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Japanese Taiko percussion for beginners workshop

Japanese Taiko percussion for beginners workshop

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Learn the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming with Sensei Bruce ‘Mui’ Ghent. The Introductory taiko class will cover basic fundamental skills and history which will prepare students to advance to the next level of classes.
Beginners ages 12-adult, with little or no music experience are welcome. Taiko drumming is a rigorous physical activity. Bring water and wear clothes to exercise. Class is taught with traditional martial arts etiquette and discipline as outlined in the student handbook supplied.

For more information, contact Bruce “Mui” Ghent at bruceghent@gmail.com or visit www.maikazedaiko.com.
March 6-April 10: Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., at the Dance Mission Theater. To register call 415-826-4441 or email dancemissiontheater@yahoo.com.

Chilean Pinochet victim Carmen Gloria Quintana to visit the Bay Area
Carmen Gloria Quintana will attend the encore performance of the cantata La Vida Vence a la Muerte / Life Triumphs Over Death, on Saturday, March 19, at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center. She will be in the Bay Area, March 18, 19, and 20.
On the morning of July 2, 1986, during a two-day national strike and protests against the military rule of General Augusto Pinochet, two teenagers, Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, 19 year-old, and Carmen Gloria Quintana, 18, were cornered by a military patrol brutally beaten, doused with petrol and set them on fire. The patrol then dumped them in a ditch alongside a deserted road on the outskirts of Chile’s capital city, Santiago.

Rodrigo, a photographer who lived in Washington, DC, with his exiled Chilean family, died four days later from his injuries. Carmen Gloria, severely disfigured by burns on over 62 percent of her body, survived to became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Chile. The case was one of the most notorious human rights abuses committed by the Pinochet regime following the U.S.-backed military coup of September 11, 1973.

On July of 2015 – 29 years after this event – the case was revisited when a Chilean judge ordered the arrest of the seven officers involved. One of the perpetrators, Fernando Guzmán, told Judge Mario Carroza that Lieutenant Julio Castañer, the patrol’s commanding officer, gave the deadly order.

On March 19, at 8 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, California. For more information contact La Peña Cultural Center lapenachorus.org or call Aaron Lorenz 510-849-2568.

Following rave reviews and a successful sell-out run in New York and San Francisco, 3 Lopez Productions brings a new version of the one woman play:

“What is the Scandal? – The ignored cry of an Immigrant”
Eliana is a Venezuelan actress who arrived to San Francisco after falling in love with a raising politician from San Francisco. She leaves behind her country and career, so when their new son is born her new family becomes her only priority. However cultural differences, language barrier, her fear to lose her son because her immigration status, racial bias and a highly publicize political scandal will break her family until she almost loses it.

Based on a true story, this play have been seen for over 2000 people in NY and San Francisco, and the story has been eye-opening for some and cathartic for others. After 34 performances of this dramatic comedy and plenty of feedback, 3 Lopez Productions took the time to work in the evolution of the play rewriting several scenes in order to explore the effects of criminalization, family bonds and self transformation in a more intimate and personal way.

Performed by Eliana López, directed by Alfonso López and Produced by Ivette Carolina Agudelo. At the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, on March 25, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. For more info call 415- 70-5543, by email: whatistheescandal. To see the trailer: www.elianalopez.net

Germany premiers film about Colonia Dignidad

Germany premiers film about Colonia Dignidad

by the El Reportero’s news services

A new film about the activities of the German sect Colonia Dignidad in southern Chile today revives the debate in Germany on how to deal with this chapter of German history.
In the film of 110 minutes that from today on is shown in German cinemas, the director Florian Gallenberger tells the story of the colony and its leader, Paul Schaefer, played by Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist.
The horror that happened in the Colonia Dignidad is introduced within a fictional story, which recounts a romance between Lena stewardess, played by Emma Watson, and German activist Daniel, played by German-Spanish actor Daniel Bruehl.
Both fall after the coup of September 11, 1973 in the hands of the dictatorship and the German sect.
The film also mentions the role of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),its diplomats and intelligence services, an very important issue also at the political level in Germany.
For several years, victims of Colonia Dignidad fight for redress and compensation in this European nation.
At the same time,several criminals surrounding the Chief of this Sect, came to Germany to avoid criminal prosecution in Chile.
One of them was the doctor of the sect, Hartmut Hopp, who fled Chile in 2011 after receiving a five-year sentence for taking part of the sexual abuse of minors.
Nowadays he lives in the city of Krefeld, protected by German law.
The film’s director, Florian Gallenberger has these stories, and the role of the FRG embassy, that was collaborating with Colonia Dignidad and the Pinochet dictatorship.
The actor Daniel Bruehl also stressed that ‘when I asked around me who knew the Colonia Dignidad, I realized that almost nobody knew what happened’.
I think-he continued-that the work is just the beginning, because many of the perpetrators of the crimes committed in Colonia Dignidad are still alive.

