Search for human remains at 9/11 plane debris site in NYC begins

usnews

By Shimon Prokupecz, NBCNewYork.com

Workers for the New York City medical examiner's office have begun sifting soil for possible human remains at a site near the World Trade Center where a chunk of airplane debris believed to have come from one of the 9/11 hijacked jetliners was found.

The aircraft part has been identified as a piece from a 767 wing, officials said Monday. NBC 4 New York, which first reported the finding in an alley near ground zero last week, has also learned the answer to the mystery of a rope that was found intertwined in the part — according to a law enforcement official, a detective who responded to the original call about the part last week tried to move it with a rope.

Authorities on Friday had said the rope might have indicated the part was lowered into the alley, but have since interviewed everyone who had contact with the part last week and have now answered that question. The official tells NBC 4 New York that the detective found the rope nearby and was trying to move the part to find a serial number or other identifying mark.

The NYPD also said Monday that a Boeing technician has confirmed that the 5-foot part is a trailing edge flap actuation support structure.

"It is believed to be from one of the two aircraft destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, but it could not be determined which one," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

On Sept. 11, American Airlines flight 11 hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m., and United flight 175 hit the south tower at 9:03 a.m. A FEMA graphic below shows that all the other plane parts in the immediate area were from flight 175.

Police and officials from the city medical examiner's office were on scene Monday preparing to sift the soil under the part for lost human remains. Officials said the part will be removed later in the week when that process is complete.

The part was found wedged between two buildings in a very narrow alley only about 18 inches wide between the rear of 50 Murray St. and back of 51 Park Place, the site where a mosque and community center has been proposed three blocks from ground zero.

The part bears a "Boeing" stamp, followed by a series of numbers.

The NYPD said the landing gear was found after surveyors hired by the property owner inspecting the rear of 51 Park Place called police on Wednesday. 

Most of the rubble from the 9/11 attack was cleared from the 16-acre site by the spring of 2002. Other debris, including human remains, has been found scattered outside the site, including on a rooftop and in a manhole, in years since.

Laser scanner that can produce three-dimensional maps with unprecedented speed and accuracy [Video]

ReutersVideo

Researchers at Australia's CSIRO have developed a hand-held, spring-loaded laser scanner that can produce three-dimensional maps with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Called Zebedee after a French, spring-propelled television puppet of the sixties, the scanner fires laser light, giving surveyors and archaeologists a powerful new tool for discovery.  

Denuncian Damas de Blanco manipulaciones mediaticas

Joisy García Martínez

Another State Department Concession to the Castro Family: Mariela exemption

capitolhillcubans

Last week, the State Department decided to deny permission to Raul Castro's daughter, Mariela, to travel to Philadelphia to attend an LGBT conference.

Today, it reconsidered and an official told CNN that, "the restriction on her visa has been lifted."

In doing so, the State Department has (yet again) made an exemption for the Cuban dictator's daughter from Presidential Proclamation 5377, which denies visas to Cuban nationals affiliated with that country's totalitarian regime.

Mariela is not only the daughter of Cuba's dictator, but she is a member of his regime's National Assembly, a spokesperson for its repression against democracy activists (whom she refers to as "despicable parasites") and a defender of the arbitrary taking of American hostage Alan Gross.

Moreover, this throws (yet another) bucket of cold water on President Obama's Presidential Proclamation 8697 of August 2011, which sought to "close the gap" in granting visas to foreign nationals affiliated with human rights violators -- and singling-out "prolonged arbitrary detentions" as a main violation.

Mariela's father, is one of the world's worst offenders of such detentions.

Just this weekend, dozens of members of the Ladies in White pro-democracy group were savagely beaten and arrested for their peaceful  advocacy.

Despite this, the Castro family gets rewarded with another U.S. visit.

Let's be clear on another point:  Mariela Castro does not support "LGBT rights."

She doesn't support the right of any Cuban -- gay or straight -- to exercise their fundamental human rights.

To claim that Mariela Castro supports the rights of LGBTs, while she supports violating the fundamental rights of all Cubans, is nonsensical. 

