Students promote Solar energy to solve problems in Darfur!!!

Simple sun-cooker takes off as a way to help Darfuris

Grass-roots giving for the solar cooker,
donated to women who fled Darfur,
takes root in the US.

Daniel B. Wood
The Christian Science Monitor
26 July 2007

Encino, Calif.

When Harvard law student Jesse Gabriel organized a "Dinner for Darfur"
fundraiser in April, he was amazed that 17 student groups got together
and raised $16,000 in one night.

When nurse Harriet Lavin showed footage of Darfur at a song-and-prayer
evening in Kenosha, Wis., she was struck by the "instant generosity"
of 70 rural residents who opened their pocketbooks to the tune of
$2,500 for a cause they hadn't known anything about.

And when Los Angeles 11th-grader Shelby Layne raised $15,000 from
three jewelry sales to help Darfur refugees, it "was successful beyond
my wildest dreams," she says.

The three activists are among thousands nationwide who have raised
money for a project that addresses the rape, mutilation, and murder of
Darfuri women - now among at least 2 million Sudanese displaced by the
conflict. The aim: Supply families with solar cookers and teach women
in refugee camps new cooking skills so they don't have to burn wood.

This reduces the need for women to hunt for firewood outside the
camps, where the risk of attack and rape is greater.

A recent report by the humanitarian group Refugees International
identified rape as a weapon of systematic ethnic cleansing being used
by Sudanese government-backed janjaweed militiamen. "The raping of
Darfuri women is not sporadic or random, but is inexorably linked to
the systematic destruction of their communities," the report says.

More cookers being distributed

Some 200,000 women and children live in refugee camps across the
border from Sudan. More than 6,000 cookers have been distributed in
the Iridimi refugee camp, a that has almost no vegetation but sunshine
330 days a year. Another 10,000 are expected to be supplied in the
Touloum camp nearby over the next year.

"The fact that the use of these cookers has grown so fast in Iridimi
is a testament to the need for safety," says Rachel Andres, director
of the solar cooker project for Jewish World Watch (JWW), a nonprofit
coalition of synagogues in southern California, which is a cosponsor
of the project.

Two solar cookers can save a ton of wood per year, according to JWW.
They free women from tending fires to do other tasks, and provide
income for female refugees because the cookers are manufactured
on-site. Envision foil-covered cardboard (about four feet by two feet)
folded upward to direct sun's rays on a black pot, placed in the
center, and covered in a plastic bag. Millet, rice, eggs, and other
ingredients are put in the pot, surrounded by the water-moistened
plastic bag that provides softening condensation.

Why project is unique

The solar cooker project is unique in the annals of global aid
efforts, say international aid experts and individual fundraisers.

For one thing, the United States and humanitarian groups have declared
the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan a genocide. More than
350,000 people have died. Second, the Sudanese government puts
restrictions on humanitarian aid workers, making grass-roots groups
and private donations, especially to those in refugee camps, more
important.

"The Sudanese government is allowing the conditions in the camps to be
one of their main mechanisms of genocide," says Adam Sterling,
executive director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force. "It is the type
of grass-roots efforts like the solar cooker project supported by
private donations that is sustaining [the refugees]."

The idea originated with Rabbi Harold Schulweis and activist/attorney
Janice Kamenir-Reznick, who formed Jewish World Watch in 2004.

Since then, the organization has reached out to major churches and
universities across the US, and says it seeks to "combat genocide"
through community education and activism. So far, $750,000 has been
raised in individual contributions of $30 - the cost of two solar
cookers, training, and two pot holders, which support one family.

"In my 50 years as a rabbi, I have never seen an idea or project or
program ignite so broadly or contagiously," says Mr. Schulweis. "This
has been a moving experience for Jews by uniting different
congregations who usually have their own separate projects ... as well
as for reaching out to other religions. It is an issue that has proven
to transcend denominationalism."

After the JWW identified Darfur as a genocide, it began to support a
small pilot project there led by KoZon, a Dutch organization that
provides women in developing countries with inexpensive cooking
techniques using the sun.

"The women were apprehensive at first, and couldn't believe you could
really cook with the sun," says Ms. Andres. When JWW began to help the
project, KoZon was testing the cookers with about 350 families. (A
typical family consists of one woman as head of the household, two or
three of her own children and one or two orphans, she says. Only 1 in
5 households has an adult male.)

"They tried the food, realized it tasted good, and that you didn't
have to stand over a fire for hours," Andres says. The staples of such
camps are millet, rice, and bean rations that are trucked in from long
distances - and have to be cooked.

Fundraising efforts take off

Once the solar cooker project proved to be feasible, fundraising
efforts spread to purchase the cookers, build manufacturing facilities
on-site in neighboring Chad, and teach women to assemble them.

Shelby, the 11th-grader, heard about the solar cooker project from her
father, and sold jewelry she made by hand or collected from friends
and relatives. "The response by people is an immediate and solemn
recognition about the horrors of racial strife and ethnic cleansing
going on right now, in their own world," she says.

Shelby was motivated to raise money because she thought she could have
an impact - even with a small donation. She now gives talks to school,
civic, and church groups on the Darfur crisis.

"I thought if I just raised $100 and purchased three solar cookers,
then that would really make a big difference for somebody," Shelby
says. "People love the idea that no matter what age they are, how much
money they have, that their small contribution will honestly make a
difference to someone."

To donate:

Jewish World Watch
Solar Cooker Project
16944 Ventura Blvd. Suite 1
Encino, CA 91316
818-501-1836

www.jewishworldwatch.org

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0726/p01s02-ussc.htm

Migrant each paid 60 to 80,000 U.S!

Twelve illegal migrants stopped while trying to reach Canada
Group disguised as martial-arts performers

GEOFFREY YORK

From Globe and Mail / July 12, 2007

BEIJING — China has broken up a human-trafficking ring that was attempting to smuggle 12 Chinese migrants into Canada in the guise of lion dancers and martial-arts performers.

The migrants each paid $60,000 to $80,000 (U.S.) to the snakeheads, the organizers of the smuggling ring, in an effort to enter Canada permanently, according to Chinese media reports yesterday.

Chinese police arrested the 12 people, along with two snakeheads, as they tried to enter Hong Kong at a border crossing in southern China last month. They were planning to travel to Canada from Hong Kong and had already obtained passports and a fraudulent invitation from a Chinese-Canadian man, the reports said.

Canada remains one of the most popular destinations for Chinese migrants, including those who seek to enter illegally, although it has been years since Canada experienced a high-profile case involving boatloads of illegal migrants arriving by sea.

Until a few years ago, Chinese smugglers were charging about $20,000 to $30,000 for each person they smuggled into Canada. But the price has doubled or tripled since then.

In a case in May, a 19-year-old Chinese man paid $65,000 to a smuggling ring in an attempt to enter Canada through Taiwan on a doctored passport.

After a tip by Taiwanese authorities, he was detained by Canadian police as soon as he landed at the Vancouver airport and was put on a plane back to Taiwan.

Both the Taiwan case and the latest case involved migrants from Fujian, a province in southern China with a long history of migration to the West.

A report by the U.S. State Department in 2004 estimated that 15,000 Chinese had entered Canada illegally over the previous decade. Many ended up as prostitutes or indentured workers who spent years repaying their debts to the snakeheads.

In the latest case, the masterminds were a Chinese-Canadian man named Shen, who lived in Toronto, and an unemployed Chinese man named Chen, according to the reports yesterday by a Chinese newspaper and news agency.

In 2005, Mr. Chen came to know Mr. Shen through the Internet. The Toronto man offered to pay 100,000 yuan (about $14,000 Canadian) to Mr. Chen for every worker that he smuggled into Canada. He suggested that the migrants could be hidden inside a cultural performance group.

The 12 migrants from Fujian were recruited by a man nicknamed "the Boss."

After agreeing to pay $60,000 to $80,000 each to the snakeheads, they travelled to Henan province in central China to train as lion dancers and dragon dancers.

Mr. Chen made a deal with a martial-arts master named Feng, who agreed to include the 12 migrants in his martial-arts group. They also obtained help from a Chinese-Canadian man named Zhong, who issued an invitation to the group to travel to Canada for performances.

On June 29, the group flew to Shenzhen in southern China. But when they tried to cross the border to Hong Kong, they were taken into custody.

Under police questioning, the migrants eventually admitted the scheme. They were arrested, along with Mr. Chen and Mr. Feng, Chinese media reported.

Letter from Al Gore!

Live Earth: Our work begins now.

Dear Friend,

Thank you! Because of your hard work, millions of personal commitments have been made via the Web and SMS in 178 countries and 35 territories around the world. And our concert was not limited to 7 venues, but instead took place at parties and events in more than 10,000 homes and communities.

A decade from now, when people look back on Live Earth, what they will remember isn't what happened during the show -- instead my hope is they remember what happened after. More than 2 billion of us joined together on 7.7.07 and with one voice demanded an end to the climate crisis. We now have the responsibility to carry this movement forward and force our leaders to take action.

