Mohamed Albardei is an idealist

Nobel Prize Laureate, Mohamed Albardei is an intellectual, he is not a strong leader or charismatic figure. He is weak and has no military, political or religious support. He will be used by them as a stepping stone only.

Albardei just demonstrated that he is also not a statesman on CNN. When asked about President Mubarak he answered that is “If he wants to save his skin and save the country he should leave.” Not very eloquent or productive. Instead of creating a door through which Mubarak can walk out through without further bloodshed or violence he makes statements that will bruise Mubarak’s ego and possibly make him intransigent.

Mohamed Albardei is not strong enough to stand up to the forces that will rock the country when the revolution comes. Some leaders have commented that he is parachuting into the situation. We must be careful not to invest too much in Albardei. If Albardei becomes president the seat might be be yanked from him by the religious groups or the military.

On the other hand, Mubarak must sit with a civilian group to plan his transition. So that he can save face and not have terrible bloodshed. They must plan and concede how, when and who will participate in the coming election.

The problem for the oposition is that they do not have a strong charistmatic leader like Khoemeini during the Iranian revolution. This hobbles them from moving in a timely organized manner.

 

 

Nacionales - Amnistía Internacional instó a liberar a jueza María Lourdes Afiuni

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Amnistía Internacional instó a liberar la jueza María Lourdes Afiuni

globovision.com

Jueves, 27 de enero de 2011

Amnistía Internacional instó a las autoridades venezolanas a liberar a la jueza María Lourdes Afiuni, quien lleva más de un año detenida tras dictar una medida cautelar a favor del banquero Eligio Cedeño.

Señala AI que la jueza María Lourdes Afiuni Mora fue detenida el 10 de diciembre de 2009, horas después de que ordenó la liberación del banquero Eligio Cedeño, una decisión que estaba dentro de su poder y en consonancia con la ley venezolana.

Un día después de su arresto, la decisión de la jueza fue condenada por el presidente Hugo Chávez durante una entrevista televisiva en la que pidió a servir la pena máxima de 30 años.

La organización indica que la jueza necesita atención médica y ha recibido amenezasa de otros reos en donde se encuentra recluida, sin que hasta el momento se hubiera iniciado una investigación.

“La detención de Afiuni es aparentemente el resultado de la interferencia política por el presidente Chávez. Ella ha sido detenida simplemente por llevar a cabo su trabajo y como tal debe ser puesta en libertad", dijo Guadalupe Marengo, América de Amnistía Internacional director adjunto.

La jueza Afiuni ha sido acusada de "corrupción ordinaria (Corrupción Propia), abuso de autoridad, ayudando a escapar y asociación para delinquir" en relación con su decisión en diciembre de 2009 al ordenar la libertad condicional del banquero Eligio Cedeño.

Un año después, la Fiscalía General no ha aportado pruebas fiables para justificar los cargos de corrupción y abuso de autoridad contra la jueza Afiuni.

Su familia ha expresado su preocupación porque su condición física parece estar deteriorándose y, sin embargo, las autoridades informaron que han retrasado o incluso ignorado las peticiones de tratamiento médico.

De acuerdo con informes médicos,  la jueza Afiuni tiene dos tumores en los senos. Ella también tiene un problema ginecológico que le ha causado  hemorragias fuertes desde noviembre de 2010. Los médicos no han podido concluir los exámenes médicos necesarios para prescribir el tratamiento adecuado.

En enero de 2011 también tuvo varios episodios de taquicardia por los que no ha recibido tratamiento adecuado.

El 10 de diciembre de 2010, la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos pidió que las autoridades venezolanas adoptaran medidas inmediatas para garantizar la vida e integridad física y mental de la jueza Afiuni y para asegurar la atención médica que se necesitaba que se le dio acceso al médico de su elección.

El Tribunal dio a Venezuela hasta el 20 de diciembre para informar sobre las medidas adoptadas. Amnistía Internacional no tiene conocimiento de ninguna respuesta por parte del gobierno de Venezuela.

El 16 de diciembre de 2009, la ONU dijo que la "liberación inmediata e incondicional de Afiuni es imprescindible" y que "las represalias por el ejercicio de sus funciones constitucionalmente garantizadas y crear un clima de temor entre la judicatura y la profesión de abogado no sirven a ningún otro propósito que el de socavar el Estado de Derecho y obstruir la justicia".

