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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/26006
ALERT! Sacramento OAXACA FLYER DEMO/VIGIL THIS THURSDAY !!! Message List
jorge martinez
Email: huesitos17@hotmail.com wrote:
MEXICAN GOVERNMENT ATTACKS APPO !!!!!!
MORE KILLING'S IN OAXACA !
URGENT !!! PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND PASS OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND JOIN US AT THE MEXICAN CONSULATE IN SACRAMENTO
FRENTE DE MEXICANOS EN EL EXTERIOR (FME)
LABOR COUNCIL FOR LATIN AMERICAN ADVANCEMENT (LCLAA)
Alma Martinez
Coordinator, Student Affairs
Chicana & Chicano Studies
2111 Hart Hall
Tel. 530.752.2421
Fax 530.752.8814
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEMAND JUSTICE FOR OAXACA!
To date, at least 16 people have been killed by the local and federal government in Oaxaca, México. Among them, Indymedia NY documentary filmmaker Brad Wills, Oaxacan schoolteacher Emilio Alfonso Fabián, and two other journalists who were shot and killed on October 27th by paramilitaries tied to the local police.
Dozens more have been injured by government sponsored gunfire.
Oaxaca is the site of a massive popular protest, initiated by a teachers strike in May, demanding the resignation of the repressive governor Ulises Ruíz. In the last 5 months, the government has responded with violent repression, killing a number of teachers and protesters. Very recently, the violence has escalated tremendously and it is reported that truckloads of armed paramilitary forces, working on the part of the government, are invading the city of Oaxaca, as well as thousands of federal police forces being sent in by President Fox. In the past six months, Mexico has been the site of extreme violence against the people and the media. The mainstream media in the US and Mexico has avoided and distorted coverage of the situation.
Free the media and spread the word!
http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/
http://indymedia.org/
http://vientos.info/cml/
http://www.narconews.com/
http://www.jornada.unam.mx
PROTEST AND DAY OF THE DEAD VIGIL
THURSDAY NOV 2ND 3-7pm
MEXICAN CONSULATE SACRAMENTO
(corner of 8th & J St downtown)
bring candles & other objects for the day of the dead altar
FOR INFO & LOCAL ORGANIZING CONTACT:
Frente de Mexicanos en el Exterior/
Email= nadm916@aol.com /(916) 446-3021
**labor donated**
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DEMANDEMOS JUSTICIA PARA OAXACA!
Hasta la fecha, por lo menos 16 personas han sido asesinados por el gobierno local y federal. Entre ell@s, documentalista de Indymedia NY Brad Wills, maestro oaxaqueño Emilio Alfonso Fabián, y dos otros periodistas quienes fueron asesinados el 27 de octubre por paramilitares ligados a la policia local.
Docenas más fueron heridos.
Oaxaca es el sitio de una masiva protesta popular, que inició en mayo con la huelga de l@s maestr@s, que exije la resignación de Ulises Ruíz, gobernador represivo y fraudulente del estado. En los últimos 5 meses, el gobierno ha respondido con represión violenta, matando a maestr@s y compañer@s. En los últimos días, la violencia se ha intensificado enormemente. Paramilitares están invadiendo la ciudad, trabajando de parte del gobierno, y el 28 de octubre, Presidente Fox mandó más de 4,000 miembros de la Policia Federal Preventiva para deslojar los manifestantes. En los últimos 6 meses, México ha sido el sitio de violencia extrema contra el pueblo y los medios independientes. Los medios dominantes en los EEUU y en México han evitado y distorcionado la información sobre los hechos.
¡Libera los medios y que corra la voz!
http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/
http://indymedia.org/
http://vientos.info/cml/
http://www.narconews.com/
http://www.jornada.unam.mx
PROTESTA Y VIGILIA
JUEVES 2 de NOVIEMBRE 3-7pm
CONSULADO MEXICANO SACRAMENTO
(esquina 8th & J St, en el centro)
lleven velas y objetos para el altar de día de l@s muert@s
PARA MÁS INFO Y/O PARTICIPAR EN LA LUCHA LOCAL
FRENTE DE MEXICANOS EN EL EXTERIOR
Email= NADM916@AOL.COM / (916) 446-3021
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SacLatinoCommEventsCalendar/
Post message: SacLatinoCommEventsCalendar@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: SacLatinoCommEventsCalendar-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=75403
10/31/2006 2:25:00 PM
Latinos Will Determine Outcome of Crucial Races for Top Positions in Election 2006
Latinos expected to turnout in record numbers for an "off-year" Congressional election
To: National Desk
Contact: Olga Quinones, 323-286-9684; Rosalind Gold, 213-747-7606, ext 120, both of NALEO
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- With the partisan balance of power at stake in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Latinos are poised to determine the outcome of key races on November 7, according to an analysis conducted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. The NALEO Educational Fund also projects that 5.6 million Latinos will make their voices heard in the election, the highest Latino turnout for any Congressional election not held in conjunction with a Presidential contest.
In races for the U.S. Senate, Latino voters will play a crucial role in several contests that both parties view as valuable political prizes:
-- In New Jersey, where Latinos are projected to comprise at least 7 percent of the voters, incumbent U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D) is seeking to win election to his first full-term in the Senate, and is locked in a tight race with New Jersey State Senator Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (R), son of former Governor Thomas H. Kean, Sr. (R).
-- In Arizona, where Latinos are projected to comprise at least 13 percent of the voters, Democratic real estate developer Jim Pederson has been gaining in the polls in his contest to unseat incumbent U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R). The candidates' different perspectives on immigration policy have become a key issue during the campaign.
Latino voters will also have a significant impact on several U.S. House races that political observers are considering "toss- up" contests for Election 2006:
-- In New Mexico's 1st Congressional District, New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D) is attempting to unseat U.S. Representative Heather Wilson (R). While Wilson is a four-term incumbent, her district has a significant Democratic voter base. In the 2004 Presidential election, U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D) received 51 percent of the district's vote.
-- In Connecticut's 4th Congressional District, where Latinos are nearly 11 percent of the potential electorate, former Westport Selectwoman Diane Farrell (D) is challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Christopher Shays (R). Both candidates are courting Latino voters, with Shays sending out Spanish-language mailers, and Farrell making campaign appearances with Puerto Rico Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila (D) and U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra (D).
-- In Florida's 22nd Congressional District, where Latinos are about 9 percent of the potential electorate, Florida State Senator Ron Klein (D) is challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Clay Shaw. The 22nd Congressional District also has a large number of Democratic voters, with John Kerry having received 52 percent of the vote during the 2004 election.
-- In Illinois' 6th Congressional District, where Latinos comprise nearly 9 percent of the potential electorate, the retirement of 16-term incumbent U.S. Representative Henry Hyde (R) has created an extremely competitive open seat contest, with Illinois State Senator Peter Roskam (R) battling Iraqi war veteran Tammy Duckworth (D). The candidates' stances on immigration reform have emerged as a campaign issue during this race.
-- The battle for Colorado's 7th District also involves a combative debate about immigration - this contest is now an open seat race because of incumbent U.S. Representative Bob Beauprez' (R) decision to run for Colorado Governor. The contenders for the seat are attoney and former Colorado State Senator Ed Perlmutter (D), and Rick O'Donnell (R), who has held several state executive positions, including the head of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.
