In the wake of Judge Sotomayor’s nominations there has been much ado about her qualifications. One sentence from a remark she made about being a Latina having more insight and sensitivity than a white male has caused a firestorm of controversy. Much to the chagrin of the GOP there’s not much dirt they can dig up on this infinitely qualified Supreme Court candidate.

She has a stellar record on the bench and has sided many times with the prosecution on her cases. Yes, she is a liberal but not some crazed radical that will try to make the law from the bench. She has impeccable credentials and a moving American story. Her rise from the projects out of the Bronx to her rise as an Ivy League judge is no small feat and it plays well in the media.

Given the implosion of the GOP and there need to expand the party, they must tread lightly as they contest her nomination. For Obama’s part, he’s not placating Latino’s. He has their support and is not pandering. The GOP has everything to lose if they go after her too aggressively.

It’s interesting that after 111 Supreme Court justices; all of which have been white with the exception of Thurgood Marshal and Clarence Thomas people would balk at this nomination! All the furor of her using her life experiences to render her decision on major cases. What about Chief Justice William Taney, who in the Dred Scott decision wrote a racist opinion stating that a black man had no rights that a white man was bound to respect,!

It seems like now that the pendulum has swung the other way and people of color have a little power folks are having a cow! We are all the sum of our life experiences. We wouldn’t be human if that didn’t enter into the picture. Bottom line, judge Sotomayor is capable and qualified and would serve with honor and distinction. If we look objectively at her experience and qualifications she is more than qualified and would be an excellent choice to the Supreme Court.

President Obama has shown courage and good judgment in her selection. He is a win win situation. His detractors stand much to lose in try to undermine this selection. If the GOP is sincere about winning latino support, they would be well advised to calm down and play nice.

The more vitriol that they spew the more it helps the democrats. The GOP tent is shrinking by leaps and bounds. The Rush Limbaugh’s of the world are only helping the Dem’s cause. They will need a messiah to repair the damage that has been done. Thankfully, we have our own in Barack Obama!

With recession in Japan and the United States and a slowdown in most developed economies, Japanese companies are eager to do business with Latin America. Last year, Japanese trade with the region grew by 15 percent, spurred by a strong increase with Brazil.

“Considering the economic slowdown in advanced countries, but earlier and faster recovery expected in many Latin American emerging markets in the course of 2009, many Japanese companies are interested in Latin America for the potential business opportunities at this moment,” says Ryoji Watanabe, a Latin America researcher at the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), a government agency that promotes trade and investment. “Japan is also aggressive in expanding its FTA [free trade agreement] networks to the region. We expect that the economic relationship between Latin America and Japan will be further strengthened in 2009.”

Since commodities are the key import from Latin America, their price development will affect the value of imports this year, he adds. Meanwhile, exports to Mexico – a key market for exports – will be affected by the continued U.S. slowdown. “Mexico, with many Japanese electronics and auto factories for U.S. exports, will continue to be severely affected by the slowdown of the U.S. economy,” Watanabe says. “Therefore, the U.S. recovery will be crucial for Japan’s export to the region to grow.”

Last year, total trade with Latin America reached $68.1 billion, a 15.1 percent increase, according to a Latin Business Chronicle analysis of data from Jetro. Japanese exports grew by 16 percent to $40.7 billion, while imports increased by 13.8 percent to $27.4 billion. Japan maintains a strong surplus with Latin America – $13.3 billion.

The following is a story contributed by Alex Nassar. This is a fine example when business works with the Latino Community.

The Saint Joseph’s University Entrepreneurship Society will begin working with Philadelphia-area high school students to discuss the values the organization aims at propagating.

The Entrepreneurship Society will partner with Congreso de Latinos Unidos Inc., a north Philadelphia-based service organization aimed at serving the significant Latino population residing in that part of the city. Students in the Entrepreneurship Society will act as teachers and mentors to ninth-grade students at Edison High School in North Philadelphia as part of what has been dubbed the Exito Campaign. Students in any curriculum at the school can be a part of the program, which will be offered as part of Edison’s existing after-school enrichment.

Thomas Ferraro, ‘09, president of the Entrepreneurship Society, said the idea was inspired by the fact that less than 20 percent of students in the Haub School of Business are involved in service programs through the university.

“The beauty of this volunteer opportunity is that it is connected to what we learn in business classes,” said Ferraro. “[Volunteers] are going to be using the practical knowledge they learned in business classes and teaching that to the students.”

Ferraro, as well as co-founder Brett Giroux, were presented with the opportunity to work with Congreso after contacting Beth Ford of Saint Joseph’s Campus Ministry regarding service programs specifically targeting business students.

This will be the first such program run by Congreso. A study will be done around the interactions between Saint Joseph’s and Edison students to determine whether the program actually benefits what Richard Johnson, program coordinator at Congresso, described as “at-risk students.”

“It can potentially open a St. Joe’s student’s eyes as much as it can an Edison student’s eyes to what the reality is here in Philadelphia as far as students who are born into inequity,” Johnson said.

Ferraro hopes that the service opportunity will have practical applications for both high-schoolers and college students.

“Sometimes the best way of understanding what we learn in class is to go out and teach others what we learned,” he said.

Ferraro said business ethics will be a large component of what the Entrepreneurship Society shares with high school students, in light of the recent exposure of large-scale corruption scandals surrounding executives like Bernie Madoff, a finance executive found guilty of perpetrating a scheme netting nearly $65 million.

“We wanted to show that the business school is not just about the money,” he said. “The reason why we jumped on to this is because we teach our members to have the highest ethical standards. We needed an outlet to bridge the business school into Jesuit ideals.”

Since initial contact between the Congreso and the Entrepreneurship Society earlier this academic year, steps have been taken in short order to launch the Exito campaign. On March 15, Ferraro and Giroux were guest judges in a business plan competition at Edison. Johnson said he hoped the program would start by the end of the academic year.

While Johnson said he would be glad to have consistent volunteers from Saint Joseph’s University, Ferraro hopes that members of the Entrepreneurship Society will take the opportunity more seriously.

“We want our volunteers not to just show up one time and then not show up again,” he said. “We want our volunteers to be people who are steady in the lives of the kids, providing the kids with hope and encouragement.”