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Hay algo que ver en Arc Studio y Galería en SF

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Come see my newest paintings including a series of small ones on paper, 5.5×8.5” to echo the exhibit FourSquared at Arc Studios and Gallery – Studio Soad 101, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco.

On Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016 from 7-10 p.m. studio visits by appointment call or text or email to Soad A. Kader 415-606-9875.

Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Durán to the big screen

Latino Boxing Legend Roberto Duran challenges Donald Trump to get inside the ring with him and “see how strong he is.”

Defending his country and culture for over 50 years, Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran, who is considered a national treasure in Panama, said if he could get one person inside the boxing ring today, it would be Donald Trump. “To see how many Latin people he wants to deport, and see how strong he really is.” Duran further explained that his disrespect to the Latino community has become a cultural war and he would proudly do what he could to defend his people.

Duran was promoting the upcoming film HANDS OF STONE which opens later this month, starring Edgar Ramirez as Duran himself, Usher as his infamous rival Sugar Ray Leonard, and Robert De Niro as legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.

Dance Brigade Auditions, be a part of history!

Dance Brigade is seeking female and male professional dancers with strong technique in ballet and modern (partnering experience +) for Dance Brigade’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on January 13 and 14, 2017. At 3316 24th Street and Mission.

Paid rehearsals and performances. Rehearsals begin Sept. 19, 2016, Mondays 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.  At 3316 24th Street and Mission Streets, SF.

Please bring resume and photo. For more info call 415 826-4401 or email dancebrigade1984@gmail.com

Bay Area Discovery Museum Hosts Birthday Bash

Everyone is invited to celebrate the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s 25-year legacy at Birthday Bash. Admission to the museum is free on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 5 – 7 p.m. During this time, Miss Kitty will do a “Happy Birthday” sing-a-long, followed by free cupcakes and ice cream.
This two-day birthday festival takes place on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 21 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. On Aug. 20, admission to the museum is free from 5 – 7 p.m.

At Fort Baker, located in Sausalito at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Bay Area Discovery Museum is located at 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito, California, 94965.

Film Comandante by Oliver Stone to be shown in Bolivia

by the El Reportero’s news services

The documentary film ‘’Comandante’’ by US film director Oliver Stone will be screened today in La Paz as part of the celebrations for the 90th birthday of leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.

The screening of a film series entitled Fidel, Hombre de Principios (Fidel, a man of principles) has started since August 10, which is organized by the committee ‘90 años de Fidel’.

The tributes began with the world premiere of the documentary film Gabo y Fidel, una amistad entrañable (Gabo and Fidel, a close friendship), by Colombian Lisandro Duque, which reflects the fraternal relationship between the Cuban revolutionary leader and Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez.

The film series included the screening of Momentos con Fidel (Moments with Fidel) by Rebeca Chavez and ‘Fidel, la historia no contada (Fidel, the untold story) by Estela Bravo.

Singer Chino will attend the March Recall For Referendum

This Monday the Jesús Miranda singer, better known as “Chinese”, the duo Chino y Nacho, informed all Venezuelans will participate in a large opposition march which will be held on Sept. 1 in Caracas.

Fernando Carrillo next James Bond? Latino among actors considered to play iconic agent

Latin Times’ María G. Valdez, reports that Fernando Carrillo is one of the five actors being considered to play James Bond. After the whole #oscarsowhite controversy earlier this year ahead of the Oscars Ceremony, where all the actors nominated where Caucasian, Hollywood has taken it upon themselves to open the doors to inclusion in the industry, with the Academy driving towards diversity now more than ever.

As a result, Valdez reports, many artists from different backgrounds who work in the industry were invited to join The Academy, which is expected to help diversify selections when the time comes to choose the nominees for the future Oscars. Inviting Latino and African Americans into the academy not only will help with the votes, but also will give us a voice in Hollywood, hopefully starting a new era in the movie industry.

Ford Signature Series: Lila Downs and Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company

It was a memorable pair of weekend performances by internationally acclaimed singer Lila Downs at the recently renovated John Anson Ford Theatre in Hollywood. For two nights in August, the inimitable singer performed together with the Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company at the intimate outdoor amphitheater.

Downs says the new stage and other improvements at the venue should make it ideal for her current show, which features extraordinary performances by the dancers in the Grandeza Mexicana troupe. “We’ve been using more dance and more theatricality in our shows recently and the renovated Ford seems ideal for us,” she says. Downs spoke to Latin Heat by phone from her home in Oaxaca in central Mexico as the prepared to head to Los Angeles for the mid-August performances. (It was edited for timing). (By Luis Torres, Latin Heat).

