Stories

Democratic Primaries: The Resurrection of NAFTA as a Cause Célèbre
By Larry Birns and Shannon Holdeman
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton repeatedly tells the nation that she always has been wary of NAFTA, and would be prepared to suspend compliance with the trade agreement, if need be, should Canada and Mexico oppose reopening the pact to a new round of negotiations. Candidate Obama, while speaking in the same vein, has been less specific, if anything, than even Clinton in calling for the revision of NAFTA.

Sent Home Empty-Handed
By J. Emilio Flores
Editor’s Note: Each day, the United States sends plane-fulls of undocumented immigrants back to their countries of origin. Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported nearly 20,000 undocumented immigrants to El Salvador. La Opinión boarded one of these flights and followed a deportee home to meet his family.

México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Los Soldados Ilegales
José Rubio, nacido en Reynosa, Tamaulipas, se murió como tres días tarde.

Program Has Not Been Successful for Mexican Truck Drivers
By Mariana Martínez
Mexican truck drivers are now being allowed to drive in the US as part of a pilot program, where English proficiency is a requirement.

Programa Piloto ha recibido fuertes críticas de sindicatos en Estados Unidos, empresarios y transportistas mexicanos
Por Mariana Martínez
Los choferes mexicanos a quienes se les permite viajar dentro de los Estados Unidos pertenecen a un programa piloto que pide a los participantes que demuestren tener conocimiento del idioma inglés.

NHMC Launches New Web Site to combat Hate Speech
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) has launched a new web site, www.latinosagainsthatespeech.org, to help combat the verifiable increase in hate crimes against American Latinos and the Latino immigrant community, in particular.

Papal Masses to Reflect Diversity of U.S. Population, Celebrate Several Bi-Centennials.
WASHINGTON– Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass with tens of thousands of people in Washington and New York during his apostolic visit to the United States, April 15-20.

The White House Oilmen
By Javier Sierra
For millions of consumers the weekly trip to the gas station is starting to feel like a visit to the dentist.

Los Petroleros de la Casa Blanca
Por Javier Sierra
Para millones de consumidores, el viaje semanal a la gasolinera se ha convertido en el equivalente a una visita al dentista.

Are our Surroundings Making us Fat?
By Michele Warmerdam
Is our country facing an obesity epidemic because of an environment saturated with food advertising, convenience foods, and huge portion sizes? Or, is it our own personal responsibility for not having enough willpower, motivation, and/or education about nutrition? The reality is that body weight results from a number of factors including genes, metabolism, behavior, environment, culture, and socioeconomic status. In particular, behavior and environment are the factors that play the greatest role in the battle against the bulge. Consequently, these are the primary factors targeted for prevention and treatment actions.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Marangely Rodríguez
Estira tu dólar con una venta de garaje
Los aires de primavera ya hacen presencia y como todos los años es tiempo de hacer la limpieza de todo aquello que no nos es útil y guardar lo que aún nos sirve para el próximo año. Y en tiempos de crisis económica nunca sobran unos dólares de más.

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Obituary
Eloisa Carrasco Baca
Please follow this link:

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Editorial:
Economical survival in tough times
So, how is your day going? If it is anything like ours, your day is filled with uncertainty and apprehension. Every night we go home thankful we still have our job, and if you are a small business owner, grateful that you have managed to stay in business another day but unsure if you will be able to say the same next week or next month.

Commentary:
Forty Years Later, Many Still Ask Who Killed King
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Editor’s Note: As the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination nears, questions continue to linger about the government’s involvement.

Comentario:
El candidato
Por José R. Uzal
Las ironías políticas que produce nuestro sistema democrático no tienen límite. La xenofobia ha sido la tabula rasa que mide la política local en Estados Unidos. Es difícil para los extranjeros de la primera generación incorporarse al sistema político y llegar a ser electo si tienen un acento pronunciado.

Comentario:
El Héroe
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
La violencia pandilleril está de subida en todas partes. La metrópolis Angelina no es la única zona que está siendo amedrentada por grupos antisociales. Ciudades suburbanas también han visto un crecimiento inusitado de pandillas en sus zonas consideradas de bajos recursos.

Análisis
El petróleo: tiempo de definiciones
Por Dagoberto Márquez
Le llaman de diversas formas: oro negro, veneros del diablo, lodo apestoso, etcétera. Se trata de un compuesto natural creado a través de los milenios a partir de la descomposición de la materia. Un asunto de bioquímica y de química orgánica que se explica con alguna dificultad y cuyo destino está ligado a ser la fuente de energía más importante para el ser humano. Por lo menos hasta antes del desarrollo de otras fuentes como la nuclear, la eólica o la solar, la cual sí sería inagotable en cierta forma. Su confinamiento en las profundidades someras del planeta parece un enigma pero se explica a partir de la descomposición. Su ocultamiento o entierro, aunque ya transformado y dado que su masa contiene cierta diversidad suele ir hacia arriba, brota hasta la superficie muchas veces. Así fue como se le descubrió hace muchas décadas. Por lo que se entiende está en el subsuelo tanto de las plataformas continentales como en el del lecho marino, en muchas partes del mundo, tal vez en todas aunque la exploración continúa. De esta manera lo tenemos en Norteamérica, en el mar del Norte, en el Sudeste asiático, en África del norte, en Asia Central, en Medio Oriente, en Sudamérica, etcétera. De su refinación extraemos diversos productos tanto energéticos como prácticos como el polietileno, todo tipo de plásticos y muchas otras cosas. No existe otra fuente más importante para producir calor para la combustión industrial y la de los motores que dicho compuesto, por eso la locura por el mismo, sobre todo ahora que el nivel de reservas a nivel mundial ha bajado. La cotización por barril anda y se fortalece en el nivel de los cien dólares y no hay visos de que baje, y menos si entendemos que éste se agota.

TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS
Tezozomoc is in mourning this week. La mamá de Herman Baca, Eloisa Baca, passed away Wednesday afternoon. She was a very warm and caring person and will be missed.

¡ASK A MEXICAN!
SPECIAL DIA DE LOS IMPUESTOS EDITION
Dear Mexican: Sitting on my desk is a levy from the Internal Revenue Service for over $12,000 in unpaid taxes. Turns out some dude used my Social Security number for two years in Albuquerque to get paid, and didn’t bother to pay taxes. It’s taken me plenty in time and attorney’s fees to figure it out, and we’re still fighting with the feds so that I can continue to get paid for doing MY job. If the 12 million number of illegals getting thrown around is real, it’s a safe bet I am not alone. Stealing ID numbers is a widely unreported crime that does have victims. As a card-carrying liberal whose grandfather was a Mexican immigrant, my feelings toward this are pretty mixed. What are your thoughts on this?

First Person:
BORN TO LOOSE TATTOO
By Al Carlos Hernandez
There was a biker brother in High School, who was proud yet had mixed emotions after summer vacation, because he had a new tattoo. The ink was supposed to say, “Born to Lose” but it read “Born too loose.” Now this seems like an old joke but I saw the tat with my own eyes and I graduated in four years just like normal people before exit exams.

En una Macro Organización Realizarán la 4ta. Feria Tijuana en la Historia
Por: Paco Zavala
Esto es algo….. ¿Qué ya conocías? o… ¿Sabías qué? El nombre propio de la palabra Tijuana, como hoy la conocemos, se empezó a emplear usándola en documentación a mediados del siglo XIX, perdurando de esta forma hasta nuestros días.

Nota Relacionada con Actividades Vinculadas con los Quehaceres Teatrales
Por: Paco Zavala
En un desglose de algunas actividades vinculadas con el quehacer teatral, informamos de los eventos que se han realizado y que se realizarán durante el mes de abril, en los diversos foros tijuanenses dedicados a promover esta corriente del arte escénico.

Teen Producers Project Presents “American Dream”
Media Arts Center, San Diego’s Teen Producers Project is proud to announce an exciting new after-school video production, education and training project beginning this Spring entitled Perspectives on the American Dream: Views from Immigrant and Refugee teens in the San Diego/Tijuana Border Region.

San Diego native Patricia Santana will sign and discuss her latest novel, Ghosts of El Grullo
In Ghosts of El Grullo, Yolanda Sahagún is a clever young woman who finds the symbolism in life’s smallest acts and events. She escapes into the world of literature—The Canterbury Tales or stories from Mexican countryman Juan Rulfo—when family dramas heat up, and they often do in a household of nine children overseen by an erratic father and a mother almost too sweet to be true.

Stop-Loss: Una Película que Obliga a Pensar Cuenta con la Participación del Actor Latino Victor Rasuk
Por Gustavo del Cobre
Allá por 1999, una directora desconocida presentó en el Festival de Sundance su primera película, “Boys Don’t Cry”, realizada con muy poco dinero y protagonizada por una actriz a la que solo se recordaba por haber sido la protagonista de un filme juvenil llamado “The Next Karate Kid”, una tal Hilary Swank.

Chavez Hopes to Continue Playing Lacrosse in College
By John Philip Wyllie
Life is one continuous sports season for Hilltop High’s Joey Chavez, but the energetic senior wouldn’t have it any other way. It started back in August when he excelled as a tight end for the Lancers (4-5) football team. Up until this year it continued throughout the winter on the basketball court. Now spring finds him out on the Lacrosse field. One of the team’s few experienced players, he serves as a leader and the team’s primary scoring threat. And while this team has yet to enter the win column (0-5), lacrosse is the sport that first caught his attention and the one he enjoys playing the most.

Rosales Leading Lancers Youth Movement
By John Philip Wyllie
There is a youth movement afoot within Hilltop High’s softball team and freshman infielder Natalia Rosales is at the heart of it. No less than seven ninth graders populate the school’s varsity roster and while that means the Lancers (6-9) will no doubt take some lumps this year, it bodes well for the future. Splitting time between shortstop and third base, Rosales is developing into a quality infielder.

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