Judi Lynn
Judi Lynn's JournalWhen Americans Lynched Mexicans
When Americans Lynched Mexicans
By WILLIAM D. CARRIGAN and CLIVE WEBB
FEB. 20, 2015
THE recent release of a landmark report on the history of lynching in the United States is a welcome contribution to the struggle over American collective memory. Few groups have suffered more systematic mistreatment, abuse and murder than African-Americans, the focus of the report.
One dimension of mob violence that is often overlooked, however, is that lynchers targeted many other racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, including Native Americans, Italians, Chinese and, especially, Mexicans.
Americans are largely unaware that Mexicans were frequently the targets of lynch mobs, from the mid-19th century until well into the 20th century, second only to African-Americans in the scale and scope of the crimes. One case, largely overlooked or ignored by American journalists but not by the Mexican government, was that of seven Mexican shepherds hanged by white vigilantes near Corpus Christi, Tex., in late November 1873. The mob was probably trying to intimidate the shepherds’ employer into selling his land. None of the killers were arrested.
From 1848 to 1928, mobs murdered thousands of Mexicans, though surviving records allowed us to clearly document only about 547 cases. These lynchings occurred not only in the southwestern states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, but also in states far from the border, like Nebraska and Wyoming.
More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/opinion/when-americans-lynched-mexicans.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0
He understood the evidence of his own eyes, like the Colombian paramilitaries they found hiding
at a ranch near Caracas, owned by the Cuban "exile" creep Roberto Alonso, living in barracks, preparing for an attack on Miraflores, to kill Chavez, and seize control of the government:
The Venezuelan elite imports soldiers
by Marta Harnecker
May 23, 2004
~snip~
Since 'the conspiracies against Venezuela do not end with the capture of mercenaries in Caracas,' there must be many other infiltrators in other areas of the country; since this is not an isolated action, but one whose efforts to stop the process continue, one can reach but only one conclusion: it is necessary to prepare oneself for self-defense. This is why the President considered it opportune to take advantage of the occasion and to announce three strategic lines for defending the country. The most radical proposal was a call for the population to massively participate in the defense of the nation.
A week earlier, on the 9th of May, on the outskirts of Caracas, a paramilitary force was discovered, dressed in field uniforms. Later, more were found, raising the total to 130, leaving open the possibility that there are still more in the country. The three Colombian paramilitary leaders of the group are members of the Autonomous Self-Defense Forces (AUC) in Northern Santander state in Colombia.
Some of the captured Colombian fighters have a long history as members of paramilitary forces. Others are reservists of the Colombian army and yet others were specifically recruited for the task in Venezuela and were surely tricked. Among these there are several who are minors.
A colonel of the Venezuelan air force was also detained, as well as seven officers of the National Guard. Among those implicated in the plot is a group of civilians headed by the Cuban Roberto Alonso, creator of the 'guarimbas,'<1> and Gustavo Quintero Machado, a Venezuelan, both who are currently wanted by the Venezuelan justice system.
What the real objectives were is now being discussed. One of them could have been to steal weapons so as to then attack the Miraflores presidential palace and President Chavez himself.
The government denounced the existence of an international plot in which the governments of the United States and of Colombian would be involved. U.S. Ambassador Shapiro denied that his country had any participation in the incident. And the Colombian president, for his part, solidarized himself with the Venezuelan government, affirming that he supports its actions against the members of the irregular Colombian military group, which then caused Chavez to publicly announce that he was convinced that President Alvaro Uribe did not have anything to do with the plot, even though he insisted on leveling charges against a Colombian general by the name of Carreño.
Even though the oppositional media conducted a big campaign to minimize the issue, trying to accuse the government of having organized a montage, so as to have a pretext for taking forceful measures that would impede a confrontation at the voting booth, every day more evidence surfaces that confirm the official version.