Amnistía Internacional dijo que le preocupa que el caso el juez Afiuni pueda disuadir a los demás jueces de tratar a todos los acusados por igual, de acuerdo a la ley venezolana y los tratados internacionales de derechos humanos en que Venezuela es Estado Parte.

La organización dijo que los temores de los jueces a las decisiones de las autoridades superiores pueden afectar negativamente a los derechos humanos de la población y la capacidad de los acusados y las víctimas de posibles violaciones de los derechos humanos para garantizar la justicia.

www.globovision.com

El OBVIO EVASIVO? …

Willie Colón on Lunes, 17 de enero de 2011 8:43pm

El tiroteo de Arizona no se trata de armas o política, se trata de prioridades. Encontramos que muchas personas dicen que sabían que algo andaba mal con Jared Laughner pero nadie hizo o siquiera dijo nada al respecto.

No se trata de lo que Sarah Palin dijo o del discurso del Presidente Obama. El problema es que en nuestra lucha por encontrar un equilibrio entre derechos civiles y el equilibrio en nuestros presupuestos hemos decidido que las personas que están terriblemente perturbadas o incluso quienes muestran un comportamiento amenazador e inquietante deben primero cometer un delito a fin de poder intervenir.

Entiendo que se corre el riesgo de tener a todo el mundo encerrado por una razón u otra, pero en este caso, y en algunos otros de los que he sido personalmente informado, cuando se les notifica a las autoridades la mayoría de las veces lo mas que pueden hacer es poner una Orden de Protección.

Una vez más, gente de todas partes se ha subido al titular del “tiroteo en Arizona” para ganarse espacio en la cama; los políticos, hicieron sus discursos, las agencias de noticias lo ordeñaron, los familiares hicieron conferencias de prensa, los autores revisaron el sentido y propósitos de sus libros para adaptarse a la ola. El filósofo francés Bernard-Henri Levy arrogantemente pontificó por CNN: (Con horrrendo acento Francés) “Sarah Palín no debe hablar de esa manergra!” El hombre apenas puede hablar Inglés y va a explicarnos lo que los estadounidenses realmente querían decir!

Por otra parte, con nuestro querido viejo sistema de dos partidos los políticos nos hacen cargar nuestras armas y apuntarlas al partido político contrario para que puedan seguir desviando nuestra atención de los verdaderos problemas.

El año pasado, aquí en Nueva York, un hombre igual de perturbado mató a un médico en un hospital con un cuchillo de carnicero. Cambiar la ley de armas no hará que este problema desaparezca. aunque la idea del senador Chuck Schumer de que los militares suministren información vital al sistema NICS (Sistema Nacional de comprobación instantánea de antecedentes criminales por sus siglas en Ingles) es una gran idea. Hospitales y otros profesionales deberían ser obligados a informar sobre las personas que son potencialmente peligrosos para la ciudadanía. Esto debería aplicarse a las licencias de conducir, licencias de pilotos y similares, así como a los permisos de portación de armas.

Me gustaría estar seguro de cuál es la razón por la que no estamos haciendo nada: ¿la corrección política? ¿O es solamente que es demasiado caro poner a todas estas personas bajo supervisión médica?

Sí, vamos a dejar que deambulen por las calles y cuando algo suceda, culpemos a la bossa-nova. Oye, ¿por qué no les ponemos auriculares Bluetooth falsos de modo que cuando caminen por las calles vociferando solos parezca que están haciendo una llamada telefónica! funcionaria!

Se trata de un caso del obvio-evasivo. Hacer un tributo nacional,  echarle la culpa a las leyes de armas de fuego o lo que Sarah Palin dijo es poner un curita en una herida grave. Estamos ignorando el problema.

 

16 de enero 2011

EL DEMONIO DE LA ADICCIÓN

La adicción a drogas no es una enfermedad del cuerpo y la mente. Es una enfermedad del alma. No importa que tan cínico uno sea acerca de Dios y las fuerzas del bien y del mal, cualquiera que conoce las adicciones de manera íntima llega a conocer la verdadera naturaleza de esta bestia.