According to NALEO Educational Fund Executive Director Arturo Vargas, "As Latino voters make their decisions on Election Day, they will be looking at candidates' positions on the same issues that all Americans care about - education, health, and the economic opportunities available for their families and communities. But Latinos also want to ensure that their voices are heard during America's intense national discussion about the future of our immigration policy. Latinos are deeply concerned about the tone and tenor of campaign debates about immigration, and they will not stand for candidates who use the issue in a divisive or inflammatory manner."
In gubernatorial races, Nevada's Latinos could decide the outcome of the open seat contest between U.S. Representative James Gibbons (R) and State Senator Dina Titus (D). Nevada is home to one of the nation's fastest growing Latino populations - the Latino population grew from 124,419 in 1990 to 563,999 in 2005, and the Latino share of the population increased from 10 percent to 24 percent during the same period. Latinos are 12.5 percent of the state's potential electorate.
Vargas concluded, "As November 7 draws near, political observers view an increasing number of formerly 'safe' contests as competitive races. In these elections, where 'all bets are off,' Latino voters could make the critical difference. Ultimately, no candidate for top political office can win without a viable strategy to reach the Latino community. These strategies must involve a commitment to address the issues that are important to Latinos and all of our nation's voters. Latinos are listening carefully to candidates and campaigns; what they hear now will help determine the outcome on Election Day."
About the NALEO Educational Fund
The NALEO Educational Fund is the leading organization that empowers Latinos to participate fully in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. The NALEO Educational Fund is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization whose constituency includes the more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials nationwide.
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http://www.usnewswire.com/
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http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/15896241.htm
Posted on Tue, Oct. 31, 2006
Possible 5.6 million Latinos to cast ballot
Suzanne Gamboa / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - An estimated 5.6 million Latinos could vote in this year's midterm elections and help Hispanics make gains in state and federal political office, a nonpartisan Latino group said Tuesday.
The expected Latino votes is an increase from about 4.7 million who turned out in 2002, the last year of elections that didn't include a presidential contest, according to a study by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The association works to increase civic participation by Latinos and raise their numbers in public office.
Latinos also are expected to cast a slightly larger share of the overall votes, 6 percent this year, up from 5 percent four years ago.
In Texas, the number of Latino voters is expected to increase from 982,000 Latinos voting in 2002 to about 1.19 million in 2006.
The biggest change is expected in Colorado where NALEO projects Latino voters to go from 118,000 in 2002 to 163,000 this year, a 38 percent jump. Latinos will comprise the largest share of voters, 40 percent, in New Mexico.
"We think that Latinos are just becoming increasingly engaged in the electoral process. Latino voters want to make their voices heard on issues important to the community," said Rosalind Gold, a senior director at NALEO and one of the study's researchers. She said the estimates are considered conservative.
The increase is a result of demographic change, population growth and increased outreach by both political parties to Latinos, she said.
The increases are showing up in states with some of the more competitive races for U.S. House and Senate seats.
Latinos are expected to make up at least 7 percent of the vote in New Jersey where incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat, faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr.
They should comprise 13 percent of voters in Arizona where Democratic real estate developer Jim Pederson, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Jon Kyl in the Senate race, NALEO said.
In Texas, the Latino share of the vote is expected to be 22 percent, up from 19 percent.
Incumbent Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, is on the ballot with seven challengers, five of whom also are Latino. About 48 percent of eligible voters in that district are Latino, NALEO said.
In Congressional District 22, a Houston area district that was represented by former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, 17.1 percent of the eligible voters are Latino. In that race, Democrat Nick Lampson shares the ballot with Libertarian Bob Smither. Republicans are waging a write-in campaign for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who is considered the underdog to Lampson.
In this year's election, Latinos are running for top federal and state offices in 38 of 50 states, compared to 35 they hold now. Many of the candidates are running in nontraditional Latino communities.
"In those communities, Latino candidates are starting to be able to raise money, get top endorsements and build political networking," Gold said.
Latinos are expected to see a net gain of four seats in state Houses, Assemblies or Delegates, mostly due to Latino Republicans winning in nontraditional states or communities.
In congressional races, Democrat Patricia Madrid is in a tight race against incumbent Republican Heather Wilson for New Mexico's District 1 House seat. Albio Sires, a Democrat, is considered to have locked up the race to fill Menendez's seat, which has been vacant since January.
Currently, there are 18 Latino Democrats and four Latino Republicans in the U.S. House. Should Madrid and Sires win and all Republicans be re-elected, the number would increase to 24.
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On the Net: National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials:
http://www.naleo.org
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http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=48864&cat=Politics+News&more=%2Fpolitics%2F
October 31, 2006
Hispanic Candidates Vie for Top Offices in 38 States
LOS ANGELES -- Hispanic candidates are competing in 38 states for the nation's top federal and state offices in Election 2006, according to the 2006 Election Profile released today by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. The Profile presents the results of an analysis of all candidates running for Congress, statewide office, and state legislative seats in the November general election.
"Latinos have mounted campaigns in every region of the nation - from the Southwest, to the Northeast, to the Deep South, to New England, to the Midwest and America's 'heartland,'" said Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund executive director. This widespread competitiveness reveals the growing Latino political maturity," Vargas added. "Latinos are demonstrating that they can raise campaign money, form political networks, organize their voting communities, and obtain key endorsements."
According to the NALEO Educational Fund's analysis, in 1998, Hispanics were running for federal and state office in just over half of the nation's states (26). In Election 2006, that number has grown to 38, an increase of 46 percent.
In addition, the 2006 Election Profile projects that:
* Hispanics could gain an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, if New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D) prevails in a tight race against U.S. Representative Heather Wilson (R). If victorious, Madrid would be New Mexico's first female Hispanic U.S. Representative, and the state's first Hispanic since Governor Bill Richardson (D), who served in Congress from 1983 - 1997.
* New Mexico will see some of the most interesting races for statewide office, as candidates in five of the seven state executive seat contests are Hispanic. Governor Bill Richardson (D) has excellent prospects for re-election. In the Secretary of State race, Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera (D) faces former Albuquerque City Council President Vickie Perea (R); State Representative and Special Prosecutor Hector Balderas (D) is in a competitive contest against CPA Lorenzo Garcia (R) for State Auditor; CPA and business owner Demesia Padilla (R) faces a tough battle against James B. Lewis (D) for State Treasurer; and Jim Baca (D) is challenging incumbent Patrick Lyons (R) for State Public Lands Commissioner.
* Minnesota will gain its first female Hispanic State Senator, as Patricia Torres-Ray (D) is running in a competitive contest for an open seat in South Minneapolis' District 62.
* The total number of Hispanics in lower State Houses will increase by four, from 178 to 182. The net gain will stem from victories by Hispanic Republicans, including Peter Lopez (R) in District 127, west and south of Albany in New York. If elected, Lopez would become the first Hispanic Republican in that state's Assembly.