The Colombian attorney general's office has evidence that proves that paramilitary fighters were recruited and then transported to Venezuela and that extreme right-wing groups infiltrated intelligence services in the border town of Cúcuta. The proof was shown on the news program 'The Independent Network.' The program broadcast some intercepted recordings of paramilitary soldiers in Cúcuta, in which the operations they carried out in Venezuelan territory are reviewed.
More:
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=5579
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Colombian paramilitaries captured at a ranch owned by Cuban right-wing “exile” Roberto Alonso[/center]
January 25, 2005
The Granda Kidnapping Explodes
The US / Colombia Plot Against Venezuela
By JAMES PETRAS
A major diplomatic and political conflict has exploded between Colombia and Venezuela after the revelation of a Colombian government covert operation in Venezuela, involving the recruitment of Venezuelan military and security officers in the kidnapping of a Colombian leftist leader. Following an investigation by the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior and reports and testimony from journalists and other knowledgeable political observers it was determined that the highest echelons of the Colombian government, including President Uribe, planned and executed this onslaught on Venezuelan sovereignty.
Once direct Colombian involvement was established, the Venezuelan government demanded a public apology from the Colombian government while seeking a diplomatic solution by blaming Colombian Presidential advisers. The Colombian regime took the offensive, launching an aggressive defense of its involvement in the violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and, beyond that, seeking to establish in advance, under the rationale of "national security" the legitimacy of future acts of aggression. As a result President Chavez has recalled the Venezuelan Ambassador from Bogota, suspended all state-to-state commercial and political agreements pending an official state apology. In response the US Government gave unconditional support to Colombian violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and urged the Uribe regime to push the conflict further. What began as a diplomatic conflict over a specific incident has turned into a major, defining crises in US and Latin American political relations with potentially explosive military, economic and political consequences for the entire region.
In justifying the kidnapping of Rodrigo Granda, the Colombian leftist leader, the Uribe regime has promulgated a new foreign policy doctrine which echoes that of the Bush Administration: the right of unilateral intervention in any country in which the Colombian government perceives or claims is harboring or providing refuge to political adversaries (which the regime labels as "terrorists"which might threaten the security of the state. The Uribe doctrine of unilateral intervention echoes the preventive war speech, enunciated in late 2001 by President Bush. Clearly Uribe's action and pronouncement is profoundly influenced by the dominance that Washington exercises over the Uribe regime's policies through its extended $3 billion dollar military aid program and deep penetration of the entire political-defense apparatus.
Uribe's offensive military doctrine involves several major policy propositions:More:
1.) The right to violate any country's sovereignty, including the use of force and violence, directly or in cooperation with local mercenaries.
2.) The right to recruit and subvert military and security officials to serve the interests of the Colombian state.
3.) The right to allocate funds to bounty hunters or "third parties" to engage in illegal violent acts within a target country.
4.) The assertion of the supremacy of Colombian laws, decrees and policies over and against the sovereign laws of the intervened country
http://www.counterpunch.org/petras01252005.html
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More Colombian paramilitaries[/center]
Published on Monday, May 17,
by the Agence France Presse
Thousands Protest Colombian Paramilitary Presence in Venezuela
Chavez to Set up 'People's Militia'
President Hugo Chavez announced his government would establish "people's militias" to counter what he called foreign interference after an alleged coup plot by Colombian paramilitaries Caracas claims was financed by Washington.
Chavez also said he would boost the strength of Venezuela's armed forces as part of a new "anti-imperialist" phase for his government.
"Each and every Venezuelan man and woman must consider themselves a soldier," said Chavez.
"Let the organization of a popular and military orientation begin from today."
The president's announcement came a week after authorities arrested 88 people described as Colombian paramilitaries holed up on property belonging to a key opposition figure.
More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0517-04.htm
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12.30pm update
Colombian paramilitaries arrested in Venezuela
Jeremy Lennard and agencies
Monday May 10, 2004
Venezuelan police have arrested more than 70 Colombian paramilitary fighters who were allegedly plotting to strike against the government in Caracas, according to the country's president, Hugo Chávez.
