When Glenn Beck Fans Took Over DC Metro [VIDEO]

Yesterday the D.C. Metro system was taken over by Glenn Beck fans, teabaggers, whatever you want to call them. They were going to their 'Restore the Honor' Rally at the Lincoln Memorial.

Most of them lined up for hours at Metro stops, buying one farecard at a time. They were there as early as 6:00 AM. I helped some of them even if they said no at first. Most of them would use only the first car of the train for some reason. They were orderly and respectful, but Metro employees didn't seem too happy. Most of them wore funny t-shirts. Here is what I saw:

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Glenn Beck's Restoring the Honor rally filled with angry White people - VIDEO

What I saw today at Glenn Beck "Restoring the Honor" Rally was hatred, racism, ignorance, fear, revenge, bigotry, lies, manipulation.  If THIS is what the United States should look like, it looks very troubling.

Today's rally was a demonstration of fear and division. I believe that most of Beck's supporters are blinded and angered -by the fanaticism spread by Beck, Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and their radical network supported [and financed] by the G.O.P.

It was supposed to be a day to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream.

This is my video of the rally today:

This is what I saw today

Seems like most of Glenn Beck's followers refuse to see who their real oppressors are. They don't want to accept that this is not the U.S. they thought it was, at least not any longer. They are embracing obsolete concepts that are divisive and they are convinced they are right. If this radicalization continues, violence will explode.

These people think they have the right to discriminate, to impose their 'white supremacy' views and their ways of life to others. They don't want a United States of diversity and coexistence with people who don't agree or look like them. They call it freedom, but they really mean oppression and privilege.

Another sad example of the deep racial division this country faces today.


There was another rally in D.C. organized by African American civil rights groups to honor the extraordinary legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. [See the WaPo video here and photos here.] which I wanted to attend.

Instead I choose to attend the Beck's rally, because I wanted to be there and I wanted to see and feel what these people were about, face to face. I felt not good.

Their eyes were filled with distrust and even hatred, sadness and uncertainty. They were praying and singing, but it was a temporary illusion. Several times, I was verbally and physically attacked:

• A lady pushed me away from "her spot" saying that she has no patience "for people like you". 

• An angry old man told me to "go back to Mexico" when I tried to interview him, adding that I don't "belong here". 

• Another man pushed me really hard when I was interviewing someone and told me to "shut up" while her wife whispered "you better leave right now!" 

I'm not making anything of this up.

While I was at the rally, I did not have a single minute of peace.

This wasn't a celebration of courage, charity nor honor. To me, this wasn't anything to be proud of. Since the moment I got in the Metro train early in the morning, to the time when I was on my way back home, I got their looks of distrust, me being the short Brown guy of indigenous heritage, I was pushed twice in the Metro train, and I overheard comments about "illegals" and things alike.

Even when I tried to help them at the Metro stations, when they looked dumb trying to buy their farecards or getting directions, they response would be "NO!" ... but I helped them anyways. Most of them seemed to be working-class, military personnel, rural families, old European descendants.

Seriously, I think this country needs to reunite before it gets worse. Someone needs to reach out to these communities and teach them about the new United States.The same way I taught some of them how to use their Smartrip cards.

The Tea Party followers need to see how they are aging in disgrace and their hatred is their worst weakness. Meanwhile the rich keep using them.


The worst part is, most of them have guns.

All photos and videos by Carlos A. Quiroz

Note: I have more videos of this rally that I will post later on.

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Black Gay and Conservative... and a Tea Party Member: Rafiq Was Safe in DC East Side [VIDEO]

My friend Rafiq Jennings visited me last week. He is gay and African American... and he considers himself a Conservative when it comes to politics. Also he sympathizes with the Tea Party movement. Is this wrong?

This weekend, D.C. will get a see a lot of Teabaggers coming to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally. The thing is, there is a "guide" that says that the rally attendees should stay away from the East side of town.

Rafiq and I rode the D.C. Metro together, in the part of the city that teabaggers consider unsafe, because is populated by mostly Black people. They won't say it but we know it.

Don't get it twisted. Rafig considers himself a Conservative, but "Not a Republican. A Neo-Soul yes, not a Neo-Con". At least he doesn't like Sarah Palin...

