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YouTube is not safe for your children

The video platform “data mines” information from its young users

by Jayson Veley

Facebook has been at the center of controversy lately for, among other things, acquiring the personal data of users without their knowledge or consent and then distributing that information to third parties. But as it turns out, Mark Zuckerberg and his team aren’t the only ones making headlines for illegal data-mining.

According to multiple advocacy groups, the popular video sharing platform YouTube (which is owned by Google) is now illegally collecting information from some of its youngest users in order to explicitly target them for advertising. These groups (twenty in total) filed an official complaint last month urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate YouTube for violating the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). By law, companies must notify parents and get their consent before collecting data from children under the age of 13. According to the complaint filed with the FTC, YouTube illegally collected data on 23 million children over “a period of years,” and as a result, the advocacy groups are demanding that YouTube pay up to $41,484 per violation.

“I think it’s worrying to know that all this data are being collected on children younger than [age] 13, and I hope that now that there is heightened awareness of the extent to which data are being mined,” said Dr. Shaheen Shariff, professor of integrated studies in education at McGill University in Quebec, in an email sent to LifeZette last month. “YouTube, Google, Facebook and others will be held to account, although we all know it will be challenging to regulate. Nonetheless, it was time that people became more vigilant of what they post online – especially when kids are involved.”

The professor went on to say that the primary concern regarding the data collection of young children is twofold: Who is acquiring this information, and what do they plan on doing with it? For example, if the data somehow finds its way into the hands of a child sexual predator, then the consequences could be absolutely devastating, not just for the child but for the entire family. (Related: Android devices secretly funnel your private location data to Google even if you have that setting turned off.)

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Google has been accused of spying and collecting information from users without their knowledge or consent. As reported by CNN last October: “A major flaw has been detected in the newly-unveiled Google Home Mini speaker that allows it to secretly record conversations without users knowing.”

The bug was first discovered by Android Police tech blogger and founder Artem Russakovskii, who, after using the device, visited his Google activity account page and discovered that it was filled with audio clips that were recorded without his knowledge or consent, inside of his own home. Typically, the Google Home devices are only activated when the user says the words “OK Google,” but according to Russakovskii, the audio recordings occurred even at times when the phrase wasn’t used.

“My Google Home Mini was inadvertently spying on me 24/7 due to a hardware flaw,” he wrote. It wasn’t long before a spokesperson for Google confirmed the issue to CNN Tech that, indeed, there was a bug in the devices that allowed them to record audio without the user even knowing. (Related: Amazon’s Alexa can listen for more than just its name even while it is in sleep mode.)

Frankly, it is long past time for Congress to act to ensure that this sort of data collection from YouTube, Google and other platforms is not allowed to continue. Privacy violations stemming from Silicon Valley are starting to become all too common, and unless further action is taken to limit their data collection methods, then it is bound to get worse in the years to come.

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Optimistic AMLO sees ‘total victory’ for him and his party on July 1

‘The way we’re going’ a majority in Congress is not out of the question, candidate predicts

by Mexico News Daily

Presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who continues to maintain a strong lead in the polls, has made a bold and optimistic prediction for the July 1 elections: a total victory for the mostly leftist coalition he leads.

Speaking in Chiapas yesterday, the candidate for the Morena party-led “Together We Will Make History” coalition used the analogy of a “full canoe” to emphasize his confidence over not only winning the presidency but also many other elected positions the coalition is contesting.
“Being realistic we could win the nine [state] governorships,” the 64-year-old third-time candidate said, adding that “the way we’re going” a majority in the federal Congress is also possible.

“There is still time left, two months, and people are going to give us their full support, their whole support, because this isn’t any old election, it’s to transform the country,” he said.

With regard to the opposition parties, López Obrador said they are “falling to pieces” because so many of their former leaders and members are backing him to be Mexico’s next president.

