Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Home Blog Page 205

Oakland ballet company presents Luna Mexicana

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

After making a successful debut last season, the Oakland Ballet Company announces the return of Luna Mexicana, a Mexican Day of the Dead celebration, appropriate for the whole family.

The one-hour program includes a cast of five dancers and five dancers, with a festive choreography by Artistic Director Graham Lustig, vivid costumes, striking make-up and a mix of folk and modern Mexican music.

Luna Mexicana is based on the traditional Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, in which the living honor the spirit of the deceased with offerings of food, music and dance. The production tells the story of a young woman whose deceased loved ones return to life and dance happily as staggering skeletons, girls who wave their skirts, a dancer who plays the deer dance and a duet of rickety boyfriends.

It will take place on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at the Paramount Theater, Oakland. Tickets range from $20 to $45. There are discounts for seniors, university students and children under 18 years. Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.com or in person at the Paramount Theater box office.

The San Francisco Symphony announces its annual holiday concert season

The San Francisco Symphony’s (SFS) 2017 holiday season at Davies Symphony Hall offers a festive array of concerts for all ages, from traditional Christmas classical concerts including Handel’s Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Holiday Brass to family-friendly events including A Charlie Brown Christmas—Live!, the circus feats of Cirque de la Symphonie, the Orchestra’s annual Deck the Hall concerts, and the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra’s annual performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with Zachary Quinto narrating.

Special guest performers include Seal, Peaches Christ & Armistead Maupin, Mariachi Sol De México® de José Hernàndez, which will present A Merry-achi Christmas, with its blend of Mexican and American holiday favorites the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir brings an uplifting program of gospel, soul, and jazz favorites in Holiday Soul, and Armistead Maupin is the featured guest artist in Holiday Gaiety with the SFS. And there is much more!

Nov.30—Dec. 31, 2017. All concerts are at Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco.

Tickets for all holiday concerts are on sale now at sfsymphony.org, by phone at 415-864-6000, and at the Davies Symphony Hall box office on Grove Street between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue.

For more detailed information visit: sfsymphony.org.

Play on Pérez Prado by Cuban plywright to be performed in Mexico

by the El Reportero’s wire services

The Mexican independent theater company Conjuro Teatro will perform in this country the play ‘’Yo soy el rey del mambo’’ (I’’m the king of Mambo), written by Cuban playwright Ulises Rodríguez Febles, said sources today here.

The performance will pay homage to outstanding musician Damaso Pérez Prado, who would turn into 100 years old on Dec. 11 and was born in Matanzas, 100 kilometers east of Havana.

Artists from Mexico and Cuba will celebrate this date that fondly links the two countries and will pay homage to Perez Prado and his contribution to the world music, said the online cultural magazine Mar Desnudo.

Following the premiere of the play late this year in Matanzas, Cienfuegos and Havana, Conjuro Teatro will perform Yo soy el rey del mambo in Mexico.

The group, directed by Dana Stella Aguilar, said that the play will be performed in Mexico from April 13th to 15th by artists from both countries.

The performance includes live music by the group from Matanzas ‘Atenas Brass Ensemble’, directed by maestro Rodolfo Jorge Horta, with musical direction by Leonardo Heiblum, renowned Mexican composer.

Storm in Dubai with Announced Presentation of Jennifer López

Perhaps a sandstorm is similar to the presentation of the North American actress and singer Jennifer López scheduled for November 15 in this country, the organizers predict today.

In charge of Dubai Airports, JLO will show her art to about 3,500 special guests a few weeks after intervening in a charity show, One Voice: Somos Live, which raised funds for victims of disasters in Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths commented that the artistic quality of Jennifer López widespread how the power of music can connect the world.
Fourty-eight-years-old and still with a sculptural figure, JLO must shake the exclusive auditorium that will concentrate figures of the royalty of this country and those who decide to pay a few thousand to see the Hollywood star.

The US actress will join a select group of guests that Dubai Airports brought to this country, including Sir Tom Jones, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Katy Perry.

Dies Fats Domino, Blues and Rock star

The legendary American pianist and singer Fats Dómino, a blues and rock n ‘’roll star, passed away today at age 89 in his native New Orleans, local media reported.

Domino, whose real name was Antoine Dominique Domino, died surrounded by his relatives, and his death was confirmed by forensic authorities, although they did not reveal the cause.

Performer of hits such like Walking to New Orleans, Is not That a Shame, and Blueberry Hill, the artist debuted in the record industry in 1949 with the album The Fat Man, which expert consider the first rock n ‘roll recording history.

His legacy extends to about 50 albums, of which he sold more than 65 million copies worldwide, and for which he received about thirty gold records.