We are so divided in this country with political views, that we forget that people have the right to freely embrace any ideas we like to believe in. That said, I must remind you that I consider myself very liberal, and I do not like the Tea Party movement, mostly because of their stupid ideas. Anyways, Rafiq and I had a lot of fun sightseeing in D.C.

Now, let's forget for a minute that Glenn Beck has the stupidity of comparing himself to Martin Luther King, Jr. and that he will be speaking in the same date and place where the most renowned African descendant leader of the world spoke years ago, the "I Have A Dream" speech.

And let's forget that the niece of MLK Jr. Alveda King is also speaking along Beck and Saran Palin [she opposes abortion so she supports racism]. Let's all Dream that one day, Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals, Teabaggers and undocumented immigrants, we all can ride D.C. Metro in peace, and not being judged by our ideas, but by our... I forgot.

I met Rafig on Twitter, follow him on @rjennings333

And and he has a blog too.

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Remembering the Chicano Moratorium Movement - Forty Years After La Lucha Continua [VIDEO]

Photo via wcheng

This was before most of us were born. Forty years ago. Back then our Indigenous youth were wiser and courageous. This was before the FBI incarcerated or killed most of the leaders of this brave movement, there was hope.

This was long before there were fake idiotic idols like Shakira, George Lopez or Alejandro Sanz, before our youth suffered the garbage attack of Univision and Telemundo with their racist and materialist media. Before our barrios were filled with drugs and sexism.

This anti-war rally was held on August 29, 2070 in East Los Angeles, organized by the National Chicano Moratorium Movement, an uprising of Indigenous Mexican-American peoples demanding the end of the Vietnam genocidal war.

As the crowd of over 25,000 people were violently repressed by the police, Ruben Salazar, Lynn Ward and Angel Diaz were killed.

Will the Chicanos of today take the post?

Today Chicanos are not alone, today is Arizona and Florida, Virginia and Delaware, la lucha continua.

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Election of Jimena Navarrete as Miss Universe: bad for Mexicans and for Latinos in the U.S.

As soon as Jimena Navarrete was elected as the new Miss Universe, my Mexican friends started showing their excitement and pride through social media websites. I even got text messages celebrating the election.

For once I was upset. This is bad for Mexico and for those who call themselves Latinos in the United States. Not only beauty pageants are offensive shows of machismo, materialism and sexism, but especially they are bad because they promote White supremacy and racism in the worst possible ways.

Even when contestants in Miss Universe can be of different skin colors and origins, all the women participating in this ridiculous event have to follow a pattern and standard of Euro-centric “beauty” which is precisely not the reflection of the immense diversity of humanity.

A woman who wins “Miss Universe” has to have the proportions of Caucasian and Greco-Roman figures, they must be tall, skinny and with certain features. They cannot be curvy, short or with big eyes or lips like most of our Indigenous women. That’s ugly, so they say.

These “fake-beauty” pageants hurt the self esteem of our mothers and our sisters, and tell us men how our women should look like. This is really bad considering that women are the columns of our families, our societies.

This is when Mexico and the “Latino” community come into the picture.

Jimena Navarrete is a beautiful woman indeed, but she doesn’t look nor represent the physical beauty of most Mexican women, she fits into what is acceptable in the Mexican media: she looks “Whiter” than most Mexican women.

To put it in a current and simple context, Jimena Navarrete would never be racially profiled in Arizona or the rest of the U.S. hey, she looks mainstream American [White enough].

Sadly, the image of Jimena Navarrete will be used by millions of non-White girls in Mexico, the U.S. and the so called ‘Latin’ America region as an example of how they should look like, at least for years to come. This is bad enough for the people of Mexico and for the Latinos in the U.S.

Mexico is a very racist society, an extremely discriminating and elitist nation, where the majority of people are of Indigenous heritage but where being White is an asset. This racism is result of hundreds of years of Hispanic colonialism, and it creates a bigger problem: self loathing discrimination of Brown people against their own.