How Putin hoodwinked the political right

by Mike González

It’s easy to see why Vladimir Putin has emerged as the lodestar of certain elements of the political right across the West. Russia’s president poses as the champion of nationalism vs. rampant transnationalism, of Christianity vs. secularism, and of European identity in general.

These are battles that set conservatives’ teeth on edge. The political left in the West has for decades been relentless in its support for global governance, for limiting Christianity’s moral imprint on policymaking, and for stigmatizing the West in general.

But conservatives can certainly find a better champion for these causes than the former KGB agent who publicly pines for the supranational Soviet Union, presides over a society replete with social ills, and does not miss an opportunity to promote Russia not as a Western power but as an Asian one.

It is an astonishing trifecta that Putin has worked very hard to accomplish.

On transnationalism, for example, Putin has posed as an enthusiastic supporter of the United Kingdom leaving that most dysfunctional of supranational organizations, the European Union. “No one likes to feed and subsidize weaker countries and be a caretaker all the time,” Interfax quoted Putin as saying.

On Christianity, when Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church pleaded with Putin to become the defender of the Christian faith around the world, Putin reassured him that “you needn’t have any doubt that that’s the way it will be,” according to Russia’s Interfax.

With religion, Putin is relying on more than his own propaganda. Since the 1500s, Russia has put forward the vague notion that it is the “Third Rome”—the rightful successor to Rome and Byzantium as the center of Christianity. The claim was supposedly first made by the monk Filofei of the Pskov-Eliazarov monastery in two epistles which, unsurprisingly for Russia, have gone missing.

Fast forward five centuries, and Putin’s vow to Hilarion was enthusiastically endorsed by Washington evangelical outlet Christian Post, which explained that “Putin has long been a supporter of Christianity and Christian values within Russia.”

When visiting Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban this year, Putin praised his anti-immigrant positions by stating that what Orban was doing was “to defend European identity.” That, he said according to a translation by RT, “is likable to us.”

Small wonder perhaps that Europe’s right-wing leaders are smitten with Putin, seeing in him the leader who will defend Europe from the spiritual decadence they accuse the United States of spreading. The leader of France’s anti-immigrant National Front, Marine Le Pen, recently said of Putin that “we are defending common values … the Christian heritage of European civilization.”

Even Putin’s main protégé in the Mideast, the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, says piously that “Vladimir Putin is the sole defender of Christian civilization one can rely on.”

At home, Putin uses this international support to show his conservative bona fides. “We know that there are more and more people in the world who support our position on defending traditional values that have made up the spiritual and moral foundation of civilization in every nation for thousands of years: the values of traditional families, real human life, including religious life, not just material existence but also spirituality,” he told the federal assembly in 2013. “Of course, this is a conservative position.”

When it suits him.

As the Tory policy adviser Peter Franklin puts it, “If Putin wants to be seen as a defender of ‘traditional values’ and ‘spirituality,’ then why the diplomatic coziness with the likes of China, Cuba, and North Korea? There’s nothing spiritual about a communist dictatorship.” Or the butcher Assad, for that matter.

“The whole thing is a joke,” said David Kramer, a Russian expert who served as former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. “The only thing that matters to Putin is staying in power.”

Putin in fact seems more of the school of Kremlin leaders who feel more the gravitational pull of the other half of Russia’s identity—the Asian part, like Joe Stalin telling a Japanese diplomat once, “Russia is an Asiatic country, and I am myself an Asiatic.”

Thus Putin has pursued a “Eurasian Union” that brings together European former Soviet republics such as Belarus and Armenia with non-European ones such as Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. It’s been envisioned as a customs union, but Putin has more grandiose plans. “We suggest a powerful supranational association capable of becoming one of the poles in the modern world,” he wrote in 2011.

The union has foundered, but that has only made Putin reach further east. Last month he actually proposed to Beijing to expand the Eurasian Union by including China, India, Iran, and Pakistan.

Even the Putin-controlled RBTH observed five years ago that “he seems more comfortable at Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS meetings than he is at the G8. ‘The West treats us like we just came down from the trees,’ Putin once remarked.”

At home, Putin presides over a nation that is hardly puritanical. Russia has the world’s highest divorce rate, the highest rate of injecting drug users, and one of the highest rates of alcoholism in Europe, while abortions last year reached almost a million. Unsurprisingly, Russia population has declined under Putin.

Observers point out that the support Putin receives from some quarters may have less to do with policy than with the fact he finances many of these parties. In France, Le Pen’s Front National has received at least 40 million euros from Russian-controlled banks. According to a paper, far-right parties from Hungary to Bulgaria to Austria all receive funding from Putin-controlled entities.