La adicción posee a su anfitrión y a su vida. Es una entidad que hace que todos los adictos hagan las mismas expresiones faciales, digan las mismas mentiras (PALABRA POR PALABRA!), y cometan los mismos actos de destrucción irreflexiva.

Es como si todos los adictos hubieran asistido a una especie de universidad para aprender estos guiones y comportamientos. Esa es la más terrible verdad acerca de la adicción. Una vez que conoces a un adicto bien ya los conoces a todos. Dejan de ser la persona que una vez conociste y amaste. En verdad, ya no son humanos, infectados por este parásito su razón, emociones, ética y moral están vacantes.

Ninguna cantidad de paciencia, amor o lógica puede penetrar la tenacidad de este demonio. La única manera de derrotar a este demonio es encontrar un momento en que el anfitrión este tan débil que no puede servir a su amo. Esto se llama tocar fondo. No es un espectáculo agradable. Lo que queda del adicto es una cascara moribunda de un ser humano.

Es en este momento, con el anfitrión prácticamente a las puertas de la muerte que el demonio no puede acudir a su fuerza para controlar a su siervo. Esa es la base sobre la cual podemos reconstruir un ser humano de nuevo a una semejanza de lo que alguna vez fueron. Es literalmente un exorcismo.

En mi vida he llegado a conocer íntimamente a este demonio. Reconozco su cara, sus gestos, su voz, sus palabras y hechos. Combatí con él por el alma de algunos familiares cercanos y perdí. Pero han habido uno o dos a los que he podido ayudar a salvar. Para mí, estas han sido grandes y satisfactorias victorias. Para el demonio, pérdidas patéticas e insignificantes. Tiene legiones de esclavos bajo su mando y él sabe que el 99% del tiempo va a ganar.

Por eso cuando oí la voz del demonio procedente de la televisión y mire lo que estaba pasando, inmediatamente reconocí al demonio manifestándose como Ted Williams. Ninguna cantidad de intervenciones en televisión y psicoanálisis pop van a arrancar a ese demonio del alma de Ted. Grandes cantidades de dinero le serán más valiosas y harán más fuerte a este demonio.

Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil) es una estrella de televisión no un trabajador social real o un psicólogo. Si bien puede tener el deseo de hacer el bien en algún pequeño rincón de su corazón, el demonio se acerca a través de él con la seducción de esta historia sensacionalista y la mejora de sus ratings. Creo que el Dr. Phil es suficientemente fuerte como para sacudirlo, pero si acaso un poco. Al final, le deseo a Ted Williams lo mejor, dondequiera que su alma y su ex-yo estén cautivos.

Ese muerto viviente loco que vi en la televisión no era Ted Williams. Era el demonio en toda su gloria.

Dios nos proteja a todos.

THE ELUSIVE OBVIOUS?…

by Willie Colón on Monday, January 17, 2011 at 1:24pm

This Arizona shooting wasn’t about politics or guns, it’s about priorities.  We find that many people say they knew something was wrong with Jared Laughner but nobody did or even said anything about it.

It’s not about what Sarah Palin said or President Obama’s speech. The problem is that in our struggle to find a balance between civil rights and the balance in our budgets we have decided that people who are frighteningly disturbed or even display ominously threatening behavior must first commit a crime in order to intervene.

I understand that we run the risk of having everybody locked up for one reason or another but in this case; and in some others that I have been personally made aware of, when the authorities are notified most of the time the best they can do is an Order Of Protection.

Again, people from all quarters have jumped on this “Arizona Shooter” headline to make hay; Politicians, made their speeches, news agencies milked it; relatives made press conferences, authors revised the meaning and purposes of their books to fit the wave.  French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy arrogantly pontificates on CNN: “Yezz Sagrhaaah Paleen az nu grrat zu speek zuch atefool lawngoooajjj!” The man can hardly speak English and he’s going to tell us what Americans really meant to say!

Then again, with our good ole two party system the pols get us to cock and load our weapons at each other’s Political Party so that they can continue to divert our attention from the real issues.

