10-17-2006 = Aztlannet_News Report

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http://aztlannet-news-blog.blogspot.com/2006/10/10-17-2006-aztlannetnews-report.html
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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15778070.htm

Tue, Oct. 17, 2006
U.S. reaches historic population point: 300,000,000
IMMIGRATION DRIVING GROWTH
By Mike Swift / Mercury News
Email= swift@mercurynews.com or (408) 271-3648.

When the nation's odometer clicked over to 300,000,000 people at 4:46 this morning, it was a milestone more figurative than literal.

Someone is born in this country every seven seconds; someone dies every 13 seconds; and one new immigrant arrives every 31 seconds. Put them together, and presto: the United States has added one new resident every 11.25 seconds since the U.S. Census Bureau made the last official count in 2000.

The actual 300-millionth person could be an Indian software engineer who arrives in Silicon Valley, or an American Indian girl born in Truth or Consequences, N.M.

Demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution speculated -- partly tongue in cheek -- that No. 300 million would be a Latino boy born in Los Angeles County, based on the fact that Latinos are growing more than other U.S. ethnic groups, that Los Angeles has the biggest numeric increases and the fact that boy babies outnumber girls.

``We have no way of knowing where the 300-millionth individual would be,'' said Robert Berenstein, a spokesman for the Census Bureau.

The where and when are less important than the fact that 300 million represents a historical turning point.

What's been going on, in a word, is immigration. A growing percentage of Americans are foreign-born. And they are spreading from traditional hot spots such as California to every corner of the United States.

Without this influx of immigrants, the United States and California, its most populous state, would be following the path of many industrialized countries that are seeing their populations stagnate and age as women have fewer children.

When the nation marked 200 million people in 1967, only 5 percent of the population was foreign-born. That changed dramatically in the wake of the Immigration and Naturalization Services Act of 1965, when Congress abolished quotas that limited the number of immigrants arriving from certain nations, particularly in Asia.

About 12 percent of the nation is currently foreign-born -- less than the 15 percent peak in 1910, but a far greater share than in the late '60s. And while it took the nation 52 years to grow from 100 million to 200 million people, the United States reached 300 million in just 39 years. The Census Bureau says it will reach 400 million even more quickly, by 2043.

In places like Santa Clara County, where about 36 percent of the population was foreign-born in 2005 -- tops in the state along with Los Angeles County -- immigrants are not only fueling population and economic growth, they are starting to reshape their home countries as well. Unlike past generations where immigration was a one-way trip, global jet travel and the Internet have allowed the most successful immigrants to become pollinators of their home countries as well as their adopted home.

Consider entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Hasan Kamil and his wife, Talat Hasan, of Saratoga, natives of India. They have so many investments and philanthropic interests on both sides of the Pacific that they recently bought a house in New Delhi because they travel back and forth so much.

``You have to have lawyers on both sides and accountants on both sides,'' Talat Hasan said.

Since the 1990s, new arrivals have spread out beyond California to corners of America that had few or no immigrants for much of the 20th century.

In 1990, almost half the counties in the United States were more than 99 percent native-born, including vast swaths of the South and the Midwest. By 2000, just one-quarter of the nation's counties were devoid of immigrants, as Latinos and other immigrant groups followed work to states like North Carolina, according to an analysis of census data by the Population Reference Bureau, a research group in Washington, D.C.

Organizations such as the Center for Environment and Population warn that America's immigration-fueled growth, coupled with wasteful patterns of consumption, is causing environmental problems not only for the United States, but for the planet.

However, in many other industrialized countries without a significant number of immigrants the problem isn't growth, it's contraction.

In Germany, legislators are worried about their country becoming, in Frey's words, a ``geriatric ghetto.'' They are considering a plan to pay women who leave the workforce to have a child about $2,500 a month. In Spain, there are only half as many children younger than 5 than people in their parents' age group.

``You can't go back now and say, `Oops, we forgot to have kids,' '' said Carl Haub, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau. He said those countries are headed for a time when one-third of the population will be older than 65.

Meanwhile, in the lobby of Census Bureau headquarters in Suitland, Md., the digital ``population clock'' ticked past 299,995,000 Monday afternoon, moving steadily toward 300 million. And a government agency more comfortable dealing with statistics than media hype was coping with a different consequence of immigration -- media interest from across the globe, from Brazil to China.

``Man,'' said Stephen Buckner, a Census Bureau public information officer. ``We've been flat-out for the past two days on this.''

