Uncle Sam and the young countries

¡Sí, se puede!

Off topic -

How do I feel about old literature? I  love old literature, however in order for me to appreciate its value, I would have to have enough time to thoroughly analyze it and have a full understanding of the piece. Now, if I have to read documents, then it begins to bore me. History is an interesting topic, and I admit that it is exciting to read a paper that was written several hundred years ago, but I always prefer fiction over non-fiction ,unfortunately. If I were to analyze and annotate a document then I would feel much more comfortable doing so until I arrive at the point in which I can independently do so myself. Otherwise, I feel unprepared to process the ideas, words, and meaning behind the letters on the archaic writing.

Government Shutdown!

     So the government shutdown in The United States of America. Last time this happened, it was late 1995 through early 1996! Shutting down for 21 days, it had a major impact on our economy, causing it to dip big time. How long would it last this time? No ones knows for sure, but we're hoping to just wait days and not weeks. 
     How exactly does this affect South America? Well, as of right now, it doesn't have a huge impact on them. If you wanted to visit internationally or even internally, the passports are not being processed, unless there are "sufficient fees to support the operations." The national parks museums will be shutdown as well, so tourism will decline.
   However, if the American economy starts to peak downwards, (which hopefully it won't take a huge dive during this shutdown) then we may be able to see the beginnings of a domino effect. Brazil, being one of the top ten countries that America owes a debt to, may not receive their $253.4 billion any time soon. Let's just hope that the decline of the American Empire doesn't send the rest of the world into havoc.

Top ten countries that America owes a debt to.
Learn more about the Government shut down here!
 Some more information
 

 A Peaceful Settlement?

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-ecuador-colombia-coca-herbicide-lawsuit-20130916,0,3402964.story?track=rss

Due to Colombian airplanes spraying herbicide to coca over the border of Ecuador, Ecuador filed a lawsuit in 2008. However, 15 million dollars in Colombia's part seemed to put a peaceful ending to the court matter. Protests began to arise, however , by Clever Jimenez (A National Assembly member), and other Ecuadorians. 15 million isn't enough to compensate for the health of the Ecuadorian farmers who managed to inhale the herbicide, as well as come into contact with it. As 'peaceful' as the Colombian Foreign Ministry tries to make the situation sound, it still seems like conflict may arise once again, as it nearly did in 2008 between the two countries. Is this the beginning of a series of disputes between the two countries?