Puerto Rico News

The Debate On Freedom of Puerto Rican Political Prisoners (1 of 3)

Mike Nova's starred items

The Debate On Freedom of Puerto Rican Political Prisoners (1 of 3)

via YouTube Videos matching query: puerto rico politics by riveraj78 on 5/13/10

From:riveraj78

1ratings

Time:01:52
More inNonprofits & Activism

Xamurai Sport Karate News- entrevista a Jovan Medina

via YouTube Videos matching query: puerto rico sports news by xamuraiskn on 9/5/11

Xamurai Sport Karate News- entrevista a Jovan Medina

From:xamuraiskn

0ratings

Time:03:33
More inPeople & Blogs

The Latino Religious Experience and Political Engagement in the United States

via YouTube Videos matching query: puerto rico politics by CentroPR on 2/4/12

The Latino Religious Experience and Political Engagement in the United States

Culto y Vida: A Conference on Religiosity and Puerto Rican Studies Thursday, May 5, 3:30-8:00 pm Carlos Vargas-Ramos Research Associate Center for Puerto Rican Studies Hunter College "The Latino Religious Experience and Political Engagement in the United States"

From:CentroPR

0ratings

Time:19:18
More inEducation

Guyana President: Caribbean Must See Itself as Part of Bigger Movement

via Caribbean Journal by admin on 3/29/12

Above: Guyana President Donald Ramotar

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Guyana President Donald Ramotar says that by broadening bilateral relations, Caribbean countries can better immunize themselves against the problems that affect other parts of the world.

Ramotar, who was speaking at a reception hosted by the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, said the region’s countries needed to bridge existing gaps and invest in one another’s countries.

“In Guyana, we are located in a position where we can not only facilitate integration in the Caribbean but, with South America as well,” Ramotar said. “The Caribbean must, more and more, begin to see itself as part of a bigger movement.”

One area in which the region can improve is protecting its food supply; with imminent growth in world population, the Caribbean can “definitely built its food security,” he said.

Cleo Huggins, executive director of Invest SVG in St Vincent and the Grenadines, said the Caribbean Association of Investemnt Promotions Agencies was trying to promote the Caribbean as an investment location rather than as individual countries.

“We believe that each individual [country] has its own strengths, but collectively it will be more attractive to investors from the rest of the world,” he said.

Miguel COTTO vs Antonio MARGARITO "Face Off with Max Kellerman" Preview (BoricuaBoxing.com)

via YouTube Videos matching query: puerto rico boxing news by BoricuaBoxingNews on 11/10/11

Miguel COTTO vs Antonio MARGARITO "Face Off with Max Kellerman" Preview (BoricuaBoxing.com)

BORICUABOXING.com -- This time it's personal. Three-division world champion and the Pride of Puerto Rico MIGUEL COTTO will make the second defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight title in the long-awaited rematch against professional rival and three-time welterweight world champion ANTONIO "The Tijuana Tornado" MARGARITO, of México, Saturday, December 3, at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden. Cotto-Margarito II will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, beginning at 9 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT. Their first encounter, on July 26, 2008, was a battle of epic proportion and arguably the Fight of the Year. Cotto and Margarito boast a combined record of 74-9 (56 KOs) -- a winning percentage of 89% and a victory by knockout ratio of 76% -- not to mention seven world titles between them. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cotto Promotions, AT&T, and Madison Square Garden, tickets to Cotto-Margarito II, priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, including applicable service charges

From:BoricuaBoxingNews

73ratings

Time:01:05
More inSports

Vehículo dispara al aire en la avenida Baldorioty

via Primera Hora : Noticias on 3/30/12

Al momento, no se ofrecieron otros detalles de la persecución del auto.

Ocupan laboratorio casero de marihuana en Isabela

via Primera Hora : Noticias on 3/30/12

Durante la intervención, se arrestó a Carlos Acevedo Fantauzzi, de 36 años.

Díaz Colón resigns as Police Superintendent

6:51 AM 3/30/2012 | Former FBI director tapped as P. Rico police chief - The Associated Press | Puerto Rico Police Chief Steps Down Amid Record Violence - InSight Crime

Former FBI Director Tapped as P. Rico Police Chief - ABC News

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12

Former FBI Director Tapped as P. Rico Police Chief
ABC News
A former director of the FBI office based in Puerto Rico was nominated Thursday to lead the island's troubled police department, which US justice officials have accused of corruption, illegal killings and civil rights violations.