Charts: Population growth (PDF)
http://www.mercextra.com/multimedia/news/population.pdf

On the Web: Population Clock
http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/4263968.html

Oct. 17, 2006
Border Patrol, lawmen outgunned by cartels
Homeland Security panel also says traffickers are forming ties with U.S.-based gangs
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Email= michelle.mittelstadt@chron.com

The U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies at the U.S.-Mexico border are outgunned by increasingly ruthless and well-armed Mexican drug cartels, a new congressional report concludes.

"The cartels use automatic assault weapons, bazookas, grenade launchers and improvised explosive devices," the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee report said. "In contrast, U.S. Border Patrol agents are issued 40-caliber Beretta semiautomatic pistols."

The report, scheduled to be released today by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said drug cartels are able to break the encryptions on Border Patrol and sheriffs' deputies' radios.

"Lookouts for the cartels, using military grade equipment, are positioned at strategic points on the U.S. side of the border to monitor movements of U.S. law enforcement," it continued.

Fear of terrorism: Even as the traffickers expand their drugrunning routes to smuggle immigrants into the United States, they are forming dangerous alliances with U.S.-based criminal gangs such as MS-13 and the Latin Kings, according to the congressional panel.

McCaul, whose district stretches into western Harris County, chairs the subcommittee.

The former federal prosecutor expressed concern that trafficking networks could use their delivery routes to smuggle terrorists or weapons of mass destruction into the U.S.

"The thing that keeps me up at night when I think 'What can we do to prevent another 9/11?' is that they own these delivery routes," he said in an interview Monday.

Hezbollah members already have entered the U.S. from Mexico, the report confirmed.

"As if narco-terrorist violence were not enough, extensions of Middle East terrorism have crept into the United States," the report stated. "Islamic radical groups that support Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamiya Al Gamat are all active in Latin America."

McCaul said he commissioned the report to bring focus to the national security threat and rising violence at the border, which has witnessed a spree of murders and kidnappings linked to warring drug cartels, particularly in Nuevo Laredo.

The federal government has added Border Patrol agents, detention beds and high-tech surveillance systems to deter illegal crossings, he said, with less attention to the border's other problems.

"We put billions of dollars in trying to stop the flow coming in, in a more reactive way, and what I'm suggesting is we also need to take a look at the other piece of this problem and identify what is the root cause and attack the root cause head on," he said. "In my view, the head of the snake is the cartels."

McCaul urged better intelligence gathering in Mexico and Latin America. And he called for greater cooperation with the Mexican government to crack down on the cartels. Still, he acknowledged that expanding the partnership is difficult in light of persistent corruption in Mexican law enforcement ranks and the deadly attacks the cartels have launched on Mexican authorities.

Growing population: Citing federal estimates that the Border Patrol apprehends only 10 percent to 30 percent of illegal crossers, the report said as many as 10 million illegal immigrants may have entered the U.S. last year. Estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center and other experts peg the illegal immigrant population in the U.S. at 11 million to 12 million.

And while federal law enforcement seized 1.1 million pounds of cocaine and 6.8 million pounds of marijuana, McCaul's staff estimated the total cocaine flow may have topped 11 million pounds.

"While the United States has taken positive steps to secure its borders, much more is needed to combat an increasingly powerful, sophisticated, organized and violent criminal network which seeks to move illegal contraband ... into our country for profit," the report concludes.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4264348.html

Oct. 17, 2006, 3:35AM
1 dies in southwest Arizona rollover
By AMANDA LEE MYERS Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX — A pickup truck carrying as many as 17 suspected illegal immigrants rolled over in southwest Arizona, killing one person and leaving three seriously injured.

At least a dozen passengers were flown to hospitals in Yuma and Phoenix Monday as agents with the U.S. Border Patrol's Yuma Sector continued to search Monday night for the group's suspected driver and smuggler. They believe he fled the scene to avoid capture. Agents used night-vision goggles and cameras, spotlights and infrared sensors in their search for the man, who also could be injured, said Lloyd Easterling, a Border Patrol spokesman.

The incident began when an agent spotted the pickup truck traveling down a winding loose-gravel road 14 miles east of Hyder, a remote town about 50 miles west of Gila Bend.

"The area is very commonly used for alien and narcotic smuggling because of its remoteness," Easterling said. "They use that to circumvent law enforcement."

