Despite his level best effort to divert the focus away from insecurity in Mexico since taking office in December 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto was compelled to take urgent action this week when the conflict-torn south-western state of Michoacán was thrust into the global media spotlight.

The interior minister, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, announced that federal forces would take charge of security in the inflamed area of Tierra Caliente in Michoacán after meeting Governor Fausto Vallejo in the state capital, Morelia, on 13 January. The catalyst for the deployment of hundreds of soldiers and 2,000 members of the federal police (PF) was the imminent risk of a blood bath in Apatzingán, a city of 90,000. ‘Self-defence groups’ had taken control of much of the surrounding area in the previous week, and announced that they would drive the drug trafficking organisation (DTO) Los Caballeros Templarios (LCT) out of the city. Reported Latin News.

Mexican Federal Police takes control in southern Michoacan

The Mexican Federal Police with the support of Army now controls security in the entire southern region of Michoacan, where the government launched an operation this week because of the growing violence.

In a joint statement, the Ministries of the Interior (Segob) and National Defense (Sedena) emphasized that none of the actions in the different municipalities arose incidents. The takeover by the elements of the Executive occurs within a week of the head of the Interior Ministry, Miguel Angel Osorio, and the governor of Michoacan, Fausto Vallejo, signed the agreement to support the security of the state.

The forces led by the Federal Police, with the support of Army concluded the task of assuming police responsibility in all the municipalities that are facing operational action, government agencies said. As part of the actions, the military destroyed three marijuana plantations located in the town of Aquila, with a combined area of 3500 square meters.

At the same time, the Department of Defense concluded the collection of weapons from the local police for review and evaluation in accordance with the collective license for these corporations. As a result of this disarmament, 393 municipal police officers from Huetamo, Miigica, Aquila, Gabriel Zamora, Parácuaro, Ario de Rosales, Coahuayana, New Urecho and Chinicuila were taken for evaluation at the Center for Regional Training of the Sixth Military Region, in Tlaxcala.

The text also refers that the government sent this week 11 helicopter to reinforce security tasks confronting the actions of the The Templar Knights cartel and the extent of self-defense groups. These groups of armed civilians, emerged in February 2013, have expanded their presence in the area of Michoacán to deal with organized crime members accused of crimes such as extortion, kidnapping, theft and murder. Amid increasing insecurity, the Mexican administration called selfdefense groups to be integrated into the police or leave their weapons and return to their places of origin. By Prensa Latina.

Forestry model violates rights of Chilean Mapuche, study says

The current forestry model in Chile violates the rights of the Mapuche people and is an obstacle to its development, a study revealed today.

An investigation of the City Observatory and the International Work Group on Indigenous Peoples notes that Decree 701 of 1974 is harmful to the community.

The initiative aims to promote the exotic tree plantations on native forest care, causing irreparable damage to biodiversity and the Mapuches, the study stresses.
Quoted by radio station Radio Universidad de Chile, Pablo Huaiquilao, forestry engineer member of the Pewun Kimun Corporation, stated that it is large-scale monoculture exotic model.

“The state subsidizes it and generates money with subsidy of the Mapuches, we are those who pay the costs”, the expert said.

According to the City Observatory, despite it “ensure prevention of degradation, protection and recovery of soils of the national territory”, the decree is harmful because “nor the companies, nor the State have been responsible for the adverse effects.”

U.S. Army continues cover-up of secret experimentation 65 years later

February 7, 2014

Pentagon moves to block release of court documents

by Adan Salazar

The D.O.D. and U.S. Army are attempting to delay a court order that would force them to provide certain notice to Vietnam veterans disclosing the extent to which they had secretly been used as test subjects for experimentation during the Cold War.

The federal lawsuit, filed by Vietnam Veterans of America as well as individual soldiers, has dragged on since January 2009, and requests the Army disclose details about covert testing performed during “Project Paperclip,” an operation through which the U.S. Office of Strategic Services recruited Nazi scientists for “postwar intelligence purposes.”

