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Ron Paul’s farewell to the United States: Embrace liberty or face self-destruction – Part 5

by Marvin J. Ramirez

Marvin J. RamirezMarvin J. Ramirez

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Dear readers: I am introducing to you, a memorable speech, which I consider the speech of the century. It is by a man who I believe has the biggest conviction on liberty than any one I have ever known. This man is Congressman Ron Paul, who is leaving Congress after 36 years. Mike Adams, editor of Natural News, took the time to transcribe it. Because the text came out too long, El Reportero will publish it in parts for several weeks. I hope you will enjoy it, and see for yourself, how this man’s vision brings out the raw corruption of our political system, with the hope that we all can help stop on time, the destruction of our Republic. PART 5

Ron Paul’s farewell message to America: Embrace liberty or face self-destruction

by Mike Adams

Ron Paul’s recent farewell speech is arguable the single most important speech in American history. Dr. Paul lays out the fatal problems facing America while pulling no punches. This speech is a must-read piece by anyone who seeks to understand the real reasons why America remains in a downward spiral of social and economic failure under the endless growth of Big Government and runaway debt.

Here’s another part of the full text:

The Proliferation of Federal Crimes

The Constitution established four federal crimes. Today the experts can’t even agree on how many federal crimes are now on the books — they number into the thousands. No one person can comprehend the enormity of the legal system — especially the tax code. Due to the ill-advised drug war and the endless federal expansion of the criminal code we have over 6 million people under correctional suspension, more than the Soviets ever had, and more than any other nation today, including China. I don’t understand the complacency of the Congress and the willingness to continue their obsession with passing more Federal laws. Mandatory sentencing laws associated with drug laws have compounded our prison problems.

The federal register is now 75,000 pages long and the tax code has 72,000 pages, and expands every year. When will the people start shouting, “enough is enough,” and demand Congress cease and desist.

Achieving Liberty

Liberty can only be achieved when government is denied the aggressive use of force. If one seeks liberty, a precise type of government is needed. To achieve it, more than lip service is required.

Two choices are available.

• A government designed to protect liberty — a natural right — as its sole objective. The people are expected to care for themselves and reject the use of any force for interfering with another person’s liberty. Government is given a strictly limited authority to enforce contracts, property ownership, settle disputes, and defend against foreign aggression.

• A government that pretends to protect liberty but is granted power to arbitrarily use force over the people and foreign nations. Though the grant of power many times is meant to be small and limited, it inevitably metastasizes into an omnipotent political cancer. This is the problem for which the world has suffered throughout the ages. Though meant to be limited it nevertheless is a 100% sacrifice of a principle that would-be-tyrants find irresistible. It is used vigorously — though incrementally oriand insidiously. Granting power to government officials always proves the adage that: “power corrupts.”

Once government gets a limited concession for the use of force to mold people habits and plan the economy, it causes a steady move toward tyrannical government. Only a revolutionary spirit can reverse the process and deny to the government this arbitrary use of aggression. There’s no in-between. Sacrificing a little liberty for imaginary safety always ends badly.

Today’s mess is a result of Americans accepting option #2, even though the Founders attempted to give us Option #1.

The results are not good. As our liberties have been eroded our wealth has been consumed. The wealth we see today is based on debt and a foolish willingness on the part of foreigners to take our dollars for goods and services. They then loan them back to us to perpetuate our debt system. It’s amazing that it has worked for this long but the impasse in Washington, in solving our problems indicate that many are starting to understand the seriousness of the world -wide debt crisis and the dangers we face. The longer this process continues the harsher the outcome will be.

The Financial Crisis Is a Moral Crisis

Many are now acknowledging that a financial crisis looms but few understand it’s, in reality, a moral crisis. It’s the moral crisis that has allowed our liberties to be undermined and permits the exponential growth of illegal government power. Without a clear understanding of the nature of the crisis it will be difficult to prevent a steady march toward tyranny and the poverty that will accompany it.

Ultimately, the people have to decide which form of government they want; option #1 or option #2. There is no other choice. Claiming there is a choice of a “little” tyranny is like describing pregnancy as a “touch of pregnancy.” It is a myth to believe that a mixture of free markets and government central economic planning is a worthy compromise. What we see today is a result of that type of thinking. And the results speak for themselves.

Mass and procession Long Live Cristo Rey!

by the El Reportero’s staff

TierraTierra

Viva Cristo Rey Committee invites everyone to celebrate a Mass in honor of Christ the King, followed by the traditional procession of Christ the King, which in Nicaragua is called Procession for Boys. This procession, which originated in Nicaragua, is celebrated on the first day of the year.

On Tuesday, January 1st, 2013. The Mass is at 12 noon at Dolores Mission Church (on 16th Street and Dolores) in SF.

Legendary band Tierra

On January 24th and 25th, Latin Rock Inc. welcomes headlining act TIERRA, who are celebrating their 40th Anniversary. TIERRA, named “Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Group” by Billboard Cashbox, Record World, and BRE (Black Radio Exclusive), is the first Hispanic act to have four songs on the national pop charts, and two songs simultaneously in the top 100. In these four decades, they had 6 songs on the national Pop and R&B charts “Together”, “Memories”, “Gonna Find Her”, and “Are We In Love”.