We need to take the first step today and make sure every single person possible joins us. That's why, right now, I need you to email five of your friends. Ask them to sign the Live Earth Pledge by visiting:

www.liveearthpledge.org

All of the actions we take from here on out to solve the climate crisis will be based on a simple premise: our home, Earth, is in danger. We don't risk destroying the planet, but instead risk making it inhospitable for human beings.

We have put so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that we have changed the heat balance between Earth and the Sun. And if we don't stop soon, the average temperature will increase to levels that will end the favorable climate balance on which our civilization depends.

The world must come together and direct our governments to take on a global challenge. Our leadership is a precondition for success.

We need to demonstrate that we have reached the tipping point where political will demands our representatives take action to solve the climate crisis. That's why it's so vital that millions of people sign the Live Earth Pledge.

Ask five of your friends to sign the Live Earth pledge today by visiting:

www.liveearthpledge.org

The climate crisis offers us the chance to experience what few generations in history have had the privilege of experiencing: a mission; a compelling moral purpose; a shared cause; and the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict of politics and to embrace a genuine moral and spiritual challenge.

Please email five of your friends right now. Ask them to join us in this cause and sign the Live Earth Pledge today by visiting:

www.liveearthpledge.org

Our work begins now.

Thank you,

Al Gore

Nissan and Honda stop production in Mexico!

Honda y Nissan paran producción por falta de combustible

Agencias 11 de Julio de 2007

La planta armadora de vehículos Nissan y la de Honda, ubicadas en Aguascalientes y Guadalajara, Jalisco, respectivamente, volvieron a suspender sus actividades este martes, debido a la falta de suministro de gas natural, a consecuencia de explosiones registradas en ductos de Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex). En el primero de los casos, Nissan detalló que la suspensión de actividades se dio tan sólo ocho horas después de que el suministro de gas natural se había reanudado —la falta de combustible paralizó las actividades de la planta durante cuatro días. Federico Flores, vocero de la empresa mencionó que suspendieron labores al filo de las cuatro de la madrugada del martes, luego de que personal de Pemex informó a la empresa distribuidora, Gas Natural, que cerrarían las válvulas a consecuencia de la explosión en Querétaro. Recordó que desde el pasado jueves, la planta suspendió actividades al quedarse sin gas tras registrarse tres explosiones en un gasoducto, servicio que se había restablecido la noche del lunes y la madrugada del martes, nuevamente se quedaron sin el combustible, por lo que el comité gerencial de la fábrica está reunido para buscar alternativas al uso de gas.

Microsoft moves to Vancouver, Canada!

Microsoft Moves Coders to Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia office will house international workers caught in immigration tangle.
Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service
Saturday, July 07, 2007

Microsoft Corp. will open a software development office in Vancouver, Canada, later this year, in part as a way to retain talented workers (because many of them are Latinos) who can't stay in the U.S. because of immigration laws.


Software developers from around the world will staff the center, which will allow Microsoft to keep skilled workers who are affected by U.S. immigration issues, the company said in a statement Thursday.

Microsoft, along with other high-tech companies, has been a vocal supporter of legislation that would increase the number of foreign workers allowed to stay in the U.S. Proposed amendments to the current foreign worker regulations were part of a larger controversial immigration bill that stalled in the U.S. Congress last week.

Without new regulations, companies across the country are competing for 65,000 H-1B visas issued each year.

"This is especially a problem for Microsoft because they're so big and doing so much hiring," said Susannah Malarkey, executive director of the Washington Technology Alliance, an association of companies promoting education and an entrepreneurial environment in the state. "If you can't use visas to bring people in, you have to take the jobs to where the people are," she noted.

Companies like Microsoft can "either create a worksite in the country of origin of these people or lose out on them altogether," she said.

In addition to its Redmond headquarters, Microsoft already has development centers in Ireland, Denmark, Israel and North Carolina.

The Vancouver location is in part attractive because of its proximity to Redmond, Microsoft said.

July 1, rally for the democracy!

Thousands rally for Lopez Obrador

The defeated candidate for president still alleges fraud, a year later. In Mexico City, he warns the victor, Calderon, against tax hikes.

By Sam Enriquez
Times Staff Writer

July 2, 2007

MEXICO CITY — A year after losing Mexico's presidential election, leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador proved he can still draw a crowd, filling the capital's central square Sunday with tens of thousands of supporters eager for his message of relief and justice for the country's poor.

"The people of Mexico have a heart that is collectivist, free and progressive," Lopez Obrador, 53, said to cheering supporters who waited hours for his 1 p.m. arrival at the city's sprawling Zocalo.

"A year after the election fraud we can say with pride that the right and their allies were mistaken," he added.

"We are still here and will continue, convinced more than ever of the need for an alternative path."

But the turnout was smaller and the enthusiasm more restrained than in the weeks after the July 2, 2006, election, when the crowd spilled from the central plaza into nearby streets.

The charismatic former mayor of Mexico City lost the election to conservative Felipe Calderon by less than half a percentage point, a margin that he and supporters allege was the result of electoral fraud by a coalition of conservative ideologues and big businesses.

Outraged Lopez Obrador supporters camped on the city's main boulevard for weeks last summer. Their demand for a full recount of ballots was refused by electoral judges, who declared Calderon the winner. Calderon took office Dec. 1. As many as a third of Mexicans still believe the election was stolen, according to recent polls.

"What can I tell you? It was a fraud," said Candelaria Chavez Mendez, 65, while waiting for Lopez Obrador to take the stage in front of the National Palace. "They declared the wrong man the winner."

Profesionistas mexicanos emigran a E.U, por falta de oportunidades!

Existe una verdadera lucha global para atraer a la gente calificada, admite la SRE
Casi 500 mil profesionistas mexicanos emigraron a EU por una oportunidad

Los destinos del talento nacional son Inglaterra, Francia, Alemania, Canadá y el vecino país

Por JOSE ANTONIO ROMAN / Diario La Jornada


La población de mexicanos más calificada que reside en Estados Unidos está integra por más de 475 mil profesionales y posgraduados, informó la titular de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE), Patricia Espinosa Cantellano.


En un mensaje enviado al encuentro anual de la Red de Talentos Mexicanos en el Exterior, la canciller reconoció que hoy existe una "verdadera lucha global" por atraer a la gente más calificada en todos los sectores de la economía.

No obstante, admitió que son los países más desarrollados los que atraen a los profesionales más capacitados, mediante políticas que identifican claramente a las personas de alto nivel educativo y experiencia laboral más atractiva.

En México, diversas instituciones de educación superior han señalado reiteradamente que en los últimas décadas la emigración de talentos mexicanos a otras naciones ha aumentado de forma exponencial, debido a diversos factores, entre los cuales destaca que aquí no se reconoce la importancia que tienen la ciencia, la tecnología y la educación para cimentar un mejor futuro.

Incluso se ha planteado la necesidad de que el tema se incorpore en las agendas de negociación bilateral y multilateral de los países expulsores de migrantes, que regularmente son los más pobres, y las naciones receptoras, que son las más ricas y desarrolladas, a fin de que se instauren políticas y programas que respondan a este fenómeno que afecta a todos los bloques económicos del mundo.

La cancillería indicó que las naciones a las cuales se exilian los talentos mexicanos son, entre otras, Estados Unidos, Inglaterra, Francia, Alemania y Canadá.

El foro reunió a un grupo de 45 mexicanos que trabajan en los sectores automotriz, de tecnologías de la información y de biotecnología y salud, quienes laboran principalmente en países como Canadá y Estados Unidos.

Todos somos migrantes!

Todos somos migrantes
Rossana Fuentes-Berain
Leer articulo en El Universal / Sábado 23 de junio de 2007



M illones de personas en todo el mundo viven día a día lo que el mexicano Carlos Fuentes describe como la experiencia cotidiana del desarraigo: "todos somos migrantes", asegura el escritor, quien nació en Panamá, creció en EU y ha pasado su vida adulta entre Gran Bretaña y México. Fuentes, el "migrante", es distinto en innumerables maneras a "Juan Pérez", "María Ramos" o a cualquiera de los proverbiales mexicanos que decidieron dejar sus lugares de origen buscando oportunidades económicas ausentes en las localidades que los vieron nacer.

El Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano México 2006-2007, elaborado por la ONU y dado a conocer esta semana, tiene como principal conclusión que no es la pobreza el determinante central de la migración de mexicanos hacia EU, sino las desigualdades. La reflexión matiza la contundencia literaria del "todos". No, no todos migran, los más pobres de entre los mexicanos ni siquiera pueden planteárselo porque el costo de contratar los servicios de un coyote, una persona que facilite el cruce ilegal, oscila entre 600 y 5 mil dólares, dependiendo del alza de la cotización y del riesgo que esté uno dispuesto a correr.