Last year, here in New York City, a similarly disturbed man killed a doctor at a hospital with a meat cleaver. Changing the gun laws will not make this problem go away; although Sen. Chuck Schumer’s idea of having military provide vital information into the NICS System (The National Instant Criminal Background Check System) is a great idea. Hospitals and other professional should be compelled to report people who are potentially dangerous to the citizenry. This should be applied to driver’s licenses, pilot’s licenses and the like, as well as carry permits.

I would just like to be sure what the reason we aren’t doing anything is: political correctness? Or is it that it’s just too expensive to put all these people under medical supervision?

Yes, let’s let them roam the streets and when something happens; blame it on the bossa-nova. Hey, why don’t we put dummy Bluetooth earpieces on them so that when they walk the streets ranting to themselves it looks like they’re making a phone call! That’ll work!

This is a case of the elusive-obvious. In the end having a national rally, blaming it on the guns laws or what Sarah Palin said is putting a Band-Aid on a serious wound. We are ignoring the problem.

 

THE DEMON OF ADDICTION

Substance addiction isn’t a disease of the body and the mind. It’s a disease of the soul. No matter how cynical one may be about God and the forces of good and evil anyone that knows about addiction intimately gets to know the true nature of this beast.

Addiction possesses its host and takes over its life. It’s an entity that makes every addict make the same facial expressions, tell the same lies (WORD FOR WORD!) and commit the same thoughtless destructive acts.

It is as if all addicts had attended some sort of university to learn these scripts and behaviors. That is the most frightening truth thing about addiction. Once you know one addict well, you know them all. They cease to be the person you once knew and loved. Truly, they are no longer human; infected by this parasite, their reason, emotions, ethics, morality are now vacant.

No amount of patience, love or logic can penetrate this demon’s tenacity. The only way to defeat this demon is to find a moment when the host is weak that he cannot serve his master. This is called hitting bottom. It is not a pretty sight. What remains of the addict is a moribund shell of a human being.

It is at this moment, with the host practically at deaths door that the demon cannot summon the strength to control his minion. That is the foundation upon which we can rebuild a human being back to a semblance of their former selves. It is literally an exorcism.

In my life I have come to know this devil intimately. I recognize his face, his gestures, his voice, his words and deeds. I have fought him for the soul of a few close family members and lost. But there have been one or two that I have been able to help save. For me, these have been great satisfying victories. To the demon, pathetic insignificant losses. He has legions of slaves under his command and he knows that 99% of the time he will win.

That’s why when I heard the demon’s voice coming from the TV and went to see what was going on, I immediately recognized the demon manifesting himself as Ted Williams. No amount of TV intervention and Pop psychoanalysis is going to rip that demon from Ted’s soul. Large amount of money will make him stronger and more valuable to this devil.

Phil McGraw is a TV Star not a real social worker or shrink. While he may have the desire to do good in some little corner of his heart. The demon is coming up through him with the seduction of sensationalizing this story and enhancing his viewers share. I believe Dr. Phil is strong enough to shake him but just barely. In the end, I wish Ted Williams well, wherever his soul and former self are being held captive.

That insane skell we saw on TV was not Ted Williams. It was the demon in all his glory. God protect us all.

 

CUBA: Obama makes policy Changes - Obama Impone Cambios en la Política

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                                                                      January 14, 2011

REACHING OUT TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE

Today, President Obama has directed the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security to take a series of steps to continue efforts to reach out to the Cuban people in support of their desire to freely determine their country’s future.

The President has directed that changes be made to regulations and policies governing:  (1) purposeful travel; (2) non-family remittances; and (3) U.S. airports supporting licensed charter flights to and from Cuba.  These measures will increase people-to-people contact; support civil society in Cuba; enhance the free flow of information to, from, and among the Cuban people; and help promote their independence from Cuban authorities.

The President believes these actions, combined with the continuation of the embargo, are important steps in reaching the widely shared goal of a Cuba that respects the basic rights of all its citizens.  These steps build upon the President’s April 2009 actions to help reunite divided Cuban families; to facilitate greater telecommunications with the Cuban people; and to increase humanitarian flows to Cuba.

The directed changes described below will be enacted through modifications to existing Cuban Assets Control and Customs and Border Protection regulations and policies and will take effect upon publication of modified regulations in the Federal Register within 2 weeks.

