Magdaleno

Dear Sister and Brothers

I want to remind you that during this summer time when we have a moment to push our family and friends to register to vote and then to register them as an absentee voter.  That way they could vote prior to Election Day. And thus we are all free to go out and work in behalf OBAMA and others on Election Day.

We have many votes to register and turn out in the 50 states… now let us all do our part

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

a.      to drill or not to drill

b.      mechanic goes to jail

c.       Zimbabwe

d.      Building walls

e.       Respect the laws

TO DRILL OR NOT TO DRILL

            Changing positions for the wrong reasons.

BUSH, McCain and others are calling for drilling offshore and in some very special places that would affect adversely our environment. It is a mistake and we must fight this.

The oil industry has government leases that they are not exploring and should work these leases or give them back.

Drilling and production of oil in these places would not have impact on our oil available for another 7-10 years. And it would not lower the price of gas more than 5 cents per gallon.

About this time in 2000 the price of a gallon of gas was about $1.46 and now it is over $4.20 a gallon ….higher in some places.  I believe that this growth of almost $3.00 per gallon during the Bush Administration is a result of their economic policies, speculators and their collusion with the oil industry.

The cost of many food products have gone up and all this is putting more pressure on the average family.

Bush and company have robbed our banks through their wars, given tax breaks to the richest amongst us and now want to rape our environment. And we have a multi billion dollar deficit which was created by the Bush administration.

The profit for the oil industry has shown to be in the billions and they still can’t find a way to give the consumer a break in the price of gas. I think the oil industry could arrange so that gas could be at $2.00 with their help and they would still hold on to much of their profit.  Do they care about America or just want to empty the  bank accounts of the people of this country of ours?

 

MY MECHANIC GOES TO JAIL

I own a 2000 Dodge Caravan which has a belt that jumps off the pulleys about every two months. When this happens  I then have to call Israel my mechanic a recent Cuban Immigrant who is good and does the repairs right there in my yard. His accent is so strong that at times that even I have a problem understanding him.  But the work gets done and it is less expensive than a shop.

He had told me to call him last Sunday morning so that he could come and repair my van. When I did call there was no answer… Later his wife called and told me that he had been arrested for driving with out a license … His bond was a $1,000 and his wife wanted him out so that he could work. She was shocked when I offered $210 towards his bond. I just thought it was a natural thing to do. I would have offered more but it was all I had in my wallet. She told me that it is not normal for a customer to take the time and interest to help some one like Israel.

Well he finally came to my home and repaired my van..And I am happy to have my van back and we now have an even deeper relationship.

 

BUILDINGWALLS…BUILDING ANIMOSITY AND FEAR

            Building Berlin in Iraq

Inside of Iraq walls are going up between ethnic-religious communities. These have caused traffic jams and hampered business but it has given some neighborhoods safer streets. But this is a short term victory that will not hold.. These walls like those that had been in Berlin or like those separating Israelis and Palestinians do not make sense in the long run. Same goes for the Wall being built on the Mexican border.

During the Iraq war there has been a cleansing of neighborhoods now you have Shiite enclaves and Sunni enclaves. The Kurds have their own territory and the Christians are forgotten and still persecuted with in this political mess. This tragedy is evident also in the faces and lives of the over 4 million refugees that have had to leave the country.

Building of walls creates even more animosity and fear with in both groups. Over the years many communities had both groups living and working together and some even intermarrying. They had learned how to co-exist. More than I can say for many in the USA …

The cleansing of cities, the building of walls will keep the people divided and keep the country from coming to some road of reconciliation.  This does not bode well for the future. Yes we can reduce the killings but we should know that we are building a time bomb that will go off in the near future…and its far reaching effects will not be pretty.

ZIMBABWE

            Takes another step backwards..

Mugabe continues to rule this country with an iron fist and ridicules any attempts at democracy.. I had the opportunity to visit this country in 1988 with Amnesty International when I was the Media Director for the Human Rights Now world concert tour.

This is a beautiful country that housed many South African ANC activists as they fought to end the Apartheid system. Perhaps this is one reason why President Mbeki of South Africa is soft on Mugabe.

There will be a meeting of African Presidents this week and they should pressure Mugabe to step down… This is a dictator at best and should not be tolerated.

Mugabe was a liberator when he helped liberate Rhodesia as it was then called but since then has been on a road of no return …a road filled with murder, theft and oppression.

Please support all actions to instill democracy in Zimbabwe.

