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Supreme Court Obamacare decision highlights why Romney would be more dangerous than President Obama

­The National Libertarian Party issued the following statement:

A President Mitt Romney would not undo Obama Care. He’d make it permanent.

The Supreme Court Ruling on Obama Care does not matter. It will make little difference to America in the short run, and no difference in the long run.

Why? Because almost all elected Republicans and Democrats are Big Government politicians – in all things – including health care. After this Supreme Court decision, they will get back to work expanding government involvement in all things – especially health care.

One thing could make things worse. Electing Republican Mitt Romney President.

Why? Republicans fiercely oppose, and often defeat Democratic Party attempts to massively expand government involvement in Health Care – such as HillaryCare.

But Democrats usually vote for Republican Party legislation to massively expand government’s role in Health Care.

Republican President George Bush’s $1.1 Trillion Government Prescription Drug Program was voted into law by Republicans and Democrats.

Republican Governor Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts state government expansion into Massachusetts health care – RomneyCare – was voted into law by both Republicans and Democrats. With virtually no resistance.

A Republican-controlled House of Representatives and US Senate would oppose Democratic President Barack Obama’s health care proposals.

But a Republican majority House of Representatives and US Senate would support and vote for a Republican President Mitt Romney’s Big Government health care proposals. And most Democrats in the House and Senate would, too.

What Republican Governor Romney did to Massachusetts’ health care, a Republican President Romney would do to America’s health care.

A President Mitt Romney would not undo ObamaCare. He’d make it permanent.

A first-term President Mitt Romney would be far more dangerous to small business, the private sector, and taxpayers than a lame-duck President Obama – no matter what the Supreme Court decided.

Hundreds of Victims Endorse SAFE California Act to Replace Death Penalty

Victims with personal experience with California’s death penalty ask voters to support initiative to replace it with life in prison without possibility of parole with work and restitution.

LOS ANGELES— More than 400 family members of murder victims have endorsed the SAFE California Act, the initiative that will be on the November ballot to replace the death penalty with life in prison without possibility of parole. At a gathering in Los Angeles, several victims shared their own experiences with California’s death penalty and their reasons for supporting the SAFE California Act.

Bethany Webb’s sister was murdered in the Seal Beach Salon Massacre last October and her mother is the only victim to survive the assault. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty in the case. Ms. Webb said, “I and my family know that the death penalty will subject us to decades of painful court proceedings and cost the state millions. As a victim, I think that money should be used to help victims and bring justice to more families.”

The SAFE California Act will require every person convicted of murder to work in prison and pay restitution to the victims’ compensation fund. It will save the state hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years and directs $100 million of that savings to local law enforcement to solve more rape and murder cases.

Global elites thrown out of Iceland

Iceland dis­mantles corrupt government, then arrests all Rothschild bankers

posted by Ask Marion

by Daily Thought Pad

­Ilustración de la sede de la Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte.Illustration of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization­.

Since the 1900′s the vast majority of the American population has dreamed about saying “NO” to the Unconstitutional, corrupt, Rothschild / Rockefeller banking criminals, but no one has dared to do so. Why? If just half of our Nation, and the “1%”, who pay the majority of the taxes, just said NO MORE! Our Gov’t would literally change over night. Why is it so hard, for some people to understand, that by simply NOT giving your money, to large Corporations, who then send jobs, Intellectual­­ Property, etc. offshore and promote anti-Constitutional rights… You will accomplish more, than if you used violence. In other words…

RESEARCH WHERE YOU ARE SENDING EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!! Is that so hard?

The truth of the matter is… No one, except the Icelanders, have to been the only culture on the planet to carry out this successfully. Not only have they been successful, at overthrowing the corrupt Gov’t, they’ve drafted a Constitution, that will stop this from happening ever again. That’s not the best part… The best part, is that they have arrested ALL Rothschild/Rockefeller banking puppets, responsible for the Country’s economic Chaos and meltdown. Last week 9 people were arrested in London and Reykjavik for their possible responsibility for Iceland’s financial collapse in 2008, a deep crisis which developed into an unprecedented public reaction that is changing the country’s direction.

It has been a revolution without weapons in Iceland, the country that hosts the world’s oldest democracy (since 930), and whose citizens have managed to effect change by going on demonstrations and banging pots and pans. Why have the rest of the Western countries not even heard about it? Pressure from Icelandic citizens’ has managed not only to bring down a government, but also begin the drafting of a new constitution (in process) and is seeking to put in jail those bankers responsible for the financial crisis in the country.