Purposeful Travel.  To enhance contact with the Cuban people and support civil society through purposeful travel, including religious, cultural, and educational travel, the President has directed that regulations and policies governing purposeful travel be modified to:

· Allow religious organizations to sponsor religious travel to Cuba under a general license.

· Facilitate educational exchanges by:  allowing accredited institutions of higher education to sponsor travel to Cuba for course work for academic credit under a general license; allowing students to participate through academic institutions other than their own; and facilitating instructor support to include support from adjunct and part-time staff.

· Restore specific licensing of educational exchanges not involving academic study pursuant to a degree program under the auspices of an organization that sponsors and organizes people-to-people programs.

· Modify requirements for licensing academic exchanges to require that the proposed course of study be accepted for academic credit toward their undergraduate or graduate degree (rather than regulating the length of the academic exchange in Cuba).

· Allow specifically licensed academic institutions to sponsor or cosponsor academic seminars, conferences, and workshops related to Cuba and allow faculty, staff, and students to attend.

· Allow specific licensing to organize or conduct non-academic clinics and workshops in Cuba for the Cuban people.

· Allow specific licensing for a greater scope of journalistic activities.

Remittances.  To help expand the economic independence of the Cuban people and to support a more vibrant Cuban civil society, the President has directed the regulations governing non-family remittances be modified to:

· Restore a general license category for any U.S. person to send remittances (up to $500 per quarter) to non-family members in Cuba to support private economic activity, among other purposes, subject to the limitation that they cannot be provided to senior Cuban government officials or senior members of the Cuban Communist Party.

· Create a general license for remittances to religious institutions in Cuba in support of religious activities.

No change will be made to the general license for family remittances.

U.S. Airports.  To better serve those who seek to visit family in Cuba and engage in other licensed purposeful travel, the President has directed that regulations governing the eligibility of U.S. airports to serve as points of embarkation and return for licensed flights to Cuba be modified to:

· Allow all U.S. international airports to apply to provide services to licensed charters, provided such airports have adequate customs and immigration capabilities and a licensed travel service provider has expressed an interest in providing service to and from Cuba from that airport.

The modifications will not change the designation of airports in Cuba that are eligible to send or receive licensed charter flights to and from the United States.

###

THE WHITE HOUSE

Oficina del Secretario de Prensa
______________________________________________________________________

Para publicación inmediata                                         14 de enero, 2011

EN APOYO AL PUEBLO CUBANO

Hoy, el Presidente Obama dio instrucciones a los secretarios de Estado, Tesoro y Seguridad Nacional para que tomen una serie de medidas a fin de continuar los esfuerzos de apoyar al pueblo cubano en su deseo de determinar libremente el destino de su país. 

El Presidente ha dispuesto que se realicen cambios a la política y normas que rigen: (1) viajes con un propósito determinado significativo; (2) remesas a personas ajenas a la familia, y (3) aeropuertos de Estados Unidos que apoyan vuelos fletados y autorizados a Cuba y desde Cuba. Estas medidas aumentarán el contacto entre los pueblos; apoyarán a la sociedad civil en Cuba; mejorarán el libre flujo de información para los cubanos, por ellos y entre ellos, y ayudará a promover su independencia de las autoridades cubanas.

El Presidente considera que estas medidas, en combinación con la continuación del embargo, son pasos importantes para lograr un objetivo compartido ampliamente de una Cuba que respeta los derechos básicos de todos sus ciudadanos. Estas medidas se suman a las que tomó el Presidente en abril del 2009 de ayudar a reunificar familias cubanas separadas; facilitar la telecomunicación con el pueblo cubano, y aumentar la ayuda humanitaria a Cuba.

Los cambios dispuestos que se describen abajo se implementarán por medio de modificaciones a las normas y medidas vigentes de Control de Activos Cubanos (Cuban Assets Control) y Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (Customs and Border Protection), y entrarán en vigor tras la publicación de las normas modificadas en el Federal Register en 2 semanas, a más tardar.

