Free Republic

Saturday, May 24, 2008. Link above to WAPA-TV Noticias, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The report, in Spanish, basically states that Her Excellency will be traveling to the Island soon, prior to their June 1st primary (63 delegates at stake).

KERRVILLE — The wheels of justice have turned so slowly for Mirella DeLaFuente that her children now openly question the commitment of elected officials tasked with obtaining it. DeLaFuente, 37, was killed March 2, 1991, after leaving a bar on Texas 16 where she'd argued with her estranged husband, Jose Garcia DeLaFuente, according to police reports. A witness told investigators that Jose DeLaFuente, then 50, forced his wife's car off the road and, when Mirella got out to confront him, pointed a rifle out of his pickup cab, shot several times and sped away. Jose DeLaFuente, a concrete worker, was...

SURVEY Do you agree with Edgerton High School's decision to allow the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish? Yes, I agree with the decision. No, the policy should be changed. I'm not sure. I don't care. Other.

Silvio Berlusconi's jibe at Spanish women By Fiona Govan in Madrid Last Updated: 1:26am BST 17/04/2008 Spain and Italy were embroiled in a war of words on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi criticised his Spanish counterpart for appointing so many women to his cabinet. In one of the first interviews after being elected Italy's prime minister for the third time, Mr Berlusconi attacked Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government, describing it as "too pink". Speaking about Mr Zapatero's decision to give nine out of 17 cabinet positions to women, he said: "Now he's asked for it. He'll have problems leading them." advertisement...

http://www.ktrh.com/main.html PLEASE FREEP THIS POLL! Question of the Day Should companies be allowed to require their workers to speak English-only? Yes so far 27.78 % No so far 72.22 %

Mexican truck drivers allowed to travel throughout the U.S. under a Bush administration demonstration project may not be proficient in English, despite Department of Transportation assurances to the contrary. A brochure on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website instructs Mexican truck drivers, "Did you know … You MUST be able to read and speak English to drive trucks in the United States." Still, at the Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and DOT Inspector General Calvin L. Scovel III reluctantly admitted under intense questioning from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., that Mexican drivers were being...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The evolution of human speech was far more complex than is implied by some recent attempts to link it to a specific gene, says Robert Berwick, professor of computational linguistics at MIT. Berwick will describe his ideas about language in a session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Sunday, Feb. 17. The session is called “Mind of a Toolmaker,” and explores the use of evolutionary research in understanding human abilities. Some researchers in recent years have speculated that mutations in a gene called Foxp2 might have played a fundamental...

Jessica Alba will speak nothing but Spanish when her baby is born later this year because she regretted not picking up the language of her grandparents when she was a child. The sexy Latino star reveals her father only spoke English to her and her brother because he wanted them to become model Americans - and it took her years to master basic Spanish.

~EXCERPT~ In his postmortem of how Hillary Clinton could've done better in Colorado on Super Tuesday, the state's campaign director said today he wished they'd made a bigger push with Spanish-speaking voters earlier. Tyler Chafee said on a 30-minute online forum hosted by Colorado Confidential that the campaign got a late influx of Spanish-speaking voters who wanted to participate in the caucus and that the campaign tried to get translators but, by then, it was too late. He also said some couldn't make it to caucuses because of work schedules. "Something to note for the next round," Chafee said. Barack...

GRAPEVINE (CBS 11 News) ― A fight over language in a Grapevine school has gotten so heated that some parents are pulling their children out of class. The parents are claiming that students are being forced to learn Spanish, while children of immigrants aren't being forced to learn or speak English. The signs posted around Timberline Elementary are done in both English and Spanish, and so are the school letters and other information. Officials with the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District say it's their duty to educate all students. But some white students and their parents say they are now the...

Van de Putte picked to give Democrats' Spanish response to Bush speech AUSTIN – Sen. Leticia Van de Putte has never been one to shy away from a fight, whether leading fellow Democrats on a 45-day walkout to New Mexico in 2003 or standing alone last year in support of a controversial plan to vaccinate young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. Her skills as a lawmaker in a Texas Legislature dominated by the opposing party propelled her to the presidency of the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures – the first Texan and first Hispanic in that post. And...

Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney launched a Spanish-speaking television ad in Florida on Monday, as he continued his "Change Begins with Us" tour in the state. The ad titled "Mi Padre" shows the Republican presidential hopeful at home with his family while a narrator, Romney's son Craig, speaks in Spanish. "Mitt Romney's record speaks for itself: as a businessman, he saved the Olympics, and as Governor of Massachusetts, he lowered taxes and stimulated the economy," Craig Romney says in the ad. "But above all, Mitt Romney is a family man, a great father, husband and grandfather....

Henry Farkus API Wire While most Americans are engaged in the ongoing politcal battles in America there are a few who are already beyond the upcoming election and preparing for the new economy which will emerge from it. An economy based on the Spanish language and culture. Take for instance, Josh Higgens from Northfield, Alabama. The father of three now attends night classes at his local technical college where he is learning to speak Spanish. Josh stated "I believe now is the right time to convert our family over to speaking Spanish, our children will need this in order to...

Linguistic Imperialism by: Bethany Stotts, January 09, 2008 Chicago, Ill.—With the debate over English-only education and illegal immigration sweeping the nation, some Hispanics believe that vocally supporting strong borders and strict immigration laws amounts to anti-Latino bigotry. “We have seen rapid highs in rate in hate speech on talk radio programs attacking the Latino community as a result of the debate over undocumented workers. ... The megaphone offered to the odious brand of hate speech comes compliments of radio conglomerates that own hundreds of stations across the country,” National Hispanic Media Coalition President Alex Nogales told the U. S. Senate...

From small time to over the hill, the conservative punditocracy is worried, very worried, that Spanish is taking over. Pretty mad about it, too. "I don't know about you, but I do a slow burn when I get a recorded telephone message telling me to "Press 1 for English,' " writes Dot Ward of Madison, Miss., in her local newspaper's reader blog. It also bothers one Michael M. Bates, columnist for a weekly newspaper in suburban Chicago. "I find it annoying to call a telephone number and have to press 1 to proceed in English," he rants. And Reagan-era activist...

Here's a link to Univision's coverage. If you want to watch the video on the website, the first box, under "video" on the upper left hand corner of the page is where to click. If you want a translation of the page go to Google Language Tools, enter the link where it says "Translate a web page" and the entire site will be translated for you. It's not a great translation but, it'll give you a good idea. I don't know how many of the candidates will actually speak in Spanish. I imagine most of them speak very little if...

December 9, 2007 - Miami, Florida Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-speaking television network, will be sponsoring a Republican debate hosted by the University of Miami on December 9, 2007. The candidates in attendance will be Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, Ron Paul, John McCain, Duncan Hunter, and Mike Huckabee. But for millions of people who might want to view the debate, there could be a slight problem, to check the Univison website for air times you need to speak Spanish. The explaination for a Spanish only site at first glance might be that there is a problem with inserting...

By TOM TANCREDO www.tancredo.house.gov I declined the invitation to participate in the Spanish-language Republican presidential debate on Sunday because I do not want to endorse the further Balkanization of American political life. The debate is being sponsored by Univisión, the country's largest Spanish-language network, and the candidates' answers will be translated into Spanish. Spanish-language news broadcasts and public-affairs programming is an expression of our First Amendment freedoms. I have given many interviews to Univisión as well as local Spanish-language stations. However, a Spanish-language presidential debate is a different animal altogether.

study released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, reports that in families like the Peredas, for whom Spanish is the dominant language among immigrant parents, English fluency increases across generations. By the third generation, Spanish has essentially faded into the background. Latinos recognize that learning English is key to economic success, according to the study, which was based on survey data collected between 2002 and 2007. "The ability to speak English is a crucial skill for getting a good job and integrating into the wider society," said D'Vera Cohn, a senior writer at...

After a sheet metal plant in Connecticut ordered its employees to speak only English on the job because of safety concerns, five Spanish-speaking workers decided to take the company to court. The employees, who are legal immigrants, say the rule amounts to discrimination and actually makes the workplace more hazardous. "I can think of no good reason for them to institute this policy," said Steven Jacobs, the lawyer for the workers who are suing GC Industries in Deep River, Conn. "It's offensive to people who speak Spanish and is potentially dangerous. It inhibits them from communicating in their native tongue...

A Casa Furniture and Bedding store in Alexandria has been advertising easy credit with a twist: “no gringo papers” necessary. A sign outside the store at the intersection of North Beauregard and King streets reads, “Credito sin papeles de gringo.” In English, that could be translated to say “Credit without gringo papers.” Blanca Granados, the store's assistant manager, translated the message to mean “just 'without white papers,' like Social Security or like that.” Miss Granados said the store requires customers who purchase furniture on credit to fill out an application and provide personal documentation. The store will accept a passport...