Colombian Film Festival pays tribute to Susan Sarandon
The 56th Cartagena Film Festival (FICCI, in Spanish) pays tribute to the American actress and producer Susan Sarandon.
Lina Rodriguez, general director of the Cartagena Film Festival, will present the award, the Golden India Catalina, to the actress. FICCI bestows this award to Susan Sarandon as a recognition for her impeccable career and also for her social commitment to her current role as Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF.
Sarandon will have two meetings with the public: the first one will take place tonight at the Adolfo Mejia theater, while a retrospective of the films in which she has worked on will be screened.
Also participate on Saturdayon Saturday, prior to the closing ceremony on Sunday, in a tribute by the Training Centre for Spanish Cooperation of the historic center of this city.
Lina Rodriguez said to the national radio that the American actress is an honor guest, and recalled her memorable performance in Thelma and Louise.
Other special guests are the filmmakers Brillante Mendoza (Philippines), Sharunas Bartas (Lithuania), Viktor Kossakovsky (Russia) and Ciro Guerra (Colombia), who have lectured on the seventh art during the Festival.

Trump: why the elite media were completely wrong about his chances

Trump: why the elite media were completely wrong about his chances

by Jon Rappoport

Because they live in a bubble of their own making. That’s why.
And in that bubble, everything about America is manageable. Things can get worse, but then they get better. Money is tight, then it’s loose. Employment figures drop, then they rebound. Wars start, and then they end.

Looking at the country and the population through the wrong end of the telescope, these media creatures feel themselves positioned high above the madding crowd. To them, phrases like “street smart” and “savvy” are the closest they get to anything real.
Occasionally, they remark that people are restless “out there” and looking for a change—as if Obama, with his massive slogans, somehow supplied that need for eight years and solved the whole problem for a while. As if the problem was simply a psychological kink that needed to be worked out.

So naturally, these down-their-nose puffed-up media morons didn’t notice that “things” were actually getting worse, the employment figures were being cooked, month after month, the Globalists with their trade treaties were stealing the whole economy, and had been for decades. Naturally, they didn’t notice that a normal political “correction” wasn’t going to fix America. They didn’t notice that, in a nation where, at minimum, 40 million immigrants already live, people were getting tired of being told they had to be more generous and let the southern border of the US swing open and stay open, or be labeled outright racists. The media puffballs didn’t appear to notice that the political Left was becoming more comfortable with the idea that all private property (except their own) was some sort of crime and ordinary straight-ahead non-crony capitalism was another crime, and earning a living on one’s own was yet another crime, because entrepreneurs and small-business owners “didn’t build that.”

They didn’t notice, in other words, that the Left was nudging political discourse and public opinion and “morality” in the direction of funneling more and more of the population into the arms of the central government, as a permanently dependent class. Or if they did notice, they assented to it, because it was trendy and “humane.” They didn’t notice that huge swaths of America were sick and tired of overwhelming federal authority.

They didn’t notice that the overwhelming majority of gun owners weren’t shooting people, and resented being lumped in with killers, and objected to efforts to squeeze their 2nd Amendment. Nor did the media morons notice that large elements of the population weren’t buying into psychiatric mental disorders or pop psychology as a way of life in a kinder gentler (drugged) society, but instead were determined to live their own lives with forward-looking energy. The media morons failed to notice that the attack of political-correctness creatures was being sloughed off and laughed off by increasing numbers of people who had no intention of censoring themselves.
Therefore, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Donald Trump, whom the media created as a cartoon of final judgment (“You’re fired!”—The Apprentice), would start firing all sorts of people in real life, with success.
But it did come as a surprise.

Because the media puffballs couldn’t imagine that a loose-talking devil-may-care-character would emerge on the scene and speak to the needs and frustrations of so many Americans—and bypass them, the media kings.
It was unthinkable.

Even worse, some Americans who didn’t agree with Trump and didn’t believe he was for real were still liking him, simply because he was cutting across the grain, he was talking back to media and telling them where to get off.
He was violating secrets of the media temple, matter-of-factly saying vaccines could cause autism, and promising to pin the blame for 9/11 on the real killers. He was refusing to go along with the gun-control crowd. He was blowing up the acceptable garble called political discourse. He was talking dismissive smack at his Republican opponents and at Hillary. He was saying the Globalist trade treaties were national sabotage and economic suicide.