RESPECT YOUR COUNTRY’S LAWS AND CONSTITION

            BECOME A LAW BIDING CITIZEN

We were taught growing up that you should respect the laws of this country and to read, understand and respect the constitution. But what can we tell our children today when our own president and his operatives have broken every law of decency and violated the values of our constitution.

This administration has committed so many illegal and immoral  criminal, financial, and environmental acts against the people of this country that it is difficult to know where to begin in terms of an investigation. We will find out in the months to come just how crooked they were and how much they damaged our country. Those who wave the flag so much that they distract us with their religious fervor and talk about stopping terrorists.

It seems that we don’t need terrorists to destroy our economy, environment and rip apart our judicial and legal system… this administration has done more to destroy our country than any enemy from abroad.

I pray that we will find a way to correct the direction of this country and hope that new leadership will prosecute the appropriate guilty parties..you can do your part by helping to elect those who will make this change.

My best

leno

additional reading if you want on Zimbabwe

NOW FROM THE TELEGRAPH UK

the denunciation from Pan-African parliament monitors came after President Robert Mugabe said he was sure of “a sweeping victory” in Friday’s poll, held in defiance of international opinion and dismissed by much of the world as a sham.

Mr Mugabe is expected to make a public appearance later today to hail his triumph.

But the head of the Pan-African parliament observer mission said the result should not be allowed to stand.

“The current atmosphere prevailing in the country did not give rise to conditions for the holding of free and fair democratic elections. These elections were not free and fair,” said Marwick Khumalo.

In an attempt to break the deadlock, Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai last night raised the possibility of a power-sharing deal with Mr Mugabe.

In a major concession, Mr Tsvangirai said it was “not inconceivable” that, with himself as executive prime minister, Mr Mugabe could remain as a ceremonial president.

His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would share power with Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party in such a government.

“It’s being considered within our structures,” said Mr Tsvangirai, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph – his first since Friday’s election, which he decided to boycott.

“The broad principle is how can the two parties coexist, for a short duration, through a transition that will allow us to make a new constitution and a fresh election. I don’t think it’s inconceivable for such an arrangement to include him, depending, of course, on the details of what is being proposed and what are the arrangements.”

The move could open the way to talks between the two sides when today, as expected, Mr Mugabe declares himself the victor in Friday’s presidential election run-off.

Mr Tsvangirai withdrew from the contest following a campaign of murder and violence against his supporters.

As votes were tallied across Zimbabwe officials said that with results in from two thirds of polling stations, a “landslide victory” for Mr Mugabe was now anticipated.

Gangs of Zanu-PF members began to unleash punishment against those who had failed to vote, in a campaign known as Operation Red Finger – the colour of the ink used to mark the fingers of those who had voted.

President George W Bush said that the US would press for a UN arms embargo on Zimbabwe and a travel ban and financial penalties on regime officials. He declared Friday’s election a “sham”.

Mr Mugabe insisted there had been a record election turnout – though this was flatly denied by independent African observers, who said the numbers who voted were “very, very low”. He said he would fly to Egypt for tomorrow’s African Union summit but branded the growing chorus of doubts from Zimbabwe’s neighbours and other African states as “stupidity”.

Despite the onslaught from Mr Mugabe’s thugs, and Mr Tsvangirai’s withdrawal from the election, some polling stations said more people had voted for him than for Mr Mugabe.

“I find that very humbling,” said Mr Tsvangirai. “There are people who said ‘I cannot countenance voting for Mr Mugabe, so I will vote for Tsvangirai in spite of the fact that the vote is invalid because he pulled out’. Even in places where the intimidation has been intense, there has been real defiance.”

Mr Tsvangirai, 56, was speaking from the Dutch embassy in Harare’s eastern suburbs, where he has been since announcing he was boycotting the poll, but said he would not go into exile.

Mr Mugabe, he said, was “a man who in his imagination would like to die in office, like some of the nationalist leaders who were deputy to him.

“We have always said he needs to occupy higher moral ground that what he has degenerated into, because he is the founding president of the republic and as the founding father of the nation he must behave as such.

“Unfortunately he has behaved in a manner which has undermined that legacy. The problem is that he is resisting transfer of power. He is not disputing the fact that March 29 produced a certain result which reflected the will of the people, but he cannot accept transfer of power himself.”

The opposition now hopes that international pressure will force Mr Mugabe to make concessions.

“The majority of the African states find the situation in Zimbabwe unacceptable,” said Mr Tsvangirai. “I think there’s a growing chorus about condemning what happened on Friday.”