“With the help of Nazi scientists recruited through ‘Project Paperclip,’ the Army and CIA used at least 7,800 veterans as human guinea pigs at the Edgewood Arsenal, [Maryland] alone,” the veterans’ class action suit states.

Starting in the 50s, the Army casually went about using troops to research the effects of various psychoactive elements on the human mind. “[T]he U.S. government sought drugs to control human behavior, cause confusion, promote weakness or temporary loss of hearing and vision, induce hypnosis, and enhance a person’s ability to withstand torture,” the lawsuit states.

“These experiments also used civilian ‘volunteers’ such as college students, who were paid small sums to participate, or prisoners,” the complaint alleges.

Carried out under project names such as “Bluebird,” “Pandora,” “Monarch,” “Artichoke” and “MKUltra,” subjects were unknowingly “administered at least 250 and perhaps as many as 400 types of drugs, among them Sarin, one of the most deadly drugs known, amphetamines, barbiturates, mustard gas, phosgene gas and LSD,” in efforts to develop drugs that would produce the desired effects.

“Defendants videotaped many of the experiments involving ‘volunteers; at Edgewood, as evidence by releases signed by many of the ‘volunteers.’ Varying doses of each substance were administered to the ‘volunteers,’ typically through multiple pathways, including through intravenous, inhalation, oral and percutaneous,” the suit states (.pdf).

It is also alleged chemicals administered were “above the known toxic threshold,” and left many service members suffering “excruciating pain, blackouts, memory loss, hallucinations, flashbacks, trauma, psychotic disorders, and other lasting health problems.”

“The crux of the veterans’ argument,” reports Courthouse News, “is that the Administrative Procedure Act obligates the defendants to provide notice to test subjects and to provide them medical care.”

Additionally, plaintiffs are citing a 1962 Army regulation mandating that experiment participants “will be told as much of the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment, the method and means by which it is to be conducted, and the inconveniences and hazards to be expected, as will not invalidate the results.”

Among several claims for relief, the veterans are chiefly seeking the disclosure of medical information “concerning all tests conducted on Plaintiffs (including any results thereof),” as well as a court order “stating Defendants’ duty to provide Plaintiffs with all necessary medical treatment on an ongoing basis is mandatory.”

Whistleblower: Google Chrome can listen to your conversations Programmer goes public four months after company failed to fix exploit

by Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com

Whistleblower who privately informed Google four months ago that their Chrome browser had the ability to record conversations without the user’s knowledge has gone public after the tech giant failed to fix the issue.

In the video above, the programmer explains how Google Chrome’s speech recognition function remains operational even after the user has left the website on which they gave permission for the browser to record their voice.

“When you click the button to start or stop the speech recognition on the site, what you won’t notice is that the site may have also opened another hidden pop under window. This window can wait until the main site is closed, and then start listening in without asking for permission. This can be done in a window that you never saw, never interacted with, and probably didn’t even know was there,” writes the whistleblower. The video shows a pop-under browser window recording and typing the programmer’s words as she speaks. The window can be disguised as an advertising banner so the user has no indication that Chrome is listening to their voice, whether that be on the phone, talking to someone on Skype, or merely having a conversation with someone near the computer.

The exploit is a “serious security breach” that has compromised the privacy of millions of Google Chrome users, according to the programmer, who warns, “as long as Chrome is still running, nothing said next to your computer is private.”

The exploit turns Google Chrome into an “espionage tool,” adds the programmer, noting that the recording function can be activated by the use of sensitive keywords and be passed on “to your friends at the NSA.”

The programmer reported the exploit to Google on September 19 last year and was met with assurances that it would be quickly fixed. However, despite apparently fixing the bug within two weeks, the update was never released to Chrome users, with Google telling the programmer, “Nothing is decided yet.”

As far back as 2006, we warned that computers would use in-built microphones to spy on users. We also revealed how digital cable boxes had embedded microphones that had the capability of recording conversations since the late 1990’s.