Now please watch this other video I recorded a few months ago, during a community celebration of the Mexican immigrant community in in Washington, DC:

There you have it, people who don't know their roots are people easy to be manipulated and controlled. So as long as we let racist TV shows like Miss Universe -run by a racist and dirty capitalist White man like Donald Trump- hurt our communities, we will have our peoples believing we can't overcome oppression.

Mexican media –as most of the media across the Americas- is controlled by European descendants with an obsessed and racist mentality, which reflects the reality of politics and economics. It openly discriminates Indigenous and Afro descendant peoples, condemning them to second class citizenship.

Racism in Mexico against non-Whites is such, that even the official demographics deny the presence of Native peoples and classify them as European descendants or Mestizos. As a result, most Indigenous peoples in Mexico’s big cities won’t accept their heritage and they pretend they are of European roots only.

This is exactly what happens in the United States among Indigenous and Black peoples who prefer being labeled as Latinos or Hispanics, something that is promoted from the very U.S. government, by celebrating every year the “Hispanic Heritage” month, forcing Indigenous communities to embrace the racist idea that we all descend from Spaniards, just because we speak Spanish.

Fake beauty pageants like Miss Universe are telling young women all around the world thatthey are ugly, and that unless they try to “look White” – like in the racist and successful TV show Ugly Betty – they will never be successful in life.

At the end, fake-beauty pageants are extremely damaging for the self esteem and the identity of hundreds of millions of non-European youth and especially women, across the Americas. These young women will be one day our mothers, and they will poison their children -our future- with their self hatred racism.

Watch this video, please. This man is in charge of the Miss Venezuela pageant, and he is a judge in the “reality” show Nuestra Belleza Latina (Our Latina Beauty) produced by the U.S. channel Univision.

Osmel Sousa says "I know the proportions of a pretty woman by memory, short women are not harmonious, [...] Negritude, Black women in Venezuela are not beautiful, [...] if they are not pretty they can't get in this pageant." Needless to say, Sousa is openly gay. As a gay man it hurts me to see that many gay men are behind these stupid pageants.

This hateful mentality of discriminating dark-skinned people with non-European looks is sodangerous to our peoples. This why the election of Jimena Navarrete is bad for the youth of Mexico and the United States, and the rest of the Americas. It will reinforce the evil concept thatfeminine beauty comes only in one color, one pattern, and one way.

This is how is being done for the past centuries by the colonial rulers. They divided and brainwashed our Indigenous peoples by telling us that our ancestors disappeared and were all wiped out, they lied saying all our ancestors died. They forced us to believe this through religion and boarding schools. Now days, they are doing it through their media.

We Indigenous peoples were told that by mixing with other races, we are less Natives, we can “improve our race” so that we become Latinos, Hispanics, that Mestizos are not longer Indigenous. We are taught that we are must at least try to “pass” as Whites in order to win in life.

So it’s our duty to educate our children that regardless of what stupid “beauty contests” like Miss Universe say, we are beautiful, that our women are beautiful being short, tall, white or black, thick or thin, curvy or sharp, with big and small noses, big and small eyes and lips, with black hair and brown skin, with all the things that make us who we are.

We ought to learn to respect people not because of the exterior features, but for what we are. Because if we don’t do it, no one else will.

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The 2010 Dance DC Festival [VIDEO] Three Days of Free Dancing Performances

The 2010 Dance DC Festival started last night with an energizing program inspired on the Carnival celebrations of the African, Brazilian, Caribbean peoples around the world. It was an interesting and rich fusion of dances and music from different parts of the world, performed by talented DC artists. I had a blast, and here is what I recorded - not included is the performance of Batala Washington DC, which will be posted in another video coming later.

This 3-day festival is free and open to the public. Go there early to get your seat, last night was a sold-out event!

The 2010 Dance DC Festival is organized by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The DCF doesn't have a website itself but they have posted some info here. "Experience Global Movement travels the audience through the cultural dances of: India, Asia, Morocco, West Africa, Europe, Panama, Brazil, and more!"

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is pleased to announce its 7th Annual Dance DC Festival: Experience Global Movement. The festival will highlight some of the city’s most talented folk and traditional dance and music performers from various cultures from August 20-22, 2010 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

Some genres include hand dance, African dancing and drumming, tap, tango, traditional Asian dance and many more! Performance as well as interactive workshops will be FREE to the public over this three-day event.