He was his own media outlet.
And his ratings were soaring.
After Super Tuesday, he hit the top of the charts.
“But we’re the town criers. We announce the news to the townspeople. We take our orders from the princes and kings and spread their messages. We’re the eyes and ears and mouths of the public. We set the boundaries. We determine priorities and proprieties. We’re the civilized ones. We maintain order. We re-invent language. We decide what can be debated. We choose the representatives of each side. We own the space of The Discussion.”
Not today.

Trump—fake or real—has given the people a clue.
It doesn’t have to be the way it was.
A cowboy can parachute out of the top of his own tower, and as he descends past his financed and re-financed and formerly bankrupt suites—talking, always talking—as he floats past the mafia-controlled concrete of his structure—talking, always talking—he can broadcast a code to the frustrations of millions of unknown people; and they will respond, because the very media that has been hating them all these years is, somehow, wriggling and moaning at the end of the cowboy’s whip.
The media should have known this was coming, but the media never knows. Pale and dead, it imitates a world of its own making.
Exposed, that’s all it has.
Jon Rappoport is the author of three explosive collections, the Matrix Revealed, Exit From The Matrix, and Power Outside The Matrix.

5 warning signs of magnesium deficiency

5 warning signs of magnesium deficiency

by Christine S

Many Americans do not understand the importance of magnesium in the same way they understand calcium or iron, for instance. Nonetheless, adequate magnesium levels are crucial for brain, cardiac and muscle function and it is needed, along with silica and Vitamins D and K to promote bone health. Magnesium deficiency is more common than many people suspect, and below are 5 warning signs that could indicate a deficiency in this important mineral.

1. Ringing in the Ears or Hearing Loss
Tinnitus, or a constant, high-pitched ringing in the ears is common symtom of magnesium deficiency, as is hearing loss. There are have been a number of studies done on the relationship between ear health and sufficient magnesium levels. In one Chinese study, it was found that magnesium in sufficient quantities will prevent the formation of the free radicals that can lead to hearing loss. In a study at the Mayo Clinic, it was found that treating patients who had experienced hearing loss with magnesium supplementation often helped restore that loss within three months.

2.Muscle Cramps or Tremors
Magnesium is crucial to optimim muscle function. Without it, the body would be in a state of convulsion, because it is this mineral that allows the muscles to relax. That is why, for instance, a magnesium oxide drip is used to ease women in labor and why magnesium is found in so many sleep-inducing supplements. A lack of sufficient magnesium, therefore, can lead to facial tics, muscle cramping and twitching or cramping of the feet while trying to sleep.

3. Depression
The link between low magnesium levels and depression was understood over a century ago, when doctors would use it to treat this mental health disorder. Modern science has backed this up, with a study at a psychiatric hospital in Croatia finding that many attempted suicide patients had severely low levels of this important mineral. One advantage of magnesium over traditional antidepressants is the lack of side effects sometimes associated with these medications.

4. Abnormal Heart Function
As previously discussed, low magnesium levels can have an effect on muscles throughout the body and this includes the heart muscles. Insufficient magnesium can induce a condition known as a cardiac arrhythmia, in which the heart fails to beat regularly and this, in turn, can cause a greater risk for complications like heart attacks and strokes. That is why, for instance, doctors at the Henry Low Heart Center in Connecticut treat their arrhythmia patients with a medication which contains magnesium.

5. Kidney Stones
Many people believe that kidney stones are caused by an excess of calcium, but in fact it is a lack of magnesium that is the culprit. Magnesium prevents the formation of these stones by inhibiting the binding of calcium with oxalate, the two compounds which make up these stones. Kidney stones can be excruciatingly painful, so it is good to know that something as simple as magnesium supplementation can prevent them!

If experiecing any of these symptoms, consulting with a healthcare practitioner is a good idea. It is also wise to follow a diet which includes foods like okra, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, almonds, soy or black beans, cashews and spinach as these are all natural magnesium sources. (Natural News).

Google acaba de unir fuerzas con el Pentágono para marcar una nueva era de control del estado policial

por Justin Gardner

El desarrollador del mayor navegador de búsqueda del mundo está uniendo fuerzas con la mayor maquinaria militar del mundo. Según se anunció esta semana, el ex director de Google Eric Schmidt va a dirigir el nuevo Consejo Asesor de Innovación del Pentágono.

“El Pentágono dijo que el consejo lo asesoraría en cuestiones de Google-y como la creación rápida de prototipos, el desarrollo del producto interactivo, el análisis de negocios, las aplicaciones de móvil, etc. En efecto, el DoD parece estar pidiendo a Schmidt que lo ayude a ser más eficiente y efectivo, y, asimismo, innovador”.

