International
The battle of the tribes of California for Biden to protect their ancestral lands
A coalition of Native American tribes from California is fighting an intense struggle for the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to protect their ancestral lands, a vast territory of 400,000 hectares that treasures not only rare species of flora and fauna, but also the legacy of peoples who have lived for centuries with that sacred nature.
This contest has been ongoing for years but it becomes more urgent in the face of the proximity of the November elections, in which Biden will again face the Republican Donald Trump, who during his term (2017-2021) approved oil projects that harmed the Native Americans.
The lands they are fighting for are “irreplaceable,” Thomas Tortez, president of the Torres Martínez desert indigenous people and who has asked Biden to declare about 267,000 hectares as a national monument in the Chuckwalla Valley, in Southern California, explained to EFE and expand the Joshua Tree National Park.
“When someone goes to a sanctuary and it catches fire or is knocked down, they can erect another temple in another place. But when the site that embodies our culture is intrinsically linked to a place and a specific land like the one we have here, there is no human way to replace it,” Tortez says vehemently.
Therefore, he urges Biden to protect the lands of his tribe using the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives the president the ability to create national monuments on federal land without having to go through Congress.
The lands that Tortez defends are, in large part, desert. It might seem that they are sterile, devoid of life, but for Native Americans, this area contains a rich history, with plants that can be used for medicinal, food or spiritual purposes, and animals that have coexisted with the community for centuries.
Even the hills, with their tones ranging from magenta to lighter shades of red, are interpreted by Native Americans as a reminder of the stories of creation and the presence of divinity, says Tortez.
In addition to protecting these lands, the tribal coalition seeks Biden to expand and designate four other national monuments in California.
Among them, the effort of the tribes of the Tataviam Fernandeño and Gabrieleno missions to expand the national monument of the San Gabriel mountains, near Los Angeles, on about 44,100 hectares, stands out.
Within this territory are the remains of three indigenous peoples prior to the Spanish colonization and that are of great importance for the tribes, whose families go there to teach their origins to the new generations, the president of the Tataviam Fernandeño missions, Rudy Ortega Jr., explained to EFE.
Ortega Jr., whose father was also the leader of the tribe for five decades, believes that this effort to expand the national monument of the San Gabriel mountains is part of the struggle that his tribe has fought for centuries to protect its territory.
In its beginnings, its land covered more than 600,000 hectares, from the Antelope Valley to the Pacific Ocean. However, by 1900, it was reduced to zero, and since then they have had to fight to recover their lands.
Another objective of the coalition is to achieve the designation as a national monument of almost 81,000 hectares in the mountainous area of Lake Medicine, which would make it possible to safeguard the heritage of peoples with a long history in that area of northern California, such as the Pit River tribe.
The Quechan tribe of Fort Yuma also longs for the Kw’tsán mountains to be established as a national monument, and finally, the yocha dehe wintun nation wants the Berryessa Snow Mountain national monument to be expanded and Molok Luyuk to be permanently protected, which translates as “condor crest.”
These lands embody the soul of the tribes. As Anthony Roberts, leader of the yocha dehe wintun nation, told EFE, ensuring the protection of those territories is part of the “sacred responsibility” that those peoples have with nature, from which all forms of life emanate.
International
Colombian Foreign Minister on the accusation of Diosdado Cabello: To foolish words, deaf ears
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo, said that “to foolish words, deaf ears” in reference to the accusations made against him by the Chavista leader Diosdado Cabello, who accused him of “working” for the United States Government.
“That doesn’t make sense, to foolish words, deaf ears,” the chancellor told journalists in Suriname, where he participated in a Ministerial Meeting of the Association of Caribbean States.
Murillo added that he met in Suriname with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yván Gil, to whom he expressed his “concerns.”
“We have always maintained a very fluid diplomatic dialogue, and that is the official voice of the Government of Venezuela. That’s why we don’t want to respond or give in to any provocation from other actors on both sides that sometimes what interests them is to generate conflict,” he said.
Cabello accused Murillo of working for the United States after the chancellor claimed that his country seeks a “quiet transition” in Venezuela after the presidential elections on July 28.
“Who sent it to you to declare that? Your president of Colombia or your president of the United States? Who do you work for? Who gives you the right to talk about transition in Venezuela? (…) Here the only transition that is coming is the transition to socialism, there is no other,” he said in his weekly television program ‘Con el mazo dando’, broadcast by the state channel VTV.
Cabello, first vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), said that Murillo “works for the Government of the United States” and that that recent statement is “very rude” and “unfriendly.”
At the 54th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, Murillo said that Colombia hopes that the upcoming Venezuelan elections “will be fair, obviously, competitive… free.” And that it is, “at least, an acceptable process.”
International
Brian Wilson, of The Beach Boys, is under the tutelage of his manager because of his dementia
A judge in a Los Angeles court accepted the request of Brian Wilson’s family to put the founding musician of The Beach Boys under guardianship because of the dementia he suffers.
At a hearing, Judge Gus T. May determined that the tutelage of the creator of ‘Surfin’ the U.S.A.’ will be in the hands of his lifelong publicist and manager, Jean Sievers, and his business manager, LeeAnn Hard, American media reported.
“From clear and convincing evidence, I conclude that guardianship is necessary,” May declared at the hearing and ordered the new guardians to consult with Wilson’s children “all material decisions related to health care.”