As the saying goes, if you ask for things politely it is much easier to get them. This quiet revolutionary process has its origins in 2008 when the Icelandic government decided to nationalise the three largest banks, Landsbanki, Kaupthing and Glitnir, whose clients were mainly British, and North and South American.

After the State took over, the official currency (krona) plummeted and the stock market suspended its activity after a 76% collapse. Iceland was becoming bankrupt and to save the situation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) injected U.S. $ 2,100 million and the Nordic countries helped with another 2,500 million.

Great little victories of ordinary people

While banks and local and foreign authorities were desperately seeking economic solutions, the Icelandic people took to the streets and their persistent daily demonstrations outside parliament in Reykjavik prompted the resignation of the conservative Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde and his entire government. Citizens demanded, in addition, to convene early elections, and they succeeded.

In April a coalition government was elected, formed by the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement, headed by a new Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. Throughout 2009 the Icelandic economy continued to be in a precarious situation (at the end of the year the GDP had dropped by 7%) but, despite this, the Parliament proposed to repay the debt to Britain and the Netherlands with a payment of 3,500 million Euros, a sum to be paid every month by Icelandic families for 15 years at 5.5% interest.

The move sparked anger again in the Icelanders, who returned to the streets demanding that, at least, that decision was put to a referendum. Another big small victory for the street protests: in March 2010 that vote was held and an overwhelming 93% of the population refused to repay the debt, at least with those conditions.

This forced the creditors to rethink the deal and improve it, offering 3% interest and payment over 37 years. Not even that was enough. The current president, on seeing that Parliament approved the agreement by a narrow margin, decided last month not to approve it and to call on the Icelandic people to vote in a referendum so that they would have the last word.

The bankers are fleeing in fear Returning to the tense situation in 2010, while the Icelanders were refusing to pay a debt incurred by financial sharks without consultation, the coalition government had launched an investigation to determine legal responsibilities for the fatal economic crisis and had already arrested several bankers and top executives closely linked to high risk operations. Interpol, meanwhile, had issued an international arrest warrant against Sigurdur Einarsson, former president of one of the banks. This situation led scared bankers and executives to leave the country en masse.

In this context of crisis, an assembly was elected to draft a new constitution that would reflect the lessons learned and replace the current one, inspired by the Danish constitution. To do this, instead of calling experts and politicians, Iceland decided to appeal directly to the people, after all they have sovereign power over the law. More than 500 Icelanders presented themselves as candidates to ­participate in this exercise in direct democracy and write a new constitution. 25 of them, without party affiliations, including lawyers, students, journalists, farmers and trade union representatives were elected.

Among other developments, this constitution will call for the protection, like no other, of freedom of information and expression in the so-called Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, in a bill that aims to make the country a safe haven for investigative journalism and freedom of information, where sources, journalists and Internet providers that host news reporting are protected. The people, for once, will decide the future of the country while bankers and politicians witness the transformation of a nation from the sidelines.

 

Oregon officials use fear to coerce parents into vaccinating their children

by Susanne Posel
Infowars.com

In Oregon, parents have opted out of vaccinating their children in such large numbers that researchers are growing concerned.

A new study concluded that infants on alternative immunization schedules are growing from 2.5 percent in 2006 to 9.5 percent in 2009. While fewer babies in the Northwestern state are being vaccinated, parents are being admonished to stick to the recommended schedule of regular vaccines.

The Oregon ALERT Immunization Information System, used to track children born between 2003 and 2009 in Portland, Oregon found trends displaying anti-vaccine attitudes from parents in this metropolitan area.

Ilhem Messaoudi, professor at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University , who did not participate in the study stated in commentary: “When you look at theseSecalternative schedules, they are spread out, and really no parent is going to take their child every few months. There’s a culture of avoiding vaccination, and parents are deciding what their kids’ vaccination schedule should be. I’ve always known that parents in the Northwest are more cautious.”

Oregon health officials have been motivated to purvey pro-immunization propaganda onto the citizens of Portland in response to the study. Disregarding that the study was solely based on doctor reports and not scientific empirical data, the health officials in Oregon have been deployed to focus their attention on coercion and fear-mongering.

Steve Robison, epidemiologist at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and researcher for the study, remarked: “The fact that there is an alternative schedule means that there is alternative advice. Most parents are getting their kids the recommended shots. They are not getting it at recommended times, making them fall behind. These kids are at greater risk, and we don’t see them catching up.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Medical Association disavows delaying vaccines claiming increased health risks and susceptibility to disease.