Equally, it comes in handy that Russian disinformation campaigns have succeeded in spreading Moscow’s propaganda throughout the West, through such outlets as RT.

The Agenda 2030: In 2015 the UN launched a blueprint for a New World Order

Last week El Reportero published the article Agenda 21. This week we are publishing the Agenda 2030 which is about the launching of the UN blueprint for a New World Order with the help of the Pope. This article, authored by Michael Snyder, brings you information of what is being done to humanity in the name of good, but actually it is for the enslavement of all of us and our future generations. And because the mainstream media is owned by those same actors, you won’t read about this in their papers or TV networks. THIS IS PART ONE OF 2

The 2030 Agenda: In 2015 the UN launched a blueprint for a New World Order with the help of the Pope

by Michael Snyder

Did you know that the UN launched a “new universal agenda” for humanity in September 2015? That phrase does not come from me – it is actually right in the very first paragraph of the official document that every UN member nation will formally approve at a conference later this month. The entire planet is going to be committing to work toward 17 sustainable development goals and 169 specific sustainable development targets, and yet there has been almost a total media blackout about this here in the United States. 

The UN document promises that this plan will “transform our world for the better by 2030“, and yet very few Americans have even heard of the 2030 Agenda at this point. Instead, most of us seem to be totally obsessed with the latest celebrity gossip or the latest nasty insults that our puppet politicians have been throwing around at one another. It absolutely amazes me that more people cannot understand that Agenda 2030 is a really, really big deal. When will people finally start waking up?

As I discussed in a previous article, the 2030 Agenda is taking the principles and goals laid out in Agenda 21 to an entirely new level. Agenda 21 was primarily focused on the environment, but the 2030 Agenda addresses virtually all areas of human activity. It truly is a blueprint for global governance.

And later this month, nearly every nation on the entire planet is going to be signing up for this new agenda. The general population of the planet is going to be told that this agenda is “voluntary” and that it is all about “ending poverty” and “fighting climate change”, but that is not the full story. Unfortunately, there is so much positive spin around this plan that most people will not be able to see through it. Just check out an excerpt from a piece that was published on the official UN website yesterday…

The United Nations General Assembly today approved a resolution sending the draft ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ to Member States for adoption later this month, bringing the international community “to the cusp of decisions that can help realize the… dream of a world of peace and dignity for all,” according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Today is the start of a new era. We have traveled a long way together to reach this turning point,”declared Mr. Ban, recounting the path the international community has taken over the 15 years since the adoption of the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) towards crafting a set of new, post-2015 sustainability goals that will aim to ensure the long-term well-being of our planet and its people.

With world leaders expected to adopt the text at a 25-27 September summit in New York, the UN chief said Agenda 2030 aims high, seeking to put people at the centre of development; foster human well-being, prosperity, peace and justice on a healthy planet and pursue respect for the human rights of all people and gender equality.

Who doesn’t “dream of a world of peace and dignity for all”?

They make it all sound so wonderful and non-threatening.

They make it sound like we are about to enter a global utopia in which poverty and inequality will finally be eradicated. This is from the preamble of the official 2030 Agenda document…

This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom. We recognise that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan.

We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.

As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda.

If it is a “universal agenda”, then where does that leave those that do not want to be part of it?

How will they assure that “no one will be left behind” if there are some nations or groups that are not willing to go along with their plan?

The heart of the 2030 Agenda is a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals…

Goal 1 End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10 Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
Goal 14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17 Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

Once again, many of those goals sound quite good. IT WILL CONTINUE NEXT WEEK.

Reusable plastic water bottles harbor more germs than your toilet

by Julie Wilson

Recycling your plastic water bottle may seem like a green thing to do, but the truth is it’s better to simply avoid plastic altogether, and for a number of reasons. Drinking from a reusable water bottle places you at risk for contracting an array of dangerous germs like E.coli and salmonella.

Laboratory testing of 12 refillable water bottles used by athletes over the course of a week, identified a buildup of bacteria dangerous to humans. On average, the plastic bottles contained more than 300,000 colony-forming units of bacteria, according to the UK’s Daily Mail.

The testing, completed by TreadmillReviews.net, found a wide array of bacteria linked to skin infections, pneumonia and blood poisoning. The bottles were so dirty that researchers concluded that drinking from them was no more sanitary than licking your pet’s food bowl.

The amount of bacteria found on the reusable water bottles is comparable to the germs you would find on a toilet seat, they added. It turns out that not all plastic bottles are the same in terms of filth, either.

