Puerto Rico lawmaker revolt casts doubt on financing lifeline | Puerto Rico News: Murder Rate Down; 2014 May Bring US Commonwealth Its ...

Puerto Rico lawmaker revolt casts doubt on financing lifeline

Reuters

SAN JUAN Nov 13 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico'sgovernment appeared to fail Thursday to line up enough votes to approve a 68 percent increase in the crude oil tax, casting doubts on plans to raise as much as $2.9 billion needed to keep the troubled U.S. ...

Puerto Rico News: Murder Rate Down; 2014 May Bring US Commonwealth Its ...

Latin Post

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - JULY 23: U.S. Army Specialist Michael Montijo joins Puerto Rico Police Department officers on an early morning patrol July 23, 2004 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Governor Sila Maria Calderon activated 500 National ...

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Sheriff Leon Lott participates in exchange program with Puerto Rico

Columbia Star

In September 2014, Lott and Corporal Raul Ortiz visited Puerto Rico's Police Department and exchanged policing strategies and policies that may be implemented at the Sher iff 's Department. The sheriff and Cpl. Ortiz learned there is only one police ... 

Policing the police across the USA

Albuquerque Journal

From East Haven, Conn., to Seattle, Wash., and now in Albuquerque, law enforcement agencies in 17 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are under the gun to reformtheir way of policing. Last week, in a mostly symbolic vote, Albuquerque's City ... 

Some police departments under federal monitoring

New Orleans
The DOJ in 2011 found a pattern or practice of illegal stops, searches and arrests by the New Orleans Police Department. The wide-ranging list of infractions included gender discrimination in the department’s lack of enforcement and investigation of violence against women. There were also “strong indications” of discriminatory policing based on racial, ethnic and gender bias, as well as a failure to provide critical police services to language minority communities. The city and the DOJ reached a settlement in 2012.

Puerto Rico
The DOJ in 2011 found the 17,000-officer force engaged in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, use of unreasonable force against individuals exercising their First Amendment rights, and unconstitutional searches and seizures. Other deficiencies of serious concern included evidence that Puerto Rico’s police frequently failed to investigate sex-related crimes and incidents of domestic violence, and that they engaged in discriminatory policing practices that targeted individuals of Dominican descent. A settlement agreement was reached in December 2012.

Newark, N.J.
A DOJ report released earlier this year concluded there was a pattern or practice of constitutional violations in the Newark Police Department’s stop and arrest practices, its response to individuals’ exercise of their rights under the First Amendment, use of force and theft by officers. The investigation also revealed deficiencies in the systems designed to prevent and detect misconduct. In July, the city and the DOJ entered into a settlement agreement that calls for, among other reforms, equipping patrol cars with video cameras, and officers with body cameras and microphones.

Albuquerque’s settlement agreement calls for the APD to formalize policies to ensure the use of such equipment.

Policing the police across the USA

Friday November 14th, 2014 at 10:28 AM

ABQJournal Online » Albuquerque Journal News

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The Detroit Police Department, after 11 years under a federal consent order, now has “appropriate training, supervision, and accountability systems to identify and correct problems on its own,” a federal judge has ruled. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News Photo/AP)

Copyright © 2014 Albuquerque Journal

The winter of 2012 found officers in the East Haven, Conn., police department copping an attitude.

Hanging over their heads was a newly approved U.S. Department of Justice agreement to stop East Haven police from discriminating against Latinos.

O’TOOLE: Police are still “doing their job”

“A number of officers exhibited attitudes of cynicism and frustration,” wrote then-federal monitor Kathleen O’Toole in a compliance report. Since then, many problem and disgruntled officers have moved on.

“More recently,” she wrote earlier this year, “the majority (of officers) exhibit pride, camaraderie, and greater professionalism … .The change that has emerged is truly remarkable.”

O’Toole in June became the chief of police of the Seattle police department, which is two years into its own federal consent decree after the DOJ found a pattern or practice of excessive force there in 2011.

Seattle police were accused of unjustified use of impact weapons, unjustified escalation of minor encounters into force events, particularly against individuals with mental illness or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Sound familiar?

