UC San Diego grad student scrambling to avoid deportation

Anyone who thinks Mark and his family came here to “take advantage of this country’s welfare system” really need to find that thing in their heart called “compassion” and hold onto it. You really have to put yourself in his family’s position and ask “would I do the same to save my family?” And if Mark doesn’t deserve to be here, what makes any of us think we deserve it more? Do people like Sarah Palin really deserve to be here more than Mark? We definitely need to rethink our immigration policies if folks like Mark are deemed threats to this country.

Please sign the petition!: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/markfarrales/

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deport-20101219,0,3308780.story?page=1
Mark Farrales, whose family sought political asylum when he was 10, is to be sent back to the Philippines. The Harvard alumnus hopes Congress will consider a private immigration bill.

Mark Farrales figured his time in America could be up when he answered the door at his Reseda home to find two men standing there in black bulletproof vests emblazoned with three large white letters.

“It read ICE,” he said. “My heart just sank.”

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were there to arrest him for being in the country illegally.

Journalists slam US forces for ill treatment

This is just another example of how the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) directly violates the sovereignty and independence of the Philippines. It shows who really is in control of the Philippines and that even in their own country, Filipinos are subordinate to foreigners (particularly, U.S. imperialists).

What were the U.S. soldiers trying to hide? Why are they scared of journalists doing their job? It’s not like they were in a hidden bunker deep underground, this was outside and visible to the public.

We need more journalists to hold people accountable and to defend their right to report the truth. The VFA just shot itself in the foot.

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Journalists slam US forces for ill treatment

By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 09:28:00 12/21/2010

Filed Under: Media, Military, Justice & Rights, Agreement (general)

MANILA, Philippines—The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on Tuesday slammed the alleged ill treatment of American soldiers to Zamboanga City-based journalists who were covering the visit of retired general Edilberto Adan of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Commission.  In a statement, the NUJP said a television reporter in Zamboanga was ordered by one of six US soldiers guarding the headquarters of the United States military’s Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines inside the Western Mindanao Command to stop taking footages of the event.

Army Suicides Rise; Prevention Strategy Changes

While I may not agree with the reason why U.S. soldiers are overseas fighting these wars, it saddens me to see many of them losing their lives. Many come from working class backgrounds, had no choice but to join the military because there were very little options open to them. Many also are Filipino, growing up in military families and joining up because it’s been their whole lives.

War goes beyond newsreel footage and first-person shooters. It’s an emotional and traumatic experience that stays with you forever. While I’ve never personally experienced it, I know enough survivors to be conscious of it. U.S. soldiers are asked to do a horrible thing by policy makers who rarely have their best interests in mind. Pawns in the chess game we call imperialism.

The U.S. military is now overstretched and unable to handle the consequences of sending people to war. The decision-makers in D.C. don’t have to live with the scars. PTSD. Suicide. Physical disabilities. The ones just trying to make a living do.

Bring em’ back home.

Record Number Prompts Military to Share Stories from Soldiers who had Close Encounters with Suicide

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/17/eveningnews/main6688347.shtml

By David Martin

(CBS) A record 60 Americans were killed in Afghanistan last month. The military is also grappling with an equally devastating problem, suicides by service members.

Special Section: Afghanistan

June was not only the worst month ever for American combat deaths in Afghanistan. It was the worst month ever for suicides in the Army, CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin reports.

A total of 32 soldiers, both active duty and reserve, took their own lives in those 30 days. So far this year, 145 soldiers have committed suicide compared with 130 during the first six months of last year, which at the time was the worst on record.

In an attempt to reverse the trend, the Army released a suicide prevention video in which Spc. Joseph Saunders, distraught over the breakup of his marriage, described how he tried to kill himself.

“I put the rifle up to my chin, put it on semi, and I pulled the trigger,” Saunders said in the video.

IRS fails government audit

I had to post this up. It’s always good to know our government agencies are doing their jobs. Especially the one that takes a whole lot of our money.

USA USA USA!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100630/bs_ynews/ynews_bs2966_2

Wed Jun 30, 3:18 pm ET

Getting audited is such a hassle! Just ask the IRS.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office inspected the tax agency’s financial statements from the 2009 fiscal year with the exacting thoroughness of, well, of an IRS auditor, and found a few billion-dollar errors.

According to the report (PDF), the IRS made a variety of accounting errors last year that “could adversely affect the reliability of its financial statements” and result in “duplicate or erroneous refunds.” Among the mistakes were a “failure to record the receipt of a taxpayer’s $3 million payment” and an $8 billion discrepancy between two accounting systems tracking how much money taxpayers owe. The audit also found a $5.1 billion “unexplained variance” between the total amount the agency took in last year and the amount its detailed tax files said it took in.

But what’s a few billion here or there, right?

