by the El Reportero’s news services

Juan Manuel Santos was sworn in Saturday as the 59th president of
Colombia, which despite major security gains remains the Western
Hemisphere’s only nation beset by a politically based armed conflict.

A reminder of that was the absence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
among the 14 Latin American and Caribbean leaders, including Felipe
Calderón of Mexico and Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, attending
Saturday’s ceremony on the carpeted cobblestones of Bogota’s central
plaza.

Chávez broke diplomatic relations with neighboring Colombia two
weeks ago after outgoing President Alvaro Uribe’s government presented
the Organization of American States with video of alleged Colombian
rebel camps in Venezuela.

Also attending was President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, which severed
ties with Uribe’s government in 2008 after the Colombian military
raided a guerrilla camp a mile inside its territory, killing a rebel
chief and 25 others.

The new president vowed to unify his country around the goals of
prosperity for all and of thwarting the nation’s leftist rebels.

Castro permits economic reforms to “perfect” Cuban Revolution

Cuba’s President Raúl Castro announced a series of “adjustments to the
socialist model” on 1 August during the opening of the biannual session
of the national assembly. His main message was the need to streamline
the State.

Castro said the “bloated” state sector would be shorn of some 1m
employees in a phased reduction which will run in tandem with a plan to
increase private enterprise, allowing more Cubans to become
self-employed and  hire their own workers. Castro said this was one of
the “structural and conceptual changes” he promised in a major policy
speech three years ago.

Mexico car bomb triggers debate on escalation & shift to terrorism

The news that, for the first time ever, a car bomb had exploded in
Ciudad Juárez, prompted two intertwined debates. The first hinges on
whether this event marks the beginning of a new phase in Mexico’s drug
war; the second, on whether it can be considered as the onset of a
terrorist phase in the violence practised by the  drug gangs.

The second debate is of particular importance because it has
repercussions that go far beyond Mexico. There are signs that it may
resurface again in Colombia with the accession to power of Juan Manuel
Santos on August 7.

by Esther J. Cepeda Hispanic Link News Service

When I finished listening to President Obama’s address on immigration reform, I wished I could get the last 45 minutes of my life back.

His speech at American University – to squelch talk that he’s ignoring his campaign promise to pass comprehensive reform – brought no fresh ideas to the table, shot down immigrant activist demands for a moratorium on deportation, offered nothing substantive on Arizona’s anti-illegal immigrant law, and failed to put a timeline on any action.

How many times have you heard the platitudes he trotted out – a nation of immigrants, one of the great challenges of our time, the system is broken, the need for a bipartisan solution?

The president’s speech was supposed to be about accountability – for securing the border, employers who hire illegal immigrants, those  here illegally.

Yes, he touched on these topics. He even went out of his way to make clear he would not consider a moratorium on deportations until reform measures were solidified – openly dissing the activist groups he’s been courting since his presidential run.

At a speech-viewing rally in Chicago’s Douglas Park, a cadre of activists yelled in anger when he said such “an indiscriminate approach would be both unwise and unfair … and could lead to a surge in more illegal  immigration and ignore those waiting in line to come here  legally.”

José Herrera, an organizer with the Immigrant Youth Justice League, vowed: “From today on, there will be a different response…There is anger. We will mobilize people to demand the moratorium…”

Completely lacking was any discussion of accountability for the legislators who are hiding under a desk somewhere or venting on TV pundit shows because they don’t want to tackle the tough compromises needed to enact bipartisan reform.

Also absent was any discussion of accountability for a president who has seen fit to take over a failing car company, reform the supposedly immovable health care system, and kick the asses – and wallets – of the global company hemorrhaging oil into our gulf.

What, exactly, was the point of declaring the immigration issue is “held hostage to political posturing and special interest lobbying” if not to call on legislators to get to work and present a proposal  by a certain date?

Sure, it might feel good to say that our southern borders are more secure today than they have been in 20 years. But when the president himself admits the current system makes a mockery of all the immigrants who are trying to come here legally, he makes a mockery of his every-  once-in-a-while devotion to this issue.

My beef is he did not exhibit any leadership on an issue he says has been at the top of his agenda since he was in the Senate.