TIERRA’s invigorating blend of R & B, Latin and Pop was the precursor to many Hispanic artists and they are widely known to have played a key role in opening doors for many Latino and non Latino superstars, including comedian Paul Rodriguez, Arsenio Hall, Sheila E, Gloria Estefan, Los Lobos, and others. Tierra has worked with some of the greatest artists of the Salsa music world such as Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria, Hector Lavoe, Ruben Blades, Willie Colon, just to name a few. Come celebrate this moment in history with TIERRA at the Voices of Latin Rock Autism Awareness Benefits.

Mundo Maya 12:12:12: A celebration of the Mayan culture and calendar

Works of Latino and Mayan youth, in colaboration with artist Roberto Y. Hernández. The exhibition will go until December 29th, 2012. All the events are FREE and open to the public.

En Galería De La Raza / estudio 24, 2857–Calle 24 (con Bryant), San Francisco. www.galeriadelaraza.org.

9th Annual Voices of Latin Rock autism awareness benefit

It takes place on two big nights in 2013: at Bimbo’s 365 Club on Thursday January 24th and at The Fox Theatre RWC on Friday January 25th. The headlining act for both nights will be Tierra, who are celebrating their 40th anniversary with hit songs such as “Together.” “Gonna Find Her,” “Barrio Suite,” and “Margarita”. January 24th at Bimbos SF also features Generation Esmeralda, well known for their versions of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “House of the Rising Sun”, along with the Border rock sounds of Puro Bandido, and the Filipino influenced Dakila. Along with Tierra, Friday January 25th at the Fox Theatre will also showcase Richard Bean and Sapo, celebrating 40 years of Sauvecito, with Ruckatan’s fusion of Latin, Reggae and World Music as well as Puro Bandido. Scroll down for more info.

Popular Colombian artists to Caribbean Festival

por Prensa Latina and Hispanically Speaking News

Toto La MomposinaToto La Momposina

Toto La Momposina and sextet Tabala are among the popular Colombian artists that will participate in the 33rd International Caribbean Festival that will be held in July, one of the organizers reported today.

In statements to Prensa Latina, Orlando Verges, director of the House of the Caribbean, which has been sponsored by this festival for more than 30 years, reported that Toto La Momposina is a symbol of the Colombian Caribbean artist women and the group identifies the music of African origin in that country.

Verges said that during a recent visit to Colombia, invited by CM Tropican Representaciones, a Cuban tour operator in Bogota, he met with academicians and practitioners of different artistic expressions, interested in attending at the coming Fire Celebration, as the festival is also known.

He highlighted that this time, the festival would be dedicated to the Caribbean culture in that Latin American nation for the second time, after being honored in 1996.

The scholar said the Colombian delegation would be composed of around 420 artists, including researchers, anthropologists, poets, fine artists, exponents of the culinary culture and other popular traditional cultural expressions.

The organizing committee was constituted in the coastal city of Barranquilla, with the presence of Culture Minister Mariana Garces and Cuban Ambassador Gustavo Bell, said Verges.

Ricardo Arjona returns to Venezuelan stages

Guatemalan singer songwriter Ricardo Arjona, very famous in Latin America, will return to the stage in 2013 with shows in three Venezuelan cities, SForganizers said on Tuesday.

According to the company Solid Show, the performances are scheduled for the first quarter of 2013 in Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar State; Maturin, Monagas, and this capital.

Arjona will arrive here as part of his “Metamorphosis World Tour”, which broke box office records this year and throughout Latin America. In Venezuela, he has already performed in six cities.

Until 2011, he released 13 studio albums, and a live album, nine compilations and 43 singles.

In addition, four of his albums reached the top position on the Billboard Top Latin Albums in the United States, with a awards like a Grammy and a Latin Grammy.

Along with that, highlighted awards of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a Rusilver and gold torch, and two silver gulls at the International Song Festival of Viña del Mar in 2010.

Paulina Rubio’s ex-limited to supervised visitation with son Mexican singer

Paulina Rubio said Friday that her ex-husband, Spanish businessman
Nicolas “Colate” Vallejo Nagera, can only visit their son under the “supervision of a person who cares for the child’s physical and mental safety.”

With the statement released Friday by her attorneys, Rubio dismissed recent news stories saying that Colate had won the custody battle.

There was a court hearing in Miami on Wednesday after Rubio’s lawyers filed an urgent motion arising from the legal dispute she has with Colate over access to the minor.

In the motion she asked the judge that Colate be allowed only restricted, supervised visits with the boy.

Latino media to White House: Immigration reform now!