Active until years 2000, Fats Domino received in 1986 a Grammy in recognition to its career, and in 1998 the National Medal of the Arts given to him by President of the United States Bill Clinton.

The plot to overthrow America – oh that’s just a fantasy

by Jon Rappoport

Socialism for the good of all, sponsored by “the people?”

Please. If you buy that one, I have beachfront condos for sale on the dark side of the moon.

I continue to expose the expansion of socialism—“the revolution by and for the masses,” which is in fact a plot of ultra-rich monopolists.
Echoing across 45 years, here is an excerpt from Gary Allen’s 1971 classic, “None Dare Call It Conspiracy”:

“What we are witnessing is the Communist tactic of pressure from above and pressure from below, described by Communist historian Jan Kozak as the device used by the Reds to capture control of Czecho-Slovakia. The pressure from above comes from secret, ostensibly respectable Comrades in the government and Establishment, forming, with the radicalized mobs in the streets below, a giant pincer around middle-class society. The street rioters are pawns, shills, puppets, and dupes for an oligarchy of elitist conspirators working above to turn America’s limited government into an unlimited government with total control over our lives and property.”

“The American middle class is being squeezed to death by a vise…In the streets we have avowed revolutionary groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society (which was started by the League for Industrial Democracy, a group with strong C.F.R. ties), the Black Panthers, the Yippies, the Young Socialist Alliance. These groups chant that if we don’t ‘change’ America, we will lose it. ‘Change’ is a word we hear over and over. By ‘change’ these groups mean Socialism. Virtually all members of these groups sincerely believe that they are fighting the Establishment. In reality they are an indispensable ally of the Establishment in fastening Socialism on all of us. The naive radicals think that under Socialism the ‘people’ will run everything. Actually, it will be a clique of Insiders in total control, consolidating and controlling all wealth. That is why these schoolboy Lenins and teenage Trotskys are allowed to roam free and are practically never arrested or prosecuted. They are protected. If the Establishment wanted the revolutionaries stopped, how long do you think they would be tolerated?”

“Instead, we find that most of these radicals are the recipients of largesse from major foundations or are receiving money from the government through the War on Poverty. The Rothschild-Rockefeller-C.F.R. [Council on Foreign Relations] Insiders at the top ‘surrender to the demands’ for Socialism from the mobs below. The radicals are doing the work of those whom they hate the most.”

“Remember Bakunin’s charge that Marx’ followers had one foot in the bank and the other in the Socialist movement.”

“That is the strategy. The landscape/ painters focus your attention on the kids in the street while the real danger is from above.”

“As Frank Capell recently observed in The Review Of The News:”

“Of course, we know that these radical students are not going to take over the government. What they are going to do is provide the excuse for the government to take over the people, by passing more and more repressive laws to ‘keep things under control’.”

“The radicals make a commotion in the streets while the Limousine Liberals at the top in New York and Washington are Socializing us. We are going to have a dictatorship of the elite disguised as a dictatorship of the proletariat.”

“The poor are merely pawns in the game…only those who understand that the Establishment’s game plan is SOCIALISM understand what is going on before their very eyes.”

Does that excerpt from “None Dare Call It Conspiracy,” written in 1971, sound familiar today? Of course it does. It reflects the same old strategy of pressure applied from both the top and bottom. The squeeze play.

The super-rich monopolists pretend to “bow to the socialist wishes” of the underclass and the protestors and the rioters.

It’s a straight con.

Don’t get caught in the word game which confuses Communism, Socialism, the Corporate State, Fascism, and Crony Capitalism.

When you put all these terms through the wash, they come out looking the same. They mean power at the top, disguised to appear as popular movements.

“None Dare Call It Conspiracy” describes the dark alliances that congeal in the ubiquitous Rockefeller Council on Foreign Relations, a group whose goal is a new international order, a Globalist society:

“Today [1971] the C.F.R. remains active in working toward its final goal of a government over all the world—a government which the Insiders and their allies will control.”

“International banking organizations that currently have men in the C.F.R. include Kuhn, Loeb & Company; Lazard Freres (directly affiliated with Rothschild); Dillon Read; Lehman Bros.; Goldman, Sachs; Chase Manhattan Bank; Morgan Guaranty Bank; Brown Bros. Harriman; First National City Bank; Chemical Bank & Trust, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank.”

“Among the major corporations that have men in the C.F.R. are Standard Oil, IBM, Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Pan American, Firestone, U. S. Steel, General Electric and American Telephone and Telegraph Company…National Broadcasting Corporation, Columbia Broadcasting System, Time, Life, Fortune, Look, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Denver Post, Louisville Courier Journal, Minneapolis Tribune, the Knight papers, McGraw-Hill, Simon & Schuster, Harper Bros., Random House, Little Brown & Co., Macmillan Co., Viking Press, Saturday Review, Business Week and Book of the Month Club.”

