Veterans Records Stolen by Tim Bates

Today we heard the story of millions of veterans records being stolen
from the home of a data analyst employee. The employee of the
Department of Veterans Affairs took the information home without authorization and against the Department policy. The employee that has not been identified has been placed on leave pending review of the incident. The Department of Veterans Affairs will be sending out a letter notifying all the affected vets. This includes all veterans discharged after 1975, some of their spouses and anyone that has submitted a claim after 1975.

This means almost all veterans have had their personal information
lost. The Washington Post states “The theft represents the biggest
unauthorized disclosure ever of Social Security data…” If the truth is known,
the information lost is probably much more. Fox News reported that
“The material represents personal data of all living veterans who served
and have been discharged since 1976, according to the department. The
information was included in the veterans’ discharge summary that goes
into a government database.” This almost sounds like the information on a
DD 214, for all the non-military that’s Department of Defense Form 214
or your discharge record. If it was the DD 214 files, that includes
much more than just name and Social Security number. The reason I
believe it may be much more than is being said is the “VA’s Notification
Letter to Veterans” states “The data contained identifying information
including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 26.5
million veterans and some spouses, as well as some disability ratings.”

My DD 214 states my FULL name, Social Security number, date of birth,
address of record, type of discharge, length of service and date of
discharge, job title, type of security clearance, medals, blood type,
training and more. With this much information you could become me.
Several cases of “misplaced information” have happened in the past. In
2004, ChoicePoint Inc. sent several thousand records to people in the
LA area posing as a debt collection agency. Many people had their
addresses changed to reroute mail like checks and credit card offers. In
the ChoicePoint case, the company offered credit reports and credit
monitoring for one year.

Fox News quoted Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a veteran himself, as saying
he would introduce legislation requiring the VA to provide credit
reports to the vets. My question to Sen. Kerry is for how long do we get
free credit reports and if something goes wrong shouldn’t the VA
supervisors be responsible to correct the problem?

Could this be just a slight of hand to focus our attention elsewhere?
As I researched for this article I went to Veterans Against the Iraq
War, www.vaiw.org and much to my dismay, the House of Representatives is
voting on cutting the VA budget! The headline reads “Republicans Seek
To Slash VA budget!” In the second paragraph it states the House
Budget Committee is reducing President Bush’s proposed budget by about $844 million in health care and an additional $463 million in benefit programs including disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education survivor’s benefits and pension programs in next years budget. In addition, the Good Old Party is planning to cut $15 BILLION over the next 10 years from veterans programs. Can you say “Support The Troops”?

All the staunch Republican Conservatives who decried President Clinton
bombing a pharmaceutical factory to draw attention away from his sex
scandal are now hurting the veterans they sent into this illegal, immoral
war. Edward Heath, National Commander of the Disabled American
Veterans stated this could mean the loss of 19,000 nurses. This is equal to
6.6 million outpatient visits or more than three-quarters of a million
hospital bed days. All of this comes at a time when 209,000 Gulf War
veterans have submitted claims to the VA for disability.

Now back to Sen. Kerry and his legislation to require the VA to supply
credit reports to the affected veterans. If the credit reports are
only $5 each mailed to the vet each time, the first round of reports will
cost $132,500,000! Take that much more away from the slashed budget
and the vets will be lucky to get one aspirin at government rates!
This could be slight of hand or maybe have an even more ominous cause.
Many more recently discharged military personnel have told me of the
DNA database compiled to identify bodies. Could this be a plot to get
all the vets in a biometric database? So many of our Servicemen are so
disabled they can’t work to get any other healthcare. This captive
audience may even have to be even chipped to get what little this
government will allow them to have. The retired vets that want the pension they earned will have to submit to the Big Brother database just to get what
is theirs.

And now to the really scary part. This may be just a way to make all
the vets sign up for benefits again and do an evaluation on them. This
is the best way to force all servicemen to update their information.
This gives the government the chance to obtain even deeper profiles to
ensure identity theft can’t happen again. By the way, do you know that
a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C.
ruled that the government does NOT owe free lifetime medical care to World
War Two and Korean War veterans? This ruling saved the government
Billions in health care costs. When do you think the fair and unbiased
black-robed tyrants will rule the same way for all other vets? The court
majority said “Because [the law] at most authorizes space available
treatment and not free health insurance for life, we hold that the Air
Force Secretary lacked the authority in the 1950’s when plaintiffs joined
to promise free and full medical care.” Now just extend this to today
with the budget cuts and you may die before there is space available at
the VA center 500 miles from your home.