As we have previously highlighted, terms of agreement for both Android and iPhone apps now require users to agree to allow their microphone to be activated at any time without confirmation before they can download the app. Facebook’s term’s of agreement also allow the social network giant to record your phone calls, read your phone’s call log and “read data about contacts stored on your phone, including the frequency with which you’ve called, emailed or communicated in other ways with specific individuals.”

We are now fully ensconced in a world that even George Orwell would have laughed off as inconceivable. Embedded microphones in everything from Xbox Kinect consoles to high-tech street lights that can record private conversations in real time represent the final nail in the coffin of privacy.

Five organic foods that my be damaging your digestive system

February 7, 2014

by Derek Henry

The organic movement was initially dubbed a fad, but as time wore on it became obvious that people were concerned about a polluted food supply, and for good reason. However, what many failed to consider is that NOT ALL organic foods are healthy for everyone, and some could actually cause serious damage to their digestive systems.

The five organic foods to watch:

Wheat

Wheat has enjoyed a long run of being the darling of the grains but in recent years has taken a serious hit, with gluten sensitivity plaguing people across North America. It’s not that organic wheat is necessarily bad in and of itself, but rather, our digestive systems have become severely compromised, and as a result we lack the friendly bacteria that helps digest this component of wheat which leaves many people in pain and distress. This may be partially alleviated for some by simply consuming wheat that is only sprouted, but for many, this will still not resolve the issue. Wheat can be substituted in a number of ways, the more popular being amaranth, oats, almond, coconut, millet, buckwheat, corn, rice and quinoa flour.

Soy

Soy was at the tip of everyone’s tongues when the soy industry convinced us that their products were not only safe for consumption but also actually good for you.

However, research is starting to uncover the opposite. Soy has now been attributed to endocrine disruption, digestive problems, hormone issues, thyroid challenges and fertility complications.

Soy promoters deny this research and point to epidemiological studies of Asians and their reduced rates of breast and prostate cancers, even though their traditional diet is soy-dominated. However, these studies fail to point out that these soy products are primarily fermented, which creates healthpromoting probiotics that facilitate proper digestion. Choose soy products that are organic and fermented.

Penut butter

Peanuts, unlike hardshelled nuts, are encased in a very soft and porous shell, which allows contaminants such as fungi to bind to them. As a result, aflatoxin, a cancer-causing chemical produced by naturally occurring fungi in the soil, can easily attach itself to the developing nut.

Since systematic fungal infections are affecting 70% of people, it may not be a wise idea to consume a food that naturally contains it, as it can exacerbate the problem and cause severe reactions and even death. If you do choose to buy organic peanut butter, refrigerate it at all times to inhibit the growth of this naturally occurring fungus.

Cow’s milk

Organic cow’s milk eliminates some of the primary concerns of consuming milk, namely antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals.

However, organic milk is also commonly pasteurized, which tively removes all beneficial bacteria and enzymes and makes it much more difficult for the human digestive tract to properly break down and absorb it. If you choose organic cow’s milk, look for raw.

Pork

Pigs are dirty animals and eat everything in sight (including their own feces). Since their digestive systems work quickly, there is no opportunity to eliminate any toxins that may be present in what they eat.

Not only that, but a pig also does not have any sweat glands, which takes away an effective toxin removal process, allowing more toxins to stay inside their body.

Even though organically raised pigs should have toxin-free diets, there is great difficulty in monitoring and circumventing their insatiable desire to eat nearly everything in sight. Instead of pork, try turkey bacon or organic, grass-fed beef, which is much friendlier to your intestinal system.

Sorces for this article include: http://www.utne.com, http://www.organicauthority.com, http://bodyecology.com, http://science.naturalnews.com.