Analysis of the potential lower State House gains also reveals the political progress of Hispanic candidates in states with emerging Hispanic communities. In the nine states with traditional Hispanic population concentrations (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Texas), the Profile projects a net loss of two seats. However, in the other states, the Profile's data indicate a net gain of six seats. "Latinos in states with emerging communities have laid an important foundation for their continued efforts to achieve full political empowerment," said Vargas.
Source: Copyright (C) 2006, U.S. Newswire
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http://www.examiner.com/a-372756~Number_of_Colorado_Latino_voters_expected_to_rise_38_percent.html">http://www.examiner.com/a-372756%7ENumber_of_Colorado_Latino_voters_expected_to_rise_38_percent.html">http://www.examiner.com/a-372756~Number_of_Colorado_Latino_voters_expected_to_rise_38_percent.html
Number of Colorado Latino voters expected to rise 38 percent
Oct 31, 2006 9:42 PM (57 mins ago)
Possible 5.6 million Latinos to cast ballot
By SUZANNE GAMBOA, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - An estimated 5.6 million Latinos could vote in this year's midterm elections and help Hispanics make gains in state and federal political office, a nonpartisan Latino group said Tuesday.
The expected number of Latino votes is an increase from the approximately 4.7 million who turned out in 2002, the last year of elections that didn't include a presidential contest, according to a study by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The association works to increase civic participation by Latinos and raise their numbers in public office.
Latinos also are expected to cast a slightly larger share of the overall votes, 6 percent this year, up from 5 percent four years ago.
The biggest change is expected in Colorado where NALEO projects Latino voters to go from 118,000 in 2002 to 163,000 this year, a 38 percent jump. Latinos will comprise the largest share of voters, 40 percent, in New Mexico.
In Texas, the number of Latino voters is expected to increase from 982,000 Latinos voting in 2002 to about 1.19 million in 2006.
"We think that Latinos are just becoming increasingly engaged in the electoral process. Latino voters want to make their voices heard on issues important to the community," said Rosalind Gold, a senior director at NALEO and one of the study's researchers. She said the estimates are considered conservative.
The increase is a result of demographic change, population growth and increased outreach by both political parties to Latinos, she said.
The increases are showing up in states with some of the more competitive races for U.S. House and Senate seats.
Latinos are expected to make up at least 7 percent of the vote in New Jersey where incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat, faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr.
They should comprise 13 percent of voters in Arizona where Democratic real estate developer Jim Pederson, a Democrat, is challenging Republican incumbent Jon Kyl in the Senate race, NALEO said.
In Texas, the Latino share of the vote is expected to be 22 percent, up from 19 percent.
Incumbent Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, is on the ballot with seven challengers, five of whom also are Latino. About 48 percent of eligible voters in that district are Latino, NALEO said.
In Congressional District 22, a Houston area district that was represented by former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, 17.1 percent of the eligible voters are Latino. In that race, Democrat Nick Lampson shares the ballot with Libertarian Bob Smither. Republicans are waging a write-in campaign for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who is considered the underdog to Lampson.
In this year's election, Latinos are running for top federal and state offices in 38 of 50 states, compared to 35 they hold now. Many of the candidates are running in nontraditional Latino communities.
"In those communities, Latino candidates are starting to be able to raise money, get top endorsements and build political networking," Gold said.
Latinos are expected to see a net gain of four seats in state Houses, Assemblies or Delegates, mostly due to Latino Republicans winning in nontraditional states or communities.
In congressional races, Democrat Patricia Madrid is in a tight race against incumbent Republican Heather Wilson for New Mexico's District 1 House seat. Albio Sires, a Democrat, is considered to have locked up the race to fill Menendez's seat, which has been vacant since January.
Currently, there are 18 Latino Democrats and four Latino Republicans in the U.S. House. Should Madrid and Sires win and all Republicans be re-elected, the number would increase to 24.
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On the Net: National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials:
http://www.naleo.org
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http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_4579975
Article Launched:10/31/2006 11:03:59 AM MST
Subcomandante Marcos visits Juárez
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Masked Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos was scheduled to visit Juárez today and tomorrow to meet with local activists as part of a Mexican tour he started before the presidential elections.
Marcos was scheduled to meet with former braceros and farmers in San Agustin in the Valley of Juárez for several hours this afternoon. He will then go to a neighborhood of Tarahumara Indians in the mountains of Northwest Juárez.
Wednesday, he is expected to walk to the middle of the Stanton Street bridge for a symbolic meeting with U.S. sympathizers before heading back to Juárez for more meetings, said Carlos Marentes, director of the Sin Fronteras farmworker center in Downtown El Paso.
Masked Zapatista rebel leader Sub Comandante Marcos spray-paints a caricature of himself on a wall of the Multikulti theater during a meeting with supporters in the northern border city of Tijuana, Mexico. He was scheduled to visit Juárez today and tomorrow to meet with local activists as part of a Mexican tour he started before the presidential elections. (AP Photo)
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/centroaztlanregion1969/message/196
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http://studentactivities.mscd.edu/~mecha/
October 31, 2006
UMAS / M.E.Ch.A. de Auraria
United Mexican American Students / Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano De Aztlan
Auraria Campus --- Denver, CO.
Welcome to the 2006-2007 Academic year
With the year already started we have been excited to be able to participate in several campus events. We were at the Latino Facutly and Staff Association Bienvenidos, the Student Activities Student Involvement Fair and most recently the annual Fall Fest. We are in the planning stages of the Annual Barrio Pumpkin Carving contest to be held Saturday October 28th, 2006 at La Academia from 1-4. We are also working with Voces de Auraria on Dia de los Muertos scheduled for Nov 2 from 12-9 at St. Cajetans.
Come to our Weekly Meetings
Every Thursday in the Tivoli room 642 at 5pm
M.E.Ch.A de Auraria is proud to be hosting the 2007 National Conference. it will take place on March 22-25, 2007. We are working right now on our first fundraiser. We are asking for $10 donations for an evening of entertainment, dinner and silent auction. Our current Statewide has been a great supporter of our efforts to hold the conference. Check out our Events link for more information
“Our purpose is to organize and empower Chicano-Mexicano students to maintain self-respect & dignity to overcome oppressive forces and discrimination against our Raza. Our mission involves an educational plan of action that builds an educational ladder to recruit and retain Chicano-Mexicano students towards the advancement of our Raza.”
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http://www.elpasotimes.com/education/ci_4577401
Article Launched:10/31/2006 12:00:00 AM MST
UTEP chief remembered for easing race tensions
By Ramon Bracamontes / El Paso Times
Email= rbracamontes@elpasotimes.com or46-6142.
Arleigh Templeton, the former University of Texas at El Paso president who was sent to El Paso to establish tranquility during the Chicano students' walkouts in the 1970s, died Saturday in San Antonio. He was 90. Templeton was president at UTEP from 1972 to 1980.
On Dec. 23, 1972, he was unexpectedly named president by the University of Texas Board of Regents after the FBI and the Department of Justice told them that "militant students" had created an extremely volatile situation on campus. Templeton was under order to restore order at the school, according to newspaper stories announcing his arrival.
"He didn't promise the students anything he couldn't deliver," said Wynn Anderson, a former UTEP administrator who worked for Templeton and who is also his friend. "Ari basically sat down and talked with them and asked them what they wanted. All he did was listen to them. That calmed things down."
