1.
Karol Józef Wojtyla, John Paul II
- May 18, 1920-April 2, 2005
2.
Washington
Post Editorial - Pope John Paul II
3. New York Times
Editorial - Pope John Paul II,
Keeper of the Flock for a Quarter of a Century
4. Powerful
Spiritual Leader Dies After Long Struggle - Papal Procedures Outlined by
Deceased Pope Put in Motion
“If you can force
your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when
there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"”
From
“If” by Rudyard Kipling
"Corky" Gonzales
has recently been released from a Denver, Colorado hospital after being
diagnosed with a serious liver disease. Physicians have suggested to the
Gonzales family that they prepare for the difficult days ahead, and have
suggested that they consider making arrangements for his final days.
Republican
Congressional leaders gathered at San Diego’s border to promote the
construction of the final 3.5 mile of a 14 mile triple-fence along the
Mexican border at the Pacific Ocean, which according to Congressmen James
Sensenbrenner and Duncan Hunter will keep Al-Qaeda operatives from
entering the US.
Sensenbrenner and
Hunter informed San Diego
and the nation through CNN that CIA and FBI intelligence indicates that
Al-Qaeda operatives are adopting Hispanic surnames to facilitate their
sneaking across the border with other illegal immigrants. The possibility
of their attempting to cross in this manner is eminent and thus the 3.5
miles of fence must be built now.
By Pedro Celis
Those with a
vested interest in the current setup of the Social Security system are
holding to the strategy of “Confusion is the best defense”.
But our social
security crisis can be best understood by ignoring all the confusing
“fixes” and focusing on the two distinct problems at its core.
The first
problem is that the federal government collects more, a lot more,
contributions to social security than what it needs to pay the current
retirees. The excess contributions are spent on other government programs
and not really saved to pay for the retirement of the workers who are
making the contributions.
The second
problem is that demographics are such that, in the future, the federal
government will collect less, a lot less, contributions than what
it will need to pay the retirees of that day.
There are several
obstacles to the cohesive socio-economic integration of the binational
community despite the tidal wave to the contrary. These challenges
include: Economic disparity; U.S. Homeland security; Bigotry; Political
distrust; Regional planning; and, Education.
In 2002 San
Diego’s GRP was $126 billion compared to Tijuana’s $10 billion, a 12.5 to
1 ratio, despite comparable demographics. During the same period San
Diego’s government budget (city and county) was $1.5 billion compared to
Tijuana’s $180 million, a 9 to 1 ratio.
By Dr. Jane E. Smith
Collective
Energy! Although one person is powerful enough to affect change, a united
group is a force to be reckoned with. And with minority women working
toward common goals uniquely designed for us, “we” can move mountains in
all aspects of our lives by merely understanding and embracing our
differences.
Who are “we”?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 42.1 million females fall into the
“women of color” category. This category is composed of African
American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, American Indian/Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander women.
By
Erika Robles More than 30
million Americans--one in four workers--are stuck in low-wage jobs that do
not provide the basics for a decent life. In 1962, Michael Harrington
stirred the conscience of the nation with the publication of The Other
America. He reminded a country basking in the glow of postwar prosperity
that poverty was alive and well.
Thirty million Americans make less than $8.70 an hour, the official US
poverty level for a family of four. Their low-wage, no-benefits jobs
translate into billions of dollars in profits, executive pay, high stock
prices and low store prices. Low-wage workers are security guards and
childcare givers. They are nursing-home workers and retail clerks. They are
hospital orderlies and teachers' assistants. They are hotel workers and
pharmacy technicians. They de-bone the chicken that we eat, clean the office
buildings where we work and handle our questions and complaints at call
centers.