ABC News

Former FBI Director Tapped as P. Rico Police Chief

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

go.com

A former director of the FBI office based in Puerto Rico was nominated Thursday to lead the island's troubled police department, which U.S. justice officials have accused of corruption, illegal killings and civil rights violations.

The nomination of Hector Pesquera comes just hours after police chief Emilio Diaz Colon resigned.

Pesquera would take on a 17,000-member police department that has struggled to contain a rise in violent crime while trying to adopt dozens of reforms demanded by the U.S. Justice Department in a scathing report released late last year.

"Hector Pesquera has the knowledge, the experience, the leadership, the commitment and a proven track record to successfully lead our police department," said Gov. Luis Fortuno, who is seeking a second term in this year's upcoming general elections in which crime has been a dominant issue.

The Senate, which is controlled by Fortuno's pro-statehood party, is expected to soon approve Pesquera's nomination.

The nominee, 65, said in a brief statement that he would develop new preventive measures to help fight crime.

In December 1995, Pesquera was the first Puerto Rican appointed to lead the local FBI office. He had been with the agency for 27 years before retiring in December 2003. He most recently served as assistant director for Miami's Port Authority.

Diaz led the department for nearly nine months and was heavily criticized for never presenting a plan to fight crime.

Fortuno said late Wednesday that Diaz resigned because he didn't want to affect reforms being undertaken.

Puerto Rico Police Chief Steps Down Amid Record Violence - InSight Crime

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12

Puerto Rico Police Chief Steps Down Amid Record Violence
InSight Crime
Puerto Rico's police chief has resigned after less than a year on the job, leaving office in the middle of a record murder wave and reports of widespread corruption within the police force. Superintendent Emilio Diaz Colon presided over the Puerto ...

Thursday, 29 March 2012 10:12

Puerto Rico Police Chief Steps Down Amid Record Violence

Written by Christopher Looft

Puerto Rico's police chief has resigned after less than a year on the job, leaving office in the middle of a record murder wave and reports of widespread corruption within the police force.

Superintendent Emilio Diaz Colon presided over the Puerto Rican Police department (PRPD) during the most violent year in the U.S. territory's history, which saw 1136 homicides in 2011.

While sudden, Diaz's resignation was not entirely unforeseen. He had been widely criticized ever since his appointment in July 2011, when he stated that he had no plans to change the way the PRPD operated or to develop any kind of anti-crime strategy. His resignation followed a survey by newspaper El Nuevo Dia which showed only 25% of Puerto Ricans supported the retired two-star National Guard general.

InSight Crime Analysis

Diaz is Puerto Rico's second police superintendent in a row to resign due to accusations of incompetence. His predecessor, Jose Figueroa Sancha, also tendered his (likely forced) resignation in response to a surge in homicides.

Reform of the PRPD, which has been criticized by the Department of Justice for allegations of systemic corruption, has moved slowly. In September, Kenneth McClintock, the territory's lieutenant governor, told NPR that some analysts suggest it could take as long as 15 years to fully restore the confidence of US federal officials in Puerto Rico's police. While McClintock said he would prefer the process move faster, that grim assessment of the territory's police means Diaz's successor is sure to inherit a difficult job.

Tagged under

Former FBI director tapped as P. Rico police chief

via Puerto Rico Newswire on 3/29/12

Friday, Mar 30, 2012

Posted on Thu, Mar. 29, 2012

Former FBI director tapped as P. Rico police chief

The Associated Press

The nomination of Hector Pesquera comes just hours after police chief Emilio Diaz Colon resigned.

The Senate, which is controlled by Fortuno's pro-statehood party, is expected to soon approve Pesquera's nomination.

The nominee, 65, said in a brief statement that he would develop new preventive measures to help fight crime.

Diaz led the department for nearly nine months and was heavily criticized for never presenting a plan to fight crime.