Templeton also told law enforcement officials that the school did not want to prosecute anyone who had been arrested during the student walkouts, sit-ins or marches. In late 1971, several Chicano students organized walkouts and protests, demanding that more resources be used to help the Hispanic students and requesting that the Chicano Studies program be given a higher importance.
Former UTEP student and current El Paso lawyer Fernando Chacon remembers discussing, arguing with and working problems out with Templeton after the student walkouts. Chacon was the spokesperson for the student group MEChA, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán.
"He was the finest gentleman in the world," Chacon said of Templeton. "Templeton helped make things better. He would listen to us."
Along with smoothing race relations at UTEP, Templeton is also credited with stabilizing UTEP's budget and getting approval for more than $50 million worth of construction. Under his tenure, the Special Events Center and the Fine Arts buildings were built and just about every building was remodeled.
UTEP philosophy professor William Springer remembers the Templeton era well.
"One of the main reasons he was good is that he didn't presume to try and do everything himself," said Springer, who has been teaching at UTEP since 1968. "He didn't try to keep us under surveillance, he was a good hands-off administrator."
Prior to UTEP, Templeton was president of the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he helped establish the school. He is survived by his wife, Maxie, and son Early Wayne. Services will be in San Antonio.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/25995
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Mexico: The last moments of Bradley Roland Will + Video Link
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2006/10/30/mexico-the-last-moments-of-bradley-roland-will/
Monday, October 30th, 2006 @ 21:07 EST
Mexico: The last moments of Bradley Roland Will
Middle East & North Africa, Breaking News, Iraq, Americas, Mexico, U.S.A., Weblog, Freedom of Speech, Governance, Human Rights, Indigenous, Protest, War & Conflict, Politics, Human Rights Video
Journalism seems like a precarious profession to practise in Mexico. It¡¯s ranked by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist.
The latest tragic example of this came on Friday 27th October, in the southern state of Oaxaca, with the shooting of Brad Will. Brad was in Oaxaca as a journalist for New York City Indymedia, trying to get stories out about the protests in Oaxaca (for up-to-date accounts and context of the crisis in Oaxaca, read my GV colleague David Sasaki¡¯s latest post). While filming skirmishes between paramilitaries and protestors in Santa Lucia on Friday afternoon, Brad was shot in the abdomen and neck, and died from his injuries, prompting the CPJ to call on the government to investigate Will¡¯s death. Now Indymedia has released the tape that was in Brad¡¯s video camera when he was shot.
It¡¯s a sixteen-minute video with English subtitles, and beware, the last minute (from 15¡ä30) is very difficult to watch. Click the picture below to launch the Quicktime video (there¡¯s a YouTube version without subtitles here).
There¡¯s more footage at Mexican opposition blog Hoy PG, which points to a piece of unidentified news footage of Brad Will shortly after he was shot - not for the faint-hearted.
It¡¯s a moot point whether these are human rights videos per se, but Brad¡¯s tape in particular ends so shockingly, and depicts with such brutal suddenness the risks run by those determined to bring human rights stories to light, that it demands to be seen. But as one of the blogs David Sasaki quotes had it, there¡¯s a balance to be struck between outrage at the killing of Brad Will, and at the mounting number of local deaths and injuries.
Part of the reason that Brad was in Oaxaca was because there has been scant international attention paid to the growing crisis there. But while cases like Brad¡¯s - involving attacks on journalists and human rights activists from information-rich societies - gain huge amounts of traction in global media, in this case bringing Oaxaca to the top of the news agenda, the far greater number of local journalists and human rights activists affected in similar ways rarely receive the same level of coverage.
Think back to Alive In Baghdad, which brought us the Iraqi Torture story a few weeks back, and which finds that its correspondents can receive harassment and intimidation, if not worse. One correspondent, Marwan, was recently kidnapped by a militia group, possibly the Mahdi Army. Iraq is an extreme example, but it¡¯s by no means the only example.
At the end of the information chain, all over the world, there are people working to bring to light human rights abuses, oppression, torture, genocide. They are often working under difficult, extreme conditions, whether alone or in a group, undercover or in public, and often without a safety net. They might be journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, doctors, mothers. They often live in fear of repercussions, for themselves, or their families. Most of the time, it¡¯s these people - the locals - who are threatened, attacked and imprisoned, rather than foreign correspondents or international human rights workers. Brad Will was working with these people to tell their stories, and suffered a tragically similar fate.
Anyone already doing or supporting this kind of work should take note, and prepare accordingly. The WITNESS manual Video For Change has a chapter on safety and security (PDF, 1.28 MB), an essential read for anyone going into similar situations. The Rory Peck Trust, mentioned in the chapter, offers support to ¡°the families of freelance newsgatherers killed whilst on assignment [and] to freelancers who are unable to continue their work due to severe injury, disablement or imprisonment¡±, and works in Mexico, as well as South Asia and the Middle East. Feel free to add other useful resources via the comments box.
As for Oaxaca, if you¡¯re interested in the background on the protests, in addition to David Sasaki¡¯s latest post, you could do worse than read previous updates:
David Sasaki on the original teachers¡¯ protest in June 2006 | Liza Sabater shows 8 videos from the June protests | October 10th: APPO says ¡°Stay away from Oaxaca¡± | October 12th: More updates from Oaxaca-based bloggers | October 19th: More death in Oaxaca | October 27th: APPO locks down the city
Sameer Padania
Video= Mexican government killed american journalist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22L-xEVRqY
Added October 29, 2006
From demobserver06
Provided By:
Hoy PG - Contra la ignorancia: informaci®n
http://hoypg.blogspot.com
More Links=
Report from Oaxaca: Federal Police Do Not Have Control of the City: Monday, October 30th, 2006
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/30/1535230
http://aztlannet-news-blog.blogspot.com/2006/10/report-from-oaxaca-federal-police-do.html
Note: Click Hot Links for more...
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Aztlannet_News/message/25961
October 30, 2006
10/30: ICE release reports 7 days before election
From: willcoley@gmail.com
ICE released their annual report on Monday: three months early and one week before the mid-term elections (see below). Listen to NPR story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6407207
I think it would be a good idea for folks to call ICE Director Julie Myers at 202-514-2648 and ask why she released the report three months early, right before the elections. Tell her to leave electoral politics to politicians and start instituting just policies that protect immigrant families and don't terrorize communities. -Will Coley
P.S. Note how Julie's name is the first thing in the report...She's up for confirmation in January...
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2006
http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/2006accomplishments.htm
Under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Julie Myers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) achieved historic results in FY 2006. ICE set new records for enforcement activity, ended the long-standing practice of "catch-and-release" along the nation's borders, launched major new initiatives, transformed its detention and removal process, and improved its intelligence functions. Some of these milestones include:
* Set New Records for Worksite Enforcement: Total arrests made in ICE worksite enforcement cases during FY 2006 reached a level that was more than seven times greater than in 2002, the last full year of operations for U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
* Ended "Catch-and-Release" Along the Borders: The practice of "catch and release" for non-Mexican aliens existed for years and was one of the greatest impediments to border control. In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE re-engineered the detention and removal process to end this practice along the border, an accomplishment considered impossible in 2005 when only 34 percent of non-Mexican aliens apprehended along the border were being detained.
