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Puerto Vallarta News NetworkEditorials | At Issue

China's “Secret” War Plan Revealed By U.S. Magazine
Sherwood Ross

While it is doubtful the Pentagon actually wants a war with China over Taiwan, there are arms manufacturers here who will profit handsomely from this escalating arms race and who march in lockstep with the Pentagon.

Why is Jeff Sessions Blocking a US Child Sex Trafficking Bill?
Tanya Somanader

In the waning days of the lame duck session, the Senate had the opportunity to pass the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act. Aimed at creating “a comprehensive, victim-centered approach to addressing the sex trafficking of minors,” the bill is “the first of its kind to deal with young trafficking victims domestically.”

Opium Production in Afghanistan: Strong and Corrupt as Ever
Nadia Prupis

Efforts by the United Nations (UN), the US military and the Indian government to curb opium production in Afghanistan since 2007 have been largely ineffective, due in large part to the ties between the drug trade and the Taliban.

US Sabotages Gun Strategy in Mexico
The News

The Los Angeles Times on Wednesday stated that a greater control of weapon sales in the United States would help Mexico in the combat against drug cartels.

First, Your Shoes; Next, Your DNA: Elliot Cohen on How Surveillance is Erasing Freedom and Autonomy, Step by Incremental Step
Alissa Bohling

Elliot Cohen's reputation for prescient reporting precedes his new book, "Mass Surveillance and State Control: The Total Information Awareness Project."

Success or Failure? Evaluating U.S.-Mexico Efforts to Address Organized Crime and Violence
Andrew Selee

Mexico has seen an upswing in drug-related violence as at least seven different organized crime groups dispute key corridors for trafficking cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines to the U.S. market.

Out of Prison and Into Mortal Danger in Mexico
Tracy Wilkinson

Female kidnapping suspect 'The Redhead' was found tortured and hanging from an overpass after being sprung from prison. Observers wonder if it was a gang hit or even vigilante 'justice.'

Tijuana, Mexico Still Suffers from Migration Phenomena
Frontera NorteSur

In Tijuana, the modalities of migration changed significantly during the decade of 2000-2010. The transformed landscape dramatically increased the cost of crossing, and strengthened transnational outlaw groups that profit from trafficking migrants.

The Coming War Over the US Constitution
Robert Parry

Despite a few victories in the lame-duck session of Congress, Democrats and progressives should be under no illusion about the new flood of know-nothingism that is about to inundate the United States in the guise of a return to “first principles” and a deep respect for the U.S. Constitution.

Study Reveals Mexican Prejudice Against Fellow LatAms
Adrián Jiménez

According to a study conducted by the National Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination (Conapred) entitled “Outlines to analyze intolerance in Mexico today,” the levels of intolerance of Mexicans against foreigners are not as low as they were believed to be.

Key Political Risks to Watch in Mexico
Robin Emmott & Jason Lange

Mexico is limping back from a punishing recession while drug war killings continue to climb four years into a government crackdown on traffickers, worrying investors in Latin America's No. 2 economy.

Big Money and Low Turnout Lethal for US Democracy
The Real News Network

Roosevelt Institute Panel's Thomas Ferguson: Registration requirements and banning felons makes it more difficult for poor to vote.

Violence in LatAmerica Turns More Ruthless
Gulf Times

Violence and murder increased across Latin America in 2010, with ruthless bloodshed by drug traffickers and criminal gangs making public safety the top concern in the region.

2011 Arrives With So Little Hope, So Much Skepticism
Beth Fouhy

Nearly a million revelers crowded New York’s Times Square to witness the traditional dazzling ball drop, fireworks lit up Australia’s Sydney Harbor and communist Vietnam held a rare Western-style countdown to the new year as the world ushered in 2011.

Mexico's Intensifying Drug War Spills Into 2011
NPR.org

Mexico's drug war continues to claim victims at an astounding rate, and there are no signs that the violence will ease any time soon.

Taming the "Wild West" of Microfinance
Kavaljit Singh

The recent suicides by over 60 poor borrowers in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have brought the operations of microfinance institutions (MFIs) under public scrutiny.

Mexico Dispatch: A Country Turned Upside-Down
Jose Luis Sierra

In this upside-down world that is Mexico today, the number of executions in the border city of Juarez is approaching 3,000 for 2010 alone. But despite official promises to investigate every case, 92 percent of the killings remain unsolved.