Fortuno said late Wednesday that Diaz resigned because he didn't want to affect reforms being undertaken.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

via Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/29/12

Thursday, March 29, 2012

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Thursday, March 29, 2012

via Local News - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/29/12

Thursday, March 29, 2012

By Rafael R. Díaz TorresOf the Daily Sun staffrdiaz@prdailysun.netPuerto Rico State Police Superintendent Emilio Díaz Colón left his position as leader of the island’s Police force Wednesday after months of denying he would resign.As in other recent local political controversies of relevance, the information was first presented in the afternoon on the popular television show “SuperXclusivo,” which is hosted by gossip reporter Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa (La Comay). While Santarrosa made reference to unidentified sources and argued Gov. Fortuño asked Díaz Colón to resign, the Daily Sun could not confirm that information.The island’s first executive accepted Díaz Colón’s... Read More

PDP files complaints against NPP March 29, 2012

32 drug cartel members indicted by feds March 29, 2012

ID theft ring busted March 29, 2012

San Juan tsunami drill deemed success March 29, 2012

Demographer: Lack of public policy contributes to ‘brain drain’
March 29, 2012

PR rum industry grows with new distillery
March 29, 2012

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

(title unknown)

via Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/29/12

* * *

Thursday, March 29, 2012

‎Link | 8:44 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items

‎8:44 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items

8:44 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items

Mike Nova's starred items Billions Lost In Tax-Refund Scam - Wall Street Journal via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12 Wall Street Journal Billions Lost In Tax-Refund ScamWall Street JournalBy REED ALBERGOTTI Federal authorities are struggling to crack down on what they describe as a widespread scheme that has already likely defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of billions of dollars using the stolen identities of Puerto Rican citizens....

Source: Puerto Rico News

Published: 2012-03-30 00:45:00 GMT

Puerto Rico News - Archive Links

8:44 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items

Mike Nova's starred items · The efforts in support of Section 933A bear fruit. via Puerto Rico News - El Nuevo Día on 3/29/12. The efforts in support of Section 933A bear fruit. 29 de marzo de 201...

8:44 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items

Mike Nova's starred items

Billions Lost In Tax-Refund Scam - Wall Street Journal

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12

Wall Street Journal

MARKETS
March 29, 2012, 6:56 p.m. ET

Billions Lost in Tax-Refund Scam

By REED ALBERGOTTI

Federal authorities are struggling to crack down on what they describe as a widespread scheme that has already likely defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of billions of dollars using the stolen identities of Puerto Rican citizens.

The perpetrators of the scheme, authorities say, swipe the Social Security numbers of Puerto Rican citizens, who don't have to pay federal income tax—and are less likely to be on the IRS radar—and use their information to file fake returns. In some cases, they enlist U.S. mail carriers to intercept the refund checks that are disbursed.

The plot, which includes participants from around the U.S. and Latin America, has been around for at least five years. Prosecutors have obtained multiple convictions but none involving those believed to be among the top players in the operation, according to several people briefed on investigations into the fraud.

PRTAX

"What we have uncovered may very well be the tip of the iceberg," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whose office was among the first to investigate the group. "It's a massive fraud."

Between October 2010 and June 2011, the IRS received phony tax returns based on stolen Puerto Rican identities that would have led to the disbursement of $5.6 billion to alleged fraudsters, two of these people said. It is unclear how much money the IRS ultimately sent but one person familiar with the matter said an estimated $2 billion in checks was distributed.

Robert Anthony Warren, a Bronx mail carrier, was sentenced in November to 36 months in prison for a related fraud. Having difficulty paying his rent, he agreed in 2007 to an offer from another mail carrier to accept $100 for each tax-refund check he intercepted, according to sentencing documents. Between 2007 and 2008, fraudulent tax-refund checks totaling millions of dollars came through Mr. Warren's route. He was paid more than $25,000 for his participation, the documents show. Mr. Warren couldn't be reached for comment.

At least two other mail carriers have been sentenced for similar crimes tied to stolen identities from Puerto Rico.

Two people familiar with the investigation say the Puerto Rican tax scam was masterminded by a group in the Dominican Republic. Federal authorities caught on to it around 2007 and arrested people connected with the network, but have been unable to bring down people at the top level of the group, these people say.

"The scheme has metastasized and spread," from its epicenter in New York City and Boston, said Serrin Turner, an assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan in a sentencing memorandum filed as part of Mr. Warren's case. Mr. Turner said prosecutors in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and California have been investigating similar schemes.

Some of the convictions illustrate the multiple levels involved in the plan.

