At Least 19 Killed and 31 Injured After Israel Terrorist Attack on Unarmed International Gaza Flotilla [VIDEOS]

Photo Reuters

Israel Navy commandos and helicopters attacked the unarmed international flotilla of humanitarian relief to Gaza, killing 19 people [so far] and injuring over 31 activists from all over the world, including a 86 year old Jewish woman who is a survivor of the Nazi holocaust and members of the European parliament.

The attack occurred in international waters 35 Km. from the coast of Israel, without any international legal base for Israel to take on humanitarian vessels that were bringing 10,000 tons of medical and education supplies to the impoverished and blocked Palestinian people of Gaza.

The Freedom Flotilla was organized by the Free Gaza Movement and Insani Yardim Vakfi a Turkish humanitarian NGO. This was the biggest mission trying to help the people of Gaza, who are leaving in permanent siege and blockade from Israel, facing hunger and extreme living conditions, resulting in one of the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.

This video shows images of the attack:

This is a video released by the Israel military trying to excuse the military operation as a response to attacks of the flotilla civilian members against Israeli soldiers. These images show the dimension of the violence and chaos that occurred last night :

The United Nations Security Council is meeting today. The European Union has condemned the attack. Several protests have been held around the world against Israel, see list provided by Gaza Freedom.

In the United States today is a national holiday honoring its military personnel. The U.S. is the biggest supplier of military aid to Israel and even though the White House has announced that "deeply regrets" the casualties but it's not taking any further steps to condemn Israel actions. Meanwhile, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his meeting with Obama on Tuesday, or perhaps it was the other way around.

The U.S. media is mentioning only 10 deaths in the attacks. Jewish-owned The NY Times and The Washington Post portray the Freedom Flotilla activists as "pro-Palestinians".

It's very important to hear both sides of the story. Here is a 25-min. debate by AlJaazera:

Watch this livestream from Insani Yardim Vakfi with details of the attack:

The Free Gaza Movement's mision, from its website:

Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on several successful voyages, bringing in international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967.

We are Italian, Irish, Canadian, Greek, Tunisian, German, Australian, American, English, Scottish, Danish, Israeli, and Palestinian. We are of all ages and backgrounds. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well.

We want to break the siege of Gaza. We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. We want to uphold Palestine's right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.

We have not and will not ask for Israel’s permission. It is our intent to overcome this brutal siege through civil resistance and non-violent direct action, and establish a permanent sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world.

The IHH İnsani Yardım Vakfi Humanitarian Relief Foundation (The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief), is an international NGO based on Turkey, with presence in more than hundred countries all over the world. Established in 1995, during the war in Bosnia to help war victims, IHH provides humanitarian relief in areas of war and conflict.It has a consultative membership status in the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Follow

AlJaazera has a live blogging coverage with updates and in Twitter I suggest you follow > @AJEnglish for AlJaazera news and @freegazaorg (English) and @palestinalibre (Spanish) for updates from the Free Gaza Movement, and @GazaFreedom of the Gaza Freedom March.

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Wale Speaks Against Homophobia at DC Black Pride : "Hip Hop Knows of No Sexual Orientation" [VIDEO]

Rapper and Hip Hop singer Wale declares against homophobia, after performing tonight at the DC Black Pride festival at the Washington DC Convention Center. I asked Wale, what does he think of homophobia among Hip Hop culture and people of color, his response was very honest. Hopefully his words will teach others:

"Hip Hop music knows no race, no color, no age, no gender, no sexual orientation, remember that..."
Olubowale Victor Akintimehin aka Wale
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Colombia's Potential Future President Antanas Mockus has Biggest Challenge: 5 Million Displaced Colombians [VIDEO]

Colombia elects today a new president. It's very likely that the Green Party's candidate Antanas Mockus will be elected in a second vote, defeating today's front runner, right-wing politician Juan Manuel Santos, a close ally of the current president Alvaro Uribe.

Update: Juan Manuel Santos has won today's vote. AlJazeera reports:

Colombia's former defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos, has easily won the first round of the country's presidential election, but without the majority needed to avoid a June run-off with rival Antanas Mockus.

Santos, the anointed successor of Alvaro Uribe, the outgoing president, led with 46 per cent of the votes, while Mockus, a former Bogota mayor, had 21 per cent with almost all polling stations reporting, electoral authorities said on Sunday.

Alvaro Uribe is accused of keeping strong ties with the drug cartels and right-wing paramilitary groups.


Antanas Mockus [Photo by El Espectador] is a scholar, son of Ucranian Lithuanian immigrants, former president of Colombia's National University and mayor of the capitol city Bogota, his political style is very inclusive, unusual and effective. His work transformed radically the city of Bogota.

However wins this election will have to face a horrendous crisis that most media in the U.S. don't even talk about: there are about 5 million displaced people in Colombia, the second worst humanitarian crisis in the world after Sudan.

Most of the displaced people are farmers, Indigenous and Afro descendant communities, women and poor people, who are forced by violence to leave their lands in order to benefit powerful corporations and drug mafias with ties to the Uribe government.

Why the U.S. media don't talk about this? Maybe because this horrendous displacement is being supported by the Pentagon with billions of dollars in military assistance. Last week, a group of activists met in Washington, DC, to protest this crisis in front of the White House. This is a video I made of the event:

What can the United States do in order to stop Colombia's crisis. According to the non profit human rights group Witness For Peace:

• Co-sponsor House Resolution 1224, which supports the rights of displaced Afro-Colombians, indigenous people, and women.