From East Haven, Conn., to Seattle, Wash., and now in Albuquerque, law enforcement agencies in 17 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are under the gun to reform their way of policing.

Last week, in a mostly symbolic vote, Albuquerque’s City Council endorsed the city’s Oct. 31 settlement agreement with the DOJ to overhaul the Albuquerque Police Department’s use of force.

The next important step is the selection of an independent monitor to track compliance with the reforms in the 940-officer department.

Over the past five years, DOJ civil rights investigations of nearly 30 law enforcement agencies have led to varying degrees of federal intervention and oversight, department records show.

The most common Justice Department findings: improper use of force, discriminatory policing, and unlawful stops and searches.

The top remedies proposed: additional training, clearer policies and better supervision of officers.

Improved policing

Does federal oversight work? Consider the case of Detroit, Mich.

Detroit police have had 17 fatal shootings over the past five years, city officials say.

Compare that to the 47 fatal police shootings in the five years before the DOJ investigated the agency for excessive use of force, false arrests and illegal detentions.

Achieving compliance with a federal consent judgment has taken 11 years. Even then, Detroit has been able to achieve only about 90 percent compliance.

The Justice Department nevertheless agreed this year to lift federal oversight beginning in 2016, but noted that more work is needed in the transition.

Detroit’s independent monitor, a retired New York police chief, still has concerns about police compliance with reforms related to “on-the-scene decisions an officer must make, particularly relating to de-escalation,” court records show.

As to the use of video cameras by officers – considered a key way to guard against and investigate police misconduct – Detroit still isn’t compliant, the monitor’s final report in August stated.

Detroit police officers have made strides over the years in recording encounters with suspects and the public, the monitor concluded.

Although technical problems with equipment have occurred, the “remaining issue” is getting more officers to use the devices, the monitor reported.

Detroit police commander Deshaune Sims told the Journal that officers who do use video and audio devices say it has improved policing in an unexpected way – unruly criminal suspects often straighten up once they know they are being recorded.

“It’s been a whole new dynamic,” Sims added.

The city of New Orleans’ consent decree is expected to last at least five years and cost more than $11 million, according to the Police Executive Research Forum, based in Washington, D.C.

Albuquerque’s settlement agreement is expected to last four years. The city expects to spend $4 million to $6 million on extra training for officers, monitoring and other expenses associated with carrying out the agreement the first year.

‘A messy business’

In recent years, police conduct in major cities, such as New Orleans and Portland, has been on the DOJ’s radar.

But Warren, Ohio, a town of 42,000 people, hasn’t been exempt.

After several years of investigation, the DOJ found Warren’s police force of 65 officers was engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force.

The town’s settlement agreement with the Justice Department in 2012 promised more police training, improved policies and oversight, and investigation of citizen complaints.

FRANKLIN: “It made us a better police department”

“It made us a better police department,” said Warren Mayor William D. Franklin last week. “I think most of the hard work is behind us. Use-of-force issues have decreased dramatically.” Citizens’ complaints about police conduct are also down, he said.

In Seattle, O’Toole told the Journal last week that critics feared the new federally mandated reforms would jeopardize the safety of officers in the field.

There was also speculation, she said, “that there could be de-policing in the city, that officers wouldn’t be inclined to arrest people because of administrative processes being cumbersome.”

The data is still being analyzed, O’Toole said, but so far it appears those concerns are unfounded.

She said she hasn’t seen “any glaring instances” of officers being physically harmed.

“We’ve had five officer-involved shootings since I’ve been here, so obviously they’re still using force. Fortunately, it appears they were justified in doing so.”

And, she added, “police are still out there doing their jobs.”

A recent lawsuit by more than 100 Seattle police officers alleged the new regulations “unreasonably restrict and burden” officers’ ability to protect themselves.

Like Albuquerque’s agreement with the DOJ, the Seattle consent decree stresses less-lethal devices such as Taser and pepper spray, and admonishes police to de-escalate confrontations through warnings, verbal persuasion and other tactics.

A federal judge tossed out the Seattle officers’ lawsuit last month. O’Toole said the police union didn’t support the legal challenge and she hopes disgruntled officers will eventually come on board.