In September, five men were sentenced to between 40 and 98 months in prison for cashing checks tied to fraudulent Puerto Rican tax returns. The men cashed them at money-service outlets in Lincolnton and Gastonia, N.C., according to prosecutors. The men were ordered to pay $12 million in restitution.

And Kelvin Crucey, who owned a tax-preparation business in New York, in February of 2011 was sentenced to 27 months in prison for preparing fraudulent returns based on stolen Puerto Rican identities. Mr. Crucey also helped to cash the refund checks. He was ordered to pay $249,000 in restitution. Mr. Crucey worked until 2010 as a senior vice president for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, a taxpayer-funded organization set up to revitalize distressed communities, and was a certified fraud examiner, prosecutors said. Mr. Crucey couldn't be reached for comment.

The IRS has made a big push in recent years to combat tax frauds facilitated by identity theft and says it stopped about $14 billion worth of fraudulent checks from going out last year, some of which includes refund requests using stolen Puerto Rican identities. The agency's goal is to stop every bad refund said spokesman Terry Lemons, but that has to be balanced with its desire to get refunds to taxpayers in a timely manner. "We cannot manually inspect more than 100 million tax refunds every year to make sure they're correct," he said.

The alleged scammers use the stolen Social Security numbers to file fake documents from companies purporting to withhold tax, then fake returns that are structured to ensure the filer is owed a refund.

The refund checks are mailed to the addresses on the forged documents even though the addressees don't live at those locations, which is why some postal workers have been recruited, according to people briefed on the investigations.

The cases of postal carriers taking bribes are rare instances that don't reflect the vast majority of carriers, said Thomas Boyle, a spokesman for the Postal Inspection Service, a unit of the U.S. Postal Service. He said many carriers have actually have helped catch instances of the fraud by notifying authorities after seeing a large number of refund checks going to the same addresses or to people who don't live at those addresses.

Once the checks are collected, participants in the fraud take them to bank tellers or employees at money-service locations who often have taken bribes, according to court documents submitted in several cases. The checks often are worth between $5,000 and $7,000 each, investigators say, with stolen identities of children sometimes used to add dependents to the returns in order to inflate the refunds.

If a Puerto Rican citizen has never paid federal income tax, it looks to the IRS as if the person filing a return simply moved to the continental U.S. and began working. According to criminal investigators, a single Puerto Rican Social Security number goes for about $8 to $10 on the black market.

Write to Reed Albergotti at reed.albergotti@wsj.com

Billions Lost In Tax-Refund Scam
Wall Street Journal
By REED ALBERGOTTI Federal authorities are struggling to crack down on what they describe as a widespread scheme that has already likely defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of billions of dollars using the stolen identities of Puerto Rican citizens.

The efforts in support of Section 933A bear fruit

via Puerto Rico News - El Nuevo Día on 3/29/12

The efforts in support of Section 933A bear fruit

29 de marzo de 2012 04:16 p.m.

By Joanisabel González / Joanisabel.gonzalez@elnuevodia.com

The bill that aims to grant corporations established in Puerto Rico the same tax treatment than individuals at a federal level could be included as a section in the tax reform to be discussed next yea...

Tribute to Antonio Luis Ferré

29 de marzo de 2012 00:00 a.m.

By Rafael Lama Bonilla / rlama@elnuevodia.com

The fourth edition of the Puerto Rico Conference set the stage for a tribute to Don Antonio Luis Ferré and his successful entrepreneurial career. During the event, which was organized by the Chamber o...

03/29/12
04:16 p.m.
The efforts in support of Section 933A bear fruit ...
03/29/12 Tribute to Antonio Luis Ferré

Jueves 29 de marzo de 2012

04:16 pm The efforts in support of Sect...
00:00 am Tribute to Antonio Luis Ferré

El paciente es el que siente

Carmen Millán Pabón

¿Qué efectos crees tendrá la salida de Emilio Díaz Colón de la jefatura de la Policía?