With the Depleted Uranium, experimental vaccines and all the diseases
and illnesses we expose our troops to, when will we demand that the ones
that declare war must fight the war? When will we stop big business
from getting rich from the lives of our young men and women? When will
we stop invading other countries just so the bankers can steal our
life’s blood? This must stop here and now! Tell your representatives to
turn around or pick up a gun and fight the war themselves!


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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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Article 78 filed in Canandaigua, NY against Town of Cohocton

IMPORTANT NEWS !!!!

The Town Board of Cohocton did not follow correct and prescribed procedure when the Windmill Local Law No 1 was passed in January 2006. An “Article 78” action was submitted to the Seventh Judicial Court District on May 16, 2006 to challenge the passage of this law. James Hall filed the suit against the Town Board of Cohocton. David Miller, attorney from Naples, NY, represents Mr. Hall in this suit.

Cohocton Supervisor – Jack Zigenfus was duly served notice of this Supreme Court action at the regular town board meeting by Cohocton Wind Watch President Steve Trude.

Mr. Zigenfus asked Cohocton Town Attorney, Pat McAllister, if he had to accept the notice. When the town supervisor was asked if he had any comments for the citizens in attendance or the press covering this meeting, he declined to make a statement.

The Town of Cohocton will need to defend their actions in court. Upon a successful ruling, the Town of Cohocton would need to start the process over for any passage of a new Windmill Local Law.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Breaking News - Town of Cohocton Windmill Local Law


After an “Article 78” was filed against the Town of Cohocton Windmill Local Law and service upon the Cohocton Supervisor – Jack Zigenfus, the board acknowledged the serious nature of the action by passing a motion to re-write a new windmill local law.

Daniel A. Ruzow a Senior Partner of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna was introduced as representation for the Town of Cohocton in order to recommend correct procedures in writing a new addition to the zoning law. Mr. Ruzow’s Albany, NY firm has represented state agencies and authorities in the SEQRA process.

The Town Board of Cohocton’s action opens the door to a complete restart of the Cohocton Wind Power Project. The clear implication is that the current law has no legal standing and that any town board law would need to follow proper procedure for enactment of a new local law.

Citizens are urged to interact and involve themselves at every stage of this process.

It is imperative to voice your concerns and put them in writing to the Town and Planning Boards.

The question now is “WHERE is the entire wind project”? How can you have an EIS when you don’t know what the regulations governing the project are? Or are the Boards still ignoring the health, safety and financial well being of the citizenry?

James Hall

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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Will US Dollars & Rands become Zimbabwe's Currency? by Jan Lamprecht

Tonight on eTV news I heard them mention that Zimbabwe's inflation is now at 1042% (officially). Remember, previously, the unofficial (real) inflation rate was much higher than the official rate. So I assume, the reality could be even worse than the official rate. But even so... the official rate is incredible...

Another white guy from Zimbabwe was telling me at work yesterday that he has seen Zimbabwe currency which has an EXPIRY DATE printed on it! He said it must be the only currency in the world where some of the notes actually have expiry dates.

On eTV they mentioned tonight that the biggest currency is a Z$50,000 bearer cheque, which translates into about R3 (50 American cents!).

Zimbabwe's economy would have collapsed completely were it not that 1/4 to 1/3rd of the black population left the country and they now work in S.Africa. They work here, and buy food here and it is sent back to Zimbabwe. This lifeline from S.Africa keeps Zimbabwe alive - otherwise, the inflation could easily have been 100 times worse and millions would have died by now.

Another negative effect is that nowadays criminals from Zimbabwe are engaging in violent crime in S.Africa in order to get money.

Economists predict that by the end of this year Zimbabwe's inflation will be an unbelievable 1800%.