• End aid to the Colombian military, which has proven complicit in much of the displacement. Use the funds instead to address the vast needs of Colombia's nearly 5 million displaced people.

• Cancel fumigation and forced eradication programs that have pushed thousands of farmers from their lands without reducing coca production. Replace these programs with greater investment in drug prevention and rehabilitation programs that reduce demand for drugs here at home.

• Create opportunities for small-scale farmers, and abandon plans for the Colombia free trade agreement that would likely force them out of farming and into the ranks of the displaced.

• Promote a negotiated end to the conflict, not an ill-fated military solution. Please withhold funds for the U.S. Southern Command until the agreement that established a U.S. military presence on at least seven Colombian military bases is annulled."
  

If you want to learn more about this crisis, please visit the Witness For Peace website, and learn what you can do to stop it. Contact your Congress member and demand immediate action to stop Colombia's humanitarian crisis now by passing the HR-1224 resolution.

Rev. Ricardo Esquivia of the Evangelical Council of Churches of Colombia explains the crisis:

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Protest in Washington DC Against Anti-Immigrant Arizona Law SB1070: National Day of Action [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

Hundreds of people met today at Dupont Circle and then rallied to the White House to express outrage over Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB-1070.

Washington, DC community activists and families stood in solidarity with the National Day of Action against the hateful SB 1070 and all the anti-immigrant programs run by the Department of Homeland Security.

The protesters demanded President Obama to intervene in Arizona and to stop the so-called "Secure Communities" collaboration in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. See more photos:

Black Gay and Proud: Interview with Earl Fowlkes of the DC Black Pride Festival [VIDEO] Wale Performance Confirmed

The 2010 DC Black Pride started this week in Washington, D.C., with a program that celebrates the African American LGBT community, including events that are open for everyone regardless of race or sexuality.

The DC Black Pride is celebrating its 20th anniversary and it runs from May 26-31, 2010. Last night at the Opening Reception I had the chance to meet Earl Fowlkes, the president of DC Black Pride and the International Federation of Black Prides, who talks about this year's program and the importance of taking pride of being a LGBT person of color:

The 2010 DC Black Pride locations are the Hamilton Crown Plaza Hotel [see website] and the Washington D.C. Convention Center.


The Program

The festival’s program kicked off with a Town Hall about “Dealing with Homophobia and Racism in the Political Arena”, and an Opening Reception honoring the District of Columbia City Council, Charlotte Smallwood and local LGBT leader Jeffrey Richardson.

DC Black Pride Opening Reception: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Photo and video by Carlos A. Quiroz

Early on today, the festival included free workshops on LGBT issues including personal development, travel, religion, relationships, college life, health care and career improvement. Also there was a free Writer’s Forum, and the DC Black Pride Film Festival with 7 LGBT films.

Tonight there will be a Fashion & Entertainment Extravaganza, at The Sphinx on 1315 K Street, NW Washington, DC, from 9:30 PM to 12:00 AM including designers: Maurice Thompson, Renee Hill, Teronce’ Styyles, Will Caldwell and Deramine Johnson.

Also there are plenty of private and public parties in bars around the city.

Tomorrow Sunday May 30, 2010 there will be a Church Service at the Hamilton Ballroom, of the Hamilton Crown Plaza Hotel at 10AM followed by the popular Health and Wellness Expo at the Washington D.C. Convention Center from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

This long-awaited Expo will include live performances by D.C. rapper Wale, who has confirmed his presence at the event, after a previous cancellation that was assumed due to homophobia, which he has denied.

Also there will be live dance, singing and comedy performances by Running Water, Romance, Sabrina Blue, Yarde, Monet Dupree, Tina Tuna Adams, Telle Thomas, Eric Rainbow, Shadina/Topaz, Yahzarah and Beat Ya Feet Kings [So You Think You Can Dance]. Also Shi-Queeta Lee, Epiphany Bloomingdale, Tyria Iman, Raquel Savage, Lacountress Farrington, Brandi Courvisler, DJ Flexx and J Holiday.

Read more details about the DC Black Pride and get involved here.

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Interview with Ward 1 Council Member Candidate Jeff Smith [VIDEO] Washington DC 2010 Primary Elections

Undoubtedly the most disputed vote in the 2010 elections in Washington, DC, will be the office for Council member representing Ward 1, the most diverse and one of the most populated areas in the capitol city.

There are three candidates running for that position in the Democratic Party primary elections: incumbent Council member Jim Graham, attorney, economist and community activist Jeff Smith, and community activist and long time Adams Morgan’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Bryan Weaver.

"You can't seat here anymore" 1300 block of U Street NW. Photo by Carlos A Quiroz

The D.C. Primary Election will be held on September 14, 2010. The winners of this election will run for the General Election on November 2, 2010 [see rules and dates]. In those dates D.C. residents will elect: Delegate to the United States House of Representatives, Mayor of the District of Columbia, Chairman of the Council, At-Large Member of the Council and Ward Members of the Council (Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6), as well as the United States Representative.