Why doesn't Mariela allow the recognition of independent LGBT groups on the island?  

Or any independent group for that matter?

To continue rewarding the Castro family, while they continue brutalizing men, women and children (of all sexual preferences) is insulting and demoralizing to all those courageously clamoring for freedom

Bolivia: No term limit for Evo

Fausta's Blog

The head of the coca growers union can stay on:

Bolivia court says Evo Morales can run a 3rd time

Bolivia’s constitutional court says President Evo Morales can run for a third term in elections set for December 2014. The court says language in the country’s 2009 constitution that allows for only a single re-election does not apply retroactively to Morales’ first term.

It’s the Bolivarian revolution way.

Toronto: Costo de Vida

www.seetorontonow.es

Tomado de: http://www.canadaimmigrants.com/spanish/Torontocosto.asp

POPULATION IN 2011: 5,583,064 (StatsCan)

PRIVATE DWELLINGS (occupied by usual residents): 1,989,705 (StatsCan)

PRECIOS DE VIVIENDA
 

Tipo	Precio	Ingreso Requerido
Casa sola de dos pisos	$618,000	$129,800
Casa sola de un piso	$530,400	$110,700
Condominio	$332,400	$71,200
* Basado en un enganche de 25% y un préstamo a 25-años a una tasa fija de cinco años -no incluye cuotas de mantenimiento. Source: RBC. Mayo 2012

Type	March 2011	March 2012
Casa o condominio horizontal terminado no absorbido	$924,856	$833,256
Source: CMHC. Abril 2012

RENTAS PROMEDIO (DEPARTAMENTO)
 

Bach Studio	Una Recámara	Dos Recámaras	Tres Recamaras
$819	$977	$1,149	$1,349
Source: CMHC. Octubre 2011

GASTO PROMEDIO DE UN HOGAR EN 2008
 

Concept	Amount ($)
Personal taxes	18,488
Shelter	17,185
Transportation	10,676
Food	8,132
Personal insurance payments and pension contributions	5,734
Recreation	3,549
Household operation	4,053
Health care	1,824
Education	2,435
Tobacco products and alcoholic beverages	1,331
Source: StatCan 2011

TRANSPORTE PUBLICO
 

	Boleto	Pase mensual
Regular	$3.00	$126.00
Anciano/estudiante	$2.00	$104.00
Tarifas especiales para ancianos, niños y estudiantes & horas especiales
Fuente: Toronto Transit Commission. 2012

SEGURO PARA AUTO
 

Automóvil	Seguro Anual
2010, JEEP, WRANGLER UNLIMITED SAHARA 4DR 4WD
Desjardins General Insurance	$1,397
Belairdirect	$1,445
Dominion of Canada	$1,740
Source: Kinetix.ca  August 2010

SALARIO MINIMO EN 2012

• $10.25 por hora

SALARIOS GOBIERNO DE ONTARIO

• In 2010, 2,601 burocratas ganaron mas de $100,000.00.

Puesto	Salario anual	Rank
Canadian Blood Services Chief Executive Officer	$685,646.42	1st
Ontario Power Authority Chief Executive Officer	$573,500.99	2nd
Canadian Red Cross Chief Executive Officer	$268,240.92	60th
COSTI Immigrant Services Executive Director	$151,336.35	512th
Crown Corporations
Ontario Pension Board	$632,613.68	1st
Liquour Control Board President & CEO	$431,402.54	14th
Ontario Lottery & Gambling Chief Financial Officer	$298,022.87	44th
Ministries
Community Safety & Correctional Services Chief Coroner	$412,205.64	1st
Source: Ontario Finance

INGRESO FAMILIAR
 

Tipo de Familia	Median Family Income
	2000	2005
No inmigrante	$90,569	$92,453
Imigrante	$68,565	$66,377
Diferencia	$22,004	$26,076
Source: Statistics Canada, 2008.

IMPUESTOS SOBRE BIENES Y SERVICIOS
 

• En Toronto, the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is 13%.
   