Reusing your water bottle is like eating out of your pet’s dirty food bowl

The researchers tested water bottles with a variety of lid types, including slide-top, squeeze-top, screw-top and straw-top. Water bottles with a slide-top harbored the most germs by far, measuring at 933,340 colony-forming units per square centimeter (CFU).

The slide-top bottle contained 33 percent gram negative rods, harmful bacteria that are often resistant to antibiotics, and 17 percent gram positive cocci, which may cause strep and staph infections.

The second dirtiest lid is the squeeze-top, with bacteria levels measuring 161,971 CFU. Less than one percent of the bacteria found on this lid type include gram positive cocci.

The screw-top lid, one of the most common types, came in at third dirtiest, containing 159,060 CFU. Ninety-eight percent of bacteria on this lid type consisted of harmful, antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Your water bottle’s lid has impact on the amount of bacteria harbored

Finally, the straw-top, probably one of the least used water bottle types, contained fewer germs than the others with an estimated 25 CFU.
The straw-top is believed to have the least amount of germs because water drips to the bottom of the straw instead of sticking around at the top attracting bacteria that thrive on moisture.

“Based on our test results, we suggest opting for a straw-top bottle, both for the low prevalence of bacteria and the lack of harmful germs,” said the fitness website, adding that stainless steel water bottles are the cleanest and therefore safest choice for users.

Stainless steel water bottles or even glass bottles are optimal for a number of reasons. Not only do they harbor fewer germs, but they don’t leach toxic chemicals into your drink.

Plastic water bottles, especially when exposed to heat or sunlight, are known to leach endocrine mimicking chemicals such as BPA (bisphenol-A) and phthalates.

The dangers of chemicals leached from plastic

Endocrine mimickers or hormone disruptors interfere with the body’s natural sex hormones, leading to all sorts of health problems including infertility, early puberty, cancer, thyroid problems and more. Even low dose exposure to these chemicals can significantly affect your health.
“BPA has been linked to everything from breast and others cancers to reproductive problems, obesity, early puberty and heart disease, and according to government tests, 93 percent of Americans have BPA in their bodies!” says the Environmental Working Group.

New research shows that BPA alternatives such as BPS aren’t any safer either; in fact, in some cases they are considered more dangerous to humans. All bisphenols are capable of mimicking the body’s sex hormones, says Robin Mesnage, research associate with King’s College London.

Three bisphenols including BPAF, BPB and BPZ are “more estrogenic than BPA.” (Natural News).

Farmworker overtime bill heads for another vote

by David Bacon

The fight for farm worker overtime is going down to the wire in California’s current legislative session, which will adjourn at the end of August. And as Assembly Bill 1066, which would require it, moves through the legislature, Jewish and African American organizations have made a commitment to win the votes it needs for passage.

A bill that would have phased in overtime pay for farm workers, Assembly Bill 2757, passed the State Senate earlier this year, but then failed to pass the State Assembly in a vote on June 2. Since then a new bill, AB 1066, has progressed through the Senate’s Appropriations Committee, and may be sent to the Assembly within days.

The bill would then need to pick up the four votes by which AB 2757 failed in June. They will have to come from either the eight Democrats who voted “no” or the six who failed to vote at all.

Both Jewish and African American organizations are planning to win those votes. They point to the racism behind the exclusion of farm workers from New Deal-era laws that guaranteed most other workers overtime pay after eight hours of work in a day.

As Rabbi Aryeh Cohen notes in the Jewish Journal, “When FDR began to amass the coalition which would pass the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, Southern Senators, Senators from the Jim Crow, slave-owning former Confederacy, refused to sign on unless worker protections for domestic workers, and agricultural workers were not included. It was no coincidence that these workers were almost all African-Americans. The country, and our state, has begun to address these injustices. There is now a domestic workers’ bill of rights, and agricultural workers are now paid minimum wage (which will gradually increase to $15 an hour). The final hill is overtime wages. This is the last vestige of this racist holdover.”

The exclusion of African Americans was highlighted in a letter from Alice A. Huffman, president of the California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). “The enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 excluded farm workers from wage protections and maximum hour standards,” she said. “During the time this law was put into place, there was a large population of minorities who were indeed farm workers, and for the last 78 years California has failed to bring equality in our workforce. This can no longer be justified or tolerated.”

AB 1066 phases in overtime pay, so that farm workers will receive time-and-a-half after 9.5 hours in a day in 2019, 9 hours in 2020, 8.5 hours in 2021, and 8 hours in 2022 (when they will also receive double time after 12 hours).