Here is the kicker:

“Also in the C.F.R. are men from such openly Leftist organizations as the Fabian Socialist Americans for Democratic Action, the avowedly Socialist League for Industrial Democracy—(formerly the Intercollegiate Socialist Society), and the United World Federalists which openly advocates world government with the Communists. Such devotedly Socialist labor leaders as the late Walter Reuther, David Dubinsky and Jay Lovestone have also been members of the C.F.R. In theory, these men and organizations are supposed to be the blood enemies of the banks and businesses listed above. Yet they all belong to the same lodge. You can see why that fact is not advertised.”

Politically Left, Right or Center, it doesn’t matter. This massive collection of power players are all “socialists.” Meaning: they’re power-mad monopolists.

But of course, they’re also the messiahs bringing a happy and glorious future to the downtrodden, to “the people.”

If you buy that one, I’ll not only sell you beachfront condos on the dark side of the moon, I’ll sell you the whole moon. No money down. Easy terms.

So easy, when the balloon payment comes due, you won’t know what hit you.

At that point, you’ll need to sign your property and liberty and life away.

For the greater good, of course.

In a socialist system.

When our loved ones are gone on Day of the Dead

EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear Readers:

Today is a very sad day for those human beings who have lost a loved one, and even more so for those who lost them just a few days ago, because it takes away the opportunity to even give space in their hearts to celebrate their life.

In commemoration of the Day of the Dead, I wanted to take a little walk around searching for information on how this event is being held in the different countries of Latin America, and this is what I found.

And I want, through this writing, to honor my late father, Don José Santos Ramírez Calero, who was a journalist warrior in Nicaragua. Wherever you are, my father, you will always be in my heart remembering that you were a light in the sky that continues to illuminate me after you left that day June 12, 2004, amidst pain and suffering for the cancer that killed you.

And just a day or so I take a chance to say a few words to dear Godfather who passed away a few years in Nicaragua, Mr. Evaristo Gómez.

And I offer my most sincere condolences to the family of two beloved Nicaraguan people whom I met here in San Francisco, who this week lost their loved ones by giving their soul to our Creator.

The first is the mother of my friend Sergio Iván Gutiérrez, Mrs. Gloria de los Angeles Berrios de Gutiérrez. She was 90 years of age. She died in the morning of Oct. 26 at her home in the Excelsior District of San Francisco surrounded by her family. Sergio could not attend due to forces beyond his will, and I imagine the pain he must be feeling unable to say goodbye to the woman who gave him the sincere self and love of a mother.

The second person to leave this world was the brother of Maria Elena Noguera, a lady dear and well-known in San Francisco for the rich dishes she prepared when she was the owner of the popular Red Baloon Restaurant on Mission Street.

Her brother, Orlando Antonio Noguera, who was 73 years old and suffering from extreme obesity, leaves his large family in pain for his departure.

And for them I say a prayer that their souls may be diluted in the fountain of life of the Most High.