Schedule

Read the festival schedule in this PDF file.

DAY ONE Friday | August 20, 2010
6:00pm | Carnaval Africana! - This night captures the festive essence of Carnaval fusing an array Afro-Brazillian dance and music expressions! Opening Night performance & reception. Pre-performance reception at 6:00pm. Performers include: Zezeh Brazil International, Capital Movement, Zomema Dance Ensemble, DC Casineros, Batala Washington DC.

DAY TWO Saturday | August 21, 2010

Ready. Set. Dance! - A series of interactive workshops in dance and expression of movement.

12:00pm | KidsFest - Explore African dance and music traditions through storytelling, music and movement. Performers include: Nubian Dance Theatre, Eric Maring

1:30pm | Hui O Ka Pua Ilima - Experience traditional and contemporary dances of Hawai`i in an informative and interactive format.

2:30pm | JOYISM - This liberating mobile dance laboratory will be sure get your hips moving.

3:30 | Ancient Rhythms Dance Company - Middle Eastern traditions come to life with traditional dances from Moracco, Algeria and Egypt.

5:00pm | Dance Asia 2010! - Dance Asia 2010 – “Asia in Reflection: Selected Works”. The 7th annual Dance Asia showcase is taking a step back through time and bringing to you the best of the best works. Themes range from Asia in Celebration, Asia in Legend, Asia in Nature, Asia in Thunder to Asia in Movie. Come join us on a trip down memory lane and ogle at the intricacy of Asian art of movement!

7:00pm | Rhythm Nation - A cultural fusion of percussive footwork. Performers include: On the Slide, Dr. Janaki Rangarajan, Furia Flamenca

DAY THREE Sunday | August 22, 2010

3:00pm | So Melodic - Experience a fusion of smooth melodic sounds. Performers include: L’Tanya Mari Quartet, Let’s Get Physical, Partner up for an array of interactive social dance workshops.

4:00pm | Grufolpawa - [Afro] Panamanian folk dance.

5:00pm | Sharna Fabiano Tango - Tango

7:00pm | Hand DanceMania -The Close Out Party!

National Hand Dance Association. Join us as we close with a dance tradition native to Washington DC!

Get there early, if you don't want to wait in the lobby until someone leaves early. It's worth it. To get there I used Metro: Eastern Market station (Blue/Orange) then I took the 90 Bus (northbound), got off on H Street NE and walked over to the impressive Atlas Performing Arts Center.

Check out other events of the DCCAH here.

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DC Profiles: Meet Eric Handon the Artist of Hand Painted Hats [VIDEO]

When I was a teenager I worked selling stuff in the streets. It's nothing easy to do, deal with strangers, rejection, threats from robbers, and the uncertainty of every day. However, it's freedom at its best. This is why I admire people who create stuff and sell them directly in the streets. It's a full time job, is risky but is fun, and not everyone can do it.

This DC Profiles video includes a conversation with DC artist Eric Handon. Recorded in Gallery Place, outside of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Eric Handon creates unique works using fabric paint in hats and handbags, mostly sports teams logos. Visit his website.

Photos

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Four arrested at immigration protest at DC Nationals Park against law SB1070 - VIDEOS

Four immigrants rights activists were arrested today after they run into the field at DC's Nationals Park, while carrying a banner demanding the Major League Baseball (MLB) to move the 2011 All-Star game out of Arizona.

Photos by Sarahi Uribe

The game between the DC’s Nationals vs. the Arizona’s Diamondbacks continued after the protest. The activists carried a banner that said "Bud Selig Move The All-Star Game / Boycott SB1070" while two others were distracting the police. 

Even though the protesters couldn’t expand the banner completely, but most people at Nationals Park eventually knew what it was about. Previously, a rally against the Arizona law SB1070 was held outside the ballpark. Watch a video of the rally here.

The protest occurred around 3:00PM. I recorded this video with reactions of people at Nationals Park:

The activists who were arrested today are: Virginia Leavell, Rosa Lozano, Mackenzie Baris and Gustavo Andrade, all of them are DC-based human rights advocates. Gustavo was released an hour ago, and the rest are to be released tonight or tomorrow morning.