Growers have argued in AgAlert, the weekly newspaper of the California Farm Bureau Federation, that “the higher cost of providing overtime pay-particularly when coupled with scheduled increases in the state minimum wage-would force farmers to reduce employee work hours to control labor costs.”

The phase-in sections of the bill are intended to allow growers to make the transition gradually. And since they have complained that they also have to raise wages to comply with new minimum wage requirements, AB 1066 allows the Governor to suspend the overtime provision. But he can only do so by also suspending the popular minimum wage increases at the same time. That might prove politically very difficult for the current Democratic governor.

Faith groups have already begun meeting with some of the 14 Democratic holdouts. Rabbi Jonathan Klein of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice went with two other Southern California rabbis from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism to meet with the staff of Assemblymember Richard Bloom. Bloom, whose district includes Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, did not cast a vote on AB 2757, which was the equivalent of voting no.

“What we got was uncertainty,” Klein reports. “They said there were no studies about it and that it might lead to a drop in the economy. But Bloom voted for increasing the minimum wage, which is a much bigger economic challenge, so what sense does that make? The growers have a lot of money, and I think legislators are afraid of it.”

A bill guaranteeing overtime for domestic workers, who were also excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act, is proceeding through the legislature at the same time as AB 1066. The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which enacted the overtime requirement, was passed three years ago. But it expires this year if the legislature does not act to renew it. Assembly Bill 1015 would restore the requirement and make it permanent.

In a recent march in Sacramento, domestic workers, their children and supporters drew a parallel between their situation and that of farm workers. They lobbied Democratic legislators, who almost universally spoke out strongly in favor of requiring overtime for domestic workers. Some Democrats, however, were silent about farm workers, and had voted against farm worker overtime in June.

“Just like domestic workers, farm workers also deserve overtime pay,” declares Lillian Galedo, director of Filipino Advocates for Justice, a member of the California Domestic Workers Coalition.

Bloom did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Mark Levine and Bill Quirk, Democratic assembly members from the Bay Area who voted no on AB 2757 in June. Assemblymember Jim Cooper’s staff said he would not comment on AB 1066 or the NAACP letter, which notes that the bill “is a commonsense solution that will make farm workers eligible for overtime pay like every other worker.” Cooper, an African American legislator whose district stretches from Sacramento to Lodi, was a “no” vote in June.

The 14 Democratic holdouts “are going to have a chance to redeem themselves on AB 1066,” says Giev Kashkooli, legislative director for the United Farm Workers. If  the bill passes it will then be up to Governor Jerry Brown to sign it.

Brown has made his support of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, the bill that guaranteed union rights for farm workers, a cornerstone of his political career since he signed it in 1975 during his first term as governor. While pressure from California growers to draw the line at overtime pay is intense, the measure is as popular as the original ALRA, even among some Democrats supportive of agricultural interests.

Senator Diane Feinstein, who has sponsored federal legislation for growers throughout her career, signed a letter advocating overtime for farm workers. Prior to last June’s vote, she announced, “I support Assemblywoman [Lorena] Gonzalez’s legislation [AB 2757] because it will allow for the fair treatment of those who make up the backbone of our U.S. agricultural industry.”

“I hope the Governor calls her,” Kashkooli said.

Secret deal among AGs to prosecute climate change ‘deniers’ challenged in court

by Kevin Mooney

By signing a “secrecy pact” with fellow Democrat attorneys general preparing to prosecute climate change skeptics, Rhode Island’s top law enforcement officer jeopardized free speech rights and government transparency laws, according to two legal organizations that have taken him to court.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s tactics in supporting President Barack Obama’s climate change policy violate state law guaranteeing access to public records, the two groups, Energy and Environment Legal Institute and Free Market Environmental Law Clinic, claim in their lawsuit.

If Kilmartin and the other attorneys general prevail in the deal to keep select details secret, the ordinary citizen will be the loser, Chris Horner, a leading critic of climate change orthodoxy, said.

By signing a “secrecy pact” with fellow Democrat attorneys general preparing to prosecute climate change skeptics, Rhode Island’s top law enforcement officer jeopardized free speech rights and government transparency laws, according to two legal organizations that have taken him to court.

“They sought to write themselves out from open records laws their legislatures saw fit to write them into,” @ceidotorg’s Chris Horner says.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin’s tactics in supporting President Barack Obama’s climate change policy violate state law guaranteeing access to public records, the two groups, Energy and Environment Legal Institute and Free Market Environmental Law Clinic, claim in their lawsuit.