The race for the Ward 1 Council seat is very significant for many reasons. With about 77,500 people or 13% of D.C.’s population [read source], Ward 1 is the most diverse section of Washington, DC, and it includes some of the city’s most lively and active neighborhoods.

Also Ward 1 is one of the most rapidly changing areas in the city, due to many reasons including gentrification, a housing and commercial construction bonanza, the reduction of crime, the arrival of new neighbors to the area, and other changes affecting the whole District.

Last week, there was a debate between candidates Smith, Graham and Weaver [read details by The Washington City Paper here ]. Although I intended to interview all the candidates -- I only got the chance to speak to Jeff Smith. Here is what he said:

Jeff Smith's bio from his campaign website:

Jeff Smith is the Executive Director of DC VOICE, an independent education civil rights group based in Ward 1 of Washington, D.C. DC VOICE was founded in 1999 by activists, teachers, parents and education decision makers following the Federal takeover of the District of Columbia government and public school system which resulted in substantial leadership instability and spiraling academic performance.

Jeff Smith received a Law Degree from Howard University School of Law and is a veteran of the United States Military and a former elected member of the District of Columbia Board of Education.

Jeff Smith lives in Ward 1 of the District of Columbia, with his wife Nyasha, and 4 year-old daughter Andaiye.

My hood

I have spent almost one third of my life living in Ward 1 since I arrived to the U.S. My first neighborhoods in D.C. were Shaw and then Columbia Heights. That was not a coincidence, since about 39% of Latinos [of all races] in D.C. live in Ward 1, according to the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs.

Even though I can't afford to live in Ward 1 anymore, I love that area and I wish the best for it. With time, I have seeing witnessed the way Ward 1 has changed for the good, in the last years since Jim Graham took office.

While some of those changes in that area are due to the good work done by Graham and his team, but they are also result of a strong civic participation of its neighbors. Graham’s work is well appreciated in the community and for instance, he just obtained the endorsement of the LGBT Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.

Also, I consider myself a friend of Graham and I hope that he does as well, and I’m grateful for his support when I was homeless, but we are not as close as many people would think so. However, I want to clarify that I don’t work for him and I never have in the past, as some people have asked me before.

While I do respect many of Graham’s personal accomplishments and his work for the city, also I believe that Ward 1 needs a change. In that sense, both Jeff Smith and Bryan Weaver are really good candidates for the position, while Jim Graham and his team might need to reinvent themselves, and convince people they can continue doing their best for the city.

Whoever wins the election, I'm sure they will do the best to improve an area of D.C. that deserves the best, and where part of me is already stuck.

Links

• Jim Graham’s campaign website
• Jeff Smith’s campaign website
• Bryan Weaver’s campaign website
  

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Identity of Mother of Student who Questioned Michelle Obama on Immigration is Revealed by Peruvian media [VIDEO]

The identity of the second-grader student who questioned Michelle Obama about the massive deportations of undocumented immigrants in the United States, has being made public by the media in Peru.

The parents of Daisy Cuevas are Peruvian immigrants living in Maryland.

Daisy Cuevas runs along the first ladies of Mexico (left) and the United States (right) on May 19, 2010. Photo by Getty Images

Daisy Cuevas is the Indigenous student who declared publicly to Michelle Obama that her mother Natalia Julca is an undocumented immigrant. This happened last May 20th at the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Maryland, during a visit of Obama with Mexico's first lady Margarita Zavala.

The names of the student and her mother had been confirmed by local news and reliable sources on the same day of the events, but that information wasn't disclosed out of discretion and in order to protect Natalia Julca from deportation.

Last weekend, the Peruvian TV station Frecuencia Latina interviewed the relatives of Daisy Cuevas in Lima, Peru after a tip was sent probably from the Peruvian community in Maryland. The TV report included the names of the family, current location and dates of their arrival to the U.S.

This video shows part of that report, and it has been posted by the Lima-based newspaper El Comercio. These images include Daisy Cuevas' oldest sister and grandparents speaking of their hopes that one day they will see Natalia Julca again:

Natalia Julca migrated from Peru in 2002 not knowing that she was pregnant of Daisy Cuevas. Here he met with her husband who had come earlier. The family now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, right outside of Washington, DC. Daisy Cuevas is 7 years old and she was born in the United States, but she has an older sister living in Peru.

Reliable sources at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School have confirmed that Daisy Cuevas is attending school normally, but they are not aware of the whereabouts of her mother. Also sources have confirmed that Natalia Julca used to be a volunteer at the local non-profit CASA de Maryland.

The future of the Cuevas-Julca family is now in hands of the Immigration and Custom Enforcement. Even if ICE has stated that Natalia Julca will not face action but I believe that ICE is just waiting for the right moment to search for Natalia Julca whom -I've been told- has moved out of her home in Maryland.

Will this be another case like Elvira Arellano in Chicago? I only hope that Daisy Cuevas will grow up next to both her parents, here or in Peru.

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Indigenous Student Asks Michelle Obama About Her Mother's Immigration Documents [VIDEO]

Amazing. This smart and well aware girl has made history, in less than two minutes this Indigenous second-grader student has brought the attention of the nation to the issue of undocumented immigration, often overlooked by corporate media. No other campaign for Immigration Reform could be as effective and powerful as the words of an honest girl whose mother could be deported anytime now.