This is much worse than Brazil was I think. I think Brazil at one time had about 300% inflation. They also changed their currency to create stability. But with Zimbabwe ... the economic fundamentals are gone... so there is no hope of stopping this. God alone knows where this will end...

I thought I'd put 1000% inflation in perspective. Consider that you start off the year with $100 in your pocket. By year end, it will now only be worth $10. And by the end of the next year it would be worth $1. So in 2 years, your money would have lost 99% of its value!

I think they are going to run into a serious problem in that their money will be completely worthless within a year or two - so worthless that it will be pointless printing it.

The value of the raw paper is probably worth more than the denomination printed on it. Consider that a Z$500 bill is worth 1/2 an American cent. Within a few years, Z$500 will be worth less than the paper itself!

They could invent a new currency, and let's say they called it "The Mugabe" and 1Mugabe was worth say Z$1 billion. It could keep the Govt afloat for a few years. The problem though is that the Govt struggles to even pay for the ink to print new notes. So to reissue a totally new currency is a waste of time.

I think the next step for Zimbabwe will be to simply leave its currency to become completely worthless. It can then simply use S.African Rands and US Dollars. Zimbabweans already bring in Rands and US Dollars. So they can simply leave their currency to become so utterly worthless that entire truckloads of notes won't allow you to buy a loaf of bread. Then the currency will die a natural death by itself. Then, the people in Zimbabwe can merely quote all their prices in Rands and US Dollars. Hotels in Zimbabwe have been quoting their prices in US Dollars for years. And since about 1/3rd of the population is already residing in neighbouring states (mostly S.Africa), there will be a steady flow of S.African forex into Zimbabwe.

If the Zim Govt leaves the currency to die by itself, and they don't replace it with anything new, then it actually won't cost them a cent. It would be the simplest solution.

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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Steuben Industrial Development Association (IDA) and UPC Wind Project by Robert C. Strasburg II

After receiving the letter from UPC suggesting revenues in the “range” of $660,000 for the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program offered to the Town of Cohocton, Steuben County and Wayland Cohocton Central School in return for favorable legislation allowing the placement of commercial wind turbines in the Town of Cohocton, I went to the IDA myself to ask some questions.

Since I have not been able to get a strait answer from the Town Board or the Planning Board as to what the formula was for determining potential income to our Town from the installation of these wind turbines, i.e. (how much were they selling our viewscape for) I decided to ferret out the data myself.

I met with James P. Sherron the Executive Director and found his information to be quite enlightening. Following is a summary of what I learned today:

The IDA is not able to get involved in a PILOT program such as the one proposed by the European fostered wind company known as UPC unless a Town formally invites the IDA.

In order to introduce government subsidies into a project in Steuben County, the IDA must be directly involved.

The IDA attaches ownership to properties where these proposed wind mills will go by taking Title or lease of these properties and thus removes these properties from the tax roles. This allows the PILOT program to then commence.

The terms and amounts of revenue from the PILOT program that will govern the wind turbine project in Cohocton are negotiable. Negotiations of these terms are done by the Lead Agency; in this case it is the Cohocton Planning Board.

The PILOT revenue is based on the potential sale of electricity and is not a guaranteed revenue amount.

The $660,000 as the suggested amount by UPC that Cohocton Town, Steuben County and the school may receive from this PILOT program is determined by a formula based on an assumed constant output of 30% of the actual wind turbine rating. (I was not able to verify this number and it does not conform to other studies I am familiar with, other studies suggest a much lower output in the range of 10-20%)

Here are the separate factors that combine to produce the formula used by UPC in their projection:

A 2MW turbine has a supposed potential output of 2 Megawatts per hour

UPC assumes a actual output of 30%* capacity

A Megawatt is 1000 kilowatts

The IDA used .04 to represent what a kilowatt of wind generated electricity can be sold for on the electrical grid

Formula:

2MW wind turbine reduced to assumed actual production of 30% = 600 kilowatts per hour x .04 per kilowatt = $24 per hour x 24 hours in a day = $576 x 365 days per year = $210,240 per year per 2MW wind turbine gross revenue from the sale of electricity.

$210,240 per year per 2MW wind turbine x 58 proposed wind turbines in Phase 1 & Phase 2 of the Cohocton wind turbine project = $12,193,920 gross revenue for UPC per year.