The agent followed the truck's path but later lost sight of the vehicle completely. He came upon the accident after driving through a dust cloud, Easterling said.

Lt. Paul Chagolla, a sheriff's spokesman, said three of those injured had life-threatening injuries, but could not elaborate on their condition. The suspected illegal immigrants will be interviewed once officials determine they're physically well.

"Once we get the health issues ironed out, then we'll worry about their immigration status," Easterling said. "But not until we make sure they're healthy."
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http://blogs.chron.com/bluebayou/2006/10/let_the_intimidation_begin.html

October 17, 2006
Let the intimidation begin!

It's election season, which means that along with all the scrambling to get people's votes, and to get people to go out and vote, there are some efforts to get people not to vote. For example, Hispanics in California:

The state attorney general's office is investigating a letter received by some Southern California Hispanics that says it is a crime for immigrants to vote and tells them they could be jailed or deported if they go to the polls next month.

"It's a very malicious and degrading letter. It's to pull Latinos down and make them afraid," said Benny Diaz, who is running for City Council in Garden Grove. He said his wife and five other people he knows had received the letter.

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."

The truth is that immigrants who become naturalized citizens can legally register to vote.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said the letter was "something we are investigating aggressively right now." He said the sender could be charged with a felony and receive up to three years in state prison.

If you read "immigrant" as "non-citizen" please go back and read more carefully; many immigrants are citizens (including some of my family members).

It would be nice to have a political season go by without this sort of thing, but I'm not holding my breath.

Posted by John Whiteside at October 17, 2006 02:58 PM

Comments:
The GOP did steal the presidency, twice, and the GOP is right now actively working to steal the 2006 Elections. A "do everything" Republican assault on democracy used intimidation, fraud, vote theft, computer rigging, machine distribution manipulation, a fake Homeland security alert, trashing of provisional ballots, denial of a recount and dozens more "dirty tricks" to produce a 118,775 "official" margin for Bush that was an utter fiction. Exit polls in nine swing states showed Kerry a clear winner as late as 12:21 am on election night. Nationwide exit polls showed him with a 1.5 million vote margin in the popular vote.

But somehow, against all statistical probability, Bush wound up with a popular vote victory of nearly 3.5 million. And somehow, against all statistical probability, he carried Ohio and three other states (Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico) where he had been the clear loser in the exit polls. Ohio alone was sufficient to give him a second term, just as Florida had been in 2000. Such an outcome is beyond implausible - unless you saw how the Rove-Blackwell machine stole the vote.

The tactics the GOP perfected in Ohio 2004 are now being used in 2006 and honed for re-use in 2008. Neither the Mainstream Media or the core of the Democratic Party has been willing to face the reality that unless our entire election system immediately gets a total top-to-bottom revamp by an informed public willing to deal with the systematic poisoning of American democracy, there will be no honest elections in the US in 2006 or in 2008.

Posted by: HAND COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS at October 17, 2006 08:51 PM
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1017ImmigrantsInjured17-ON.html

Oct. 17, 2006 07:05 AM
3 immigrants injured after falling off cliff
Associated Press

TUCSON - Three undocumented immigrants were injured when they fell down a cliff while running from U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Huachuca Mountains, authorities said. The three men, who were among a group of 30 border-crossers who were being arrested late Sunday, ran away when they encountered the agents.

The agents didn't follow because it was dark and the terrain was rough, said Jesus Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. advertisement

Agents then heard calls for help, following the sounds and realizing the three men had fallen down a cliff, Rodriguez said.

Two dozen rescuers found the three men seriously injured and stabilized them. The three were flown to a hospital in Tucson, where two of the men were in critical condition and one was in serious condition.
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Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com

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http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={6B050AAB-01F7-4B4F-9B3E-F89CE187F848})&language=EN

October 17, 2006
Oaxaca Still Without Solution

México, Oct 17 (Prensa Latina) The Mexican Senate Committee of the Interior is considering whether to remove state powers from southeast Oaxaca, where the situation is delicate, urgent and of a rancor that could lead to bloody confrontations.

Sources of the committee reported that profound reforms and a complete change in the social and political framework of this convulsed state are needed. They also informed that lawyers will present verification by a group of Oaxaca senators to be discussed by the committee today.

It is expected that the Committee will vote to remove powers and the opinion will go to the full Senate. Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal Carranza has affirmed that the local authority cannot preserve peace, order and security.