Celebration of the Day of the Dead

As described in Notimérica’s writings, although Day of the Dead is normally related to Mexico, several Latin American countries commemorate this date, each in its own way.
The feast of this day comes from the indigenous cultures of the Aztecs, Mayas, Purepechas, Nahuas and Totonacas.
For 3000 years, they performed rituals in honor of their ancestors, rites that symbolized death and rebirth.
The Spanish conquerors of the fifteenth century were terrified by the practices of the natives on this day and, in their attempt to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, changed the date of the celebration for the beginning of November. In this way, they coincided with the Catholic celebrations of the Day of All Saints and All Souls.
In Latin America, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 and 2. The first is the day when souls return to children, and the second is the day they return to adults.
Mexico
The most important moment on this day is when people go to the cemetery during the night and adorn the tombs, usually with an orange flower called ‘xempazuchitl’.
In the houses, an altar is built in memory of the ancestors, where photographs of them, food and drinks are arranged so that the deceased can remember the flavors of his past life.
Among some of the elements of folklore used only at this time of year, we highlight the sweet bread – known as ‘bread of death’ – skulls made of sugar or small skulls, which are given away to friends.
Guatemala
In this country, there is a belief that blessed souls come out of cemeteries and appear in some places. For this reason, many people, like in Mexico, put water and a photograph of the deceased in the homemade altars. Days before the celebration, they cleaned the tombs and decorate them with the flower of the dead, of yellow color, that only flowers at this time.
Peru
As in Mexico and Guatemala, altars are also dedicated to the deceased. Offerings of candles and flowers are made in the cemetery and, once the food and drink is prayed for the deceased, the family members enjoy a banquet in their honor.
Venezuela
In Venezuela, there are no major celebrations. Relatives take advantage of this day to visit the cemetery, clean the graves and bring flowers.
El Salvador
In this country, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2 and, rather than remembering their ancestors, take advantage of this day to celebrate the lives of those who are still alive.
Nicaragua
Nicaraguans attach great importance to this date and go further, celebrating this day in the cemetery during the night. They spend one night ‘sleeping’ with their dead, lying down beside the pantheons.
Honduras, Colombia and Costa Rica
In these three countries, believers go to cemeteries to bring offerings as a symbol of gratitude to the favors performed by the saints to their relatives.
Ecuador
  Ecuadorian families celebrate this day by gathering around a typically traditional meal: bread guaguas – bread figures shaped like children – and purple dressing, a drink made with black corn flour, fruits such as blackberry, pineapple and naranjilla, and blueberries.
The Altar of the Dead
It is a fundamental element in the celebration of the Day of the Dead.
The bereaved have the belief that the spirit of their deceased returns from the world of the dead to live with the family that day, and thus to comfort them and to comfort them by the loss.
The altar is characterized by its cheerful colors and photographs of the deceased, as well as some dishes of his preference in life.
The Dead Bread
There are different theories about the elements that make up this delicious and special piece of Mexican bakery.
For example, some say that the bones made of mass refer to those of the deceased one who is remembered, others who represent the four cardinal points. Even in some places there is the belief that its ingredients are associated with the fruits of the earth and life.
The Offering
It is to share with the deceased the bread, the salt, the fruits, patillos, the water and if they are adults, the wine. To offer is to be close to our dead to dialogue with his memory, with his life.
The offering is the reunion with a ritual that summons to the memory.
The Sugar Skulls
No Day of the Dead offering would be complete without the traditional sugar skullcuts. These sweet skulls are the product of a technique brought by the Spaniards.
One of its peculiarities is to carry in the upper part the name of the person to whom it is destined, since it is a form of reminder that the only thing that has the human being is death.

Hair is dead, it’s just a hard shell

by Ben Fuchs

Hair is dead! By the time the skin appendage has left its hidden home and birthplace in the follicle, and becomes a visible strand of substance, it is nothing more than a hard shell. Because this shell is largely composed only of dead cells filled with protein, the same stuff that makes up human fingernails as well a horse hoofs and rhino horns, trying to enhance hair’s appearance and texture with topical products is like putting lipstick on a corpse. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try!

Throughout history luxurious locks have been honored as a sign of fertility, virility, overall vigor and well-being. Men and women around the world have used a wide range of materials to improve its appearance. From ingredients, like the olive oil infused dead lizards or boiled bulls blood (!) used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks, to the more sophisticated high tech chemicals with difficult to pronounce monikers, like “quaternary ammonium complexes” and “polysiloxanes”, all manner of substances synthetic, natural, benign and toxic have been applied to the tresses to encourage growth, shine, thickness and bounce among other desirable characteristics.

Hair is mostly made up of protein. That’s why the more popular hair care ingredients found in modern shampoos and conditioners are the chemically modified extracts of protein-rich grain and seeds. These derivatives purport to enter into the surface of the nonliving hair shaft to provide support and protection by filling in gaps and repairing microscopic defects. Most include an amino acid called “cysteine”. Cysteine contains a little piece of sulfur, the element that is responsible for hair’s resilience and strength. From a quantum chemistry perspective the electronic nature of sulfur makes it very magnetic. It holds on to things and doesn’t let them go, like a really powerful heavy duty magnet.
This micro-magnetic grip creates hardness on the macro level. Thus defining cysteine’s role in strengthening the hair shaft (as well as bone, joints and cartilage).

There are various ways manufacturers can leverage the power of cysteine for their hair care products. While you’ll rarely see the actual amino itself listed on your product’s ingredient deck, what you will often find is some kind hydrolyzed protein. Whether it’s from wheat, barley, soy or some other plant product, these hydrolyzed proteins, which contain a significant amount of the hair hardening amino acid, can, theoretically at least, be released and delivered into the hair shaft as your shampoo or conditioner is being applied.

The major cysteine containing protein in the hair (and for that matter in nails and skin) is called “keratin” and oftentimes shampoos and conditioners manufacturers will include it as an ingredient in their formulations. L’Oréal, Jason and TRESemme among other companies all have hair products that feature keratin and there’s also hair styling products that have keratin in them. If you do a google search for keratin and shampoo, you’ll find over 5 million hits and if you just take a walk through the shampoo section at Walmart or your favorite grocery store you’ll find dozens of shampoos with names like Keranique and Keralique and Suave with keratin as well as keratin hair oils and keratin conditioners.