This is how you create jobs in the United States Part 4 and last

February 7, 2014

by Marvin Ramirez

Marvin Ramirez

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: The following article is very meaningful in terms of protecting the United States from falling onto another totalitarian, Soviet-style dictatorship, and every American should know where our country is heading to. Americans, including Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, etc., have much to lose. This is the nation where most people came to grab the American dream, the right to have an education, own a place one can call home, have a job, and be happy. But all this is disappearing, because we have a government that doesn’t serve the interests of its own people, but rather those of foreign corporations. PART 4 and LAST

by Devvy Kidd
truther

“The measure of the wealth of a nation is indicated by the measure of its protection of its industry; the measure of the poverty of a nation is marked by the degree in which it neglects and abandons the care of its own industry, leaving it exposed to the action of foreign powers.” – Congressman Henry Clay, 1824.

The Insourcing Boom (Do read)

“After years of offshore production, General Electric is moving much of its far-flung appliance-manufacturing operations back home. It is not alone. An exploration of the startling, sustainable, just-getting-started return of industry to the United States.”

School district urges: ‘Buy American’ this year.’

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — “It started as a test by ABC News to build a home made entirely of American-made products. But it’s grown to include a challenge to large purchasers of goods to think “Made in America” and help in the country’s economic recovery. Indian River County School District purchasing director Rick Chuma likes the idea of buying American.”

Out of stock here: All imports – New York store dedicated to 100 percent domestic merchandise

“When it comes to the commitment to carrying 100 percent made-in-America merchandise, few stores measure up to the MadeInAmericaStore.com in Elma, New York.”

“Since opening day on April 3, 2010, Made in America Store owner Mark Andol has been able to boast that all of the products in his brick 1and-mortar store are 100 percent made in USA. The Made in America Store offers hundreds of products from more than 50 patriotic vendors so the American consumer can patronize American products to support the U.S. economy. If there’s one thing that the economic downturn has taught us, it’s that Americans can use the power of their pocketbook to buy American-manufactured goods, thereby creating more American jobs.”

How many years I have kept pounding on this keyboard in my columns: If you can’t find Made in USA tell the retailer you want a quality product made here by Americans workers and sorry, but I’ll shop on line. They’re getting the message.

Know who’s making this happen? You, me, our family members, friends – we consumers. WE are the ones making the difference by refusing to buy foreign products. Do I buy any? Yes, because I am not against fair trade. I purchase Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil. It’s the first thing I put on my face when doing the make up thing. I also use their face cream. Those two products are for me, the finest, purest products on the market, no animal testing used; the company is in New Zealand. But, everything else except this computer is made in this country by American workers or I simply go without. Folks are starting their Christmas shopping. Shopping on line does take a little time so you need to order in advance to make sure the item arrives before Christmas.

If you find something on line, but don’t have time to order, call the company and ask them where the nearest retail outlet is to your zip code. Every time you buy one product made in America you help the economy by keeping our fellow Americans employed – not workers in foreign countries. We became the greatest debt free nation on this earth because we manufactured what we needed and kept the money in OUR country by buying everything we need here. Other countries can do the same thing and prosper; America’s Protectionist Takeoff 1815-1914: The Neglected American School of Political Economy by Michael Hudson.

Will you make the commitment to buy Made in America this Christmas and in the future? It’s up to us to rebuild what we once had that benefited all Americans, not political parties or our enemies like communist China. We have the solution. Please pass it along to friends and family. I know money is awfully tight for tens of millions. Christmas gift giving can be painful and embarrassing for those hurting financially, but you don’t have to give cheap junk from communist China.

Maybe make a family gift like a gift certificate to your local museum. Most have wonderful programs all year long and a family gift certificate can cost as little as $50.00 a year. The money stays in your community creating jobs. There are thousands of products, in cluding toys made here. I’ve had that section up on my site for more than a decade. If you manufacture here, I will list your company; there is absolutely no charge, never has been. It doesn’t matter if you are a single proprietor making jewelry or a larger company employing hundreds. All I want is to help keep Americans employed. Remember: The more we buy Made in USA, the more competitive the market becomes and prices get lower.