This happened today when First Lady Michelle Obama and Mexico's First Lady Margarita Zavala were visiting an Elementary School in Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

By the way I think this student could be Andean, probably of Peruvian or Bolivian heritage. I thank her and her family and I'm hopeful, our Native American youth is rising.

Meanwhile, a bunch of white and other sell-out Mexicans people who are apathetic of the suffering of undocumented families are at the White House dinning with the illegitimate president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon who is being honored while mostly-Indigenous Mexicans are suffering the violence of the drug cartels war, with guns manufactured and sold from the United States.

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Testimony from Arizona: Undocumented Activist Tania Unzueta on Protest at John McCain's Offices - 3 LGBT Students Among Arrested [AUDIO]

Tania Unzueta is one of the undocumented students who protested last Monday at the Tucson offices of Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Five students sat down for over six hours demanding Senator McCain to support the DREAM Act and an Immigration Reform. [Read more about this protest here].

In this interview recorded over the telephone, Tania Unzueta describes the whereabouts of the undocumented students that were detained yesterday in Tucson, who are now under deportation proceedings. Tania wasn’t detained because she was chosen to be the spokesperson of the group and left before the police arrived. Three of the five protesting students are openly gay.

Photo The Dream is Coming

In this first video, Tania describes how is the current situation in Arizona, a state where immigration has become a critical issue for politicians in advance of the mid-term Congressional elections this year, and after the controversial law SB-1070 was passed.

Also Tania who is openly gay tells about the plight that many LGBT immigrants who are undocumented have to face in the U.S., while confirming that among the arrested yesterday, four are gay including herself, Mohammad Abdollahi [read an article about his case here], Yahaira Castillo [read her bio PDF file] and the Tucson activist and high school counselor Raul Alcaraz, who has been already released because he is documented.

Undocumented Students: a New Civil Rights Movement

In this second video, Tania Unzueta describes the reasons and actions behind the ongoing civil rights movement of undocumented students across the United States. Tania talks about the hopes of the students involved in this amazing and inspiring movement, and what can people do in order to support their efforts.

Update May 19: Immigration and Custom Enforcement has released the undocumented students detained at McCain’s office - via DreamActivist:

Tucson, Arizona — On the night of May 18th the three undocumented youth leaders detained for staging a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s (R-AZ) office in Tucson, Arizona were field released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They will remain in Arizona supporting local and national organizing for passing the DREAM Act before the end of June.

On May 17th, Mohammad Abdollahi of Michigan, Yahaira Carrillo of Kansas, Tania Unzueta of Chicago, Raul Alcaraz of Arizona, and Lizbeth Mateo of California, staged a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office, calling on him and congressional leadership to take action and pass the DREAM Act. After 7 and a half hours, Mohammad, Yahaira, Raul, and Lizbeth were arrested by the Tucson Police Department, and they spent the night at the Pima County Jail. Tania Unzueta left the office to speak to reporters, stating that she had been designated the spokesperson for the group.

On May 18th, all four entered not-guilty to trespassing charges and were assigned a June 16th court date. Raul Alcaraz, a lawful permanent resident, was released on the condition that he would appear at the June 16th court date. The other three youth were expecting release but were instead detained and processed by ICE. That same night Mohammad, Yahaira, and Lizbeth were issued a field released supervision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They are facing federal charges of trespassing, and will be fighting their deportation proceedings.

Please get involved by visiting any of these websites:

The Dream is Coming
Dream Activist
Trail of Dreams blog
NYSYLC Trail of Dreams
Dream Act Info

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Students Arrested at Senator McCain Offices: Some are Undocumented and Face Deportation - Dream Five and the Undocumented Youth Movement [VIDEOS]

More undocumented students are joining a nation-wide movement of peaceful civil disobedience, demanding Immigration Reform and the legalization of undocumented students raised in the United States.

Protests at Senator McCain offices in Tucson. Photo by NY Times

Four immigrant students were arrested yesterday at the Tucson offices of Senator John McCain, after they held a sit-in protest demanding the support of McCain for an Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act bill.

Three of the arrested students are undocumented and they will likely face deportation, even if the anti-immigrant Arizona law SB-1070 doesn't take effect until July 29th.

The arrests happened after a total of five students held a peaceful protest by walking into McCain's offices dressed in caps and gowns, to protest the current immigration laws and to urge passage of the DREAM Act. These students are now known as the Dream Five among progressive bloggers.

This protest adds to other actions of the current civil rights movement of undocumented students that is growing across the United States.

Tania Unzueta, one of the undocumented student was selected from the group to become the spokesperson and she declared to local news in Tucson:

This group of undocumented students have created a website called The Dream is Coming which posted a press release yesterday afternoon:

DETAINED in Arizona: Four Student Immigrant Leaders

Peacefully Resist Current Immigration Law, Urge Passage of DREAM Act

Tucson, Arizona. May 17th, on the anniversary of landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education, Arizona law enforcement arrested four undocumented leaders of the immigrant student movement

As of 6:00 PM PST today, Mohammad, Yahaira, Lizbeth and Raul, an Arizona Resident, have been arrested and detained after their day long sit-in at Senator John McCains Office in Tucson, AZ. Tania, who was not detained, has been designated as spokesperson and will be relating the experiences/thoughts of the group during the action.

Senator John McCain offered the students a meeting in order to discuss the Dream Act, however, the students recognize that this is insufficient and that immediate action is needed to pass the DREAM Act!