According to the OHA in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, pharmaceutical corporate giant, the reduction of vaccines in children “compromise[s] the immune response”. The OHA recommends 23 vaccinations to be administered to infants before the age of 2. Parents have become mistrustful of the government vaccination recommendations and the drug industry. Although the CDC-backed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants before the age of 1 receive a barrage of vaccines, parents on a whole are refusing.

Carol Baker, chair at the ACIP and a professor of pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston supports vaccine propaganda. Baker said: “The recommended schedule is based on indisputable scientific evidence that the vaccines will work to prevent infections and are safe.”

However, Amanda Dempsey, of the Children’s Outcomes Research Program at the University of Colorado, Denver, admits that “no vaccine is 100 percent effective.” Yet she uses unscientific fearmongering by claiming that “herd immunity” (the idea that if those around you have been vaccinated then you are safe) will not save some people such as “sick people and infants” and those at higher risk will succumb to diseases.

In fact, new analysis into the dangers of vaccines has yielded yet another reason not to participate. To save on costs and increase profit margins, pharmaceutical corporations who manufacture multi-dose vials are increasing the risks and contaminants within the vaccines and their packaging.

The more participants present during immunizations, the greater risk of contamination Poor attention to aseptic techniques spread dangerous microbial bacteria Mercury-based preservatives do not protect against or kill harmful microbes.

­Most of the mercury in the vaccines collects at the bottom of the vial, causing the last doses to be the most dangerous Plastic particles are released into the vaccinated patient with every dose withdrawal, which are then injected into the patient The study concerning the children of Oregon, focusing on infants and toddlers before the age of 2, seeks only to scare parents into getting back to a regular immunization schedule.

In order to inject toxins that negatively affect the health of our children, as well as compromise the development of their immune system leaving them susceptible to deadly diseases, parents must be convinced to submit to vaccines. This is one way they are attempting to combat the growing public awareness of the live-threatening vaccines our government demands we all acquiesce to. This article first appeared on Susanne Posel’s site Occupy Corporatism.

Lugo’s impeachment plunges Paraguay into political limbo

by El Reportero’s news services

Fernando LugoFernando Lugo

The threat of impeachment had been hanging like a sword of Damocles over the head of Paraguay’s president, Fernando Lugo, almost from the moment he took power in August 2008, said Latin News.

“On June 22, with some nine months to go until the next presidential election, the blade fell swiftly and bloodlessly. Lugo’s impeachment in a congress controlled by the political opposition and a senior coalition partner he progressively alienated raises big questions on both the domestic political and regional geopolitical stages.”

South America to seat Paraguay at the bench of the accused

ASUNCION, Paraguay – The Paraguayan government will be charged to day in absentia during the Summit of South American Heads of State and Government in Argentina, as an international reaction to the parliamentary coup that dismissed Constitutional President Fernando Lugo.

The meeting, to be extended until tomorrow, was convened by the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), but will also include the presence of the heads of state belonging to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).

Paraguay belongs to both integration blocs and even presided over the pro tempore presidency of UNASUR until constitutional order was broken in order to remove Lugo from office.

The political-parliamentary plot caused international denunciation of the Paraguayan government, for denying its president due process and the right to defense.

For Paraguay, this event means political isolation with the withdrawal from the country of a great number of ambassadors accredited to the government and particular economic friction with its two largest neighbors: Brazil and Argentina.

Already separated from MERCOSUR through a decision from its members, Paraguay lost the right to continue presiding over the UNASUR. Paraguay’s estimated trade and economic difficulties are calculated within that framework.

The Center for Analysis and Dissemination of the Paraguayan Economy assessed the possible scenarios that Asuncion would face due to possible sanctions, according to MERCOSUR’s rules.

The first is the suspension of its participation in MERCOSUR bodies, possibly followed by a prohibition of funding from the Structural Convergence Fund and the suspension of all existing rights in the Treaty of the bloc.

The remaining measures, if approved, could affect the $608 million USD allocated to the country and constitute 32 percent of capital expenditure from the Paraguayan General Budget for this year.

Cubans benefit with new credit policy

With the implementation of a new Cuban credit policy, more than 47,000 people have received bank financing in the country, mainly for activities related to home construction and repair, authorities of the sector stated.