The candidate — who according to a recent poll by the newspaper Reforma had 48 percent voter support — specifically cited two former national presidents of the National Action Party (PAN) who have jumped ship, adding that “there are [also] many lawmakers, mayors and more coming.”
Referring to his two main rivals — Ricardo Anaya and José Antonio Meade — the former Mexico City mayor said that “he wouldn’t like to be in their shoes.”

Second-place Anaya of the right-left “For Mexico in Front” coalition trailed López Obrador by 22 points in the Reforma poll but was considered by many to be the winner of the first presidential debate, during which he was tenacious in his attacks on the frontrunner.

But the Tabasco-born veteran of Mexican politics dismissed any assessment that he was hurt by his debate performance, charging that polls showed that his support had actually grown after it.

A post-debate poll conducted by the news website SDP Noticias gave López Obrador a 17 percent lead over Anaya with 41.4 percent support.
López Obrador sought this week to allay fears stoked by a comment made by a Morena party co-founder advocating the expropriation of companies that don’t cooperate with an incoming administration he leads.

“We’re not going to confiscate properties, we’re always going to act in accordance with the law,” he said.

Meanwhile, news magazine Proceso reported yesterday that a video it obtained from the Anaya campaign shows the candidate saying at a private Citibanamex event Friday that he is open to discussing an alliance with the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose candidate has been steadily polling in third place.

“The path [to victory] is to join efforts ….The numbers clearly indicate that our coalition is the only one that can beat López Obrador . . . [therefore] I’m open to building with whoever we have to build with to win this election . . . I will not spend time fighting with the PRI, I will spend it highlighting contrasts with López Obrador,” Anaya is heard saying.

Today, however, he played down the statement he made behind closed doors, declaring that he is against “elitist pacts.”

PRI candidate José Antonio Meade has repeatedly said he will not withdraw from the race in favor of Anaya despite polls suggesting that he has little chance of winning on July 1. The SDP Noticias poll gave him 22.2 percent support, although other recent polls have shown him with less.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Economista (sp), Proceso (sp), Forbes (en), SDP Noticias (sp)

Election campaigns in full swing in nine states that will elect governors

Mexico’s largest election ever is now under way

Election campaigns in nine Mexican states that will elect governors on July 1 are now in full swing after four of them officially began their campaign periods yesterday.

Candidates in Chiapas, Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz have joined their counterparts in Mexico City, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Tabasco and Yucatán on the campaign trail for what will collectively be Mexico’s largest elections in history.

In total, 49 hopefuls will contend the races for governor in eight states and that of head of government — or mayor — in Mexico City.

The presidency, 500 seats in the lower house of Mexico’s Congress and 128 federal Senate spots are also up for grabs as are thousands more elected positions at state and municipal levels.

According to the National Electoral Institute (INE), more than 89.2 million residents of Mexico will be eligible to vote while more than 100,000 Mexicans living abroad have also registered their intention to take part in the elections.

In the nine states where elections will take place concurrently with the federal poll, voters will have to fill in up to six ballots given the range of state and federal candidates they will elect.

In three states, citizens will have the opportunity to vote for a close family member of a current or past state governor.

Candidates in Veracruz and Morelos hope to succeed their father and step-father respectively — who currently hold the states’ top jobs — while in Puebla, Martha Erika Alonso is aspiring to follow in the footsteps of her husband and former governor Rafael Moreno Valle.

In the contest to become the next mayor of the capital — sometimes considered the second most important and powerful political position in the country — the candidate for the Morena Party-led “Together We Will Make History” coalition appears most likely to win.

A survey conducted by Massive Caller showed that more than 40% of people who saw the first Mexico City mayoral debate on April 18 considered Claudia Sheinbaum the winner and opinion polls have indicated that she has a clear advantage over her main rivals.

Alejandra Barrales of the right-left coalition “For Mexico City in Front” is Sheinbaum’s nearest rival, while Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Mikel Arriola is lagging in third place.