* Set New Record for Alien Removals: ICE removed more than 186,600 illegal aliens from the country in FY 2006, a record for the agency and a ten percent increase over the number of removals during the prior fiscal year. ICE also increased its detention bed space by 6,300 during the fiscal year 2006, bringing the current number of funded beds to 27,500 immigration detainees.
* Nearly Tripled the Number of Fugitive Operations Teams: During FY 2006, ICE nearly tripled the number of fugitive operations teams deployed nationwide from 18 to 50. These additional teams maximized the efficiency of ICE immigration enforcement efforts to locate, apprehend and remove primarily criminal aliens.
* Created a National Center to Coordinate Deportation of Aliens Upon Release from Prison: ICE created a national center that reviews aliens at all 119 federal detention facilities (as opposed to only 30 federal facilities in 2005), to ensure that criminal aliens are deported rather than released into society upon the completion of their sentences.
* Increased Arms and Strategic Technology Investigations: ICE set a record in 2006 for arms and strategic technology investigations by providing additional training in this area, and doubling the number of personnel assigned to these investigations. Indictments in these cases increased by 81 percent over the prior year, while arrests rose 36 percent and convictions rose 13 percent.
* Dismantled one of the World's Most Powerful Drug Cartels: ICE concluded a 15-year probe into Colombia's Cali drug cartel, once responsible for 80 percent of the world's cocaine supply, with the cartel leaders being sentenced to 30-year prison terms and agreeing to a $2 billion forfeiture. Roughly141 cartel members have been arrested, indicted, or convicted in this case.
* Increased Use of Financial Authorities in Immigration Investigations: ICE continued to apply its financial investigative authorities to human smuggling cases and other immigration-related cases. As a result, the amount of assets seized in these cases has risen from almost nothing before ICE was created, to some $20 million in FY 2004, to nearly $42 million in FY 2006.
* Targeted Transnational Gangs: Through Operation Community Shield, ICE arrested some 2,290 gang members nationwide in FY 2006, and a total of 3,700 total since February 2005.
ICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2006
RE-INVENTING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
* Enhancing Worksite Enforcement Efforts.
* ICE arrested 716 individuals on criminal charges (against both employers and employees) and 3,667 individuals on administrative charges in worksite enforcement investigations.
* Combined, these figures are more than seven times greater than the total number of individuals arrested in worksite enforcement cases by the INS in 2002, its last full year of operation.
* Applying Financial Investigative Tools to Immigration Investigations
* Traditional immigration cases, like investigations of human smuggling organizations, were advanced through the use of traditional customs investigative techniques like targeting the financial proceeds of these criminal organizations.
* As a result, the total amount of assets seized through immigration-related cases has increased from virtually nothing before ICE was created in March 2003, to approximately $20 million in FY04 to almost $42 million in FY06.
* Addressing Vulnerabilities in Immigration System.
* ICE partnered with the Department of Justice and other federal agencies in April 2006 to launch ten Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces in major U.S. cities to combat the growing problems of document fraud and immigration benefits fraud in a systemic manner.
* To date, these task forces have launched 235 investigations resulting in 189 arrests and 80 convictions.
* Expanding the National Fugitive Operations Program.
* ICE nearly tripled the number of fugitive operations teams deployed nationwide from 18 to 50.
* By the end of FY 2007, ICE intends to have roughly 75 teams deployed nationwide.
* Through "Operation Return to Sender", ICE arrested, closed the cases of, or otherwise removed 14,356 aliens from the fugitive/illegal population between May 26 and September 30, 2006. To date, 4,716 of the 14,356 aliens have been removed from the United States.
* Expanding Partnerships with State and Local Authorities.
* Since January, ICE has trained an additional 40 state and county law enforcement officers as part of the 287(g) program to provide targeted immigration enforcement by state and local authorities. ICE is currently negotiating agreements with additional state and local governments, and has created a new website to provide additional information about the program.
* Using Technology to Enhance Data Entry of Immigration Violators and Fugitives.
* Since the implementation of new electronic data entry procedures in January 2006, the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) has entered a total of 64,706 new entries into the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC). By comparison, in FY 2005, the LESC entered just 14,004 entries into NCIC. The LESC completed more than 232,434 NCIC validations in FY 2006, compared to just 73,015 NCIC validations the prior fiscal year.
TRANSFORMING DETENTION AND REMOVAL
* Ending "Catch-and-Release" Along the Borders.
* ICE, in partnership with other DHS entities, is now detaining all illegal aliens apprehended along the borders for removal, effectively signaling the end of "catch-and-release."
* As a result of the expanded use of Expedited Removal (ER) authority, the average length of stay in ICE custody for aliens placed in ER proceedings is roughly 19 days today, down from the average of 90 days for aliens placed in traditional removal proceedings before the Secure Border Initiative was launched.
* Roughly 186,600 aliens were removed from the United States last fiscal year, a record for ICE and a ten percent increase over FY 2005. ICE removed 50,222 aliens from the United States via Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS) flights to foreign countries.
* Through expanded use of video teleconferencing technology at foreign consulates, the average length of stay in the United States for Honduran nationals is now just 15 days under the SBI, compared to 24 days in September 2005.
* In May, ICE opened a new 500-bed facility in Williamson County, Texas that is specially equipped to meet family needs. In August 2006, only 28 family units were released, compared with 820 in the month before the facility opened, a 97 percent decline in family releases on the southern border.
* Maximizing Bed Capacity.
* In July 2006, ICE established the Detention Operations Coordination Center (DOCC), which allows ICE to maximize its detention capacity by monitoring detained dockets across the county in order to shift cases from field offices with limited detention space to those with available detention space.
* The average daily population of immigrant detainees in ICE custody has risen from 19,000 to 26,000 since July, and ICE has increased detention capacity in the Southwest border area by deploying 6,300 new beds in 2006.
* Transforming the Criminal Alien Program (CAP).
* In June 2006, ICE launched a central interview and processing site for criminal aliens within the federal Bureau of Prisons called the Detention Enforcement and Processing Offenders by Remote Technology (DEPORT). Since June, DEPORT has processed more than 4,337 inmates in federal prisons eligible for removal and who previously may have slipped through the immigration process. Through DEPORT, ICE ensures that all criminal aliens in federal prison custody are processed for removal.
ENHANCING INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AND ANALYSIS
* Expanding Number of Actionable Leads.
* ICE's Office of Intelligence, Field Intelligence Units disseminated more than 5,044 intelligence leads to field investigators for action.
* Improving Intelligence Lead Tracking.
* ICE Office of Intelligence leads, tracked in a new and enhanced system, have led to the initiation of 288 formal investigative cases from May through September 2006.
* Creating National Security Integration Center.
* In April 2006, ICE created the National Security Integration Center (NSIC), which partners investigators and intelligence analysts to "operationalize" intelligence reporting.
PROTECTING NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY
* Targeting National Security Threats.