These four leaders are risking deportation from the United States in the hope that this action will make a significant contribution to the fight for immigrant rights. In response to the onslaught of enforcement-based immigration law, they staged a sit-in at Senator McCain’s office, and urged congressional leadership to champion the DREAM Act and the values it represents: hard work, education, and fairness.

Photo by The Dream is Coming

At least 65,000 undocumented immigrant youth graduate from high schools every year, and many of them struggle to attend institutes of higher education and the military. The DREAM Act will grant youth who traveled to the United States before the age of 16 a path to citizenship contingent on continuous presence in the country, good behavior, and the attainment of at least a two-year university degree or a two-year commitment to the armed forces.

The New York Times reports on the event by calling the students “illegal immigrants”:

Four of the protesters, including three who are in the country illegally, were arrested Monday evening on misdemeanor trespassing charges. The three were expected to face deportation proceedings.

It was the first time students have directly risked deportation in an effort to prompt Congress to take up a bill that would benefit illegal immigrant youths.

Update May 19: Immigration and Custom Enforcement has released the undocumented students detained at McCain’s office - via DreamActivist:

Tucson, Arizona — On the night of May 18th the three undocumented youth leaders detained for staging a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s (R-AZ) office in Tucson, Arizona were field released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They will remain in Arizona supporting local and national organizing for passing the DREAM Act before the end of June.

On May 17th, Mohammad Abdollahi of Michigan, Yahaira Carrillo of Kansas, Tania Unzueta of Chicago, Raul Alcaraz of Arizona, and Lizbeth Mateo of California, staged a sit-in at Senator John McCain’s office, calling on him and congressional leadership to take action and pass the DREAM Act. After 7 and a half hours, Mohammad, Yahaira, Raul, and Lizbeth were arrested by the Tucson Police Department, and they spent the night at the Pima County Jail. Tania Unzueta left the office to speak to reporters, stating that she had been designated the spokesperson for the group.

On May 18th, all four entered not-guilty to trespassing charges and were assigned a June 16th court date. Raul Alcaraz, a lawful permanent resident, was released on the condition that he would appear at the June 16th court date. The other three youth were expecting release but were instead detained and processed by ICE. That same night Mohammad, Yahaira, and Lizbeth were issued a field released supervision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They are facing federal charges of trespassing, and will be fighting their deportation proceedings.

Listen to their own words

Along with Raúl Alcaraz, 27, an immigrant from Mexico and a legal resident, these are the three undocumented students arrested in Tucson:

Lizbeth Mateo, 25, of Los Angeles, California:


Mohammad Abdollahi, 24, of Ann Arbor, Michigan.


Yahaira Carrillo, 25, of Kansas City, Missouri.

Tania Unzueta

Few months ago I had the honor of meeting Tania Unzueta in Washington, DC, and during the brief time we spent together I learned about her amazing personal story. Tania grew up as an undocumented student in Chicago, and after graduating from high school she tried to legalize her status by traveling to Mexico where she was born, but her case was denied and she returned to the U.S. with a humanitarian visa.

As an activist for the DREAM Act and immigration justice, Tania Unzueta has faced many risky situations by participating in activism and social change movements in her community. Instead of hiding in silence, she took a position of leadership to fight for justice as a cofounder of the Immigrant Youth Justice League [see website], she went on to graduate from the University of Illinois Chicago and co-founded The Dream is Coming.

Tania who is a Lesbian, has a radio show in Chicago where she also talks about LGBT rights. I know that Tania is fighting not just for her own benefit, but in behalf of so many who are in the same situation of lacking a documented that confirms their citizenship.

Follow them

The Dream is Coming: follow them in Twitter and Facebook

Tania Unzueta is twittering about the whereabouts of the arrested students:

Headed to a vigil at the jail where our four friends are being held before getting turned over to ice

Also the tree undocumented students arrested yesterday are in Twitter:
@YCarrillo4 @LizbethMateo @midreamact

Learn more about each of these students by clicking here.

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An Immigrant is Miss USA 2010: Rima Fakih Wants to Represent Indigenous Women while Runner Up Supports Racist Arizona Law SB-1070

Miss Michigan, Rima Fakih was crowded last night as Miss USA 2010, becoming the first Arab American to be selected as the "most beautiful woman" in the United States.

The first runner-up was Miss Oklahoma, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard who expressed her support for the racist law SB-1070 of Arizona, which criminalizes undocumented immigrants while targeting people of Indigenous heritage, especially Mexicans.

The two finalists of Miss USA represent somehow the current reality of the United States: an immigrant that is part of a community historically rejected by a majority of Americans, and a U.S. born European descendant woman who supports a racist law, which targets mostly Indigenous immigrants.

Miss Michigan Rima Fakih, right, and Miss Oklahoma Morgan Elizabeth Woolard wait to hear the final result of the Miss USA 2010 pageant Sunday, May 16, 2010 in Las Vegas. Fakih was crowned Miss USA. Photo AP

Who knew that race, history, immigration and religion were going to be meaningful issues in a beauty pageant of today United States.

This will be the first time an Arab descendant is representing the U.S. in an international beauty pageant. This coincides with the times of the first African descendant is the U.S. president. Of course these facts are not related by comparison, but let's remember that in the eyes of millions of people around the world, women beauty pageants are as important as the Olympics or the football [soccer] world cup.