“In order to realize true change in organizations, you have to get people to buy in.”

In the East Haven police department of about 50 officers, there was “a lot of turnover (after the consent decree was enacted) and I think that was a real benefit to the organization,” O’Toole said.

In Seattle, with a force of about 1,400, “it certainly hasn’t discouraged people from applying for the job. Lots of people still want to be Seattle police officers.”

In 2012, O’Toole completed a six-year term as Chief Inspector of the Gardia Síochána Inspectorate, an oversight body responsible for bringing reform, best practice and accountability to the 17,000-member Irish national police service.

O’Toole said in her months of implementing reforms under the consent decree, she has found officer feedback valuable.

For example, Seattle police officers reported spending several hours at a time documenting instances in which prisoners complained about handcuffs being too tight.

Police were erring on the side of caution in filling out the reports, but the practice created “an administrative nightmare,” she said.

With approval from Seattle’s federal monitoring team, the policy was revised so, if no injury is visible from the handcuffing, the use-of-force complaint becomes a 10-minute computer entry that’s reviewed by a supervisor, she said.

“Policing is a messy business and there will be shootings,” O’Toole said. “And if officers need to preserve life, and defend themselves and defend others, then shootings will occur. But I believe we have all the systems in place to ensure our officers are well trained in advance of situations like that, and these cases will be thoroughly and properly investigated.”

Read the whole story

· · · · · · · · ·

Puerto Rico lawmaker revolt casts doubt on financing lifeline

Friday November 14th, 2014 at 10:10 AM

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SAN JUAN Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:22pm EST

SAN JUAN Nov 13 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's government appeared to fail Thursday to line up enough votes to approve a 68 percent increase in the crude oil tax, casting doubts on plans to raise as much as $2.9 billion needed to keep the troubled U.S. commonwealth solvent.

The impasse in the legislature on the last day of the session to approve the measures could force the administration of Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla to try to push the legislation through in a special session later in the year.

Garcia Padilla told reporters he still held out hope that lawmakers would approve the boost to the excise tax on crude oil by $6.25 per barrel to $15.50 per barrel, starting in March. The move would generate about $178 million in additional revenue annually.

"I'm confident they will do what's right," the governor said on Thursday afternoon following a tour of Lufthansa Technik's new aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility being constructed at Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla.

The prospects for approval grew dimmer in the afternoon with the session set to run until midnight and the governor facing a revolt from six members of his own Popular Democratic Party. Members of the opposition New Progressive Party opposed the tax.

"There are colleagues who continue to oppose the oil increase and others with serious doubts about the way this is being handled," said veteran Popular Democratic Party Rep Luis Raul Torres on Thursday, himself an opponent of the oil hike.

The bonds would refinance a Government Development Bank (GDB) loan to the cash-strapped Highways & Transportation Authority. The head of the GDB Melba Acosta-Febo told newspaper El Nuevo Dia on Thursday that the GDB aims to complete the deal in November.

House Speaker Jaime Perello said he would consider the oil tax hike as part of broader tax reform that is expected early next year, but approved so that it takes effective retroactively for the entire 2015 calendar year.

Twenty-six votes are needed to approve legislation in the house, with the PDP controlling 28 of the 51 seats in the legislature. The governor has always been able to line up sufficient support from his own party in the past, despite opposition from individual lawmakers.

Garcia Padilla tried to line up the necessary votes on Wednesday evening at a meeting with lawmakers where he tried to convince them of the importance of the measure. (Reporting by Reuters in San Juan; Writing by Edward Krudy; Editing by Alan Crosby)

Read the whole story

· ·

Los Angeles police use data to target crimeby By TAMI ABDOLLAH

Friday November 14th, 2014 at 9:43 AM

AP Top Headlines At 7:24 A.M. EST

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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles police are increasingly relying on technology that not only tells patrol officers where crime is most likely to occur but also identifies and keeps track of ex-cons and other bad guys they believe are most likely to commit them....