Los estados que más "pierden" por la migración son Chiapas, Sinaloa, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla y Sonora. Los que "ganan" son Querétaro, Aguascalientes, Tabasco, Quintana Roo y Guanajuato. "Perder" y "ganar" se refieren a muchos factores, como la entrada de remesas enviadas a regiones que se benefician con la salida de sus oriundos, o la pérdida de capital humano preparado para aquellas entidades para las cuales la migración no es positiva.

Mitos desechados por la investigación, como el de que la relación entre pobreza y migración es absoluta. No lo es; no migran los más pobres ni se benefician los estados más subdesarrollados de la República con el ingreso de las remesas, porque una investigación científica sólida, como la referida, que aporta al conocimiento como lo han hecho otros estudios producidos por la oficina del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, establece que quienes salen de México tienen empleo, incluso uno de ingresos intermedios entre 10 mil y 15 mil pesos trimestrales.

¿Por qué lo hacen entonces? Simple: allá del otro lado ganarán entre cuatro y cinco veces eso. Es un asunto de desigualdad, de asimetría entre dos economías, la de EU y México, pero también la del norte y sur de nuestro propio país, porque si bien el DF tiene índices de desarrollo humano equivalentes a los de la República Checa, de acuerdo con el informe del PNUD, Chiapas los tiene semejantes a Cabo Verde.

La migración, pues, empieza por casa. Y si el estudio establece como deseable crear "fondos de desarrollo y convergencia regional con aportaciones de ambos países y sujetos a resultados", hay que ver si no sería deseable empezar de inmediato también por casa. Independientemente de que para los estadounidenses debería ser un asunto de seguridad nacional ayudar a que sus vecinos del sur prosperaran, lo mismo aplica para los mexicanos.

Nuevo León y el DF pueden tener camarotes de lujo, con terraza y vista al mar, pero todos vamos en el mismo barco, y si en Guerreo o Iztapalapa las condiciones generales de vida son inaceptables, la presión por migrar internamente crecerá, al igual que la de cruzar la frontera y sumarse a los 11 millones de personas nacidas en México que viven de manera permanente o temporal, con documentos o sin ellos, en EU. Para seguir con la metáfora, resulta que tenemos, además de cubiertas en donde hay pasajeros de primera y de segunda, un número creciente de "polizontes", migrantes en tránsito que en principio pensaban trasladarse a un tercer país pero que de manera creciente se están asentando en territorio nacional.

La ONU es contundente respecto al valor supremo de la libertad de movimiento del individuo, pero también señala que debe darse en el contexto de que las decisiones personales que se acompañan de opciones amplias y equitativas. Si alguien decide salir de su región, debe hacerlo por voluntad, como Carlos Fuentes y su familia, en busca de nuevos horizontes, no por desesperación.

De ahí que sin demérito de asegurar la protección eficaz de los derechos de los migrantes, Naciones Unidas hace una recomendación de que la mejor política migratoria "es el desarrollo local sostenible". Así es, para la organización que congrega en su seno al mundo, lo local no sustituye a lo global, aunque "todos seamos migrantes".

ICE, aumentan arrestos en USA!

EEUU: Aumentan los arrestos de indocumentados

Temerosos de salir a la calle en este pueblo rural, los amigos de Herman Martínez le pedían que comprase leche para sus hijos. Vecinos de Elvira Carvajal buscaron refugio en su vivienda para no ser arrestados por los agentes del servicio de inmigración.

Temerosos de salir a la calle en este pueblo rural, los amigos de Herman Martínez le pedían que comprase leche para sus hijos. Vecinos de Elvira Carvajal buscaron refugio en su vivienda para no ser arrestados por los agentes del servicio de inmigración.

En las semanas previas a las redadas masivas de mediados del 2006 abundaron los rumores de que las autoridades estaban a la caza de inmigrantes en todo el país. El miedo de ser detectados y deportados hizo que muchos inmigrantes indocumentados, e incluso algunos con sus papeles en orden, no saliesen de sus casas.

Datos del servicio de Seguridad Nacional entregados a The Associated Press indican que en el primer semestre del 2006 hubo un aumento del 75% en la cantidad de arrestos de personas fuera de su lugar de trabajo, comparado con los registrados en el mismo período el año previo. La Agencia de Aduanas e Inmigración (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) asegura que el incremento no se debió a las redadas sino a operaciones de rutina.

Dos naciones, dos banderas!

Unos tricolores de dos banderas

Los aficionados mexicanos se unen en apoyo a Estados Unidos contra los canadienses

Rafael Ramos Villagrana
Lea el articulo en el Diario La Opinion / 22 de junio de 2007

CHICAGO, Illinois.— El corazón dividido. Y la pasión definida. Se meten dos gritos hasta los socavones de los pulmones, pero hay un solo alarido.

Invocan dos ilusiones, pero evocan una sola convicción.

Son esa nación de dos nacionalidades, que lleva la identidad mexicana en la inconfundible identidad mestiza, pero que han hecho una vida en Estados Unidos, dejando su vida en México

Y son distintos. Y son especiales. Y son confusos. Y a veces se confunden.

Son capaces de ponerse dos camisetas, pero al final ondean una sola bandera.

Son capaces de convivir en esa esmirriada frontera entre el país al que añoran y el país en que viven… mientras el sortilegio del futbol no los ponga frente a frente

Son capaces de saludar ambas banderas, pero sólo entonan un himno.

Son capaces de poner una mejilla para que se las abofeteen amorosamente con tres colores y de poner la otra para que se las unten con tonos de barras sin estrellas.

Son capaces de festejar los goles de los hombres que han castigado reciente y constantemente a su equipo Tricolor, pero con la esperanza única de que un tiempo, en algún momento, por una sola ocasión, se beban el saborcito acumulado de la revancha.

Son capaces de encender dos veladoras, aunque de encomendar sólo a un santo patrono de indiferencia hacia el futbol, al equipo de su devoción.

Son capaces de vestirse de verde y descararse en azul y rojo, porque son capaces de vestir a la prole de rojo y azul, para pedirles que se descaren en verde…

Son capaces de ostentar dos pasaportes, dos lenguas, dos religiones, dos monedas, dos mujeres, dos hogares, dos nostalgias, pero al final, la ensoñación del gol tiene una sola identidad.

Son capaces, en el juego preliminar de las semifinales de la Copa de Oro, arengar a las proezas inconclusas a veces de Donovan, de Johnson, Beasley y Dempsey, pero para ellos el gol tiene otros nombres y otros personajes, extravagantes, excéntricos, peculiares, cierto todo, pero más afines y menos ajenos en nombres y en apariencia: Cuauhtémoc, Bautista, Guardado, Medina, Salcido, Osorio…

Son capaces de seguir de pie, relajados y atentos, la pelea fragorosa de Estados Unidos con Canadá, pero seguirán sentados, en el filo de la angustia y del asiento, la batalla desesperada entre la selección de México de Hugo Sánchez, ahijada histórica de la Guadalupana contra la corte de guadalupanos de la Isla Guadalupe. Porque es una batalla peculiar… es la fe de los hombres contra la fe en los hombres.

Porque al final, para saltar del escenario de la vida al escenario de la cancha, sólo hay que pagar un boleto, vestirse el hábito en forma de camiseta, invitar una cerveza e ir resignado a vivir en la trémula línea divisoria del drama final, entre el lamento y el festejo.

Por eso son capaces de convivir como si fueran geminianos: uno, el reflejo del espejo que se le parece cada vez menos al que es, porque el otro, el de frente al espejo, quiere parecerse cada vez más al que siempre fue.

Pero son ellos los que dominan. Los mexicanos que hacen de Chicago su segunda casa, su segundo hogar, su segunda patria, y el Solider Field su segundo estadio.

Algunos incluso ya visten de rojo. Visten de Fire. Visten de apostolado porque el patriarca ha llegado a casa: Cuauhtémoc Blanco, y sus camisetas, apócrifas, con el "10" en la espalda y sin la "h" en el nombre, se compran a 10 dólares y a 20 con el autógrafo, que ante la pésima caligrafía del jugador, es hasta probable que sea genuino.

Son ellos los que han poblado de manera dominante la casa ajena y la selección de Estados Unidos se siente reconfortada, porque con la tribuna vestida de mexicanos, por esta vez, por esta única e histórica vez, le llueven aplausos y alientos y no las ya identificadas e identificables mentadas de madre.

El futbol consigue eso. Que comparezcan esas figuras, con el corazón dividido y la pasión definida, que son capaces de meterse en dos gritos hasta los pozos del alma, aunque guarden, para su México, el único y estentóreo alarido.

Video el Fisgon, opina sobre el fraude electoral!

Más soñadores en pos de la reforma migratoria

Más soñadores en pos de la reforma migratoria...unete!!!

Empresarios se unen por tren a la ruta de los sueños hacia Washington

Jorge Morales Almada / Diario La Opinion / 13 de junio de 2007

Otra caravana a Washington D.C. saldrá hoy como parte de las movilizaciones que llevan a cabo activistas por la reforma a las leyes de inmigración.