Since the 289 Decree-Law was put into effect on Dec. 20, 2011, small farmers, self-employed and non-state workers, and natural people can access to credits for activities such ­as the development of selfefforts constructive labors. Cuban Central Bank vice president Francisco Mayobre described the credit policy as a complex process that implies a joint and organized action of many sectors of economy.

This is even more important if we take into account that for a first time in many years the country has established a group of credit facilities to individuals to operate current accounts and issue payment instruments not used in the country so far, Mayobre told the press.

According to the executive, bank draft and cash are the only easiest payment instruments to be accepted by merchandise or service sellers, the former has the guarantee of being issued by the bank, and cash is immediate cash payment.

Other forms of payment included in the decree-law, such as debit cards, could be used by individuals, but it only depends on the conditions created for acceptance, especially by trade and service entities. (Prensa Latina contributed to this report).

All too predictable: Bilderberg plan to force NATO’s Turkey into Syrian war

by Patrick Henningsen
Infowars.com

Last Friday saw a Turkish combat jet downed in the 2Mediterranean Sea by Syrian antiaircraft batteries. Syria insists that Turkey’s F-4 Phantom was shot down inside Syrian airspace.

It appears to be a Neo-Ottoman baiting exercise by NATO, and for all intents and purposes, it has worked – so far.

Regardless of the facts surrounding this event, the western media machine and political operators will seek to quickly leverage this event in their efforts to move their inevitable Syrian bombardment project forward.

To date, NATO’s role for Turkey has been to remain in the shadows, hosting the Syrian National Council, coordinating arms shipments in Syria for foreign fighters, and giving refuge to al-Qaeda rebels across Turkey’s border with Syria. But this latest jet incident is likely to change all that.

As was predicted within hours of the initial event last week, Infowars.com – whose analysis was once again days ahead of the mainstream media, accurately predicted that this incident would be used to pull the Turkey further into a central position in NATO’s plan to engage Syria:

If the West and NATO is to enforce a Libya-style ‘no fly-zone’ in Syria, then Turkey would be the tool of choice to run such an operation.

In case you missed it last Friday, here is the interview hours after the incident – another example of how this website sits much further ahead of the geopolitical analytical curve than the whole of the multi billion dollar-capitalized mainstream media:

The corporate mainstream media is of course already positioned to spin this story into a pretext for a war between NATO and the Syria’s Assad government. The world must not forget that this is the very same corporate media who aggressively sold a collection of lies, including a White House concocted fantasy of 500 tons of yellow cake uranium sold to Iraq via Niger, and the same corporate media who attempted to slander Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame as they exposed the Vice Presidential office’s lies of an Iraqi nuclear program – lies which were ultimately successful in getting the United States public to back a full-scale war and permanent military presence in the Middle East.

Ignoring the obvious fact that the last thing Syrians want is to undergo a comprehensive NATO bombing campaign that will most certainly level the country, the mindless and reckless corporate media in the US and its affiliates worldwide, along with state-run war propaganda outlets like the BBC in Britain, have predictably jumped on the Turkish jet incident as an exciting opening gambit in a much anticipated military intervention in Syria. Their choice of wording, identical talking points streamlined perfectly across all media outlets is both cynical in nature and frightening in rhetoric – a reality constructed in order to force the public and political classes into an intellectual cul-de-sac where ‘there is no other alternative’ other than military intervention. The Washington Post naturally leads this media onslaught of consensus reality building, as they normalize war talk:

NATO condemned the downing of a Turkish jet by Syria last week as “completely unacceptable” but gave no indication it would take retaliatory action. The prime minister of Turkey, however, said his country would react militarily to any future violations along its border.

Shooting down the jet Friday was “another example of the Syrian government’s disregard for international norms of peace, security and human life,” NATO said in a statement issued in Brussels. “We stand together with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity.”

The language of war should be all too familiar by now.

In past years, the US Secretary of State’s role was often that of chief diplomat and negotiator in sensitive foreign affairs. Hillary Clinton is a prime example of the new breed of foreign cabinet envoy, whose new role is to promote wars and foreign intervention to both the American public and to other foreign NATO ally affiliates. Condoleezza Rice made this role acceptable, cynically deployed by the Bush Administration on an ever politically correct modern American populace, this new role as ‘Secretary of War’ was more effective than ever when played by a woman (and a Democrat), rather than the traditional warmongering alpha male character, and even more so by an African-American woman – another calculated move by the Bush government which was ultimately effective in pushing their illegal war on the American public. Their efforts will always be backed by a mere handful of predictable political war hacks like Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, along with John Bolton.