IMPUESTONS FEDERALES SOBRE EL INGRESO EN 2012
 

Income	Tax Rate
On the first $42,707 of taxable income, +	15%
On the next $42,707 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $42,707 and $85,414), +	22%
On the next $46,992 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $85,414 and $132,406), +	26%
Taxable income over $132,406.	29%
Source: Canada Revenue Agency. 2012.

IMPUESTOS PROVINCIALES SOBRE EL INGRESO EN 2012

Ingreso	Impuesto
Basic Personal Amount	0%
On the first $39,020 of taxable income, +	5.05%
On the next $39,023, +	9.15%
On the amount over $78,043	11.16%
Source: Ontario Government. 2012.

ONTARIO: CRIMENES REPORTADOS A LA POLICIA 2009
 

Crime	Number
Homicide	178
Serious Assault	15,684
Robbery	12,210
Total Violent Crime	131,437
Total Violent Crime Rate (per 100,000)	1,006
Source: Statistics Canada 2010

Report: CIA Seeks Al-Qaeda 'Inspire' Magazine Editor

Breitbart News 

www.politisite.com

Two weeks after the devastating Boston Marathon bombings, the UK Telegraph now reports that the CIA is seeking the editor of Al-Qaeda’s English-language Inspire magazine, the source from which the Tsarnaev brothers apparently learned how to build pressure cooker bombs. The prior editor was killed by US drones in 2011 in Yemen.

The article in Inspire that inspired the Tsarnaevs was titled “How to Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.” The CIA source told the Telegraph, “Inspire clearly is a powerful propaganda tool.” A former CIA officer also said, “They are intensifying investigations into who is behind this publication, and where the money for it is coming from.”

European Muslims Traveling to Syria to Fight 'Holy War'

breitbart

By Ben Shapiro 

With America battling the threat of Islamist terrorism from within, Europe is experiencing a dangerous phenomenon of its own: exporting of Islamism from Europe to the Middle East. According to the Associated Press, European mayors are now attempting to limit the travel of their citizens to Syria to fight “holy war” against the Assad regime in Syria. The AP reports: “Through much of western Europe, scores of Islamic youths have heeded the call to take up arms for a cause that is only a few hours away by plane. The phenomenon has alarmed authorities amid signs that the insurgency is becoming increasingly radicalized, with strong infiltration by al-Qaida.”

The lack of integration of many young Muslims into Western countries has created the threat of domestic-based terrorism inside Europe. Now, that terrorism may be exported elsewhere. The United States has already dealt with American immigrants fighting on behalf of Al-Qaeda in Somalia. For years, the FBI has been trying to unlock the secrets of what ABC News describes as “a recruiting pipeline from the Twin Cities, which boast large Somali immigrant problems, to Somalia.” Similar phenomena have been described with regard to terrorists originating in Western countries traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well.

In order to prevent the same sorts of activity in Belgium, Belgian officials have participated in an anti-terror sweep designed to arrest potential terrorists wanting to travel to Syria. In Brussel, a mayor banned a Muslim soup kitchen he felt was recruiting angry young Muslims to Syria.

Just as importantly, Europol, the European police agency, says that fighters who return from foreign countries after participating in terrorism “have the potential to utilize their training, combat experience, knowledge and contacts for terrorist activities inside the EU.” After America’s experiences with the Chechnyan-visiting Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Europe is deeply concerned about something similar happening on its own soil.

The European hard left is attempting to stop European authorities from shutting down such travel, however. Jos Vander Velpen, chairman of the Belgian League of Human Rights, says “We are talking about views that these youngsters hold, and you cannot change opinions with a repressive approach.” That was precisely the attitude taken by the authorities with regard to the Tsarnaevs.

Eric Holder: Soft on Terror, Again

breitbart

By Joel B. Pollak 

On April 27, Attorney General Eric Holder defended a federal judge's decision to read confessed terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights after only 16 hours of interrogation, saying: “Everything was done appropriately, and we got good leads.” Holder's statement confirmed earlier reports that he had foreknowledge of, but failed to object to, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler’s decision to "mirandize" Tsarnaev.