Update: all protesters have been freed tonight.

The activists speak out. This video includes images of the moment when the protesters were released from prison, and a good view of the moments of the protest itself at the Nationals Park field. 

Protesting SB1070

This action in DC is one of many that have been organized across the U.S. whenever the Arizona Diamondbacks team plays.

Photo by The Washington Post

Even after the Obama administration has symbolically blocked partially the SB1070 law, but the possibility of racial profiling in Arizona has not ended:

The protest is part of the national MoveTheGame.org campaign - a coalition of organizations led by Presente.org and MoveOn.org, which has coordinated several rallies, protests and other events across the country in reaction to Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB 1070.

Members of the campaign believe that Federal Judge Susan Bolton's recent partial injunction was not a victory in itself, but rather one of many steps in the right direction, and will continue to pressure MLB Commissioner Selig and MLB national teams until the game is moved to a different state.

Last week, MoveTheGame.org tried for the second time to deliver more than 110,000 petitions to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig during the owners' quarterly meeting in Minneapolis. Bud Selig has rejected over 100,000 signatures demanding the All-Star game to be moved.

The petitions were signed by community members and asked Selig to move the location of the 2011 All-Star Game. Five community advocates were arrested during this attempt

Protests against SB1070 will continue across the country, especially now that other states like Florida, Virginia, Utah and Texas are considering similar laws.

Please Take Action!

Sign the Petition to Demand the MLB to Move the Game

Click here!

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Media reactions

• We Love DC: Four Protestors Arrested at Nationals Park
• Dcist: Arizona Immigration Law Protesters Gather Outside of Nationals Park
• The Washington Post: Immigration protesters descend on Nationals Park
• Politico: Protesters hit D.C.-Ariz. game
• The Wall Street Journal: Take Me Out to the Protest
• AP: Group urges Selig to move 2011 All-Star Game
• Forbes: Group urges Selig to move 2011 All-Star Game
• Sports Illustrated: Anti-immigration law protesters disrupt Diamondbacks-Nats game

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Latinos Support Vince Gray and Bryan Weaver in Elections for Mayor and Ward One Councilmember

Gentrification continues in Washington, D.C.

The Latino Association of Mt. Pleasant held a Latino Family Day yesterday August 14th, 20110 at Lamont Park, in the historical Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C. I was passing by and I got the chance to record these videos.

The campaign of Vince Gray for DC Mayor had an active representation at this community event. While I am not endorsing Gray completely, but I agree that Vince Gray seems to be a better choice for this city than current Mayor Adrian Fenty.

One of the main changes that D.C. has seeing in the last four years since Fenty took office is gentrification -- a process that started when Anthony Williams was the Mayor. I took some photos yesterday that show the new D.C. in Ward One.

This park is now fenced and closed, beautiful plants and fancy benches inside, while D.C. old time residents have to seat in the sidewalk.

Bryan Weaver is running for the Councilmember of Ward One -- the most populated and diverse in Washington, DC. On June 24, 2010 the D.C. Latino Caucus overwhelmingly voted to endorse the candidacy of Weaver. I have heard of the community work done by Bryan Weaver, but I never met him until yesterday at this event for the Vince Gray campaign. I asked Weaver some questions:

All photos and videos by Carlos A. Quiroz

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Vigil in Solidarity with Mapuche Indigenous Political Prisoners at the Embassy of Chile in Washington DC [VIDEO]

A symbolic vigil in solidarity with the Mapuche indigenous people was held yesterday August 12, 2010, in front of the Embassy of Chile in the United States.

The protest was part of the Global Day of Action for the Freedom of the Mapuche People, or International Day of Solidarity with the Mapuche Political Prisoners.

A dozen people gathered at this protest, to demand the government of Salvador Pinera to respects the human rights of Indigenous Chileans and their imprisoned leaders, who begun a hunger strike a month ago and now several of them are in a delicate situation.

The government of Chile has jailed 31 Mapuche leaders who were arrested for demanding the rights of their communities. They are accused of terrorism based on an outdated law created during the bloody dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The struggle of the Mapuche people is mostly against the invasion of their territories by private corporations, which cause pollution and other abuses. It also includes the demand for autonomy and self determination.