The situation mirrors the scenario at the federal level, with polls consistently showing that Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a commanding lead over second-placed Ricardo Anaya and the PRI candidate, José Antonio Meade.

If the voter sentiment shown in polls is reflected in the July 1 election, the leftist Morena party will win power both federally and in Mexico City and possibly in some of the other nine states where it is fielding gubernatorial candidates.

With just over two months until election day, political advertising that is already bombarding the nation’s television screens, radio stations and other media will only intensify.

By the time citizens vote at one of more than 155,000 polling stations around the country, countless millions of political ads will have played.
Voters will finally get some peace on June 27 when the official campaign period concludes, giving them four days to weigh their options while free from the candidates’ public pleas for support.

Source: Milenio (sp), Forbes México (sp).

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Honduras would regret end of protection for immigrants in US

by the El Reportero’s wire services

Honduras would be sorry if the United States government repeals the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 57,000 nationals residing in the northern nation, the Foreign Ministry asserted today.

It would be regrettable if the compatriots who are now under the special migratory program are left in helplessness, because they would go into a condition of illegality, said Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister, José Isaías Barahona.

Before Saturday, the administration of President Donald Trump must announce the determination, after granting a six-month extension to Honduras in November, before making a decision.

We have been able to demonstrate to the US government, through its different officials, that the effect would be harmful in principle to the families of Hondurans and also in the economic aspect for both countries, added Barahona.

A group of 53 Democratic lawmakers recently called on the US cabinet to renew the TPS, which protects Hondurans since 1999, when Hurricane Mitch hit the Central American country.

The program benefits citizens of nations affected by natural catastrophes or armed conflicts, but during the Trump administration that prerogative was suspended for El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan.

Business sectors put pressure in Mexico against López Obrador

Lopez Obrador to Respect NAFTA Agreements But Attentive to Details

The Mexican candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the coalition Juntos Haremos Historia, ”We Will Do History Together”, will respect the agreements of the ongoing negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was announced here today.

There were statements, on behalf of the presidential candidate, of his selected one to occupy the Secretary of Economy, Graciela Márquez, in an interview with the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

The publication coincided with statements by the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sander, who trust the next 30 days the NAFTA negotiations will conclude.

‘If the negotiations are closed, López Obrador administration will not open talks on renegotiating some chapters or seek to include new articles,’ told the Journal Lopez Obrador’s representative, championed by the National Regeneration Movement and the Labor and Social Encounter Party.

Márquez said that NAFTA can not be permanently renegotiated and added that if they in principle, respect the agreement but carefully review the details, especially in the period from July 1 (election date) and Dec. 1, when it will take possession of the new government.

Daniel Ortega organizes large march “for peace”

Caravans of buses, cars and motorcycles full of government employees and followers, drove across the streets of Managua on a call by Daniel Ortega on Monday, April 30, to demonstrate his power, after hundred of thousands of citizens around the country marched on a called by the Catholic Church in peregrination on Saturday April 28, to demand peace and justice for the approximately 60 university students murdered by government forces, including a number of wounded and disappeared.

Caravan migrants cross US border

Nearly 74 Central American immigrants, mostly women and children have entered US territory at the San Ysidro crossing near San Diego.

Dozens of other migrants travelling in a caravan to seek asylum in the US have been stopped at the border.

The group of Central American migrants has been travelling through Mexico for two weeks now. Some hoped to arrive in the US.
Those crossed the US border had slept on the street for three days.

Two by two, the migrants walked to US Customs and Border Protection officials to ask if they could get through. The first in line was a man and his little nephew carrying a soccer ball under his arm, according to Reuters.

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Hosts event on the need for workforce development

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California is partnering with the Salvation Army to co-sponsor a Workforce Development Symposium, to help pave the way for meaningful construction employment opportunities for men and women in the Golden State.

It will be held at ABC NorCal Training Facility at 4577 Las Positas Road, Unit C, in Livermore, from on Tuesday, May 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with a free lunch included. The May 15 event is free and the public and media are invited but a reservation is required and can be emailed to Nancy Khan at Khan@usw.salvationarmy.org or by calling her at 916-563-3734.