Los Angeles police use data to target crime

AP Top Headlines At 5:49 a.m. EST

Los Angeles police use data to target crime

Today, November 14th 7:24am

· By TAMI ABDOLLAH

AP Photo/Brad Howell

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles police are increasingly relying on technology that not only tells patrol officers where crime is most likely to occur but also identifies and keeps track of ex-cons and other bad guys they believe are most likely to commit them.

Police say the effort has already helped reduce crime in one of the city's most notorious and historically gang-ridden neighborhoods.

"This is a tremendous step forward. Without this, I couldn't do my job," said Capt. Ed Prokop, head of the Los Angeles Police Department division that watches over the grimly nicknamed "Shootin' Newton" area.

The program - part data collection, part lightning-fast computer platform, part street-level intelligence-gathering - is expanding in LA with the help of a recent federal infusion of $400,000 and has drawn interest from departments across North America.

Dubbed LASER for its ability to zero in on offenders and hotspots, it is one of many newer law enforcement tools that use data tracking and collection - such as license plate scanners and cellphone trackers - often with little public knowledge or regulation.

Privacy advocates say LASER isn't transparent, has no clear oversight and unjustly focuses on keeping ex-convicts under suspicion even though they've served their time.

"People who have paid their debts to society shouldn't remain stigmatized in the eyes of police," said Kade Crockford of the American Civil Liberties Union.

LASER uses technology developed by the CIA's venture capital arm to realize a post-9/11 dream that allows investigators to match up vast troves of data from 15 separate sources to connect dots that they otherwise might miss.

Funded by federal grants, it launched in 2011 in Newton, and an expansion funded by additional money in October, brought the program to a total of eight areas throughout the city, plus the department's high-tech analysis unit and its helicopters.

More than 3,500 LAPD officers have been trained to use Palantir, a platform that was introduced initially to speed up the process of creating dossiers on chronic offenders and is now used throughout the department for a variety of investigative purposes.

Officials from New York, Nevada, Wisconsin, Washington, Texas and Canada have been briefed on LASER, said Craig Uchida, president of Justice & Security Strategies, Inc., and the program's research partner.

There has been little outside scrutiny of LASER because the nearly $1 million used to fund it doesn't affect city budgets. Police officials, however, say it works and cite a steady drop in killings in Newton compared to other areas not using the program.

There were 39 homicides a year before the program started and 14 last year, they say. And at the end of the first year, 87 of the 124 people the program identified as chronic offenders were arrested at least once for "like crimes," officials said.

Privacy advocates say those statistics alone aren't enough to determine whether the program is effective.

Under the program, police crunch historical data to determine where crimes have frequently occurred so officers can spend more time at those places. It also creates a list of people it considers more likely to commit crimes based on past behavior.

A crime intelligence unit creates the lists by reviewing interview cards officers submit after stopping people on the street. The unit pays special attention to mentions of gun-related crimes or robberies, and people with violent and lengthy criminal histories.

Police say the lists, which are marked information only and include a photo and the license plate numbers of vehicles that offenders use, among other information, often become starting points in a violent crime investigation.

Supporters say LASER is different than the New York City police department's "stop and frisk" policy, an anti-street crime program that was deemed unconstitutional because officers disproportionately targeted minorities who hadn't broken the law.

Crockford said the LAPD risks alienating minorities. "You're repackaging old biases in new technologies," she said.

ACLU lawyer Peter Bibring said the bulletins amount to intelligence files on people who may commit crimes - a violation of federal law. Once on the list, he said, "the chances of police scrutiny go up significantly, and your chances of being identified wrongly in a crime."

Bibring said it's also not clear that the program is following the department's own standards for collecting criminal intelligence. An LAPD division was shut down 30 years ago after the public learned it was compiling millions of intelligence files on 55,000 people.

LASER analysts are encouraged to purge lists to remove those who haven't committed a crime in more than six months, but there is no requirement, Uchida said.

David Carter, a former police officer and expert on criminal justice and police surveillance at Michigan State University, said he can understand the civil libertarians' concerns, but that the police are "doing their due diligence" and their actions are based on reasonable suspicion.