This strong Indigenous movement is commonly repressed by the Chilean State through the use of militarized violence, affecting even the elderly and children, and causing civilian deaths.

This is a press release by the organization Mapuche International Link explaining the nature and reasons of the current Indigenous uprisings in Chile:

Campaign in Support of Mapuche Political Prisoners Gains Momentum

Press Release - August 11th, 2010

In a declaration of solidarity with 31 detained Mapuche hunger strikers whose current medical status is of grave concern, Mapuche International Link's (MIL) General Secretary, Reynaldo Mariqueo, will lead members of a delegation including Ms Jimena Castro and Mr Roberto Navarrete - both of whom are members of the Association of Ex Chilean Political Prisoners -to formally declare their opposition to the Chilean government's continued application of Pinochet-era anti-terrorism legislation against Mapuche democratic protest.

The event, which will involve the presentation of a letter to the Chilean Minister Counsellor at the Chilean embassy tomorrow and is timed to commemorate the ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Mapuche Political Prisoners on Hunger Strike’ on 12th August.[...]

The Mapuche struggle – of which the prisoners’ strike is only the most recent manifestation – is the latest chapter in a story which began with the campaign of genocide which was launched against the Indigenous population in 1863-1883 (in the form of the Araucanian Pacification). The Mapuche have since struggled against the results of a ‘settlement’ which was imposed upon them by force.

We call upon both the Chilean government and the international community to instead work towards a settlement founded upon respect for basic and fundamental rights, whether human, political or cultural. For this reason we call upon the Chilean government to:

• Repeal the anti-terrorism law.
• End the institutionalised violence.
• Ensure guarantees of due process for Mapuche political prisoners who are currently incarcerated.
• Repeal the method of ‘double simultaneous trial’ before a military tribunal and civilian court.
• Implement political and territorial rights of autonomy and self-determination.

The Mapuche are an indigenous nation which straddles Southern/Central Chile and Argentina. Their population is estimated at two million. They are the only indigenous nation from South America whose sovereignty and autonomy were formally recognised during the Spanish [invasion] of the continent. To this day, the Mapuche continue to struggle against the repression of their legitimate cultural and territorial rights by the Argentinean and Chilean authorities.

The vigil was interrupted by a torrential rain. There was a presence of about six U.S. Secret Service agents.

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US-Mexico Border Crime Rumors are Scare Tactics "Myth Spread by People Against Immigration Reform" said Linda Chavez-Thompson

Linda Chavez-Thompson responded to the rumors saying that undocumented immigrants are bringing drugs while destroying private property and increasing crime rates in the U.S.-Mexico border.

“They are scare tactics” said Chavez-Thompson, adding that those rumors are trying to scare people away from the border towns of Texas and Arizona, “it’s a myth spread by people who are against Immigration Reform”.

Linda Chavez-Thompson is the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Texas, the second most powerful political post in Texas which is elected separately from the Governor.

She said that Arizona’s [SB1070] “is a hateful law” that discriminates “people who look like me”. She added that “we already have enough protection in the border” to enforce national security and immigration.

Photo by Netroots Nation

I met Linda Chavez-Thompson briefly after her speech at the Netroots Nation 2010 conference. In this interview Linda Chavez-Thompson also talked about her experience as a farm worker which allowed her to see the abuses faced by immigrants.

She added that some people need to understand this country’s demographics are changing –which is the cause for racism in many cases. Finally she mentioned her values and background that gave her the reasons why she is running for Lieutenant Governor of Texas, to "bring government back to the people”.

Linda Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation Mexican-American, she was a farm worker while growing up in Texas, she has been a unionist and organizer for 48 years and she served as the elected Executive Vice-president of the AFL CIO –the biggest federation of unions in the country- from 1995 to 2007. Currently she is a Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee and a member of the board of trustees of United Way of America.

Watch the vibrant and inspiring speech of Linda Chavez-Thompson during the closing program of Netroots Nation 2010 conference.

Learn of ways how you can support

the Linda Chavez-Thompson campaign!.