If Kilmartin and the other attorneys general prevail in the deal to keep select details secret, the ordinary citizen will be the loser, Chris Horner, a leading critic of climate change orthodoxy, said.

The Daily Signal is the multimedia news organization of The Heritage Foundation. We’ll respect your inbox and keep you informed.

“It will mean that they can create privilege for what are otherwise public records, even when shared with ideological activists and donors, so long as everyone who wants to keep their scheming secret agrees in advance,” Horner told The Daily Signal.

The lawsuit, filed July 27 in Rhode Island Superior Court, calls for Kilmartin, a Democrat, to release records that were not previously disclosed in response to the legal organizations’ request in April.

At issue is a “Climate Change Conference Common Interest Agreement” that, email records show, Kilmartin’s representative signed along with representatives of 16 other state attorneys general.

In the past few months, leading political figures and academics who support Obama’s policy on climate change have called for prosecuting those who disagree under the federal law known as RICO—the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Congress passed RICO in 1978 for the purpose of prosecuting mob crimes, but now climate change activists want to use it against organizations, corporations, and individual scientists who are convinced that human activity is responsible for catastrophic climate change.

On March 29, like-minded state attorneys general calling themselves AGs United for Clean Power, held a press conference in New York with former Vice President Al Gore to announce formation of “an unprecedented coalition of top law enforcement” to “defend climate change progress made under President Obama.”

Kilmartin did not attend the press conference but released a supportive statement. On April 13, Energy and Environment Legal Institute and Free Market Environmental Law Clinic requested copies of correspondence in recent months “to or from” Gregory Schultz, a special assistant in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office who signed the common interest agreement with other state officials.

Schultz is a point of interest in the two groups’ suit because he was Kilmartin’s representative in preparations leading up to the press conference with Gore, according to the legal institute, which described the event as a “publicity stunt.”

‘They Didn’t Have to Turn It Over’

The groups hope to determine when the Obama administration’s allies first organized the “RICO scheme” against opponents of the president’s climate change agenda.

AGs United for Clean Power is led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and includes 25 states, cities, and counties. All but one of the 17 state attorneys general in the coalition are Democrats. Claude E. Walker, of the Virgin Islands, is an independent.

One of the email records released by Kilmartin’s office shows that Schultz agreed to sign off on a draft version of the “common interest agreement” in April. In it, the state attorneys general say they “share common legal interests” with regard to their climate change investigations and agree not to disclose certain information—prompting critics to call it a “secrecy pact.”

In their request for documents, the legal groups used the key phrases “RICO,” “climate denial,” “climate denier,” “climate risk,” and “Gore.”

The nonprofit organizations also asked for copies of correspondence between Schultz “and any employee(s) of the New York Attorney General’s Office,” dated from Feb. 15 through April 13.

“The [Rhode Island] Attorney General’s Office turned over some records, but in other cases claimed exemptions they shouldn’t have taken,” Chaim Mandelbaum, a Virginia lawyer representing the legal groups, told The Daily Signal. “What was particularly egregious is that they decided not to turn over an attachment to an email, and this email showed that [Rhode Island] and other states had decided to sign this common interest agreement.”

Mandelbaum continued:
This is the kind of agreement that’s signed among different parties when they are all part of the same litigation.
But there is no litigation. None of the states the attorneys general represent are actually suing anyone here, but they still have this agreement. What’s interesting in Rhode Island is that they didn’t say this [email] attachment was exempt pursuant to the law. They just said we didn’t ask for it properly and therefore they didn’t have to turn it over.

But Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act is written “so clearly” that the two legal groups had no choice but to take action against the attorney general’s “egregious stonewalling,” Mandelbaum said.

Otherwise, the lawyer said, Kilmartin’s office would be “permitted to undercut the very nature of opens records laws.”

‘Get Out of FOIA Free Card’

Horner, a lawyer and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, told The Daily Signal that he sees Rhode Island fitting into a larger effort.

Horner, who is familiar with the suit against Kilmartin’s office, said “ideologically aligned” attorneys general and “certain outside activists” are trying to exempt themselves from laws, such as the federal Freedom of Information Act, that foster openness and transparency in government.

“They have sought to write themselves out from open records laws their legislatures saw fit to write them into, giving themselves a ‘Get Out of FOIA Free’ card for discussions of certain subject matters–not a suit or any discrete or even formal project, but instead broad, sweeping topics, so this [common interest agreement] is likely not worth the paper it is written on,” Horner said in an email to The Daily Signal. (Due to lack of space we were not able to run the complete story. To read the whole article, please visit: http://dailysignal.com/2016/08/08/secret-deal-among-ags-to-prosecute-climate-change-deniers-challenged-in-court/).