Eight immigration wins in 2013

February 7, 2014

by Rebecca Leber and Esther Yu-Hsi Lee

Despite a landmark comprehensive immigration reform bill that cleared the Senate in June, a corresponding bill that addresses the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States has yet to come to a vote in the House. In fact, the only immigration-related bill that House members brought to a floor vote was a measure to pave the way for deporting undocumented immigrants between the ages of 16 and 31. But although the year ended without a victory on the greatest potential avenue for reform through a bill in Congress, the immigration reform movement achieved other crucial victories in 2013.

Here are eight:

1. Driver’s licenses and state tuition: In 2012, only three states granted driver’s licenses to the undocumented. Now, 11 states — California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, Maryland, Vermont, Colorado, and Connecticut — and the District of Columbia have passed legislation that allows the undocumented to legally drive. Studies show that giving driver’s licenses to unlicensed drivers, a category that includes many undocumented immigrants, would vastly improve public safety because drivers would have to pass a test before they obtain a license and buy auto insurance. This year, Colorado, Minnesota, and Oregon also passed laws that permit in-state tuition for undocumented students.

2. Key anti-immigrant research discredited: The Heritage Foundation published a report in April that reform opponents hoped to use against the Senate bill. The paper, which argued that immigration reform would be a $6.3 trillion burden on the economy, was immediately slammed by Republicans, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, American Action Forum, and the libertarian CATO Institute for its dishonest methodology. Soon after, co-author Jason Richwine resigned from Heritage over his controversial Harvard University thesis that argued Hispanics are less intelligent. A report that once was the opponents’ powerful weapon during debates on reform was now seen as widely discredited.

hb56

3. Local and state anti-immigrant laws blocked: In Arizona, the Ninth Circuit of Appeals upheld a district court’s preliminary injunction on a key provision of the state’s controversial anti-immigrant law which would have made it illegal to give rides or provide shelter to undocumented immigrants. The opinion called the statute “incomprehensible to a person of ordinary intelligence and is therefore void for vagueness.”
Alabama passed the nation’s strictest immigration law in 2011, modeled after ALEC’s “No Sanctuary Cities for Illegal Immigrants Act.” Key provisions of HB 56 designed to encourage últimaracial profiling and make immigrants’ daily lives difficult to impossible, have been permanently blocked. The final legal settlement this fall with the Justice Department, civil rights groups, and plaintiffs prevents the worst of the law, which barred school enrollment, business, and daily interaction with undocumented immigrants.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down a Texas town’s ordinance that prohibited landlords from renting to undocumented residents. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia also ruled that anti-immigration city ordinances in Hazleton, PA infringed on federal immigration policies and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals similarly issued decisions against an anti-immigration South Carolina law that would have among other violations of federal immigration policies, criminalized undocumented immigrants seeking “shelter.”

October 8 Rally Pictures 142

4. Obama used administrative measures to ease restrictions on undocumented immigrants: One year after the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was implemented, at least 455,455 undocumented immigrants under the age of 31 got a taste of what it would feel like to have legal status, when they were granted work authorization and temporary relief from deportation. The President also issued a few “prosecutorial discretion” memos, advising federal immigration officials to avoid deporting people who are parents of U.S. citizens or if they are immediate family members of military personnel. Still, neither the work authorization nor the temporary deportation reprieve is permanent and many immigrants who would otherwise qualify for discretion are still flagged for deportation.

5. CA and CT limited deportations of non-violent immigrants: The TRUST Act rebukes federal policy by limiting local law enforcement’s compliance in screening and detaining undocumented nonviolent immigrants. The new law in California, a state with 2.45 million undocumented immigrants, should ease community fears of reporting crime because of deportation threats.

6. Republicans joined the call for citizenship: Within the span of one week in November, three House Republicans — Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and David Valadao (R-CA) — signed onto a comprehensive immigration bill introduced by House Democrats. They pressed House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to allow the bill to come to a vote on the House floor before the end of the Congressional year. That plan never transpired, but Boehner’s choice to hire Rebecca Tallent to lead immigration efforts renewed hope that House Republican would act on the issue in 2014.