Español/Spanish
Por
Miriam
Ventura
La saga de
periodistas violadores de la ética no termina ni comienza con Jayson
Blair, ex-reportero del
New York Times. En Argentina el periodista Jorge Zicolillo fue demandado
por la revista argentina TXT, por mentir respecto a su “supuesta”
presencia en
Bagdad. El
corresponsal en Nueva York del Listin Diario, uno de los mas influyentes
de República Dominicana, fue dado de baja con deshonra. José Alduey
Sierra mintio deliberadamente respecto a la muerte de Riayan Tejada, el
soldado dominicano muerto en Irak.
I was talking to a
few friends over the weekend on why so many Spanish-speaking people never
apply themselves to learn English. Many things came up from
transportation being a problem for many including not having anyone to
take care of the children. On the other hand, I brought up the name of
Lilia who was a woman about 48 years old who had gone thru about ten
courses of English, classroom as well as video and to this date can barely
be understood.
What is one of the
reasons that many Spanish people don’t take the initial step? I came to
the conclusion that it must be intimidation. In reality, the English
language is very difficult to learn, to write, to pronounce and to even
write a good paragraph. What truly encouraged writing this piece (not
peace) today was because of an email that a friend sent…
By Lamar Alexander
The House recently
passed legislation requiring states to turn 190 million driver's licenses
into national ID cards, with state taxpayers paying most of the cost.
The first thing
wrong here is that the House stuck the ID card proposal on the
appropriations bill that supports troops in Iraq and sent it over to the
Senate. We should not slow down money for our troops while we debate ID
cards.
The second problem
is that states not only get to create these ID cards, they'll likely end
up paying the bill. This is one more of the unfunded federal mandates that
we Republicans promised to stop.
Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon’s withdrawal of settlements from Gaza and the West Bank is a
courageous step that can only improve prospects for peace between Israelis
and Palestinians. With the death of Yasir Arafat and the election of new
Palestinian leaders, it is helping to end the “intifada” that has raged
for four and one-half years. Perceptions of violence and related events
in the region are colored significantly by language. Perceptions shape
public opinion and public opinion affects the formulation of policy.
On September 28,
2000, candidate Sharon visited Jerusalem’s
Temple Mount Jerusalem to make a point: the site was part of Israel and if
he were elected it would remain so. He was sending a signal to the
Israeli electorate that, consistent with his long record as a hard-liner,
he would be a tough fighter for his country’s territorial and national
interests.
By Nikolas Kozloff, D.Phil
Over the past few
weeks there have been some signs that Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez
has backed down from his earlier confrontational posture towards
Washington. According to the Venezuelan foreign minister, Chavez has no
intention of reducing oil exports to the United States. The economic
importance of oil in terms of Venezuelan-U.S. relations cannot be
overstated. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter in the world and
the fourth largest supplier of oil to the United States after Canada,
Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Venezuela’s state owned oil company,
Petroleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) accounted for 11.8% (1.52-million barrels a
day) of U.S.
imports.
Most of my
subjects are either in or pertaining to México because I live in México.
But recent events in the news draw my attention northward. My attention
was caught by a recent survey of US expatriates living here in México. One
of the things that many of these people found attractive is the "Mexican
political climate". Interesting.
The subject here
is the Terri Schiavo fiasco that just does not seem to quit. And maybe in
this is a political climate up north that is discouraging some people.
By Richard Barrera For working
families living in poverty, San Diego
in 2005 is an increasingly tough place to make ends meet, much less to build
a bright future for kids. Working families face impossibly rising housing,
energy and gasoline prices; see their kids struggling in and eventually
dropping out of school; and worry about the next health crisis around the
corner. Local government, consumed with its own "crises" of debt and
finger-pointing, seems too distracted to offer much hope to struggling
families. A half century ago in a poor neighborhood in San Jose, a young
Cesar Chavez was struggling to start his own family, facing his generation's
seemingly impossible challenges.