Former president of Mexico’s new MORENA Party was murdered

by the El Reportero’s wire services

The remains of the prominent political leader, engineer Humberto Ortiz-García, former President of the MORENA party Jalisco, who had been reported missing for several days, was found inside a car with bullet holes in the chest and the skull. The finding took place in the State of Colima, municipality of Manzanillo, Mexico.

A native of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Ortiz-García had a long career as political activist of the left, in which he participated since the mid 80s, when he occupied a candidacy for the Mexican Workers Party, founded by the social fighter Heberto Castillo.

Engineer in agronomy, he worked in areas of communication where he held the position of vice director of Radio Universidad de Guadalajara, the head of production for channel 7 and series producer of political parties in the then Federal Electoral Institute.

In 2006 participated in Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential campaign and, after the election of 2012, apart from collaborating in the foundation of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA, in Spanish).

Said former DF Mayor and presidential candidate, Andrés López Obrador on his Twitter account: “In 15 days 2 MORENA leaders killed, Armando Morales of Mexico City and Humberto Ortíz de Jalisco.”

“A great man, who is heard to speak for generations”, said Gabriel Quintero on his Facebook account.

Other comments on Facebook:

Luis Fernando Torres: “We are indignant, but we will continue, we will carry the ideals of Humberto as a flag, we will not give up until victory.”

Javier Delgadillo: God has you in His glory, He knows very well the intentions of the heart and knows your struggle for the people in most need of justice.

Pedro Mariscal: “Of high-quality human, inclusive, tolerant and supportive. “Regret deeply his violent death and demand, as many of his friends and brethren do, the solving of this crime that rarefies even more the climate of insecurity that is has taken over the State of Colima and great part of our country.”

Panchito Quintero: “A thorough, wise man anything who knew any subject matter you talked with him. Thank you brother-in-law for your wise advice and for being part of my family, a great big hug all the way to heaven.”

He is survived by his mother, his wife Berta Yolanda Quintero and two sons, Carlos Humberto y Patricio and three sisters.

Teachers and Parents of the 43 Teaching Students March in Mexico City

Members of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE, in Spanish) and parents of the 43 missing teaching students of Ayotzinapa, marched on Aug. 16 to the Ministry of the Interior in Mexico City.

The protest took place prior to the meeting that has been scheduled by the CNTE with officials of that body.

Resulting from the agreements adopted last Sunday in the Representative National Assembly, CNTE members demonstrated outside the premises of the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP, in Spanish), to demand the repeal of the educational reform.
Several speakers stated they would not allow the start of lessons at the beginning of the next school term (scheduled for Monday 22nd) if the resumption of dialogue with the Interior Ministry and the presentation of concrete proposals and attention to their demands were not taken seriously.

Meanwhile, Felipe de la Cruz, a spokesman for the parents of the missing 43 teaching students reiterated their demand that the soldiers involved in their disappearance be questioned and investigated.

Roberto Manos de Piedra” to the big screen

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Latino Boxing Legend Roberto Duran challenges Donald Trump to get inside the ring with him and “see how strong he is.”

Defending his country and culture for over 50 years, Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran, who is considered a national treasure in Panama, said if he could get one person inside the boxing ring today, it would be Donald Trump. “To see how many Latin people he wants to deport, and see how strong he really is.” Duran further explained that his disrespect to the Latino community has become a cultural war and he would proudly do what he could to defend his people.

Duran was promoting the upcoming film HANDS OF STONE which opens later this month, starring Edgar Ramirez as Duran himself, Usher as his infamous rival Sugar Ray Leonard, and Robert De Niro as legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.

Legends of Afro-Cuban percussion

Orestes Vilató, Jesús Díaz, Carlos Caro & John Santos with The John Santos Sextet: Melecio Magdaluyo, sax; John Calloway, flute, Saúl Sierra, bass, Marco Díaz, piano, David Flores, drums.

At Yoshi’s world renowned Jazz spot, 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland.

In Oakland’s historic Jack London Square, Friday, Aug. 12. Two shows: 8 and 10 p.m.  For more info visit: www.yoshis.com or call at (510) 238-9200.

Richard Bean & Sapo plus Tortilla Soup

Richard Bean & Sapo with Tortilla Soup reunite for another powerhouse evening of infectious tunes that will keep you on the dance floor throughout the show.

All you Central Valley folks are in for a treat on August 13th in Fresno for two Latin Rock greats. Pictured right is Tortilla Soup, inviting you to come out and have a good time.

