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Latin@ stars support child rapist

1 Oct 2009

roman Roman Polanski is a child rapist, right? He gave drugs and alcohol to a 13-year-old girl, and then molested and raped her vaginally and anally (trigger warning, transcript of court hearings at link).

And yet, even as he raped a little girl, Polanski can’t seem to get enough support from stars everywhere–including a whole slew of the top rung of Hollywood Latin@s. A petition of support of Polanski has been making the rounds the past few days:

On September 16th, 2009, Mr. Charles Rivkin, the US Ambassador to France, received French artists and intellectuals at the embassy. He presented to them the new Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, Ms Judith Baroody. In perfect French she lauded the Franco-American friendship and recommended the development of cultural relations between our two countries.

If only in the name of this friendship between our two countries, we demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski.

And everyday, more Latin@s are signing on, including:

Pedro Almodovar (Spanish),
Penelope Cruz (Spanish),
Guillermo del Toro,
Gael Garcia Bernal,
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Richard Pena (who is the director of the NY film festival, which VL has promoted)
Harold Alvarado Tenorio

Now, technically, the point *could* be made that the petition is calling for international film festivals to be “neutral” sites that exist outside of legal jurisdictions:

Filmmakers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.

By their extraterritorial nature, film festivals the world over have always permitted works to be shown and for filmmakers to present them freely and safely, even when certain States opposed this.

The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance, undermines this tradition: it opens the way for actions of which no-one can know the effects.

But there are two things that keep me from buying that:

This section:

His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against the filmmaker, in a case of morals.

and this:

Filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians – everyone involved in international filmmaking – want him to know that he has their support and friendship.

Is drugging and raping a 13-year-old child really a case of morals? Does it show the best morals in the world to support and give friendship to a man who drugs and rapes a child? To advocate for that man’s freedom? Is a rapist’s freedom really more important than recognizing the crime of rape? Is friendship with a rapist really more important than standing in solidarity with women and girls (and men and boys) worldwide that are raped, have been raped and/or will be raped?

Do these “stars” have no responsibility at all to the young girls that watch their films?

On a different note, the girl that Polanski raped was also a worker–she was raped by him while on a shoot. Her career was finished the moment she told what happened–why is it more wrong to be arrested for a crime you admitted to committing while at a work party, than it is to be raped by your boss while at work? Why does Polanski have more right to a career than that girl did? Why do the careers of women seem predicated on their ability to keep their mouths shut about the violence and power male colleagues and bosses exert over them?

Do no workers owe their solidarity to a fellow worker who was assaulted and then blacklisted?

What is most disappointing about the list of Latin@ stars is that Gael Garcia Bernal is on it. Coming from a background of radical activism, and having appeared in several movies with leftist politics, I expected more of him.

But when has a belief in radical politics ever made men more inclined to stand against gender based violence?

Violence against women and girls, and sexual violence against children is endemic throughout the world. It is not progressive, radical or liberatory to stand in support of a rapist–it is the norm. It is saying it is ok for child rape to be a normal part of the world.

Latina women and children deserve more, and expect more.
The survivor of Roman Polanski’s assault deserves more.
These “stars” should be ashamed of themselves.

Is Decriminalization Enough to Stop the “War on Drugs” Violence in Latin America?

28 Aug 2009

Marijuana Two Latin American countries recently have made moves to decriminalize the possession of certain drugs for personal use, a move that some are touting as a positive new direction in the “war on drugs”.

In Argentina:

Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that it is unconstitutional to prosecute cases involving personal marijuana use as long as it does not harm others. It did not, however, set a weight limit for what it considers personal use.

The judges’ decision urges the Argentine government to “create policies against illegal drug trafficking and adopt preventive health measures, with information and education against drug consumption directed at the most vulnerable groups.

And in Mexico:

Under the new law, a police search that turns up a half-gram of cocaine, the equivalent of about four lines, will not bring any jail time. The same applies for 5 grams of marijuana (about four cigarettes), 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamine or 0.015 milligrams of LSD.