Proposed $660,000 in total PILOT payments by UPC to Cohocton Town, Steuben County and the school ÷ $12,193,920 = 5% of gross revenue expensed by UPC in PILOT funds.

In summary, using the numbers provided to me by UPC and the IDA, 95% of the gross revenue generated from the sale of electricity from these 58 wind turbines included in the first two phases of the Cohocton wind project is in the control of a Privately held Corporation that has refused to disclose to me the identity of their investors. Has our Town sought to discern where this money is going? Does it stay in our Town? Our County? Our State? Our Country?

If the IDA did not remove these properties from the tax roles and UPC was obligated to pay the taxes that would then be levied on all 58 of these 2 Million dollar structures, these unknown investors would then flee our hills and Cohocton could then consider strategically placing 5 of these wind turbines throughout the Town in places chosen for their minimal impact and enjoy the $1,051,200 in revenue from the sale of electricity. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that we can service the debt, improve our Town, reduce our environmental and health impact and keep 100% of the revenue in our control with that kind of revenue. If they insist on having wind turbines, they should at least be smart about it.

I am all for alternative safe energy, but a study of the facts quickly reveals that this wind turbine industry is corrupt with corporate greed bilking tax subsidies, raping viewscapes, funneling American money out of local economies and worst of all, our Town Board has become victim to their seduction.

RE: Results of inquiry to Steuben Industrial Development Association (IDA) on 5/9/06 for confirmation of revenue formula presented by UPC Wind Management, LLC.

*30% IDA assumption may be high

Robert C. Strasburg II
60 Maple Ave.
Cohocton, New York 14826
Email rcs2nd@frontiernet.net
Phone 585-384-9318
Cell 585-703-1299
Fax 585-384-9318

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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What to do about 'the elderly in Korea"?: A Foreigner's Viewpoint by Todd Brendan Fahey

The problem of the dwindling birthrate in the Republic of Korea is, doubtless, a serious one. The assumptions and suggestions posed by the Chosun Ilbo in a May 9th editorial are equally problematic. True--a nation cannot survive if its population fails to reproduce; however, the cause of the low birthrate and the burden posed by an elderly population must be reexamined, should this nation escape the grip of Government playing the role of parent.

The primary error of your editorial is the omission of precisely why the "elderly population" will need to be "supported." I found this glaring.

Neither of my two grandfathers--both United States "Depression-era babies" (raised during the Great Depression of the 1930s)--went to college. Both worked blue-collar jobs to support direct and extended family. Both died near-millionaires, due to stringent savings, tireless hours at work, and the habit of taking stock options in their companies, as opposed to "raises" in salary. My father's father, who died at age 93 and did not retire from full-time (40-hour/week) labor until he was 75, put me through my Bachelor's degree and paid for a year of my Master's. His house--a modest two-bedroom, one-bath residence in a Latino section of Los Angeles (even though he was Irish)--was also paid for in cash; as was his vintage 1965 Chevrolet Impala, which he would repair as needed, so as to never need to buy a new one. It was a beautiful old car.

"Grandpa Fahey" was the son of an alcoholic father, and had to give up a full scholarship in electrical engineering to a good university in Pennsylvania, to work in steel mills for most of his 20s and early 30s. He was finally able to break free of both the Depression and the grind of the steel mill, and went to work as Head electrician for a new department store franchise which saw the value in his expertise and diligence. He was the only "blue-collar" member of the Board of Directors of the May Company--then one of America's leading department store chains.

"Grandpa Porter"--my mother's dad--worked by the sweat of his brow as an Arkansas dust-bowl (a drought that afflicted the American southern states for several years) survivor. He, too, picked oranges, slept in wooden barracks with fellow pickers, for pocket change and a meal. This uneducated man later went to work for the Standard Oil company, as a field laborer--a hard, sweaty job that wrinkled the back of his neck by the time he was 45. Never taking a sick day, a non-drinker, he pressed and made it to a (still-lowly) field foreman--and socked away a half-million dollars in Standard Oil (now Chevron Corp.) stock options, never making more than $18,000/yearly.