Reports in Zimbabwe have suggested that one Zanu-PF faction is seeking to bring in Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former security minister who oversaw the massacre of 20,000 people in Matabeleland in the 1980s, to succeed Mr Mugabe as head of state. Ahead of negotiations, Mr Tsvangirai said he could not rule out “any particular individual as unacceptable”. Mr Mugabe launched a scathing attack on other African governments which have questioned the legitimacy of Friday’s ­election.

“Even today we have voices [in the AU] saying we should stop our elections and violate our own laws,” he said at a rally near Harare. “What stupidity is that? If there are proposals from the opposition in good spirit we will listen. But not being dictated to by outsiders, not even the AU.”

And, referring to the dubious democratic record of many other African Union leaders, he added: “I want to see who will point that finger at me, and I want to see if it’s clean.” An attempt at the UN to issue an outright condemnation of Zimbabwe was blocked on Friday night by South Africa, resulting in a more anodyne declaration of “regret that the elections went ahead in these circumstances.”

South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki has resisted attempts to put pressure on Mr Mugabe, whom he regards as a hero of the movement against colonialism.

But yesterday Jacob Zuma, the head of South Africa’s African National Congress, said the situation in Zimbabwe was “extremely distressing”.

“We reiterate that the situation is now out of control,” he said in Johannesburg, in a rare direct criticism of Mr Mugabe from a South African leader. “Nothing short of a negotiated political arrangement will get Zimbabwe out of the conflict it has been plunged into.”

President Bush denounced Mr Mugabe’s government as “illegitimate”, slammed the tyrant’s “blatant disregard” for democracy and human rights and dismissed Friday’s election as a “sham”.

He instructed officials to develop American penalties against Zimbabwe’s government and its supporters.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US plans to introduce a UN resolution seeking tough action against Zimbabwe to send “a strong message of deterrence” to the Mugabe government.

Western diplomats at the UN began moves for a major African figure, possibly Kofi Annan, to be appointed as an international envoy to Zimbabwe, potentially supplanting Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, who has been widely condemned for his ineffectiveness as official mediator on behalf of neighbouring countries.

One said: “We talk to the South Africans endlessly but we just hear rants about colonialism. They don’t care that Mugabe is damaging the reputation of Africa – for them it’s all about solidarity. They’ve done nothing. It’s pathetic.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged Mr Mbeki not to recognise the re-election of Mr Mugabe as president and, in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, said South Africa should blockade Zimbabwe to make Mr Mugabe step down.

“The country already is virtually on its knees, it would take very little pressure to make them see sense,” he said.

“Clearly the election was not free and fair, and I just hope that every decent government will declare Mr Mugabe illegitimately elected and that his government is unacceptable,” said the 76-year old cleric.

“I hope that every government will do that including our own. There is no way in which you could lend legitimacy to something that is a complete charade.”

He said Mr Mugabe should be banned from the AU meeting and that South Africa should be taking far tougher measures.

“This is a landlocked country which relies almost exclusively on South Africa and if Air Zimbabwe is not allowed to overfly its neighbouring countries it’s going to be virtually grounded,” he said. “They won’t survive a siege of that kind for very long.”

Additional reporting by Stephen Bevan in Pretoria and Philip Sherwell in New York