Clinton and her British counterpart William Hague, had shamelessly pushed for the destruction of Libya in 2011, and have continued in similar fashion through steering groups like The Friends of Syria, openly coordinating the procurement and shipment of arms via Qatar and Saudi Arabia to their guerrilla army and al-Qaeda cells within Syria. As we can now see clearly, it’s a long-running project of destabilization with the ultimate goal of regime change and balkanization in that country – designed by western intelligence and globalist banking planners.

Clearly in this case, the globalists are in a rush to advance the agenda in Syria, and then move on to neutralize Hezbollah in Lebanon, and finally, the engage Iran – and with this, the first major sparks of a new Third World War. This final move will set the stage for a long-running regional arch of tension which is designed to encompass both Russia and China.

This year’s schedule of world events was most probably visible somewhere at the Bilderberg Meeting in Chantilly, VA. The Syrian ­agenda was most certainly signed-off by the Bilderbergers and delivered to their Syrian National Council representative, Bassma Kodmani, who was in attendance at this year’s Bilderberg Meeting. Globalist Kodmani is said to be the Head of Foreign Affairs with the SNC, working out of Istanbul, Turkey.

Also in attendance at this year’s Bilderberg Meeting was British agent and steering committee member, Marcus Agius of Barclays, who happens to also serves as an executive consultant to the BBC. No doubt that the BBC’s war propaganda pledge to Bilderberg was also agreed upon during the meeting.

Expect the European and North American domestic terror threat levels in both government and media to also be raised as western involvement increases in Syria – and beyond.

The Ultimate Desilusion: Queen Elizabeth controls and has amended U.S. Social Security

Marvin J. RamirezMarvin J. R­amirez

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Just like the people who found the following article, written by Stephen Kimbol Ames and sent it to me, I am sharing it with you. I hope, as always, that you all learn new perspectives that our schools and universities never dare to teach us or the mainstream media to analyze, research and present to us.

It is absolutely mind blowing! says the sender.

“This paper will shock even those who think that they know what has happened and what is now taking place. The deception is incredible.”

This paper is not opinion, according to the unidentified sender, all is documented. “Now, what people have to realize is there are remedies for the problems that not just America faces, but the World. There are people all over the World who know what is going on and they are doing something about it. People all over the United States of America are emerging victorious over the images in their minds. Let us not forget the absolute astonishing amount of debt discharges that have taken place over the last few months. What is happening in America is unbelievable. People are coming out of the delusions, they have figured and realized that the United States is a fiction and that it only exists in our minds.

Tens of thousands of people now know that the “United States” does not exist and that it never has. There is no such thing as the National debt or a loan from the bank. Has any one ever seen “current credit money?” The entire governmental system only exists in your mind.

The Ultimate Delusion

by Stephen Kimbol Ames

First part of a series

Queen Elizabeth controls and has amended U.S. Social Security, as follows: S.I. 1997 NO.1778 The Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997 Made 22nd of July 1997 coming into force 1st September 1997. S­ee APFN Web Pages: http://www.apfn.org/apfn/knighthood.htm; http://www.apfn.org/apfn/queen.htm.

At the Court at Buckingham Palace the 22nd day of July 1997. Now, therefore Her Majesty an pursuance of section 179 (1) (a) and (2) of the Social Security Administration Act of 1992 and all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is please, by and with advise of Her privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered as follows:

“This Order may be cited as the Social Security (United States of America) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st September 1997.”

Does this give a new meaning to Federal Judge William Wayne Justice stating in court that he takes his orders from England?

This order goes on to redefine words in the Social Security Act and makes some changes in United States Law. Remember, King George was the “Arch-Treasurer and Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire and c, and of the United States of America.” See: Treaty of Peace (1783) 8 U.S. Statutes at Large 80.. Great Britain which is the agent for the Pope, is in charge of the USA ..’

What people do not know is that the so called Founding Fathers and King George were working hand-in-hand to bring the people of America to their knees, to install a Central Government over them and to bind them to a debt that could not be paid. First off you have to understand that the UNITED STATES is a corporation and that it existed before the Revolutionary war. See Republica v. Sweers 1 Dallas 43. and 28 U.S.C. 3002 (15).

The United States is not a land mass, it is a corporation. Now, you also have to realize that King George was not just the King of England, he was also the King of France. Treaty of Peace * U.S. 8 Statutes at Large 80.