Mission Branch Library renovation

Community meetings kick-off branch make-over

San Francisco Public Library and San Francisco Public Works are beginning the planning process to renovate the Mission Branch Library, which was last updated more than 20 years ago. This upgrade provides an opportunity to bring this historic branch into the 21st century.

The public is invited to attend community meetings to meet the architects and share ideas for restoring and improving their neighborhood branch.

Saturday, May 19, 1 p.m., Mission Branch Library, 300 Bartlett St.

Wednesday, May 23, 6 p.m., Mission Branch Library, 300 Bartlett St.

The Mayor’s proposed budget includes $19.8 million to fund the planning, design and construction of the Mission Branch Library renovation. The branch originally opened in 1915, one of seven Carnegie funded branches in San Francisco.

San Francisco Job Fair and career fair information for career seekers

The San Francisco Job Fair and Career Fair is on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis for career seekers and candidates. Come meet with hiring managers from local, national, and Fortune 500 companies for free at our San Francisco Job Fair.

Thursday, May 31, 2018, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 780 Mission Street, San Francisco.

Brighten up your Tuesdays with live latin music

Making Their Cha Cha Cha Debut!

The Cuband Quartet, an Alternative & Fusion Cuban music project, formed in 2015 by a group of Bay Area Cuban musicians. Rumba, Latin Jazz, Pop, Timba, Reggae, Son, and Blues are among the musical influences the band displays. Backed up by the flavor of original compositions, instrumentalist performances, and a strong rhythm section. Featuring Ed Corzo, Piano; Rafael Matos, Sax; Yoel Mullen- Voz y Percusión

Carlos Ramirez – Voz y Bass.

Tuesday, May 22, 8pm to 10 p.m. 2327 Mission Street at 19th, San Francisco. Free Admission.

Cha Cha Cha salutes the 40th Anniversary of Carnaval on Sunday, May 27th.

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Yucatán restaurant wins international recognition for design

by the El Reportero’s news services

Ixi’im Restaurant in Chocholá was selected for the Prix Versailles award
A restaurant in Yucatán has been crowned best designed in the world in a prestigious international architecture competition.

Ixi’im Restaurant, located about 40 kilometers southwest of Mérida in the municipality of Chocholá, beat out all other contenders in its category to win the Prix Versailles World Architecture Award.

The restaurant design prize — along with others in the categories of shops and stores, shopping malls and hotels — was presented at a ceremony held May 15 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.

Premiere of Sacúdete las Penas, Hola México Film Fest
The film Sacúdete las Penas will be the closing night at the largest Mexican Film Festival outside of Mexico, which will take place on June 1 – 9, 2018. The festival will be attended by Director Andrés Ibáñez Díaz.

The film is about González, an inmate serving a long sentence, who tells the story of Pepe Frituras, Mexico City’s most famous dancer, who would lose his freedom during a night out partying, ending up in the Palace of Lecumberri – the country’s most dangerous penitentiary.

Through anecdotes filled with music, dances, and romance, González narrates how he became the only convict that managed to escape the prison walls using the power of his imagination.

Official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=5jstm_JeyW8

Senate embraces plan for renewed film-tax program to help film/TV industries
The California Senate today on a bipartisan, 37-0 vote approved extending a model program to keep and create mostly off-screen jobs in California’s renowned film and TV industries.

SB 951 would extend the California Film and Television Production Act from June 30, 2020 to June 30, 2025, and makes key improvements.

To date, the program has allocated $840 million in tax credits to 150 approved projects. Those numbers reflect 29,000 cast members hired; 18,000 crew members hired; and 13 TV series that relocated to California from out of state.


Other provisions of SB 951 include:

· Awarding tax credits according to a jobs ratio rating system, whereby applications are ranked based upon the number of jobs created in California and other economic factors.