* ICE is currently the second largest federal contributor of personnel to the nation's Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF), second only to the FBI. ICE personnel are also assigned to Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center, a 24/7 operational center that brings together personnel from numerous government agencies to detect and respond to persons arriving at U.S. ports of entry who are matches or potential matches on national terrorist watch lists.
* Increasing Arms and Strategic Technology Investigations (ASTI).
* ICE commissioned a threat assessment by more than 80 field offices to determine the nation's most critical illegal arms and technology export threats and doubled the number of personnel assigned to ASTI investigations from approximately 150 to 300. As a result, ICE realized significant statistical increases in the number of ASTI arrests, indictments, and convictions during FY 2006. Indictments in these cases increased by 81 percent over the prior year, while arrests rose 36 percent and convictions rose 13 percent.
* Detecting, Tracking and Arresting Visa Violators.
* ICE referred more than 6,000 compliance enforcement investigations to ICE field offices, resulting in more than 1,700 arrests, including 326 that resulted from Operation Summer Break, a specific initiative that targeted student visa violators. By the end of the fiscal year, ICE's Student and Exchange Visitor Program included approximately 10,149 schools and exchange visitor program sponsors, a 28 percent increase over FY 2005.
* Targeting Cross-Border Violence.
* ICE partnered with other law enforcement agencies to implement the Border Enforcement Security Task Force Concept (BEST) along the Southwest border to share intelligence, develop priority targets and execute coordinated law enforcement operations to further enhance border security.
* To date, these task forces have made 79 arrests and seized 25,000 pounds of marijuana, nearly 400 pounds of cocaine, $6.5 million in U.S. currency, 125 weapons, and 10 explosive devices. Additional task forces are projected for the future.
* Dismantling International Drug Cartels.
* As a result of a 15-year ICE led drug smuggling investigation, the two founders of Colombia's infamous Cali drug cartel pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge involving roughly 200,000 kilograms of cocaine, agreed to plead guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge, and consented to a final forfeiture judgment of $2.1 billion.
* The investigation resulted in the indictment, arrest, and/or conviction of roughly 141 members of the Cali cartel, as well as the seizure of more than $350 million in properties and assets in the United States and other nations.
* Targeting Transnational Gangs and Sexual Predators.
* Operation Community Shield, ICE's initiative to eliminate the public safety threat posed by transnational gang members, resulted in the arrest of 2,294 gang members, of whom 1,073 had convictions for violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault. Since the inception of this initiative, approximately 3,700 gang members have been arrested.
* ICE also continued to target child sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and criminal alien sex predators through its Operation Predator initiative, which was launched in 2003. To date, this important initiative has resulted in the arrest of more than 9,000 sexual predators throughout the country.
* Attacking Human Smuggling and Trafficking Groups.
* ICE initiated 299 human trafficking investigations that resulted in 184 arrests.
* In June 2006, ICE and DOJ launched the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel (ECT) Strike
Force designed to attack foreign-based human smuggling networks engaged in the movement of special interest aliens.
STRENGTHENING FINANCIAL AND TRADE INVESTIGATIONS
* Targeting Money Laundering and Other Financial Crimes.
* ICE initiated more than 3,970 financial investigations that resulted in the seizure of roughly $137 million in currency and monetary instruments, as well as the arrest of 1,262 individuals, 936 indictments, and 940 convictions.
* As part of this effort, ICE created new trade transparency units (TTUs) in partnership with Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to combat trade-based money laundering and other financial crimes with these nations.
* Implementing New Trade Enforcement Strategy.
* ICE developed an enhanced trade enforcement strategy in August 2006 to generate high-value investigative leads and information referrals to CBP.
* ICE initiated numerous Fraud Investigative Strike Teams (FIST) and Operation Security Bond operations targeting violations in bonded facilities and foreign trade zones, as well as the smuggling of commercial merchandise via in-bond diversion and intellectual property violations. FIST operations have been deployed in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Houston, and Tucson (Nogales). During these operations, the teams visited 62 facilities.
* Targeting Cash Couriers and Bulk Cash Smuggling.
* Through the State Department, the Terrorist Finance Working Group (TFWG) has obtained funding for ICE to conduct this training for 28 countries in critical need of this capacity building.
* Since February 2006, ICE has expanded its successful Operation Firewall to combat the smuggling of bulk currency derived from illegal activity in Mexico to destinations outside the United States. As of October 4, 2006, Firewall Operations had resulted in the seizure of more than $52 million in cash and negotiable instruments and the arrest of more than 130 suspects.
PROTECTING FEDERAL FACILITIES
* Investigating and Responding to Threats.
* ICE Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were responsible for 6,319 arrests and citations and prevented 870,769 prohibited items from entering more than 8,800 federal facilities nationwide.
* ICE FPS also completed 2,480 building security assessments and processed 37,218 adjudications associated with security clearances.
* Hurricane Katrina Response.
* During Hurricane Katrina, ICE FPS officers logged more than 65,000 patrol hours in New Orleans, 39,000 in Baton Rouge, and 12,000 in Lafayette. ICE FPS officers and agents responded to thousands of calls for law enforcement service, making more than 120 arrests, investigating 165 threats and providing 176 law enforcement escorts to FEMA.
ENHANCING OVERSIGHT AND INTEGRITY
* Strengthening the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
* In FY 2006, ICE OPR dedicated a surge team to expediting the review of existing cases of wrongdoing and corruption. Since July 2006, OPR staffing has increased by one-third and ICE has dedicated additional financial resources to the program.
* Ensuring Compliance with Detention Standards.
* To protect the well-being of its detainees at all times, ICE has begun supplementing its review of detention facilities by creating a new unit to provide oversight of these facilities within OPR. This new unit will provide enhanced oversight of DRO facilities to ensure that detention standards are met. The unit will also facilitate examinations being conducted by members of the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
* In addition, ICE has also developed a mandatory electronic training program to ensure all DRO employees understand their obligation under the DRO standards.
* Promoting Integrity Awareness.
* In July 2006, ICE announced the Integrity Awareness Program, a mandatory training course developed by OPR to ensure that all ICE employees maintain the highest ethical standards.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of four integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.
=================================================================
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/world/americas/31mexico.html
Published: October 31, 2006
Mexican Protesters Keep Their Message Alive, and on the Air
By MARC LACEY
OAXACA, Mexico, Oct. 30 — As the federal riot police hunkered down in Oaxaca’s main square on Monday, protesters sought to protect their not-so-secret weapon in their five-month siege of the city: the pilfered radio transmitter they use to mobilize the population.
“We are in a red alert, a red alert!” a nervous-sounding announcer said over and over from inside the bullet-scarred university station, which was ringed by sandbags and protected by masked supporters on the roof equipped with handmade mortars. “The police are moving in!”
The cry was premature, but it drew hundreds of supporters from across this city in southern Mexico. They prepared Molotov cocktails and reinforced the barriers around the gates of Oaxaca University in anticipation of a raid.
“We will transmit until the last minute,” an announcer who described himself as a law professor, but declined to provide his name, said in an interview. “We will not run. We are like the captains of the ship, and we’ll go down with the ship.”
