Diálogo Plural

Of all the things that are going wrong in Puerto Rico: multiple manifestations of violence, lack of a working government, indifference, considerable mental health problems left unattended, killing dogs seems, well, a lesser evil. This of course is not true. A cruel and horrendous killing happened this last weekend in the northern town of Barceloneta (for the whole story read here ). I cannot really watch an animal being treated the way these people at Animal Control Solutions did. Fortunately local and international media were not as squeamish. CNN , BBC , and others wrote about it and showed us a little peek into our supposedly " happy " society (according, of course, to Ronald Inglehart and the World Values Survey ; they really should spend more time in here). What is wrong with us? Surely, this should not come as a surprise to us Puerto Ricans. We see abandoned animals and pets everyday. Left by people who, disappointed by the fact that the dog or cat is not a puppy or a ...

Basically I'm not a religious guy. However, I always favor freedom of worship and the human quest for a deep and genuine spirituality, which we can draw from a wide variety of sources and teachings. I respect people, who adhering to their respective principles, tolerate and share commonalities with other forms of manifesting faith. It saddens me, therefore, when one hears the news of the virtual destruction of Iraq's Mandeans, an ancient people who adhere to Gnogstic teachings almost as old as Christianity. They, like primitive Christian minorities in the Middle east, are 'living history', offering a window of world views and expressions of faith that remnants of ancient times. When you can, read this opinion column by Nathaniel Deutsch in the New York Times or click on the permalink below. Sad, very sad indeed. J. Save the Gnostics - New York Times ; Permalink By Nathaniel Deutsch If Iraqi Mandeans are allowed to enter the United States in significant numbers, it may ...

This effort seems futile seeing as how this year is approaching its last quarter. Anyway if you care to read what I wrote on January 1st 2007 and live in Puerto Rico you might reflect on the Island's present situation. Are we better now than before? Is it this government's fault or past administrations'. Here's something new: is it our own fault? Did we care enough to vote the right people in power? Did we relinquish our civic duty the moment we cast our ballot? Here's the article (in Spanish) Reflexión de año nuevo José R. Rivera González Profesor, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto Metro. La llegada del año nuevo es momento propicio para resoluciones y la realización de nuevos proyectos tanto a nivel personal como familiar. Pensamos siempre en perder peso, en consumir alimentos más saludables u organizar aquellas cosas que acumulamos en nuestras vidas. Parte de esa renovación es producto de introspección. Cada comienzo de año, sacamos de nuestro t...

Hey I'm back! Was I gone long?