Meanwhile teachers of section 22 of the teachers union activists in the Oaxaca political-social conflict -- have returned to schools, and 3,500 of them are now functioning, although National Education Workers Union leader Elba Esther Gorillo announced this section might be disbanded. Gorillo s proposal was considered by some congress people as an error that could generate more problems than solutions.
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http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS/61017018

October 17, 2006
Immigrant rights group prepares legal guidebook
The Clarion-Ledger

The Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance is producing a Guidebook on Immigration for Mississippi attorneys. MIRA will hire a consultant to research and write the book, with the help of a $9,000 grant from the Mississippi Bar Foundation’s Interest on the Lawyer's Trust Account.

The guidebook will examine:

1) Possible severe immigration consequences of a guilty or nolo contendere plea by a noncitizen.

2) Immigration relief for immigrant victims of domestic violence.

3) How Mississippi civil law applies to immigrants.

4) How immigrant clients can obtain legal permanent residency and citizenship.

5) Requirements for immigrants to obtain a Mississippi driver’s license or identification card.

6) The constitutional rights of non-citizens.

"As the immigrant population of Mississippi continues to grow and contribute to our state's economy, it is incumbent upon Mississippi attorneys to provide accurate and helpful information to their immigrant clients," MIRA Executive Director Bill Chandler said in a news release announcing the initiative. "This publication will provide key information on the laws, statutes and regulations affecting immigrants that all attorneys should be aware in order to provide the best representation they can to their immigrant clients."

More than 40,000 Hispanics are estimated to live in Mississippi.
— MORE DETAILS AS THEY DEVELOP AND TOMORROW IN PRINT AND ONLINE EDITIONS
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http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BE5F07D20-14CC-4052-9B7E-CC667113ECF8%7D&language=EN

October 17, 2006
New Yorkers Protest Border Wall

Washington, Oct 17 (Prensa Latina) More than 60 social organizations from New York will march on Saturday to denounce the anti-immigrant laws approved by the US Congress, organizers reported on Tuesday.

The march, which will start at Times Square in Manhattan, will be the "second round" in the combat by those in this US city who defend the rights of people without identity papers, La Prensa daily reported on its website.

Members of the New York United for Immigrant Rights (NYUIR) coalition appeared at a press conference with a paper wall as "a symbol of the human suffering that the extension of the border barrier between Mexico and the United States will mean."

Joel Magallan, of the Topeyac Association, demanded a stop to police harassment of immigrants, and explained that the two million people without identity papers that live in New York should be protected by the authorities, to guarantee order in the city.

The march intends to break the silence that has existed since the protest in the spring, announced Radhames Perez, of the Upper Manhattan Immigrant Community Coalition.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610170157oct17,1,6508716.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

October 17, 2006
Immigrants fuel recent area boom in housing
Newcomers plant roots, benefit local economies, census study's author says
By Oscar Avila and Sara Olkon / Tribune staff reporters
Email= oavila@tribune.com
Email= solkon@tribune.com

Immigrants drove much of the Chicago-area's recent housing boom, making up more than half of the region's gain in homeowners from 2000 to 2005, according to a census analysis released Tuesday.

The role immigrants played in the rush to homeownership was most vivid in suburban Cook County, where 81 percent of the 42,000 additional homeowners were immigrants. The increase in immigrants in the suburbs has been well-documented, but the study's author said the data confirm that the newcomers are planting roots and contributing to the economy.

"These findings are very interesting because most people unquestionably accept homeownership as a social good," said Rob Paral, a fellow at the American Immigration Law Foundation and the study's author. "We want homeowners. It implies stability, and it implies a lot of spending."

The study, commissioned by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, an advocacy group, does not address how long immigrants had been in the U.S. before buying real estate or break down the kind of housing they bought.

Instead, it looks at the overall growth in homeownership across eight counties, which totaled nearly 2.2 million by 2005. The region gained about 219,000 homeowners in those five years, 52 percent of whom were born in other countries. The number of renters across the region declined by fewer than 1,000.

City officials and real-estate agents said the inner ring suburbs absorbed much of the ownership boom because they often provide affordable alternatives to gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods.

Berwyn affordable: Arnie Alanis, of Century 21 Roblen Realty in Berwyn, said the city, which historically attracted Eastern European immigrants, is now drawing Mexicans because they can find three-bedroom bungalows for as little as $249,000.

"It's affordable. It's that simple," Alanis said.

Homeownership has transformed Jose Artemio Arreola's life. The 41-year-old school janitor, a native of Mexico, rented for almost a decade before buying his first house, on Chicago's Northwest Side in 1998.

