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 Editorials | At Issue
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Roundup in Mexico Targets Narco-Protectors
 Nacha Cattan
For more than two years the federal government has been rounding up narco-criminals in a protracted war against drugs, all the while acknowledging that public officials played a key role in the problem. On Tuesday it was the public officials' turn.
 Media Ignores Real Controversy Behind Torture Photos; They Show Prison Guards Raping Children
 Paul Joseph Watson
The real reason behind Obama’s reversal of a decision to release the torture photos has been almost completely ignored by the corporate media - the fact that the photos show both US and Iraqi soldiers raping teenage boys in front of their mothers.
How - and Why - Barack Obama Picked Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court
 Mike Allen & Jonathan Martin
An Obama aide said the president, who interviewed her for an hour in the Oval Office, "was blown away by her - her personal story, her sharp intellect and confidence, and her experience as prosecutor, trial judge, litigator and appellate judge."
US Showdown Looming on "State Secrets"
 Carrie Johnson
President Obama vowed last week to rein in the use of a legal privilege that allows the administration to discard lawsuits that involve "state secrets," promising that a new policy is in the works that will quell criticism by civil libertarians. But hours after Obama's speech laid out a "delicate balance" on national security, his Justice Department was criticized by a federal judge.
Jews in Mexico Find it a Place to Thrive and Serve
 Emily Sher
Mexico City's 50,000-strong Jewish community, the third largest in Latin America. is thriving, diverse and multinational, but also close-knit and unusually self-sufficient when it comes to education and social programs.
Mexico's Political Parties Accused of Sexism in TV Ads
 The News
Gender took a lead role in the political campaigns this week, as the nation's parties were accused of portraying women in a sexist light by a citizens' gender equality group that monitors the media.
US Senate Vote Not Last Word on Guantanamo
 David Esp
With President Barack Obama showing the way, some Senate Democrats are signaling a willingness to permit transferring terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay to prisons in the United States despite a high-profile vote to the contrary.
Crisis Drives Up Poverty Rate in Mexico
 Diego Cevallos
Between 1994 and 1996, the poverty rate in Mexico climbed from 52 to 69 percent due to a deep but short-lived global economic recession that broke out in this country. Now this country is experiencing another depression, which originated in its northern neighbour, and that will last at least until 2010.
In Macho Culture, Gays Find Acceptance in Mexico City District
 Mairys Joaquin
Gay activists say that even though laws are improving in relatively more liberal places such as Mexico City — where legislators passed a law two years ago recognizing same-sex marriages — many are still reluctant to acknowledge their sexual orientation publicly.
Remember Our Vets This Memorial Day
 David Lord
This Memorial Day, please remember to give a moment of silence to show respect for the Veterans who have died. In this war, often their death was not an act of heroism, it was the result of simply doing their duty as a soldier, airman, marine or sailor in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Mexico Kids' Bill Splits Advocates
 Nacha Cattan
A new bill making its way through Congress that would order social services to pull working children off the street has created a rift among child advocates over how to resolve the problem.
Death Row Foes See Newsroom Cuts as Blow
 Tim Arango
Opponents of the death penalty looking to exonerate wrongly accused prisoners say their efforts have been hobbled by the dwindling size of America’s newsrooms, and particularly the disappearance of investigative reporting at many regional papers.
Seymour Hersh Talks About Cheney’s Death Squads
 David Edwards
Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh and Gulf News’ Abbas Al Lawati at the Arab Media forum.
As Mexico's Catholics Look Elsewhere, Evangelicals Gain
 Arianna Davis
For hundreds of years, religion in Mexico has meant the stained glass windows and kneeling worship of the city's large Roman Catholic cathedrals. Change has come to Mexico, however: Evangelical Protestantism has taken firm hold in the soil of the world's second largest Catholic country.
Executions Debated as Missouri Plans One
 Monica Davey
Dennis J. Skillicorn is scheduled for execution Wednesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Mo. Even some supporters of the death penalty now question whether he should be killed.
Doubts Surround New Drug Proposal
 The News
Mexico City's top prosecutor said Monday that a drug decriminalization law which would give local police more anti-drug authority would not work in practice due to a lack of resources.
Narco 'Billboards' Appear Across Mexico
 Frontera NorteSur
Alluding to official complicity with rival narcos, the banners appeared in cities across at least 14 Mexico states. In Ciudad Juarez, the discovery of narco banners preceded the May 14 visit of President Felipe Calderon by mere hours.