Abrirá las puertas a un proceso de cambios en la Uniformada

Devolverá la confianza de los policías en su institución

Ayudará a restablecer la cofianza ciudadana en el cuerpo policial

La renuncia por sí sola no traerá ningún cambio importante en la Policía

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

#CDC: #Autism rates on the rise; screening, better diagnosis cited. Read More ht...

via CARIBBEAN BUSINESS's Facebook Wall by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS on 3/29/12

#CDC: #Autism rates on the rise; screening, better diagnosis cited. Read More http://ow.ly/9XQeH http://ow.ly/i/xkPj

HootSuite Photos

Governor taps ex-FBI chief #Pesquera to head island Police Department. Read More...

via CARIBBEAN BUSINESS's Facebook Wall by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS on 3/29/12

Governor taps ex-FBI chief #Pesquera to head island Police Department. Read More http://ow.ly/9XQb1 http://ow.ly/i/xkOM

HootSuite Photos

Thursday, March 29, 2012

via Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/29/12

Thursday, March 29, 2012

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Thursday, March 29, 2012

via Local News - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/29/12

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Díaz Colón resigns as Police Superintendent

PDP files complaints against NPP March 29, 2012

32 drug cartel members indicted by feds March 29, 2012

ID theft ring busted March 29, 2012

San Juan tsunami drill deemed success March 29, 2012

Demographer: Lack of public policy contributes to ‘brain drain’
March 29, 2012

PR rum industry grows with new distillery
March 29, 2012

This post has been generated by Page2RSS

Comando campaña del PRD en Puerto Rico se reúne con aliados ...

via puerto rico - Búsqueda de blogs by borinqueya.net on 3/29/12

Puerto Rico.-El comando de campaña del Partido Revolucionario Dominicano en Puerto Rico, celebró anoche en su local de la avenida Borinquen, una reunión con todos los partidos aliados y movimientos externos que ...

De Moda con Edwin Rosario: Reina Del Café Puerto Rico 2012 ...

via puerto rico - Búsqueda de blogs by Edwin Rosario Paz on 3/29/12

Sulis Marie Matos, Reina Del Café Puerto Rico 2012 durante su desfile en traje de gala la noche final del Reinado Internacional Del Café en Manizales Colombia. Su vestido esta confeccionado por Edwin Rosario, diseñador ...

Desarrollo Económico (DDEC) promueve a Puerto Rico en Nueva ...

via puerto rico - Búsqueda de blogs by Redacción yasta.pr on 3/29/12

Nueva York, NY – El New York-Puerto Rico Matchmaking Summit será la última parada que hará el equipo de Desarrollo Económico del Gobierno de Puerto Rico en esta ciudad, donde ha llevado a cabo una extensa ...

Gobierno encuentra dinero para pagar exceso de días por enfermedad a policías

via Primera Hora : Noticias on 3/29/12

Explicaron que el gobernador Luis Fortuño firmaría una Orden Ejecutiva autorizando a la OGP a efectuar los desembolsos necesarios.

4:32 PM 3/29/2012 | Jose Perez-Riera: Puerto Rico's Economy - Fox News | Mike Nova's starred items

Mike Nova's starred items

Jose Perez-Riera: Puerto Rico's Economy - Fox News

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12

Fox News

Jose Perez-Riera: Puerto Rico's Economy
Fox News
José Pérez-Riera, Puerto Rico's Secretary of Commerce, speaks to Fox News Latino about the island's. Click above to watch the Fox News Latino interview with Harris Faulkner on Fox News Live. Be sure to watch Fox News Live streaming on your mobile ...

Former FBI director named Puerto Rico police chief - Boston.com

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/29/12

Former FBI director named Puerto Rico police chief
Boston.com
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—A former director of the FBI office based in Puerto Rico was appointed Thursday to lead the island's troubled police department, which US justice officials have accused of corruption, illegal killings and civil rights violations.

Puerto Rico police chief quits amid crime wave - CBS News

via puerto rico - Google News on 3/28/12

CBS News

Puerto Rico police chief quits amid crime wave
CBS News
(AP) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico's police chief quit late Wednesday, less than a year after being appointed to lead a department that federal agents have accused of corruption, illegal killings and civil rights violations.
Former FBI director to lead Puerto Rico's beleaguered police departmentWashington Post
all 166 news articles »

mikenov: Link | 1:26 PM 3/29/2012 | A piece of this unique path, Highway PR-10, collapsed this morning from heavy rains http://t.co/C8RYm9mP

via Twitter / mikenov on 3/29/12

mikenov: Link | 1:26 PM 3/29/2012 | A piece of this unique path, Highway PR-10, collapsed this morning from heavy rains http://t.co/C8RYm9mP