An Arizona Spanish-language radio station is blasting a local police department for what it says is racial profiling: describing the suspect in a series of child rapes as "Hispanic." Police are offering $25,000 for any information leading to an arrest in the case of the "Chandler Rapist," who began assaulting victims in Chandler, Ariz., in June 2006. The suspect is described as Hispanic, 28 to 40 years old, short with a muscular build, dark hair and hazel or brown eyes.

Safety warnings are given in English and Spanish at the sprawling BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee construction site in downtown Chattanooga. Supervisors at the Cameron Hill site, where BlueCross is building a $300 million headquarters complex, say knowledge of both languages is necessary because Spanish-speaking workers outnumber English speakers three to one. Brian O'Shea, the project superintendent, has been in construction for 23 years. He has seen many work force changes and an increased emphasis on safety, he said. "It was hard to get people to wear their hard hats back then," Mr. O'Shea said of his early years in the...

SANTIAGO, Chile - President Hugo Chavez lashed back at Spain's king Sunday for telling him to "shut up" during a summit, suggesting the monarch knew in advance of a 2002 coup that briefly ousted the Venezuelan leader from power. Chavez claimed that Spain's ambassador had backed interim president Pedro Carmona and appeared at Venezuela's presidential palace during the two-day coup in 2002. He demanded to know how deeply King Juan Carlos had been involved. "Mr. King, did you know about the coup d'etat against Venezuela, against the democratic, legitimate government of Venezuela in 2002?" Chavez said before reporters in Santiago....

MADRID, Spain - A Spanish judge has indicted 22 people suspected of links to a recruitment network sending fighters to Iraq, a court said Tuesday. National Court judge Baltasar Garzon charged 18 of the suspects with belonging to a terrorist organization, and the other four were accused of collaborating with it, the statement said. The cell's mission was to send potential fighters to Iraq "so they might join in terrorist activity sponsored and directed by al-Qaida," Garzon said. One of those arrested, Moroccan Omar Nakhcha, 24, was also charged with helping some of those involved in the 2004 Madrid train...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A sharply divided Alabama Supreme Court turned back a group Friday that sought to end Alabama's practice of giving the driver's license exam in several foreign languages. Attorneys for the ProEnglish organization had argued that giving the exam in multiple languages violated a constitutional amendment that designates English as Alabama's official language. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said the ProEnglish group presented no evidence that administering the test in multiple languages diminishes English as Alabama's common language. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Gov. Bob Riley and other state...

All told, 78 percent in this ABC News Good Morning America poll say they often or sometimes come into contact with people in this country who speak mainly Spanish rather than English – including 55 percent who encounter it “often.”

Spanish speaking in the United States is widespread and accepted by most Americans. But a third who experience this language difference are troubled by it -- and they have distinctly more negative attitudes about immigrants and Hispanics generally. Just 10 percent of Americans concede any personal prejudice against Hispanics -- far fewer than the number who, in previous polls, have self-reported prejudice on the basis of race, against overweight people, or against Arabs and Muslims. Nonetheless, among the nearly eight in 10 who hear others who speak mainly in Spanish, a third say it bothers them. All told, 78 percent...

DALTON, Ga. -- A worker at a Hispanic bakery said it was just a natural reaction when she bolted to the back of the building as soon as she saw a Dalton police cruiser pull into the parking lot. The woman's fear of law enforcement quickly subsided when Officer Abraham Chiesa entered the store and began talking with bakery workers in Spanish. As Officer Chiesa left, he gave police badge stickers to a group of children, and the bakery workers insisted he and his guests take slices of chocolate flan. Breaking the language barrier and gaining the trust of the...

I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. WaPo: "And I do want to say at this point that I was under the impression that in this debate Spanish was going to be permitted because I've always supported Univision all my career, but I'm disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish -- (applause) -- is unfortunate," Richardson said. "In other words, Univision has promoted English only in this debate."

Anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas posed questions in Spanish and the candidates had earpieces to hear simultaneous translations into English. The candidates' responses were simultaneously translated into Spanish for broadcast, and English-speaking viewers could watch using the closed caption service on their televisions.