People rally asking for an immigration reform.

by Elena Shore

Ed. Note: President Obama announced last week that he expects Congress to propose a comprehensive immigration reform bill in early 2013. Last Sunday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced renewed talks to bring back their own immigration reform bill. Immigration reform may be retaking center stage in national media, but in the country’s Spanish-language newspapers, radio and TV programs, it has been the lead story for years.
Latino media are again taking the lead in the push for comprehensive immigration reform. The day after President Obama’s re-election, an editorial in the Los Angeles-based Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión argued that Obama “owes” it to Latinos.
The election, editors write, showed that Obama’s reelection was made possible thanks to the Latino vote, which can no longer be ignored in the path to the White House.

“Obama owes Latinos a debt,” the editorial argues. “We hope that the White House proposes an immigration bill and that GOP lawmakers take the opportunity to earn brownie points with the Latino community with a reasonable, positive law.”

Editors contend that the Republican Party needs to support immigration reform in order to gain back the votes of Latinos.

“The question,” they write, “is whether the GOP understands that it needs to adapt how its message is communicated, and in part also the content, to recover the ground lost among Hispanics. Passing comprehensive immigration reform in Congress would be a good step in that direction.”

Anchor Jorge Ramos makes a similar argument in a column titled, How to Lose an Election,” writing that Republicans must lead the effort for immigration reform in 2013.

The future of the GOP, he says, depends on it.

“As the party moves forward,” Ramos writes, “it needs to rally behind more moderate members like Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and a potential presidential candidate in 2016, who supports immigration reform and knows that without Hispanics, the GOP’s future looks grim. Those Republicans who would prefer to carry on as usual need to take a hard look at the numbers … If Republicans don’t reach out to our community, their party is doomed.”

Gaps and Failures

The way Rodrigo Cervantes, editor of Atlanta-based Mundo Hispánico, explains it, his newspaper, like many other Latino media, “has documented the gaps and failures of the current immigration system and how it has affected different communities and people -not only immigrants, and not only undocumented immigrants.”

A Nov. 8 editorial in Philadelphia’s Spanish-language newspaper Al Día, for example, looks at the limits of the Obama administration’s achievements, from health care to deferred action.

Al Día’s post-election editorial questions “why undocumented immigrants have been wholly precluded from purchasing — with their own money — coverage from insurers in your plan … Further, we wonder why undocumented young adults who are granted deferred action will not be given the ability to purchase health insurance from ACA pools either.”

Editors also wonder why Obama has failed to push for the DREAM Act, and ignored the pleas of Dreamers to issue an executive order to protect them. “And, no,” editors note, “the deferred action you penned isn’t anything comparable to an executive order, no matter how many times it is carelessly referred to in that way.”

The editorial concludes: “We applaud [deferred action] while feeling it was a small, conveniently-timed band-aid on a wound that you are responsible for exacerbating.

“That wound is immigration, Mr. President. The hundreds of thousands of people you’ve deported; the tens of thousands of families you’ve separated with detention and deportation; the thousands of U.S. citizen children placed in foster care because of your deportation policy; and the yet-to-be-counted total of children that have been adopted out because their detained parents were judged to have ‘abandoned’ them — these are our brothers, sisters, children, parents, friends and acquaintances — and your immigration legacy so far.

“You’ve said we can do a lot, together, in four years. We agree. And we’ll hold you and your party to it.”

A Bit of History

Latino media’s role at the forefront of the immigration reform movement should come as no surprise; the sector has a history of defending the rights of its community and immigration reform is no exception. John Esparza, editor of Vida en Valle, in Fresno, Calif., says his newspaper has taken a stand in support of comprehensive immigration reform since the mid-1990s, when communities began to express concern about Proposition 187, the California ballot measure that sought to prohibit undocumented immigrants from using social services.

The newspaper’s long tradition of advocating for immigration reform is a reflection of its location and the community it serves. “The heart of our distribution area is the San Joaquín Valley,” Esparza explains, “where farm production leads the nation thanks to a largely undocumented workforce.”

In 2006, Spanish-language radio was credited with urging many Latinos to take to the streets in the Labor Day immigrant rights marches, where millions of people protested the Sensenbrenner Bill in cities across the country.

Latino TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and online media have not spared President Obama in their criticism of U.S. immigration policy.

Latino media have taken the Obama administration to task for deporting a record number of undocumented immigrants; allowing immigration detention facilities that had inadequate medical care and poor conditions to remain open; enforcing policies such as Secure Communities that lead to deportation and detention of non-criminals; and a system of detention and deportation that separated families and left thousands of children in foster care.

On the state level, Latino media have also been at the forefront of the pushback against a wave of unprecedented state laws that took a hard line on illegal immigration, from Arizona’s SB 1070 to similar laws in Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Utah and South Carolina.

When Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law HB 87, for example, Georgia’s state immigration law, Atlanta Spanishlanguage newspaper MundoHispánico was published with a blank cover. In an accompanying editorial, editors wrote that the blank cover reflected the mood of the community and demonstrated their silent rejection of the state immigration law.

“It is my belief that journalism follows that principle of public service: to alert the structures of power on how a bad decision that they take can affect, denigrate or prejudice others,” MundoHispánico editor Rodrigo Cervantes explains.

Voices for Reform Growing Louder “I don’t necessarily see support for immigration reform as growing, but rather getting louder,” says Esparza of Vida en el Valle.