Jim Bueermann, the president of the nonprofit Police Foundation, said it makes sense for police to focus limited resources on troubled areas and people, but they must tread carefully because "American policing has a history of abusing this notion of domestic intelligence gathering."

There's a fine line, he said, between being smart on crime and saying that a criminal will always be a criminal.

"People do change," he said.

---

Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams .

U.S. Politicians Visit Puerto Rico, Promise Help - The Inquisitr | Reform, information and transparency; The degradation of public debate - by CNE Group | Divers recover Puerto Rico pilot's remains | "Our Brand is Crisis" in Puerto Rico: a political comedy-drama... | Chikungunya Fever Rampant In Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s Health Department released figures from last month showing 401 confirmed cases of Chikungunya and 2006 suspected cases on the island. For the year, Puerto Rico reports 3,242 confirmed cases

Chikungunya Fever Rampant In Puerto Rico

CBS Local

The mosquito-borne disease is rampant now in parts of the Caribbean in Latin America with large numbers of cases reported in Puerto Rico. Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, the medical director at Broward Health Hospital System said travelers must be extra careful ...

Puerto Rico’s Health Department released figures from last month showing 401 confirmed cases of Chikungunya and 2006 suspected cases on the island.

For the year, Puerto Rico reports 3,242 confirmed cases.  “It’s something to be aware of, especially for those who are traveling to the island,” said Dr. El Sanadi.

Divers recover Puerto Rico pilot's remains - Yahoo News

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:31 PM

Puerto Rico - Google News

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Divers recover Puerto Rico pilot's remains Yahoo News SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities have recovered the remains of a Puerto Rican pilot who went missing when a small cargo plane crashed into waters off a tiny Dutch Caribbean territory late last month. Puerto Rico's emergency management agency ... Wreckage of Small Plane Found off St MaartenABC News all 30 news articles »

Sandra Bullock in Puerto Rico to shoot "Our Brand is Crisis"

Fox News Latino

Sandra Bullock is in Puerto Rico to shoot scenes for "Our Brand is Crisis," a political comedy-drama co-produced by George Clooney. Hollywood's highest-paid actress arrived over the weekend at San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, Puerto ...

Rafael Bernabe (left).

» Denuncian fraude por parte del PPD
11/11/14 05:55 from Metro - Últimas noticias
Ante más de 200 miembros y simpatizantes reunidos en asamblea, el Partido del Pueblo Trabajador...

» UPDATE 1-Puerto Rico's increasing debt service a concern -Nuveen - Reuters
11/11/14 01:31 from puerto rico - Google News
UPDATE 1- Puerto Rico's increasing debt service a concern -Nuveen Reuters (Adds declined comment from press officer, debt service details from commonwealth report). NEW YORK Nov 10 (Reuters) - The escalating cost to service Puerto Ri...

Governor Alejandro García Padilla rejected Monday that there is a stalemate between La Fortaleza and the Legislature by increasing the excise on oil.(Andre.kang@gfrmedia.com)

» García Padilla niega tranque con la Legislatura - El Nuevo Dia.com
11/11/14 01:08 from alejandro garcia padilla - Google News
Primera Hora García Padilla niega tranque con la Legislatura El Nuevo Dia.com El gobernador Alejandro García Padilla rechazó este lunes que haya un tranque entre La Fortaleza y la Legislatura por el aumento del arbitrio al combustible, a...

Governor makes pitch for oil tax hike

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:42 PM

Caribbean Business

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Governor makes pitch for oil tax hike

» Puerto Rico is “Ready” for Mega-Ships - Caribbean Journal
10/11/14 21:56 from puerto rico - Google News
Caribbean Journal Puerto Rico is “Ready” for Mega-Ships Caribbean Journal Puerto Rico is “ready” to receive the new wave of “mega” cruise ships, according to Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla. Old San Juan's port recently completed a...

