They are Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González and René González. They were falsely accused by the U.S. government of committing espionage conspiracy against the United States, and related charges.

But the Five pointed out vigorously in their defense that they were fighting terrorism — they were monitoring the actions of CIA-backed Miami-based terrorist groups, in order to prevent attacks on Cuba.
The Five’s actions were never directed at the U.S.government. They never harmed anyone nor ever possessed nor used any weapons while in the United States.

Saturday, September 13, Washington, DC

* 10 am: Morning Rally at Malcolm X Park, 15th St. & Euclid NW.
* 12 noon: March to the White House
* 2:30 pm: Indoor Rally at SEIU Building
1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW, 1st Floor Auditorium, by Dupont Circle

For more information visit The Cuban 5 official website.

Wednesday, September 3rd, 4pm

Offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

425 “Eye” St. NW Washington D.C.

Sponsored by the D.C. Alliance for Immigrant Justice and the Metro D.C. Interfaith Sanctuary Network

On August 25, agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) descended on Howard Industries in the small town of Laurel, Mississippi. Agents arrested 595 workers in the largest immigration raid in U.S. history. Workers have been separated from their families and the local immigrant community has been terrorized. The superintendent of the county school district reported that half of the 160 Latino students were absent from school the next day.

“Basically, they create a major humanitarian crisis for families and spouses and children,” Bill Chandler of the Jackson-based Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA) told the Hattiesburg American. In some cases, he said, both parents were now gone in the raid, leaving their families totally alone.

The ACLU is investigating cases of civil rights abuses that took place during the raid. “We are deeply concerned by reports that workers at the factory where the raid occurred were segregated by race or ethnicity and interrogated, the factory was locked down for several hours, workers were denied access to counsel, and ICE failed to inform family members and lawyers following the raid where the workers were being jailed,” Mónica Ramírez, a staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project who is meeting with family members, said in a statement.

At this rally and press conference, activists from the Washington area immigrant rights movement will gather to speak out against this raid and demand an end to raids and deportations. The Mississippi raid comes shortly after a devastating raid at Dulles Airport and a smaller action in suburban Maryland just this week.

Via / Upset the Setup

Oh is that all?

The report says Gonzales failed to store the documents in proper secure facilities and at one point took them home. The report released Tuesday also says he stored them in his briefcase because he did not know the combination to the safe at his house.

"Today represents a milestone in our nation's efforts to remedy the ills of our past," said Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The resolution, passed by voice vote, was the work of Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen, the only white lawmaker to represent a majority black district. Cohen faces a formidable black challenger in a primary face-off next week.

Dear Urban Jibaro,

I work in the toy department of a major retailer in a pretty diverse part of Pennsylvania. I see a lot of Latino families and I am curious about something. Whenever a kid throw a tantrum in my department, I hear their mothers threaten them with "John Kletter" and they immediately start behaving in most cases.

I have 3 kids myself and I would love to know how John Kletter can help me when they act up.

My question is "Who is John Kletter, and why are Latino children so afraid of him?

"Gracias" (thats all the Spanish I know)

Misty (Lancaster PA)

***************************************************

Ok...so being that fact that I am completely new at this, I honestly did not know what the hell Misty was talking about. I googled "John Kletter" and did not find much...and was about to move on to our next submission...that is until I mentioned the question to one of my friends (she made me swear not to reveal her name) who has a thick accent and she said "que eso de jon kleta?"and then it hit me me like a ton of bricks...we had a phonetic translation issue here....John Kletter doesn't exist...at least not in the Latino universe what Misty actually witnessed was the power of the almighty "CHANCLETA".

This whole ASK A LATINO thing is gonna be fun...

So now that we got that squared away...Click below to read my official response to the first "ASK A LATINO" question.

Opening Statement:

I'm proud to be here today not just as the Democratic nominee for President, but as the first African American nominee of my party, and I'm hoping that somewhere out in this audience sits the person who will become the first Latino nominee of a major party.

You know, being here today is a reminder of why I'm in this race. Because the reason I'm running for President is to do what you do each day in your communities - help make a difference in the lives of ordinary Americans. And that's what I've been working with Latino leaders to do ever since I entered public service more than twenty years ago.

