Daily Headlines: March 7, 2014

* South Africa: Brazil may have romped South Africa 5-0 in an international soccer friendly on Wednesday but the big winner was a five-year-old boy who entered the field and received a warm reception from the verdeamarela players.

* U.S.: Florida’s Supreme Court ruled against granting undocumented immigrants licenses to practice law in a case whose plaintiff entered the U.S. from Mexico at the age of nine, and later graduated from law school and passed the state bar exam.

* Colombia: Famous Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez celebrated his 87th birthday by greeting journalists and well-wishers outside of his Mexico City residence.

* Nicaragua: Senior Nicaraguan government officials denied rumors that Russia would build a military base in the Central American country.

Video Source – YouTube user Neymar Junior
 
Online Sources - Huffington Post; Russia & India Report; seattlepi.com; Fox News Latino

Senate committee backs Sotomayor

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in a partisan vote this afternoon.

Sotomayor was backed by 13 of the panel’s 20 Senators yet only one of those legislators was a Republican. Alluding to the “wise Latina” remark Sotomayor made in a speech, Sen. Orrin Hatch claimed that she seemed “to conflict with the impartiality that I believe is essential” for the Supreme Court. Sen. Charles Grassley said he was “not convinced that Judge Sotomayor will be able to set aside her personal preferences and prejudices."

The committee’s Democrats all voted in Sotomayor’s favor and some defended her record as a “moderate” justice. Sen. Al Franken disagreed with Republican criticism and suggested that the GOP has labeled her as an “activist judge” merely because they disagreed with her decisions.

Sotomayor’s nomination will be sent to the Democrat-controlled Senate where she’s expected to be confirmed next week. She already has the support of several GOP legislators though some special interest groups are lobbying hard against her:

The powerful National Rifle Association has come out against Ms Sotomayor over her record on gun rights, although some commentators suggest she has made few definitive statements on the issue.

Observers suggest other Republicans may give her nomination cautious support, aware of the growing power of the Hispanic vote.

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC News, Voice of America, Hurricane Valley Journal

Rightists unhappy with Sotomayor nomination

As Miguel mentioned in his post this morning on the Sonia Sotomayor nomination, “conservatives are likely to start an offensive on her opinions before the public can become enamored with the symbolism her nomination represents.” That offensive has already gone underway.

Republican senators have thus far been guarded in their reaction to Sotomayor as RNC head Michael Steele said that the GOP “will reserve judgment on Sonia Sotomayor until there has been a thorough and thoughtful examination of her legal views." That hasn’t stopped some Republicans from voicing their displeasure like Mitt Romney who called her nomination “troubling”.

Several conservative groups have also launched salvos against the career jurist. "Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written," said the counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network. The president of Judicial Watch accused her of being a judge who “shares Obama's activist judicial philosophy… (and) will put her feeling and politics above the rule of law.” Despite her years of judicial experience and strong academic background, one of the ugliest critiques implied that her nomination was Affirmative Action-like:

"Sotomayor is not one of the leading lights of the federal judiciary and would not even have been on the shortlist if she were not Hispanic," said Ilya Shapiro, editor in chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review.

When all is said and done, however, Sotomayor may be confirmed with relative ease; Democrats make up 59 of 100 Senators and, as The Economist observed, the GOP may not want to rock the boat too hard and allow “more Hispanic and female voters will desert the Republican Party.”

Image- AP
Online Sources- CNN, AHN, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, AP, Politico, The Latin Americanist

ICJ orders U.S. to halt executions of Mexicans

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a temporary injunction against the executions of five Mexican nationals on death row in Texas. The ruling by the United Nations' highest court said that the U.S. should "take all measures necessary" to ensure that the Mexicans do not get executed.