Oaxaca State’s beleaguered governor, Ulises Ruiz, was also hunkered down, on his own turf. The federal police remained in control of the central square on Monday, but protesters marched through the rest of downtown, denouncing Mr. Ruiz and occasionally setting fire to vehicles.
Although the governor insisted in a television interview on Monday that he would not resign, his support appeared thin as both houses of the Congress passed nonbinding resolutions urging him to cede power for the good of the state and the nation.
In the Chamber of Deputies, only Mr. Ruiz’s Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as the PRI, and another small allied party stuck by the governor, and even that backing seemed lukewarm.
In the Senate, even the PRI joined in a statement urging Mr. Ruiz to “reconsider separating himself from charge, in order to contribute to the re-establishment of governability, normality and peace.”
But the governor said he was not budging. “I am governing Oaxaca,” he declared in a late-night news conference, dismissing the protesters as a relatively small group that did not represent the masses. “The questions of Oaxaca will be decided by Oaxacans.”
Mr. Ruiz said the arrival of federal troops had not resolved the crisis but might establish an environment where the opposing parties could resolve their differences at the negotiating table. As for the graffiti painted around town accusing the governor of being an assassin, he declared, “I don’t accept their views. I respect human rights.”
Members of the Oaxaca People’s Popular Assembly, which has been coordinating the protests, clearly disagree, as their frequent anti-Ruiz messages over the radio make clear.
If the diffuse movement that has laid siege to Oaxaca has a nerve center, it is the trash-strewn conference room where the group broadcasts regular updates to their comrades.
On Monday, the radio called people into the streets for three protest marches that drew thousands. Announcers also mourned three people who the protesters said had died in a raid on Sunday. The government said it had no information of any deaths at the hands of the police.
Even after the federal police raid managed to take back the symbolic Zócalo, or central square, the station kept the movement alive.
The protest began as a teachers’ strike, but a deal was reached to raise their salaries. Some teachers returned to classes on Monday, although it appeared that many were not sure it was safe to do so.
While the protest coalition consists of leftists, local residents have said that the issue is more a struggle to wrest control of the state from the PRI, the political party that once controlled all of Mexico, but whose national power has greatly diminished.
“It’s strange, but I’m not afraid,” Alejandra Canseco Martínez, 22, a student who frequently sends out updates over the airwaves, said from inside the radio station. “Maybe I should be afraid, because we don’t know what will happen and the police are only a few blocks away.”
It is not the first time that the station has been under siege.
The current standoff began June 14, when the police broke up a teachers’ protest and smashed the transmitter that the teachers had been using to broadcast their messages from the main square. The following day, as supporters joined forces with the teachers, university students took over the campus station.
On July 22, gunmen opened fire on the station, sending workers ducking for cover and eventually knocking the signal off the air. But listeners heard the attack and converged on the station in support.
On Aug. 8, someone sneaked into the station and poured acid onto the transmitter, again killing the signal. But by that time, protesters had taken over another station. Within weeks, a dozen public and private stations around Oaxaca were controlled by protesters.
However, the university station, with its transmitter repaired, remains the chief source of information for the protesters. Its messages are dismissed as revolutionary propaganda by critics, but supporters relish the hard-edge words that fly across the colonial city.
“The other stations only say things in support of Ulises,” said Sal Lozano, 43, a farmer, speaking of Mr. Ruiz, the governor. “We’re going to defend this station with everything we have.”
Eros Hoagland for The New York Times
Protesters at a radio station in Oaxaca, Mexico, that has served as a central means of communication for those challenging the local government. One of them concealed his features because of fear of reprisals by the police. Stations like this have been used to alert protesters to moves against them by the police. More Photos >
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/world/americas/31mexico.html
Eros Hoagland for The New York Times
The barricaded radio station at Oaxaca University where protesters have broadcast messages to their supporters. More Photos »
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/world/americas/31mexico.html
++++++++++
Antonio Betancourt contributed reporting from Oaxaca, and Elisabeth Malkin from Mexico City.
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http://www.newspapertree.com/view_article.sstg?c=3ab140e485764ddb&mc=4c4f996a3b22443d
October 30, 2006
The Struggles of Our Ancestors
by Joe Olvera / freelance writer who lives in beautiful El Paso
Email= jolvera@aliviane.org
As we say goodbye to another Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15) it’s time to reflect on just what exactly the celebration means. This year, as in years past, many young Chicanos and Latinos will be celebrating freedoms that were probably nonexistent in their countries of origin. While they celebrate and enjoy the liberties that are available to them in the U.S., many of them aren’t aware of the battles – of the blood, of the sweat, and of the tears that generations before them had to endure so that those freedoms they now enjoy could be possible.
It hasn’t been easy being a minority in the United States. So, it’s vital that young Chicanos/Latinos become aware of the sacrifices that were made in early history so that today they could climb the ladder of success. It wasn’t so easy for past generations, as they struggled to gain a foothold in an America that didn’t always want them around – and, to some degree, still doesn’t. Although progress has been made to some extent the reality still exists that Chicanos/Latinos are still considered only nominally important to the future of this great nation.
Young people don’t know, for example, that in the 1960s the Brown Berets, the Puerto Rican Forum, LULAC and the Young Lords mobilized thousands of Latinos in school walkouts and protests to demand a better education for Chicanos/Latinos resulting in improvements that are evident today – such as the hiring of Latino teachers and staff to reflect the student body, bilingual education, policy reforms, and curriculum improvements. But those changes were not quick in coming and, in some instances the changes have not penetrated every college or university.
At some universities in the late 1960s and early 1970s, protests became the order of the day due to the fact that university officials didn’t think that Chicanos/Latinos needed any special attention, despite their high drop out rate. How wrong those officials were. And, even today, the numbers may be improving, but there is still a very high, very unacceptable rate of young people who don’t finish school.
Young people today don’t know that Latino student walkouts at the University of California, Santa Barbara forced the school to establish the first Chicano Studies Major in the nation. The group that began that process – MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) – is today under fire because it dared to force officials to revisit their racist attitudes and prejudices against non-Anglo students. Today, former members of MECHA are your doctors, lawyers, educators, politicians, soldiers – in short, MECHA helped to create Chicano leaders in the Southwest. Young people don’t know that on the east coast Dr. Antonia Pantoja and other educators created ASPIRA to address the high drop out rate and low educational attainment of Puerto Rican youth.
They don’t know that like African Americans, Latinos were summarily subjected to segregation and racism that kept them from excelling or, in many cases, kept them from even attending school; a practice that came to a head in the 1947 landmark case of Mindez vs. Westminster in which one Mexican family took on an entire system. The decision ultimately outlawed segregation in California and served as a precedent for the more famous Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954.
They don’t know that when the American G.I. Forum was formed, following World War II, veterans joined hands to fight the discrimination that existed against Latinos, including veterans. Many Latinos who had been killed in action were refused burial in veteran’s cemeteries despite the fact that they had fought for that right and privilege. Although it’s popular to say that Latinos have been awarded more Medals of Honor than any other ethnic group, the reality is that even with such a prestigious award in hand, they still suffered discrimination. Some gave their lives for America, but America didn’t care about those who managed to survive. They returned to the same old, same old – racist attitudes were prevalent.
