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by Jonathan Farrell

The gloomy forecast reaching the media lately is that by the year 2037 Social Security will run out of money. Yet groups like the Gray Panthers who made protest outside the New Federal Building on Mission at 7th Street in San Francisco on Aug. 14th say Social Security is not going broke.

Dozens from various groups like SEIU Local 721, SF Central Labor Council and others gathered that Saturday morning to let the public know Social Security is doing well. As the longstanding government benefit program celebrates its 75th anniversary this month, they want people to know that the information the press has been given is inaccurate and misleading.

Current media blitz reports that the Baby boomer generation as they retire will bankrupt the funds. And, that by 2037 Social Security will be struggling to pay out benefits.

This is misleading “Social Security will be solvent for a-very long time, said Paul Van de Water from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Van de Water worked for Social Security. He now specializes in Medicare, Social Security, and health coverage issues.

He explained the missing details. “Social Security will not be able to pay out 100 percent of promised benefits by 2037, that’s if Congress was not to do anything to remedy the situation.” Yet still by that time benefi ts will continue, contrary to the headlines.

He and other analyst experts such as Eric Kingson and Alex Lawson say that with the over 2 trillion in a trust fund that Social Security holds the Social Security Administration has the funds to pay benefi ts. By 2037 benefits will still be paid. Yet, only if nothing is done by that time benefi ts would be reduced by 20 to 30 percent. This is where the information got mixed up.

Kingson and Lawson are among those groups trying to alert the public that the news they are hearing about Social Security is not all bad news. “In fact, Social Security is functioning extremely well, it is not broke,” said Lawson. But they warn that greedy powers are at work to alter or perhaps raid Social Security as a means to address defi cit woes.

Founded in 1935 by President FDR and his cabinet Social Security was designed to help the American people stay out of poverty. Social Security was and is one of the best retirement benefi t programs in US history. Even as this economic recession has a fl uctuating income revenue,  Social Security is secure.

Analysts and SSA advocates say there are simple ways for the predicted short-fall to be addressed such as raising the earning cap. A percentage of the population is in an earning bracket where they do not pay Social Security taxes. Perhaps it’s time to include those high-earners too?

By law, SSA is not allowed to go into debt. In fact, some budget analysts point out that SSA has had surplus funds which it then reinvests. That all adds to the 2 trillion trust fund which incidentally is expected to reach over $4 trillion by 2037. For more info about the facts of Social Security’s stability visit: http://socialsecurityworks. org

by Michael Marcell & Luis Carlos López

A study released Aug. 11 by the Pew Hispanic Research Center shows that 340,000 of 4.3 million (8 percent) babies born in the United States in 2008 were the progeny of undocumented immigrants — with most coming from Hispanic parents.

Pew found that nearly four in five of the 5.1 million children under age 18 of unauthorized immigrants were born in this country and therefore U.S. citizens.

“Overall, Hispanics who live in the U.S. have higher rates of fertility than do whites, blacks or Asians,” the Pew said. “Among Hispanics, the foreign born have higher rates of fertility than the native born.”

The study comes as some senators are making strides on Capitol Hill to redefine what it takes to be a U.S. citizen.

Currently, section one of the 14th amendment of the Constitution states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Some have proposed changing the amendment to exclude U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants from being considered citizens to help resolve the illegal immigration problem. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) held hearings Aug. 3 to discuss such possibility.

Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said addressing the issue of birthright citizenship would move comprehensive immigration reform legislation forward because it would be one method of preventing more undocumented immigrants from entering this country.

President Reagan addressed the first wave in 1986 when he signed an amnesty bill that provided a path to citizenship for 2.7 million persons.

Bishop told Hispanic Link Aug. 6, “We are now in the second wave of illegal immigrants…Senator Graham is committed that we don’t have a third wave.

Bishop stressed Graham’s position that changes should not jeopardize the status of people who have already been granted birthright citizenship .

Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza, said in a statement that Graham and McCain, once leading Senate advocates for comprehensive immigration reform, in joining with Senate Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Jon Kyl in support of repealing birthright citizenship, have led her to “conclude that, with some exceptions, the Grand Old Party has either taken leave of its senses or of its principles.”

Elizabeth Weidruff, chief counsel for the ConstitutionalAccountability Center, said, “The text and history of the 14th Amendment clearly include children of non-citizens or undocumented immigrants in the guarantee of citizenship for those born on U.S. soil.”

Others are echoing Graham’s call to action and have a different interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said that being a U.S. citizen implies a deeper connection to one’s nation that someone who comes to the U.S. for opportunistic reasons cannot understand.