Despite the decision Texan authorities claimed that the executions will go on as scheduled such as that of Jose Medellin on August 5^th:

"This court ruling does not change anything," said Allison Castle, a spokeswoman in Gov. Rick Perry's office. "Those who come to Texas and commit crimes will have to pay the consequences"…

"(Mexico) hopes for proper enforcement of the injunction because of its legally binding nature," the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Patricia Espinosa Cantellano said in a statement written in Spanish.

The ICJ’s decision was the latest in a five-year dispute between the U.S. and its southern neighbor with Mexico arguing that nationals on death row have been denied their right to consular access.

The international court’s ruling contradicts the U.S. Supreme Court who ruled in March that states did not have to abide by a previous ICJ ruling in favor of Mexicans waiting execution.

Image- Javno

Sources- Voice of America, TheMonitor.com, El Paso Times, The Latin Americanist, CBC.ca

Daily Headlines: May 7, 2008

* Argentina: Some veterans of the Falklands War are upset at a local publisher who issued textbooks showing the Falklands Islands as belonging to Great Britain.

* Mexico: According to a study released last month, $2.5 billion in bribes were paid in 2007 by Mexicans.

* Latin America: Government representatives from several countries will meet at a summit in Nicaragua to discuss ways to react to the global food crisis.

* Colombia: Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson said that he was “cautiously optimistic” that his country could reach a free trade deal with Colombia.

Image- BBC News (2005 image of Argentine war veterans commemorating the Falklands War)

Sources- NPR, The Latin Americanist, AFP, Bloomberg, Scotsman.com

Supreme Court rules against death row Mexicans

The U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) has ruled that states do not have to provide hearings to Mexican nationals who are on death row. By a 6-3 vote, the court’s verdict found that U.S. President George W. Bush overstepped his authority by trying to force Texas to abide by a 2004 International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision.

As the New York Times noted:

Writing for the majority, (USSC) Chief Justice John Roberts said that neither the defendant nor his supporters “have identified a single nation that treats I.C.J. judgments as binding in domestic courts”… (and that) “the president’s authority to act, as with the exercise of any governmental power, ‘must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution itself.’ ”

Mexico’s government had previously advocated in favor of the ICJ’s decision since Mexico is opposed to capital punishment.

Sources- Bloomberg, New York Times, Associated Press, BBC News

Image- Gizmodo

Embattled Attorney General Gonzales quits

Beleaguered U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will officially quit from his post effective September 17^th according to a statement from him this morning. "I have lived the American dream," said the Mexican American Gonzales in his account after news reports earlier this morning hinted at his resignation.

Gonzales’ tenure as Attorney General had been filled with controversy over several issues like the accused partisan firing of eight federal attorneys and his staunch support of a warrentless domestic spying program. Bipartisan opposition to Gonzales had been growing over the past months and that has been reflected in reactions from several prominent Democrats and Republicans today:

“Better late than never."

-Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards

"I'm glad he's stepping down so the department can move forward with its important work."

-Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

President Bush blamed Gonzales’ critics for creating “months of unfair treatment” leading to his resignation is expected to publicly comment on Gonzales’ resignation at approximately 11:50am. Bush has always been a strong supporter of Gonzales and publicly defended him as recently as August 9^th.

Solicitor General Paul Clement will be acting attorney general though rumor has it that Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff is one of the favorites to succeed Gonzales.

Sources- BBC News, CNN, ABC Online, Wikipedia, RTE, FOX News, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Forbes

Image- CBC

Ecuadorian faces death penalty in Florida

Nelson Ivan Serrano (image)- a former businessman from Ecuador- was sentenced to death earlier today in the murders of four people. “We feel that was an appropriate sentence,” said one of the prosecutors in the case against Serrano despite complaints from the Ecuadorian government over Serrano’s arrest:

“In February, Ecuador's Foreign Ministry requested Serrano be returned to that country because he was ``illegally'' taken to the United States to face charges.

Ecuador will not extradite fugitives who are facing the death penalty in other countries, but U.S. authorities were able to use Serrano's status as a U.S. citizen to get him deported in 2002. Serrano had U.S. and Ecuadorian passports when he was arrested. “

Only a simple majority was required to sentence Serrano and the 9-3 vote by the jury sealed his fate.