Do they work? Probably not. Remember, hair is dead and while keratin is composed of cysteine it isn’t going to be able do much to permanently change the quality of hair by simply applying it topically via a shampoo or conditioner. Keratin containing hair products are more about marketing and misinformation than actual keratin effects; at best keratin may soften hair a little bit by acting as a moisturizer. It’s possible that keratin may get deposited in the hair shaft allowing for a temporary strengthening effect, although that too is unlikely.
Read more: http://criticalhealthnews.com/health-news/25-ben-fuchs-articles/157-hair-is-dead

In the shadow of Trump’s walls, locals remain unimpressed

by Julia Carrie Wong

Reported by the Guardian — Between San Diego and Tijuana, eight prototype border walls are ready for testing – but will any get built, and will it make a difference if they do?

It’s 9:15 a.m. and Ralph DeSio of US customs and border protection (CBP) is standing at the front of a tour bus full of journalists, pointing out notable features of the fencing that separates the United States from Mexico.

Furthest south is the 10ft tall primary fence – a low-slung structure of rusted, corrugated steel salvaged from Vietnam war-era helicopter landing pads. About 100 yards north is the secondary fence, 18ft of steel mesh added in the 1990s to create an “enforcement zone” between the two fences.

The scene feels a bit like the film Jurassic Park: a jovial guide explains how the fence will keep sightseers safe from untold terrors. This fence, though, is designed to keep out people, not unadvisedly resurrected dinosaurs.

The bus moves east from the Otay Mesa border crossing, to a site where eight brand new edifices – 30ft tall and 30ft wide – arise from the desert like a postmodern art exhibition.

These are prototypes for Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful wall”: eight designs selected by CBP from hundreds of entrants in a bidding process that began in March. Contractors had 30 days to construct the prototypes and, in late November, the concrete and steel edifices will be tested to see how they hold up against attempts to climb over, tunnel under, or bash through them.

At that point, according to the Trump campaign narrative, a winner would be selected and the process of erecting the chosen design across the United States’ 2000-mile southern border would begin, at an estimated cost of $21bn. But the CBP agents ferrying TV crews and photographers to the construction site were noncommittal about the prospect of this bidding process actually leading to a grand prize.

“Ultimately, the winner is the US government,” said Roy Villareal, chief of the San Diego border patrol sector. The process has provided the government with new ideas for border infrastructure, he said, so even if Congress does not approve funding for the wall, the agency can use aspects of the designs as it replaces and repairs existing fencing.

“Irrespective of whether the border wall is funded,” he said, “there is always funding for maintenance.”

Villareal demurred from picking a favorite of the eight, saying that he would wait for the testing, but DeSio praised the easternmost model – a solid concrete structure with terracotta colouring and a slightly tapered profile – as “svelte” and something he wouldn’t mind having enclosing his garden. Still, DeSio pointed out that the wall by itself is no panacea: “You can’t just lay a wall out there and say, ‘That’s it.’”

Jason Bush, another CBP agent, concurred, and said that he would personally prioritize spending money on personnel. “If the wall is there and someone gets over and is working me over,” he said, “the wall isn’t going to reach down and help me.”

The border wall is highly controversial and the bidding process was politically fraught, with major global contractors eschewing the opportunity and several state and local governments proposing blacklists of companies involved. But anticipated protests at the construction site never materialized, with local immigrant-rights activists choosing to greet the exercise with what San Diego photographer Maria Teresa Fernández called “the sound of silence.”

Fernández has been documenting the border fence since 2000, and she called the new models “a symbol of weakness”. The prototype site is closed to the public, but easy to view from south of the primary wall, in Tijuana’s Rancho Escondido neighborhood, where she has climbed up a little hill of dirt and debris to look over the corrugated steel fence and track the construction of the prototypes day by day.

She thinks of the wall as a living being, one that she’s been in a complicated relationship with for 17 years. “It was born, it’s growing, it’s reproducing, it changes, and I hope it will die someday,” she said. “I wish with all my heart to be able to live long enough to see it die.
“It’s hard to think of that, but we all have dreams.”

Residents of the impoverished neighborhood thought little of the efficacy of the new wall samples that jutted above the fence. Guillermina Fernández, who sells plants from her neat little house abutting the fence, complained that noise from the construction began early in the morning, but was otherwise disinterested. “It doesn’t affect us,” she said in Spanish.

Magdalena Palacios, whose eclectic home overflows with the car parts she salvages from the nearby recycling centre, can see the tops of the prototypes from a bench outside her front door. The 57-year-old lived in East Los Angeles for 16 years, but moved back to Tijuana after the death of her American husband.

