Daily Headlines: September 20, 2012

* South America: At least nine people died in Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia after being hit with storms that included ninety-mile-per-hour winds.

* Cuba: A group of thirty Cuban dissidents ended an eight-day hunger strike after authorities reportedly gave in to their demands.

* U.S.: A Department of Justice report found that a North Carolina sheriff routinely discriminated against Latinos including referring to Latinos as “taco eaters”.

* Costa Rica: Cases of dengue fever have reportedly shot up by 36% in Costa Rica with over 8400 people affected by the illness.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR

Online Sources- France24, Huffington Post, Bernama, Reuters

Today's Video: Dr. Rudy the car salesman

We're going to end the week on a lighter note with what may possibly be the best commercial ever:

(Hat tip: FARK.com).

Online Sources- YouTube, FARK.com

N. Carolina sheriff inserts foot into mouth

A piece of constructive criticism: if you’re law enforcement official heading an anti-immigration campaign you may want to tone down the harsh rhetoric ever so slightly.

In a newspaper interview last month, (Johnston County, North Carolina Sheriff Steve) Bizzel complained that "Mexicans are trashy" and pointed to several children playing and said "All they do is work and make love." Though he quickly apologized, his contrition wasn't enough to ward off critics who call his comments evidence that the nation's increasingly popular efforts to enforce immigration statutes locally have nothing to do with law and order.

County commissioners gave their wholehearted support to Bizzel despite his inflammatory remarks to the News & Observer. One local daily reported that most Johnston County residents have been supportive of their sheriff claiming that he “pretty much has done a good job” and was “telling the truth.”

Probably worse than Bizzel’s claims was the support given to him by a Carolinian running for Congress:

"What El Pueblo and La Raza (Latino rights groups) should be doing is organizing clean-up crews, organizing Saturday educational crews," Webster said recently, following a Kids Voting forum in Raleigh. "They should be teaching these youngsters: Don't you get tangled up in any bad, bad gangs. Look after your family. Respect the women. Respect the people. Clean up your community. Study. Learn. Just because you're male doesn't mean your macho self is not responsible for your own doings."

Ugh, how very classy.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the pizzeria to eat a few slices cooked by an un-trashy guy from Puebla. Perhaps later I’ll run into my Mexican-born neighbor when he returns from work as an IT specialist.

Image- North Carolina Courts System (Johnston County, North Carolina courthouse building)
Sources- News & Observer, New York Times, Dunn Daily Record, Independent Weekly