· Increasing funding for independent films and ensuring smaller productions are not competing with larger productions.
· Offering an additional 5 percent tax credit increase for production outside the Los Angeles 30-mile zone.

Mitchell’s measure was supported by members of both parties and labor unions. Gov. Brown signed into law the original 2014 measure, which also received bipartisan support.

SB 951 now moves to the Assembly. Its initial hearing date has not yet been set.

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Mission Neighborhood Centers presents the SF Cinco de Mayo Festival

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Mission Neighborhood Centers’ fourteenth annual San Francisco Cinco de Mayo, a family friendly, cultural celebration will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2018 on Valencia Street between 21st and 24th Streets.

The celebration will showcase the very best of Mexican and Latin American cultures with a diverse array of Mexican and Latino foods, music, dance and artistry for the entire family to enjoy.  Attendees will enjoy rich cultural experiences and activities focused on retaining cultural traditions in its community.

The Plaza de Los Niños/Kids’ Zone will include a large variety of activities for children including balloon fun, gymnastics/motion activities, art activities, and special guests!

Talented artists will perform throughout the day on two stages located on the corner of Valencia & 21st and 24th Street. Over 8,000 attendees can expect to hear Mariachi, Salsa, Latin Rock, and the melodic voices of Coro Solera, wafting through Valencia Street.

Over 60 vendors are expected to participate providing their delicious, diverse foods, showcasing their arts and crafts and empowering the multi-cultural community through greater awareness of their products and services.

The festive, life enriching family event is within walking distance from the 24th Street BART station and easily accessible via MUNI.

On Saturday, May 5, 2018, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., at Valencia Street, between 21st and 24th Streets. For information: www.cincodemayosf.org.

Other related celebrations:

Cinco De Mayo Fiesta with Live with Orquesta N Rumba, at Club Fuego, on May 5, 2018, at 550 Barneveld Ave, SF. For more info visit: www.fuegoclubsf.com.

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival with Flor de Toloache + Diana Gameros

As the first all-female mariachi ensemble, Flor de Toloache – Mariachi Femenino blazes a brilliant pioneering path for women in a traditionally male world of Mexican music.

Co-led by violinist and founder Mireya I. Ramos and Shae Fiol on the lute-like vihuela, the New York City-based band spent several years performing around the northeast and gained international attention by earning a 2017 “Best Ranchera Album” Latin Grammy for their album Las Caras Lindas. Flor de Toloache made inroads in indie rock circles supporting The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach on his stylistically expansive side project, The Arcs.

Opening the concert is the enthralling Mexican-born vocalist, composer and guitarist Diana Gameros, a Bay Area star who’s become a brave, beautiful voice championing immigrants of every stripe. Free Concert. Outdoors.

At Yerba Buena Gardens, on Sunday at 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Hosts event on the need for workforce development

Associated Builders and Contractors Northern California is partnering with the Salvation Army to co-sponsor a Workforce Development Symposium, to help pave the way for meaningful construction employment opportunities for men and women in the Golden State.

It will be held at ABC NorCal Training Facility at 4577 Las Positas Road, Unit C, in Livermore, from on Tuesday, May 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with a free lunch included. The May 15 event is free and the public and media are invited but a reservation is required and can be emailed to Nancy Khan at Khan@usw.salvationarmy.org or by calling her at 916-563-3734.

 

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“Despacito” is crowned at the Latin Billboard Awards

by the El Reportero’s news services

Luis Fonsi who was honored with seven Billboard Latin Music Awards 2018 for his global phenomenon “DESPACITO” with Daddy Yankee ft. Justin Bieber, in the categories “Hot Latin Song” – Song Of The Year, “Latin Song” – Vocal Collaboration, “Hot Latin Song” Artist of the Year – Male, Song of the Year – Digital, Song of the Year – Airplay, Song of the Year – Streaming and Song “Latin Pop” of the Year. The awards gala was held at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in the city of Las Vegas and broadcasted through the Telemundo network.
In addition to receiving multiple awards, Fonsi presented a presentation of the newest performances of the night to interpret a special and a unique version for the awards of his new global hit “Échame la Culpa” with the artists Karol and Paty Cantú, who, surrounded by a stunning and colorful scenery, managed to put an end to those present.