“The United Farm Workers has been working with the Nisei Farmers League and other agricultural organizations to push for immigration reform since 2005. That is a remarkable achievement considering the past history of the UFW and [agriculture].

DREAMers have added to that louder voice.”

Esparza says his publication continues to push for comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including farmworkers and DREAMers; a visa program that provides safeguards for guest workers so that they are not abused; family reunification; and establishment of an immigration program that avoids the pitfalls of the 1986 Immigration and Reform Control Act. The last push for comprehensive immigration reform, however, resulted in a ratcheting up of enforcement and deportations, without any of these reforms. The question this time is whether these efforts will be successful. Additional reporting by Suzanne Manneh.

 

California government wages insanity: Cop earns $484,000; psychiatric earns $822,000

by J. D. Heyes

As California continues to drown in red ink, it’s worth noting how the state got into such fiscal dire straits in the first place, as a lesson about how not to run a government.

In a move that smacked of blatant political favoritism, one-term Gov. Gray Davis, who nine years ago became the first U.S. governor in 82 years to be recalled, implemented policies that continue to screw over the state’s 20 million taxpayers who got stuck paying the tab.

“Davis escalated salaries and benefits for 164,000 state workers, including a 34 percent raise for prison guards, the first of a series of steps in which he and successors saddled California with a legacy of dysfunction,” Bloomberg News reported recently in a piece detailing the state’s ongoing budgetary woes. “Today, the state’s highest-paid employees make far more than comparable workers elsewhere in almost all job and wage categories, from public safety to health care, base pay to overtime.”

‘It was completely avoidable’

What’s worse, in the years since, Gray’s successor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was unable to convince enough state lawmakers to help fix the out-of-whack salary structure, despite successive budget deficits totaling tens of billions annually. Seems like lawmakers beholden to public employee unions instead of taxpayers don’t mind police officers making $484,000 and a psychiatrist $822,000 a year, respectively.

According to payroll data compiled by Bloomberg on 1.4 million employees in the 12 most populous states, California is a stand-out. The state “has set a pattern of lax management, inefficient operations and out-of-control costs,” the financial newswire reported.

All across the country, such poor public policy and leadership in the past is forcing states to cut school funding, public safety operations and benefits for their poorest residents “as they struggle with fallout left by politicians who made pay-and-pension promises that taxpayers couldn’t afford,” Bloomberg said.

“It was completely avoidable,” said David Crane, a public-policy lecturer at Stanford University.

“All it took was for political leaders to think more about the general population and the future, rather than their political futures,” said Crane, a Democrat who worked as an economic adviser to former Governor Schwarzenegger, a Republican. “Citizens should be mad as hell, and they shouldn’t take it anymore.”

Big payouts

The pattern of state governments handing out largess to political allies has been repeated from coast to coast and is largely responsible for contributing to combined state budget shortfalls of $500 billion in just the past four years alone.

So much red ink has caused some governors, like Republican Scott Walker of Wisconsin, to remove collective bargaining (union) rights from most government employees, as well as taking other steps to cap or cut payroll spending.

In the Golden State, Gov. Jerry Brown – a stalwart of California politics for most of his professional life who served as the state’s chief executive previously, from 1975-1983 – has been unable to curb overtime expenses that lead the 12 biggest states. He also has not been able to limit payments for accumulated vacation time that saw one state worker collect $609,000 at retirement last year.

He has; however, continued requiring workers to take an unpaid day off each month, which Bloomberg says could burden the state with new costs at some point in the future.

Here’s one of his “solutions” to solving California’s $160 billion budget debt: He waived a cap on accrued leave for prison guards while giving them additional paid days off, compliments of the state’s taxpayers.

Brown did that despite the fact that California’s existing liability for unused leave of its state workers has more than doubled in the past eight years and currently stands at $3.9 billion.

“It’s outrageous what public employees in California receive in compensation and benefits,” Lanny Ebenstein, who heads the California Center for Public Policy, a Santa Barbara-based research institution critical of public payrolls, told Bloomberg. “Until public employee compensation and benefits are brought in line, there will be no answer to the fiscal shortfalls that California governments at every level face.”

More taxes, more spending?

Here are some additional shocking statistics and figures:

— As stated, one state psychiatrist in California was paid $822,000, while a state Highway Patrol officer collected $484,000 in pay and pension benefits; 17 other employees got checks for more than $200,000 for unused vacation and leave.

— State psychiatrists were among the highest paid employees in other states, too, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and New Jersey, with total compensation $270,000 to $327,000 for the highest-paid.

— Some state police officers in Pennsylvania got checks as big as $190,000 for unused personal leave and vacation time, even as they were able to retire young enough to begin second careers.

— Virginia paid some active state officers up to $109,000 in overtime alone.

Again, though, California stands out.

“California spends most of its money on salaries, retirement payments, health care benefits for government workers, and other compensation,” said Schwarzenegger. “State revenues are up more than 50 percent over the past 10 years, but still we’ve had to cut spending on services because so much of that revenue increase went to increases in compensation and benefits.”