In 2001 he joined the ownership boom in Cook County's suburbs, buying a two-flat in the 1300 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Berwyn for about $270,000. He and his wife fixed it up and now rent out three apartments--bringing in an extra $2,250 a month. The extra income has let him live more comfortably and build wealth, enough to afford a time-share in Florida. Arreola, one of the organizers of recent immigrant marches, also started a program to bring computers to his native Michoacan. He owns three cars.

"Without buying, I'd never have seen any of this," he said. "Your life changes when you own land. You stand up."

The study does not factor in social costs generated by immigrant growth, including strains on city services and classroom space to accommodate immigrants and their children. Also, the region continues to absorb undocumented immigrants, who typically lack health insurance and must turn to emergency rooms for basic medical care.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) said he had not seen the study but said the data appear to be incomplete if they don't include the social costs of illegal immigrants. Lauzen has tried, in vain, to push a bill that would weigh the costs and benefits of illegal immigration statewide.

"It is only fair if we are really searching for the truth," he said.

But even undocumented immigrants have contributed a small share of the homeownership growth.

The Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group in Chicago estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 undocumented immigrant households have secured mortgages in the Chicago area by using tax ID numbers instead of Social Security numbers, which is legal for banks that keep the home loans in-house.

Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the non-profit Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, acknowledged that the study doesn't tackle the costs of increased services. But Hoyt said the survey is politically important, confirming that immigrants "are contributing to our prosperity. People need to put away the blazing rhetoric and look at the reality."

Though Hoyt's group commissioned the report, it was requested by a state panel created by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to explore immigrant issues, and funded by the Joyce Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust.

Replacing older Americans: Paral said the data also show that immigrants are replacing older U.S.-born workers and homeowners who are retiring, dying or moving out of state.

The number of U.S.-born workers in the state declined during the period of the study. At the same time, Illinois saw an increase of nearly 200,000 immigrant workers, at both ends of the job spectrum, unskilled and professional.

While immigrants drove job growth in restaurants and construction, they also represented about 38 percent of the growth statewide in college graduates, the study found.

Experts expect immigrant homeownership in the suburbs to continue its growth, particularly as more immigrants bypass the city altogether.

Erika Colon, 25, a server at The Lucky Dog in Cicero, and her husband, Ignacio, are part of the continuing wave. The Colons, who have three children, recently closed on a home in the 1900 block of 57th Avenue in Cicero. Erika Colon said the purchase has been an important milestone for her family.

"It's better for yourself, your kids, for sense of community," Colon said.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061017/ap_on_re_us/immigration_voting_threat

Tue Oct 17, 2006
Note warns Calif. Hispanics on voting

SANTA ANA, Calif. - The state attorney general's office is investigating a letter received by some Southern California Hispanics that says it is a crime for immigrants to vote and tells them they could be jailed or deported if they go to the polls next month.

"It's a very malicious and degrading letter. It's to pull Latinos down and make them afraid," said Benny Diaz, who is running for City Council in Garden Grove. He said his wife and five other people he knows had received the letter.

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."

The truth is that immigrants who become naturalized citizens can legally register to vote.

Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, said the letter was "something we are investigating aggressively right now." He said the sender could be charged with a felony and receive up to three years in state prison.

Several of the people who received the letters appeared to be naturalized citizens, said John Trasvina, interim president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

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http://www.elpasotimes.com/breakingnews/ci_4506493

10/17/2006
Two former Juárez officers gunned down (12:06 p.m.)
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times

Two former Juárez police officers were gunned down today, Juárez city officials said.

A third person, who was not believed to be linked to the ex-officers, was wounded in the shooting that was described by city officials as an execution.

Names have not been released. The case was under investigation and it was unknown if it was linked to organized crime.
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http://www.elpasotimes.com/breakingnews/ci_4504089

10/17/2006
Funeral services set for Freddy Fender (7:55 a.m.)

Funeral services will take place Wednesday in San Benito, Texas for famed Texas music star Freddy Fender who died Saturday at the age of 69.

The following funeral details were released by family members Monday:

Public visitation will take place today (Tuesday) from 10 a.m. (CDT) to 7 p.m. at the Queen of the Universe Catholic Church, 1425 N. Sam Houston in San Benito. Rosary will be commence at 7 pm at the same location.