DEAR FRIENDS   I wanted to let you know how frustrating it is not to be able to visit all your friends around this country and in some other countries ..Knowing how much they mean to you.  I buy my lottery tickets faithfully hoping to win enough money so that I can get on planes and go visit everyone.. And perhaps take others with me on these travels…   I am going to have a chance to see some of my friends in July… I will be in Portland July 18-19 and Seattle on 20-21 and hope to see many of you. In Seattle I will look for a couple of folks who can host receptions so that we can invite others to these events.  I am looking forward to my visit to the NORTHWEST.   NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS a.     it was not cirque du soleil b.     fathers day c.      obama goes to haiti   It was not CIRQUE DU SOLEIL                              Instead it was CITE SOLEIL     This past week I had a most interesting visit to Haiti… I found another world and so close to Miami… I had gone to present a paper at a conference on VIOLENCE AND DETENTION OF YOUTH… and then I was to go to SOLEIL…   When my friend Dr. Herns a Marcelin professor at the University of Miami told me of his work there in Soliel and that I could go visit the project.. … I joked that I was going to a training site for the famous and wonderful artistic acrobatic Cirque Du Soleil… Instead it was Cite Soleil (Sun City) one of the worst slums I have ever seen.   This poverty stricken area with little or no sanitary systems has the poorest of the poor existing in shacks amongst violent gangs, drug pushers, prostitutes, kidnappers and a lethal monster called misery…   Dr. Marcelin is working with his institute to evaluate the effectiveness of foreign aid to this city… some 35 groups have been investing in this City and have had mixed results. Herns is training people from the community to go out and do surveys with the people of this stricken community.   Traveling out of Port Au Prince I watched out the window of the SUV as we left my fancy hotel on a high hill as the scenery was changing… we went  down the economic ladder in our car until we reached the Cite Soleil which most of it is below sea level. Now we were at the heart of poverty…we were at last at Cite Soleil.   We met in a small cement room with some fans but these fans could not overcome the oppressive heat …these 25 trainees listened intently as Herns took them through the theory and the then they practiced interviewing each other. Although only about 10% of the meeting was translated for me.. I could still make out what was going out having run so many meeting like this.   Watching my good friend Herns work with the group I was amazed by his teaching and communication abilities … I learned a new respect for him   I had always told Herns that I was black and he always said smiling that I was not black enough. ..color is still a factor in Haiti and the mulattos in general seem to have an easier access to a more comfortable life style.   It turned out that Herns and I arrived in Haiti on the same plane so he baby sat me as I went through customs… I like being in a country where I don’t understand a lick of the language… it is humbling.. And I remembered to smile and bow a lot…   At the community meeting I asked permission and all except one allowed me to take their pictures…later during the lunch break I loaded them onto a computer so they could see them … now I need to send a CD of the photos  for them to have. Later I gave to the group my IMMIGRANT RIGHTS SHIRTS that have the slogan on the back in English, Spanish and Creole that says IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS (Dwa Imigran..Se Dwa Mounn !).   After the class Herns and others took me through a quick drive through this City ….   I must tell you that amongst this poverty and difficulty I saw a vibrant and colorful community with many happy and creative individuals.. I wanted to get out and talk to folks including one gang member who is said to be a major figure.. he stopped our car to say hello  to Herns.. and share a sip of beer.. This gang member reminded me of my Homies of El Salvador. And I hope that on my next visit that I can hang with him.   My visit to Cite Soleil was another jolt to my heart and mind about the important work that I must do with the Haitian community in Miami and in Haiti.   FATHERS DAY   I got some great cards from my family and friends… but most importantly my daughter Aviva came and cooked me breakfast… what a wonderful gift and I got to spend time with her and her boyfriend Oscar… I wish now I had cooked a meal for my own father or had taken him out for a beer.   I thought this Sunday in Church of all the Fathers whose children are in Jail or having difficult time.. or perhaps their children are in uniform fighting one of our unnecessary battles. I thought of all those who had no fathers and where the mother is both mother and father….   I prayed for all the families that we have destroyed in our wars with our bombs, bullets and propaganda…. Today there are many fathers in Guantanamo and in jails and prisons through out the world … and they are held on false or non existent evidence…   While I celebrate my daughters love .. I count my blessings and wish I could do more for other fathers and their children who need our comfort …   Today as I write this note  Fathers and some mothers are being rounded up by ICE immigration and customs enforcement in a effort to show how tough we are on terrorists and missing the target by using humble immigrants as a political target…   Yep.. I am having a good father’s day but half of my heart is empty … knowing that so many families are suffering…   So on this father’s day … I promise to do more for the families of my world community…     OBAMA GOES TO HAITI   I looked in my bag once I was in Haiti and discovered three Obama shirts and some bumper sticker. I found many Haitians to be amazed by this man called Barack Obama.   I was able to introduce the first Obama materials into this country … on Tuesday I am sending more Obama shirts to Haiti for special friends and these will say Wi, Nou Kapab, which is the same as  SI SE PUEDE  and..YES WE CAN.   WORKING WITH PLANTS   Yesterday I took to transplanting some seedlings into bigger pots…someone had given me an interesting pot filled with cilantro and jalapeno seeds.. And now it was time to move them … every time that I work with plants I find it most relaxing… and a break from my routine… My mother referred to her children as her FLOWERS…. And Carmen Montez Avila could make any plant flourish and knew what words to say to get them to grow well… I wish I had her skills on days when things don’t go right. Take a moment and get a plant for your yard or your house or office…   My best leno

Magdaleno Rose-Avila

DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

 

The economic turmoil continues as the price of gas continues to escalate and more individuals are out of work. And our president continues to act and speak like a fool who doesn’t understand the mess he got us into and really doesn’t seem to care.

