There will be a rally assembling in front of the El Paso Federal Building at noon on Wed. Jan 17th. Anyone in the area should join them. Everyone else should pick up the phone and make some calls.

US Federal Judge Cardone can rule up until the 11th hour that Agents Ramos and Compean can stay out of prison on bond during the appeal process - which could take several years. Call for the judge to rule in favor of the bond.

Judge Cardone: 915-534-6740
White House Phone: 202-456-111
White House Fax: 202-456-2461
White House E-mail: comments@whitehouse.gov
Congress and Pelosi: 866-340-9281
Attorney Albert Gonzales: 202-514-2001
Prosecuting Attorny Office (Johnny Sutton & Debra Kanof): 210-384-7400
Tony Snow: 202-456-2673

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This is a general area where members can chat, post ideas, comments, article links and anything else they feel is important that are not related to the specific articles posted daily on this site.

We also have a new password protected “Members Only” section where registered users can email a photo of them self along with a personal quote such as “Stop the invasion!” to be posted. Only users with posted photos will be allowed to view the photos of others.

Email your photo, quote, and Immigration Watchdog user name to shoot2thrillpictures@yahoo.com. You’ll then be sent a password so you can access the members only area to see a picture of who you’ve been chatting with all this time.

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KVOA

The Sasabe, Arizona school board is considering opening a school that accepts Mexican students who pay tuition.

The $1.5 million San Fernando Elementary School will have space for 57 students when it’s completed this March.

With only 18 students currently enrolled, the school board says it would have space for students who want to cross over from Mexico and pay tuition to learn at their school.

But there’s just one problem according to a citizenship and immigration spokeswoman.

She says because San Fernando will be a public school, it won’t be eligible to accept foreign students.

She says attendance would be limited to children living in Mexico who are U-S citizens or legal permanent residents.

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Canoga Home Depot 1-14-07

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“Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, a group that seeks to limit immigration, said he was concerned that Hispanics could create a parallel mainstream in the United States.

?It?s a trivial example, but Hispanics now have their own pizza chain,? Mr. Krikorian said. ?It?s a consequence of having too many people arrive from a single foreign culture, and may well reflect a kind of cultural secession.?

Pizza Chain Takes Pesos, and Complaints
New York Times
Janurary 15, 2007

Pizza Patron is accepting pesos in
a promotion.

Click here to send Pizza Patron your own E-mail.

DALLAS, Jan. 14 ? Jose Ramirez and two friends stopped by a Pizza Patrón here after work on Thursday for a carry-out dinner. Mr. Ramirez, his jeans dusted with white chalk from the construction site, ordered a Hawaiian and La Patrona ? a large with the works.

The pies cost him almost 220 big ones. Pesos, that is.

Mr. Ramirez, 20, received his change in American coins and said he liked the chain?s new ?Pizza por Pesos? promotion. He had been in the United States for 15 days ? his home is in Guanajuato, Mexico ? and he wanted to spend the last of his Mexican currency.

?I just arrived,? he said in Spanish, smiling nervously. ?It?s my first time here.?

The employees at this Pizza Patrón in East Dallas, one of 59 in five Southwestern and Western states, were still puzzling over the conversion rates almost a week after the chain started accepting peso bills on Jan. 8.

But the promotion has already hit a nerve in the nationwide immigration debate. The company?s Dallas headquarters received about 1,000 e-mail messages on Thursday alone. Some were supportive, but many called the idea unpatriotic, with messages like, ?If you want to accept the peso, go to Mexico!? There were even a few death threats.

Antonio Swad, president and founder of Pizza Patrón, said he was surprised by the outcry.

?I certainly wasn?t expecting ?pizza for pesos? to become a touchstone for the immigration issue,? Mr. Swad said. It was nothing more than an effort to ?reinforce our brand promise to be the premier Latino pizza chain,? he said. ?We?re businessmen.?

?The Latino population is significant and it?s important,? Mr. Swad continued. ?It?s here to stay. The United States is not going to be like it used to be; it?s going to be different, and it has an opportunity to be better.?…..