“Anywhere, anyhow,” Palacios said, “people will continue to cross.”

At 1:30 p.m. every Sunday, as border patrol agents prepare to close off the site for another week, a pair of pastors lead a service across and through the border.

Guillermo Navarrete, the Mexican priest, said that he works hard to convince migrants in Tijuana not to attempt to cross the border, but to stay and live and work in the city instead. “We tell them there is no American dream any more,” he said. As for Trump, he added: “He is sick. We need to pray for him.”

John Fanestil, the pastor on the American side of the fence, saved his politics for his sermon. Reading from the Book of Isaiah, he preached: “And it will be said: ‘Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.’” (By the Guardian).

The Latino and Black ‘Sacrifice Zones’ of Hurricane Harvey

Houston’s lack of zoning and regulations maximized the impact of Hurricane Harvey, with “fence-line communities” deliberately put in harm’s way

by Emma Fiala

In this second installment of special coverage Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath, Abby Martin explores how the petrochemical industry dominates the city and why its low-income, Black and Latino areas are in the highest-risk areas for flooding and pollution, earning them the name “sacrifice zones.”

Abby explores Houston’s unique lack of zoning and regulations that maximized the impact of the storm, the “fence-line communities” deliberately put in harm’s way, inhumane treatment of incarcerated people in the disaster, and how the ownership of the city by Big Oil puts thousands of lives in peril.

Featuring interviews with Dr. Robert Bullard, professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University; Azzurra Crispino, co-founder of Prison Abolition Prisoner Support (PAPS); and Yvette Arellano of the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Series.

In the first installment in a series on Hurricane Harvey recovery, Abby Martin introduced viewers to a neighborhood ignored by both state and national officials during and after the hurricane. It quickly became clear that the neighborhoods Abby drew attention to, specifically Lake Forest Park, were home to working-class Houston residents of a lower socioeconomic status, many of which are Latino or Black. Was it a simply a coincidence that these neighborhoods were affected by the deadly flooding more than others? Is it by chance that these neighborhoods are now receiving far less attention than those filled with middle to upper-class white Houstonians?

According to the evidence presented in the second installment in the series on Hurricane Harvey, the answer is a very clear no – there was no coincidence and nothing was left to chance. In fact, these very neighborhoods are referred to as “sacrifice zones,” having numerous shortcomings in addition to the tendency to flood.

Houston is unique in that it lacks zoning laws. It is also overrun with petrochemical corporations operating with few rules and regulations.

Neither of these things lend to a safe and healthy city for those with few resources. Houston has a high amount of residential segregation and housing discrimination which forces residents seeking affordable housing into marginalized areas where they are exposed to higher amounts of pollutants, less access to amenities, and are often at a higher risk of flooding. Abby spoke with Dr. Robert Bullard, Professor of Urban Planning at Texas Southern University, about these issues including Houston’s history, gentrification of the city, where wealth is focused, and how modern weather events affect these communities.

Not only were Houston residents affected adversely by the structure of the city, inmates being held in three prisons in the area were all but ignored during the disaster. Abby spoke with Azzurra Crispino, from Prison Abolition Prisoner Support, about what inmates experienced, including standing water, the inability to bathe for at least 10 days, and reports that when portable toilets were finally made available, they were only accessible to prison staff. In one unit, 500 men were evacuated to a gymnasium where they stayed and slept in close quarters without air conditioning or functioning fans, near portable toilets that were not being emptied or cleaned, and with insects and reptiles roaming the floors at night. Despite being located on a floodplain, the facility does not have an evacuation plan in place, lending to numerous health and safety concerns for inmates.

Abby also spoke with Yvette Arellano of the Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services. Yvette shared details surrounding the dangerous situation that unfolded at a chemical plant in Houston after Hurricane Harvey hit the area. As the emergency at the chemical plant began, the surrounding community was not informed of the situation, despite seeing smoke and flames at the plant. As time went on, few details were shared about what chemicals were stored at that particular plant and if the situation posed any immediate threat to the surrounding residents.

Chemical plants like this are no longer required to be transparent when it comes to their operations due to the supposed threat of terrorist attacks. While hiding behind Homeland Security in an effort to keep the country safe, the communities surrounding these facilities are left in an unsafe position, completely unaware of potential disasters looming right around the corner. In fact, FEMA stepped up to make the community aware of the threat posed to the community as the emergency unfolded, but the very next day rescinded those statements due to pressures from above. Not only were communities subjected to significantly polluted air due to emergency situations at individual chemical and oil plants in the area, floodwaters were contaminated as well, putting residents at risk in the midst of harrowing rescues.