Puerto Rico Announces Plan for Port of the Americas - Business Wire (press relea... by Puerto Rico Business News

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:24 PM

PR Economy And Business News Review

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Puerto Rico Announces Plan for Port of the Americas - Business Wire (press release)0

Puerto Rico Announces Plan for Port of the Americas
Business Wire (press release)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Puerto Rico announced today that it is …


Puerto Rico Announces Plan for Port of the Americas - Business Wire (press release)

Reform, information and transparency by CNE Group

Tuesday November 11 th , 2014 at 1:26 PM

CNE - Center For A New Economy - Center For A New Economy

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By Sergio M. Marxuach

Recently, the administration has begun to shift selective and partially disclose some of the details of his proposal for a tax reform which presumably would generate significant tax relief. According to the information that has been reported in the press, individuals with earned income less than $ 35,000 and married with earned income under $ 70,000-approximately 835,000 taxpayers-would not pay income tax. Moreover, the marginal rates for taxpayers who earn income in excess of these exemptions would be reduced. The total tax relief for this group is estimated at about $ 354 million.

Now that does not mean that these people would not pay any tax. First, employers are still required to withhold 7.65% of their salary as Social Security and Medicare. In addition, government employees are also subject to the retention of their contribution to their respective retirement plan.

More importantly we are still reports that the Sales Tax and Use (IVU) would be replaced by a Value Added Tax (VAT). VAT, according to the information that has been reported so far, basically apply to all sales of goods and services in Puerto Rico with three exceptions: exported goods and services, financial services and payment for rental housing. Everything else, such as prescription drugs, college tuition for the kids, and the products of the basic food basket, such as milk, bread, eggs, taxed at a rate estimated to be at least double that of IVU, which would be at least 14%. The government has announced, however, that "weighted" to establish a quarterly credit to mitigate the impact of VAT on lower income taxpayers and that loan could cost between $ 500 and $ 600 million.

At the same time, the government has informed investors who buy bonds of Puerto Rico that his tax reform is expected to increase "materially" the revenues of the general fund. Apparently, the goal is to increase net revenues between $ 900 and $ 1.200 million. If we assume that the government seeks to increase net revenues by $ 1.000 million, then the new tax would raise at least $ 1,954,000 in excess of what it collects SUT currently ($ 1,000 million to Treasury, $ 600 million to fund the loan to mitigate regressive, and $ 354 million to replace the revenues on account of the reduction in taxes on income).

Under this scenario, it could happen that some middle-class households, depending on income, consumption patterns and the amount of the new loan, end up paying more than they pay now. But we do not know for sure since we do not have all the information to do the analysis.

In fact, what has been reported so far raises more questions than it answers. For example, how "low-income taxpayer" is defined for purposes of the new loan ?; Did you know that when you buy a medicine to control blood pressure or to relieve cardiac arrhythmia trusts, and charged a VAT of 14%, the Treasury will pay you back in three months ?; Are you prepared the Treasury Department to implement the VAT ?; What happen to the deficit if the reliefs are retroactive to January 2015, but Treasury takes six months to start charging VAT? At what rate the income taxed capital gains, dividends and interest? We simply do not know.

The reason we do not know the answers to these and many other questions is that the tax reform is based on a report prepared by the consulting firm KPMG and the government has decided not to publish. However, it is imperative that this document be disclosed in full to the public is properly informed and able to exercise their right to free expression, so that we can thoroughly analyze the proposals of the administration, and to stimulate public discussion informed about the benefits and shortcomings of the proposed reform.

From the outset it should be noted that the work of KPMG has been publicly funded, making the document in one of the public domain. That fact, by itself, should be enough to make the report public.

Second, the general rule in Puerto Rico, at least since the decision of our Supreme Court in Soto v.Attorney, 112 DPR 477 (1982), is that all information in the possession of the State, subject to five exceptions (none of which apply in this case), is public and must be accessible to the general public.The court in Soto was clear in stating "that there is a close correspondence between the right to free speech and freedom of information. The premise is simple. Without knowledge of facts can not judge; Nor may require governmental tort remedies through court proceedings or through the process of the polls every four (4) years. "

In the case of the tax reform, the lack of disclosure of the KPMG report prevents citizens can conduct a thorough analysis of the government's proposal to not make public the factual and analytical background which this proposal appears. Reiterate, "without knowledge of facts can not judge ..."