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

A view from the other side

Pizzeria may reap more than pesos
Mercedes Olivera
Dallas Morning News
Janurary 13, 2007

Marketing blunder or stroke of genius?

The folks at Pizza Patrón will find out this year whether accepting Mexican pesos as payment was a smart business decision.

Lots of folks are betting it was, indeed.

“Money is money,” said Tom Landis, who owns four Pizza Patrón stores in Dallas. There are more than 20 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, mainly in Latino neighborhoods.

The Dallas-based pizza chain has almost 60 stores in California, Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. It has been successfully targeting Latinos, who represent about 60 percent of its customers.

The pizza chain created an unexpected brouhaha when it began accepting pesos this week. In February, it will evaluate whether to continue doing so.

Some local Pizza Patrón stores have received more than 100 threats and numerous e-mails from people upset about the decision. Overwhelmingly, though, the thousands of e-mails have been positive.

Obviously, this is more than just about Italian-style bread with tomatoes and cheese on it. The national immigration debate wasn’t part of the marketing strategy, but it has become part of the massive publicity the chain has received.

David Strutton, a University of North Texas marketing professor, said he believes accepting pesos was a sound business decision by the company’s owner, Antonio Swad.

Mr. Swad, who has an Italian and Lebanese background, has been a successful entrepreneur in the fast-food business.

Dr. Strutton foresees million-dollar revenues as payback for Mr. Swad, despite the initial backlash ? which the professor believes won’t last.

“These days, the life cycle in the media of an issue is a nanosecond,” he said. “Then it’s on to something else.”

Furthermore, he said, “this is not an issue that is going to bring another immigrant across the border, so there’s a disconnect here.”

Instead, what he sees is the pragmatic business sense of someone who’s been successful in a similar venture. And successful marketing sustains “a meaningful differentiation” in the marketplace, Dr. Strutton said.

In other words, getting your company’s name to stand out among myriad other pizza chains is a hefty challenge that Pizza Patrón may have overcome.

“It’s elevated the visibility of the brand among Hispanics, who are known for being quite brand-loyal,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to create loyal customers, and the lifetime value could easily run into thousands of dollars per customer.”

But I also can’t help wondering: Isn’t this what it means to be part of a global economy?…..

To read entire article click here.

Mercedes Olivera writes about local news for The Dallas Morning News.

Archive | Bio | E-mail of Mercedes Olivera

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“The rule of law is something that is much more well-established in our culture than it is in Latin American cultures, so it is relevant,” he said. “It’s sort of a symbol of the cultural difference.”

Residents Rick Johnson and Tom Bohmier share a laugh as
Patrick Bohmier, 8, prepares for the next point during a
foosball game at the Farmers Branch Community Recreation
Center. Both parents, who back the City Council, stress
that they believe in a diverse community.


Elizabeth Villafranca, left, co-owner of Cuquita’s Restaurant,
stops by Nelsie Alcoser’s table.

FARMERS BRANCH — As the nation pauses to remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s hope for brotherhood across racial lines, a Dallas suburb’s struggle with illegal immigration suggests that some issues can still divide people into feuding groups marked mostly by ethnicity.

This time many see the turmoil in Farmers Branch as a dispute between Anglos and Hispanics. Tempers have blazed so intensely that people on both sides fear that the City Hall screaming matches could escalate into fistfights.

“The issue has divided the city. It has put neighbor against neighbor,” said Salvador Parada, a Farmers Branch resident who opposes the City Council’s stance on illegal immigration. “I don’t think we’re going to sit down and agree on things. It’s just going to get worse.”

At issue are three measures the City Council approved by 5-0 votes in November that are meant to curb illegal immigration:

An ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting apartments to illegal immigrants.

A resolution making English the city’s official language.

An order to have a city police officer trained to enforce federal immigration laws.

Opponents responded with lawsuits and a petition that put a referendum on the rental ordinance on the May municipal ballot. They say that immigration is a matter for the federal government and that Farmers Branch’s stance is alienating Hispanics.

Supporters say the measures are necessary because illegal immigration has overburdened local services, such as schools. They say the law needs to be enforced. They have also attacked the petition drive’s legitimacy, saying that elderly people were tricked into signing it……

To read entire article click here.