Chile honors deceased founder of Inti Illimani

With a great career as a musician and opponent to the dictatorship, Max Berru, one of the founders of the Chilean folkloric group Inti Illimani, is honored by many personalities in occasion of his death.

Inti Illimani is an instrumental and vocal Latin American folk music ensemble from Chile. The group was formed in 1967 by a group of university students and it acquired widespread popularity in Chile for their song Venceremos

Berru, who was born in Ecuador, died at the age of 74 in Santiago de Chile as a result of multiple myeloma. He was considered one of the figures that gave more impetus to the fame of the group founded in 1967.

He arrived in Chile in 1962 hunting for Brazilian soccer star, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele), who would play the World Cup. But the forward was injured.

More than 190 countries celebrate International Jazz Day

Promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Jazz Day is celebrated today with many events in more than 190 countries, and will have its global capital in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay and the world famous U.S. musician Herbie Hancock, a Goodwill Ambassador, announced the wide-ranging program of the 2018 International Jazz Day, as jazz is a musical genre that has been recognized as the ‘universal language of peace’.

According to a UNESCO communiqué, Saint Petersburg is hosting many events that will culminate with a concert at the historic Mariinsky Theater, which will be broadcast live internationally.

Hancock and the renowned Russian saxophonist Igor Butman will co-direct the concert, in which several relevant jazz musicians from all continents will perform.

According to press release, jazz has been cultivated in Saint Petersburg since 1927, when the first Saint Petersburg State Capella Choir was founded, followed by the first jazz band in 1929.

The program of celebrations includes many concerts, keynote speeches, workshops and free debates with participation of several musicians, and the events will reach more than 190 countries.

The International Jazz Day was proclaimed by the UNESCO in coordination with the Thelonious Monk Institute in 2011 to recognize the role of this musical genre in promoting freedom, creativity and intercultural dialogue, as well as in the unity among people worldwide.

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Cinco de Mayo with Third Sol & Camino

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Third Sol makes a return to Club Fox to celebrate this big day of music at the annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo! 

Third Sol, known for their original soul music and many favorite tribute renditions, will fill the dance floor with their brand of East Bay sounds. 

Also making a return themselves as the openers of the show will be Camino who have been making waves in the bay area performing movement through many venues across the peninsula and San Francisco area.

Camino brings a Latin smoky flavor with their original music and captivating sounds. This band is to become an immediate favorite of anyone who hears them. 

At Club Fox – Sat. May 5. For reserved seating (limited) call the LRI office at 415-285-7719. 

Tickets also available through PayPal on LRI website. Be sure to make your purchase through link for each band on the page.

http://www.latinrockinc.net/events/2018-05-05-camino.aspx 

Connect with Tech May 7 – 12  

San Francisco Public Library teams up with 20+ organizations to help bridge the digital divide   

Free technology skill-building classes, a Tech Expo for resources and services and a host of innovative keynote speakers are all part of Connect with Tech Week, a citywide initiative spearheaded by the San Francisco Public Library to promote online access and technology skill-building and to reduce digital disparities in our communities.

Connect with Tech Week is organized by the San Francisco Public Library and more than 20 partner organizations. The public can attend a tech expo to learn about technology programs, training resources, new services and the latest products; participate in panel discussions exploring AI’s potential to help achieve a more inclusive workplace and the state of digital inclusion in San Francisco and attend a tech fair at the Tenderloin Tech Lab for free digital device repairs, coding and smartphone workshops and more. The Library’s TechMobile will be hosting 3D printing demonstrations.