Obama spoke of the need to end the “patchwork of local laws that divide the country” but never once indicated who should lead the effort, how progress should be defined, or set a deadline to enact  a well-reasoned bipartisan reform.

There’s no end to the disagreements that have shaped the immigration reform battle. But there should be an end to speculation about when the country will get around to doing something about it. Obama must make himself accountable to the businesses, citizens and immigrants with a timeline and a plan for when this will actually happen.

(Esther J. Cepeda is a Chicago-based journalist who writes regular  commentaries on Hispanic issues. Reach her at eejaycee@600words.com)

by an anonymous author

The Lemon (Citrus limonun Risso, Citrus lemon (L.) Burm., Citrus medicates) it is a miraculous product to kill the cancerous cells. It is 10,000 times more powerful than the chemotherapy. Why are not we informed about it? Because interested organizations exist in finding a synthetic version, which allows them to obtain fabulous utilities.

So as of now, if you have a friend who needs it, let him know that it is good for him to drink lemon juice to prevent the illness. The flavor is pleasant. And of course it does not produce the horrible effects of the chemotherapy. And if you have the chance to do it, plant a lemon tree in his yard or garden. All its parts are useful.

The next time that you should want to drink a juice, ask for natural lemon with- out preservatives.

How many people will die while this secret is jealously kept so as not to put limits on the multimillionaire utilities of big corporations?

As you well know, the lemon tree is short. It does not occupy very much space. It is called by the names of  Lemon tree, lemon, lime, limoeiro (gal.), llimoner(cat.), limoiaritz (eusk.).

It is a citric fruit and its pulp can be eaten directly or it is used normally to prepare drinks, sherbets, sweets etc.

The interest in this plant is owed to its strong effects as an anti-carcinogenic. And  although it has many more properties, the most interesting of these is the effect that it produces on the cysts and the tumors. This plant is a remedy for cancer approved for all types of cancer. There  are those who affirm that it is very useful in all variants  of cancer.

It is considered also to be an agent anti-microbial of wide use against bacterial infections and for fungi; it is effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates the arterial hypertension and it is anti-depressant, it combats tension and nervous disorders.

The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of the biggest manufacturers medicine of the world, who affirms that after more than 20 laboratory  tests, realized from 1970 the extracts revealed that:

It destroys the malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including that of the colon, of the breast, of the prostate, of the lung and of the pancreas.

The compounds of this tree have been demonstrated to act 10,000 times better slowing down the growth of the cancer cells than the product Adriamycin, a chemotherapy   drug, that normally is used worldwide.

And what is even more amazing: this type of therapy, with the lemon extract, destroys only the malignant cells of the cancer and does not affect the healthy cells Institute of Sciences of  the Health, L.L.C. 819 N. Charles Street Baltimore,.

­Teresa Mina lamenta que tan injusta es la ley. (photo by David Bacon)

by David Bacon

Teresa Mina was a San Francisco janitor, member of Service Employees Union Local 87, when she was fired because the company said she didn’t have legal immigration documents. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her employer to fire 463 workers because they lack legal immigration status. She told her story to David Bacon the day before she returned to Mexico.

I come from Tierra Blanca, a very poor town in Veracruz. After my children’s father abandoned us, I decided to come to the U.S. There’s just no money to survive. We couldn’t continue to live that way.

We all felt horrible when I decided to leave. My three kids, my mom, and two sisters are still living at home in Veracruz. The only one supporting them now is me.

My kids’ suffering isn’t so much about money. I’ve been able to send enough to pay the bills. What they lack is love. They don’t have a father; they just have me. My mother cares for them, but it’s not the same. They always ask me to come back. They say maybe we’ll be poor, but we’ll be together.

I haven’t been able to go back to see them for six years, because I don’t have any papers to come back to the U.S. afterwards. To cross now is very hard and expensive.

My first two years in San Francisco I cleaned houses. The work was hard, and I was lonely. It’s different here. Because I’m Latina and I don’t know English, if I go into a store, they watch me from head to foot, like I’m a robber.

After two years, I got a job as a janitor, making $17.85 per hour. Cleaning houses only paid $10. But then I was molested sexually. Another worker exposed himself to me and my friend. When we went to the company and filed a complaint, they took me off the job and kept me out of work a month. They didn’t pay me all that time.