By
Raoul Lowery Contreras Radio and
television commentator Bill O’Reilly has radio and cable television shows
that are hard-hitting, generally interesting and issue-timely. When possible
I watch his Fox News program and listen to his radio show. Generally, I
agree with O’Reilly, something that doesn’t happen when I listen to fringe
radio talkers. Example, widely known conservative lesbian talker Tammy Bruce
calling the President of Mexico a "pig." O’Reilly would never say such a
thing.
There is one issue, however, that O’Reilly totally implodes with and on. It
involves the border with Mexico
and those who cross it illegally to come to work in the United States.
Example, his on-going attempt to gather "hundreds of thousands" or, perhaps,
"a million" petition signatures to get the President’s attention on the
subject of the border.
By Bill Bradley
Five months after the presidential election Democrats are still pointing
fingers at one another and trying to figure out why Republicans won. Was the
problem the party's position on social issues or taxes or defense or what?
Were there tactical errors made in the conduct of the campaign? Were the
right advisers heard? Was the candidate flawed?
Before deciding what Democrats should do now, it's important to see what
Republicans have done right over many years.
On March 28, 2005
the Los Angeles Times published an article entitled Towering Canvas For
Selling a City.[i][i]
This piece was about the dialog going on within the Santa Ana, Calif.,
city-council about how to spend $500,000.00 to paint the exterior of the
city’s primary, faded water tower.
In September 2004,
the L.A. Times published an article based upon the results of a national
survey by the Nelson A. Rockefeller School of Government. The results of
this study landed Santa Ana,
CA
as the as the #1 Toughest City in America to make ends
meet (the social-scientific term used by the Rockefeller School of
Government is a “hardship index”).Thus, I suggested to the Times
Editorial Board that the Santa Ana City Council paint the tower with “We’re
# 1” until such time that community leadership acts to substantively
correct this atrocious reality…
When asked about
the future of Tijuana, Mexican promoters or politicians usually point to
the same symbols -- high tech maquilas (global factories), or
sleek, glass high-rise office buildings in the Zona del Rio (River
Zone), where executives in three- piece suits talk with their brokers on
cell phones. "Tijuana is the new global city," they say. "Tijuana
is the next Hong Kong." -- Maybe.
But the future of
this border city may also lie in a remote "colonia" called Maclovio
Rojas, a collection of semi-rural, self-built homes in the eastern hills
of the city, along the Tijuana-Tecate highway. At first glance, this
modest neighborhood of the poor, with its spontaneous homes built from
scrap wood, concrete, or recycled metal sheets, looks like any of hundreds
of similar colonias that sprawl over the hills and canyons of
Tijuana.
But look again.
This little community may be the next "mini-Chiapas" of Mexico,
Patrick
Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican
perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an
in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding
Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business
relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin
relationships and business deals.
The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95
making it possible to download the manual to save on your hard
drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while
reaping considerable savings over printed copies.
Tucson, AZ--“In
the face of a massive, sustained public outcry from within and beyond
border communities, the Arizona and U.S. justice systems have consistently
failed to hold vigilante militia groups accountable for violations of
state and federal law. As a result, a climate of impunity has been
created along the Arizona-Sonora border in which the Minuteman Project
and other vigilante groups are able to attract the enthusiasm of a small
handful of loud anti-immigrant and white supremacist groups from across
the nation. These outside agitators see our state as the perfect stage for
acting out their xenophobic fantasies,” explains Jennifer Allen, the
Border Action Network’s director.
More and more
policymakers have come to realize that the U.S. immigration system does
not adequately respond to labor shortages in the U.S. economy. However,
rational reform of the system is hindered by claims that immigrants steal
jobs from the native born and drive down wages for native workers by
serving as a source of cheap labor. Proponents of restrictive immigration
policies, seeking to exploit fears generated by a turbulent economy,
attempt to draw parallels between the numbers of recently arrived
immigrants and numbers of unemployed native-born workers. Yet the notion
that every job filled by an immigrant is one less job available for a
native-born worker is inherently simplistic and doesn’t account for the
fact that immigrants create jobs or that unemployed natives and immigrant
workers often do not compete for the same jobs.