More than 100,000 San Francisco residents lack Internet access at home and/or are not proficient at using the Internet and digital devices. As more basic services are moving online, many are left behind, especially seniors, people with disabilities and low-income families. They lack the knowledge or support to use the Internet and gain digital skills, and view the Internet as difficult, unsafe to use or irrelevant. Last year more than 2,000 people participated in this annual event; gaining knowledge and resources to help them in the ever increasing tech required world.

 Tech training programs are offered all week throughout the Library system and partner locations. Programs range from basic computer skills to advanced coding classes and are taught by library staff, tech workers and industry professionals.

The full schedule of more than 60 events and classes is available at sfpl.org/ConnectWithTech. On May 7-12, at the San Francisco Public Library.

Connect with Tech Week programs are free and open to the public.

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Links with Latin America increase interest for Spanish in China

by the El Reportero’s news services

The deepening of the diplomatic, economic and cooperation relations with Spanish-speaking countries, especially of Latin America, encouraged the growing interest in China to learn Spanish, especiallized official source reported Monday.

Inma González, head of the Cervantes Institute where the Spanish language is taught, said that the impact has been overwhelming and every time there are more enterprises, keen to include personal to their staffs with knowledge of the language.

‘Definitely,in this blunted development of Spanish in China, the excellent political and economic relations with the world in Spanish have played an important role, especially with Hispano-America’, Gonzalez pointed out.

The Cuban academician mentioned there are a lot of China companies very interested in entering Latin America with projects of investments, engineering, plants and buildings that is why it is necessary to prepare human resources with knowledge of Spanish language.

González highlighted the good moment for Spanish in China, backed up by the decisions of authorities of including it in the study curriculum of the elementary and high level,together with English, French, Russian and German.

González also remarked a survey result which figures in 126 the High Educational Centers where Spanish will be taught next course as well as the high demand in private schools.

Cervantes Institute advantaged the Spanish World Day, celebrated Monday,and it launched an initiative which is being promoted in this country.

This initiative has to do with the opening of a social media Wechat, the most popular here, which spreads data about persons and countries all over the world that use this language nowadays.

Besides, last Saturday the Center screened the documentary Gabo, magic of the real, a trip through the power of image by the Colombian writer, as a part of the celebrations of the Book International Day, also celebrated every April 23.

Cervantes Institute picked the film by the British Justin Webster to honor Gabriel García Márquez memory in his 4th death anniversary as well as to release work and life of one of the most outstanding authors of the Hispano American literature.

Writer/performer Rick Najera adds comedic magic in new film, Taco Shop

Actor-Writer-Director-Comedian, Rick Najera (East Los High, Nothing Like The Holidays, In Living Color) co-stars in the new comedy, Taco Shop which he also co-wrote the screenplay with Oskar Toruno.  The film is set to launch in select theaters May 4th and on DVD and digital on May 1st from GVN Releasing via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

“Rick Najera is an accomplished talent with an impressive background in urban sketch comedy and we were glad to get him on board,” said producer Moctezuma Esparza.

SFFILM Wraps 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival 

The Golden Gate Award Short Film jury consisted of Director of Canyon Cinema Antonella Bonfanti, filmmaker Mark Decena, and programmer Liliana Rodríguez, who awarded a total of $14,000 in cash prizes.

Best Documentary Short was presented to Crisanto Street (USA) by Paloma Martínez.

First Prize for Best Bay Area Short went to Weekends (USA) by Trevor Jiménez.

The Golden Gate Award Family Film jury was comprised of writer Carvell Wallace, Betsy Bozdech from Common Sense Media, and Jefferson Elementary School teacher Marcy Johnson, who awarded a $1,500 cash prize and Best Family Film to Crisanto Street (USA) by Paloma Martínez, with a Special Jury Prize to Bird Karma (USA) by William Salazar.

The 2018 SFFILM Festival Audience Awards gave festival-goers the opportunity to select their favorite narrative and documentary features. The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade (USA), with Un Traductor by Rodrigo Barriuso and Sebastián Barriuso (Canada/Cuba) also scoring highly with Festival audiences.