That’s when my problems started, because I called the union and asked them to help me. After that, the company called me a problematic person, because I wouldn’t be quiet and I fought for my rights. Sometimes they wouldn’t give me any work.

When you work as a janitor you’re mostly alone. You pick up trash, clean up the kitchen and vacuum. These are simple things, and they tire you out, but basically it’s a good job. Lots of times we don’t take any breaks, though. To finish everything, sometimes we don’t even stop for lunch.

No one ever said anything to me about immigration for four years. But then the company gave a letter to my coworkers, saying they wouldn’t be able to continue working because they had no papers. About 40 people got them at first. Eventually I got a letter too.

The person from human relations said immigration had demanded the papers for all the people working at the company. She said 300 people didn’t have good papers. People whose papers were bad had a month to give the company other documents. If the immigration authorities said these were no good too, we’d be fired. She said the immigration might come looking for us where we lived.

We had a meeting at the union about the letters. So me people in that meeting had papers, and came to support those of us who didn’t. They said when they first came herethey had to cross the border like we did, in order to find work.

They complained that so many of us were being fired that the workload increased for people who were left. The union got weaker too.We’re all paying $49 a month in union dues, and that adds up to alot. We’re paying that money so that the union will defend us if we get fired like this. In that meeting we said we wanted equal rights. No one should be fired unless the immigration arrests us. We don’t want the comapny to enforce immigration law. The comapny isn’t the law.

The company gave me no work in December and January. I was desperate. I had no money. I had to move in with someone else, because I couldn’t pay rent. i couldn’t send money home to my children.

I was so stressed I fell and broke my arm, and was out on disability. Then I went back to work, and when I went to get my check, the woman in the office wouldn’t pay me until I showed them new immigration papers. She gave me three days to bring then, and said if I didn’t I’d be fired. I asked her, “so you’re the immigration?

I felt really bad. I spent so many years killing myself in that job, and I needed to keep it so I could send money home. But I couldn’t keep fighting. I didn’t want my problems to get even bigger – I could tell things would only get worse.

I went back after three days, and told the company I didn’t have any good papers. I asked for my pay for the hours I’d worked, and my vacation. I told them I had a flight back to Mexico and needed my check. They only paid me 60 hours, though they owed me 82. They knew I was leaving and couldn’t fight them over it. The union did get me something. If I come back with papers within two years, I’ll get my job back.

This law is very unjust. We’re doing jobs that are heavy and dirty. We work day and night to help our children have a better life, or just to eat. My work is the only support for my family. Now my children won’t have what they need.

Many people are frightened now. They don’t want to complain or fight about anything because they’re afraid they might get fired. They think if we keep fighting, the immigration will pick us up. They have families here. What will happen to their children? Nobody knows. They worry that what’s happened to me might happen to them.

I can’t afford to live here for months without working. I came to this country to work for my children. But if this is what happens because I’ve been fighting and struggling,

I’d rather leave, and go home and live with my children. In the end, they need me more.

So I guess I’ll go back to Tierra Blanca. I’ll work in the fields or try selling food there. My family says the economic situation at home is very hard. I’m not bringing much money home. But I like to work, and I know I’ll find a way. New America Media

by Michael Marcell and Luis Carlos López

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer filed an expedited appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals July 29 following a preliminary injunction placed by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton halting most of the key components of the state’ immigration law SB1070.

“Arizona has been suffering a consequence of illegal immigration and the lack of effective enforcement activity by the federal government,” the appeal stated.

An expedited appeal  requires a motion panel of three judges from the 9th Circuit, selected at random from a pool of 45, to decide whether the injunction poses “irreparable harm.” If so, it would be lifted, allowing SB1070 to come into fulleffect.

“I will battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, for the right to protect the citizens of Arizona,” Brewer said a few hours after Bolton issued the injunction. Bolton’s ruling blocked major components of Arizona SB1070 which would have taken effect 90 days after Brewer signed.

Her ruling came less than 24 hours before full enforcement would have gone into effect, just as police officials were making last-minute compliance preparations.

Bolton ruled that if Arizona were to implement SB1070, it would interfere with federal policy. The injunction allows the federal government to continue pursuing federal priorities in the public interest until a final judgment is reached, Bolton, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled.