Es la llamada gira de los sueños a través de Estados Unidos. El tren de los sueños. El viaje de los soñadores. Serán 18 personas las que emprendan camino desde Los Ángeles y durante el trayecto estarán sumándose más hasta completar cien soñadores que llegarán a la capital del país el próximo 19 de junio.

Cathy Gurney es una de ellas. Ayer llegó a Los Ángeles procedente de Chico, en el norte de California. Ella nació en EU, pero sus abuelos por parte de su papá fueron inmigrantes de Ucrania y por parte de su mamá llegaron de Alemania y Francia.

"Decidí participar en esta gira como una abuela de 56 años y como propietaria de un negocio, porque he trabajado durante 27 años junto con mi esposo para crear un legado para mi familia", comentó Gurney a su llegada a Union Station en tren. En el negocio de jardinería comercial que fundó, dijo la mujer, al menos 90% de sus empleados son inmigrantes, muchos de ellos sin documentos de inmigración.

"Por eso sentí que mi responsabilidad cívica era levantarme y pedir una reforma migratoria por las voces que no pueden ser oídas o temen ser oídas, porque si no tenemos reforma migratoria tal vez no tendré acceso a una fuerza laboral legal y tendría que parar mi negocio y perder ese legado", comentó.

Angélica Salas, directora de CHIRLA, dijo que a través de toda la nación se estarán sumando más personas con la idea de llegar el 19 de junio a Washington D.C. para pedirles a los representantes electos que tomen acción a favor de una reforma migratoria justa.

"El 19 de junio miles de personas estarán movilizándose al Capitolio, delegaciones de más de 33 estados", apuntó Salas.

La ruta por tren que seguirán los soñadores comenzará en Los Ángeles con paradas en Tuczon, Arizona; San Antonio, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; South Bend, Indiana; Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia y concluirá en Washington, D.C. Otros contingentes se estarán sumando procedentes de Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Philadlephia, Pennsylvania; y Miami, Florida.

"Los soñadores representan la historia del inmigrante en este país y queremos que conozcan sus historias para cambiar la mente y el corazón de muchos", comentó la representante de CHIRLA cuando le dieron la bienvenida a quienes arribaron del norte del estado.

Astronauta hijo de migrantes mexicanos en el espacio!

En el Atlantis, latino(mexicano) lleva su sueño a la estratósfera

John Olivas le dio el toque hispano a la Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS) que realiza operaciones técnicas

Jorge Morales Almada
Lea nota en el diario La Opinion / 14 de junio de 2007



En julio de 2006, John "Danny" Olivas se preparaba para el sueño de su vida: ir al espacio. En aquel entonces habló para La Opinión de ese sueño de altura.

En conversación telefónica desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy, en Florida, contaba que para ser astronuata se necesita sólo una cosa: trabajar duro.

Y el sueño se le cumplió.

A bordo del transbordador espacial Atlantis el domingo llegó a la Estación Espacial Internacional (ISS) en una misión cuyo objetivo es instalar paneles solares y continuar la construcción de esa base para las futuras expediciones que se planean tanto a la Luna como a Marte.

Olivas nació hace 41 años en North Hollywood, pero fue criado en El Paso, Texas, adonde muchos años atrás habían llegado sus abuelos procedentes de Chihuahua, México.

Es graduado de la Universidad de Texas-El Paso (UTEP) de ingeniero mecánico y con doctorado en la Universidad de Rice.

En 1988 solicitó su ingreso a la Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y el Espacio (NASA), pero fue rechazado.

Nunca se dio por vencido. "Hay que perseguir los sueños", dijo en aquella entrevista. Diez años después lo aceptaron.

Olivas, quien nunca cedió en sus intentos por ingresar en la NASA, realizó el lunes su primera caminata espacial.

Sus primeros pasos los dio mientras escuchaba la canción It Probably Always Will Be, de Ozark Mountain Daredevils, que le transmitió el Centro Espacial Johnson, en Houston, Texas.

Junto con su compañero James Reilly, Olivas pasó seis horas afuera de la ISS armando las estructuras para la instalación de dos paneles de energía solar.

La misión STS-117 del Atlantis es trasladar vigas de 17.5 toneladas de peso y 240 pies de largo, así como baterías y equipo asociado para contruir un nuevo segmento de energia para operar la ISS.

Programado para regresar el 21 de junio, tras completar la misión, el martes la NASA anunció que los siete miembros de la tripulación tendrán que extender su viaje dos días más debido a una fisura en la cubierta termal del Atlantis.

En 2003 una falla similar provocó que el Columbia se desintegrara en su regreso a la Tierra, aunque la NASA ha asegurado que el problema detectado no es de gran peligro.

La astronauta Sunita Williams, quien desde diciembre pasado se encuentra en la ISS, regresará también a la Tierra en el Atlantis.

Luego de completar la primera jornada de trabajo, Olivas y Reilly tendrán otra caminata como parte de la tres etapas de construcción de la ISS, un proyecto de alrededor de 100,000 millones de dólares en el que participan 16 países.

La segunda caminata fue el miércoles y estuvo a cargo de los astronautas Pat Forrester y Steve Swanbson.

Danny Olivas ha trabajado en muchas otras misiones de la NASA, pero siempre desde Tierra.

Su trabajo le ha valido varios reconocimientos, entre ellos de la Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC) y del Laboratorio de Retropropulsión (JPL) de Pasadena. También ha sido galardonado con cuatro premios de clase por la NASA y ha obtenido el premio Hispanos Triunfadores, de McDonalds. Además tiene seis patentes registratadas en Estados Unidos.

Dentro del selecto grupo de latinos que trabajan en la NASA, Olivas tiene de colegas a George Zamka, un piloto de origen venezolano; José Hernández, de ascendencia mexicana, y Joe Acaba, de Puerto Rico.

"No importa lo que hagas, no importa el trabajo que tengas, o si estás estudiando o simplemente limpiando el cuarto, siempre hay que trabajar duro, todas las personas que están en esta oficina han trabajado muy duro. Una cosa es muy cierta: hay que perseguir los sueños", comentó en aquella entrevista para La Opinión.

Spain are sending back African migrants home!

Spain Sends African Migrants Home

Read article at BBC News, May 20, 2007

The Spanish government has repatriated more than 750 African migrants, including 30 children.

The majority were Senegalese and were caught last week trying to enter the Canary Islands, according to Spain’s interior ministry.

The government said all illegal immigrants would be expelled.

The latest influx is blamed on the temporary suspension of maritime patrols between the Spanish islands and the western coast of Africa.

The Spanish Interior Minister, Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, confirmed the migrants had been returned home.

“We have repatriated, with the invaluable help of the government of Senegal, nearly 600 citizens of that country,” he said. “This is an unmistakable message to the mafias.”

Traffickers often extort money from Africans trying to reach Europe via hazardous sea crossings to the Canaries.

No information was given about where in Africa the other migrants had come from.

Overall this year, though, the numbers of would-be immigrants are down compared to the same time last year.

In 2006 an estimated 30,000 immigrants were caught trying to reach the Canary Islands.

The vast majority sailed from west Africa in crowded open boats, many dying en route.

The European Union’s external borders agency, Frontex, suspended maritime patrols around the Spanish islands early last month, when its 2006 mission ended.

The patrols are expected to restart within weeks, after the agency receives equipment including planes, helicopters and boats.

Union (UFCW) in Canada helps migrants workers!

Migrant workers get home away from home

Stuart Hunter
The Province

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Migrant agricultural workers have a new home in Abbotsford

A noon-hour ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception will be held today at the new Abbotsford Migrant Agricultural Worker Support Centre located at 203-2642 Cedar Park Place.

The centre, operated by the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada union (UFCW), will provide services to the 1,000 seasonal migrant workers who come to the Fraser Valley annually to plant and harvest crops.

Services will include health and safety training, translation assistance, ESL classes, legal assistance and recreational activities.

The new centre in Abbotsford is one of five UFCW-run facilities in Canada catering to about 18,000 migrant workers nationally.

The Abbotsford centre opens three months after a van crash that claimed the lives of three farm workers, who died March 7 when a 15-passenger van loaded with 17 workers rolled near Abbotsford.

The provincial government has since promised tougher seat-belt laws, stiffer fines and more inspections.

The debate continue for immigrant reform...write a letter!

One Million Voices United

Dear [Representative name],

I am writing to urge you to support the immediate passage of fair and just immigration reform. Since its inception, the USA has been strengthened by the hard work, faith and entrepreneurial spirit of immigrants who have made our nation what it is today. Unfortunately, our current immigration system is broken and, unlike previous generations, today's immigrants are often faced with the choice of coming to the United States illegally or not coming at all.

If we are to truly fix our broken immigration system we need fair and just immigration reform that conforms to the following principles:

1) It must keep families united and treat hard working immigrants with dignity and respect.