It would seem, however, that the government wants to occupy the discursive field on this important issue through an expensive propaganda campaign in the media but at the same time, limiting our constitutional right to information and limiting our ability to performing a weighted and truly informed public debate... 

U.S. Politicians Visit Puerto Rico, Promise Help - The Inquisitr

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:47 PM

Puerto Rican Community In New York - Google News

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The Inquisitr

U.S. Politicians Visit Puerto Rico, Promise Help The Inquisitr New York City's mayor and some other regional politicians are getting to know Puerto Rico and promising more financial help for the flooding. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who took office this past January, has been in Puerto Rico since last Thursday ...

NYC mayor visits Puerto Rico's capital, calls on fed to fix city's polluted canal - Fox News Latino

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:22 PM

Puerto Rico - Google News

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New York Daily News

NYC mayor visits Puerto Rico's capital, calls on fed to fix city's polluted canal Fox News Latino SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – New York City's mayor visited a polluted canal in Puerto Rico'scapital city on Saturday and said the federal government must do more to clean it up. Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the Canal Martin Pena with other elected ... Bill de Blasio skips Puerto Rico's beach for politickingNew York Daily News

Mayor Tours Puerto Rican Neighborhood, Meets with IDC HeadNY1
NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio and Fellow Democrats Head To Puerto Rico For ...Latin Post 








all 29
 Mayor Tours Puerto Rican Neighborhood, Meets with IDC HeadNY1

all 24 news articles »

» New York City Mayor Visits Puerto Rico, Meets With Governor Alejandro Garcia ... - Caribbean Journal
10/11/14 21:36 from puerto rico governor - Google News
Caribbean Journal New York City Mayor Visits Puerto Rico , Meets With Governor Alejandro Garcia ... Caribbean Journal A few weeks after a high-profile visit by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republi...

» Above: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro ... - Caribbean Journal
10/11/14 21:36 from puerto rico governor - Google News
Caribbean Journal Above: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro ... Caribbean Journal A few weeks after a high-profile visit by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic...

Council members call for same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico - Capital New York

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:45 PM

Puerto Rican Community In New York - Google News

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Council members call for same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico Capital New York SAN JUAN, P.R.—New York City council members and state lawmakers gathered on the last day of the Somos El Futuro Conference on Sunday to ask the governor of Puerto Rico to support legalization of same-sex marriage on the island. Councilwoman ...

Drug Cartels Find Argentina Attractive Transit Way - ABC News

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:44 PM

Geopolitical Aspects PR Political Status

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ABC News

Drug Cartels Find Argentina Attractive Transit Way ABC News U.S.-led efforts to stifle the drug trade in more northern countries and in the Caribbean have pushed the traffic south to Argentina, according to drug experts and justice officials. The country also is proving to be a place where artisans are crafty ... and more »

Prosecutor: There’s Proof of Fujimori Government Ties to Drug Trafficking

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:11 PM

Latin American Herald Tribune

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Peruvian anti-drug prosecutor Sonia Medina said that there is abundant proof linking the 1990-2000 government of former President Alberto Fujimori to drug trafficking.

Dominican Republic man pleads guilty to conspiring with corrupt police officers in Puerto Rico

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:15 PM

Puerto Rico News

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Dominican Republic man has pleaded guilty to conspiring with corrupt police officers to commit a July 2012 robbery of a home in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Fernando Reyes-Rojas, 43, of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty on November 6, 2014, to violations of robbery, civil rights, narcotics, and firearms laws.

Policía responde a rumor de ausentismo masivo

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:20 PM

Telemundo Puerto Rico - Telenoticias - Puerto Rico

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A través de las redes sociales está circulando una imagen que advierte sobre la posible ausencia de miles de policías.