7. People are limiting their use of the term “illegal immigrant”: A Pew research study released in June found that the use of the phrase “illegal alien” declined in 2013 and that the term “undocumented immigrant” rose (especially among immigrant advocates). Not coincidentally, immigration advocates have campaigned hard to make people understand that the phrase is derogatory because “no human is illegal.” Newspapers like the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times have all limited their use of the phrase “illegal immigrant.” And after a college conservative group was set to hold a “Catch An Illegal Immigrant” game on the University of Texas at Austin campus, the event sparked a protest held by hundreds of solidarity activists and the actress America Ferrera.

nuns on bus

8. Majority of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a citizenship provision: The final g”immigration win” involves the strong backing of the American public. A November 2013 poll found that 63 percent of American voters support allowing undocumented immigrants to become citizens as long as they meet certain requirements (like paying back taxes and fines, learning English, and passing a background check). Even voters living in 17 key Congressional districts represented by House Republicans opposed to immigration reform similarly support reform legislation when the details of the bill are fleshed out.

César Chávez biopic to debut at Berlin Festival

February 7, 2014

by the El Reportero’s news services

Michael Peña will interprete César Chávez.

Mexican actor and director Diego Luna’s biopic on Latino icon Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) will have its world premiere in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, the movie’s production company said.

“Cesar Chavez: An American Hero” will be entered into the festival’s official program in the Berlinale Special section, which presents recent works by contemporary directors, as well as cinematic portraits of renowned personalities, Canana Films, which Luna co-owns with fellow Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, said in a statement.

The cast of the biopic is headed by Michael Peña, who plays the role of the late migrant farm workers’ leader and civil rights activist.

Golden Globe winning actress America Ferrera plays the part of Chavez’s wife, while Rosario Dawson portrays Dolores Huerta, Chavez’s partner in founding the National Farmworkers Association (later the United Farm Workers).

“Cesar Chavez represents the largest non-violent protest movement in U.S. history; his goal was to achieve basic human rights for the more than 50,000 farm workers in California,” Canana said.

“We think the film will send the message that change is in our hands. Chavez did something that everyone thought was impossible with courage that inspired an entire nation.”

“Cesar Chavez,” which will hit U.S. theaters on March 28 and arrive in Mexico on May 2, was filmed in the United States and the northern Mexican state of Sonora.

It marks Luna’s second foray into directing, after his hit 2010 comedy/drama “Abel.”

Mexico’s Alfonso Cuaron Wins Best Director at Critic’s Choice Awards

Mexico’s Alfonso Cuaron, who has three Oscar nominations, was honored as Best Director for “Gravity” at the 19th Critic’s Choice Movie Awards, where “12 Years a Slave,” one of the favorites to win a gold statuette, had another night of glory when it was named Best Picture.

The critics gave further backing Thursday to the trio of movies best positioned to win the most sought-after Oscar: “12 Years a Slave” that got three awards, the story of Arizonasurvival in space “Gravity” that picked up seven, and the comedy-drama “American Hustle” with four.

The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, saw the same actors stepping up to collect their prizes that did the same at last week’s Golden Globes: Matthew McConaughty, Best Actor for “Dallas Buyers Club,” Cate Blanchett, Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine,” Sandra Bullock, Best Actress in an Action Film for “Gravity,” and Leonardo diCaprio, Best Actor in a Comedy for “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

This was also a great night for the Kenyan revelation Lupita Nyong’o, who was chosen Best Supporting Actress for “12 Years a Slave,” the same category that has made her the first to have a shot at an Oscar.

The anecdote of the night was provided by Sandra Bullock who let slip a profane “what the f—k?” when a technical glitch interrupted her speech of gratitude for being chosen Best Actress in an Action Movie.

“I’m an action hero, you do not do that to an action hero,” she continued immediately, getting more laughs from the audience.