2) It must protect fundamental civil and human rights and reject proposals that criminalize immigrants and their families.

3) It must provide a practical and legal avenue to earned permanent residence and citizenship for those already within the United States.

4) It must create a workable and realistic legal pathway for future immigrants to obtain permanent residence and citizenship while guaranteeing strong and enforceable labor protections for those who participate in the program.

I understand that the Senate in USA, is considering a guest worker program that does not offer a pathway to permanent legal residency for the participants yet eliminates judicial review and the right to confidentiality in immigration cases. Another proposal being considered would eliminate family preference categories in favor of a merit-based point system. I urge you to oppose these harmful provisions on the basis that they are unnecessarily punitive, would lead guest workers to overstay their visas, and would prevent families from reuniting while doing nothing to secure our borders, strengthen our economy or make us safer.

As your constituent, I urge you to help enact fair and just immigration reform that helps reunite families, protects human rights, creates an avenue for undocumented immigrants to legalize their status and allows future workers to come in legally while providing a pathway to permanent legal residency if they want to stay. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Vota para Gobernador en Michoacan!

¿Qué tengo que hacer?

Para poder votar, tienes que registrarte antes del 4 de Julio, llenando, firmando y enviando una solicitud de inscripción desde el extranjero por correo aéreo.

Además deberas de mandar una copia por los dos lados de tu Credencial para Votar con direccion de Michoacán.

Al registrarte serás dado de alta de manera temporal en la Lista de Votantes Michoacanos en el Extranjero y serás temporalmente dado de baja del Padrón de Electores en México, con el objeto de garantizar que nadie pueda votar más de una sola vez.

Pero debes hacerlo cuanto antes, ya que la solicitud debe ser enviada antes del 4 de Julio -comprobable con fecha del sello de correos- y deberá de llegar a Morelia antes del 3 de agosto.

Para mayor informacion consulta el sitio:

http://www.votamichoacan.org/

Temas de actualidad: Drogas, Cultura y efectos!

LA ESCUELA NACIONAL DE ANTROPOLOGIA E HISTORIA
A través de la COORDINACIÓN DE LA LICENCIATURA EN ETNOHISTORIA
Y el COLECTIVO XOCHIPILLI

Tienen el agrado de invitar al público interesado en el estudio del
tema a participar en el

QUINTO SIMPOSIO MULTIDISCIPLINARIO
"DROGAS: CULTURA Y SOCIEDAD"

que se realizará en la Ciudad de Mexico, del 30 de julio al 3 de agosto de 2007,
en las instalaciones de la Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia
(ENAH) situada en Periférico Sur y Zapote, colonia Isidro Fabela, de
13 a 17 horas.

Las mesas temáticas serán las siguientes:

1. Las drogas a través de la historia
2. Usos rituales en distintas culturas y empleo moderno de las
drogas en la sociedad occidental.
3. Relación entre drogas, arte y cultura.
4. Efectos y consecuencias sociales del consumo de drogas.
5. Etnografía de las drogas (chamanismo, adicciones, grupos de ayuda)
6. Filosofía, derecho y marco legal.
7. Enfoques científicos (química, medicina, biología)


Informes e inscripciones en los siguientes correos electrónicos:
mavaldovinos@ yahoo.com. mx
xochipillipower@ yahoo.com. mx

Se otorgará constancia cubriendo un mínimo de 80 % de asistencia a
los eventos.

Improving worker conditions in Canada!

TORONTO, May 31 /CNW/ - Garment and service workers across North America
will join workers from a Canadian warehouse in leafleting American Eagle
Outfitters stores in 18 cities over three days. From Vancouver to Pittsburgh,
thousands of Canadian and U.S. shoppers will learn of unfair treatment of
workers at the third-party warehouse, National Logistics Services (NLS), that
distributes merchandise to American Eagle stores throughout Canada. American
Eagle Outfitters, the largest customer of NLS, manufactures casual clothing
for young men and women and operates nearly 1,000 stores in North America.

In late April, a majority of workers at National Logistics Services
(NLS), in Mississauga, outside of Toronto, applied to the Ontario Labour
Relations Board to have UNITE HERE certified as their union in order to
improve their working conditions, including stagnating wages and a lack of job
security. Employing a tactic outside the norm of labour relations in Ontario,
NLS hired a U.S.-based labour relations firm that orchestrated an anti-union
campaign of harassment and intimidation against the 180 workers. After this
campaign of misinformation, workers lost the vote for a union despite
expressing a desire to form a union just one week before.

"We work hard and want to be treated fairly," said an NLS worker who
spoke anonymously for fear of retaliation. "We feel insecure about our jobs
because of the company's intimidation. We need a union because we have no
voice."

While American Eagle now outsources its distribution operations to NLS,
the clothing company directly owned and operated the distribution centre until
early 2006. Since the takeover by NLS, workers have reported that conditions
have deteriorated.

American Eagle has, thus far, denied any responsibility, in direct
contradiction to its stated responsibilities outlined in its Code of Conduct
for Contractors, part of the retailer's efforts to promote "corporate social
responsibility.

" The code requires that "contractors must respect the rights
of employees to associate freely, join organizations of their choice and
bargain collectively without interference."

"If American Eagle is serious about their Code of Conduct, then they will
demand compliance from NLS for Canadian workers, just as they will for garment
workers in China sewing jeans or shorts," said UNITE HERE's Canadian
Co-Director, Alex Dagg. "Furthermore, American Eagle should not think it can
flout its own rules by going across the border to Canada or across the ocean
to Asia."

Fuimos parte de la Historia y no nos dejaran fuera!

Latinos y veteranos

JOE MOZINGO . LOS ANGELES TIMES Martes 29 de mayo de 2007

Durante el Memorial Day, familiares de soldados hispanos caídos en distintas guerras estadounidenses advirtieron que no dejarán que la historia "los haga a un lado"

LOS ÁNGELES.- Hace cuatro años, Devin Cárdenas se puso su uniforme del Ejército y fue al Monumento a los Mexicano-estadounidenses de Todas las Guerras, en Boyle Heights, para honrar a los soldados que murieron en servicio. El año siguiente, cuando Cárdenas, Ranger del Ejército, tenía 20 años de edad, murió en un ejercicio con municiones reales en el estado de Washington, mientras se preparaba para combatir en Afganistán. El domingo, su madre, Diana, llevó una corona de flores al memorial para honrar a su hijo y a todos los soldados estadounidenses caídos, para "hacerles saber que su sacrificio no fue en vano, y que no serán olvidados". Para el 60 aniversario del memorial, los veteranos de Eastside organizaron una vigilia de 24 horas en la que participaron autoridades, veteranos, soldados en activo, jóvenes y miembros de la comunidad, que hicieron guardia en el lugar. La vigilia terminó ayer por la mañana, con un saludo con armas y la colocación de coronas de flores. El acto concluyó el mismo día en que se conmemora en EU el "Memorial Day", o "Día de los Caídos", a quienes el presidente estadounidense George W. Bush rindió homenaje en el cementerio nacional de Arlington, cercano a Washington, donde afirmó que los soldados muertos en guerras como las de Irak y Afganistán representan a una nueva generación de "héroes". Pero la ceremonia que culminó en Cinco Puntos fue particularmente relevante, en vista de la controversia generada por la forma en que, inicialmente, el director fílmico Ken Burns excluyó a los soldados latinos de su documental sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, que será transmitido en siete partes por la cadena PBS. "No olvidaremos lo que nuestros hombres y mujeres han hecho", dijo Arturo Herrera, de 70 años, veterano de la Fuerza Aérea que sirvió en Libia después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y cuyo hermano murió en Corea. La senadora estatal demócrata Gloria Romero dijo sentirse furiosa por el hecho de que, en un principio, la serie no incluyera las historias de los latinos, que se enlistaron por miles y representaron un porcentaje mayor de las Fuerzas Armadas que como civiles estadounidenses. "Fuimos parte de la historia estadounidense y no nos dejarán fuera", subrayó. Ken Burns aceptó reeditar la serie para incluir las historias de los soldados latinos ante la presión de grupos defensores de los derechos de este sector. El documental se estrena en septiembre próximo. La vigilia de Boyle Heights fue organizada por los Veteranos de Guerras Extranjeras (VFW, por su sigla en inglés), Puesto 4696, y por el Puesto 804 de la Legión Estadounidense. Los voluntarios montaron guardia en turnos de 30 minutos, mientras las familias de los soldados muertos colocaban fotos de sus seres queridos en un pizarrón y se detenían a recordarlos. Escenas similares se repitieron ayer en distintos puntos del país, donde cada año, el último lunes de mayo son recordados los soldados estadounidenses muertos y desaparecidos. Sólo en Irak 3 mil 454 militares perdieron la vida desde el comienzo de la guerra, en marzo de 2003.

Muere la Ingenieria de Proyectos en Mexico!