“The amendment says ‘all persons born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof’, are citizens,” He said. “The issue is: what does it mean to be in the jurisdiction of the United States? Does it mean, simply, that you’re here and you have to stop at the red lights like the rest of us, or is their some deeper meaning to the concept of what it means to be in the jurisdiction of the United States?” Hispanic Link.

by the El Reportero’s news services

This week (August 25) marks the start of four weeks of campaigning for the September 26 legislative elections in which the opposition, which boycotted the last election in 2005, is hoping to secure up to 40 percent of the 165 seats up for grabs in the unicameral National Assembly (AN).

As ever, all elections in Venezuela effectively become a referendum on President Hugo Chávez himself. The ruling Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), which is not particularly popular as a party, is already calling on its supporters to ‘vote for Chávez’, despite the fact that he is not on the ballot – and despite the fact that pollsters have identified mounting voter fatigue with the president.

Colombia’s Farc call for Unasur summit A

Colombian guerrilla group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc), released a public letter addressed to the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) in which it offered to “put forward our vision of the Colombian conflict in a Unasur summit”. The letter is the second call from the group for a dialogue since President Juan Manuel Santos was elected on June 20. On July 30, ‘Alfonso Cano’ (Guillermo Sáenz), the leader of the Farc, released a video message in which he asked Santos to “talk”. The administration, however, has refused to hold a dialogue with the guerrillas as long as the latter continue to refuse the government’s three preconditions to hold talks: the release of all hostages; the release of all child soldiers; and an end to the use of land mines.

Peru leader charged with rebellion eyes politics

A Peruvian protest leader facing rebellion charges stemming from deadly clashes last year announced Wednesday that Amazon Indians are looking to form their own political party, and he may be its presidential candidate.

Aidesep, an umbrella group representing 65 tribes across the Peruvian jungle, is collecting signatures to register the new party and could pick a candidate as soon as September for next April’s election, said Alberto Pizango, a Shawi Indian who is the group’s president.

“If the people propose that I be the political figure who can carry forward their grand ideals, their grand proposals, their grand projects, I will accept” the nomination,” Pizango said.

The new party is to be known as the Alternative Alliance of Humanity. It also intends to field congressional candidates.

Farc bomb attack and court ruling on US base accord could boost Santos

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos announced during his investiture on August 7 that the successes of his predecessor Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010) on the security front had left him free to concentrate on economic issues and social justice. Within the first 10 days of his term, Santos was given two sharp reminders that he will not be able to switch off on security at  Any point.

Firstly the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) sent a stark warning to Santos that it remains a force by detonating a car bomb in central Bogotá. Then, the constitutional court (CC) ruled that the October 2009 Defense Cooperation Agreement between Colombia and the US was unconstitutional. Both developments could actually have tangible benefits for Santos. (Latin News and Associated Press contributed to this report.)

by World Natural Health Organization and news

The synthetic sugar used in a wide variety of consumer products, such as pastries and deserts cause cerebral damage, memory loss and confusion as affirmed by the Mexican Association of Studies for Consumer Defence ( AMEDEC ).

In a message, the Association indicated the sweetener substance, called “aspartame”, which is distributed in Mexico under various brands, to sweeten drinks and principally the drinks labled “light”.

According to AMEDEC, the english publication “New Scientist” and the Consumers International warn that this substance can contribute to the development of Alzheimer. They also indicated that the chemical components of “aspartamo” have other dire consequences for excessive use including damage to the retina and nervous system.

It explained that the substance is composed of two aminoacids, fenilalanina and aspartic acid plus alcohol and methanol. it states that on taking aspartame and spasms are suffered, sharp pains, numbness in the legs, vertigo, depression, anxiety attacks, difficulty in speech, blurry vision and memory loss is due to “aspartame sickness”.

The Association showed that there are more than 5,000 products that contain this sweetner whose patent has expired. Further it said that it is not a diabetic product in that it generally leads to a craving for carbohydrates that can cause a fatal loss of control over levels of blood sugar. In pregnant women aspartame can cause deformities and mental retardation in fetuses. Check all products before using, eating or drinking it. Chewing gum, diet sodas, candies, canned or frozen foods may have this substance hazardous to your health. Stay aways from all these products that even can lead to death.

There was a judicial suite in three separate California courts against twelve companies that produce or use this artificial sweetener. The suite has been filed in Shsta, Sonoma and Butte county in California.