Penelope Cruz set to play lead in New Julio Medem film ma ma

Penelope Cruz is set to play Magda, the leading character of “ma ma,” a movie written and directed by Julio Medem with two other Spaniards in the cast, Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia, and with the music of three-time Oscar nominee Alberto Iglesias Currently in preproduction, the film will be shot next spring entirely in Spain and in Spanish, and will be produced by Cruz and Medem in collaboration with Morena Films, the Dyp communications company told Efe.

“ma ma” (no capital letters) tells the story of Magda, a woman who “faced with tragedy, reacts by living the life she always had within her, from the imaginable to the unimaginable.

Don’t miss this PBS special: The State of Arizona

February 7, 2014

Compiled by the El Reportero’s staff

Inmigrantes piden reforma migratoria.

Next Monday the 27th a new movie about the fight in Arizona will air on PBS.

“The State of Arizona” is a documentary filmed with deep access inside all sides of the immigration debate, including the movement to stop SB1070 and defend immigrant rights.

It’s a dramatic and inside look at the anti-immigrant atmosphere, what happens to communities when police become tangled in immigration, and what happens when families fight back.

You can watch it on your local PBS station, Thursday, January, 27 2014.

El ganador de los Premios Internacionales del Chocolate 2013 participará en Winter Fancy Food Show en SF

El latinoamericano, Santiago Peralta, nombrado como “Mejor chocolatero del mundo”, por la Asociación de Industrias de Chocolate Fino (Londres, 2013 – 2015) participará en Winter Fancy Food Show, donde se podrán conocer mejor las características de los galardonados chocolates Pacari, elaborados con cacao 100 por ciento orgánico proveniente de la región y que rescata sabores de América Latina como la Hierba Luisa (limonaria), el Merkén, la sal de Cusco, la uvilla (uchuva), la maca, el mortiño (agraz); entre otros.

Pacari Chocolate, principal ganador de la última edición de los Premios Internacionales del Chocolate (Otoño 2013, Londres) y su fundador, Santiago Peralta, considerado como el chocolatero latinoamericano “sensación”; participarán en el Winter Fancy Food Show que tendrá lugar en SF.

En total, la compañía ecuatoriana Pacari Chocolate obtuvo seis medallas de oro y plata, en este

Celebrating the life of Carlos Pérez Macías

February 7, 2014

by Marvin Ramírez

Carlos Pérez Macías (q.e.p.d.)

It was on this day January 24 that Carlos went to the Kingdom of the Lord, but left us with his love, kindness and compassion.

Carlos, painter, poet and lawyer, was one of the great talents that Nicaragua bore thee, and like all of us, we’re destined toward the same destination – some day. And that cause pain and tears. All farewells of a good thing cause sadness. But let us not forget that things do not end there. Both the ones gone and those who remain here, must maintain a permanent and spiritual bond, and the ones from here should not perpetuate the pain and sadness, but turn them into joy – celebrating life. Celebrating the life of Carlos is the way to happiness because we cannot be happy being sad, and in addition, sadness spreads like a disease. It is our part to remember him living among us in his best moments: when he litigated a cause that he believed in, when he wrote a poem and let out what his soul felt, when he made a painting and described what he could not show from his inside but brought it out with the brush, or when he made us laugh.

It is time to party, as when someone gets married or goes away to a long journey to create positive energy and maintain that remembrance so alive as when he lived. Each annual reunion on his name should be – not a melancholy event, but a celebration of his life. Then, come’n, let’s replace immediately the sadness and tears with joy, because, it is so that Carlos lived, with much glee! With much affection for his sisters Indiana Pérez Macías and Bianca Jagger (former and first wife of Rolling Stones’ singer Mick Jagger), – Marvin Ramírez.

Boxing

February 7, 2014

The Sport of Gentlemen

Saturday, January 25 – Washington, District of Columbia (SHOWTIME) –

Light welterweights: Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KOs) vs. Dierry Jean (25-0, 17 KOs).

Saturday, February 1 – Monte Carlo, Monaco –

Middleweights: Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KOs) vs. Osumanu Adama (22-3, 16 KOs)

Saturday, February 15 – Los Angeles, California –

Featherweights: Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47 KOs) vs. Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14 KOs).