Desde su meteórico ascenso en la era del internet, Google ha alcanzado capacidades tecnológicas que casi parecen ciencia ficción. Su última es una red neural con una habilidad “súper humana” para determinar la ubicación de casi cualquier imagen. Se ha argumentado que Google podría manipular las elecciones de 2016 con tan sólo ajustar sus algoritmos.

La inmensa colección del gigante de las búsquedas de datos personales, su propia  red de vigilancia, puede compararse con el mejor programa de espionaje del gobierno. La extensión de los datos no sólo está en línea; los coches de Google Street View fueron descubiertos colectando información desde los centros del wi-fi, de “los historiales médicos de las personas hasta su preferencia sexual y la infidelidad marital”.

Google ha dicho que su colección de datos, si se usa de manera adecuada, eleva el bienestar público. Esto es sorprendentemente similar a la campaña de propaganda de los oficiales de inteligencia, que defiende el programa doméstico de espionaje y otras intrusiones en la privacidad reveladas por Edward Snowden.

Todo esto hace aún más espeluznante la asociación entre Schmidt y los militares de los Estados Unidos. El Pentágono dio carta blanca después del 9/11 para poner en marcha su propio programa de espionaje y matar a cualquiera en el mundo en cualquier momento, incluyendo ciudadanos estadunidenses. ¿Podría haber alguna expectativa de restricción en este Consejo Asesor que sirve a los intereses militares?

Julian Assange brindó una perspectiva de la relación Google-Pentágono: “El fundador de Wikileaks, Julian Assange, sugirió que la amistosa relación de Google tanto con el Departamento de Defensa como con el Departamento de Estado representa una amenaza existencial a la utilidad del internet para el usuario ordinario”.

Assange observó que “las aspiraciones geopolíticas de Google embonan firmemente  con la agenda de política exterior de los Estados Unidos”, y llegó a afirmar que, “mientras crezca el control monopolista del internet por parte de Google, la compañía va a acrecentar su influencia en las opciones y comportamientos para dirigir los resultados a favor de los Estados Unidos y los intereses empresariales”.

El Consejo Asesor de Innovación, de 12 miembros, será cuidadosamente seleccionado por Schmidt y el secretario de Defensa, Ashton Carter. Antes de que su asociación fuera anunciada, Google había incursionado en robótica e inteligencia artificial de la mano del Pentágono, a través de la Agencia de Proyectos de Investigación Avanzada de Defensa (DARPA). El coche autónomo de Google es resultado de esta iniciativa.
Si Eric Schmidt hablaba en serio cuando Google acuñó el eslogan “No seas malvado”, entonces su relación con el Pentágono –el mayor proveedor de violencia en el mundo– puede ganar el premio del mejor ejemplo de hipocresía.

La provisión legal de hierba prueba ser más efectiva para destruir los cárteles que la guerra contra la droga
por Claire Bernish

La Guerra del Estado contra la Droga se equivocó miserablemente en numerosos niveles –y uno de los más obvios fracasos ha sido el empoderamiento y enriquecimiento de los cárteles de la droga mexicanos–. Pero hay una buena noticia: mientras la cannabis lentamente alcanza estatus legal en los Estados Unidos, está destruyendo el negocio de los violentos cárteles de la droga.

Las incautaciones de mariguana por la Patrulla Fronteriza en el suroeste cayeron de manera significativa, sólo en los últimos siete años –de cuatro millones de libras en 2009, a sólo 1.5 millones el año pasado–. Esta es también la más baja incautación total en una década, según las estadísticas de la Patrulla Fronteriza citadas por el Washington Post.

La cannabis se considera una de las plantas más benéficas médicamente –y recreativamente inofensiva–  que existen. En términos más simples, la hierba legal, siendo realistas, sólo daña su venta ilícita.

Comenzando con la implementación en California de la ley de mariguana médica en 1996, un creciente número de estados han obtenido los beneficios médicos y económicos que la legalización puede crear. Veintidós estados han permitido la legalización médica de la cannabis en algún grado, y Alaska, Colorado, Oregón y Washington dieron el salto para permitir el uso y el cultivo recreativos, con resultados ampliamente positivos.

Esto ha recortado severamente los beneficios de la hierba de los cárteles mexicanos, que es considerada de menor calidad que la cannabis que crece en Estados Unidos y Canadá.