One thing Brown has succeeded in accomplishing: He convinced voters to back a huge tax increase last month, all the while promising that the extra money will only be used to help balance the state’s budget.

Where have we heard that before?

Honduras’s wake up to second coup in less than four years

by the El Reportero’s news services

Latin News report – Soldiers surrounded the national congress in Tegucigalpa on Dec. 11 and well into the small hours of the next day. Inside a decisive majority of legislators voted to dismiss four supreme court (CSJ) magistrates who had ruled two weeks earlier that a law designed to purge the police of corrupt elements was unconstitutional.

In so doing congress, with the tacit approval of President Porfirio Lobo, flouted the Constitution which nowhere confers upon it the power to dismiss CSJ magistrates. Unravelling the twisted skein of Honduran politics suggests that there was far more at play than just this law, and that the inter-institutional tension which resulted in the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya in June 2009 remains unresolved.

Nicaragua plans more investments in main port

Prensa Latina – The Porto of Corinto, the main point where merchandise enter or leave Nicaragua, will undergo improvement worth 2.5 million USD to increase the country’s competitiveness, it was reported today.

According to Executive President of the National Port Business, Virgilio Silva, infrastructure work in 2013 will reach at least 60 million cordobas (some 2.5 million USD).

Investments respond to the purpose of the government of President Daniel Ortega to turn Corinto, in the Pacific Ocean, into one of the best infrastructures for maritime trade in Central America.

We’re (nearly) all middle class now Latin News report – Latin America’s middle class numbered 152 million people as of 2009, up 50 percent from 103 million in 2003, according to a new World Bank report.

Defined in income terms as anyone making between US$10 and US$50 per day, the middle class made up 30 percent of the region’s population in 2009.

Moderate poverty fell from more than 40 percent in 2000 to less than 30 percent in 2010, meaning that 50m Latin Americans escaped poverty over the decade.

More foreigners arrive in Guatemala to celebrate end of Baktun

Prensa Latina – Guatemala is awaiting the arrival today of even more foreigners, here to celebrate the change of calendars on Friday, according to the Mayan calendar, while indigenous organizations have announced they will celebrate this event separately from the government.

According to the estimate provided by Pedro Duchez, director of the Guatemalen Institute of Tourism (Inguat), this country expects nearly 200,000 foreigners to visit in order to celebrate the end of the 13th Baktun.

Some months ago, different indigenous groups expressed their nonconformity with the preparations promoted by the Guatemalan government to celebrate the event. The National Indigenous Observatory criticized the Executive´s multi-million expenditure to promote the celebrations.

According to a government accounting in September, the Ministry of Culture and Sports had spent 26 million quetzals ($3,270,440 USD), while Inguat spent 40 million quetzals ($5,031,446 USD) to prepare the celebration activities.

The 13th Baktun will end on December 21, while many have speculated that date marks the end of the world, according to an apocalyptic interpretation of the Mayan scriptures.

Each Baktun is equivalent to 144,000 days, so in other words, 13 cycles of that type total 1,872,000 days (5,125 years).

Neurologial disorder MMF found to be caused by vaccines: scientific proof

by Jonathan Benson
Natural News

It is a little-known condition that can trigger persistent and debilitating symptoms similar to those associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia, but is also one that the medical profession at large is still unwilling to acknowledge. And yet emerging research continues to show that macrophagic myofascitis, or MMF, is a very real condition brought about as a direct result of vaccines that contain aluminum adjuvants, which become lodged in muscle tissue and lead to severe neurological damage and other problems.

First identified in 1998, MMF is characterized by debilitating muscle and joint pain, chronic inflammation, and incapacitating fatigue.

Though clearly distinct from both fibromyalgia and MS, which are also now believed by many to be neurological conditions triggered by vaccines, MMF is similar in that it appears to involve the demyelination of the central nervous system, or the loss of the fatty layer myelin sheaths that protect nerves.

With this loss, comes the development of serious lesions, as well as a type of autoimmune reaction in which the body is unable to properly transmit nerve impulses, and essentially ends up attacking itself.

The end result of this can manifest as severe pain in muscles and joints, chronic fatigue, persistent brain “fog,” and of course lasting nervous system damage.

Numerous studies link vaccines containing aluminum to MMF

The medical industry, if it is even willing to acknowledge the existence of MMF — for years, conventional medicine also tried to deny the existence of fibromyalgia — insists that the condition has no known cause. But copious research, including a study published in the journal Brain back in 2001, reveals that there is indeed a known cause of MMF, and that cause is vaccines.

As it turns out, vaccines that contain aluminum adjuvants, which include
vaccines for hepatitis A and B, as well as the tetanus shot, are directly linked to spurring the inflammatory lesions associated with MMF.

“The association between MMF and multiple sclerosis-like disorders may give new insights into the controversial issues surrounding vaccinations and demyelinating CNS disorders,” explains the Brain paper (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11522584). “[I] ntramuscular injections of such vaccines (that contain aluminum) in experimental animal models induce comparable but transient lesions at the site of injection, suggesting that MMF may occur ‘in a predisposed subset of individuals with impaired ability to clear aluminum from the deltoid muscle.’”