Contact The Mayor and City Council of Farmers Branch by clicking here.

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Barletta shoots for three
Hazleton Standard Speaker
Janurary 15, 2007

Monday night, Lou Barletta told the 250 or so people who jammed into the Elks Lodge that being Hazleton mayor was “the most important job.”

Then he formally announced his intention to seek the office for a third term.

“I?ve been asked to address the state House of Representatives, the United States Senate and delegates to the United Nations,” Barletta said. “I?ve been invited to the White House to meet with the president of the United States in the Oval Office. But of all my professional achievement, nothing had made me more proud than to serve the people of Hazleton, and to be the mayor of my hometown.”

“I have been encouraged to run for many different elected offices, but the most important office that I can hold is the office of mayor of Hazleton,” he added.

Barletta?s formal speech was fairly short ? only about 20 minutes. It was briefly marred by a problem with the sound system and was frequently interrupted by applause. The largest applause came after he said, “I am pleased to announce my candidacy for a third term as mayor of the City of Hazleton.”

He thanked supporters who “shared my vision” and looked back to his first term.

“We all know how close Hazleton came to the brink of financial ruin,” Barletta said. “We remember the tough steps we had to take to secure our future. But each difficult choice, every hard decision, has led us to this point in Hazleton?s history.”

“This city no longer hides from its problems, sweeps them under the rug and hopes they go away,” he added “Hazleton is attacking those problems head on because the challenge will make us stronger and we know we will overcome them.”…..
To read entire article click here.

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

Antonio Rodriguez is a Latino Democrat that is running for City Council. He is fighting mad about illegal immigration and is campaigning hard on passing Lou’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act. Can I kiss this guys feet?

Three declare candidacy for city council [in Hazleton]
Hazleton Standard Speaker
Janurary 16, 2007

…..Monday night also saw the announcement of the first Democrat to jump into the council foray. Antonio Rodriguez, who also attended Barletta? announcement, said he would seek a nomination in the May primary. He said his main goal is to win a seat and fight for Barletta?s controversial Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

“I want to drive the criminals and drug dealers out of Hazleton,” Rodriguez said. “Look at what has happened to cities like Reading, Allentown, Paterson, New Jersey. We can?t let Hazleton go to the dogs as those cities have.”

Rodriguez said he supports the IIRA and wants to see the city enforce it. He added that he believes the presence of those in the country illegally in Hazleton has added to the city?s crime rate.

“I?m prepared to fight all the way to Washington, D.C., for IIRA,” Rodriguez said……
To read entire article click here.

Click here to go to Hazleton’s legal defense fund: Small Town Defenders and send your monetary support if possible.

HAZLETON MUST PREVAIL!!!

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Imam Baber (Manoj Sood, left) discusses the
finer points ofMuslim prairie humour with
Fatima (Arlene Duncan, middle) and Rayyan
(Sitara Hewitt).

Muslim sitcom off to a big start in Canada
International Herald Tribune
January 15, 2007

TORONTO: When it comes to producing a funny television show or movie in Canada, producers here have a reliable stable of topics ? French-English relations, urban-rural dynamics and anything that involves a bumbling politician or the United States.

But Islam ? something of a third rail of comedy throughout the Western world ? did not make the list, which is one reason the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s new situation comedy, “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” is attracting such attention here.

“It is a risk doing a sitcom about what can be considered a very touchy subject,” said Kirstine Layfield, executive director of network programming at the CBC.

But the series premiere last Tuesday attracted 2.1 million viewers, impressive in a country where an audience of one million is a runaway hit. The CBC has not had a show draw an audience of that size in a decade, according to the network.

The show follows a small group of Muslims in, of all places, a prairie town in Saskatchewan where, in the first epsiode, the group was trying to establish a mosque in the parish hall of a town church. A passerby, seeing the group praying, rushes to call a “terrorist hot line,” to report Muslims praying “just like on CNN,” which touches off a local firestorm……

To read entire article click here.