“La mariguana mexicana es considerada menor en el tótem, y muy poca gente que se considera a sí misma aficionada o conocedora admitiría fumarla”, explica el periodista Danny Vinkovetsky (seudónimo Danny Danko) de High Times de Los Angeles Times. “Es típicamente marrón, firmemente prensada para transporte, y llena de semillas”.

“El acceso a la mejor calidad de la cannabis norteamericana ha llevado a muchos a darle la espalda a las importaciones de México y más allá”.

Asimismo, mientras el mercado legal estadunidense pasó de $1.5 billones en 2013 a 2.7 billones al año siguiente, los beneficios de los cárteles sufrieron las pérdidas correspondientes.

“Hace tres años, un kilogramo [2.2 libras] de mariguana costaba de $60 a $90”, explica a NPR un cultivador del estado mexicano de Sinaloa. “Pero ahora ellos están pagando de $30 a $40 el kilo. Es una gran diferencia. Si los Estados Unidos continúan legalizando la mariguana, nos van a dejar en el suelo”.

Lo que es interesante, y quizá entre en contradicción con los principales discursos, es que los cárteles mexicanos han comenzado el contrabando de la cannabis desde Estados Unidos a México, en un intento por reequilibrar las ganancias a las que están acostumbrados.

El gobierno de México siguió la iniciativa de los Estados Unidos en la perniciosa y notoria Guerra contra la Droga, que finalmente probó ser una acérrima Guerra contra la Gente a ambos lados de la frontera –así como alrededor del mundo–.

Aquellos que siguen presionando por una guerra de sustancias arbitrarias son lenta, pero seguramente, revelados como los negligentes criminales que son.

Lea más en http://thefreethoughtproject.com/legal-marijuana-killing-

BOOM! – Viral video explains why they war on drugs is failing and how we can fix it

BOOM! – Viral video explains why they war on drugs is failing and how we can fix it

by Andrew Emett
The Free Thought

Although alcohol prohibition miserably failed decades ago, the war on drugs continues unabated with no end in sight. While succinctly explaining the inherent failings caused by the drug war, including no-knock raids and the mass incarceration of nonviolent criminals, a new viral video offers an alternative solution to treating drug addiction.

In an effort to appear tough on crime, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs in June 1971. Responsible for establishing the use of no-knock search warrants and mandatory sentencing, Nixon also categorized marijuana as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and LSD. During a press conference in 1972, Nixon stated, “This is one area where we cannot have budget cuts because we must wage, as I have called, total war against public enemy number one in the United States: the problem of dangerous drugs.”

After more than four decades of waging total war against drugs, the U.S. government remains nowhere near ending drug abuse nor the unintended consequences caused by the war on drugs. According to a new video titled Why The War on Drugs Is a Huge Failure, the drug war “led to mass incarceration in the U.S.; to corruption, political destabilization, and violence in Latin America, Asia, and Africa; to systemic human rights abuses across the world.”

Although the war on drugs primarily targets drug manufacturers and suppliers, the demand for drugs remains consistent regardless of a decrease in the supply. Citing an economic term known as “The Ballon Effect,” the video shows how large decreases in the supply did nothing to stem the demand for crystal meth. Attempting to decrease the manufacturing of meth, the U.S. government restricted access to the chemical P2P. Despite the fact that large meth manufacturers went out of business, thousands of smaller meth labs popped up across the country. Even as law enforcement agencies shut down the meth labs and state legislators restrict access to further chemicals, Mexican drug cartels continue to smuggle in meth and feed the demand in the U.S.

“With a budget of around $30 billion, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has an efficiency rate of less than one percent when it comes to stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S. and inside the U.S.” the video explained. “Prohibition may prevent a certain amount of people from taking drugs, but in the process, it causes huge damage to society as a whole. Many of the problems we associate with drug use are actually caused by the war against them.”

Enacted as the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in 1919, alcohol prohibition led to an increase in hard liquor sales because it was easier for bootleggers to smuggle smaller amounts of more potent alcohol. Like alcohol prohibition, drug prohibition leads to a rise in violent crimes as rival organizations are unable to settle disputes in a court of law. Repealed in 1933, alcohol prohibition was the only constitutional Amendment ever repealed.

“According to some estimates, the homicide rate in the U.S. is 25 to 27 percent higher because of the war on drugs,” the video continued. “And in Mexico, the country on the front line, an estimated 164,000 have been murdered between 2007 and 2014, more people than in the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq in the same period combined.”

The U.N.’s 2015 World Drug Report found that “global opium poppy cultivation in 2014 reached its highest level since the late 1930s.” Approximately 187,100 people died as a result of drug-related deaths in 2013, including overdose, violence, and exposure to HIV/AIDS. The U.N. also discovered that an estimated 1.65 million of those who inject illegal drugs were living with HIV in 2013.