Unsolved Russian Spy Scandal - Vicky Pelaez was Never a Spy for Russia: Journalist expelled by the US Prepares to Move to Peru or to Brazil

A month ago, a secret deal between the governments of Russia and the United States intended to end an international scandal of a Russian spy ring in the U.S. It seems now the such agreement might had created the case in the first place.

The details of that agreement haven't been released to the public yet, but the White House revealed that it knew of the spy swap -it allowed Russia to freed four spies working for the U.S.- back in February 2010. Actually, president Obama might have been only a witness of the decisions made by "the law enforcement community."

Most media and the public in the U.S. have accepted as true the official version that all 10 people expelled to Russia were spies. After all, that is what the accused declared themselves in Court.

However, it seems that some of accused were forced into the deal. This might be the case of Vicky Pelaez which still unsolved to many. The Peru-born journalist was involved in the case because she was married to "Mikhail Vasemkov", supposedly a Russian agent with a fake name.

I was in New York last weekend and I interviewed Carlos Moreno, the defense attorney of Vicky Pelaez during her 12-days trial. Attorney Moreno summarizes:

"Since Vicky Pelaez was removed from the United States to Moscow, she has remained in that city. She is living with Juan Lazaro in an apartment in Moscow. They continue to make arrangements to move to Peru. It's not clear whether they will remain in Peru or will go on to Brazil where she has family.

Support for Vicky Pelaez in the Latino and Peruvian community in New York remains strong. There are those who dislike her and who insist on defaming her, but she has a great deal of support in the Latino community in NY.

Vicky Pelaez is a journalist. That is all she is. She is not a spy for Russia or any other country."

The brief video of the interview (in Spanish) is posted in my blog Peruanista.

Also, Moreno said that Vicky Pelaez is doing fine, "although she went overnight from being a renowned journalist to live in a country without friends or connections," and currently she lives with her husband continuing their marital relationship.

Several times during our interview, Carlos Moreno reassured that Vicky Pelaez is fully innocent of the charges imposed by the FBI, even if she declared herself guilty:

"Those who question why she pled guilty if she is innocent fail to understand that her plea was based on an agreement between the US and Russia, an agreement which was imposed on all defendants. Vicky Pelaez had no choice. She had no chance of getting a fair trial in the US. In my opinion, she chose wisely."

About the case of the Russian agents, Moreno said, "It was a choreographed show that has nothing to do with the evidence, and it’s not clear to me about the reasons why it was done."

Most of the press in Peru and the U.S. have portrayed Vicky Pelaez as being a spy, and Moreno thinks that is about politics and the work of Pelaez as a progressive journalist.

"Comments from the media that never liked Vicky Pelaez, will continue. I still maintain that Vicky Pelaez is not, nor has never been a spy for Russia or any other country, and there isn’t any credibility to those comments which will continue to circulate in Peru and here in the U.S. "

Moreno said that although there are people who don’t like Vicky Pelaez but most of Latinos in New York city area continue to support Vicky Pelaez, regardless of the highly controversial comments made by Pelaez ex-colleagues who have "sentenced" her without evidence.

Vicky Pelaez was born in Peru but became a U.S. citizen after she moved to New York over 20 years ago. She was known for her articles in Spanish language, against the devastating effects of U.S. foreign policies, including the war in Iraq and the U.S. military, political and economical interventionism in Latin America.

Carlos Moreno said is not clear to him whether Vicky Pelaez knew of her husband's other identity, but he doubts that Juan Lazaro's guilty plea is legitimate.

However, this strange spy scandal has not destroyed Vicky Pelaez’ family. She and Juan Lazaro continue living together, despite the accusations saying that Lazaro involved her in the case. "They are a family and they will remain a family." said Moreno.

The sons of Vicky Pelaez, Waldo Mariscal and Juan Lazaro Jr., standing in front of their parents' house which has been confiscated by the U.S. government AP Photo

The children of the couple are doing well "as far as possible, after losing their father and mother” said Moreno. Both sons, Waldo Mariscal and Juan Lazaro Jr. were not involved in this case. They will remain living in the U.S. but will travel to Peru to meet with their parents, but not to stay.

Both sons of ages 38 and 17, are living now in their Yonkers, NY parents house, but not for too long since it has been confiscated by the U.S. government. Currently unemployed, they are receiving assistance from friends and relatives. Even in their current situation "They are proud of their parents despite the allegations."

