Israel-Palestine: When the Map Lies
Perhaps you have seen this map before; it claims to illustrate the 'Palestinian loss of land' from 1946 to 2000. The problem is that the map completely misrepresents the recent history of Palestine-Israel.
- Thread starter aarhus
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What country will the DR be similar to?
I go with what I know. I have family that have lived in Israel for centuries.
Not at all Bob. I totally agree there are many “educated idiots” and many intelligent people not highly educated. I am with you in sentiment 100%.
It could. The oligarchy and abondening the educational system. Worst case a rise in crime and less tourists and then it’s a downward spiral from there.
The DR has always been controlled by an oligarchy and the educational system can't get much worse than it is. It's got no where to go but better. Crime would have to rise a long way to match that of El Salvador(it's one of the ten worst countries in the world for crime) and I don't see that happening. Tourism in the DR will be strong for a long time to come.
Bob is heavily invested in education in Jarabacoa, where his family owns a private school, thus his biased opinion on the subject.
However, even long-dead Secretariat could see through its blinders that corruption and conformity, as well as the need for instant gratification, are traits Dominicans possess to the nth degree, relegating the society to also-ran status in the big scheme of things... of countries rising up from the depths of misery and despair, such as Singapore and the little South American gem that is Uruguay.
Ah! But the argument is that Uruguay doesn't have "an immigration problem" and/or that its population fits squarely in greater Santo Domingo.
The much-requested 4% education budget did not, and will not, raise the education level of the common folks. Yes, every year the Ministry of Education provides free rides to a selected few in order to study abroad, with the hope and intent that, upon returning with newly-acquired knowledge, the whole of society will reap the benefits of such an endeavor. The vast majority of those lucky ones return and engage in anything but that; most are already privileged prior to being selected: the sons and daughters of influential government officials and celebrities.
The D.R. is synonymous with corruption at all levels: from building inspectors, who demand gratuities, then turn a blind eye; and doctors who, for a few hundred pesos, sign and confirm a "negative" COVID-19 test result, so that you can go on your merry way free of hassles; a college professor who suggests a thesis topic, then sells you the already-prepared material for a few thousand pesos; a prospective baseball player seeking an advantage via PEDs; a 17-year-old receiving private medical care using the medical insurance card belonging to a much older family member... and the clinics who accept such behavior, so long as the bill is paid by the insurance provider. Corruption at all levels: from the government to private institutions and individuals in general. Yes: The airline employee who sells her friends-and-family travel benefits to the highest bidder; the so-called journalist who becomes a "bocina" for the administration; the border patrol who allows truckloads of illegal charcoal to cross unmolested, in obvious violation of all applicable environmental and contraband laws in the books
The society is too preoccupied in the trivial pursuit of Look-AT-ME attention: a U.S. celebrity appears on an Instagram post while holding a water bottle of a Dominican brand, and THAT, ladies and gentlemen, makes the national news, and commentators, talk show hosts and all manners of YouTubers and journalists proudly tout such an event as having finally arrived... AGAIN!!! The world is getting Dominicanized, they argue.
This is a society where a influential former congressperson suggests that the Dominican president should travel to the airport and welcome home a musical act after she performed in the Latin Grammys event in Miami, and where she gave a one-word answer (semen) to an interviewer's question regarding what she expected to receive after the show. Yes, the same performer who introduced herself as "La Santa Popola" prior the show... the saintly vagina.
Oh, yeah, the same former congressperson who discusses the value of another performer's Bugatti and what it means to Dominican youths in terms of motivation... same former congressperson who beamed proudly while informing the nation that FIFA had included a track by the Bugatti-owning performer in its video game release. And since soccer is the beautiful sport, played all over the observable firmament, Dominicans had finally made the Big Show: We're coming for you, Proxima Centauri system, and the whole of Andromeda to follow. Be there or be square, but you're next, any and all possible parallel universes.
The D.R. is far from a Noam Chomsky-defined failed state, but more closely resembling a "uácala" society.
I have no complaints about them. Although I live in El Poligono Central, so there is that.
The answer lies more in demographic discontrol and worsening income distribution situation. But yeah, the order of the variables doesn't change the overall result of the equation.
An example more apropos for our current case would be how a bunch of North German/Scandinavian immigrants transformed Roman Britannia into Anglosaxon England in the space of a few centuries, and relegated the Britons foolish enough to invite them into present day Wales.
The defunct public education system is certainly not going to help with crime or what the “celebrities” are willing to do to remain influential and relevant.
Tokischa takes the vulgarity to another level, but is capitalizing quite nicely of course.
Role models will be increasingly difficult to find for those who need them most.
Tokischa takes the vulgarity to another level, but is capitalizing quite nicely of course.
Role models will be increasingly difficult to find for those who need them most.
And we have in this forum the son of one case. If memory serves me right, the father of the poster Mirador was born in Hinche when this town was still jurisdictionally Dominican, at least as far as the authorities here in Santo Domingo was concerned.
We get about 12 hours a day electricity. ☹️