The U.S. Supports Mexico’s War on Drugs

8:25 pm By la Macha · Drugs| U.S.-Mexico Border| Violence| crime| economy · 3 Comments

10 Aug 2009

barack-obama2 Ok, remember how Mexico caught a whole bunch of drug traffickers a few weeks back? And how they were paraded in front of national Mexican television, and how it was the U.S. that basically funded the capture with money and weapons?

Well, the U.S. government doesn’t have a problem with any of that, and it wants us all to know that.

President Obama said Monday the United States remains Mexico’s partner in the fight against drug cartels, despite some calls in the United States to delay counter-narcotics aid because of alleged human rights violations by Mexican soldiers.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon reaffirmed his commitment to transparency and human rights in his offensive against the cartels, Obama said.

Some $100 million in anti-drug aid, known as the Merida Initiative, could be delayed because of concerns about human rights violations, it was reported last week.

“We have been very supportive of the Merida Initiative, and we remain supportive,” Obama said.

Obama also said the United States would work to reduce demand for drugs and stop the illegal flow of weapons south to Mexico.

The remarks came at a summit of North American leaders in Guadalajara, Mexico.

As I said earlier, I don’t really see this “war” ending until there is 1. either drug legalization efforts and/or 2. a national policy in the U.S. enacted whereby drug addiction is recognized as a disease needing treatment rather than a crime needing imprisonment.

So it’s incredibly disappointing to see that Obama, the liberal almost communist dictator, declaring the U.S.’s continued support of military options to Mexico–while also speaking out of both sides of his mouth on “ending U.S. demands for drugs.” If Mexico’s drug trafficking is a matter of national security, why isn’t treatment here in the U.S.? If Mexico can get millions and millions of dollars for military supplies, why can’t your local rehab clinic get some new chairs and a computer?

Oh, I forget, we have to use that money to imprison drug users.

Live From Ciudad Juarez : A Reflection on Voice and Visibility

28 Jul 2009

I came to this post via Hermana Resist’s twitter.

• Five people were murdered at different times throughout the day this morning and into the afternoon…
• Three young men were arrested after crashing a van and fleeing the scene. The men were armed and fired on the police before being arrested…
• One dead body was found floating at the Acequia Madre near the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood. Two others were found injured in that same area…
• One dead body was deposited in the Obrera neighborhood…
• All six members of a family nearly died as they slept. Unknown perpetrators poured gasoline down one of the home’s air ducts and then threw a match to ignite the liquid. The fumes and flames reached every room. Three people sustained 2nd degree burns. The most seriously injured was a 7 year old boy, Héctor Daniel Camacho Esparza…
• Four young men were stabbed last night at the corner of Lázaro Cárdenas and Puerto de Palos; three died and one is in critical condition…
• School was back in session today at the Secundaria Federal. The school had been closed since Friday after two homemade bombs were thrown onto the school grounds…
• The Bancomer bank on the corner of Lara Leos and Paseo Triunfo de la Repbulica was robbed this afternoon…
• A .22 caliber rifle was found abandoned on a public street…
• Three men were detained after having injured several female victims…

The problem in Juarez has spread beyond just homicides. These headlines don’t even include all of the carjackings which are too numerous to report and all the kidnappings which are never reported. There is no one to turn to for help since the police are often the ones orchestrating the kidnappings.

The stories of Juarez aren’t unknown to me pero I do not live them everyday. Yes, I face different kinds of violence daily and maybe it’s because of that perspective I wondered about what wasn’t being said in this article.
Read more…

L.A. Police kick suspect in head

6:05 pm By la Macha · Drugs| Justice| Los Angeles| Violence| race · 9 Comments

14 May 2009

police-kick-head The notorious L.A. police are embroiled in yet another case of caught-on-video act of police brutality. From the BBC News (which also has video):

The incident came at the end of a car chase through Los Angeles suburbs.

The footage shows the suspect, Richard Rodriguez, 23, trying to escape on foot, then lying down to surrender when he sees there is no escape.

One pursuing police officer kicks him, and another punches his side. The local police department is investigating.