The signs of the economic downturn were there over four years ago and no action was taken by this administration. Instead they continue to preach about tax cuts for the super rich. And this presidents policies are what created this devastation of so many families.

And we must continue to remind our public of who caused this crisis.

 

 

NOW FOR MY VIEW OF THE NEWS

a.      listening and learning

b.      china’s pain

c.       obama wins

d.      my Dominican dentist

 

LISTENING AND LEARNING

                        By Ira Moss

I had the opportunity to listen to “The Audacity of Hope,” read by Barack Obama, while on the way to and from the Washington State High School Tennis Championships last weekend. I am fired up and ready to go! Part of what made it so interesting was how prescient Obama was, writing two years before the campaign began. No one who reads or listens to senator Obama could possibly mistake him for a disinterested elitist, a black nationalist, or naive and shallow. I strongly urge any of you who harbor doubts or resentments towards Obama to learn about him through his own words. Don’t allow him to be defined by the same fear mongering voices who have brought us to where we are today.

McCain is claiming to be the candidate of wisdom. However, it is wisdom of the most conventional kind. Exactly the same habits of mind that got us into this mess and are incapable of getting us out. This is a generational election. The choice will be between a candidate with a vision for the future and one who represents, in every way possible, a desperate clinging to the past. We will either move into the future willingly with leadership and direction, or we will be jerked forward, kicking and screaming. Regardless of who wins the election, the future is coming with speed and certainty. “Resistance”, as the Borg say, “is futile.”

 

CHINAS MOST INTERESTING AND PAINFUL PROTEST

Pictures of grieving Chinese mothers filled the photo in the NEW YORK TIMES.. In their arms they held the photo of their children who had been killed when their school fell on them. These schools for the poor were built substandard with shoddy materials.

While these schools for the poor easily fell killing all inside the schools for the rich did not fall.  Government officials were being taken to task by these mothers.

Here you had humble parents protesting and the military not knowing how to react. These honest and emotional painful protest open many doors to further protest and push back against an authoritarian government.

Many officials and contractors I am sure will be prosecuted in light of the death and destruction in the areas hit by the massive earthquake.

I am sure that there are more protests to come

Recent news show that China is back to its old school habits… It is censuring internet stories about the earthquake,  does not allow journalist or families into the hardest hit areas and is cracking down on the family demonstrations.

International pressure must be placed so that people can demonstrate and so that the disaster areas are open for investigations.

 

OBAMA WINS which means you won

All of you who worked so hard during the primary in behalf of Senator Obama got to see your candidate get the nomination  …Victories are always wonderful … but having been on the end of a number of losing campaigns I know how difficult it is to lose

Hillary has taken it very hard as have some of their supporters. And Bill has also taken this loss very hard. The Clintons had never lost a national election..In the process of this campaign they lost a lot a face because of some tactics of the campaign and missteps by both Hillary and Bill.

Prior to the Campaign they were the power house with in the Democratic Party.  They had secured the inside track on major donors, and party leaders across the country. They also had counted on the SUPER DELEGATES bailing them out at the last minute.

Many things went wrong with the Clinton Campaign but I do admire her hard work and tenacity. Now the real leadership challenge for Hillary is CAN SHE DELIVER HER VOTERS. If she can’t deliver than she will lose most of the  influence that she might have as a national leader.

Hillary should show us all that she can be a team player and if she campaigns hard for the party she will gain back all the love we have had for her for so many years.

Too much is at stake for us not to be united.

MY DOMINCAN DENTIST         

The other day I went to a new dentist to have a major tooth removed… it had broken off at a terrible diagonal slant and made it almost impossible to save.  The roots of my teeth go deep and are strong .

This petite female dentist had her work cut out for her… she had to wrestle with this tooth and give me more than the usual amount of Novocain. … It took hours to get it out

And then she had to stitch up the gums after all this digging  … during this process she was most reassuring …and afterwards she gave me her cell phone just in case I had complications.

I fear going to the dentist…

Later that night after taking antic biotics and my pain medicine …I got a call from my dentist. She wanted to know how I was doing and if I needed any thing … I have never had my dentist call me except to collect payment so this was a most pleasant call.

I must admit that my personal physician a Cuban by the name of  Felix Guzman hugs me when I go in the office and has been known to call me when I am taking serious medicine..

Is it me or just my good luck in doctors..??

My best

leno