Opposition leaders, however, were quick to dismiss the president's claim, calling the raids on a farm less than 10 miles from the capital a ruse to divert attention from their efforts to oust Mr Chávez in a recall vote.
During his weekly radio and TV broadcast, Hello Mr President, Mr Chávez said that 53 paramilitary fighters were arrested at the farm early on Sunday and another 24 were picked up after fleeing into the countryside.
The country's security forces were uncovering additional clues and searching for more suspects, he said, adding that the arrests were proof of a conspiracy against his government involving Cuban and Venezuelan exiles in Florida and neighbouring Colombia.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/10/venezuela.jeremylennard
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More Colombian paramilitaries[/center]
Three Venezuelan Officers and 27 Colombians Sentenced for Assassination Plot
A Venezuelan military court sentenced three Venezuelan military officers and 27 Colombians to two to nine years of prison for plotting an assault on Venezuela’s presidential palace and the assassination of President Hugo Chavez.Another 73 Colombians and 3 Venezuelan officers, who had also been suspected of participating in the plot, were freed after spending 17 months in prison.
118 Colombians were captured in May 2004 on a ranch just outside of Caracas, wearing Venezuelan military fatigues. Many of them appeared to be Colombian paramilitary fighters who had been recruited for a mission in Venezuela to attack the Chavez government and to kill the president. Six Venezuelan officers were also arrested in the course of the investigation.
Some of the Colombians were peasants who had been lured to come to Venezuela with the promise of jobs. Upon arriving, though, they were forced to engage in paramilitary training exercises and were forbidden to leave the ranch. 18 of the Colombians were released immediately after the capture and returned to Colombia because they were minors between 15 and 17 years. The ranch belongs to Roberto Alonso, a prominent Cuban-Venezuelan opposition activist. The highest level officer to be sentenced was General Ovidio Poggioli, who had been charged with military rebellion and was sentenced to 2 years and ten months of prison. The other two Venezuelan officers are Colonel Jesús Farias Rodríguez and Captain Rafael Farias Villasmil, who were each sentenced to nine years of prison. The 27 Colombians were each sentenced to six years prison.
When the group of Colombians were first arrested, many opposition leaders argued that the government had staged the arrests, in order to make the opposition look bad. They pointed out that no weapons were found with the paramilitary fighters and that the whole operation looked far too amateurish to have any chance of success. Also, it was argued that it is practically impossible to transport 120 Colombian paramilitary fighters undetected all the way from Colombia to Caracas, considering that there are numerous military control points along the way.
http://www.voltairenet.org/article130297.html
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Venezuela's Chavez pardons Colombian prisoners accused in plot
By Fabiola Sanchez
ASSOCIATED PRESS
3:11 p.m. August 30, 2007
CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez on Thursday pardoned dozens of Colombians imprisoned in Venezuela on charges of involvement in an alleged 2004 plot against his government.
The order to free the 41 prisoners took effect with its publication in the government's official gazette, dismissing their convictions on charges of military rebellion.
Chavez announced his decision to free the prisoners last week as a goodwill gesture during his efforts to help broker an unrelated prisoner and hostage exchange between Colombia's government and leftist rebels.
In May 2004, 118 Colombians were arrested at a ranch outside Caracas. Authorities said they were wearing Venezuelan military uniforms and were suspected of belonging to paramilitary group that was plotting to create chaos in the country and assassinate Chavez.
More:
http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20070830-1511-venezuela-colombia.html
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[font size=5]Uribe admits anti-Chavez plot planned in Colombia[/font]
AFP, SANTA MARTA, COLOMBIA
Monday, Dec 19, 2005, Page 7
Venezuelan former soldiers plotted against President Hugo Chavez's government at a Colombian military building, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said.
Uribe made the stunning disclosure on Saturday at the Caribbean resort town of Santa Marta where he is meeting with Chavez, and after analyzing documents furnished by Chavez.