The petition – presented after the death of Wilson’s wife, Melinda Ledbetter, at the beginning of the year – argued that the 81-year-old musician suffers from an “important neurocognitive disorment” that has taken away his ability to properly take care of his basic personal needs.
In February, Wilson’s relatives posted a post on Instagram in which they explained that they had made the decision to request the guardianship of the musician after consulting his seven children, the doctors, members of his staff and Wilson himself.
They also specified that the musician’s cognitive ability had regressed severely since the death of Ledbetter, who was in charge of his personal care.
Wilson is known for being one of the founders of the group The Beach Boys – one of the most important bands in the United States – and was responsible for immortalizing “the Californian dream” in the 1960s.
One of his most relevant works as a composer was the creation and production of the album ‘Pet Sounds’ (1966), considered one of the best albums of all time by the specialized press, in addition to being the one that impressed The Beatles.
In 1988, Wilson began his solo career and in 2008 Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 52 on the list of the 100 best singers in history.
International
Trump criticizes pro-Biden Jews: “If you vote for him, be ashamed”
Former President Donald Trump criticized Jewish American voters of the Democratic Party on Thursday, after the Joe Biden Administration confirmed on Wednesday that it will withhold the shipment of weapons to Israel while studying how it proceeds in the Palestinian enclave of Rafah.
“If you are Jews, don’t vote for Biden. They are doing a lot of damage to their country. (Biden) Now he is totally on the other side. He has abandoned Israel. If you are Jewish and you vote for it, I tell you to be ashamed,” Trump said in an interview with Spectrum News 1.
He also assured that he would not have made Biden’s decision and spoke of “loyalty.”
“I wouldn’t do what Biden did. He has just left Israel. I’ve never seen anything like it. They have to do it (attack Rafah)… They were attacked sacily on October 7. They had scenes that no one has ever seen,” he said, when asked if he would clarify to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that the escalation of aggressions in the Gaza Strip has a limit.
The former ruler had already repeatedly charged against American Jews who vote for Democratic candidates, both before and after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. In fact, in 2019, he said that Jewish Democrats were “very disloyal to Israel.”
Likewise, he has assiduously stressed that this conflict would never have been unleashed if he remained in the White House, due to his diplomatic skills with power leaders in the Middle East region.
According to CNN, the US arms blockade of Israel would have about 3,500 bombs: 1,800 of 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) in weight and 1,700 of 500 pounds (226 kilos). The United States would be especially concerned about Israel’s use of the heaviest in densely inhabited areas of Rafah.
Since October 7, 2023, the Biden administration has given the go-ahead to more than a hundred arms sales operations to Israel without the approval of Congress, according to The Washington Post.
Of these, it has only made public 2: 14,000 projectiles for tanks worth 106.5 million dollars and 155 mm type artillery projectiles worth 147.5 million dollars. In addition, the transfer approved by Congress of the 2,000 and 500 pound bombs, as well as 25 F-35A fighter planes, was pending.
Colombian Foreign Minister on the accusation of Diosdado Cabello: To foolish words, deaf ears
Brian Wilson, of The Beach Boys, is under the tutelage of his manager because of his dementia
Trump criticizes pro-Biden Jews: “If you vote for him, be ashamed”
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
Central America2 days agoThe University of Texas, symbol of repression against pro-Palestinian protests
-
International2 days agoBrazil exceeds 100 deaths from floods in the southern region of the country
-
Centroamérica4 days agoThe number of deaths from the floods in southern Brazil rises to 84
-
International3 days agoIsrael says it will continue to negotiate a ceasefire while bombing the east of Rafah
-
International4 days agoBiden manages to get Netanyahu to promise to take a step in Gaza and reiterates his position on Rafah
-
International3 days ago“I had to swim out of the house,” says one of those affected by floods in Brazil
-
International4 days agoThe pro-Palestinian student movement in the United States looks at itself in history to continue
-
International4 days agoColumbia University cancels its grand graduation ceremony after weeks of protests
-
International3 days agoThe number of deaths in a passenger bus accident in southern Peru rises to eleven
-
International3 days agoBolsonaro is transferred to São Paulo to continue the treatment for an erysypela
-
International2 days agoAt least 3 dead and 5 wounded in attack on a Taliban convoy in Afghanistan
-
International4 days agoMigrant women, victims of theft, rape and with their children in tow for the Darién
-
International2 days agoEU countries agree to use profits from frozen Russian assets in defense of Ukraine
-
International3 days agoUnicef warns that the military incursion in Rafah is “catastrophic” for thousands of children
-
Centroamérica3 days ago“Corruption was a man, but democratically!” says Rubén Blades after elections in Panama
-
International4 days ago“The Chilean government is more continuous than you think,” says its Foreign Minister Alberto van Klaveren
-
International2 days agoIrregular migrants intercepted by Mexico triple in the first quarter
-
Sin categoría15 hours agoThey reject the request of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández for a new trial in New York
-
International15 hours agoTrump criticizes pro-Biden Jews: “If you vote for him, be ashamed”
-
International15 hours agoBrian Wilson, of The Beach Boys, is under the tutelage of his manager because of his dementia
-
International15 hours agoColombian Foreign Minister on the accusation of Diosdado Cabello: To foolish words, deaf ears
-
International2 days agoPetro on the formulation of charges against him: “It’s the beginning of a coup d’état”
-
International15 hours agoThe president-elect of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, promises repatriation of migrants crossing the Darién