Agonizan empresas de ingeniería


En América Latina, México tiene un nivel muy inferior en estas empresas a
comparación de Brasil y Chile, con 2 mil 300 y 950, respectivamente


Por Karla Ramírez



Ciudad de México  (25 mayo 2007).- En menos de 10 años, el alto en el desarrollo
de proyectos de infraestructura causó que las empresas de ingeniería estén
agonizando, al pasar de mil 800 a 400, según datos del Colegio de Ingenieros
Civiles de México (CICM).

Luis Salazar, presidente del organismo, explicó que después de la crisis
de 1995, "la chamba" se acabó para las empresas de ingeniería de proyectos
porque muchas obras se cancelaron y otras salieron a cuentagotas, lo que
motivó el quiebre de firmas como Tribasa, así como el cierre de Bufete
Industrial y de por lo menos mil firmas pequeñas y medianas.

La Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Pemex y la SCT también desmantelaron
la presencia de ingenieros y la contratación de empresas nacionales dedicadas
a la ingeniería de proyectos.

Estas empresas se involucran desde la planeación, diseño y construcción de
proyectos de infraestructura, y pueden encargarse del mantenimiento y la
operación de dicha obra, por lo que se considera delicada su desaparición.

En América Latina, México destaca por las pocas firmas de ingeniería de
proyectos,
pues datos al 2005 arrojan que Brasil y Chile tienen registradas a 2 mil
300 y 950, respectivamente, contra las 400 mexicanas.

"Son menos firmas en proporción a lo que hay que ejecutar, tenemos una gran
demanda de ingenieros especializados en diseño, porque estamos viviendo en
un mundo globalizado y hay ingenieros que están por llegar a su jubilación,
entonces en varios países están buscando para sustituirlos", comentó José
Luis Guerrero, director general de ICA.

El directivo ejemplificó que para la reconfiguración de Minatitlán, de los
ocho paquetes de obra, sólo en uno la ingeniería de proyectos es realizado
por una mexicana, el resto es de extranjeros.

Un estudio de Pemex señala que ante la falta de empresas de ingeniería, se
han incrementado los tiempos en la entrega de los equipos. Por ejemplo, los
reactores pasaron de 20 a 36 meses, mismo caso para la entrega de los
compresores.

Las "ganonas" han sido las contratistas internacionales, ya que vienen
acompañadas
de sus propios proveedores.

"Es muy triste que la ingeniería mexicana siga siendo menospreciada, devaluada,
solamente se habla de lo que hicimos en el pasado, hay una competencia desleal
con las firmas extranjeras.

"No tenemos créditos, no se tiene confianza, han desaparecido empresas por
completo, lo cierto, es que la capacidad de ingeniería va a la baja, pero
en caída libre, y vamos a acabar de subcontratistas de un coreano, un español
o un japonés", reiteró Jorge Pérez Montaño, directivo del Grupo Denco, firma
de ingeniería.


Depende Pemex de extranjeras


Petróleos Mexicanos es un claro ejemplo de la elevada dependencia de la
ingeniería
extranjera.


Ernesto Ríos Montero, director corporativo de Ingeniería y Desarrollo de
Proyectos de la empresa, afirmó que 70 por ciento de la ingeniería que requieren
sus proyectos es desarrollada por empresas de Corea, Venezuela, España y
Estados Unidos.


Con información de Alma Hernández

Videos of the Civil War in Spain!

More videos!!!

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ChristieBooks, PO Box 35, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2UX, UK

Players for all our 250+ films (features and documentaries) can also be
viewed directly from your own website. (Instructions on how to do this are
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The proofs of the electoral fraud will be destroyed!

2006 ballots won’t be saved

Leer articulo en El Universal, Jueves 17 de mayo de 2007

Any last hope for a citizens- or media-led recount of the July 2, 2006, presidential ballots all but flickered out Wednesday when the nation´s top electoral court rejected a last-ditch appeal for public access

Any last hope for a citizens- or media-led recount of the July 2, 2006, presidential ballots all but flickered out Wednesday when the nation´s top electoral court rejected a last-ditch appeal for public access. Instead, the Electoral Tribunal (TEPJF) cleared the way for final destruction of all the ballots. General Council members of the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) said they were only awaiting Wednesday´s TEPJF action to set a date for destroying the ballots. All that´s left to decide is how the deed will be done - by burning, burying or grinding them into a recyclable pulp. The approximately 40 million ballots became some of the most famous documents in Mexican history shortly after preliminary official results showed Felipe Calderón edging out Andrés Manuel López Obrador by just more than half a percentage point. The López Obrador campaign said there had been ballot tampering first at the voting stations and then at the storage sites. The TEPJF rejected a petition for a full vote-by-vote recount, insisting there was no legal basis for it. Calderón was confirmed as winner on Sept. 5, and took office on Dec. 1. Later, some of the media expressed interest in organizing an unofficial recount, much as news organizations did with the disputed Florida ballots after George Bush´s election-deciding victory in that state in 2000. But on April 25, the TEPJF turned down a request for ballot access by private citizen Daniel Lizárraga and others. The tribunal ruled the ballots were not public property, and that the only entities that legally qualify to count them are the 300 district commissions that operate under IFE, and the TEPJF magistrates themselves. The ruling was criticized by Horacio Duarte, the liaison to IFE from López Obrador´s Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). "Far from clearing up doubts about this fraudulent chapter in the July 2 election, the tribunal has only assured that the uncertainty will continue," he said at the time. Wednesday´s TEPJF action was a rejection of Lizárraga´s appeal of the April 25 ruling.

Regularize your status in Mexico!!!

FM2 (Mexico) regs to be streamlined

Immigration Commissioner Cecilia Romero said the mexican government is streamlining procedures to help foreigners regularize their immigration status.

She said her office, a division of the Interior Secretariat (Segob), will simplify procedures for foreigners in Mexico seeking to establish themselves in the country permanently.

"The tradition was that to be a permanent resident of Mexico one had to be a temporary resident for five years," she said.

"But in the coming months the FM2 form (which shows proof of legal residency status in Mexico) will be granted" to those who request it and fulfill the requirements, Romero said at a meeting in Mexico City with some 70 consular representatives from different countries.

The measure will only benefit immigrants who settled in the country before Jan. 1, 2005, and who have ties to Mexicans, have a job or carry out activities that are legal, honest and beneficial for the country, Segob officials told EFE.

This new initiative is part of the government´s 2007 Immigration Regularization Program that Romero´s office, known as the INM, set in motion on Dec. 23.

Romero added that Mexican authorities are looking for ways to simplify the lives of all those who want to visit, work, invest or study in Mexico.

"We want to open the doors of the INM so that they can put their papers in order and can walk the streets with the certainty that their rights will be respected in our country," Romero told the consular representatives.

She said that currently 0.5 percent of those living within the nation´s borders are of foreign origin - roughly 5.1 million people out of a total population of 103 million.

Of these immigrants, 95 percent hail from Central America, Romero said.

The commissioner said that the INM is committed to pursuing a "comprehensive" policy that puts a priority on the dignity of all people.

She said the Calderón administration recognizes the wealth of contributions by immigrants and is committed to ensuring respect for migrants´ human rights and dignity and streamlining the INM´s procedures.

Mexico exporta construction workers!!!

Nuestros albañiles son ahora construction workers


El Día de la Santa Cruz se festejó también en Estados Unidos y con razón. Con la migración registrada en los últimos años, hay casi tres veces más albañiles mexicanos en Estados Unidos que en México.

El Centro Pew dice que hay 2 millones 249 mil trabajadores hispanos nacidos fuera de EU en el sector constructor. 63 por ciento de los hispanos son de origen mexicano, según las estadísticas del gobierno estadunidense. A partir de estos datos, podemos calcular que el número de mexicanos que trabajan en la construcción en Estados Unidos es cercano a un millón 420 mil. En México, según el INEGI, hay 403 mil 472 personas empleadas en la industria de la construcción.

Lo más relevante es que la presencia hispana se está incrementando en las obras. Ellos se quedaron con un tercio de los empleos generados por el sector entre 2005 y 2006, unos 825 mil puestos. ¿Cuántos fueron para mexicanos? Podemos situar el total entre 400 mil y medio millón, sin temor a exagerar.

Los hispanos fueron el grupo menos afectado por los recortes, luego del enfriamiento de la edificación de viviendas nuevas. Esta inmunidad se explica por la diferencia de salarios. Un inmigrante hispano gana 388 dólares semanales por un trabajo de tiempo completo, frente a 653 dólares de un estadunidense. Este descuento de 68 por ciento es un mundo cuando se trata de bajar costos.

El estereotipo nos dice que el trabajador mexicano va a trabajar al campo en Estados Unidos. Esto sigue siendo real, hasta cierto punto. La agricultura emplea a 24 por ciento y es el primer destino laboral. Sin embargo, la industria de la construcción ha ganado terreno y se ha convertido en el segundo lugar, por encima de la industria de la alimentación.