On January 22, 1783 Congress ratified a contract for the repayment of 21 loans that the UNITED STATES had already received dating from February 28, 1778 to July 5, 1782. Now the UNITED STATES ­Inc. owes the King money which is due January 1, 1788 from King George via France. King George funded both sides of the Revolutionary War.

Now the Articles of Confederation which were declared in force March 1, 1781 States in Article 12:

“All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed, and debts contracted by, or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be deemed and considered a charge against the United States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged.”

The Articles of Confederation acknowledge the debt owed to King George.

Now after losing the Revolutionary War, even though the War was nothing more than a move to turn the people into debtors for the King, the conquest was not yet complete. Now the loans were coming due and so a meeting was convened in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss the economic instability of the country under the Articles of Confederation. Only five States come to the meeting, but there is a call for another meeting to take place in Philadelphia the following year with the express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation On February 21, 1787 Congress gave approval of the meeting to take place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Something had to be done about the mounting debt. Little did the people know that the so called founding fathers were going to reorganize the United States because it was Bankrupt.

On September 17, 1787 twelve State delegates approve the Constitution. The States have now become Constitutors. Constitutor: In the civil law, one who, by simple agreement, becomes responsible for the payment of another’s debt. Blacks Law Dictionary 6th Ed.

The States were now liable for the debt owed to the King, but the people of America were not because they were not a party to the Constitution because it was never put to them for a vote. See APFN web page http://www.apfn.org/apfn/money.htm.

 

PutObama adds more dysfunction to broken immigration system

por Behrouz Saba,
New America Media

A timid President Barack Obama faced a group of palpably hostile White House correspondents as he announced “deferred action” for young, undocumented immigrants who have waited for years to be offered a path to citizenship through the DREAM Act. In compliance with his executive order, the Department of Homeland Security will merely halt deportations for the next two years of non-criminal, undocumented immigrants between the ages of 16 and 30 who were brought to the country as children. Beneficiaries will also receive H-1 visas to live and work legally on a temporary basis.

This election-year ploy to win Latino votes is a patently miserable substitute for the generous, comprehensive measures required to address the plight of the nearly 12 million undocumented. Putting 800,000 young, promising women and men in legal limbo adds just another layer of dysfunction to a fundamentally inoperative immigration system.

President Obama, trying to lay the groundwork for comprehensive immigration reform early in his presidency, appeared tough, appeasing the opposition as he commenced to deport the undocumented with criminal backgrounds by hundreds of thousands. Yet during his first term he failed to provide the moral leadership and pragmatic imperative for comprehensive reform, allowing his vociferous opponents to hijack the issue in the name of “national security” and “jobs for Americans.”

The president, in an announcement barely lasting 10 minutes, called America “a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.” Yet he and most other advocates of including the undocumented into the American mainstream have lacked the political courage as well as persuasive powers to spell out the vital importance of immigrants to America.

While four million newborns are added to the American population annually, the country accepts a million immigrants as new residents. Hundreds of thousands more arrive on student, work and tourist visas, never to be repatriated. The overwhelming majority of immigrants who decide to live in this country permanently do so to work and make a better life for themselves and their families.

Those without higher education, fill grueling, low-paying service, agricultural and manufacturing jobs by hundreds of thousands, generating wealth for the native-born and providing the country with abundant food. Scores of foreign students and H-1 visa holders who decide to stay, at the expense of brain drain to their own countries, join America’s hubs of research and productivity from Silicon Valley to the research and academic centers on the Eastern seaboard. Yet many others become independent entrepreneurs and innovators, heirs to a legacy of immigration that has kept America in its position of global leadership.

­America is not a nation of immigrants because the first European colonizers arrived here in 1492. In the 21st century, America continues to thrive principally due to the influx of immigrants.

The Obama administration has done a miserable job of communicating these facts to the majority of Americans. Their failure has left the field wide open for political opportunists and predators who perpetuate the cant of immigrants stealing jobs from the native born.

President Obama has a realistic shot at a second term. But upon reelection, he must make immigration the centerpiece of his administration in a bold departure from his most recent and timorous performance. America is indeed a nation of immigrants. Its leader should proudly uphold this banner instead of cowering, explaining, apologizing and offering “deferred action.” With the DREAM Act once again compromised, the words of Langston Hughes ring as

130,000 call out Walmart supplier for forced labor, brutal working conditions

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

WalmartWalmart

REAUX BRIDGE, Louisiana – More than 130,000 people have joined a popular campaign on Change.org calling on Walmart to drop its contract with a Louisiana-based seafood company, CJ Seafood, until the company ends alleged abuses of Mexican guestworkers in its Breaux Bridge facility.