mikenov: 1:26 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items | Jueves via El Nuevo Día - Noticias de Puerto Rico http://t.co/AoUtHv9c

via Twitter / mikenov on 3/29/12

mikenov: 1:26 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items | Jueves via El Nuevo Día - Noticias de Puerto Rico http://t.co/AoUtHv9c

mikenov: 1:05 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items http://t.co/76R9LUI1

via Twitter / mikenov on 3/29/12

mikenov: 1:05 PM 3/29/2012 | Mike Nova's starred items http://t.co/76R9LUI1

mikenov: Link | 9:56 AM 3/29/2012 | PRESS REVIEW | Mike Nova's starred items http://t.co/22SPLvgR

via Twitter / mikenov on 3/29/12

mikenov: Link | 9:56 AM 3/29/2012 | PRESS REVIEW | Mike Nova's starred items http://t.co/22SPLvgR

Michael B. Keegan: American Apartheid? The Republican "Dream" Scheme

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by Michael B. Keegan on 3/29/12

The Senate GOP seems to be banking on the assumption that Latino voters are stupid, don't read the fine print -- or are not paying any attention at all.
Panicking from a series of polls that show their years of bashing Latinos haven't been endearing them to Latino voters, prominent Republicans are scrambling for a solution. They seem to have found one, at least for now, in a new attempt by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to rewrite the DREAM Act, the widely popular bill that the Senate GOP derailed in late 2010.
Rubio has come up with a "non-citizen-for-life" concept as he rejiggers the DREAM Act to make it pretty much dream-free. It's a tough trick: How do you create the illusion of a law that looks like it's giving something to Latinos, but which the Tea Party knows means nothing?
The authentic DREAM Act offers a path to citizenship for children who were brought to the country without documentation, who graduate from high school and go on to college or the military, allowing them to create a stable life and give back to the country that they call home. Rubio's dream-free proposal gives these young people a nebulous legalized status, so that rather than become American citizens, they will have permanent second-class status -- allowed to live, work and pay taxes in the only country they have ever known, but never permitted the ability to vote or exercise any of the rights of full citizenship.
The real cruelty of this Republican proposal is that it seeks to take advantage of the desperation of some DREAM Act-eligible youth to avoid deportation. The Republican proposal offers them that in the short term, but at the price of second-class status for the rest of their lives. They deserve better. Of course, it doesn't have to be this way: Not long ago, before the Tea Party drove the GOP's agenda, the authentic DREAM Act enjoyed the support of many Republicans in the Senate. The GOP has paid the price for abandoning the authentic DREAM Act and promoting numerous anti-immigrant policies. Senate Republicans are living in a fantasy land if they believe they can win back Latino voters by inventing a new second-class status for these young people.
They should take a lesson from history. I went to South Africa over 30 years ago, where the government created many different levels of citizenship as a means to keep an unjust system going in a modern world. In addition to "Whites," different categories of "Blacks," "Coloureds," and "Asians" for South Asians, South Africa had to create the category of "Honorary Whites" to accommodate the Japanese and Chinese. We should learn from the lessons of apartheid and the dangers of creating different levels of citizenship for different people.
That system, thankfully, has fallen, and it has been rightfully judged an historical disgrace, but if today's Republican Party has considered history at all, they're not learning the right lessons. Instead of pushing towards more equality for all people, they've perfected a method of legalizing discrimination by inventing new classes of citizenship for those on whom they don't want to bestow full rights, creating a unique and disturbing American apartheid.
Add these new immigrant ersatz citizens to a growing list. Republicans want gay people to have a form of citizenship that doesn't include marriage rights -- and if they had their way gay Americans wouldn't be allowed to serve their country in in the military either. Muslims can be citizens, but must fight legal and PR battles just to exercise their First Amendment right to the freedom of religion. People who have served their time in jail for felonies are citizens -- but in many states, they aren't allowed to participate in our democracy by voting. And Republican-controlled state legislatures pass laws that make it harder for young people, the elderly, and low-income people to vote - again, all citizens, legislated out of one of their fundamental constitutional rights.
For a party that claims to be interested in limiting government, today's GOP is surprisingly eager to create new levels of bureaucracy for the sole purpose of depriving some Americans of their rights. Whatever happened to simple? How about an America with equal rights and equal justice for all and a fair path to citizenship for hard-working people who play by the rules?
With the new dream-free DREAM Act, Republicans are trying to create one of their patented new levels of citizenship while pulling a fast one on Latinos and others who care about the fate of immigrants. The problem is, American voters are smarter than they give us credit for -- and we know when they're trying to fool us.