"The Venezuelan soldiers who are in Bogota went to a building to meet with members of the Colombian military. President Chavez gave us these documents ... we analyzed them and this morning I said to President Chavez: `I must tell you the truth: this is a building of Colombia's public forces,'" he said.
Uribe said that intelligence efforts against the Venezuelan government are conducted in the building, and took full responsibility for the affair.
The two presidents met for six hours amid a climate of unusual goodwill on Saturday to discuss the purported Bogota-based conspiracy against the Venezuelan president, which Chavez first disclosed to his Colombian counterpart during a meeting in Venezuela on Nov. 24.
Seven Venezuelans involved in a 48-hour coup against Chavez in April 2002 have been linked to the new plot. Businessman Pedro Carmona, leader of the failed military-civilian coup, enjoys political asylum in Colombia, where he is working as a university professor.
Uribe refused asylum to six Venezuelan soldiers involved in the coup but gave them permission to live in Colombia while they look for safe haven in another country.
He said on Saturday that he takes responsibility for the events.
More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3291580
Cuban vice-president hosts Nancy Pelosi in first meeting with US officials
Source: Guardian
Cuban vice-president hosts Nancy Pelosi in first meeting with US officials
House Democratic delegates visit Miguel Diaz-Canel, the country’s likely next president, before leaving the island
Reuters in Havana
Thursday 19 February 2015 18.15 EST
Nine members of the US House of Representatives met Cuban vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel on Thursday, marking the first time Cuba’s heir apparent to power has received an American delegation.
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and eight other House Democrats concluded their two-day visit to the country by meeting Diaz-Canel, 54, who is first in line to the seat of power held by brothers Fidel and Raul Castro since 1959.
The meeting came two months after the United States and Cuba announced a rapprochement and plans to restore diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of hostilities.
The nine Democrats, all supporters of Barack Obama’s policy change on the Communist-led island, were due to be escorted directly to the airport after the meeting.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/19/cuba-vice-president-nancy-pelosi-havana
"Children Do Not Migrate—They Flee": Striking Photos From Poverty-Ravaged Guatemala
"Children Do Not Migrate—They Flee": Striking Photos From Poverty-Ravaged Guatemala
Photographer Katie Orlinsky captures the conditions driving the exodus to the United States.
— Photos by Katie Orlinsky; Text by Ian Gordon
| Wed Feb. 18, 2015 9:53 AM EST
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A child arrives at a government-run child migrant shelter in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, after being deported from Mexico.
Katie Orlinsky for Too Young to Wed, in collaboration with Humanity United.
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In October 2013, I traveled to Guatemala's western highlands to report on the surge of children migrating from Central America to the United States. The largely indigenous region was more or less unchanged from when I'd lived in a village near the Guatemala-Mexico border in 2006, or when I'd returned to do graduate work there in 2009: It was poor, susceptible to natural disasters, and full of families with relatives living in the United States.
Photographer Katie Orlinsky visited many of the same places that I did, and her evocative work from Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango, the unofficial capital of the highlands, illuminates the poverty that continues to push children and families north. Recent data suggests that while far fewer Hondurans and Salvadorans have been arriving at the US border, the number of Guatemalans has dipped only slightly. As one Guatemalan migrant shelter official told Orlinsky, "Children do not migrate—they flee."
[font size=1]
A young boy gathers wood in Quetzaltenango. The area has one of the highest levels of child migration in the country.
Many of the children are economic refugees. In addition, a large population of Guatemalans from the area are already
living in the United States and Mexico.
[/font]
[font size=1]
Paula (right) does not go to school and instead works washing clothing with female family members in the town of Los
Duraznales.
[/font]
More:
http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/02/child-migrants-guatemala-photos-katie-orlinsky
Indiana House passes captive deer-hunting bill
Indiana House passes captive deer-hunting bill
Ryan Sabalow, ryan.sabalow@indystar.com 1:38 p.m. EST February 18, 2015
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill late Tuesday that would legalize high-fence deer hunting.