Ana Rosa Diaz, a worker at the Breaux Bridge plant, reports supervisors have forced workers to work up to 24 hours at a time with no overtime pay, locks them in the facility and threatens to beat them with a shovel to stop them from taking breaks. She created a petition on Change.org with the National Guestworker Alliance (NGA)–a membership organization that represents thousands of guestworkers across the US–asking Walmart to hold CJ’s accountable for violating their supplier standards and to help stop the forced labor. In a matter of days, Ana and the NGA have mobilized over 130,000 people to join their campaign. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVWos-FBLjQ.

Big statewide anti-foreclosure rally set June 25 for Capitol

SACRAMENTO – A coalition of homeowners, Occupy groups, unions, clergy, community groups and others from throughout California will hold a major rally at the State Capitol June 25 to demand the Governor, the Attorney General and the Legislature declare an immediate foreclosure moratorium.

The rally and March begins at 10 a.m. Monday, June 25, on the West Steps of the Capitol.

People are expected to attend from the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Southern California, the North Coast and throughout the Central Valley. The daylong event is designed to convince lawmakers to declare a moratorium “to save our homes, our families and our communities.” It will followed by lobbying and stop foreclosure workshops.

“We are bringing together all of the organizations and people now working to stop these foreclosures, and who are angry about how the banks have been given hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money, yet continue to throw millions of families out of their homes instead of working out affordable loan modifications,” said a statement from rally organizers.

Foreclosure “pandemic” continues in California, accordingto real estate groups:

(a) 2,700 foreclosure auctions happening every day in the state (foreclosureradar), and more than 30,000 completed foreclosures each quarter – compared to less than 3,500 in 2006 (3rd quarter). (­http://www.responsiblelending.org).

(b) One of every 239 households in the state is now currently defaulting on a mortgage loan – July’s foreclosures were up by 3.89 percent over June. Overall, California ranks second among the states with the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

(c) California led the country in foreclosure filings in May with 42,243 new filings.

(d) “Distressed” property sales made up 46.2 percent of all May California sales – foreclosure sales alone comprised 33 percent of all sales (distressed sales are a combination of foreclosure sales and short sales). (Dataquick News, 4/24/2012).

ARTivism: We are Americans – Art exhibits and talk about immigration, art, and culture

­Compiled by the El Reportero staff

Una niña del grupo Quenepas de Berkeley baila y disfruta del baile de Bomba de Puerto Rico: una presentacion en el Scotish Rite Temple en Oakland. (PHOTO BY JUHLIN)A girl of the group Quenepas of Berkeley dances and enjoys the dance of Bomb of Puerto Rico a presentacion in the Scotish Rite Temper in Oakland. (PHOTO BY JUHLIN)

Come and meet two cultural activists that are shifting the national tide on immigration. You can read about them in this week’s TIME Magazine! An art exhibit featuring the artwork of Julio Salgado, an undocumented photographer and comics artist that follows the tradition of using art as a tool to fight anti-migrant laws.

With a special appearance by Jose Antonio Vargas undocumented journalist who wrote the TIME Magazine’s article Not Legal Not Leaving. Vargas is one of the first undocumented Latino professional who revealed his status publicly, even his picture was on the cover of the magazine.

Vargas is a journalist and the founder of Define American, an immigration-awareness campaign. He’s written for the New Yorker, Rolling Stone and the Washington Post, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre. He is a proud graduate of Mountain View High School and San Francisco State University and lives in New York.

On Tuesday, June 26, at 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center,3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley. $5 Suggested Donation / No one turned away for lack of funds.

Live music performers at Yoshi’s in Oakland

Latin & Funk Dance band Third Sol represents the Red Hot Latin Rhythms, mixed with the sounds of Funk & Soul from yesteryear.

The core group has talents ranging from Latin, Funk, R&B, and the Soul Genre. Each party turns into a concert for this group whom often stage a horn section that compliments the blazing hot percussion rhythms that make the Latin feel a sound to remember!

The combination of Latin & Funk music is mainstream at all events and, it’s been the best recipe for getting the blood pumping for dancing.

Wednesday, June 27 at 8 p.m. At Yoshi’s Oakland, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland. Tickets 15. For more info. call 510-238-9200 or visit: www.yoshis.com/oakland/jazzclub/arti.