Criminalization of social protest and militarization of Honduras

February 7, 2014

Honduran indian líder Berta Cáceres speak to El Reportero. (PHOTO BY ORSETTA BELLANI)

by Orsetta Bellini

Interview with the indigenous leader Bertha Cáceres in Honduras, where 80 percent of the crimes go unpunished, the social movements are criminalized and prosecuted. Bellani Orsetta, a collaborator of the reporter, found and interviewed Bertha Cáceres, general coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), one of the largest human rights organizations in the central American country. In the framework of the struggle of the Lenca indigenous people against the hydroelectric water companies of Zarca company Sino-hydro and Desa, Caceres and two other members of COPINH – Tomas Gomez Membreńo and Aureliano Molina – have been accused of serious crimes.

What are the charges against you and how is the judicial process developing?

The legal persecution is only an expression of the whole political persecution against COPINH and is a defined strategy at the presidential level. We are aware that with our struggle, it is peaceful but energetic, we are confronting great and influential powers. In one of the two cases to which I was accused of carrying illegal arms to the detriment of the internal security of the State of Honduras, -The Prosecutor and the Attorney General have outlined a conciliation settlement for me. First they proposed to end the persecution against me in exchange for my indemnifying the State and apologize, assuming the gun was of my property, which of course I will not do , I did not commit any offense and I have no reason to reconcile these things. [For this case she was arrested on May 24 and for not finding sufficient evidence to prove the crime was released 21 days later with alternative measures to going to prison.]

Then, under pressure from the defense of the social movements of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, of Amnesty International and thousands of expressions of solidarity that have denounced this injustice worldwide, I was offered pay to the State all what it had spent on this process, it being my victim. At this time it is most likely that in the next hearing the trial will continue regardless of conciliation.

In the other case of which the company accuses us, that is, of continuing damage, coercion and usurpation in September issued preventive prison against me, and have set the next preliminary hearing for February 11, 2014. [In this case a warrant for her arrest hanging over Cáceres and she has declared herself politically persecuted]. Also this year they approved an amendment which provides that a person benefit from alternative measures to going to prison – as it has been in the first case in which a ban on leaving the country was imposed on me and the obligation to present myself to the court every 15 days –may not be benefited a second time in another case. When I was charged with possession of the gun in May 2013, this law was not in force, but they made retroactive and this is illegal, there is no retroactive law in Honduras.

These charges are given in the context of opposition to COPINH the hydroelectric project Water Zarca in the community of Rio Blanco, department of Intibucá. Why is the struggle of this community so important to the Honduran government?

Years ago the communities of Rio Blanco COPINH waged a struggle for the defense of the territory and of the Gualcarque River, which is a sacred river for the Lenca people. In April of 2013 we were able to remove Sinohydro / Desa, which is the largest builder of dams in the world, ours is an exercise of autonomy and territorial control. The company obtained the concession illegally in 2010 and by its links with the army pressured communities hard, not only harassed but also offering bribes and trying to manipulate the population. This indicates that the transnational do not need political intermediaries, but go directly to repress communities. Where there are intentions to build mining or hydroelectric projects there are militarization plans. The struggle of White River is a bad example for big business, because it has proved that it is possible to roll back a project of domination and privatization, it shows that it is possible to get rid of an invasive transnational and this is part of the legitimate struggle of the Lenca people.

The persecution against you seems to insert itself in a climate of criminalization of social protest that covers the whole country

The state has built repressive structures that have funding including from the Interamerican Bank of Development, under the Regional Security Plan for Central America. This is very worrying for social activists as it will deepen repression. Today it is a crime to defend human rights. Congress and the oligarchic sectors have driven the creation of the Military Police, who is working as a paramilitary structure directed against social movements. Not only do the police and intelligence apparatus work, undercover bodies and private security agencies are also operating, which are nothing more than another army looking after the interests of big business. They work together with the police and army, and double their number.

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