We stood together when I was an organizer, lifting up neighborhoods in Chicago that had been devastated when the local steel plants closed. We stood together when I was a civil rights attorney, working with MALDEF and local Latino electeds to ensure that Latinos were being well represented in Chicago. And we marched together in the streets of Chicago to fix our broken immigration system. That's why you can trust me when I say that I'll be your partner in the White House.

And that's what you need now more than ever. Because for eight long years, Washington hasn't been working for ordinary Americans. And few have been hit harder than Latinos and African Americans. You know what I'm talking about. You know folks like Felicitas and Fransisco, a couple I met in Las Vegas who were tricked into buying a home they couldn't afford. You know about the families all across this country who are out of work, or uninsured, or struggling to pay rising costs for everything from a tank of gas to a bag of groceries. And that's why you know that we need change in this country.

And while I respect John McCain, it's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create jobs at a living wage, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college. That isn't change.

Now, one place where Senator McCain used to offer change was on immigration. He was a champion of comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment and he's said he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote.

If we are going to solve the challenges we face, you need a President who will pursue genuine solutions day in and day out. And that is my commitment to you.

We need immigration reform that will secure our borders, and punish employers who exploit immigrant labor; reform that finally brings the 12 million people who are here illegally out of the shadows by requiring them to take steps to become legal citizens. We must assert our values and reconcile our principles as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. That is a priority I will pursue from my very first day.

And we can do something more. We can tear town the barriers that keep the American dream out of reach for so many Americans. We can end the housing crisis and create millions of new jobs. We can make sure that the millions of Latinos who are uninsured get the same health care that I get as a member of Congress. We can improve our schools, recruit teachers to your communities, and make college affordable for anyone who wants to go. And we can finally start serving our brave Latino fighting men and women and all our soldiers as well as they are serving us. We can do all this. Si se puede.

But I can't do this on my own. I need your help. This election could well come down to how many Latinos turn out to vote. And I'm proud that my campaign is working hard to register more Latinos, and bring them into the political process. Because I truly believe that if we work together and fight together and stand together this fall, then you and I - together - will change this county and change this world.

Approximately forty ADAPT activists participated in the protest. They entered through security at the Russell Senate building, before proceeding to McCain’s second floor office. The activists then entered the office in mass, filling it to capacity and blocking both doors. They chanted, “We want McCain, and “Just like a nursing home, you cant get out,” as well as other refrains.

Sounds like a Washington politician scandal? Well, the Washington is accurate, but this is not about a politician. Headlines across the nation are focusing on the release of a report investigating former Smithsonian Latino Center director Pilar O'Leary's misconduct:

The director of the center, Pilar O’Leary, resigned on Feb. 8 after two and a half years in the post. At the time, the Smithsonian said only that she had stepped down and was being succeeded by an acting director.

But a report released on Monday after an inquiry by the inspector general, A. Sprightly Ryan, said, “The evidence gathered in this investigation indicates that on multiple occasions O’Leary violated these general ethical rules as well as specific prohibitions on conduct that constitutes or appears to constitute a conflict of interest.”

According to the NY Times article, the Smithsonian's 19 museums are under particular government scrutiny because 70% of their funding comes from the federal government.

Via // NY Times

In Virginia, Obama outdid Clinton among women by a margin of 58 percent to 42. He also captured the majority of those voters who make less than $50,000: 59 percent to 40 percent. And even bested Clinton among Latinos by a margin of 55 to 45, though the later made up a small portion of the voting public and should be taken with a grain of salt.

“We give people a false image that everything is well with the world. We relieve them of the burden of dealing with the record of injustice by containing our outrage.”

I hope that Latino victims of hate crimes are also included in the march.

Via / The Amsterdam News

"I will go with by Bible and my son and I will read to him from the Holy Scriptures as I do everyday," Arellano said in a statement sent Tuesday to The AP. "If this government would separate me from my son, let them do it in front of the men and women who have the responsibility to fix this broken law and uphold the principles of human dignity."

Just goes to show you that its not enough to have a Latino in a high level of government. It has to be the right Latino.

Via / MSNBC

That said. I sleepily searched through the Spanish language media for some report on the debate last night and found nada. Did I take a nap or was this ignored in the Latino press? Maybe the press was too preoccupied with the immigration issue?