Judge Bowler's sudden appearance at Tsarnaev's hospital bedside prompted alarm from the FBI agents who were questioning him. Holder is correct that the FBI had managed to obtain "good leads"; what he does not acknowledge is the leads they might yet have uncovered. 

The failure to insist on as full an interrogation as possible fits a pattern of Holder standing up for terrorists' rights despite the danger to American lives.

During his confirmation hearings in 2009, Holder came under scrutiny for his role as President Bill Clinton's Deputy Attorney General in granting clemency to terrorists from the radical Puerto Rican radicals in the FALN organization. As the Los Angeles Times reported, Holder “instructed his staff at Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney to effectively replace the department's original report recommending against any commutations.”

The FALN case was not the only troubling evidence of Holder’s sympathy for terrorists. Holder served as senior partner in the Covington and Burling law firm, which took on the cases of 17 Yemeni terror detainees being held at the Guantánamo Bay prison. Holder also represented Chiquita Brands International in a plea bargain over payments to the AUC, a Columbian terrorist paramilitary organization, as Michelle Malkin noted in 2009.

In 2010, Liz Cheney and her Keep America Safe organization pointed out that Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) included nine lawyers who had previously represented Al Qaeda terror suspects. Critics charged, falsely, that Cheney was arguing that terrorists did not deserve lawyers. She did not dispute their right to counsel, but did question whether those who volunteered to provide it could be trusted with the nation’s security.

Indeed, over and over again, Holder has placed his left-wing political agenda ahead of national security. He insisted on trying 9/11 master plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal court in New York City until he was forced to back down under political pressure. Shortly after the 2012 election, Holder seized the opportunity to bring Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law to New York City for a civilian trial, again regardless of the risk.

One of Holder’s top priorities at the DOJ was to investigate the CIA for interrogations of terrorists conducted under the administration of President George W. Bush. Ultimately, Holder decided not to bring any charges, but the investigation had reportedly damaged morale at the intelligence agency. Intelligence-gathering from terror detainees has since become a repeated source of trouble, from the Christmas Day bomber in 2009 to Tsarnaev.

Holder famously promised that bin Laden would not be read his rights because he would be killed first. As with much of the Obama administration’s policy on terrorism, however, bin Laden has proved to be an exceptional case. Holder has shown enthusiasm for the expansive use of executive powers, such as the use of drones, but has shown less enthusiasm for his fundamental responsibility of enforcing the law and keeping America safe.

Marc Thiessen, writing at the Washington Post, notes that Holder suggested in mid-2010 that the rules around Miranda warnings should be reformed to reflect the realities of international terrorism. Such changes were a "top priority," Holder promised. Yet despite Democrats holding control of both houses of Congress, Holder "failed to deliver," Thiessen observes, leaving the U.S. unequipped to deal with Tsarnaev.

Celebrated defense lawyer and civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz was calling for Tsarnaev to be mirandized even before Judge Bowler had done so, largely because he believed the public safety risk had passed once both suspects had been neutralized. But others called Holder's move premature, and Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence went further, calling it "absolutely disgraceful."

After the Boston Marathon bombings, President Barack Obama promised: “But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we'll find out why they did this." The DOJ had advance warning of the judge’s intent and did not dissuade her. At best, Holder’s conduct reflects appalling incompetence and confusion. At worst, it is part of an effort to place the rights of terrorists above the lives of Americans.

Immigration Bill Gives Amnestied Residents 'Immediate' Access to Welfare

breitbart

By Matthew Boyle 

The immigration bill introduced to the Senate a week and a half ago would, if passed, allow illegal immigrants to access state and local welfare benefits immediately, Breitbart News has learned. The financial impact of allowing potentially millions of immigrants onto state and local public assistance could overwhelm these programs' budgets.

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) uncovered this loophole in the bill and many others, and he will circulate a memo detailing the gaps in the bill on Tuesday. Breitbart News exclusively obtained a copy of the memo before its public release.