In truth, the shortcomings are all relatively minor infractions given the size of the IRS, and don’t materially affect its performance of its duties. And you’ll find similar lapses in virtually any close examination of a huge bureaucracy.

But it’s still good to know that the IRS had to go through it, if only so it can empathize with the American taxpayer.

— John Cook is a senior national affairs reporter for the Yahoo! News blog.

Twilight Fans’ Vampire Addiction Affecting Relationships

With the new “Twilight” film opening up…I think today?…I thought this would be funny to put up. I hope people remember that this is only a movie and you can’t compare your own relationships to the ones artificially created on-screen/ in a book. At the same time, if it helps someone realize how unhappy they are in a relationship, then maybe it’s a good thing? As long as you don’t put unrealistic expectations on your relationship, like your partner having to be a supernatural creature. But far be it for me to offer relationship advice…

In the end, there are better movies out there. Please, watch them. Please.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-twilight-fans-vampire-addiction-affecting-relationships.html

by Lindsay Robertson · June 28, 2010

With fans turning the area outside the Nokia theater in L.A. into a tent city in advance of the “Eclipse” premiere, the Los Angeles Times examines the phenomenon of fans whose lives are upended by their fierce love of the vampire books and movies. The Times found women who have nearly lost their marriages by neglecting their husbands in favor of “Twilight” fan sites, blogs, and message boards. One woman gushes that she’s seen the movies “over 300 times.”

So-called “Twilight addiction” proliferates on the Internet, where a fan can take any of hundreds of quizzes to self-diagnose their condition, and websites sell hand-made crystal-encrusted T-shirts that say “Twilight Mom.” Some “Twi-Moms” as they’re known, have even argued that their love of Edward and/or Jacob has actually improved their marriages.

Immigrant farm workers’ challenge: Take our jobs

I’m interested to see what happens with this campaign. Like, are anti-immigration folks going to organize people to apply for the jobs? What if people do show up? Whether on their own accord or by an organized effort?

The argument is that immigrants do the jobs American citizens don’t want to do. The other sides argues that immigrants take jobs away and lower pay. We’ll see if at least one of those is true.

I think it’s more than likely that the UFW is right on this issue and people aren’t going to want to do the jobs that immigrant farm workers do. Other service sector jobs should do this. I’d love to see some people think they could be a day laborer.

But then again…us recent grads need jobs. Who’s down to head to the central valley!?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_en_tv/us_immigration_take_our_jobs

SAN FRANCISCO – In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.

Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.

So the group is encouraging the unemployed — and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them — to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.

All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner “I want to be a farm worker” at http://www.takeourjobs.org, and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms.

Coffee’s Mysterious Benefits Mount…FTW!

This article is good news for those of us who drink large amounts of coffee. Just like when they did that study on wine, leave it to science to justify some of our most addictive vices.

So who wants to get some coffee later? In a way, I’m saving your life. Think about that for a while…

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/coffeesmysteriousbenefitsmount

From lowered cancer risks to a sharper memory, more studies are showing that coffee is good for you – but why?

Regular coffee drinkers have a 39 percent decreased risk of head and neck cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day had significantly fewer cancers of the mouth and throat than non coffee drinkers, the study found.

“Coffee contains more than a thousand chemicals, some of which have antioxidant and antimutagenic activities,” Mia Hashibe, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah and the study’s lead researcher, told Life’s Little Mysteries. “Further research is necessary to identify which ingredients in coffee are responsible for the results we observed in our study.”

Scientists are still trying to determine exactly what it is about coffee that gives it its disease-fighting properties, but recent research is getting closer to unlocking the mysterious power behind the energizing brew.

Arizona’s Next Immigration Target: Children of “Illegals”

Take note America, these are your new enemies

Arizona is all about innovation and setting new standards. They’re on the path to becoming the first U.S. state to completely whitewash itself since “racism ended” with the election of President Obama.

First, they pass that immigration bill. Fine, economic recession, blame it on immigrants, not like it’s the first time. Then they forbid people with accents from teaching English. Okay…but I hope someone tells the English that they have accents. Then they outlaw Ethnic Studies. Well then, no lesson plans on Kiwi and Bambu for you University of Phoenix! NOW…they’re going after children…who are constitutionally protected by law!!!

Wow Arizona. Attacking citizens who don’t even have the right to vote you out. Very brave of you.

But I guess it matches up with everything you’ve been doing. Why have Ethnic Studies when you’ve kicked out all the colored kids?

All the other anti-non-white people measures they’ve taken are facing constitutionality battles (though they should be no brainers). This new assault is so clear-cut that newly naturalized U.S. citizens who just completed their citizenship tests (thus, know more about this country than 90% of these so-called “real Americans”) know that this law is unconstitutional and has no chance of sticking. The worst part? The Arizona lawmakers who proposed it KNOW THAT! But they’re doing it anyway. Why? Because apparently in grade school:

1) they were the kids who did something wrong, knew they did something wrong
2) had the teachers tell them they were wrong
3) had all the other kids tell them they were wrong
4) but still made a scene during class about how they were still right

I hope anyone who knows me and/or reads my blog understands the moral and legal lines Arizona is crossing at the moment.