House Bill 1453 passed with a 55 to 39 vote.
The bill would legalize high-fence hunting at any preserve that had been in operation before 2015.
The bill now moves to the Indiana Senate, where it has a strong chance of being heard before the Natural Resources Committee. The committee's chairwoman, LaGrange Republican Sen. Susan Glick, was added Tuesday as a co-sponsor.
HB 1453 was widely expected to breeze through the House, where similar legislation has passed easily in the past.
The Senate has been another story.
In previous years, Republican Sen. Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, who has compared captive deer hunting to dog fighting, has blocked the bills from being heard.
More:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/02/18/indiana-house-passes-captive-deer-hunting-bill/23620599/
Latin American leaders warn of Chile-style coup
Latin American leaders warn of Chile-style coup
Feb 2015
Thursday 19th
FEBRUARY 12 saw the announcement of the discovery of a plot to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with government officials saying the plans included violent attacks on the presidential palace and other government buildings.
The thwarting of this latest coup attempt comes as leaders of numerous Latin American countries have warned of a similar situation developing in Venezuela to that which preceded the 1973 coup against Chile’s Salvador Allende, which led to the horrendous dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
In recent weeks, Maduro himself has warned that the right-wing opposition in the country is trying to create conditions that will lead to a coup. The warning came after a series of raids on shipping companies revealed that they were hoarding products to generate shortages.
Venezuelan Vice-President Jorge Arreaza also echoed Maduro’s concerns, saying the opposition is intentionally creating shortages of supplies to destabilise the country.
In an illuminating contribution to the discussion, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa called on young people in his progressive governing alliance to learn from Latin America’s history, when economic wars and coups have been regularly used to destabilise popular governments.
More:
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-1dc9-Latin-American-leaders-warn-of-Chile-style-coup#.VOVIfmc5Cbw
Miss. Judge Indicted After Abusing Mentally Disabled Man, Telling Him To “Run N—ger Run”
Miss. Judge Indicted After Abusing Mentally Disabled Man, Telling Him To “Run N—ger Run”
Feb 16, 2015
By NewsOne Staff
Madison County, Miss., Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger (Courtesy of Madison County Detention Center)
A Mississippi Republican judge has been indicted on an assault charge after striking a mentally disabled man and hurling racial slurs at him last spring at an event in Canton, Miss.
The Clarion-Ledger reports:
(Madison County) Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger turned himself in to the Madison County sheriff Thursday, according to a spokeswoman with the Attorney General’s office. He was released on $10,000 bond…
If convicted, the charge of simple assault against a vulnerable adult carries a fine of up to $1,000 or up to 5 years imprisonment, or both. The charge against him is a felony.
The charge comes after the family of a 20-year-old African-American man, Eric Rivers, filed a police complaint against Weisenberger after the May 8 incident at a flea market. He reportedly slapped Rivers and yelled “Run, n–ger, run,” the report says.
“From the beginning of this matter, Judge Weisenberger, has cooperated with each law enforcement and investigatory agency that wanted to know what actually occurred at the Canton Flea Market last spring,” an emailed statement from Weisenberger’s lawyer, Bill Kirksey, said. “Judge Weisenberger has denied and continues to deny any wrong doing or the commission of any crime against any person.”
More:
http://newsone.com/3091971/miss-judge-indicted-after-abusing-mentally-disabled-man-telling-him-to-run-n-ger-run/
Democracy Programs in Cuba: the NED report
Democracy Programs in Cuba: the NED report
Tracey Eaton • February 17, 2015
The National Endowment for Democracy is a major recipient of US government funds for channeling to democracy programs in Cuba. The NED, based in Washington, D.C., does a better job than most organizations in disclosing to the public how it spends its money.
NED states in the summary of its activities in Cuba:
“Programs in Cuba took advantage of the new migration law that lifted the ban on international travel for Cubans. Cuban activists and human rights defenders presented cases of violations of human and civil rights before the United Nations and Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and participated in trainings to improve their ability to document cases. Cuban activists attended international workshops to share information and experiences with counterparts who face similar challenges.