While experiencing a severe drug problem during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Switzerland suffered from an increase in violent crime, a rise in the number of injection drug users, and the spread of AIDS. Instead of continuing the failed war on drugs, Switzerland introduced a new strategy referred to as harm reduction. In 1994, the Swiss began offering heroin-assisted treatment to drug addicts as an alternative to locking them up and forcing them to go through withdrawal or purchase drugs smuggled into the prisons.

In 1994, 77.5 percent of heroin recipients were under the age of 35. In 2011, only 17.4 percent were under 35 according to the Swiss Institute for Addiction Research. By treating drug addicts instead of criminalizing them, Switzerland has seen a 60 percent drop in felonies committed by patients and an 82 percent drop in patients selling heroin. By offering clean needles, the Swiss have reduced the rate of Hepatitis and HIV infections. Due to the quality of the heroin and precise dosages, no patient has overdosed since the inception of the program. And because patients are not committing as many crimes, the Swiss are saving money in lowered costs for courts and police.
“So there are methods that are not only way cheaper but also actually work instead of creating more problems,” the video concluded. “Drug prohibition led to a system that bulldozes human rights, costs vast sums of money, and creates a lot of human misery, all in pursuit of an unattainable goal. After 40 years of fighting, it’s time to finally end the war on drugs and move on to something better.”

The war on drugs has resulted in the rise of violent cartels, mass incarceration in the U.S., and human rights atrocities committed around the world. The war has failed. Nixon failed.
But countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Denmark have found a new method to reduce violent crime, disease, and drug-related deaths. If Holland, England, Spain, and Canada have the courage to run harm reduction trials in their countries, what is stopping the U.S. government from seeking a viable alternative to the failed war on drugs?

Google just joint forces with the Pentagon to usher in a new era of police state control

by Justin Gardner

The developer of the world’s largest search engine is joining forces with the world’s largest military machine. It was announced this week that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will be heading the Pentagon’s new Innovation Advisory Board.

“The Pentagon said the board would advise it on such Google-y topics as rapid prototyping, iterative product development, business analytics, mobile apps, and the cloud. In effect, the DoD seems to be asking Schmidt to help it become more streamlined, efficient, and, well, innovative.

Since its meteoric rise in the internet age, Google has reached technological capabilities that seem almost science-fiction. Their latest is a neural network with a “superhuman” ability to determine the location of almost any image. It has been argued that Google could rig the 2016 election just by adjusting their search algorithms.

The search giant’s immense collection of personal data amounts to its own surveillance network that likely rivals the best government spy program. The data sweep is not only online; Google’s Street View cars were caught collecting information from wi-fi hubs ranging from “people’s medical histories to their sexual preference to marital infidelity.”

Google has said that their collection of data, when used properly, advances the public well-being. This sounds eerily familiar to the propaganda campaign of intelligence officials defending the NSA’s domestic spying program and other intrusions of privacy revealed by Edward Snowden.

All of this makes the partnership between Schmidt and the U.S. military rather creepy. The Pentagon was given carte blanche after 9/11 to grow its own spy program and to kill anyone in the world at any time, including U.S. citizens. Can there be any expectation of restraint with this Innovation Advisory Board serving the interests of the military?

Julian Assange provided some perspective on the Google-Pentagon relationship:

“Wikileaks founder Julian Assange suggested that Google’s cozy relationship with both the US Defense and State Departments represents an existential threat to the utility of the Internet to the ordinary user.

Assange observed that “Google’s geopolitical aspirations are firmly enmeshed with the foreign policy agenda of the United States,” and he stated that, as Google’s monopolistic control of the Internet grows, the company will increasingly influence choices and behavior to steer outcomes in the favor of US and corporate interests.”
The 12-member Innovation Advisory Board will be handpicked by Schmidt and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

Before this partnership was announced, Google had been dabbling in robotics and artificial intelligence on behalf of the Pentagon through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Google’s autonomous car is a result of this initiative.

If Eric Schmidt was serious when Google coined the slogan “Don’t be evil,” then his hookup with the Pentagon—the largest purveyor of violence in the world—may win the award for biggest example of hypocrisy.

In other news:

Legal weed proving to be far more effective at destroying cartels than the war on drugs

by Claire Bernish

The State’s War on Drugs has failed miserably on numerous levels — and one of the more obvious breakdowns has been its empowerment and enrichment of Mexican drug cartels. But there is good news: as cannabis slowly attains legal status in the United States, it’s killing the violent drug cartels’ business.