A New Restaurant -Within-a-Restaurant at Puerto Rico's El San Juan - Caribbean Journal

Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 1:14 PM

Puerto Rico - Google News

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Caribbean Journal

A New Restaurant -Within-a-Restaurant at Puerto Rico's El San Juan Caribbean Journal There's a new restaurant-within-a-restaurant at Puerto Rico's El San Juan Resort and Casino, a Hilton Hotel. The property has announced the debut of the “Chef's Studio” venue, which seats up to eight guests for a private culinary experience, according ...0

The degradation of public debate by CNE Group

Tuesday November 11 th , 2014 at 1:41 PM

CNE - Center For A New Economy - Center For A New Economy

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By Sergio M. Marxuach

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the late senator from New York, used to say that the United States was defining "normal down". The implication was that his warning had to raise the bar of what American society expected of its citizens, its universities, its political, in short, of all institutions, if they wanted to prevent the decline of that society. It seems that time has proven him right.

In Puerto Rico has something very similar happened with the quality of our public discourse. Each year the rod is lowered more and more. Most citizens are not interested in asking questions or questioning what our rulers and parroting what they say "jihadists of his party," as Benjamin called Torres Gotay. In the best case demand that they explain everything in "rice bean" in 140 characters or less, or journalistic accounts that do not exceed 500 words.

This phenomenon is interesting because, according to official statistics, education levels in Puerto Rico have increased significantly over the last fifty or sixty years. However, the quality of public discourse in Puerto Rico, and in many other countries, has deteriorated dangerously during the same period. I suggest you go to the library of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and look for a microfilm of any copy of the newspaper El Mundo published in 1964. You will notice immediately that the news at that time were not written in "rice and beans "and editorials and opinion columns usually exceed 1,500 words. All this in Puerto Rico where the enrollment rate was about half what it is today.

How can this apparent paradox be explained? I think, as social phenomenon, there is no single explanation but is the product of a confluence of several factors. First, primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico, both in public and private schools, has lost its way. The aim of such education should be, Meira Levinson, professor says in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard, in his book No Citizen Left Behind (Harvard, 2012), "teach our young people the knowledge and skills to alter and disrupt power relations directly, through civic, public and political action. "Schools are not sophisticated care centers or mass storage children or embutirles lechoneras to the brain as a black pudding mogolla data, dates and "historical" events more or less randomly. They are places to teach them to think, to discern good arguments from the bad and to create them a moral implying (and means) to live in a democracy, civic awareness, and ethical.

Second, it has distorted the mission of the University of Puerto Rico, the most important center of higher education in the country. In part this is because the University has had to devote an increasing amount of resources to remedy the deficiencies of students who graduate from high school with enormous intellectual gap. In part because it has dedicated, especially during the last thirty or forty years, mostly to train employees and managers for multinational companies instead of teaching critical thinking skills. And partly to bureaucratization and politicization of the entire public university system. The result has been two, maybe three generations of Puerto Ricans who have come to live without thinking critically, and have no ability to civic or moral will needed to participate effectively in public debate.

Third, the media have contributed and who have dedicated themselves to entertain rather than to inform, to review the grossest crimes and sensational manner, repeating the propaganda of the government communications office and give any political platform marquee provided that says an awful lot to cause controversy.

The problem is that for a modern democracy to function properly, it requires that citizens actively participate in the polis . The problems facing modern society are complex and require an effort, however minimal, on the part of citizens to understand. Otherwise, the public debate is inevitably degraded.

I regret to inform you that the difference between the SUT and VAT can not be explained in 140 characters or less; to understand the consequences of credit degradation Puerto Rico or the restructuring of at least part of our public debt will require you to have to make an effort to educate themselves on these issues; and shortcomings and failures that afflict Power Authority can not be explained in a "sound bite" and "rice and beans".

If you are not willing to participate, educate themselves and think critically about public issues that affect us all, then do not complain when your electricity bill continues to increase, when imposing VAT at 15% without explaining why, when you go to Medical Center and have to wait six hours for care while you are lying on a gurney in the middle of a dark and gloomy hallway, or when there are enough teachers at the beginning of class.

Do not complain either if elections are a joke, if 

impunity and corruption are rampant among the ruling class and if the violation of civil rights is constant, starting with the corrupt Police of Puerto Rico. 

In short, all forms of accountability are ineffective can not complain if in Puerto Rico, because you are an essential part of the problem not well informed and demand more rigorous performance standards of our public officials.

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Tuesday November 11th, 2014 at 12:38 PM

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