La presencia hispana en la obra es tan significativa que hay una revista especializada, El Constructor Latino, y en varias ciudades se han puesto en marcha cursos de inglés para trabajadores hispanos. Son el grupo que tuvo más accidentes en la industria y se cree que el desconocimiento del lenguaje fue una de las causas. Allá se dieron cuenta de que algo está pasando y comenzaron a actuar. Aquí no pasa casi nada, aunque sea un caso de fuga de cerebros... que trabajan con las manos.

Report from LA!!!!!

May Day 2007; A Report To Correct The Balance
by Nick Napolitano Wednesday, May. 02, 2007 at 2:20 AM

The following is a summary of what occurred when LAPD decided to disperse a peaceful march. The following contents of this article may be used for non-profit only.

It is 12:53am and I am exhausted having just ate dinner (thankful that I had a meal to eat and a roof over my head.) I write the following with great hope that story of what happened with LAPD and the peaceful protestors today does not get truly lost within the annals of corporate media.

The local major media news outlets are all reporting that “anarchists” caused the melee by throwing some bottles. First, I would like to pose this question: Are empty plastic water bottles really a threat to anyone let alone police officers in full riot gear? Second, Should there not be some sort of maturity factor involved in officer response and conduct? Third, The “anarchists” as they are so eloquently called (simply because they wear bandannas over their respective faces I assume) were the ones trying to keep the peace. One supposed anarchist was actually pleading with the officers and saying “We are peaceful protestors; we came here for immigrants rights; we are no threat to you; please do not rush; women, children, and men will get hurt; you can disobey orders that do not go with your beliefs.” Who was angry and threw a couple of bottles? The youth of Los Angeles were simply angry and frustrated. They have been dealing with the reality that ICE can rip their families apart at any moment due to legal status. The rumor that ICE was on the scene was also quite persistent hanging high in the back of many minds. Does it justify throwing a couple of water bottles? No; but was it really a threat to the officer’s safety? Please also take note that Police Chief Bill Bratton has reported that “missiles” were thrown. Would you consider an empty plastic water bottle a missile?

Let us now take a look at the side of the coin that the media seems to be purposely under reporting.

The following events are listed in chronological order.

Rampart division officers harass and illegally search and detain a peaceful protestor for 15 minutes because the protestor was documenting the march and had decided to take a photograph of the wrong officers. The protestor is released when a crowd starts to gather and take pictures of the incident. (Please note that event #1 occurred when all was calm and peaceful and the march was slowly winding its way into MacArthur Park)

(Approximately 30 minutes after the first event) Officers start to push a protestor at the corner of Wilshire & Parkview. This results in the Los Angeles chapter of Copwatch quickly moving into action to document the incident. A crowd quickly gathers and the street starts to fill up with people of all ages and backgrounds. A protestor was shown the true force of a police baton in blunt force trauma to the head. Organizers start to plead with people to leave the street for fear that the officers will declare this an illegal assembly because of people being in the street. People remain in the street simply because they are trying to protect those that they love and care for. LAPD was now fully mobilizing at this point getting riot gear ready and forming a defensive block. Bear in mind; this all started with LAPD attacking peaceful protestors.
An alert is issued that police have started attacking and pushing a young man on the opposite side of the lake in MacArthur Park. Protestors quickly rush to the scene to try and protect the young man from the officers. Once again plenty of media (Corporate & Indy) are there to document all that occurred. It is at this point that the tide seems to turn; LAPD now seems to be gearing up for something much larger. They start to block off all streets surrounding MacArthur Park. One can see certain officers joking about getting to beat people with their batons. The bicycle officers are moved out of the way. The officers wearing helmets are moved in and form a line. Word gets out that SWAT has mobilized in the southern portion of the park; the fear of women, children, and men getting hurt quickly spreads. Protestors quickly start moving to try and get people to move back to protect the innocent. Protestors continue to plead with LAPD to prevent the use of unnecessary force.

Without an order to disperse or a warning shot all hell breaks loose. LAPD is now firing rubber bullet kisses into a crowd of families gathered for a peaceful cause. LAPD uses absolutely no discrimination in whom they choose to shoot; women, children, men, the homeless, the media, and those whom cannot walk without assistance are not safe. LAPD continues to fire round after round until MacArthur Park starts to resemble a scene in a horror film where the a monster has just showed up and everyone is running for their lives and safety grabbing whatever they could to try to get to a safe place without getting hurt. I was able to witness a community working together in that I saw others rushing in to the rubber bullets to pick up people that they were just meeting for the first time. I saw two protestors picking up a man without a clue of what was going on and explaining that he needed to get to shelter; the protestors carried him to safety, as he could not walk on his own.

At this point it is amazingly clear that the officers on duty are neither protecting nor serving the people; they are simply protecting and serving themselves and their own respective interests. Protestors try to grab some red wooden fencing from the stage truck so that people can hide behind the fencing. The officers on the scene would hear nothing of it; they continued to fire until the protestors were driven into streets near by.

Protestors are now in the near by streets running as fast as possible to get away from the shear brutality being served ice cold. LAPD continues to file in and attack protestors who are still attempting to get to safety.

By roughly 8:00pm most of the protestors have gotten to safety.

LAPD continued to block off streets surrounding MacArthur Park for an unknown amount of time.

Reports of video footage of a protestor being shot three times by an officer at point blank range while they were lying on the ground have surfaced; hopefully the footage will get out.

I just want to point out that despite the tragic end; the march was beautiful and it was filled with people from all backgrounds marching for worker’s rights no matter if they have “legal status” or not. We all should try to understand that worker’s rights have no borders. We all are in this struggle together. We all want to live and enjoy life in peace. We are all human and I think some forget this fact. Sometimes we lose a bit of our humanity and I think that it is time for people to take care of one another. In this world we only have each other. If we do not take care of each other then who will? I think Katrina showed quite well that we cannot rely on our government when it comes to taking care of the people.

Know your neighbor; know your community. Take care of each other. There seems to be no justice in this cold system. Just us!

Why 5 de Mayo?

Cinco de mayo

The Battle won over the French on May 5th, 1862

May fifth (cinco de mayo) is a national holiday in Mexico. Do you know why? Back in the year 1862, a French army of 6,000 well-armed men invaded Mexico, led by General Laurencez. The excuse was that Mexico owed money to their country and could not pay it right then. But they were also allied with the Mexican conservatives to overthrow the liberal government of President Juárez and found an empire. General Ignacio Zaragoza faced these forces in the city of Puebla with only 4,000 poorly-equipped men with little training. Laurencez was so sure of his superiority that he attacked the Mexican army head on as a sign of his contempt. This mistake cost the lives of one thousand Frenchmen on that battlefield. Zaragoza defeated them and make them retreat. Although this did not stop them, and the Empire of Maximilian was founded in our country, the event had great impact.

Each year, we commemorate that battle on the fifth of May. This was the last time that an army from another continent invaded the Americas.

It has become a symbol of what a people can do when defending their culture and their land.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons it has become a symbol of self-determination of peoples and respect for their cultures. In the United States of America, the country that is our neighbor to the north, they also celebrate cinco de mayo in a very important way. Latinos, Chicanos and various communities of Mexican origin have adopted this national holiday as an opportunity for celebrating their roots, defending their customs and the richness of their culture. In cities with a lot of Hispanic people, big fiestas are held with food, music, dancing, art, handicrafts, and this is an excellent way to reaffirm and share what's best in our culture.

Earth Day in Canada and Kyoto Protocol

Canada Must Implement the Kyoto Protocol!
Humanize the Natural and Social Environment!

Web cast, The Democracy in Mexico, from Yale University, May 1st

WEB CAST desde la Universidad de Yale

"El estado de la democracia en México,

obstáculos para su consolidación"

http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/mexicosdemocracy/

Martes 1ero de Mayo (hora del Centro, Mx)

12:00 Mediodía:
"Certezas, dudas y lecciones de la eleccion"

John Ackerman, Sergio Aguayo, Jesús Orozco, Gustavo Vega. Moderadora
Susan Stokes.

2:00 PM
"Primer mes de Calderón y el futuro de la oposición"

Denisse Dresser, Hector Fix Fierro, Lorenzo Meyer, Irma Sandoval, Leo
Zuckermann. Moderadora Paulina Ochoa Espejo

4:00 PM
"El estado de la democracia en México"
Manuel Camacho Solís, John Coatsworth, Esteban Moctezuma, Demetrio
Sodi. Moderador Ian Shapiro.

More foreign workers hired for bridge project in BC!

Foreign workers hired for bridge project

Jennifer Moreau / read the Maple Ridge Times
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

MAPLE RIDGE - The company in charge of hiring for the Golden Ears bridge project has brought in 33 foreign workers despite criticism from the B.C. Federation of Labour that doing so is exploiting cheap labour.

TransLink owns the bridge but entered a public-private partnership with Bilfinger Berger BOT Inc., a subsidiary of a German-based construction firm.