Last updated September 2, 2007 9:29 p.m. PT Man smashes Home Depot checkout stand with pry bar he was trying to buy By BRAD WONG P-I REPORTER Well, let's look at it this way: At least, this guy wasn't buying a blowtorch. But that age-old adage -- that patience is a virtue -- somehow slipped the mind of a man shopping at Home Depot on Utah Avenue South in Seattle on Thursday. Around 9 p.m., the man was in line at a self-service checkout stand, ready to buy a pry bar and hacksaw, according to a Seattle police report. But...

‘Jihad recruiters’ held in SpainMonday, 28 May 2007, 08:38 GMT 09:38 UKSpanish police have arrested 14 suspected Islamist militants, mostly in the north-eastern region of Catalonia. The suspects were allegedly involved in recruiting jihadi volunteers for training in Afghanistan and Iraq.Police in Catalonia detained 11 in Barcelona and other towns. The others were arrested in Madrid and Malaga. The interior ministry believes the majority of those arrested are Moroccan nationals. Police have confiscated a considerable amount of computer data. Twenty-nine suspected Islamists - most of them Moroccans - are currently on trial for the deadly Madrid train bombings in...

Tom McKenna is a longtime Stuart businessman who speaks only English. He says that's why he's being kicked out of the storefront on South Dixie Highway where he has run Seacoast Water Care for seven years. "I don't know how else to put it," said McKenna, 51. I'm not sure I do either. On July 5 — the day after Independence Day — McKenna received a letter from landlord Ivan Munro telling him to consider another location. Munro said in his letter he wants to have "quality tenants serving the Spanish need in the area." ---snip--- Apparently the signs for...

Archaeologists continue debate, search for battle site lost for centuries in Alabama It's out there. Somewhere underneath cat claw briars or mud flats or even modern subdivision tracts, there are shards of Spanish metal, burned clay and a palisaded wall waiting to be found, answering one of the South's famous mysteries: Where is Mauvilla? Historians gleaning descriptions from written accounts of Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto's expedition across the South say the earliest and bloodiest battle between Europeans and Indians happened at Mauvilla, a fortified village that researchers spell a variety of other ways, including Mabila and Mavila. It sat...

A Spanish judge has ordered a woman to either enter a relationship with a man or turn her children over to her former husband after the court was told the woman is a lesbian. Judge Fernando Ferrin Calamita said that having a lesbian mother would harm the children and "raised the risk" that the girls would also become gay the EFE news agency reported Monday. Oh, and it gets worse: "It is understood that [a parent's] drug addiction, child abuse, prostitution, belonging to a satanic sect or heterosexual affair would negatively affect the children and serve as a reason for...

(Charleston) -- South Carolina's Department of Motor Vehicles has about ten thousand drivers manuals printed in Spanish. But after they are distributed the agency says no more will be printed. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston says he was shocked to learn the state had the Spanish manuals. He says the official state language is English and official business should be conducted in English. Department of Motor Vehicles chief of staff Jimmy Early says 40,000 manuals in Spanish were printed five years ago when the agency was a division of the state Department of Public Safety. Early says...

Well, Here I thought I was still living in the US of A. I felt good after El Presidenta Jorge's Shamesty Bill went down in flames. I ventured over to the new Best Buy store to buy a DVD. I did a double take: every freeking sign in the store has spanish subtitles! I had to leave right then or my blood pressure would have gone out of sight. I could understand signs like this in an airport, but in an electronics store, in Maryland (Home of Political Enchantment)???. I love capitalism, but Best Buy should be ashamed!!! I plan...

Language barriers hampered Slidell police Sunday night when officers responding to a 911 call about a knifing had to wait nearly half an hour for an interpreter before they could question a suspect. Officers arrived at the scene in the 700 block of Walnut Street shortly after 9:20 p.m., when the distress call was logged, police said. They were met by a man who said Santos Lopez, 36, of nearby Cypress Street, had approached him after exiting 736 Walnut St. and said he had been cut by a man named Isaac. The officers arrested Isaac Ramirez, 33, about 9:35 p.m.,...

The vast majority of people in the United States believe everybody who calls themselves an American citizen should speak the national language, according to a poll by Hart/Newhouse released by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. 89 per cent of respondents support having all immigrants applying for citizenship being required to learn English. In May 2006, U.S. president George W. Bush addressed the nation to discuss his immigration proposals. Bush outlined five clear objectives: securing the borders, creating a temporary worker program, holding employers to account for the workers they hire, allowing illegal immigrants "who have roots" in the...