Viajes con un propósito determinado significativo. A fin de aumentar el contacto con el pueblo cubano y apoyar a la sociedad civil con viajes con propósitos determinados significativos, entre ellos los religiosos, culturales y educativos, el Presidente ha dispuesto que se modifiquen las normas y medidas que rigen dichos viajes para:

· Permitir que las organizaciones religiosas patrocinen viajes religiosos a Cuba con una licencia general.

· Facilitar los intercambios educativos al: permitir que instituciones acreditadas de educación superior con una licencia general auspicien viajes a Cuba que reporten créditos académicos; permitir que los estudiantes participen por medio de instituciones académicas en las que no cursan estudios, y facilitar el apoyo a docentes a fin de incluir el respaldo de instructores adjuntos y de medio tiempo.

· Restaurar licencias especificas para intercambios educativos no relacionados con estudios académicos cuyo fin es la obtención de un grado, cuando cuentan con los auspicios de una organización que patrocina y organiza programas que promueven contacto entre los pueblos.

· Modificar los requisitos para autorizar los intercambios académicos al requerir que los estudios propuestos se acepten para recibir crédito académico como parte de un grado universitario o posgrado (en vez de reglamentar la duración del intercambio académico en Cuba).

· Permitir que instituciones académicas con una licencia específica patrocinen individual o conjuntamente seminarios, conferencias y talleres académicos relacionados con Cuba y permitir la asistencia de profesores, personal y estudiantes.

· Permitir licencias específicas para organizar o realizar clínicas y talleres no académicos en Cuba para el pueblo cubano.

· Permitir licencias específicas para una mayor variedad de actividades periodísticas.

Remesas. Para ayudar a aumentar la independencia económica del pueblo cubano y apoyar una sociedad civil más dinámica en Cuba, el Presidente ha dado instrucciones de que las normas que rigen las remesas a personas ajenas a la familia se modifiquen para:

· Restaurar una categoría de licencia general a fin de que cualquier estadounidense pueda enviar remesas (hasta $500 por trimestre) a personas en Cuba que no son familiares para apoyar actividades económicas privadas, entre otros propósitos, sujeto a la limitación de que los benefactores no pueden ser altos funcionarios del gobierno cubano ni del Partido Comunista Cubano.

· Crear una licencia general para remesas a organizaciones religiosas en Cuba a fin de apoyar actividades religiosas.

No se harán cambios a la licencia general para remesas familiares.

Aeropuertos en Estados Unidos. Para prestar mejores servicios a quienes quieren visitar a familiares en Cuba y participar en otros viajes autorizados para un propósito determinado significativo, el Presidente ha dispuesto que las normas que establecen los requisitos de los aeropuertos de Estados Unidos para servir de puntos de embarque y retorno en viajes fletados y autorizados a Cuba se modifiquen para:

· Permitir que todos los aeropuertos internacionales en Estados Unidos puedan presentar su solicitud para ofrecer viajes fletados y autorizados, siempre que dichos aeropuertos tengan servicios adecuados de aduanas e inmigración, y que un proveedor autorizado de servicios de viaje haya expresado interés en prestar servicios entre Cuba y dicho aeropuerto.

Las modificaciones no cambiarán la designación de aeropuertos en Cuba que reúnen los requisitos para enviar o recibir vuelos fletados y autorizados cuyo origen o destino es Estados Unidos.

THE ARIZONA SHOOTING HAS LEFT ME ANGRY AND DIGUSTED

 

The recent Arizona shooting has left me angry and disgusted. I believe that any citizen, who is qualified to carry a firearm and desires to do so, should be able to.

 

Bad guys whip their guns out to terrorize and prey on the citizenry because they know that outside of law enforcement very few people carry. If they knew that their odds of survival were slim because most people present could pull a weapon and return fire they would not be so brazen.

 

Yes, I know you’re going to say “But what about the crazy people out there? How can you give them a weapon?” A driver’s license is just as dangerous. Allowing people to get behind a few tons of machinery and hurdle it at frightening speeds through the populous is a recipe for disaster. But somehow, most people don’t kill with their vehicles.