Rima Fakih is of Arab heritage but she is sad not to be Muslim, she comes from a Lebanese family that migrated to New York City. Although some of her family are Muslims, but she is not -notice she doesn't wear a hijab scarf- and she made sure everyone knew about this fact during the contest. We know why.

Update today ABC News states that Rima Fakih is Muslim:

Fakih was born into a powerful Shiite family in a village in southern Lebanon that was heavily bombed during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. But she and her sister said the family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths and prefer to be referred to as Lebanese, Arabs or Arab-Americans.

She moved to the United States with her family in 1993 and attended a Catholic school in New York. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003.

Other famous Lebanese celebrities in the world are Colombian-born singer Shakira (Isabel Mebarak) and the richest man in the world, Mexican businessman Carlos Slim.

Representing Indigenous women

During the pageant and before being crowned, Rima Fakih stated that she would dress like Pocahontas as the National Costume for the Miss Universe pageant. She referred to it as something "less patriotic" and she added that "I already got the [Native] feature thing going":

Rima Fakih definitely looks Native American as most of the so called "Latina" women do because of our Indigenous heritage. I wanted to mention that is always good when someone in this country reminds us of our Native heritage, many times ignored.


Runner-up supports Arizona SB-1070

Miss Oklahoma, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard reminded everyone that many European descendants in the U.S. are still attached to obsolete realities, when she expressed her support for the anti-immigrant law SB-1070 of Arizona, as CBS reports:

Woolard handled the night's toughest question, about Arizona's new immigration law. Woolard said she supports the law, which requires police enforcing another law to verify a person's immigration status if there's "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally.

She said she's against illegal immigration but is also against racial profiling.

"I'm a huge believer in states' rights. I think that's what's so wonderful about America," Woolard said. "So I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law."

Watch:

Let's remember here that Oklahoma was created with similar policies than those of the state of Arizona today. Oklahoma was born as a concentration camp for Indigenous peoples, who were expelled from the East Coast by then European undocumented immigrants.

The same human displacement that occurred two centuries ago, is happening today in the Americas -- because of the economic and government policies that push Indigenous families to migrate to the U.S. illegally.

Read more about the racist war against Indigenous immigrants in Arizona.
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Blacks and Immigration: about African Americans and the Illegal Alien Invasion [VIDEO]

This is a personal message to African Americans who believe that undocumented immigrants are hurting their communities or that we immigrants affecting their civil rights and job opportunities.

Photo and video by Carlos A. Quiroz

This video is a response to questions and suggestions sent by readers of this blog and my Youtube subscribers. Please leave a comment if you want to add some ideas to this debate. I'm speaking based on my experience as an Indigenous man who have migrated to a Black-majority city.

We all need to know who is behind the Illegal Alien Invasion scare scam. We need to understand that we Brown and Black communities need to work together to solve our real problems, we must honor our common history of struggle for equality.

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New Pastime in the US: Attacking the Mexicans [VIDEOS] Increasing Racist Violence Against Indigenous Peoples

Racist violence is increasing against peoples of Indigenous heritage in the United States. This trend affecting especially Mexicans and so called Latinos, is expected to grow after Arizona passed racist legislation criminalizing undocumented immigration.

"You Latino mothafucker" were the last words heard by Wilter Sanchez before a group of men attacked him in New Jersey last year. Sanchez survived, unlike many other immigrants who are victims of violent attacks in the United States. Photo El Espectador

One night of August 2009, I was walking the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, after a long day of talks and debates at a national political conference. At that time I was stopped by a group of teenagers hanging in a corner. They were mostly Black and White, a girl among the crowd run away screaming "I'm scared of Mexicans!"

The other kids tried to intimidate me saying things like "I need some money... me dinero amigo, you Mexicans own me money..." but I kept walking and I replied: "I'm not Mexican, but I'm Native American and sadly I'm poorer than you all..." I kept walking non stop until I found a gay bar where I had to "befriend" a group of young gay men at the door, in order to find sudden protection.

This time I was lucky, unlike two years earlier when I was attacked by a couple of African American teenagers in Washington, DC. I remember until this day what happened: I was crossing 16th street N.W. when two kids men passed me walking next to me but then they slowed down, saying things like "this fucking Mexican..." and the next thing, I was being chocked and held by my neck from behind, and in seconds I lost consciousness.

The attackers run away when two construction workers came to my help. When I woke up, the D.C. Police was there so I gave them the needed information, except that I didn't tell them that I suspected where my attackers lived. Even today I still feel effects in my memory and periodical heartaches. The next day, I walked around the attackers neighborhood and I left fliers in every building:

"I was attacked by two teenagers because I look Mexican. I might have medical consequences for the rest of my life. Racism kills and hurts everyone. Stop racist violence now!"

Because I have no trust on police repression of children who have been raised to be criminals, or in a system that incarcerates parents for smoking marihuana or for having mental problems, in a country that promotes racism against Native and African people like myself, I left the case alone until this day.

The brother and mother of Marcelo Lucero stand in front of the site where the Indigenous man from Ecuador was killed in Long Island, NY. Photo NY Times

Attacking the Mexicans

The increasing anti-immigrant sentiment promoted often by corporate media and conservative politicians, has caused a rise on hate crimes against Brown peoples, especially Indigenous migrants from Mexico.