Carlos Moreno responded yes to my question if the defense of the Pelaez case will continue in the future. That will be defined once Vicky Pelaez arrives and gets settled in Peru. "For Vicky Pelaez, getting adjusted in Peru is going to be complicated, due to changing political situations in that country after 20 years." Perhaps Pelaez will try to return to the U.S. by legal means with the permission from the U.S. General Attorney, said Moreno.

But Vicky Pelaez' return to Peru might involve some complications, due to recent statements by Peruvian President Alan Garcia and his Foreign Minister Jose Garcia, implying that Pelaez had committed fraud on falsifying personal information, before she left Peru.

Vicky Pelaez will continue writing, either while living in Brazil or Peru, "because that's she does," said Moreno. When I asked him if there are chances that she will write a book on what really happened in this scandal, Moreno said that is possible. But "It is unlikely" that Pelaez will continue working for the newspaper El Diario La Prensa of New York, because "they showed so little solidarity with her."

Vicky Pelaez will overcome this crisis. "In 12 days her life and her family’s lives were destroyed, but Vicky Pelaez is a very strong woman, very determined and she is going to overcome this, she will survive this crisis." added Carlos Moreno.

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Move the Game! Immigration Activists Protest SB1070 at Baseball Games in NYC and Phoenix by Dropping Signs and Storming into Field

Immigration activists continue a series of protests against the racist law SB-1070 of Arizona, by interrupting the games where the Arizona's team Diamondbacks are playing.

Protesters hang a banner against SB1070 and the Arizona Diamondbacks ownership asking the MBL to move the 2011 All-Star game from Phoenix. Photo AP

Yesterday Monday August 2nd, 2010 the game of Diamondbacks vs. DC's Nationals was interrupted in Phoenix, by activists dropping signs in the stadium:

PHOENIX — The Nationals and Diamondbacks were delayed briefly Monday night when a fan draped a sign over the left-field wall protesting Arizona's immigration law.

Plate umpire Angel Hernandez halted the game in the first inning when he saw the large sign addressed to Diamondbacks owner Ken Hendrick.

The sign read: "Mr. Kendrick ... Don't feed hate. Say no to SB1070."

Nationals left-fielder Josh Willingham said something to the fans behind the sign, which was pulled down by a security guard after a delay of about a minute.

The immigration law was partially blocked by a judge last week, but it hasn't stopped protests around Phoenix. Numerous groups have asked baseball to move next year's all-star game from Arizona because of the law.

Last Sunday August 1st, 2010 two activists run into the field before the match of New York's Mets vs. Diamondbacks, while carrying Mexican flags. This happened at the Citifield stadium in Queens, New York. Watch this video:

More protests are expected until the MLB takes action on the over 110,000 signatures of baseball fans demanding the MLB All-Star Game 2011 to be moved from Arizona.

Meanwhile, more activists and celebrities are joining the campaign asking to boycott the state of Arizona until it repeals SB-1070.

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Educating Children in DC Through Sports: Support the SYO Chargers and Earnest L. Williams [VIDEO]

Some people take difficulties in life as challenges and opportunities, they take charge of those situations and even help others as well.

This is the case of Earnest L. Williams, a dedicated father who decided to support children in his community, after knowing that his son Justin has ADHD. He also wrote a book about it.


Earnest L. Williams, Jr. a writer, publisher, organizer with a master’s degree from Towson University has helped creating SYO Chargers, a community group educating children and youth through sports.

The SYO Chargers need your support now, so that they can bring a group of 20 young athletes to the Amateur Athletic Union AAU Junior Olympics Track and Field Meet 2010 in Norfolk, Virginia.

Last Friday I was out in Chinatown when I spotted a group of kids selling books, in front of the movie theaters. There I met Earnest Williams, and we talked briefly:

How to help? Contact Ernest L. Williams (click here) or use this information:

Ernest L. Williams
29 R Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-636-4593
Email: info@WilliamWorks.com

Remember, we all can change our communities, one person at a time. This is a good example, you can help by donating, spreading the word or just emailing and telling Mr. Edwards that his work is important!

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