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Sun07Sep2008

Everything is Under Control

09:49 H | Topics: Blogs - Justice - Latin America - MINNEAPOLIS - Politics - RNC08 - St. Paul - US Presidential Race 2008

2831151143_5bcd2b98cc.jpgNezua, who was at the front lines of the power trip show that was the reaction to the protest cries at outside the RNC, has some amazingly scary images of police presence. Then I came across this image, and the similarities were striking.

The line given to us living in the United States is that it's for our protection, our safety, our order, so that we can go one with our lives, meaning swallowing whole the lies fed to us via the primetime coverage. But who is included in this Our?

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Fri05Sep2008

John McCain Looks Terrible in Green (and blue) : His Speech from the RNC Last Night

13:45 H | Topics: MINNEAPOLIS - Politics - RNC08 - St. Paul - US Presidential Race 2008

Last night, I was between laughter and tears watching the closing night of the RNC : Cindy McCain and her constant eye closing meant to inspire and say: "I am a nice white lady", The McCain children coming out causing my older daughter to call out: "One of them is adopted,", and the constant "Hockey Mom" references. The horrible screen behind the podium is distracting, but still more interesting than McCain's speech. He totally stole Obama's "change" line. He mentions the Latina daughter of migrant workers being "American" (unless she doesn't have papers or is an "anchor baby" right?)

What did you think of the speech?

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Pitiyanquis: Hugo Chavez's Definition of Sellouts

11:35 H | Topics: Controversia - Latin America - Politics - Venezuela

chavez_180.jpgHugo Chávez, often heard throwing punches at other countries is throwing them now at his own countrymen. One term has been uttered, according to AFP, "an average of ten times per speech" in his latest appearances: Pitinyanqui.

Pitinyanqui is a Venezuelanism meant to qualify those who look up to the United States too much or imitates Americans. Chávez is making the term his own to call out sell-outs and what he considers "a new enemy for Venezuela": "vendepatria", "arrastrado", "oligarca" "lleno de amargura", sinvergüenza y anti-revolucionario.

"The pitiyanquis should give thanks to God because this revolution is peaceful. Because there are many of us and if it was violent there wouldn't be even one trace of pitiyanqui in this country," the Venezuelan leader recently said.

Pitiyanqui, a word that should be pronounced with disgust to be believable, has become a recurring theme in the pre-campaign for the regional elections in November, in which Chávez risks more than just a handful of states.

I know sellouts exist but it seems this rhetoric of division might backfire in Chávez's face. Venezuelans might believe that the U.S. or Colombia is an enemy -- there is good reason to think so -- but their own countrymen might be a harder sell.

Via / AFP

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Fri05Sep2008

Getting Some New Kinky on September 30th

11:26 H | Topics: Music

Barracuda_300x261.jpgIt's about time I got some new Kinky in my life. On September 30th the Monterrey, Mexico based band will release "Barracuda" on iTunes. The tracks on the album are:

1. Hasta Quemarnos 2. Papel Volando 3. Those Girls 4. Avion 5. Diablo Azul 6. Masacre Sonica 7. The Day I Lost the Beat 8. Marcha Atras (Viaje A La Semilla) 9. TachiMariPedonCocongo 10. Fuego En La Fabrica 11. Por La Boca 12. El Tiempo 13. We Present 14. Mis Pasos, Tus Huellas

Sounds good.

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Rican Writer Edgardo Vega Yunqué Passes

09:45 H | Topics: Books - Literature - Puerto Rico

17957323.JPGSad news from the Rican literary/culture community this morning. Puerto Rican writer Edgardo Vega Yunqué passed away at age 72. The Cidra, Puerto Rico native, who lived in Brooklyn, wrote 17 novels founded the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center in the Lower East Side.


Vega Yunqué moved to New York from Puerto Rico in the mid 1940s. He was the stepfather of singer Suzanne Vega. He was divorced and was not very close to his relatives, said Colchie [his agent].

The feisty writer, who was the director of the Clemente Soto Velez from 1993 to 2000, managed to alienate a lot of people throughout the years though lately he had been patching things up.

“He was a brilliant, conflictive man,” said media activist Marta García.