Marijuana seizures by the U.S. Border Patrol in the Southwest plummeted significantly, just in the past seven years — from 4 million pounds in 2009, to just 1.5 million pounds last year. This is also the lowest seizure total in a decade, according to Border Patrol statistics cited by the Washington Post.

Cannabis stands as one of the most medically beneficial — and recreationally harmless — plants in existence. Simply put, legal weed realistically only harms the illicit weed business.

Beginning with California’s implementation of medical marijuana law in 1996, an increasing number of states have seen the medicinal and profit-generating benefits legalization can create. Twenty-two states have allowed medical cannabis legalization to some degree, and Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington made the leap to allow recreational use and cultivation, with stunningly positive results.

This has severely curtailed the profitability of illicit Mexican cartel weed, which is largely considered lesser quality than cannabis grown in the U.S. and Canada.

“Mexican marijuana is deemed lowest on the totem pole and very few people who consider themselves aficionados or connoisseurs would admit to smoking it,” explained journalist Danny Vinkovetsky (pen name Danny Danko) of High Times to the Los Angeles Times. “It’s typically brown, pressed tightly together for transport, and full of seeds.

“Access to better quality American cannabis has led many to turn their backs on imports from Mexico and beyond.”
Indeed, as the legal U.S. market exploded from $1.5 billion in 2013 to $2.7 billion the following year, the cartel’s profit suffered corresponding losses.

“Two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2 pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90,” explained a grower from the Mexican state of Sinaloa to NPR. “But now they’re paying us $30 to $4 0 a kilo. It’s a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they’ll run us into the ground.”

Interestingly, and perhaps in contradiction to mainstream narrative, Mexican cartels have begun smuggling cannabis from the United States into Mexico in an attempt to eke out the profits to which they are accustomed.

Mexico’s government followed the U.S.’ lead in the pernicious and notorious War on Drugs, which ultimately proved to be an all-out War on People from both sides of the border — as well as those around the world.

Those who continue to press for a war on arbitrary substances are slowly, but surely, being exposed as the negligent criminals they are.

Japanese Taiko percussion for beginners workshop

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Learn the ancient art of Japanese Taiko drumming with Sensei Bruce ‘Mui’ Ghent. The Introductory taiko class will cover basic fundamental skills and history which will prepare students to advance to the next level of classes.

Beginners ages 12-adult, with little or no music experience are welcome. Taiko drumming is a rigorous physical activity. Bring water and wear clothes to exercise. Class is taught with traditional martial arts etiquette and discipline as outlined in the student handbook supplied.
For more information, contact Bruce “Mui” Ghent at bruceghent@gmail.com or visit www.maikazedaiko.com.

March 6-April 10: Sundays, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., at the Dance Mission Theater. To register call 415-826-4441 or email dancemissiontheater@yahoo.com.

Kaiser Permanente San Jose Jazz Winter Fest 2016

Renowned for its annual Summer Fest, the iconic Bay Area institution San Jose Jazz kicks off 2016 with dynamic arts programming honoring the jazz tradition and ever-expanding definitions of the genre with singular concerts curated for audiences within the heart of Silicon Valley. presented by Metro continues its steadfast commitment of presenting a diverse array of some of today’s most distinguished artists alongside leading edge emerging musicians with an ambitious lineup of more than 25 concerts

The Jazz Beyond series, co-curated with local production house Universal Grammar, presents buzzy young stars pushing the boundaries of jazz, soul and hip-hop and the Next Gen performances showcase top student jazz ensembles in the region and offer open master classes. Tickets are now on sale ranging in price from $10 – $65. For detailed ticket information as well as updates on the artists and performance schedule, please visit: sanjosejazz.org/winterfest.

San Jose Jazz proudly presents the following artists at Winter Fest 2016: John Scofield Joe Lovano Quartet, Regina Carter, Nicholas Payton Trio, Delfeayo & Ellis Marsalis Quartet, Marquis Hill Blacktet, Incendio, KING, Kneedelus, Kadhja Bonet, Bria Skonberg, Jackie Ryan, Chester ‘CT’ Thompson and the Bay Area’s premier youth jazz ensembles. From February 25 through March 8, 2016.

Chilean Pinochet victim Carmen Gloria Quintana to visit the Bay Area

Carmen Gloria Quintana will attend the encore performance of the cantata La Vida Vence a la Muerte / Life Triumphs Over Death, on Saturday, March 19, at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center. She will be in the Bay Area, March 18, 19, and 20.

On the morning of July 2, 1986, during a two-day national strike and protests against the military rule of General Augusto Pinochet, two teenagers, Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, 19 year-old, and Carmen Gloria Quintana, 18, were cornered by a military patrol brutally beaten, doused with petrol and set them on fire. The patrol then dumped them in a ditch alongside a deserted road on the outskirts of Chile’s capital city, Santiago.