Morally, do we really need to punish and blame children, especially when they had no say on where they were born? Legally, do we have the authority to deport U.S. FUCKING CITIZENS!?!?!?

I used to believe that being a U.S. citizen meant something. That as the son of immigrants who busted their asses to get here, that blue passport was fought for with blood, sweat, tears, and other bodily fluids by my parents and everyone else who are just trying to survive in this messed up world. But I’ve slowly understood that unless you look like the “ideal” American, your rights are not quite as guaranteed as that constitution thing they keep telling you about, promises. This is something that white Americans can’t completely understand (from our perspective). Which is why things like Ethnic Studies is important in closing that gap (ironic in this situation, but not really).

Arizona seems to love going after those who can’t defend themselves. First undocumented immigrants. Then immigrants who have to deal with the societal stigma of having accents. Then teachers and other educators who get paid next to nothing anyway. Now children. Who’s next? Disabled people? The elderly? The guy down the street with no arms?

Now that Arizona is on that road to racial purity, we can only place bets on what they’ll do next. My money is banning languages other than English from being spoken in public. Or interracial marriages being banned ala the Nuremburg Laws.

Looks like Hitler was 80 years too early.

P.S.: If I ever hear the term “anchor baby” used in my vicinity, I’m kicking you in the face.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100611/us_time/08599199606400

By ADAM KLAWONN / PHOENIX Adam Klawonn / Phoenix – Fri Jun 11, 7:50 pm ET

“Anchor babies” isn’t a very endearing term, but in Arizona those are the words being used to tag children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants. While not new, the term is increasingly part of the local vernacular because the primary authors of the nation’s toughest and most controversial immigration law are targeting these tots – the legal weights that anchor many undocumented aliens in the U.S. – for their next move.

5 Foods that Boost Your Mood

As someone who eats a lot of crap and has days where he can’t get out of bed, this is good info. Especially when a good mood is hard to come by.

I now have my excuse to eat chocolate. Not like I ever needed one.

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http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/17512/5-foods-that-boost-your-mood/

5 Foods that Boost Your Mood

SELF.com

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief

As anyone who has sought solace in a pint of Häagen-Dazs knows, food can be a source of comfort and pleasure as well as nutrients. While overdoing it on ice cream and candy is likely to cause more stress when you regret all those empty calories, consistently munching the right bites can actually help change your outlook from bummed to bright! Even better news: Since what’s good for your brain is also a boon for your body, incorporating these five mood boosters into your diet may improve not only your outlook, but also your energy and your figure. Eat up and lighten up!

COLD CEREAL
Eat it for your brain: A handful of MultiGrain Cheerios or Kashi Heart to Heart offers folic acid, which can help fend off the blues. Those with low levels of the nutrient experience more symptoms of depression, a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests, and a folic acid deficiency may prevent your antidepressants from working.

Eat it for your body: A quick bowl of whole-grain cereal brims with iron and vitamins, and gets your metabolism humming—and it sure beats skipping breakfast altogether, since that can lead to all sorts of problems later in the day. People who skipped breakfast only once every three months were 34 percent more likely to be obese than those who didn’t, according to a study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. So even if your body doesn’t want it when you first wake up, find a breakfast you can live with, and eat up.

Darth Vader’s Diagnosis

Of course someone had to do a psychological analysis of Darth Vader. Someone is always 1) that bored 2) that obsessed. But the the analysis is interesting (at least to me). I mean, you have to have some problems if your idea of punishment for your daughter not telling you a secret is to blow up her home planet or for your son not following your same path is to cut off his hand. I wouldn’t want to be Cader’s therapist.

I hope that we all realize that because he’s a science fiction character, he’s supposed to be fucked in the head. Darth Vader’s characteristics is more to drive story and interest, instead of following some sort of psychological profile built as a reaction to real human interaction.

I hope we all know that. Right?!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/buzz-log-darth-vaders-diagnosis.html

His enemies and underlings are painfully aware that Darth Vader is highly irritable and prone to bursts of anger. But until now, we don’t think anybody knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith may have suffered from borderline personality disorder.

According to a popular blog over at CNN, French researchers have concluded that Mr. Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker) has, at various times, exhibited six of the nine criteria for borderline personality disorder. To be diagnosed with BPD, you need only showcase five of the behaviors.

Just what are these traits? Well, there are the unstable moods that Vader suffers. One minute he’s happy because he sliced Obi-Wan Kenobi in half. The next, he’s all huffy that his subordinates let the Millennium Falcon escape. And when Vader ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.