Will Arizona Hijack the 2011 Immigration Debate?
Catherine A. Traywick

After commanding the world's attention in 2010 with its cavalier stance on immigration, the Arizona state legislature is threatening - once again - to dominate national immigration discourse and policy.

The "Family" - Who Really Is Behind This Secret Organization?
Yana Kunichoff

What if someone were to tell you that your Congressman routinely bandies around phrases such as "Jesus plus nothing," used to mean the complete rule of Jesus, and compares the desired reach to that of Hitler or Ho Chi Minh? If this makes you at all apprehensive, then Jeff Sharlet's "C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy" is a must-read.

Mexico Plan to Save Violent Border City is Lacking
Associated Press

Since Calderon personally launched Todos Somos Juarez in February, forming community roundtables of academics, civic groups and business leaders to vet projects and track their progress, the city has experienced its most violent year — topping 3,000 murders by mid-December.

Haiti: Behind the Cholera Epidemic
Haiti Grassroots Watch

This is an emergency. Cholera is killing at least one person every 30 minutes in Haiti. On Dec. 17, the offical number of dead stood at 2,535, with a 2 percent fatality rate.

Once A Mexican Tourist Town, Now No Man's Land
Claudio Sanchez

Every day, the U.S. border patrol deports thousands of men, women and children who crossed into the U.S. illegally. Already this year, the U.S. has deported more than 400,000. The scope and scale of the illegal immigration problem has so transformed border communities that even the people who grew up there now find their hometowns unrecognizable.

The Naked Truth About Scanners
Roger Simon

On the day after Christmas, readers of The Washington Post were given a real treat: pictures of naked men. The men in the pictures were fully clothed, but they were naked nonetheless, because the pictures came from airport full-body scanners.

So Young and So Many Pills
Anna Wilde Mathews

These days, the medicine cabinet is truly a family affair. More than a quarter of U.S. kids and teens are taking a medication on a chronic basis, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc.

Arizona Bans Ethnic Studies and, Along With it, Reason and Justice
Randall Amster J.D., Ph.D.

While much condemnation has rightly been expressed toward Arizona's anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, a less-reported and potentially more sinister measure is set to take effect on January 1, 2011.

North American Integration Back on the Front Burner
Dana Gabriel

In the last year, the bilateral process has been the primary means used to advance North American integration, which has drawn little attention. With the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) seemingly stalled after being exposed and discredited, the U.S. channelled trilateral negotiations to parallel bilateral discussions with both Canada and Mexico.

The Future Ain’t So Bright for Boomer Retirees
Dave Carpenter

Through a combination of procrastination and bad timing, many baby boomers are facing a personal finance disaster just as they’re hoping to retire. Starting in January, more than 10,000 baby boomers a day will turn 65, a pattern that will continue for the next 19 years.

Capitol Hill: The World’s Longest-Running Sex Drama
Doug Thompson

The US Congress has long been more of a soap opera than the tawdriest of shows from Tinseltown. Members of Congress cheat on their spouses openly, engage in debauchery that would shame a fraternity and spend more time screwing bedmates than constituents — even though some bedmates are also constituents.

Former CIA Spook Calls For "Covert" Action vs. Assange
PVNN

Two writers with close ties to U.S. intelligence agencies published a shocking article Dec. 23rd in The Miami Herald asserting that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is "a narcissistic nut" with "blood on his hands" and President Obama should do "whatever it takes to shut down WikiLeaks."

Brazil's Leader Laments US Views Toward LatAm
Associated Press

Brazil's leader says U.S. policies toward Latin America have changed little since President Obama took office, disappointing many hoping for more engagement.

Human Rights Court Blasts Mexican Military Justice System
Human Rights Watch

A judgment by the Inter-American Court on December 20, 2010, underscores Mexico’s obligation to stop using the military justice system for human rights abuses by the military, Human Rights Watch reports.

Mark Clayton, Ron Scherer, Amanda Paulson & Chris Gaylord
Mark Clayton, Ron Scherer, Amanda Paulson & Chris Gaylord

History, it seems, will remember 2010 in the United States as the year of health-care reform, the Gulf oil spill, and the tea party movement. But the most widely covered stories are clearly not the only events that could shape the future of the nation.

Momentum is Building to End the Failed Drug War
Tony Newman

Although President Obama and his Drug Czar have repeatedly said that legalization is not in their vocabulary, the L-word is being talked about like never before among leaders around the world.





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