Shockingly, there is a 16 mile stretch of residential communities located on the edge of the second largest petrochemical complex in the world, running from Houston to Louisiana, filled with cancer clusters and extremely high emissions. Not only is this harmful situation allowed in the United States, there were no extra precautions taken to protect these communities during the disaster, communities full of children. These communities are subjected to harmful emissions daily and those emissions increased dramatically after the hurricane. The correlation is obvious – the higher the poverty rate in these areas, the greater the rate of harmful emissions. Human lives are sacrificed for the profit of the petrochemical industry, with major plants in view of elementary school playgrounds.

Houston is dominated by the petrochemical industry with little regard to the health and safety of it’s most vulnerable residents. Hurricane Harvey did not cause this problem but it has finally brought more of the shocking situation to light. Profits are valued over people in Houston and the basic structure of the city along with it’s laws and regulations are proof.

FEMA had a plan for responding to hurricane in Puerto Rico

It does not want you to see it

by the El Reportero’s wire services

The disaster-relief agency, under fire after Hurricane Maria, will not release the plan, even as a comparable document for Hawaii remains public

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, citing unspecified “potentially sensitive information,” is declining to release a document drafted several years ago that details how it would respond to a major hurricane in Puerto Rico.

The plan, known as a hurricane annex, runs more than 100 pages and explains exactly what FEMA and other agencies would do in the event that a large storm struck the island. The document could help experts assess how well the federal government had prepared to storm the size of Hurricane Maria and whether FEMA’s response matches what was planned. The agency began drafting such advance plans after it was excoriated for poor performance and lack of preparation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

ProPublica requested a copy of the Puerto Rico hurricane annex the part of its reporting on the federal response to Maria, the scale and speed of which has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism. More than a month after the storm made landfall, 73 percent of the island still lacks electricity.

Early last week, FEMA spokesman said she would provide a copy of the plan that afternoon. It never came. After a week of follow-ups, FEMA sent a statement reversing its position. “Due to the potentially sensitive information contained within the Hurricane Annex of the Region II All Hazards Plan, there are legal questions surrounding what, if any, portions of the annex can be released,” the statement said.

“As such, the documents that you seek should be reviewed and analyzed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by FEMA.” The statement did not explain what legal questions apply.

The ProPublica has previously reported, FEMA’s Freedom of Information process is plagued by dysfunction and yearslong backlogs. For example, FEMA has not responded to a request for documents related to Sandy Superstorm that we have filed more than three and a half years ago.

After FEMA declined to release the Puerto Rico hurricane plan, we found the agency’s equivalent plan for Hawaii posted, unredacted, on the internet by the Department of Defense. The Hawaii plan includes granular details down to, for example, how many specially outfitted medical aircraft the federal government would send to Hawaii after a Category 4 hurricane. It also describes an 85-step process to restore electricity on the islands.

Asked why the Puerto Rico plan was too publicly read while the Hawaii plan was not, FEMA spokesman said: “We are not able to speak for DoD or the State of Hawaii.”

Do you have information about FEMA or other agencies’ responses to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico? Contact Justin at justin@propublica.org or via Signal at 774-826-6240.

Evo Morales to debate on an issue with Pope Francisco

President Evo Morales will address with Pope Francis the key issues of foreign policy such as the maritime demand and the claim for Silala spring during a meeting at the Vatican, the Foreign Ministry confirmed today.

The visit to the Pope is important for Bolivia and the world, because both will debate Venezuela’s institutionality and sovereignty, Huanacuni said.

Cavaranserai 20 year anniversary with Patron and percussionist Adrián Areas – the son of Chepito Areas

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Caravanserai brings their Santana Tribute show to Club Fox to celebrate their 20 year anniversary. It has grown to include material from all eras of Santana’s 47-year history.

The Caravanserai show with raising great percussionist, Adrian Area, explosively recreates the rhythms, drive and the atmosphere of sounds that have made Santana a mainstay in the history of Rock Music for the past five decades. Areas is the older son of Chepito Areas from Santana, who has grown with the music talent as his father.

This show will also include a special guest appearance from Tony Lindsay, former lead vocalist for Santana.

Patron Latin Rhythms is a collaboration of well-seasoned professional musicians with a number of diverse backgrounds. The combining of varying musical roots enables the band to play different styles of Latin Music such as, Latin Jazz, Latin Rock, Mambo, and even O’l Skool R& B/Latin Funk! 

Patron’s goal is simple: to inspire the dancing spirit in everyone with driving percussion rhythms, hair raising guitar licks, and a horn section that is reminiscent of Tower of Power. Patron not only will we leave you dancing on the dance floor, but we promise you’ll leave dancing all the way home!
Saturday, Nov 4, 2017, $15 adv / $20 door. 7 p.m. doors open, and show is at 8 p.m.