The suites allege that the food companies committed fraud and violated guarantees by marketing to the public products like diet Coke, diet Pepsi, sugar free chewing gum, vitamins, yogurt and children’s asprin with complete knowledge that the artificial sweetener Aspartame is a neurotoxin.

­Out of work and sleeping in the fields.

by David Bacon

Near Reedley, on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, several men sleep in the field. They get creative in building their own shantytown.

Humberto comes from Zihuatanejo in Guerrero.

Pedro, who wears an earring in his ear, comes from Hermosillo in Sonora. Ramiro comes from a tiny town in the Lancandon jungle of Chiapas, about halfway between Tapachula on the coast, and Palenque, the site of the Mayan ruins.

None of the men has worked more than a few days in the last several months. The riteros (people with vans who give workers rides to the fields to work) won’t pick them up, because they say they live with the vagabundos (vagabonds). The men use bicycles for transportation.

The rancher who owns  the land has abandoned the orchard where they sleep. A number of other fields in the area are also abandoned.

by Michael Marcell

Federal and state governments spend more than $10,000 per pupil on elementary and secondary public education annually, but new desks and computers are not the Rosetta Stones needed to assist young, Latino students.

Forty-two percent of Hispanic 4th and 8th grade students in the U.S. public schools have below-basic English reading proficiency, according to a study presented at the National Press Club June 22 by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.

“Closing the Achievement Gap” was conducted by the Los Angeles- based Tomás Rivera Policy Institute.

It targeted states and school districts with high numbers of Hispanic middle- school students.

The results showed major achievement gaps between English Language Learners and non-ELL students. Seventy percent of ELL middle-school students have belowbasic reading levels compared to 15 percent and 24 percent for their 4th and 8th grade peers.

Delaware State Representative Joseph Miro said there is a uniform problem with the teaching ELL and ESL students. “Unless we dedicate the resources, not just money, and training of different educators, we are not going to be able to address the problem.” Miro said.

Sen. Melinda Romero (Puerto Rico), newly appointed chairwoman of the NAHCSL education taskforce, said teachers of ELL students need better professional development, assessments and resources.

“The ELL teachers are usually not up to par,” Romero said, stressing the vaue of parent involvement. “Usually the teachers are not Latino or Spanish speaking and the parents are afraid of being involved.

Much of the study focused on middleschool students. Romero said middle schools are where most Latino dropouts occur. She called them the “Wasteland of American education.”

“We have seen years where almost 65 percent  of the Latino community has dropped out in middleschool.” Romero said.

Consensus among the speakers was that ELL students fall behind early in their academic careers, starting in the first grade, and often drop out in frustration.

TRPI’s Wendy Charavia said most students who drop out do so as they are going into the 9th grade.

Charavia stressed the  mportance of college awareness as a goal and motivatorfor ELL students.

“If you’re in middleschool and have some idea of where you’re going to be after school, it’s a huge motivator to stay,” Charavia said. No clear strategy forparent involvement was put  forward at the presentation.

When asked by Weekly Report what was being done to increase parental participation, Miro, a former teacher, said “the expectation of schools at this point is to take the role to educate the kids with a decrease in the parents’ responsibility.”

Kansas State Rep. Mario Goico said the best way to begin the parental integration is by assigning students reading lists to be signed by their parents  acknowledging that they were, in fact, doing their work.

“You have to have a certain interaction between the teacher, the parent and the student in order to communicate the knowledge,” Goico said. Hispanic Link.

by the El Reportero’s staff

President Sebastián Piñera announced on July 25, that he would not issue a general pardon to retired members of the military convicted for violating human rights during the dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

That decision again demonstrated that Piñera is in no way a prisoner of the Right. Subsequent decisions (to restore diplomatic relations with Honduras and then to allow Ecuador to impose new terms on local  oil concessions operated by Chile’s state-owned Enap)mark Piñera as a pragmatist with principles.

Santos moves quickly to improve ties with Chávez and Colombian courts Within two working days of his inauguration on August 7, Juan Manuel Santos had addressed three of the most rancorous disputes that dogged the government of his predecessor Alvaro Uribe: institutional relations with the judiciary  and ties with Colombia’s neighbors, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Santos met 78 senior magistrates on August 9 in a bid to mend ties with the country’s top courts; he made an immediate, and important, gesture to Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, by  handing over the entire contents of the laptop of Raúl Reyes, the guerrilla leader killed during a cross-border raid by the Colombian military in March 2008; and then he entertained Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez on 10 August in Colombia’s Caribbean town of Santa Marta, where diplomatic relations were restored.