A newsclip from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

First Episode Part 1

First Episode Part 2

This was actually pretty funny guys. I’d watch soon because it will probably be deleted from You Tube for copyright infringement. GuardDog

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NewsWithViews

?Harmonization? is today?s trendy term for eliminating boundaries of nation-states (i.e., sovereignty) in exchange for democratic trans-nationalism. Toward this end, America?s Constitutional Republic is being coaxed to morph into a regionally-defined social democracy headed by ?civil society? (i.e., non-elected non-governmental organizations).

These NGOs effectively transcend political barriers at all levels, from local to international. They work to supplant rightful private ownership with public ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. This is called ?socialism,? far from what the original Superman defended as ?the American way.?

Globalization speaks specifically to redistributing the world?s wealth and, then, concentrating that wealth, and therefore power, into the hands of few who wish to manage masses by means of international ?soft law? inclusive of agreements, conventions, declarations, executive orders, pacts, summits, treaties.

Read the entire article at News With Views

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Claudia Smith of California Rural Legal Assistance is a racial separatist and open border advocate in the San Diego area. She’s a washed up Attorney and ex-Nun.

She defends even the worst of her raza. She knew migrants living in McGonigle canyon were gang raping young girls that were smuggled across the border and she did nothing to stop it. In fact, she tried to cover it up.

Claudia Smith and California Rural Legal Assistance are currently under federal investigation for wrongfully using federal tax money to fund frivolous litigation and class action lawsuits on behalf of unidentified ?members of the general public.? (illegal aliens)

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Lupe Moreno of LAIR is also one of the stars of the documentary BORDER WARS available on DVD.

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Chicago Tribune

The furor over illegal immigration in Carpentersville has now moved to the Police Department, with village leaders seeking to join an increasingly popular federal program that lets local officers act as de facto immigration agents.

Selected officers would be empowered to question people they arrest about their immigration status, check their documents and, if warranted, begin the deportation process.

Carpentersville would be the first Illinois community to join the program, but 10 others around the country have already done so, bringing hundreds of new deportation cases.

In the last eight months, the jail in Charlotte, N.C., has referred almost 1,200 people arrested for other crimes for deportation, a policy some believe has encouraged the undocumented to go elsewhere.

“I’m sure that some [illegal immigrants] have probably left the county because of the chance they could get stopped … and, boom, be removed from the country,” said Sgt. Quinn Stansell of the Mecklenburg County sheriff’s office in Charlotte.

Carpentersville Police Chief Dave Neumann said his officers would use the power only to identify illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes, but some believe the temptation to cast a wider net could prove too great.

“Our village with [the federal training] is like putting a gun in the hands of children,” said Carpentersville Trustee Linda Ramirez Sliwinski, the only official to vote against applying for the program. “I’m afraid that some of our police officers will use it to do more racial profiling.”

You can contact the Reconquista, Linda Ramirez Sliwinski here LRamirezSliwinski@vil.carpentersville.il.us

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Boston.com

WASHINGTON — As an immigration lawyer in northern California, Zoe Lofgren helped struggling immigrant farm workers keep their families together and stay in the United States.

Now, years later, the Democratic representative from San Jose is poised to take over the House subcommittee on immigration. Those experiences from the front lines could resonate anew as she helps direct the next congressional debate over the nation’s population of illegal immigrants.

With her liberal credentials and pro immigrant views, Lofgren embodies what many believe is a new day in the immigration debate as Congress, now under Democratic control, again confronts one of the nation’s most contentious issues.

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NY Post

A Harlem couple shook and suffocated their 2-month-old son because they were afraid his crying would get them evicted, police sources said yesterday.

Teresa Flores, 20, and Rufino Bedoya-Flores, 30 - illegal Mexican immigrants living crammed into a West 135th Street flat with other illegals - both admitted shaking their baby, Demetro, early Saturday because they feared his wailing would keep the others awake, police said.

Teresa Flores put her hand over her son’s mouth until he went quiet, cops said. The couple was held without bail on murder and child-endangerment charges.

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“Will the highways on the Internet become more few?”

- Concord, New Hampshire; January 29, 2000

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