Doucudray? award, for being the best student of his class.

An avid reader, Leonel Fern?ndez is recognized as one of the most brilliant academicians and professionals of his generation. He has earned prestige thanks to his solid educational background, great talent as a communicator, and good command of the English and French languages.

Fern?ndez has been awarded Honoris Causa Degrees by various renowned universities, including Sorbonne University in 1999; Harvard University in 1999; Universidad Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a in 2000, and Seton Hall University in 2000."

2) Hippo's College??
North Carolina "Burros College"

Regards,
WebDev
 

Keith R

"Believe it!"
Jan 1, 2002
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Hippo may claim in his bio that he went to the Univ. of North Carolina, but that's playing loose with the truth. What is commonly known as UNC is in Chapel Hill, NC, and it does not have an agricultural program (Hippo's area). That is provided by North Carolina State located in Raleigh, a very different school. Obviously Hippo craves the generally higher regard given to a UNC diploma. :D :rolleyes:

Regards,
Keith, a UNC grad and proud of it
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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B@LLS!! He is an agronimist from Poly Loyola

IF he was at NC St. it had to have been a short course. Certainly no degree!

Leonel speaks acceptable NYC Latino English. As for his academic merits???

Honorary Doctorates were for his being a President not for his brilliant mind.

Father Ted Hesburgh from Notre Dame had more then 50 Honorary degrees...

Look nice on the wall...

My son happens to think well of Leonel. thinks he is smart, too....we'll see.

HB
 
Apr 26, 2002
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Look even more carefully! Does Hippo say that he has an undergraduate or graduate diploma from NC State? Or does he just say that he "attended classes" and has a "certificate". I believe that it is the latter - especially given his less than working knowledge of English according to most sources.

I myself can obtain a "certificate" from Harvard, Yale or Columbia this weekend if I attend one of their seminars.

In fact, I have a "certificate" from the Stevens Institute of Technology. I got it when I was 17. It sure don't make me an "engineer".
 

Paulino

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Jan 4, 2002
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Porfio_Rubirosa said:
Look even more carefully! Does Hippo say that he has an undergraduate or graduate diploma from NC State? Or does he just say that he "attended classes" and has a "certificate". I believe that it is the latter - especially given his less than working knowledge of English according to most sources.

I myself can obtain a "certificate" from Harvard, Yale or Columbia this weekend if I attend one of their seminars.

In fact, I have a "certificate" from the Stevens Institute of Technology. I got it when I was 17. It sure don't make me an "engineer".

One of my Dominican brothers-in-law - who happens to be an ingeniero agronomo himself, told me last week that Hippo had graduated from some farmers' academy or whatever you like to call it in San Cristobal or thereabouts. And not from its counterpart in Santiago, its name slips my mind, which we were briefly visiting at the time I asked. Reason for my asking of course being that Hippo hails from Gurabo, being a part of Santiago. My b-i-l is PLD to the core, by the way.
 
Sep 20, 2003
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i read an AP news story that claimed hippo has a 2-year associates degree in agriculture from a junior college/technical school in the DR.

i live about 2 hours drive from unc-chapel hill. if anyone knows what year hippo claims to have graduated i could drive up and check the year books at the university library. i don't believe a university would confirm or deny if someone has a degree unless you are an employer,government official,etc.
 

Texas Bill

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Feb 11, 2003
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A question?

Does the "ING." in front of a person's name (in the DR) signify the US equivilent of a PhD.?

If it does then El Hippo is yet again in violation of having basic integrity in that he is claiming a higher educational level than that which is actual. Does he claim to be a PhD.(Doctor of Philosophy in a given discipline), or is he using an "Honorary" award (many of which are given out by institutions of higher learning in recognition of "heads of State") to further bamboozle the general public.

Were I Leonel, and the citation above were true, I'd really make "political hay" out of such a claim by an opponent. I would cite my own achievements in this area, pointing out the "honorary" ones as well as the actual ones, then go on to cite the educational achievements of the "Legislative incumbents" as a method of undermining their credentials in the legislative scenario (the latter being all on the negative side; look at the mess they have created with all the loans).

How such actions would be accepted by the public is another matter, but it would serve to emphasize the incompetence of the government.

Texas Bill
 

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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The ING in front stands for Ingeniero or Engineer. My understanding is that he's a graduate of Loyola (whis is actually a pretty good school in the DR) and tough to get in too.

BTW here's a link to his biography. It's got some propaganda, but helpful nonetheless.

http://www.uslatino.com/LatinAmerica/DominicanRepublic/biografia.cfm

Here's another one which I find more believable. It says he graduated as "Perito En Agronomia" basically an Associates Degree in Agriculture. According to this article he then went to NC (The state not the University) and studied Procedures of Industrial Processing of Tobaco. That does not sound like something a college would offer as a degree, but rather as a suplemental course.

http://www.maovalverde.com/index.php?option=articles&task=viewarticle&artid=157&Itemid=3

You be the judge.
 