On Saturday, Aug. 13, at Fulton 55, 875 Divisadero St., Fresno, California.

Doors 7:30 p.m. / Show 8:30 p.m. Tickets $20 Adv./$25 Door, 21 and over.

For more info at www.fulton55.com

Tickets below with no service charge! or call LRI office at 415 285 7719 or write rosie.eros@latinrockinc.com

Dance Brigade Auditions, be a part of history!

Dance Brigade is seeking female and male professional dancers with strong technique in ballet and modern (partnering experience +) for Dance Brigade’s 40th Anniversary Celebration at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on January 13 and 14, 2017. 
3316 24th Street and Mission.

Paid rehearsals and performances. Rehearsals begin Sept. 19, 2016, Mondays 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.  At 3316 24th Street and Mission Streets, SF.

Please bring resume and photo. For more info call 415 826-4401 or email dancebrigade1984@gmail.com

Farmworkers Reality Tour

Participants will develop a better understanding of the working conditions of Mexican farmworkers in Northern California. At the Buena Vista Migrant Labor Camp, the workers will show their living quarters and will give testimonies of their working conditions and the challenges their children encounter in receiving education.

On July 31 we will have the opportunity to connect with farmworker families, hear their stories, and learn from Dr. Ann López, author of the Farmworker’s Journey. 
Meet at Human Agenda office: 1376 N. 4th St. San Jose, California. We will carpool to Watsonville. Attire: Jeans, T-shirts, comfortable closed tow shoes, etc. 

If you have any questions, you may contact Cesar Juarez at (408) 421-2895, or by email at crj586@gmail.com. 

Please mail your $40 donation per person to 1376 N. 4th Street, Suite 101, San Jose, CA 95112. Make check payable to “Human Agenda.” Proceeds go to the farm worker families hosting the tour. Limited to the first 25 people who register and pay by July 27th (includes lunch). Children with parents welcome.

Mexico: one of the 10 nations with the greatest linguistic diversity

by the El Reportero’s news services

Mexico is among the 10 countries with the greatest linguistic diversity, it was known here today on the occasion of the International Day of the World’’s Indigenous Peoples.

In the country live 16 million indigenous peoples and about seven million speak their mother tongue.
However, these native languages are endangered, assured Julio César Villanueva, coordinator of Náhuatl teaching at the Foreign Language Center, Zacatenco Unit, in the National Polytechnic Institute.

It is essential to identify the problems of each region to avoid the loss of this cultural richness of Mexico, he said.
The number of speakers of those languages continues to decrease, which endangers the existence of the dialects used in the country, he added.

It was also argued that the causes of the phenomenon are migration due to lack of jobs, the social disapproval, the adoption of Spanish, the mixture of languages and the opposition of some ethnic groups to adapt to the linguistic changes.

Finally, the expert reported that the Mexican dialects endangered are: kiliwa (Baja California); chocolteco (Oaxaca); náhuatl (Veracruz), diapaneca (Tabasco) and Mocho (Chiapas).

Guillermo de la Peña, from the Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology, warned that this group still suffers discrimination because of their phenotype, dress, language or customs.

He explained that currently 80 percent of the indigenous population lives in poverty and 30 percent in the category of extreme poverty.

Oaxaca is the Mexican state with the highest number of speakers of indigenous languages, while the three most used in the country are náhuatl (23.4 percent), maya (11.6) and tseltal (7.5).

Mexico has 68 native languages and 364 variants, out of which 64 are at high risk of disappearing, according to the National Institute of Indigenous Languages.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established August 9th as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.s Peoples.

Cuban Habano man going for Another Guinness Record for largest cigar

Guinness book record breaker and popular ‘’Hombre Habano’’, Jose Castelar, also known as ‘’Cueto’’, will today try to make another long cigar, longer than the 80.81 meters he achieved in 2011.

To accomplish his feat, the cigar roller will need to put in at least 300 hours of work collecting tobacco leaves at the most famous tobacco plantation in the world, in Vueltabajo, in the western province of Pinar del Rio.

A team of a dozen employees, including doctors and physical therapists, will support Cueto in this feat. They have accompanied him since early April 2001 when he made his first 11.04 meters long cigar.

The long, rolled cigar will be made at the oldest colonial fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, currently a military museum park, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Cueto works at La Triada Habano House in Havana, and his other official Guinness certificates were recorded in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

Castelar was born 72 years ago in Rancho Veloz in the central province of Villa Clara and has rolled cigars in the united Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Venezuela, Holland and China among other countries.

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