Daily Headlines: July 23, 2012 (Updated)

* Cuba: Oswaldo Payá, a leading Cuban dissident and supporter of the Varela Project, died in a car crash on Sunday.

Update: Representatives of several foreign governments on Monday expressed their condolences over Payá's death.

A White House statement, for example, praised the late dissident as "a tireless champion for greater civic and human rights in Cuba."

Meanwhile, anti-Castro activists in Cuba and exile groups in the U.S. have urged for a thorough investigation into the circumstances behind Payá's death.

"According to information we've obtained from people traveling with him, there was a vehicle trying to force him off the road... We don't think it was an accident," Payá's daughter reportedly claimed.

* Mexico: A rally organized by the YoSoy132 student movement in Mexico City yesterday was the latest protest against the results of the July 1st general elections.

* Puerto Rico: Will the commonwealth’s sagging economy lead to the end of legalized cockfighting?

* U.S.: Proceedings began last week in a civil lawsuit alleging that deputies under controversial anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio engaged in racial profiling against Latinos in Arizona.

Video Source – YouTube via NDI Public Affairs (Circa 2003 documentary on Oswaldo Payá and the Varela Project).

Online Sources including Update - Fox News Latino, MSNBC, Bernama, Huffington Post, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post, AFP

Pedro Martinez Caught With a Cock in DR

Get your mind out of the gutter. I mean rooster people. NY Mets Pitcher Pedro Martinez and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal was caught on video cock fighting while in the Dominican Republic .

Cockfighting is both legal and popular in the Dominican Republic.
The pair took part as honorary "soltadores" - the word used to describe the person who throws the animal into the ring.

When Martinez was questioned about his participation in what many consider an act of cruelty he responded by saying in a statement released by his team:

"I understand that people are upset, but this is part of our Dominican culture and is legal in the Dominican Republic. I was invited by my idol, Juan Marichal, to attend the event as a spectator, not as a participant."

The video released on You Tube is said to be at least two years old.

Source : NY Post