Everything about the "Cassez Case," that of French citizen Florence Cassez, arrested and sentenced to 60 years in prison for being a member of a gang of kidnappers, has been out of the ordinary.
Cassez, to recall, was captured in 2005 in an operation seemingly shown live on TV - seemingly, as it was later discovered that the operation was merely reenacted and that Cassez and the kidnapping gang had been apprehended two days earlier! It was quite possibly one of the stupidest acts carried out by Genaro García Luna's SSP or secretariat of public security, as it put the whole case into question: Was Cassez merely the stupidly naive girlfriend of the head of the kidnapping gang, or was she an active part of the gang's activities?
Mexican authorities argued the second version, and Cassez got 60 years. On Friday, Mexican judges rejected her lawyer's argument that her conviction was tainted by the authorities.
Without knowing anything of her guilt or lack thereof, France's reaction seems, to put it mildly, quite a stunning overreaction: Michèle Alliot-Marie, the French foreign minister strongly criticized the court's decision, calling it "deplorable," and threatened, as did other senior French officials, to boycott or cancel all cultural events involving Mexico in France, which was, irony of ironies, to be celebrating the "Year of Mexico." It seems, to put it mildly, an overreaction, a remarkably strong political offensive against the decision of another country's judiciary.
In Mexico, notably, prominent anti-kidnapping NGOs such as Isabel Miranda de Wallace''s Alto al Secuestro, Alejandro Martí's México SOS and María Elena Morera's Causa en Común, are convinced of Cassez' culpability and call on the French President, the mercurial Nicolas Sarkozy, to stay out of the case.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
René Bejarano shows his movement's muscles.
Bejarano's back for sure - indeed, I am not entirely sure one can even argue he was really "gone."
While René Bejarano received a heavy blow following the video scandals of 2004, where a tape of Bejarano was shown on national TV where AMLO's personal secretary stuffed bags full of cash in illegal contributions, he simply relegated nominal control over his faction in the PRD, known now as Izquierda Democrática Nacional (IDN), to his wife Dolores Padierna, one of PRD's most controversial politicians (even AMLO vetoed her cnadidacy for a senator seat in 2006), who like her husband has been embroiled in a long list of scandals the past two decades or so.
Regardless, Bejarano kept somewhat quiet and keeping a relatively low profile, until the formation of a "new" "social movement, " Movimiento Nacional por la Esperanza (MNE) or the national movement of hope.
This weekend, MNE held a rally at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, even drawing in high-profile AMLO loyalists such as national deputies of the PT, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, and senator Ricardo Monreal. The latter two are currently fighting over AMLO's blessing for a Mexico City mayoral candidacy.
Note, though, that also high-profile backers of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard shared the platform with the disgraced Bejarano, such as José Ángel Ávila, secretary of government, and Alejandra Barrales, head of the city legislature. Both of them as well want to be Mexico City mayor, and as such are seeking to woo Bejarano and his MNE, a clientelist, top-down "social movement" simulacrum. So, to be sure, do AMLO and Ebrard: Both seek the 2012 presidency, and Bejarano will sell his support to the highest bidder.
While René Bejarano received a heavy blow following the video scandals of 2004, where a tape of Bejarano was shown on national TV where AMLO's personal secretary stuffed bags full of cash in illegal contributions, he simply relegated nominal control over his faction in the PRD, known now as Izquierda Democrática Nacional (IDN), to his wife Dolores Padierna, one of PRD's most controversial politicians (even AMLO vetoed her cnadidacy for a senator seat in 2006), who like her husband has been embroiled in a long list of scandals the past two decades or so.
Regardless, Bejarano kept somewhat quiet and keeping a relatively low profile, until the formation of a "new" "social movement, " Movimiento Nacional por la Esperanza (MNE) or the national movement of hope.
This weekend, MNE held a rally at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, even drawing in high-profile AMLO loyalists such as national deputies of the PT, Porfirio Muñoz Ledo and Gerardo Fernández Noroña, and senator Ricardo Monreal. The latter two are currently fighting over AMLO's blessing for a Mexico City mayoral candidacy.