The image of Mexicans in the U.S. is permanently presented in offensive and racist ways, not only by White people but mostly by Spanish-language television with their discriminatory content, that shows dark skinned people as ignorant criminals.

In November of 2008, an Indigenous man from Ecuador, Marcelo Lucero was attacked and murdered in Long Island, New York by a gang of six racist White men. In the following weeks, dozens of Indigenous immigrants denounced being victims of harassment and violence from mostly Italian American men. Last month one of the attackers was convicted of manslaughter and a hate crime.

Also in November 2008, a group of White supremacists attacked violently a 19 y.o. Latino man in Hemet, California and left him with permanent brain damage.

In December 2008, José Sucuzhañay another Indigenous man from Ecuador, was brutally beaten to death with a baseball bat by a couple of Black men in Brooklyn, New York. Last week, one of the attackers was convicted of manslaughter but the jury said this was not a hate crime.

By January 2009, Wilter Sanchez an immigrant from Colombia, was brutally attacked in North Plainfield, New Jersey by a group of White and Black young men who called him "You Latino mothafucker..." among other racist slurs.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were about 595 crimes against "Latinos" in 2007, and the trend is increasing 40% in the previous five years in a row. This statistics don't include the many crimes that undocumented migrants never report to police, because of fear to be deported.

Hatred against Mexicans, or anyone who is of Native American heritage is even promoted by police forces, especially now that Arizona has passed racist laws.

In this video released this past weekend, we can hear a Seattle police officer telling a Mexican American man: "You got me? I'm going to beat the [fucking] Mexican piss out of you homey. You feel me?"

After racist laws were passed by the government of Arizona, things are only getting worse.

The hate group Arizona Militia --which would be considered as a terrorist group were its member Muslims or darkskinned-- has announce several violent actions against Indigenous immigrants, including getting ammunition and guns.

This video reports on a crime against a Mexican American man, a U.S. citizen who was killed by a European descendant man in his own home. Please notice how the media call this man Hispanic in order to deny the historical fact that most Mexicans are Indigenous peoples:

The anti-Mexican hatred is even more obvious in the Internet. Anyone can witness racist comments in every website that advocates for Immigration Reform, or for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Since I posted videos in my Youtube channel against the SB-1070 law passed by the government of Arizona, I have receive hate message constantly mostly calling me "dirty Mexican" and threatening me of violence and announcing that things will get worse for "filthy wetbacks".

I have had to block most of those comments and the users who sent them, both in my videos and blogs, but I can say that most of these people are adults, and very young White U.S. citizens who use the Internet to vent their frustrations, they call themselves "true patriots" and usually are supporters of the Tea Party movement.

Also I have noticed that some of the most racist comments come from actually Europeans and Latin Americans promoting anti-Mexican racism. The level of hatred is really disgusting, just to prove my point these are some of the comments I have received:

• You litttle invading turd. no one wants you and no one likes you. go back to the shithole you came from.
• CarlosDCblog, I hope you cried traitor. Your video is helping us get to a civil war!
• I can't wait until we get OPERATION WETBACK...

Meanwhile, the corporate media continues promoting the idea that most undocumented immigrants are delinquents, they never show the contributions of our communities and only post negative news about our peoples, all of this while calling us Hispanics and denying our true Native American heritage.

As a result, many U.S. born citizens really believe that "Mexicans" do not belong to the United States, that we Native peoples who speak Spanish are foreigners to this land. They use any kind of hateful messages to scare people against us the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.

This is a message that I blocked in this blog but I am posting here, so you can realize the level of defamation that is being spread around millions of people who actually believe this:

A serious matter to Americans are concerning all those that have been robbed, attacked, raped and murdered at the hands of illegal invaders. Why should Americans care for your suffering when you could careless about are's? Why should we care about your rights when thousands of Americans in there country have had there rights stripped from them by illegal invaders? You care only for yourselves and Mexico, you disrespect are culture, are laws, are language, are history and are flag. GET OUT!!!

Unfortunately this kind of misinforming, misleading and racist messages is being embraced by the extreme right-wing and desperate Republicans, like Arizona governor Janet Brewer and now U.S. Senator John McCain, who tried to become the president of this country. Now listen to McCain's words in this video posted by his reelection campaign this past weekend:

What I see in this video is two European descendant men walking in Native land, talking about their plans to defend the United States against the "criminals" who in reality are mostly the Indigenous peoples migrating from south to north as it has been happening since millennial. Something that a "danged fence" will not stop.

Yesterday I wrote this in my Facebook page and in AZ governor Jan Brewer's FB page:

"Happy Mother's Day to the Indigenous mothers crossing an imposed border walking miles in the desert to give their children a better future. Happy Mothers Day to all mothers, raise your kids with love so they don't end up becoming racist Republicans!"

These are difficult times for us Native American peoples, especially for those who speak Spanish wrongly called Hispanics. Those of us who "look Mexican" are now seeing as criminals, as people who do not belong to this land of our ancestors. We are being targeted by video games and national TV series.

It's cool and acceptable to hate against Mexicans today.

Instead of learning from historical mistakes of the past, racist people believe that the United States needs to continue oppressing people because of their nationality and race. Some have not learned from the disastrous effects of racism, xenophobia, imperialism and colonialism among humanity.