The injunction limits SB1070’s full bite by blocking police from questioning a person’s legal status during routine investigations and eliminating mandatory detention of individuals who cannot verify their legal status at the time of arrest.

In addition, it strikes the “show me your papers” provision that requires individuals to carry documentation at all times and keeps authorities from labeling someone “removable” from the United States or conducting a warrantless arrest.

The law retains two provisions which trouble Latino advocates: 1) It still prohibits hiring of undocumented immigrants. 2) It allows Arizona to block cities within the state from  becoming sanctuaries to undocumented immigrants.

Alessandra Soler-Meetze, executive director of ACLU Arizona, told Weekly Report that Bolton’s decision was important in de- fining limits of local jurisdictions’ authority. “States that are considering similar measures should definitely take note that they simply  can’t hijack federal authority and create their own state immigration schemes which conflict with federal priorities and really do nothing to protect the residents of the state,” Soler-Meetze said.

Other voices, such as Arizona-based advocacy group Puente, weren’t as receptive. It claimed via Twitter, “We will not comply with the criminalization of our communities! Partial injunction is not victory.

Reaction from those who favor the Arizona law was just as vibrant. While Brewer called the injunction a “little bump on the road,” Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce, who authored the bill, told CNN he wrote  the law with the SupremeCourt in mind. He predicted it would be upheld in a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling.

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, voiced strong  displeasure.

“There’s a wave of anger sweeping the United States today,” Gheen said. “Between 60 and 80 percent of the American public supported the Arizona law, and Americans feel that President  Obama and this judge have thwarted democracy, and we’re advising all illegal immigrants to exit the country as soon as possible due to the rising anger in the American public.” Hispanic Link.

by the El Reportero’s news services

Chile announced on July 30 that it was restoring full diplomatic relations with Honduras and Mexico followed suit on July 31. Their moves leave Brazil uncomfortably allied with the radical leftwing governments of the region as the only countries refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the new Honduran government headed by President Porfirio Lobo. The Chilean and Mexican moves prompted José Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) to forecast that within a few weeks the OAS would take a decision to readmit Honduras.

Mexico car bomb triggers debate on escalation & shift to terrorism

The news that, for the first time ever, a car bomb had exploded in Ciudad Juárez, prompted two intertwined debates. The first hinges on whether this event marks the beginning of a new the second, on whether it can be considered as the onset of a terrorist phase in the violence practiced by the drug gangs. The second debate is of particular importance because it has repercussions that go far beyond Mexico. There are signs that it may resurface again in Colombia with the accession to power of Juan Manuel Santos on 7  August.

The Orquesta Aragón of Cuba.

As the cultural door opens again between the U.S. and Cuba, Orquesta Aragón returns to share their 70th Anniversary Celebration with us. Director Rafael Lay, son of an earlier leader of the group, brings us the group’s beautiful orchestration, performance excellence, and multiple music styles – from charanga to cha-cha-chá, son fusions and more. This is a timely celebration of seven decades of Cuban music and culture.

Founded in 1939, and performing continuously to sold-out audiences worldwide, Orquesta Aragón plays authentic Cuban music with a multi-generational appeal and has recorded over 100 albums.

Orquesta Aragón is widely known for some of their signature classics including “El Bodeguero”, “La Gloria Eres Tu”, “Pare Cochero”, “Espiritu Burlon” and “Calculadora” among many more. They have performed in some of  the most prestigious venues in the world including Carnegie Hall in New York City, Paris’ Olympia Theatre and Tchaikovsky’s Theatre in Russia.

If you love the Buena Vista Social Club and Juan de Marcos and the Afro-Cuban All-Stars, you will surely love Orquesta Aragón, La Madre de las Charangas Cubanas – The Mother of The Cuban Charangas.

The historical queen of charanga will bring us the best of their repertoire on Friday, August 13, 2010, at Zellerbach Hall (101 Zellerbach Hall #4800 University of California, Berkeley)

8p.m. (Door 7 pm). Tickets: $65 Orch-$50 Mezz/Tiers-$35 Balcony

Advance Tickets, music player and videos: http: //www.AragonAtZellerbach.com