Young Chicanos/Latinos don’t know that when Cesar Chavez underwent hunger strikes to bring attention to the plight of America’s Spanish-speaking farm workers in California, he was reviled as the Son of Satan or, worse, a Communist. They don’t know, or realize, that his organization – the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee – eventually helped to topple the grape industry, forcing growers to pay farm workers a decent, living wage, to improve working and living conditions, and to offer simple amenities such as clean drinking water and clean toilets.
All over the U.S. Latinos are unaware that it took gigantic battles before the Anglo majority was willing to concede. Too many Latinos today – who are now finding more doors open to them than ever before – just don’t have a clue as to how those doors were opened or the sacrifices, both of body and spirit, that were made. Worse, they don’t seem to care.
To them, the U.S. has always been a nirvana. There was never a Cesar Chavez, and the Young Lords or Brown Berets never existed. There was never a Dr. Antonio Pantoja, and there was no racism or discrimination because, certainly, they may not have experienced it directly. Instead, they are too busy being part of the MTV generation, too busy profiling themselves as thugs, or proclaiming their independence – even as others struggled to give them that freedom to choose.
The sad part is that today’s Latinos believe that the U.S. has always welcomed them. I think there’s a complacency, a reluctance to look at past history. They are too much in the “Now” Generation to look at the “Then” Generation. What they must realize is that those rights that they now take for granted are not cast in stone.
On the contrary, everyday, different groups chip away at that progress. Affirmative Action is still being fought bitterly in the judiciary. Bilingual Education is under fire by the English Only hordes, farm workers are still dying from working crops that are saturated with pesticides, and Head Start – one of this nation’s greatest contributions to helping minority children survive in school - is being compromised by politicians.
In short, as young Latinos clamor to celebrate Latino Heritage Month, they must remember that it took more than ballet folklorico dancers or beer-bellied caballeros stomping on historical fact to make the U.S. what it is today. It took guts, courage, perseverance; and, more important, it took a commitment and dedication to a common cause. Celebrate that instead.
Sin Fin
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http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/30652.php
Published: 10.27.2006
Vagabond existence ends
High school, middle school students raise banner feting deal for permanent site
By Mary Bustamante / Tucson Citizen
A big, black eagle perched on "A" Mountain on Thursday.
It was the focal point of a 40- by 24-foot banner that students from charter schools Aztlán Academy and César Chávez Middle School pounded into the side of the mountain with metal stakes. They did it:
● To celebrate that the schools that share space finally have acquired 4.96 acres of land of their own. They had been in three locations in the last six years.
● To stake their claim to academic achievement. Aztlán Academy, a high school, received a "performing" label this week from AZ LEARNS, the state's accountability ranking process. The middle school, however, is "underperforming."
"Underperforming but definitely moving up," said Principal Sister Judy Bisignano, who credited the Read Right program, a core learning and peer mentoring program for the two- and three-year advancements in reading grade levels in some students.
The banner's words, "Sí Se Puede! and "Yes, We Can," attest to their determination, the students said. The banner, which the students painted, was visible from the school's new land, 802 W. Silverlake Road, just west of the freeway.
"They can see from there," yelled one student, on the cell phone with a classmate who was on the property with others from the school, now working out of Southgate Shopping Center on South Sixth Avenue near Interstate 10.
School officials had found a rocky spot without vegetation earlier, so the banner wouldn't disturb plants. The school did not get a city permit to put up the banner, and Bisignano said she believed it would have to come down eventually.
Student Steve Ortiz, 17, hoped they wouldn't have to remove the sign. He is proud of the school and glad it eventually will get its own site.
"We're landowners," he said. "Hopefully we can keep it here always so we can see it from the school when it gets built."
Bisignano said the school was thinking about trying to get a permit to put a black eagle - in rock and cement - on the mountain permanently, but doubted it would happen. So the students were satisfied to have their almost assuredly temporary message on the south side of the mountain.
"We associate the 'A' on the mountain with the University of Arizona and academic achievement, and this is our way of staking our claim for academics," the principal said.
The students, many in the "at-risk" category, a designation Bisignano cringes and fumes at every time she hears it, said the school is giving them something other schools haven't.
"Like pride," Ortiz said.
"Sister Judy and the school are helping us all be successful," said seventh-grader Taylor McGraw. "They make us stay out of gangs and not do drugs and stay in school."
The construction start date for the school hasn't been set, but Bisignano said she hoped to have architectural drawings by the spring. In the meantime, as the students touched up the banner, a hawk sailed overhead and Bisignano wasted no time in bringing it into the afternoon's adventure.
"Learning," she said, "is what is going to set us free so we can soar like that hawk."
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http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061024/NEWS01/61024007
Posted PSL Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Construction on new Aztlan Center gets under way Wednesday
By Coloradoan staff
The beginning of a new Northside Aztlan Community Center will take place at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on the west side of the building at 112 E. Willow St.
Speakers will include Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson and City Manager Darin Atteberry. Shovels and piñatas will signify the beginning of construction and be followed by refreshments and an open house to give attendees an opportunity to see activities offered at the center.
The current 15,000-square-foot Northside Aztlan Community Center was opened in 1978. The new facility will be more than three times that size and feature gymnasiums, elevated track, multipurpose rooms, kitchen, classrooms and work out facilities. It is scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2007.
Information: Jean Helburg at 221-6354
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http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/
Volume XXX Number 42 October 27, 2006
MUSEUM OF MAN SHOWCASES LOS DIAS DE LOS MUERTOS ALTAR THROUGH NOV. 5
The San Diego Museum of Man will pay tribute to Los Dias de los Muertos, The Days of the Dead, through Sunday, Nov. 5, displaying a striking six-foot-long altar carefully constructed by Museum staff and decorated with skeletons, photos, candles, sugar skulls and vibrant flowers created by students of the Rosa Parks and Hamilton Elementary Schools in San Diego. Celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2, Los Días de los Muertos are a time of reflection to honor and reminisce about friends, family and ancestors. In remembrance, colorful and intricate Day of the Dead Alters are constructed and decorated with memorabilia to pave the way home for the spirits of the departed who are believed to revisit during that time.
In addition, on Sunday, Oct. 29, local artists Judith Parenio, Gerardo, Lupita Shahbazi, Yolanda Romero and Nuvia Crisol Guerra will hand craft their own distinctive Days of the Dead altars - to be displayed on the steps in front of the Museum for public viewing from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. These colorful altars will be illuminated with candles from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Located beneath the landmark California Tower in Balboa Park, the San Diego Museum of Man is an educational, non-profit corporation open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call (619) 239-2001 or visit the website at http://www.museumofman.org/
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For our web only readers you can now view the printed version La Prensa San Diego and get the full flavor of La Prensa. Please follow this link to our PDF version of La Prensa San Diego=
http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/LaPrensa10-27.pdf
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Liberation Now!!!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta de Aztlan
Email= sacranative@yahoo.com
Sacramento, California, Amerika
Key Web Links=
¨ http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/
¨ http://hispanictips.com/index.php
¨ http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/
¨ http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/home.html
¨ http://www.mylatinonews.com/
¨ http://www.vidaenelvalle.com/front/v-english/
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