Meanwhile, a lack of strong leadership among so called Latinos is making our communities voiceless and easier to be attacked.

There are not strong leaders among our Indigenous communities in the United States, and most of the civil rights groups advocating for "Hispanics", are themselves promoting racism against our peoples by denying our very existence. It seems like if most of these groups are there to be part of a system of oppression and denial of the rights of Indigenous peoples in the United States.

We need to be aware and protect our communities now. We need to hear that the Obama administration is taking necessary steps to protect civilians from violence and prevent racist confrontations. We need to stay alert.

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Obama to pick Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court: Current Solicitor General is Rumored to Be a Lesbian [VIDEO]

Elena Kagan. Photo AP - January 2010.

President Obama will pick attorney Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, according to MSNBC.

Kagan is seeing as a moderate liberal in social issues but conservative among law academia. She is rumored to be lesbian, which she has never confirmed publicly but the White House has rejected strongly and forced a right-wing editor to apologize:

I erroneously believed that Ms. Kagan was openly gay not because of, as Stein describes it, a "whisper campaign" on the part of conservatives, but because it had been mentioned casually on multiple occasions by friends and colleagues -- including students at Harvard, Hill staffers, and in the sphere of legal academia -- who know Kagan personally.

Elena Kagan of 50 yeas of age, was born in New York City of Jewish heritage, and she is currently the United States Solicitor General representing the U.S. government before the Supreme Court.

Kagan is a prominent law scholar in the U.S. she is a graduate of Princeton, Oxford and Harvard universities, she worked as a law clerk for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Elena Kagan has been a professor at University of Chicago Law School, and in 2003 she became the first female Dean at Harvard Law School where Kagan supported a ban on military recruiters from campus, in protest of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy discriminating against gays and lesbians in the military. Also she was accused of racism when she hired only-White professors, mostly conservatives.

Kagan served as president Bill Clinton's Associate White House Counsel and Deputy Assistant for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, from 1995 to 1999. She was a member of the Research Advisory Council of the Goldman Sachs Global Markets Institute, from 2005 to 2008. Read more about Elena Kagan biography and comments at SCOTUS Blog.

The nomination of Elena Kagans comes as a surprise for many, who think she is the less qualified out the seven potential candidates, because she is younger and with less justice experience, even though her academic experience is extensive and well achieved.

Some skeptical critics believe that Kagan's nomination might not succeed, even though the Democratic party has enough votes to confirm her in the Senate. Otherwise, Judge Merrick B. Garland might have a better option to be nominated and then confirmed. We will have to see.

Meet the possible next Supreme Court Justice:
"We are in war"

About Elena Kagan being lesbian, I can only say that is very likely that she is homosexual and that's my perception as a gay man, but as long as she keeps it private we all must respect that privacy.

However, I would support the idea of the Supreme Court having an openly gay Justice. That would be good for this country, and that would make president Obama the gayest president ever.

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The Cinco de Mayo Celebration and Why Our Native American Peoples are Hidden Behind The Hispanic Identity [VIDEO Interview]

Photo and video by Carlos A. Quiroz

If I get one more email message or text message saying "Happy Cinco de Mayo" I think I'm just going to buy me a bottle of Tequila. After all, that is actually the main purpose of this useless holiday, right.

As a Spanish-speaker Indigenous man, I never understood the so called "Hispanic" culture promoted in the United States, until I learned more about my own Indigenous heritage and history. Then I realized why most Native peoples of "Latin" America are classified as Hispanics in this country.

I realized that most of the cultural expressions promoted in the U.S. as "representation" of our racially diverse communities [of Spanish speakers], are motivated by profits and political interests, and that they are based on a Euro-centric vision of human history.

This is important to mention, especially now that we see racist actions and laws being promoted in Arizona and the rest of the United States, against our mostly-Indigenous immigrant communities.

A couple of days ago, I received an email with a report of the Pew Hispanic Center about "Hispanics and Arizona's New Immigration Law" (Read here). This report is actually discriminating because it's hiding the enormous presence of Native Americans who speak Spanish in the state of Arizona and other border states.

I called the Pew Hispanic Center to asked about their reasons to promote this false image of our communities, just like the Cinco de Mayo celebration. The PHC's Associate Director Mark Lopez couldn't explain the reasons that motivates his organization to manipulate our Indigenous history, identity and heritage:

The Cinco de Mayo celebration is a forced tradition, created with an intention of manipulating the cultures and history of Mexicans in the United States, while making profits. Thus, a celebration is forced to all the communities that came from south of the border.

Because we all "look Mexican", remember. Of course we brown people look Mexican, and that's because we share the Native heritage, because we are in fact American Indians.

This is exactly the case with most of the expressions of the Hispanic identity in the U.S. it's forced, motivated by a minority of powerful interests. It's what the "gringo" mentality wants "Latin" America to look like.

By recognizing our Indigenous roots, we are not separating ourselves from our relatives who are of mostly European heritage. We are all related in this planet after all. But we must respect and honor every community, and need learn about our roots because they give us ground to walk in life.

It's unfortunate that the "Mexican holiday in the U.S." is a synonymous of alcohol consumption. This is intentional, let's remember the role of alcoholism as another form of colonization of our peoples.

Ok. I'm thirsty now, but of knowledge. What about learning how to count in Nahuatl?

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