For more information call 415-285-7719 or write DrBGMalo@aol.com

Ticket link below:
http://www.clubfoxrwc.com/event/1571670-caravanserai-santana-redwood-city/  

Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus to Open Season with

¡Viva Mexico! Beyond Border Walls

Prompted by President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra & Chorus (GGSOC), led by Maestro Urs Leonhardt Steiner, Music Director, opens its 2017-2018 season with, a special program of live classical music that celebrates the rich musical traditions and cultures of Mexico and beyond. Featuring special guest conductor Martha Rodriguez-Salazar and a noteworthy variety of special guests from Mexico and the Bay Area.

The concert will take place at the Herbst Theatre, 410 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. To purchase tickets, please visit: http://www.cityboxoffice.com/ggsocwww.cityboxoffice.com/ggsoc or call 415-392-4400.

For tickets, please visit: http://www.cityboxoffice.com/ggsoc, www.cityboxoffice.com/ggsoc or call 415-392-4400.

Big musical blowout in the middle of Halloween

The girls of the company, The House Entertainment, invites you to really enjoy celebrating the traditional Halloween event. It will be an unforgettable night full of many models and actresses of flesh and bone that will delight the atmosphere organized by the model, actress and businesswoman Luz Cabrera and her group of beauties. You will not find a better place to have fun that day. And if you’re single, you might find your soul mate that night. And if you come with your partner, you also will have the best time. Do not miss it!

On Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m., at the great joy center of La Chalaka Annex, at 428 3rd Street, Oakland. For more information call 415-235-0340.

Great surprises at the Colombian Film Festival

by the El Reportero’s news services

A selection of 55 films from 32 countries make up the luxury exhibition of the third edition of the ‘’Bogota International Film Festival’’ which will be held until next Thursday.

The event shows films such as Western, Happy End, Zombillenium, Good Time and La Cordillera (The Hill), five of the films that were included in the Official Selection of Cannes Film Festival last edition.

There are also feature films and documentaries from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Portugal, Belgium, France, Italy and the United States, among other nations.
Colombia is premiering different films directed by Samir Oliveros, Ana Salas and Laura Martínez Duque.

Among the films you cannot miss, is the Big Big World from Turkey and directed by Reha Erdem. It tells a love story between two orphaned teenagers who are seeking for a better world.

We can also mention My Happy Family, from Georgia. The story of a middle-class woman who realizes, in her forties, that she is always at her son, husband and mother´s back and call; and she has ever had the chance of being worried about herself.

The Bogota festival also pays homage to the young Chilean film director Alejandro Fernández, who in the last decade has become one of the most talented filmmakers in Latin America.

Children’s Museum reopens with free admission to fire victims
The Children’s Museum of Sonoma County is offering free admission to the victims of the recent wildfires in Sonoma and Napa Counties.  The Museum sustained minimal damage in the fire and is now open to the public. Parents and Caregivers are encouraged to use the Museum as a resource for kid-friendly and indoor activities during this period.  Free admission for victims of the recent fires has been made possible, in part by a generous donation from PG&E.

Chile courts culture along with another tribute to Violeta Parra

It would be hard to have a better closing than Thanks to life to remember Violeta Parra and celebrate the creation of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage in Chile.

A long evening that began inside the La Moneda Palace, with the promulgation by the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet, of a law that provides new cultural institutions in the southern country.

‘Cultures, arts, and heritage cannot have other than the main status in State policies, a place as important as education, economy, health or justice,’ Bachelet said.

‘Chile mestizo, diverse, sometimes conflictive, melancholic or festive, deserved a public cultural institution to live up to their dreams,’ she said.
In a remarkable symbiosis, first the presentation of the Orquesta Andina, directed by Félix Cárdenas, and the band Bombo Trío, before giving way to the concert of tribute to the 100 years of the birth of Violeta Parra. (by Fausto Triana).

From the balconies of La Moneda Palace and the Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square), the concert, open to the public, brushed the night with the petals of the most emblematic songs of the also Chilean painter, potter, embroiderer, and poet.

Golden opportunity to enjoy a good part of the Clan of the Parra, with Isabel (daughter) and Tita (granddaughter), with other national musicians as Álvaro Henríquez, Gepe and Vasti Michel.

1...204205206...602Page 205 of 602

SELECTIONS

POPULAR TICKETS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Welcome to our Marvin J. Ramirez website! We are an innovative newspaper located in the heart of San Francisco. With a relentless passion for telling powerful stories, we inform our community with truthful news, insightful analysis, and compelling reporting.

Contacto: lreportero@aol.com

FOLLOW US

© Copyright 2023. Agenciadigital.pw. All rights reserved.