“The Gang of Eight made a promise that illegal immigrants will not be able to access public benefits,” Sessions said in a statement to Breitbart News. “We already know that, once granted green cards and ultimately citizenship, illegal immigrants will be able to access all public benefit programs at a great cost to taxpayers. We have, however, identified a number of loopholes that would allow illegal immigrants to draw public benefits even sooner than advertised.”

If the bill were signed into law, America’s 11 million illegal immigrants would be legalized within six months, when Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano submits her border security plan to Congress. Illegal immigrants would immediately be eligible for Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status, making them legal to live and work in the country.

As Sessions’ staff points out in the memo, “state laws frequently extend benefits to anyone ‘lawfully present’ in the U.S.” The Sessions team points to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) brief that details how the only requirement many state and local governments have with regard to immigrant access to public benefits is that they are “lawfully present.” The term “lawfully present” is a legal definition.

According to page 91 of the bill, all illegal immigrants granted legalized RPI status would legally be considered “lawfully present.” That section reads as follows:

‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF REGISTERED PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANTS.—A noncitizen granted registered provisional immigrant status under this section shall be considered lawfully present in the United States for all purposes while such noncitizen remains in such status, except that the noncitizen—
‘‘(A) is not entitled to the premium assistance tax credit authorized under section 36B of            the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
‘‘(B) shall be subject to the rules applicable to individuals not lawfully present that are set forth in subsection (e) of such section; and         
‘‘(C) shall be subject to the rules applicable to individuals not lawfully present that are set forth in section 1402(e) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18071).”

In evaluating whether an illegal immigrant qualifies for RPI status, Sessions’ staff points out, the legislation “explicitly forbids” the Department of Homeland Security from using current law, which blocks entry to those who could become "public charges," i.e. dependent on government welfare programs.  

“Therefore, when those here illegally who are unable to support themselves are legalized, much of the immediate fiscal burden will fall on state and local governments,” Sessions’ staff wrote in the memo.

In addition to that loophole, Sessions and his staff found several more loopholes that allow current illegal immigrants access to public benefits even on the federal level before the promised wait time of 13 years from the bill’s passage.

In the memo, Sessions’ staff notes that current illegal immigrants who are “granted RPI status will immediately become eligible for federal benefits through citizen and permanent resident dependents, with no requirement that they support their household as a condition of receiving or maintaining legal status.” That means any current illegal immigrant who subsequently has dependent children, who are, by right of birth, U.S. citizens would qualify for federal welfare benefits through them.

Baja complementariedad económica entre Cuba y los países del ALBA-Estudio

Complementariedad económica entre Cuba y los países del ALBA.

Yamilka García García

Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de las Villas/ 

http://www.ciem.cu/publicaciones/pub/Temas%20Edici%F3n%20Especial%20J%F3venes%20ParteII%202013.

pdf#page=49

-------------------

Consideraciones finales

Las complementariedades potenciales en ambas direcciones se encuentran en

7 de los 10 grupos de bienes según la CUCI: Alimentos y animales vivos, Bebidas y tabaco, Productos químicos y relacionados, Manufacturas, Maquinarias y equipos de transporte, Combustibles minerales y productosrelacionados y Productos básicos y transacciones.

Este resultado nos indica que los países que conforman el ALBA tienen diversidad en sus exportaciones, pero no puede decirse que las complementariedades potenciales por si solas vayan a potenciar el intercambio comercial entre Cuba y los miembros del ALBA, pues las demandas se dirigen en otro sentido.

Las complementariedades reales se concentran solamente en 4 de los 10

grupos de bienes: Alimentos y animales vivos, Productos químicos y relacionados, Manufacturas y Combustibles minerales y productos relacionados. De todos estos donde existe un mayor número de oportunidades efectivas es en el sector de los Alimentos y animales vivos, lo que está relacionado con las características estructurales de estos países

latinoamericanos y caribeños.

En sentido general, se puede concluir que el grado de complementariedad económica entre Cuba y los países del ALBA, en la actualidad, es bajo.