Note, though, that also high-profile backers of Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard shared the platform with the disgraced Bejarano, such as José Ángel Ávila, secretary of government, and Alejandra Barrales, head of the city legislature. Both of them as well want to be Mexico City mayor, and as such are seeking to woo Bejarano and his MNE, a clientelist, top-down "social movement" simulacrum. So, to be sure, do AMLO and Ebrard: Both seek the 2012 presidency, and Bejarano will sell his support to the highest bidder.
Family International, Christian pedophile sect, hiding in Nuevo León. Will authorities act?
La Jornada has a story in today's newspaper that is almost to the point of defying belief, had one not been so hardened, for lack of better word, by previous pedophile scandals predominantly in the catholic church:
Santiago, Nuevo León, is the sanctuary of Sara Kelley, real name Prisca Kelley, the author of what goes under the name of the "bible of pedophilia," a 762-page manual for pederasts. Kelley, a U.S. citizen, is a founder of "Children of God," known today as "Family International," a religious sect that apparently combines its version of christianity with the advocacy of pedophilia. Neighbors in Santiago are now warning that this sect is not only harboring Kelley, wanted for pederasty in several countries, but is continuing is "preaching" in the area, trying to ensnare more children for abuse.
The obvious question: Why aren't Nuevo León authorities immediately arresting Kelley and the perverted psychopaths of the "Children of God? The La Jornada article is not for the faint of heart; one can only hope it will draw more attention to this deranged cult and warn those in the area.
(Here's a Rolling Stones article on the Family International, from 2005)
Santiago, Nuevo León, is the sanctuary of Sara Kelley, real name Prisca Kelley, the author of what goes under the name of the "bible of pedophilia," a 762-page manual for pederasts. Kelley, a U.S. citizen, is a founder of "Children of God," known today as "Family International," a religious sect that apparently combines its version of christianity with the advocacy of pedophilia. Neighbors in Santiago are now warning that this sect is not only harboring Kelley, wanted for pederasty in several countries, but is continuing is "preaching" in the area, trying to ensnare more children for abuse.
The obvious question: Why aren't Nuevo León authorities immediately arresting Kelley and the perverted psychopaths of the "Children of God? The La Jornada article is not for the faint of heart; one can only hope it will draw more attention to this deranged cult and warn those in the area.
(Here's a Rolling Stones article on the Family International, from 2005)
PRD in Mexico City rejects 2012 PAN-PRD alliance for city mayor
Hardly a surprise, yet now it's official: The PRD's council in the federal district rejected a possible PAN-PRD alliance in Mexico City for the 2012 mayoral election. The PRD's council in Mexico City/Federal District is dominated by AMLO loyalists, but seems quite united nonetheless that the only possible alliance behind a candidate Mexico City, the main bastion of the PRD, is with the PT and Convergencia.
The PRD-DF also presented a 10-point strategic plan for 2011 to promote the party vote and build the organization ahead of 2012, notably also including the point "Support the actions of the Legitimate Government and the Movimiento de Renovación Nacional (Morena)," the latest name for AMLO's movement. Reports are circulating that Valencia Guzmán, the PRD's secretary general in Mexico City and regarded as close to Ebrard, is complaining that PRD-DF is openly backing AMLO's movement, presumably also materially - and, by extension, AMLO's 2012 presidential bid, to the detriment of Ebrard.
In my eyes, however, the rupture between Ebrard and AMLO has already happened.
The PRD-DF also presented a 10-point strategic plan for 2011 to promote the party vote and build the organization ahead of 2012, notably also including the point "Support the actions of the Legitimate Government and the Movimiento de Renovación Nacional (Morena)," the latest name for AMLO's movement. Reports are circulating that Valencia Guzmán, the PRD's secretary general in Mexico City and regarded as close to Ebrard, is complaining that PRD-DF is openly backing AMLO's movement, presumably also materially - and, by extension, AMLO's 2012 presidential bid, to the detriment of Ebrard.
In my eyes, however, the rupture between Ebrard and AMLO has already happened.
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