Luis Perez-Simon: Forgive Me Father for I Have Sinned: On Ideology and Governance in Cuba

via The Blog by Luis Perez-Simon on 3/29/12

When you are Pope Benedict XVI, all roads do lead to Rome. Some just take a detour by places like Miramar, Cuba, where Fidel Castro lives.

The Holy Father held an open-air mass in Havana's Revolution Square on his last day in Cuba. Afterwards, the Pope Mobile made its way up Independence Avenue, on its way out of Havana. Normally, it would have taken Benedict XVI directly to Boyeros and José Martí International Airport. However, it actually made one stop along the way.

It seems there was still time in his schedule for some unplanned visits after all.

In spite of citing a tight schedule when declining to meet both Santería leaders and dissident groups, the Holy Father found room in his official agenda to meet with Fidel Castro.

It might be part of his evangelical mission as the elder brother is no longer the Head of State. If so, might there have been a private Sacrament of Confession with and admission of guilt, absolution and penance? This is hard to imagine, but given that Fidel is 85 years old, the Comandante may have rediscovered his Catholic roots and may indeed be trying to get ready to meet his maker -- with all the soul searching that may entail.

However, if it was part of the state visit, then the Holy See understands where the seat of power is in Cuba. The pope seems to grasp that the type of change Cuba needs -- and that the Church hopes to influence -- requires His (Fidel's) blessing. Benedict XVI may simply have wanted to look into the man's eyes and come to an understanding. All is forgiven, no questions asked.

Though Raúl has heralded many socio-economic changes since his ascension to power, Fidel's original, underlying political structure has not changed. Nor shall it, as vice president of the Council of Ministers Marino Murillo made perfectly clear on Tuesday, "There will be no changes to the political model in Cuba."

You see, policy is imperfect. Ideology is infallible.

M. Murillo should know. He is largely responsible for having established a new system of national economic accounting and for structuring the new model of economic development; all changes aimed at ensuring the political survival of socialism, as much as to improve the Cuban economy (though we must note that the average Cuban's standard of living remains at a lower level than before the 1990's Special Period in Times of Peace downturn). He is also Raul's likely successor.

Anyone who thinks they understand Cuban politics, must be either one of the Castro brothers or wrong. Even with Marxist dialectics as a tool, the ambivalent and contradictory relationship between policy and ideology is at best hazy. The byzantine system of direct, public consultation that Raúl used to draw up the policy guide for the VI Congress of the Cuban Communist Party included everyone's opinions but marshaled the Party troops in one direction. The 'bureaucrats' were corrupt and new measures needed to be put in place to give 'the people' the riches they deserve under socialism.

The system was inefficient because it had been corrupted, not because it was broken.

And now the pope has come to Cuba to encourage its leaders to continue transforming their system, to give faith to its people whilst history runs its course, and to ask for a voice in society. But perhaps they don't understand Cuban politics either.

After all, when it was all said and done, in front of Pope Benedict XVI's open-air altar on Havana's Revolution Square there were the twin wrought iron silhouettes of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. Behind him, the 60-foot white marble statue of José Martí. To one side a giant portrait of the Patroness of Cuba.

Curiously, on the other side, the 10-foot high "Patria o Muerte" ['Motherland or Death'] sign that is on top of the National Theater was discretely camouflaged with a yellow tarp that read "Caridad nos une" [both "'Charity' and 'Our Lady of Charity of Cobre' unites us"]. It seems ironical that the belligerent marquee would have been the only sign that would not have contravened canonical scripture against worshiping icons.

As the cleaning crews began to sweep up discarded Papal water bottles, broken Papal fans, ripped Papal hats, and discarded miniature Vatican flags, people headed back home to enjoy their last official day off. This week, everyone had an unexpected vacation from the 26th-28th of March. Everyone it seems, except the bureau where you register visiting tourists. They even worked on Sunday.

God works in mysterious ways.