Sources (English)- Monsters& Critics, Guardian UK

Source (Spanish)- El Universo

Image- Prada

Mexico: Court invalidates “Televisa law”

In a unanimous vote, Mexico’s Supreme Court invalidated part of a 2006 law that loosened restrictions on TV and radio broadcasters. As part of the court’s decision, magistrates ruled that granting twenty-year concessions was too long and that auctioning off broadcast licenses to the highest bidder offered unfair advantage to Mexican media conglomerates. (E.g. Televisa and TV Azteca).

According to one justice’s opinion:

“Why should we prefer colorful better-quality broadcasts at the cost of the monochromatic monopoly of the television companies?”

In the meantime, Televisa has slowly made inroads into the Chinese market by signing a deal with to produce Chinese versions of popular Televisa programs.

Sources (Spanish)- El Universal, Jornada

Sources (English)- Bloomberg, International Herald Tribune

Image- Montano

Bush has “confidence” in embattled Attorney General

President Bush continued to back Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in spite of increased pressure by Democrats and Republicans. During a press conference earlier today, Bush also reiterated remarks made earlier this week against a possible no-confidence vote led by Democrats that has led to speculation over Gonzales’ possible resignation.

The president’s comments came a day after an aide to Gonzales testified to the Senate that she “crossed the line” in bringing politics to the hiring process at the Justice Department. The Mexican-American attorney general has been accused of his role in the firing of eight federal attorneys supposedly due to political reasons.

Sources- FOX News, Denver Post, MyFoxColorado.com, Guardian UK, International Herald Tribune, Wikipedia, Reuters India

Image- MSNBC (2004 photo of President Bush and then-nominee for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales)

Daily Headlines: May 01, 2007

* “Our current immigration system is in need of reform” declared U.S. president George W. Bush as he gave the commencement speech to graduates of Miami Dade College on Saturday (image).

* The U.S. Supreme Court denied hearing a case brought up by two detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

* Apparently taking a cue from Hugo Chavez, Peruvian president Alan Garcia was given Congressional permission to partially rule via decree.

* Executives at Brazilian oil firm Petrobras said they were pleased with negotiations with Bolivia’s government over the ownership of gas refineries.

* A Guyanese woman suspected of being a “vampire” was lynched by a mob.

Links- The Latin Americanist, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Guardian UK, Reuters UK, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, BBC News

Image- Gulf Times

Pesticide company agrees to settlement with Nicaraguans

A Southern California pesticide firm agreed to a $300,000 settlement with 13 Nicaraguan workers who claimed that they were sterilized while working on banana plantations in the 1970s. The settlement absolves Amvac Chemical Company from any wrongdoing though the plaintiffs were pleased after “fighting this fight for so long.” Court records showed that the pesticide- DBCP- had been banned for most uses in the U.S. by 1977 although it was made and sold in Nicaragua for only two years.

Earlier this month, a Los Angeles Times investigation showed that chemical companies like Amvac purchase the rights to older, more harmful pesticides in order to keep them in the global market.

Links- Los Angeles Times, Xinhua, SignOnSanDiego.com

Image- Newsday (2004 photo of a barrel of DBCP found in Nicaragua)

Cubans support return of imprisoned spies

To U.S. law enforcement Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez are five convicted Cuban spies who tried to transmit secret information back to the island. But to Cubans, they are seen as "Heroic Prisoners of the Empire" who are unjustifiably sitting in a U.S. prison. Defense attorneys for “The Miami Five” are seeking a retrial outside of South Florida and the Cuban media is enthusiastically supporting their cause.

It’s hard to say what are the odds that the convicted spies will get a retrial, but it is definitely safe to say that their case has inflamed passions between Cuban exiles and compatriots back on the island.

Image- Houston Chronicle

Links- New York Newsday, Prensa Latina, Periodico 26