On Wednesday, a funeral procession will proceed from the San Benito Funeral Home at 1400 West Business 77 starting at 12 p.m. to Freddy Fender Lane past Fender's former residence to Queen of the Universe Catholic Church.

The funeral mass will be held starting at 1 pm. with burial to follow at the San Benito City Cemetery at 2150 North Sam Houston.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061016/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/un_security_council_4

Mon Oct 16, 2006
Guatemala leads Venezuela in U.N. vote
By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - Guatemala topped Venezuela in the first four rounds of voting Monday for a U.N. Security Council seat, but it failed to get the necessary two-thirds majority to win a two-year term on the powerful United Nations body. That result opened the door for others to join the race, in what could be a blow to both countries' chances for a seat. Now diplomats will search for a compromise candidate to break the deadlock.

The results were an embarrassment to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, who had waged a highly public campaign on the claim that his nation would use its seat on the council to speak out against the United States. The U.S. and its allies argued that Venezuela's stance could stymie the council and undermine its credibility.

Guatemala, whose candidacy had been backed by the United States, received 109 votes in the first round, then 114, 116 and finally 110. Venezuela's chances appeared to fade as the voting proceeded and then jumped at the end — it received 76 votes, 74, 70 and then 75.

Diplomats said Chavez may have hurt his nation's chances with a bombastic speech at the General Assembly debate in September, when he railed against the United States and called President Bush "the devil" — a speech criticized even by U.S. politicians who had reached out to Chavez.

Venezuela's U.N. Ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas complained the United States has pressured countries worldwide to prevent Venezuela from winning the rotating seat.

"We are going to continue and we are going to call on countries of dignity, strength, independence and autonomy, which is what the United Nations needs right now," Arias Cardenas told state television from New York.

Guatemala has the support of Colombia, apparently most of Central America, Europe and other countries. Some diplomats had expressed concern that Washington's support might actually hurt its bid by turning the contest into a U.S. vs. Chavez battle.

Venezuela has served four times on the Security Council. Guatemala, emerging from years of brutal U.S.-backed dictatorship, has never had a seat but is a leading contributor of troops to U.N. peacekeeping missions.

In recent months, Chavez has collected pledges of support as he visited about a dozen countries from eastern Europe to Africa. Venezuela's opposition leaders have accused Chavez of squandering millions of dollars on his Security Council campaign while neglecting domestic problems such as rampant crime and acute poverty.

The 10 non-permanent seats on the council are filled by the regional groups for two-year stretches. The other five are occupied by the veto-wielding permanent members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The 192-nation General Assembly elected South Africa, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium to the four other open seats in the council. They will start their terms on the council on Jan. 1, replacing Tanzania, Japan, Denmark and Greece.

All of those nations won seats easily. Attention throughout the run-up to the vote had focused on the race between Guatemala and Venezuela.
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Associated Press Writer Christopher Toothaker in Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this report.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061016/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/obit_paniagua_2

Mon Oct 16, 2006
Ex-Peru president Valentin Paniagua dies
By EDISON LOPEZ, Associated Press Writer

LIMA, Peru - Former President Valentin Paniagua, an unassuming former law professor who shepherded Peru back to democracy as interim president following the 2000 collapse of Alberto Fujimori's autocratic regime, died Monday. He was 69. Paniagua had been hospitalized with respiratory problems since undergoing surgery in August for inflammation of his heart membrane.

The death of Paniagua, who governed Peru from November 2000 to July 2001, was announced by Jorge del Castillo, Peru's current Cabinet chief.

"Paniagua played a fundamental role in the recuperation of the nation's democracy," del Castillo told Radioprogramas in Lima. "He brought tranquility and order to Peru."

Paniagua governed for only eight months, but in that short time he forged a legacy for leading a broad-based government that took big strides toward rebuilding Peru's tattered democracy, including overseeing clean elections.

He left office with popularity ratings of nearly 70 percent, and surveys showed he was the favorite to win this year's presidential election as recently as a year ago. But he delayed entering the race, and when centrist Popular Action party leaders finally persuaded him to run, his heart wasn't in it. He finished fifth in a field of 20 candidates.

"You have to have a calling and an ardent desire to reach the presidency, and I don't," he said in an interview in 2004. He won less than 6 percent of the vote.