A later study published in the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal in 2007 made a similar but much more direct connection. In its opening assessment, the study explains that the pathophysiology of MMF “has been traced to the presence of an aluminum adjuvant used in vaccines.” According to the findings, aluminum from vaccines aggregates at the site of injection, and as many as one-third of people that develop MMF as a result also end up developing autoimmune disease as well. (http://www.entjournal.com).

Health authorities deny MMF, as well as any link to vaccines

When presented with this damning information back in 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO), which steers the policy decisions crafted by its many member countries, which includes the U.S., decided to ignore it. Not only did WHO deny any link between MMF and vaccines containing aluminum, but the organization also denied the very existence of MMF altogether.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of studies has continued to emerge acknowledging MMF and its direct link to vaccines. One such study published in the journal Medical Hypotheses in 2009 acknowledges that MMF and autoimmune disorders in general appear directly linked to the aluminum adjuvants found in vaccines. (http://www.medical-hypotheses.com)

“This case has highlighted potential dangers associated with aluminumcontaining adjuvants and we have elucidated a possible mechanism whereby vaccination involving aluminumcontaining adjuvants could trigger the cascade of immunological events which are associated with autoimmune conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome and macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF),” explains the study.

For a list of common vaccines that contain aluminum adjuvants, visit: http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

The Hispanic celebrations of Christmas

by Santos C. Vega
Hispanic Link News Service

Bundled up against the cold, they carry candles and sing traditional songs as they make their way in procession along winding barrio streets. They stop at designated homes. With one cupped hand, each protects a candle’s fragile flame from the cold night breeze. The illumination dances, reflecting their joyous faces.

Among them, they carry the figures of the Holy Family. Mary and Joseph again are in search of a shelter, re-enacting the Bible story set in Bethlehem.

The group is divided into pilgrims and innkeepers. Each night, for the nine days before Christmas, a different home is designated as the posada — inn. Through song, shelter is asked by the pilgrims several times and refused by the innkeepers. Finally, the pilgrims gain admittance and celebrate with songs, hot chocolate and sweet breads. The celebrants may gather around a nativity scene Nacimiento or Belén (Pesebre in Chile) and sing songs correlating with the Christmas story depicted by the nativity scene.

In the final day of Las Posadas, the group arrives at the church grounds or someone’s yard, where the children break a piñata.

At church, the faithful may also perform a drama called La Pastorela or Los Pastores — mystery plays of Spanish origin dating from the Middle Ages.

They are presented anytime between Christmas and Feb. 2, even as late as March 19. These are dramatic interpretations of the shepherds’ reactions to the angels’ announcement of the birth of Christ.

Prophets had foretold the coming of Christ some seven centuries before his birth; they had foretold the place of his birth, Bethlehem (Mica 5). These dramas may be staged before or after Christmas, but on Christmas Eve, the faithful attend Midnight Mass (Misa del Gallo). It is through these traditions that the Hispanic people honor Christ during the Christmas season.

Mexican Americans begin their Christmas Liturgical calendar with the period of Advent, four weeks of preparation for the coming of Christ. The Virgin Mary, mother of the Child Jesus, is the central figure as the faithful celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 with a Mass and home rosary services. The Virgin Mary is honored as Empress of the Americas. The faithful recall her apparitions to the Mexican Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City.

Churches and homes are decorated with the Bélen (nativity scene). In this scene the story of Christmas is depicted. Through Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, the faithful are brought to the Nativity of Christ. In Bethlehem, the time came for Jesus to be born. The humble Joseph and a patient Mary sought shelter. Finally, Jesus was born, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger. A scheming Herod plotted the death of the infant Jesus. The Magi, Three wise men who came from the East seeking the child Jesus, (Matt. 2:1-12) followed the Christmas Star.

In the Nacimiento, the wise men are moved closer to the crib each day until the day of Epiphany on Jan. 6. Epiphany commemorates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi, who brought gifts to the child Jesus. For this reason, many Hispanics give gifts to loved ones on that day, el Día de los Reyes.

The journey of the three kings demonstrates the spiritual longing for God’s fulfillment of His promise to send to humanity a savior, a Messiah, named “Emmanuel” by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:13).

Today, this period of waiting for the promised Christ and this time of preparation by the faithful for his coming, celebrated by Christmas, is called Advent (from the Latin “Advenire,” meaning “to come”). The coming of Christ is celebrated by Hispanics, like the Old Testament faithful, by waiting and living lives in tune with God’s expectations. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God promised to send a Savior to his people (Genesis 3:15). Thus, the Season of Advent is a “waiting time” of preparation for reliving the birth of Jesus Christ.

The story of waiting and searching, praying and celebrating is carried out by Las Posadas, El Nacimiento, Las Pastorelas, and La Misa del Gallo. The Hispanic Christmas culture brings the faithful together in celebration with family and friends.