 

The best way to predict how people will act in the future is how they’ve behaved in the past. (Sorry Ted Williams, in my book you have zero credibility. Especially with that crazed Skell expression on your crack-head face)

 

That’s why we have the point system with the DMV. Too many points? Yank the license. For firearms, a thorough local and federal background check with a firearms course and a test is a good way to insure that a candidate for a carry license is prepared. This way, one cannot say they didn’t understand the law and must know how to operate the weapon safely. Most states require that you get at least three referrals of people who will stand up for you and say they think it’s alright for you to carry a weapon. I know some people I wouldn’t sign off on a bicycle!

 

You do the best you can, after that; it’s in God’s hands. With a car, a gun, a kitchen knife or a baseball bat; anybody can have a psychological problem. Most people do not.

 

Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner executed Judge John Roll, 63 , Gabe Zimmerman, 30, Phyllis Schneck, 79, Dorwin Stoddard, 76, Dorothy Morris, 76, and 9 year old Christina Taylor Green. He attempted to murder Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and countless other had he been able to reload. He did so in public before witnesses. Let’s stop calling him the “alleged” shooter or the “suspected” killer. There is no doubt that he took those lives. There is no doubt that he cold bloodedly shot these innocent people.

 

It doesn’t matter WHY he did it, it’s done. There is no need for a trial. He should be summarily destroyed. If science needs to know why these things happen, let them do it posthumously through forensics. Jared Lee Loughner should be executed now. Not publicly, so that he gets no further recognition from his heinous deed. Privately dispose of him like the sack of garbage he is.  I don’t care if you’re mentally ill, if you intentionally kill innocent people, you must go.

 

As horrific as this tragedy is; it’s not 9/11. 9/11 was an act of war. THOUSANDS DIED ON 9/11, tying this incident to it in so many ways; the flag, the child’s birthday, the memorial rally is truly despicable. Politicians dream of a chance to stand on the smoking ashes of calamity and “Bring the Country Together”. Like Rudy Giuliani did to become “Americas Mayor”, likewise clueless President George W. Bush used 9/11 to become a wartime president.

 

My condolences to the families of the victims. They are the ones who have suffered an unimaginable loss and to the family of the shooter; for the pain, public shame and personal guilt they will endure. I cannot blame the family because asa a father of four I know you can raise them identically and they all turn out different.

 

Sorry, Arizona is not the same. It’s disappointing to see politicians from every level scrambling to cash in on the pain. Then the media colludes to milk the story so they can grab their share of viewers to sell us Clarityn, Tax services, stool softeners and McDonald’s.

 

 

THE ARIZONA SHOOTING HAS LEFT ME ANGRY AND DIGUSTED (104)

WILLIE AND THE HOMEBOYS

Los Angeles Times - Ed Morales
January 18, 1991

Fighting words from “El Malo” of Salsa …

Two weeks ago, at the same affair where New York mayor David Dinkins presented Willie Colón with the city seal, U.S. congressman Jose Serrano gave Colón a bronzed copy of the Salsa bandleader’s statement at the out break of the Gulf War, which Serrano entered into the Congressional Record.

"Our sons should be made aware that this isn’t a Nintendo game,” Colón’s statement read. "When that electronic sight bears down and the flash confirms the detonation, there are children, mothers and fathers dying. Poor people. Innocent people.”

These days you can hardly believe what Colón is up to. Feted by the mayor of New York, lobbying congressmen, meeting with South American ambassadors and even the president of Colombia - could this possibly be "El Malo”, the wise-ass South Bronx trombonist and studio wizard who almost singlehandedly created the Salsa sound?

A forty something family man more likely to do his fighting with a Fax machine than his fists, Colón is celebrating his 25th Anniversary in the music business.

Back in 1967, while Californians grooved to the Summer of Love, Colón and his buddy, the legendary vocalist Hector LaVoe, were busy inventing a music that reflected the "cultural schizophrenia” of being Puerto Rican in New York.

"Salsa could have only happened in New York because of all of the Latino nationalities here.” Colón says. "We melted together. There was no contradiction in my taking a Merengue and putting it with a bomba and throwing in a Guaguanco - maybe I’d even cop something from a Beatle’s record.” Colón brought a unique jazz - oriented sensibility - and a very unusual instrument -to Latino dance music. "I found the trombone to be exciting and different, loud and sensual. We were little kids playing this big instrument.”