The incident, in the suburb of Pico Rivera, was recorded by news helicopters and broadcast on local TV stations

Already people are justifying this by saying that the man who was kicked was a criminal and deserved it or otherwise asked for it. In reply to that, I just have to ask, have these people never watched or read any Super Hero comics? It’s not up to the police to decide what punishments people deserve for their crimes. The police are not judge, jury and executioner. We supposedly *separate* each of these entities so that even the worst of the worst criminal out there gets a fair trail and sentence that is appropriate to the crime. That’s what a *democracy* is right? That system that we are bombing others into accepting because it rocks so hard?

Good GOD, I’m glad I don’t live out in L.A.

Obama is in Mexico

16 Apr 2009

President Barack Obama has begun his much-anticipated trip to Mexico today, and both here and there people are expecting a lot out of this visit. Up for discussion with Obama’s counterpart, President Felipe Calderón, are the issues of trade, immigration and — perhaps the biggest standout — the U.S.’s role in fighting the drug war which has plagued Mexico of late.

I’m not expecting much to come of the immigration conversation, but Obama did make a promising statement on the issue of U.S. involvement in ending drug-related violence:

“It is absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner” with Mexico in the battle against drug cartels, Obama said at a welcoming ceremony with Calderon. The two nations must “stand side by side in order to promote common security and common prosperity,” he said.

As we here at home hope for some progress in Mexico-U.S. relations, Mexicans in Mexico have their own set of wishes and requests for President Obama. Back in January, Al Jazeera interviewed people on the street in Mexico City to ask them what they would ask of the new U.S. President. Their answers are compelling. Check it out, and let’s see if they — and we — get our wishes.

Via / Bloomberg

Colombia Bags Biggest Druglord

7:00 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Colombia| Drugs| Latin America| crime · 2 Comments

15 Apr 2009

Colombian authorities have captured the country’s biggest drug lord. Daniel Rendon Herrera, known as “Don Mario”, was arrested today near the Panamanian border, after a 2 million dollar bounty was offered for his capture (video above of this first images of the capture).

Don Mario was no small fry. The BBC gives a rundown of some of the highlights of Rendon’s “career” and how he eluded authorities:

Once a paramilitary in a branch of the now-demobilised United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), Daniel Rendon had refused to surrender as part of a peace deal.

Instead he used paramilitary networks to build up a personal army of up to 1,000 heavily-armed fighters, also striking a deal with left-wing Farc rebels, the BBC’s Jeremy McDermott reports from the capital, Bogota.
Authorities had been tracking the 43-year-old for months, but he had always managed to stay one step ahead of them until now, he says.

Rendon reportedly has exported literally tons of cocaine to Mexico, which has in turn made its way around the globe. According to the UK’s Telegraph, little is known about Rendon, who has successfully eluded media for years.

Via / BBC News and Telegraph

Youths imprisoned for life with no chance of parole

12:53 pm By la Macha · Drugs| Violence| crime · 2 Comments

8 Apr 2009

I’ve been a long time advocate for prison “reform” (not sure what ‘reform’ means to me yet, but I am absolutely sure that the way prisons work today must change). I could speak very eloquently about why teens and younger kids should not be sentenced as adults for crimes they commit. But instead I’ll just point you to this article by CNN about Quantel Lotts, a young man that killed his step brother when he was 14-years-old.

Lotts is one of at least 73 U.S. inmates — most of them minorities — who were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes committed when they were 13 or 14, according to the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization in Alabama that defends indigent defendants and prisoners.

The 73 are just a fraction of the more than 2,000 offenders serving life sentences for crimes they committed as minors under the age of 18.

Across the country, most juvenile offenders and many adults are given a second chance. Charles Manson, convicted in seven notorious murders committed when he was 27, will be eligible for his 12th parole hearing in 2012. He’s been denied parole 11 times. Even “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz, who confessed to killing six people in the 1970s when he was in his 20s, has had four parole hearings, though he has said he doesn’t deserve parole and doesn’t want it.

But Quantel Lotts has no hope for a parole hearing. At least not yet.

To me, this is a very simple issue. Kids of color who sometimes don’t even commit murder (the article lists at least two youths who are facing life in prison with no parole-one for raping an elderly woman and the other for armed robbery) are being locked up for life with no chance to get out. Grown white men who have gone on killing sprees have have more of a chance than they do.