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California school district says parents can’t pull kids from new LGBT sex ed

by Calvin Freiburger

ORANGE COUNTY, California, (LifeSiteNews) – California is about to implement new abortion- and homosexualty-promoting sex education lessons, and one school district has told parents they have no choice but to expose their children to them.

California enacted the California Healthy Youth Act in 2015, but only now are its controversial provisions starting to take effect in classrooms. Under the auspices of health, the law says it will equip students to develop “healthy attitudes” on “gender [and] sexual orientation,” among other things. It also says it will inform students about the “effectiveness and safety of all FDA-approved contraceptive methods,” and facilitate “objective discussion” about “parenting, adoption, and abortion.”

RedState contributor Kira Davis, a resident of Orange County, California, warns that among the teaching materials approved for use under this law are a study guide for the transgender children’s book I Am Jazz, as well as a “sexual health toolkit.”

This “toolkit,” funded in part by the George Soros-connected Tides Center, offers kids tips on using sex toys and anal lubricant. It defines “anal intercourse,” “phone sex,” and more as “common sexual behaviors.” It teaches that “abstinence” and “virginity” can mean engaging in a variety of sexual activities, but stopping short of intercourse.

“What if you don’t have time or money to buy sex toys?” the guide asks on page C-51. “Cucumbers, carrots, and bananas (with the peel) make great dildos. Just remember to use a condom!”

It teaches that one of the “cons” of abstaining from all sexual activity is that it “requires motivation, self-control and communication from both partners.”

The “toolkit” lists as resources Planned Parenthood and the radically pro-homosexual and pro-abortion group Advocates for Youth.
The law also mandates that lessons and materials “affirmatively recognize” varying sexual orientations, and that they “be inclusive of same-sex relationships.” Instruction must take a positive view of gender confusion, and explore “the harm of negative gender stereotypes.”

Davis notes that the California Healthy Youth Act expressly protects parents’ rights to “excuse their children from participation” in sex education courses without penalty of any kind, because “parents and guardians have the ultimate responsibility for imparting values regarding human sexuality to their children.”

The Orange County school district apparently interprets this differently.

In a memo dated March 29 to the Orange County Board of Education, Orange County Department of Education general counsel Ronald Wenkart says that the law’s opt-out provision “does not apply to instruction, materials, or programming that discusses gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, relationships, or family and does not discuss human reproductive organs.”

Parents who disagree with the state’s LGBT positions “may not excuse their children from this instruction,” Wenkart continues. He then suggests that parents still having the right to “advise their children that they disagree with” such lessons compensates for this restriction.

He also cites judicial precedent to claim that “parents do not have a constitutional right to excuse their children from portions of the school curriculum that they find objectionable.”

Heidi St. John, an author and speaker who covers faith, motherhood, and homeschooling as The Busy Mom, forcefully spoke out Wednesday against the memo.

“The Orange County Department of Education feels it is their right to GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO DISAGREE WITH THEM,” she wrote on Facebook. “These are our children! They do not belong to the schools.”

St. John advises California parents to contact their local school boards and Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, the law’s author, and to pull their children out of schools that force LGBT lessons on children.

She also urges parents to participate in the Sex Ed Sit Out on April 23, an event spanning the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in which parents pull their children out of school for the day in protest of radical sex education programs.
RedState’s Davis has similar advice.

“Make noise. Lots and lots and lots of noise,” she writes. “When [lawmakers’] constituents get cranky, they pay attention…and so few people actually call and write anymore that just a few hundred voices go a very long way to making your representative and governor think twice about proceeding with something that seems unpopular.”

Davis also stresses that parents who pull their children out ensure the school does not record it as an excused absence.
“The reason your public school demands you call to excuse a child’s absence is because they lose state and federal dollars on every unexcused absence,” she writes. “If you really want to make an impact, hit them where it hurts.”

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