Mexico Flu Helps Revive Memories of Tequila Crisis
 Thomas Black & Jose Enrique Arrioja
Mexico’s economy probably contracted the most in 14 years in the first quarter and may shrink more in coming months after the swine flu epidemic, raising the specter of a recession that rivals the so-called Tequila Crisis.
Mexican Police Accused of Protecting Drug Cartel
 Alexandra Olson
Three police officers and two other men were arrested on suspicion of working for a drug cartel in central Mexico, federal authorities said Sunday.
Mexico's Calderon Says Army Not Permanent
 Julian Cardona & Lizbeth Diaz
President Felipe Calderon last week urged Mexico's most violent drug-ridden city to clean up its corrupt police department, warning the deployment of thousands of troops on its streets was not permanent.
Recent Killings of 4 Americans in Tijuana Sow Fear
 Guillermo Arias & Amy Taxin
The slayings of four young Americans in Tijuana sowed fear in Southern California on Friday as Mexican prosecutors tried to determine whether the youths were involved in the country's violent drug trade or innocent victims of a brutal crime.
Mexico’s Other Crisis: Foreign Banks
 Kent Paterson
In the early 1990s, U.S. tycoon Ross Perot criticized the proposed NAFTA for threatening to suck U.S. jobs south. In the 15 years since the trilateral agreement, another giant sucking sound is coming – but from the flow of pesos across the Rio Grande and over the Atlantic into the coffers of foreign banks that are charging millions of Mexicans usurious rates that can top 100 percent.
Ex-President's Knock at Successor Shakes Mexico
 E. Eduardo Castillo
It's an unwritten rule in Mexico, followed by presidents for decades: Never criticize past or present leaders. Former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid broke that rule this past week when he accused his successor Carlos Salinas of corruption.
Mexican Data Shows Migration to US in Decline
 Julia Preston
Census data from the Mexican government indicate an extraordinary decline in the number of Mexican immigrants going to the United States.
9/11 Conspiracy? Pentagon Missile Defense Failure
 Fred Burks
Remember Star Wars? Do you remember the Pentagon's Strategic Defense Initiative to build a massive missile defense system that raised so much controversy during the Reagan and first Bush years?
DEA: Bribes Taint Late Mexican Drug Czar
 Dane Schiller
A highly trusted former deputy attorney general, who later became Mexico’s drug czar and was embraced by Washington until his death, is accused in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration report of taking bribes from one of Mexico’s oldest narcotics trafficking cartels.
Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Investigates Claim
 Jason Gale & Simeon Bennett
The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error.
Compañero Obama? Obama Mends Fences with Latin America
 Benjamin Dangl
When George W. Bush went to Latin America, Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona called him "human trash," and protesters flooded the streets. Now, when Barack Obama visited, leftist Chavez wanted to shake his hand, the right-wing Uribe asked for his autograph and the anti-imperialist book Open Veins of Latin America made an unlikely journey to the White House.
Anti-Mexican Media Hysteria Makes Life More Dangerous for Latinos in the U.S.
 Leslie Savan
Mexicans have recently been the prime target of the most rancid typecasting in the media - can more racist violence be far behind?
Rights-Costa Rica: Persons for Sale
 Daniel Zueras
Global trafficking of persons continues apace and Costa Rica is not exempt from sexual exploitation and forced labour. Data compiled by the United Nations indicate that women and girls are most affected by human trafficking, making up 80 percent of victims worldwide.
Study: Mexico has Thousands More Swine Flu Cases
 Mark Stevenson & David Koop
The swine flu virus spread to more countries Tuesday as scientists estimated the new strain could have sickened 23,000 people in Mexico alone before anyone realized it was an epidemic.
Mexico's Future Hinges on Near-Empty Science Classrooms
 Verónica Díaz Favela
Many solutions for sustainable development in Mexico lie in the scientific and technological training of its younger generations, say academics. But students in this country, where everyone wants to be a doctor or accountant, are ignoring those fields.
The American Press on Suicide Watch
 Frank Rich
If you wanted to pick the moment when the American news business went on suicide watch, it was almost exactly three years ago. That’s when Stephen Colbert, appearing at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, delivered a monologue accusing his hosts of being stenographers who had, in essence, let the Bush White House get away with murder (or at least the war in Iraq).
Flu Exposes Flaws in Mexico's Health Care System
 John Rice
Mexicans will do almost anything to avoid a public hospital emergency room, so it's no surprise that when a dangerous new swine flu virus began to sweep across Mexico, many waited too long to seek medical help.
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