This is not an issue of do they “deserve” to be out, or can “reform” happen. This is a very simple issue of inequality. When kids of color are being locked for life and grown white men aren’t–that is an unequal standard of practice.

What are we going to do about it?

(and for some really disgusting justifications, notice in the article how victims rights advocates say these youths should continue to be locked up forever because there’s no resources to “fix” them on the outside. Totally makes sense, no? Lock youths up rather than oh, finding the resources to stop violence to begin with?)

At the Border Security is Privilege

8:27 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Drugs| Immigration| Politics| crime| mexico · 5 Comments

25 Mar 2009

All eyes are on Mexico with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arriving there. Yesterday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano revealed a border security plan that was allegedly less about undocumented immigrants and more about protecting the “us” from the violence coming from “them”. And next month U.S. President Obama will meet with Mexican President Calderon to discuss “their” problem.

I think that it’s important to note that the Obama administration is sending a clear signal that it is going to follow the safety first rhetoric that the Bush administration nearly perfected, that is the rhetoric that before we talk human rights, especially those of immigrants, we need to make sure we are protected from them.

Who are they?

They are the drug cartels and human traffickers. Now don’t get me wrong the violence is horrible but violence in Mexico isn’t anything new. Look specifically at the massive killing of women in Juarez. Pero the U.S. gets down to business when college students worry about their spring break vacation plans being ruined.
350 additional security personnel will be sent to the border including agents from the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST) teams will be doubled and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is to create a special south-west intelligence group to co-ordinate all its efforts to tackle Mexican drug-related crime.

ATF is to send 100 agents to the border within 45 days to crack down on illegal gun transfers from the US into Mexico.

They are the undocumented coming into the U.S. protected by plants that conspire to hide them. So part of the plan includes spraying potentially harmful chemicals to kill the plants that help to hide “them”.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be so cynical and hold out hope for the new administration. Napolitano did mention how U.S. drug consumption is helping to fuel the cartel violence. Hmm but no mention of how the current drug policy is the U.S. including mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines have increased the prison population. Napolitano did mention how walls aren’t an especially helpful security plan but that parts of the border wall under construction will be finished and other parts reinforced with technology.

Feel safer yet? I know in my neighborhood, on this side of the border and in neighborhoods across the country, families are growing restless with their growing insecurity. ICE is still conducting raids. Families are still be separated. When will the security of many many U.S. citizen children with undocumented parents matter? How long will they have to wait while the rest of us sit back feeling safe and sound?

Via / Feet in Two Worlds, Para Justicia y Libertad. , BBC, Latina Lista

Mexican Tourism Board: Mexico Needs an Image Makeover

24 Mar 2009

1949726238_351271f9eb_o As much as I love Mexico, I have to admit that lately all of the violence — from severed heads in ice chests to massive roadside graves — makes it harder and harder to convince people who don’t know the country that that’s not what it’s about. The Mexican Tourism Board appears to realize that this is becoming more and more challenging, and its Secretary says that the country needs to “rebuild its image” in the eyes of foreigners, namely potential tourists. El Universal reports:

At a conference, [the Secretary] stated that it isn’t about an advertising campaign but doing anything necessary “to compensate for the attacks that Mexico has suffered in the last several weeks.”

Accompanied by the director of the Council for Tourism Promotion, Oscar Fitch Gómez, the Secretary explained that the intention isn’s just to rebuild Mexico’s image to attract visitors but to improve the country as a whole.

The Secretary also stated that potential tourists hear many things about Mexico that just aren’t true, some as extreme as the notion that the country is “at war”. He also mentioned that the ex-director of the CIA advised his own son not to visit Mexico because the narcos were planning to attack Spring Break revelers, and that the responsibility of convincing American tourists that these rumors are false belongs to Mexico.

I symphathize with this effort. I always hated when people tried to tell me things about Mexico City — you can’t walk down the street at night without getting robbed, nor get into a cab without getting kidnapped, etc. — when I lived there and knew the truth. But at the same time, we have to be realistic and realize that cosmetic changes won’t fix a problem that is getting worse and worse every day. This isn’t a job for the Tourism Board but for President Felipe Calderon.

Via / El Universal

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