Rodrigo, a photographer who lived in Washington, DC, with his exiled Chilean family, died four days later from his injuries. Carmen Gloria, severely disfigured by burns on over 62 percent of her body, survived to became a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Chile. The case was one of the most notorious human rights abuses committed by the Pinochet regime following the U.S.-backed military coup of September 11, 1973.

On July of 2015 – 29 years after this event – the case was revisited when a Chilean judge ordered the arrest of the seven officers involved. One of the perpetrators, Fernando Guzmán, told Judge Mario Carroza that Lieutenant Julio Castañer, the patrol’s commanding officer, gave the deadly order.

On March 19, at 8 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, California. For more information contact La Peña Cultural Center lapenachorus.org or call Aaron Lorenz 510-849-2568.

Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism 1910 – 1950

by the El Reportero’s news services

Philadelphia Museum of Art — Spanning four momentous decades beginning with the revolutionary 1910s, this exhibition will cover an extraordinary range of images, from portable murals and large and small paintings to prints and photographs, books and broadsheets.

With works by Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Rufino Tamayo, Paint the Revolution will be the most comprehensive exhibition of Mexican modernism to be seen in the United States in more than seven decades.

Produced in partnership with the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, the exhibition will highlight this extraordinary moment in the history of Mexican art.

Presentation Of The 3rd Annual Platino Awards of Iberoamerican Cinema

The announcement of the pre-selected eligible movies will be read by Mexican actress and President of the Mexican Academy of Cinema, Arts and Sciences Dolores Heredia, Mexican Actress Ofelia Mendez and Spanish Actor Eduardo Noriega.

In addition, the relevance of last year’s awards will be discussed and important news for the 2016 Platino Awards of Iberoamerican Cinema will be announced. More then 800 films are competing this year for this significant award.

With just two editions, the Platino Awards have become the leading Iberoamerican Cinema event of the year, bringing together 23 countries in a common goal, to advance and promote the creative and cultural richness of Iberoamerican Cinema.

The first annual Platino Awards Show was held on April 5, 2014 in Panama City and last year’s Award Show was held on July 17, 2015 in Marbella, Spain. The awards ceremony was broadcast to five continents, assuring its presence in more than 50 countries.

Cartagena Film Festival to pay tribute to Philippine director Mendoza

The International Film Festival of Cartagena (FICCI) will pay tribute to the work of Philippine filmmaker Brillante Mendoza with the screening of nine of his films, during the next event in March.

FICCI organizers praised the importance of the films made by Mendoza, who approaches the reality with rawness and tackles the harsh social events of the country with a bold and innovative vision on issues that are usually avoided by most commercial filmmakers.

A report issued by the promotion department of the festival indicates that participants will have the opportunity to appreciate the films made by Mendoza, a director who began his career as a production designer for film and theater and art director in advertising.

There are four films that will be premiered in Colombia during the festival, running from March 2nd to 7th, Masajista (Masseur) 2005, which won the Golden Leopard at the Film Festival of Locarno (Switzerland); Calor de verano (Summer Heat) 2006, El profesor (Professor) 2006 and Hijo adoptivo (Adopted son) 2007.

The tribute also includes the screening of two films, which earned him recognition in consecutive years at the Cannes Film Festival: Servicio (Service) 2008, and Kinatay 2009.

The tribute will be completed with Lola 2009, and Tu vientre (Your belly) 2012, which competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, along with his most recent film Trampa (Trap), which won special mention by the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Festival in 2015.

Mendoza, 56, has made 20 films, many of which have been prizewinning at major international festivals, and he recently received the title of Knight of Arts given by the French Government.

Cuba to Hold Int’ Meeting of Danzon Dancers

Cuba will host from March 30 to April 3 the First Edition of the International Danzon Dancers Meeting “Miguel Failde in Memoriam,” dedicated to the Mexican city of Zapopan, the organizing committee informed today.

The venue for this event will be this city, about 100 kilometers east of Havana, home of Failde, author of the first song of that genre, Las Alturas de Simpson, released here on January 1, 1879 by the then Artistic and Literary Social Club.

That rhythm has been historically recognized as an expression of identity and since 2013, it was declared an intangible Heritage of the Cuban nation, the call by the Cuban Institute of Music and Culture Direction in Matanzas said.

Couples from 16 to 60 years old can participate in the dance competition that will deliver First, Second and Third Prize: awards for the best three foreign couples and to the youngest duo.

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