I just dropped a line on Senator Cornyn who has been consistently against the amnesty bill.   Senator Cornyn, I've contacted you in the past to request and thank you for your continued stance against the amnesty being debated in the Senate. Today though I contact you on a similar, but more subtle topic. Why sir, on your personal site at "http://cornyn.senate.gov/", do you have a way to view the pages in español? Porque necesita Usted este sobre su website? Soon-to-be American citizens are required to speak English before passing the exam. The people in this country who can NOT...

The mystery of a galleon believed to be buried in a North Stradbroke Island swamp could be solved within months. For a century, rumours have circulated that the remains of a 16th or 17th-century Spanish or Portuguese vessel lie in the snake-infested 18 Mile Swamp at the southern end of the Moreton Bay island. Tales persist of Aborigines finding gold coins and amateur explorers stripping the ship of its anchor, fastenings and planks. Brisbane archeologist Greg Jefferys has been searching for the wreck for nearly 20 years and is confident he is closing in. Last week he found three metal...

FReep This Poll! Are Spanish-language media helpful or harmful to English-learning Latinos? More Helpful Harmful Don't Know

The immigration bill may be dead for now, but the political forces behind it have not gone away. Those will continue to impact both major political parties for many years to come. The basic force is that Hispanics are increasing as a share of the population. According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, there were 44.3 million Hispanics in the United States as of July 1, 2006, constituting 14.8 percent of the population. And they are the fastest growing ethnic group, accounting for about half the growth of population during the previous year—1.4 million out of a total...

MADRID, Spain - What do tourists and jellyfish have in common? They both love warm water and proliferate along Spanish beaches in the summer. And that's bad news for Spain, the world's top tourist destination after France. On Friday, the government approved a plan to create an armada of recreational boaters to spot the stinging blobs and summon help. "The important thing is that anybody who comes to the beaches here in Spain should know that a serious plan is under way to keep this from being a problem," said Josep-Maria Gili, the biologist coordinating the project. Spain's Mediterranean waters...

CAMPAIGN 2008 | PRESIDENTIAL RACE UM may host presidential debate in Spanish With earpieces and translators, South Florida could host the first-ever presidential debates entirely in Spanish. BY BETH REINHARD breinhard@MiamiHerald.co Univisión, the most popular Spanish-language television network in the United States, has invited the Democrats and Republicans running for president to South Florida for the nation's first-ever presidential debates conducted in Spanish. Kick-starting the campaign after the traditional Labor Day holiday, the Democrats would face off Sept. 9, while the Republicans would meet one week later on Sept. 16 at the Bank United Center at the University of Miami....

Oak Point proposes language barrier OAK POINT — In the middle of this quiet Denton County town of farm land and oak trees sits a battle waiting to happen: an "English only" ordinance. "Our founding fathers spoke English, our constitution, the Declaration of Independence was written in English—we're an English-speaking country," said Councilman Jim Almond. He has proposed an ordinance forcing anyone who lives and works in Oak Point to learn and speak English. "When you open up a package from a new computer you've purchased and they have directions written in several languages, that's frustrating," Almond added. After watching...

Archaeologist says Clarke County site may be lost De Soto battleground Thursday, May 24, 2007By CONNIE BAGGETTStaff Reporter A Mobile archaeologist said this week that he believes he has found a site in southern Clarke County that could be the Indian stronghold Mauvilla, where Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto fought a bloody battle in the mid-1500s. If he is correct, he has solved a mystery that for decades left others with false leads and dashed hopes. Andrew Holmes, who works as a archaeological field technician for Barry Vittor and Associates conducting environmental assessments at construction projects, said he used a...

MADRID, Spain — A Spanish anesthesiologist with hepatitis C was sentenced to 1,933 years in prison Tuesday for infecting 275 people with the virus by injecting them with morphine from the same needles he used to feed his addiction to that drug. The Valencia Provincial Court said Juan Maeso, 65, tainted the patients by first giving himself a portion of morphine shots meant for them, then shooting the rest into them without changing the syringes. Maeso worked in four hospitals in the coastal city of Valencia when he infected the people from 1988-1997, the court said. Four of the patients...