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Texas Bill

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Feb 11, 2003
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Jasper said:
first of all, i am very suspicious as to why i put in a new post 30 seconds ago and then i come on to this political thread and i have to login again: hippo's watchin'? well, helllllllllllooooooooo hipppppooooo! nice to meet you! i just luv the work you doin'!

anyway, i need to know the following:

1) how is leonel's english?

2) hippo went to which college in usa? north carolina i think, huh?
if you know, then let me know where and which years. we'll bury
this wonderful graduate.

"i havink frends evri ver." - vladimir puta

I think you have to "sign in" for access to each thread individually if you haven't been on that thread before. Not sure, tho.

Texas Bill
 

Tordok

Bronze
Oct 6, 2003
530
2
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educational titles and mislabels in the DR

I am not surprised to see that President Mej?a has embellished his cv. In the DR many people misrepresent their educational credentials, especially among the political class. They seem to misrepresent everything else, so why not their own educational records? If you dig, many politicos that demand being addressed as "la doctora Fulana de Tal" or "el licenciado Mengano de la Pe?a Prieta" do not, in fact meet the legal requirements to use such titles.

Partisan politics aside, not all local politicos, were liars about this issue. Among presidents for example, Balaguer apparently did earn his PhD and was widely acknowledged to have a well-rounded education and was well versed in classical literature and philosphy, among other things. Juan Bosch, a bona-fide intellectual, was largely a self-taught man; and was always referred to as "el Profesor" because he lacked any formal academic credentials despite his obvious accomplishments and scholarship. he did not use the honoris titles that several universities did bestow upon him. More honest than today's leaders. The always exceptional Trujillo received several 'Doctor Honoris Causa' titles and his sycophants unabashedly would use doctor on top of generalissimo and other obsequious bullcrap to perpetuate the false aura of the larger-than-life, "renassaince man" that el jefe was supposed to be. There is a trickle down effect that lasts to this day on the Dominican psyche. Everyone wants to claim some kind of degree, many without ever doing anything to earn it. Simply because it is associated with high societal status and power.

On top of whatever effect the Trujillo-Balaguer factor may have had on the Dominican culture and its pursuit of ceremonial titles, is that we have a larger Latin American cultural legacy to balme for this largely superfluous mannerism. In the U.S. the use of educational titles is largely confined to academic life, and in everyday life mostly in reference to clinical people like physicians, dentists, and psychologists, etc. with very few exceptions. Not so in Latin America, including the DR, where the use of educational titles is much more widespread. Many old attorneys in the DR received a Juris Doctor degree under the old system of the Universidad de SD despite it being the equivalent of today's licenciado degree. So, nowadays to be entitled to using doctor in front of your name, as in Doctor en Derecho (Law), the individual must have actual postgraduate credentials, usually from overseas (la belle France, where the Dominican legal system emanates from). Else, he or she is a licenciado(a). But the problem is that in the DR anyone with a college equivalent degree is a licenciado; whether in marketing, pharmacy, or social work. And they are entitled to use this licenciado in front of their names.
So some attorneys, that are not actual JD's nor PhD's will take it upon themselves to use doctor to distinguish themselves from the other professions, since in the early days all lawyers were "doctors".

Another observation for newbies to the DR: in the DR anyone with a high school diploma is a "bachiller" (bachelor) while practically anywhere else in the world, this concept applies to folks who completed 4 years of college (or its equivalent) as in Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts programs.

If what's on this thread is true regarding Hippo's academic background, he is technically not an engineer nor an agronomist. Any engineering degree in the DR was and still is at least 5 years of university studies. And a true agronomist must also have a 5 year degree to be entitled to the use of Ingeniero Agronomo. Hippo at best, has an associates' degree in agricultural sciences and completed one or two industry-sponsored courses on tobacco farming in some community college in rural North Carolina over the course of a few weeks.

- Tordok
:sleep:
 

Paulino

New member
Jan 4, 2002
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Doctoi

My own father-in-law calls his favorite grandson, 17 years old, "doctoi" (cibae?o for doctor), so I guess anything is possible ;-))

The fact that he never went to school himself - other than in a formal sense, to avoid severe punishment in the Trujillo years, he never bothered to learn anything - might have something to do with it, I mean, relative to himself, his grandson is as good as a doctor.
 
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Apr 26, 2002
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From NC States' website (does someone want to clue them in how shameful this honorary degree is):

"Hipolito Mejia ... graduated as an associate agronomist from Polytechnic Institute of San Cristobal in 1964. He ATTENDED NC State?s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in the 1960s. He worked ? first as agricultural investigator and later as national director ? in the Dominican Republic?s Tobacco Institute before joining Rohm and Haas, a U.S. agricultural chemicals manufacturing company, as Caribbean representative. He was selected president of the National Association of Agriculture Professionals in 1970. In 1973, Mejia became vice-president of programming and agricultural development at Industrias Linda.

Mejia?s political career began in 1978 as the Dominican Republic?s Secretary of Agriculture. He passed two powerful tests during his tenure: rehabilitating Dominican agriculture after the devastation of two cyclones, and ERADICATING AFRICAN PIG FEVER which threatened the country?s livestock." (emphasis added)

Despite these rather questionable credentials, I don't doubt for a second that he is an expert on swine!