In November 2000, Paniagua was the head of the opposition-led Congress during a six-day succession crisis. Fujimori fled Peru as his 10-year authoritarian government crumbled in scandals provoked by his shadowy security adviser Vladimiro Montesinos. Paniagua became interim president after Fujimori's two vice presidents resigned. He faced the enormous challenge of supervising elections and the mandate of those who propelled him into power to root out Montesinos' network of corruption and his influence over the army and judiciary.

"Today we close one stage and open another in the history of Peru," Paniagua declared after donning the red-and-white presidential sash in Congress. "There is much to be done in the months ahead."

Marking a sharp break with Fujimori's autocratic regime, Paniagua pledged honesty and impartiality as the hallmarks of his caretaker government — and he delivered. He organized new elections won by Alejandro Toledo, who took office in July 2001. On July 28, Toledo was replaced by Alan Garcia, winner of the presidential runoff in June.

Paniagua was born and raised in Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire, and spoke the Indian language Quechua as well as Spanish, English and French. Paniagua, who had Spanish and Indian ancestry, said in his inaugural address that he would look to Peru's ancient Andean roots for inspiration.

"We will make the Inca ethic of hard work, truthfulness and honesty ours," he said.
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Associated Press Writer Monte Hayes contributed to this report.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061017/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/chile_student_unrest;_ylt=AotBlAILPe8UQsNXJBgl3lG3IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

Mon Oct 16, 2006
44 Chilean high school students detained

SANTIAGO, Chile - Police briefly detained 44 high school students who seized their school Monday in renewed protests over what they see as the government's slow progress toward reforming Chile's education laws. Education Minister Yasna Provoste urged the students to end their protest and focus on year-end tests. The school in Santiago is one of many students have repeatedly seized in the last week.

Earlier this year, President Michelle Bachelet's government was hit by violent student protests, prompting her to allocate $200 million for the repair of deteriorated school buildings and improved meals for poor students. The government also agreed to give credentials to students granting them low fares on public transportation at all times.

Bachelet also appointed a 72-member panel to study reforms to Chile's education law — issued during the 1973-90 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet — but students complain the panel's progress has been too slow. The unpopular education law made municipalities responsible for education, leading to a wide gap in educational quality between rich and poor areas.

Students leaders have called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday, but it is likely the movement will not be as large as those earlier this year, with as many as 700,000 protesters, because students have expressed fears that it could endanger their school year.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061015/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/chile_torture_center_1;_ylt=AgYPapX28cBiNpb5V1g7JHW9IxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA2ZGZwam4yBHNlYwNmYw--

Sat Oct 14, 2006
Chile leader visits site of her torture
By EDUARDO GALLARDO, Associated Press Writer

SANTIAGO, Chile - President Michelle Bachelet paid an emotional visit Saturday to a torture center where she and her mother were abused three decades ago, and said her government will move to repeal an amnesty law that has prevented prosecution of human rights violations.

Michelle Bachelet, then a 22-year-old medical student, and her mother, Angela Jeria, were held on the Villa Grimaldi farm for several weeks in 1975. After their release, they were allowed to go into exile, first to Australia, then to the former East Germany. The president said the Inter-American Human Rights Court recently ruled that the 1978 amnesty law issued by the regime of ex-dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet violates the international law that bans the amnesty of crimes against mankind.

"The government will soon announce measures that will ensure that the Chilean state will act in accordance to international law," she said, referring to the decision by the human rights court.
"There is no place more appropriate than this one to announce this," Bachelet said.

Since the end of the Pinochet regime in 1990, the right-wing opposition in congress has blocked efforts to repeal the amnesty law. Pinochet, 90, is currently under indictment on torture and kidnapping charges for the abuses occurred at Villa Grimaldi.

The one-time detention center where Bachelet was abused in southeastern Santiago has been turned into a memorial for the 4,500 people who were held there between 1973 and 1978. Most were tortured, many were killed and more than 200 were never heard from again. According to a report by a commission appointed by the first post-Pinochet civilian government, 3,197 people were killed for political reasons under the 1973-1990 dictatorship, including 1,197 who were made to disappear.

Chile's first female president appeared tense as she arrived at the former prison, but looked relaxed as she toured the area. At one point, she entered the "Tower," a tall wooden structure where the worse tortures occurred, according to victims' testimonies.

"That was a place of death," Bachelet said. "Terror did not prevail," she added. "Life and peace have been stronger."
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<>+<>+<>+<>+<>THE END/ EL FIN<>+<>+<>+<>+<>
Liberation Now!!!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta de Aztlan
Email= sacranative@yahoo.com
Sacramento, California, USA

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