"We have hired in total 33 foreign workers by the end of March," said Patti Schom-Moffatt, a representative for the project, adding there are 105 local employees not including those hired by subcontractors.

Schom-Moffatt said the foreign workers comprise 15 carpenters, 10 general highly skilled steelworkers and eight concrete finishers. She can't say where they are from, only that they are covered by a union contract and paid the same as local workers.

Schom-Moffatt said the move to bring in foreign labour was about skills, not money. The Golden Ears bridge is cable-stayed, requiring specially skilled workers, she said.

"It's an unusual structure. We have local people with general skills but not specific for cable bridges."

Building boom lures migrants
2,724 come from rest of Canada in last quarter of 2006

Frank Luba / Read The Province

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

B.C.'s construction boom is being credited for drawing an influx of migrants from other provinces for the first time in a decade.

According to B.C. Stats, an agency of the provincial government, the province received 2,724 more immigrants from other provinces than left the province in the last quarter of 2006.

Alberta attracted 11,813 from other provinces, while Sask-atchewan got 1,086.

Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen believes the reason for the inflow of people is the booming provincial econ- omy.

"It comes down to where the jobs are," Hansen said yesterday.

"It's the first time since the mid-1990s we've seen the inter-provincial migration significantly in B.C.'s favour," he said.

"In the last half of the 1990s we saw a significant out-migration, particularly of younger workers looking for jobs in other parts of Canada. Now it's the complete reverse." Hansen doesn't see the trend reversing any time soon.

More information for migrant nurses!

Government initiatives to increase number of nurses in B.C. should involve immigrant communities

Vancouver, B.C. – With last week’s announcement by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada to invest $2.9 million from the federal government and British Columbia (B.C.) contributing $1.2 million to increase the number of nurses in the province, Filipino nurses in B.C. are critical of government-funded programs that have not benefited the community work they serve at a grassroots level.

“Systemically racist barriers and exclusionary policies within Canadian immigration and nursing regulatory bodies leave little option for Filipino nurses but to choose survival jobs that Canadians do not want to do,” stated Leah Diana of the Filipino Nurses Support Group.

The Filipino community is now the fourth largest visible minority group in Canada and third largest in B.C., and has for decades, faced obstacles in returning to practice their profession.

For nearly two decades, highly educated and skilled Philippine-trained nurses have been actively recruited through Canada’s Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) to do the housekeeping, childrearing, and around-the-clock elderly care for families who can afford private live-in work.

“The LCP’s live-in requirement leaves nurses turned live-in caregivers vulnerable to poverty and terrible working conditions,” said Diana. Many earn as little as $2 per hour for 24 hours of work. The temporary immigrant status leaves them vulnerable to deportation because of oftentimes insurmountable, restrictions of the LCP.

Combined with immigration barriers, regulatory bodies’ policies add another element of further exclusion. A further requirement is Canadian nursing experience prior to obtaining nursing licensure, which makes nursing accreditation harder to reach for many Philippine-trained nurses.

“Regulatory bodies justify their restrictive policies as protection of ‘public safety’, but the worsening of the nursing shortage creates a primary threat to the health and safety of the public,” continued Diana.

Since 1995, the Filipino Nurses Support Group, a community-based organization of over 700 nurses from the Philippines in B.C. has effectively advocated for and helped bridge Philippine trained nurses, particularly those under the LCP, to B.C.’s nursing profession devoid of any concrete help from the provincial government.

Adquiere Cemex similar empresa en Australia!

CEMEX - La gigante cementera mexicana acordó la adquisición de su similar australiana Rinker en US$15.300 millones.

La gigante cementera adquirió el paquete accionario de su similar australiana Rinker en US$15.300 millones, convirtiéndose en la mayor compra hecha por una empresa mexicana.

Con el acuerdo, Cemex será la mayor compañía cementera del mundo, dará empleo a cerca de 70.000 personas y conseguirá utilidades de US$23.000 millones anuales.

La empresa mexicana obtendrá el 90% de las acciones de Rinker, y recibió la autorización de compra por parte de las autoridades reguladoras de Estados Unidos y Australia.

El 85% de los ingresos de Rinker se concentran en EE.UU., y el resto de sus operaciones se sitúan en Australia y China.

Information for people who want to immigrate to Canada!

Indo-Canadians battle to win skilled jobs
Dr. Gian Singh Sangha has not been able to get a job in his field

Kim Bolan / Read this article at the Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

IMMIGRANT WORKERS CLAIM DISCRIMINATION: Dr. Gian Singh Sangha, an India-born scientist, was denied a job in the Northwest Territories after he was deemed to be overqualified. He won a human rights commission decision a year ago, but was not offered a job or compensation.

Scientists, doctors and other highly skilled immigrants are driving taxis and working security jobs because of discrimination against foreign-trained professionals, say Indo-Canadian community leaders.

And they want all levels of government to work to end discrimination against foreign credentials so that Canada can benefit from immigrants with advanced education.

Jarnail Singh Bhandal, of the Khalsa Diwan Society, joined more than a dozen leaders at Vancouver's Ross Street temple Tuesday to voice support for Dr. Gian Singh Sangha, an India-born scientist who was denied a job in the Northwest Territories after he was deemed to be over-qualified.

Sangha won a human rights commission decision a year ago saying he was discriminated against, but was not offered a job or compensation.

He is now taking his case to the Federal Court of Canada next week to seek a remedy in an action supported by Bhandal's society, as well as the Akali Singh and Guru Nanak Sikh temples.

"We realize that the talent of the people coming here are underutilized," Bhandal said. "Whoever comes here, their credentials should be recognized and there should not be any discrimination."

Sangha, who has not been able to get a job in his field, said many have been affected in a similar way in trying to gain employment in Canada.

"It does not make any sense that a PhD or an engineer or a medical doctor should drive a taxi or do a security job for $10 or $12," Sangha said.

His lawyer David Perry said Canada is operating under "false pretences," bringing in immigrants because of their qualifications and then making it hard for them to find work.

"We are desperately short of skilled labour. We are scouring the world looking for skilled labour. When they come we won't hire them."

Sangha, 58, is asking the federal court to award him back pay or employment in his field after he was turned down in 2001 for a job with the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board despite being top-rated for the position.

Indo-Canadians are not the only people affected by the problem, said Vancouver City Coun. George Chow, a professional engineer and an immigrant himself.

"I think our government has opened the doors to these qualified professionals to come to the country so to deny them the opportunity for employment, it is just not acceptable," Chow said.

"What about all the immigrant professionals who are driving trucks, taxis or being cooks or waiters in restaurants?"

There are several issues professional immigrants face -- some, like Sangha, say they are denied jobs because they are overqualified.

Others find their credentials are not accepted in Canada and therefore also lose work in their chosen careers.

Harkirat Singh, who holds several university degrees from Punjab said he has also lost good jobs because he was deemed overqualified.

"I am also a victim of this discrimination. Although we love Canada, still we have some problems in this country," Singh said.

"I have also applied for so many jobs and because I have too many university degrees from India, I have also suffered from this kind of racism."

What do you think about the TILMA?

Agreement good for British Columbians, insists minister

by Collen Dane

Mar 30, 2007

It’s an agreement that will make a real difference in the lives of ordinary British Columbians, Minister of Economic Development Colin Hansen said this week.

In an interview with the Record, Hansen explained some examples of the benefits of Canada’s most comprehensive internal trade agreement — TILMA, which comes into effect Sunday.

“I think regular, ordinary people will find labour mobility easier,” said Hansen.

Where there are times that some are struggling to find employment in one place, the TILMA will ensure that their skills are recognized in the neighbouring province. There were 62 professions, said Hansen, that stood out as a challenge for people if they wanted to move between provinces.

For people not looking to move, Hansen suggested that their tax increases could be minimized as a result of TILMA — if governments have more choice in the provision of services, that will likely create a downward pressure on price, he said.

Those are a few examples, he said, of the benefits of an agreement that he insists is a good thing. The issue of inefficiencies in Canada’s internal trade agreement, he said, has been debated for a long time — the TILMA, said Hansen, is B.C. and Alberta deciding to address the problem themselves.

While the agreement was a sleeper in the public eye, Hansen said the two-year implementation period until April 1, 2009, when local governments will be included, will focus on ironing out details and continuing consultation.

They will address what he called wrong assumptions about the agreement. For example, local governments would not be punished for turning down a development proposal by an Alberta company — unless it was done simply because it was based in the other province.

They would not be fined for not allowing billboards by an Alberta firm, unless it was simply because it was Albertan, he said.

In a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipalities, he writes “TILMA is not intended to constrain local governments’ ability to establish or maintain bona fide, non-discriminatory measures such as zoning bylaws, height restrictions or rules applying to signage. Working with your full participation at the negotiators table, it is our intention to ensure the interests of local governments, their residents and the business communities.”

For more information on the TILMA, visit www.gov.bc.ca/ecdev.