A Latin Music Invasion featuring El Sonido Callejero, with Santos de Los Angeles

As musicians of diverse roots and Mexican culture, they arrived to the United States to finish their 10-song album. The band is charged with Latin rhythms, while rock, cumbia, norteñas and reggae influences, among others, flow through their veins and can be heard in their songs.

On Friday June 29, at Slim’s, 333 11th Street, SF. For more info call at 415-255-0333. Doors open at 7 p.m. Cover charge $13 adv, $15 at the door. Dinner and admission $37.95.

For tickets go to: http://www.slimspresents.com/events/2012-06-29/latin-music-invasion-featuring-el-sonido-callejero/.

¡Que Bailen los Niños!

An evening of music, dance, food, and fun with performances by La Mixta Criolla, Quenepas, De Rompe y Raja and Aguacero!

Raising funds to keep the Youth Bomba Workshop at La Peña ­Cultural Center going for another year! This will be our 5th year since the class started! We’d like to make the class low cost or free to the families. We will be selling food and drinks and holding a raffle and silent auction for exciting prizes.

Entrance is $20 and all proceeds go to financing the Youth Bomba Workshop. Children under 12 are free. Please tell your family and friends. We hope you can make it for this fun and unforgettable evening!

Many of you are aware of our little Avelina’s love of Bomba and have seen how much she has grown as a person and an artist since she first started attending classes at La Peña at the age of two. Unfortunately, the funding to support the class at La Peña has dried up and they can’t afford to continue to offer the class. Thanks to the efforts of her dedicated teachers, Shefali Shah and Hector Lugo, we are fighting to keep the class open and to keep this amazing art form alive for kids in the Bay Area.

Here’s if you haven’t seen Avelina dance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5edLbrpFc4.

Saturday, June 30, 2012 from 6:30 – 11:30 p.m. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/254763.

Edgar Ramírez to play 19th century leader Simón Bolivar in upcomingbiopic Libertador

­by Hispanically Speaking News

Simón BolivarSimón Bolivar

Venezuelen actor Edgar Ramírez is set to star in a biopic about Simon Bolivar, a Latin American freedom fighter in director Alberto Arvelo Mendoza’s “Libertador”.

Bolivar often called “El Libertador”, along with Jose de San Martin were key in helping Latin America gain independence from Spain during the Spanish American wars of the 19th century. The country of Bolivia is actually named after the leader, originally named the Republic of Bolívar.

Ramírez will be joined onscreen by Maria Valverde, Danny Huston, Iwan Rheon, Gary Lewis, and Imanol Arias.

“Libertador”is a co-production between Venezuela and Spain and will primarily be in Spanish, but will also have some French and English dialogue.

Bolivar was an integral leader and his influence is hard to forget as many towns and cities in Venezuela and Colombia have a statue or bust of Bolivar.

The script was penned by Timothy Sexton and will follow the Venezuelan leader’s “military campaign to wrestle independence from Spain and unify Latin America.”

“Libertador” is scheduled to be released in 2013, but ahead of the film’s release, Ramírez can be seen in “Zero Dark Thirty”, a movie about Osama Bin Laden. He can also been seen in “Wrath of the Titans”, “The Bourne Ultimatum”, and “Domino”.

Though Spanish was his first language growing up in Caracas, Venezuel, Ramírez speaks five languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian and German.

­World’s Largest Chocolate Sculpture Modeled After Mayan Temple Kukulkan

To celebrate their 30th anniversary, Qzina Specialty Foods, has broken a Guinness World Record for building the largest chocolate sculpture. The sculpture models an ancient Mayan temple and weighs 18,239 pounds, far surpassing the previous record set in Italy in 2010 by more than 7,500 pounds.

Qzina chose the Mayan theme because of the crucial role the culture played in the origins of chocolate. The Mayans were one of the first civilizations to cultivate Cacao trees and discover the true potential of the cocoa bean. Realizing the delicious possibilities of this powerful discovery, the Mayans worshipped the Cacao tree and praised its beans as the food of the Gods.

Extensive planning and research set the groundwork to accurately capture the details and intricacies of an authentic Mayan temple down to the exact number of steps and panels representing numbers significant to the Mayan calendar. Built proportionally to the ancient temple’s true size, the solid chocolate pyramid is six feet tall and its base measures 10 feet by 10 feet – exactly one-thirtieth the size. The sculpture’s base alone weighs more than 3,000 pounds.

The chocolate pyramid will be displayed at the Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry, located in Irvine, California, and will be available to view beginning June 4, 2012 when the institute and product showroom is officially open to the public Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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