In Puerto Rico, groups of faithful drop in unannounced on friends and relatives to sing aguinaldos. The surprise visit is called an Asalto. Aguinaldo means gift and in the case of asaltos, the gifts are Christmas songs. Appreciative hosts supply treats such as drinks of coquito (coconut milk and rum eggnog), arroz con dulce, sweetened rice and pastries. The asaltos continue for eight days after Jan. 6, Epiphany, Día de Reyes.
Epiphany is important to the Hispanic world. Cubans celebrate the Nochebuena (Holy Night of Christmas) Dec. 24. Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans and Latinos from Mexico and throughout the Americas attend Midnight Mass (Misa del Gallo). After Mass and during the days of celebration, Cuban Americans enjoy dinner with the traditional roast pork, guinea hen fricassee, black beans and rice. Desserts may include yuca, buñuelos, turrones (nougat candy of Spanish origin) and fruits and nuts.

Mexican Americans return home from Misa de Gallo to eat tamales. They are a particular favorite in Texas. Celebrants in New Mexico often prefer empanaditas (turnovers filled with sweet, spiced meat). For Mexican Americans, Christmas dinner may include chicken with mole (a thick spicy gravy-type sauce), pozole (hominy and beans) and more tamales.

Puerto Ricans’ Christmas dinner (Cena de Nochebuena) may consist of roast pork, rice with chick-peas (arroz con gandules), and for dessert, coconut custard (bien me sabe), fruits and nuts.

Dominicans gather on Christmas Eve for a dinner of roast pork, teleras (yolk bread), smoked ham, and after dinner, pastry called pastelitos dominicanos. Other desserts may include figs, dates, grapes, apples, and pears. Ponche crema (milk eggnog) is the traditional drink.

Early Augustinian Missionaries introduced Las Posadas to the Americas. At the end of the posadas, children celebrate by breaking piñatas. The piñata was used initially by missionaries as a teaching aid: Christian life is a struggle against unseen spiritual enemies. (Eph. 6:12) A person (a child breaking the piñata) triumphs with the rod of virtues. When children break the piñata, all kinds of candy fall out; these are the fruits of the efforts, fun and joy celebrating the birth of the Child Jesus.

The victory for all humanity was gained with the birth of Christ. The historical piñata was broken and salvation given to humanity by God as a gift. Many Hispanics celebrate the Reyes Magos on Jan. 6. This is the time for gift giving, especially in New Mexico.

In the Hispanic world, no two Christmas celebrations are alike. The meaning to each individual depends on his or her perception within the context of the celebrating community.

Christian culture gives each person an opportunity to participate in Las Posadas, a Pastorela, attend a Misa del Gallo and honor Christ in the Christmas Hispanic culture.

(Santos C. Vega, Ph.D., Emeritus College, retired in 2004, Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University in 2004).

Ron Paul’s farewell to the United States: Embrace liberty or face self-destruction – Part 4

by Marvin J. Ramirez

Marvin J. RamirezMarvin J. Ramirez

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Dear readers: I am introducing to you, a memorable speech, which I consider the speech of the century. It is by a man who I believe has the biggest conviction on liberty than any one I have ever known. This man is Congressman Ron Paul, who is leaving Congress after 36 years. Mike Adams, editor of Natural News, took the time to transcribe it. Because the text came out too long, El Reportero will publish it in parts for several weeks. I hope you will enjoy it, and see for yourself, how this man’s vision brings out the raw corruption of our political system, with the hope that we all can help stop on time, the destruction of our Republic. PART 4

Ron Paul’s farewell message to America: Embrace liberty or face self-destruction

by Mike Adams

Ron Paul’s recent farewell speech is arguable the single most important speech in American history. Dr. Paul lays out the fatal problems facing America while pulling no punches. This speech is a must-read piece by anyone who seeks to understand the real reasons why America remains in a downward spiral of social and economic failure under the endless growth of Big Government and runaway debt.

Here’s another part of the full text:

Is there any explanation for all the deception, the unhappiness, the fear of the future, the loss of confidence in our leaders, the distrust, the anger and frustration? Yes there is, and there’s a way to reverse these attitudes. The negative perceptions are logical and a consequence of bad policies bringing about our problems. Identification of the problems and recognizing the cause allow the proper changes to come easy.

Trust Yourself, Not the Government

Too many people have for too long placed too much confidence and trust in government and not enough in themselves. Fortunately, many are now becoming aware of the seriousness of the gross mistakes of the past several decades. The blame is shared by both political parties. Many Americans now are demanding to hear the plain truth of things and want the demagoguing to stop. Without this first step, solutions are impossible.

Seeking the truth and finding the answers in liberty and self-reliance promotes the optimism necessary for restoring prosperity. The task is not that difficult if politics 2doesn’t get in the way.

We have allowed ourselves to get into such a mess for various reasons.

Politicians deceive themselves as to how wealth is produced. Excessive confidence is placed in the judgment of politicians and bureaucrats. This replaces the confidence in a free society. Too many in high places of authority became convinced that only they, armed with arbitrary government power, can bring about fairness, while facilitating wealth production. This always proves to be a utopian dream and destroys wealth and liberty. It impoverishes the people and rewards the special interests who end up controlling both political parties.