“Programs raised international awareness about repression on the island, provided ordinary citizens with access to uncensored information and legal support, trained young Cubans to use new social media, and defended the rights of Afro-Cubans and underrepresented communities.”
The following is the list of US Gov. funded grants through NED, published in its 2013 annual report
Afro-Cuban Alliance, Inc.
Freedom of Information
$132,701
ISLAS: Quarterly Afro-Cuban Journal
To encourage greater discussion and analysis about racial issues in Cuba. Afro-Cuba Alliance will publish a quarterly journal to inform readers on the island and in the international community about racial issues in Cuba, the experience of civil rights movements, and the efforts of civil rights activists towards greater racial equality.
Afro-Cuban Alliance, Inc.
Freedom of Information
$6,500 (Supplement)
Promoting Racial Equality in Cuba
To promote discussion about racial issues in Cuba and raise international awareness about the situation of Afro-Cubans.
Asociación de Iberoamericanos por la Libertad
Democratic Ideas and Values
$60,000
Promoting Political Unity for a Democratic Cuba
To promote greater consensus about the need to support democratic actors in Cuba. Asociación de Iberoamericanos por la Libertad (AIL) will convene a series of meetings between international actors that work in Cuba in order to identify opportunities to jointly promote greater respect for civil and political rights in Cuba. AIL will also raise international awareness about the state of democracy and human rights in the country today.
More:
http://progresoweekly.us/democracy-programs-cuba-ned-report/
Cuban baseball: The blockade and the profits
Cuban baseball: The blockade and the profits
Julio Batista • February 17, 2015
HAVANA — The $102,000 that might have gone to the Vegueros team, champion of the Caribbean Series 2015, will not be collected by the players. And no bonuses will go to the four Cubans in the tournament’s All-Star team, prizes that they won fairly at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
The big political excuse used so far by the USAmerican institutions to avoid paying the Cuban teams was that the money would end up in the hands of the government, not in the hands of the players.
Since January 2014 — when the new policy on remuneration approved by the INDER took effect — the island’s authorities have established that the total amount of the revenues obtained in competition would go to the athletes (80 percent), the coaches (15 percent) and work teams (5 percent.)
Under that concept, and being unable to access the prize, each of the 25 Cuban players who raised the trophy in the 57th Caribbean Series failed to receive $3,264, the equivalent of 6 years 7 months of the basic salary of a player in a National Series team.
To the Cubans and the connoisseurs of the “economic blockade,” the news is no news at all. U.S. laws are very clear on that point and, even though the tournament is not played in its backyard, it is Major League Baseball that puts up the money, and the MLB has never disobeyed its government.
More:
http://progresoweekly.us/cuban-baseball-blockade-profits/
The US Covert War on Venezuela in 2015 – Diary: Feb 11
The US Covert War on Venezuela in 2015 – Diary: Feb 11
By Arturo Rosales writing from Caracas
Friday, Feb 13, 2015
América Alonso, representative of hypermarkets Makro that has just introduced biometric finger printing to prevent resellers from purchasing many products and selling them on at higher prices, noted various aspects of the lines and the economic war in Venezuela.
Alonso, who can hardly be called a “chavista or supporter of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)”, stated that “30% of the people in the lines are those that really need the products. Others are buying in almost panic mode. One of the problems is that if you buy a kilo of detergent here at Bs.30 and sell it on at Bs.350, then there is no better business than that”.
She noted that there are enough products being produced but demand has skyrocketed in January this year for the reasons outlined above. The solution is to produce more to balance supply and demand and at the same time to work together for the good of the country.
It is a pity that other businessmen do not take this attitude instead of participating in US plans to destabilize the economy – for which they will eventually pay as have the owners of the Farmatodo and Día a Día chains all of whom are behind bars awaiting trial and facing 10 years in jail.
More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_69351.shtml
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