By the mid 70’s, Colón, barely in his 20s, had cultivated a pseudo-gangster image that made him the darling of the first generation of Nuyoricans (New York bred Puerto Ricans)."We used to get challenged a lot in clubs,” Colón recalls. "We’d get guys standing in front of us with their arms crossed and making faces. Finally I told hector,`I’ve had it.”’

Soon after deciding to take a break from working with LaVoe, Colón met Ruben Blades, who had just arrived in New York from his native Panama and was working as a mail clerk for Colón’s record label, Fania. Their collaboration, which lasted for six albums, yielded the genre classic Siembra and probably the most popular salsa song ever recorded, "Pedro Navaja,” a kind of Puerto Rican take on Three Penny Opera’s "Mack The Knife. On that album (Siembra), we were on a mission. There was a sense of urgency in the music. Every song was like a little movie."

Since then, Colón has produced a string of collaborations with some of the great names in salsa (Celia Cruz, Yomo Toro), several more albums with Lavoe and six more solo albums. He’s scored gold nine times, platinum in five. But he’s never gotten the acclaim that Ruben Blades did after, the two, parted ways in the early ’80s. Willie is Lennon to Ruben’s McCartney-, Neither Colón’s voice nor his smile was quite as pretty as Blades’, but the band behind them was always Willie’s. The hard edge, the sound, the essence that made salsa belonged to El Malo from the Bronx. FEW YEARS AGO, when I first met Colón, he pretended to a gun from his desk drawer and point it at me when I asked him about Blades. But he’s almost sympathetic with Ruben these days. "Seeing Juan Luis Guerra make it big must be tearing him up," Colón says, musing about the sudden success of the Dominican Republic’s latest pop-merengueauteur.

Colón is eager to avoid a war of words. "Everything was fine till this/Blast from the past . . . Please don’t mix me up in a scandal," he pleads in "Scandal," a salsa/rap tune with English lyrics from his most recent release, Honra y Cultura (Sony International).

"People love ‘Scandal’ live, but it’s strange," says Colón. "Some people think it’s corny, some people think it’s too radical, some people think it’s in bad taste. But it definitely gets a reaction every time people hear it." Experimenting with modern dance styles is nothing new for Colón, whose 1982 A&M single "Set Fire to Me" landed him an appearance on American Bandstand and reached No. 14 on the dance charts.

Having shed his bad-boy image, Colón is especially sensitive to the harm that people suffer from being "scandalized.” He scored one of his recent successes in 1988 with "El Gran Varón,” a song about a young man who dies of AIDS. " It’s so sad to see," says Colón, "not only the way they deteriorate physically and the pain and agony of the disease itself, but the stigma of being bad." Colón is meeting with Surgeon General Antonia Novello later this year to participate in a bilingual AIDS education program for Latinos.

Born with a coffee-colored skin tone, adorned with a thick mustache

and blessed with a singular presence, Colón hasn’t shied away from the big or the small screens, having appeared in movies like Vigilante and Salsa, an episode of Miami Vice, and a somewhat infamous Miller Life commercial.

"I was up for a part in Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, but the money was really bad," he says. "I don’t know how (Italian) Armand Assante or (Spaniard) Antonio Banderas did it. I think the movie could have been done with more Latinos in it. There’s no scarcity of Latino talent; I just don’t know why we have to have non-Latinos playing us." Colón will be appearing on the January 23 episode of The Cosby Show, in an acting role as well as playing with his band.

The main agenda for Colón remains the celebration of Latino, and specifically Puerto Rican, culture. Honra y Cultura constantly urges Latinos to take pride in themselves. In `’Five Hundred Years," Colón exclaims, "Rip away with a mighty yank those vile chains," reminding us of the pain of "discovery."

But lest you get too hung up on lyrics, remember that salsa’s fatal attraction has always been the dance groove, and Colón’s latest edition of his band Legal Alien, featuring the innovative genius of saxman/musical director Bob Franceschini, will free your ass. Don’t look now, but the bad boy from the South Bronx is watching you out of the corner of his eye, and as the good and the bad of his life rush through his trombone, he’s smiling.

Willie Colón and Legal Alien play Kimball’s East, 5800 Shellmound Emeryville, Wed-Sun, Jan 22-26.

Call  (510) 658-2555  (510) 658-2555 for more info