It’s no surprise then that much of what goes on in Washington is driven by aggressive partisanship and power seeking, with philosophic differences being minor.

Economic Ignorance

Economic ignorance is commonplace. Keynesianism continues to thrive, although today it is facing healthy and enthusiastic rebuttals. Believers in military Keynesianism and domestic Keynesianism continue to desperately promote their failed policies, as the economy languishes in a deep slumber.
Supporters of all government edicts use humanitarian arguments to justify them.

Humanitarian arguments are always used to justify government mandates related to the economy, monetary policy, foreign policy, and personal liberty. This is on purpose to make it more difficult to challenge. But, initiating violence for humanitarian reasons is still violence. Good intentions are no excuse and are just as harmful as when people use force with bad intentions. The results are always negative.

The immoral use of force is the source of man’s political problems. Sadly, many religious groups, secular organizations, and psychopathic authoritarians endorse government initiated force to change the world.

Even when the desired goals are well-intentioned — or especially when well-intentioned — the results are dismal. The good results sought never materialize. The new problems created require even more government force as 7214a solution. The net result is institutionalizing government initiated violence and morally justifying it on humanitarian grounds.
This is the same fundamental reason our government uses force for invading other countries at will, central economic planning at home, and the regulation of personal liberty and habits of our citizens.

It is rather strange, that unless one has a criminal mind and no respect for other people and their property, no one claims it’s permissible to go into one’s neighbor’s house and tell them how to behave, what they can eat, smoke and drink or how to spend their money.

Yet, rarely is it asked why it is morally acceptable that a stranger with a badge and a gun can do the same thing in the name of law and order. Any resistance is met with brute force, fines, taxes, arrests, and even imprisonment. This is done more frequently every day without a proper search warrant.

No Government Monopoly over Initiating Violence

Restraining aggressive behavior is one thing, but legalizing a government monopoly for initiating aggression can only lead to exhausting liberty associated with chaos, anger and the breakdown of civil society. Permitting such authority and expecting saintly behavior from the bureaucrats and the politicians is a pipe dream. We now have a standing army of armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, FEMA, IRS, Corp of Engineers, etc. numbering over 100,000. Citizens are guilty until proven innocent in the unconstitutional administrative courts.

Government in a free society should have no authority to meddle in social activities or the economic transactions of individuals. Nor should government meddle in the affairs of other nations. All things peaceful, even when controversial, should be permitted.

We must reject the notion of prior restraint in economic activity just we do in the area of free speech and religious liberty. But even in these areas government is starting to use a backdoor approach of political correctness to regulate speech-a dangerous trend. Since 9/11 monitoring speech on the internet is now a problem since warrants are no longer required.

Vacationing in Managua is nicer – especially if staying in a mansion for a cheaper rate

by Dania Isabel Hernández
Campos Specia for El Reportero

Staff members at La Mansion Teolinda.Staff members at La Mansion Teolinda.

For the many Nicaraguan tourists that are visiting their native Nicaragua, as well as for the Latino community in the Bay Area, staying in a comfortable place, and at a very reasonable price, are instrumental to a super holiday. Compared to large hotel consortiums, sleeping in a mansion full of history and personal service for much less money, it’s a privilege.

In the capital of the land of lakes and volcanoes, Managua, there is one of the most distinguished and traditional hotels in the country, the Mansion Teodolinda.

The hotel, a family business founded in March 1993, and which will soon be celebrating 20 years of serving national and international tourists, is known as a quiet, safe and relaxing place, just as being home.

The location of the hotel is key, as Teodolinda Mansion, formerly owned by the Gonzalez Holmann family, was a benchmark for every passer-by. It then became a religious school for young ladies, until the earthquake of 1972. They therefore wanted to keep not only the land, but also the name and history of this place.

As accounted by Neville Cross, one of the owners, the hotel had seven rooms in the beginning, and eventually when the clientele grew, this number was extended to 42 rooms.

Its prices – proportionally less than those of the big hotels- vary according to the seasons. It has a pool, a restaurant, meeting rooms for all type of events, and guided recommendations of the city. Its rooms have air conditioning, internet, safe, gym, parking, laundry and other facilities.

Moreover, it’s close to the center of the capital, near Loma de Tiscapa, a short distance from the house of Mejia Godoy, and has an efficient security service.

It also has transport services, and partnerships with tour operators for visits to the countryside.

For the owners of Teolinda, good environmental practices are part of their commitment to the environment, such as the use of recycling bins in the hallways and a modern energy saving system.

As for its cuisine, the restaurant offers a national and international menu of high quality in meats, seafood, and other combinations that are greatly demanded by guests.

Moreover, they also have partnerships with the National Theatre “Rubén Darío” and other re-known venues that feature national artists and shows, and Ruta Maya among others.

Teodolinda Mansion Hotel is a landmark for tourists who live abroad and offers special rates to residents of San Francisco and other California cities, where there are thousands of Nicaraguans who visit or want to visit Nicaragua.

For more information visit: http://www.teodolinda.com.ni/es/.

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