“TERRORISM -- FIND
OUT WHAT OUR RISK LEVEL IS" was boldly slashed across an American flag on
the posters announcing a meeting of the Community Emergency Preparedness
Commission of this little city in the desert 100 miles east of Los
Angeles. And more than 100 people came out to hear government officials
talk about the danger in the Coachella Valley.
There was a long,
red decontamination truck outside the Town Hall, paid for by funds from
the Department of Homeland Security. Men and women of the Forest Service
assigned to the truck showed folks their space suit outfits to deal with
chemical or biological attack. Inside, there was the local member of
Congress, Mary Bono, and people from the Department of Homeland Security,
the Riverside County terrorism guy from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, fire chiefs, sheriffs, the mayor and officials from other
valley towns.
On March 31st, the
Miami Herald wrote an editorial on the REAL ID Act. In the editorial, the
Herald described the bill aptly: “This anti-immigrant act is a
loser….” Due to its lack of merit, backers of the bill in the House
attached it to a supplemental appropriations bill that passed the House.
When it returns
from recess next week, the Senate will take up its version of the
emergency spending bill that will finance military operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, as well as allocate money for the relief of victims of
December’s tsunami. The Senate should insist that the REAL ID act be
dropped from the bill.
By Larry Birns and COHA Research Associate Sarah Schaffer.
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
On March 29, Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Venezuela’s President
Hugo Chávez announced that a $1.7 billion (€1.3 billion) sale of vessels
and airplanes is currently being negotiated. This deal, which will involve
coast guard boats, frigates and aircraft, had officials in Washington
muttering under their breath. For months, the U.S.
has been voicing concerns over Chávez’s successful efforts to acquire
weapons from various sources abroad. Zapatero’s decision only has
intensified Washington’s apprehension over Caracas’ possible long-term
intentions. What particularly frustrates the Bush administration is that
it cannot designate any of the countries which are either already
providing or negotiating weapon deliveries to Venezuela as either
terrorist or “rogue” nations.
If you get your
news from the U.S. media, the trilateral meeting between the North
American heads of state was mostly a feel-good session to smooth over
ruffled feathers in relationships over the past years. Given the lack of
content in the official declarations, you have to wonder why they even
bothered at all.
But the real
agenda was a little more complex. To understand what happened at the
recent North American summit, you have to read between the lines of the
chummy public pronouncements.
Ah spring! Here
comes the green grass, pretty flowers, and a barrage of home and personal
cleaning advertising. Now that the winter has passed leaving us with
chapped skin and sweater lint, it's time to renew our bodies, update our
wardrobe and most importantly, get to down to spring cleaning. But don't
be surprised if you notice your Latina neighbor stocking up on more
cleaning products than you at the supermarket. And don't feel
hygienically inferior. She's simply exercising a cultural trait: the
cleaner, the better.
According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2001, Hispanics spent 43% more than average
on soaps and detergents, and 16% more than average on cleansing and toilet
tissues. It isn't that Hispanics are just cleaner than the rest of the
population. The over consumption of such products lies in the culture's
relationship orientation.
It is incumbent
upon the Texas Senate to kill the ominous new testing provisions that are
contained within House Bill 2.
Specifically, they
state that high school students may not receive course credit unless they
perform satisfactorily on 13 end-of-course tests. These tests are to be
administered beginning in the 2008-09 year.
The most positive
aspect of the proposed end-of-course testing requirements is that students
can be assessed on material in the semester that they take the course,
rather than being held accountable for material that they took one or two
years earlier. Beyond this, it is hard to ascertain other benefits.
By
Erika Robles
By
Patrick Osio, Jr
From
the Publisher’s Corner
By Domingo Ivan Casañas
By
Richard N. Baldwin T. 
By
Raoul Lowery Contreras