His last novel was a comic false memoir about a Jewish woman who meets a Puerto Rican Romeo and falls in love. It had been tentatively titled “Rebecca Horowitz, Puerto Rican Sex Freak" but publication was cancelled by the publisher recently, said Colchie, who’d been trying to find another publisher.

Edited to add: Caro over at Soundtaste has an interesting post up about her last conversation with Vega. I had no idea he was considered machista. I've been to Clemente Soto Velez a few times (I dance with Junot Diaz there YEARS ago at a fundraiser) but I am sad to say I've never read a book by Ed Vega. Time to start I guess.
Via / NY Daily News

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NAHJ Denounces Arrests of Working Press

07:15 H | Topics: Justice - Media - MINNEAPOLIS - RNC08 - St. Paul

nahj.gifThe National Association of Hispanic Journalists, of which, we'd like to remind you Lou Dobbs is a member, released a statement on the arrests of journalists during the Republican National Convention.

You can read the entire statement after the jump:

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Thu04Sep2008

Protesters Arrested at RATM Concert After Impromptu March

20:02 H | Topics: Music - RNC08

For those of you following the RNC, you already know about all the protests and police brutality. I, however, hadn't heard about the Rage Against the Machine impromptu march nor the resulting arrests. Apparently, fans leaving the concert began a spontaneous march toward the RNC, and in spite of the fact that police told Minnesota Public Radio that everything seemed to be ok as people were dispersing quietly on their own, riot police eventually moved in and began arresting and shooting tear gas.

This incident follows a protest earlier in the week when police cut the power to a Rage concert because the concert apparently began too close to curfew hours. Zach De La Rocha (who can bombtrack me any time he wants!) led happy concert goers in an a capella version of "Bulls on Parade" and "Killing in the Name." And as luck would have it, You Tube provides us with an excellent quality recording of the incident!

Viva La RAGE!

via/MTV

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Mississippi ICE Raid Connected to Union Organizing

18:58 H | Topics: Immigration - Labor

Remember the ICE raids that happened recently in Mississippi? I just read a really important analysis about those raids and why they happened. Among the article's assertions (for those of you who hate unions, socialism, etc, be prepared to get angry):

* Many of the undocumented workers were demanding and agreeing to join the local union.

* There was a historical legacy of tension between workers provoked by politicians and lawmakers.

* There is a historical legacy of the company in question being sued by the union and workers for working conditions and infringement on workers rights.

* Although its been reported that the ICE investigation began because of a phone call tip by a union member, ICE refuses to substantiate or otherwise give evidence of the truth of this assertion.

It's interesting exactly how many of the ICE raids conducted in just this summer alone have been connected to unionization of workers. It seems to me that workers that have citizen papers are cutting off their noses to spite their faces when they rally against undocumented workers. As long as there is an underclass of worker, there will always be a reason to export jobs, no?

via/Political Affairs Magazine

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VL Follow Up : Puerto Rico and Eight States Cut From System That Tracks Rate of H.I.V.

14:39 H | Topics: Health - Puerto Rico

RedRibbonAidsDayINSIDE.jpgFollowing up on a story from a few days ago on the AIDS crisis in Puerto Rico, seems that the crisis is set to get worse with the island cut off from federal money for an advanced H.I.V. monitoring system that worked and showed that the annual infection rate in the nation was 40 percent higher than previously estimated.

Terry Butler, a spokeswoman for the National Center for H.I.V., S.T.D. and TB Prevention at the centers, said that the total money for the system — which is awarded to applicants on a competitive basis — would remain the same, but that the remaining 25 participating states and cities would receive more. Ms. Butler said those participants had the most reliable systems and could help the centers produce the best estimates.

The system uses a new test that distinguishes recent infections from old ones, helping epidemiologists track them in something much closer to real time than was previously possible.

The states that lost funding are Georgia , Illinois , Maryland , Missouri , Ohio , Oklahoma , Pennsylvania , Tennessee.

Via / NYT

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Jay Smooth on the Hater's Convention, I Mean RNC

11:45 H | Topics: Activism - Blogs - Internet - MINNEAPOLIS - Politics - RNC08 - St. Paul - US Presidential Race 2008

As usual, Jay Smooth gets it right...

Via / Ill Doctrine

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