The Republic of Korea has been through incredible hardship, from 1910 to 1954--from the Japanese invasion and occupation period to the North/South split and civil war. I've lived here for five years, and know of and feel for your history.

The circumstances of my grandfathers' times weren't sunny, either. They exceeded their relatives' and friends' expectations, and succeeded beyond what most of my generation will accomplish financially and in terms of sheer respect. Sometimes a human must simply want something so badly, that he or she is willing to achieve whatever it is--and damn the naysayers.

The alternative is, to treat "the elderly" as an entire class of incapable semi-humans, and for Government to suck the tax dollars from the "younger generation" to pay for those of their advanced bloodline.

Perhaps "the elderly" need to be encouraged and offered jobs and situations that the "new generation"--sitting in air-conditioned PC cafes and playing "Starcraft" and "Force One"--are unwilling to take.

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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Black Zim Woman writes to me about Blacks, Whites & Asians by Jan Lamprecht

Now here is another brilliant email from a black woman in Zimbabwe.

I do very much appreciate it when black people are forthright and honest. It takes character, and I appreciate that. If there were more people with this kind of attitude, then I would indeed have hope for multiracial societies in Africa.

I can't disagree with this woman's comments and observations. She sets me straight on some issues, and I have no problem with that.

There is a lot of information in this, which is well worth reading. And there are some excellent observations, like for example, that Mugabe needed to break the black electorate (i.e. the Black Farm workers, who were living on White-owned farms, who were against Mugabe). This is very true. The influence of the White people on the black voters, was threatening to destroy Robert Mugabe. There is no question about this. That was the real motivating force behind the so-called "Land Reform" nonsense.

Let me explain this a little bit more. Nobody truly believes or trusts Black African leaders, and that includes the black people who live under them!! This may sound strange, but it is completely true, and you are going to see some strange things here in Africa which completely defy Liberal logic and Liberal predictions.

I have a little theory of my own that black Africans could team up with WHITE CONSERVATIVES (normally referred to as "racists" by the rest of the world), and that they could end up forming quite a formidable force in the decades to come. This kind of partnership is what created the British, French and German Empires in the past, and I think the same type of partnership could work again - except that this time, it does not need to be driven from London, because there are lots of Whites here who are "native" to Africa.

White people in Africa have a long tradition of being quite blunt and downright honest. Our method of dealing with black people is VERY DIFFERENT - indeed, quite the opposite - of the Liberal mindset in the West these days. People might be shocked by this, and may struggle to understand this. But we white people in Africa are quite honest, and this honesty is one of our biggest secrets. It has enabled us to survive on a continent where dishonesty is common. Indeed, our honesty is the reason why we ended up leading large numbers of black people - because in the end, with their divisions, historical hatreds, etc - they ended up TRUSTING us more than they trusted their own kind. This, along with our skills, and our leadership capabilities, is how we took over this entire continent in the first place. In Africa, everybody knew that you could TRUST a white man. And TRUST is the reason we came to be the law-makers, the arbitraters, etc.

A strange thing is happening. History is starting to repeat itself. The new breed of black leaders, most of whom are socialists, have been quick to lie at the drop of a hat, about just about everything. Now the black people have progressively been losing faith in their own leaders.

The biggest danger facing Black African leaders is that due to their own propensity for lying, that they will discredit themselves, not only on the world stage - before the entire planet's audience - but even in their own countries. Despite censorship and media manipulation, Black people here are seeing, more and more, that the "original lie" about White people being bad for them, is complete nonsense, and that the statements and opinions of the "Colonialists" have a value which lasts much longer than the political careers of their newly elected officials.

For me, these are signs of hope.

White people in Africa are different to White people who come here from Europe and America. The Whites from Europe and America are here to protect their economic interests, whereas the Whites from Africa actually care about the long-term future of Africa - which is the same thing the Blacks here will also be caring about. So in the end, Blacks and Whites from Africa itself, have a common interest. And as history has shown, Whites from Africa have often, in the past, told the world where to get off. We paid the price for doing that - but we did do it. And its something we need more of.

America only cares about access to cheap raw materials (bought from anyone including Dictators and communists), whereas those of us who live here actually care about the viability of our society, and the quality of life here.

Sadly, due to a screw-up on my part, the formatting of the original email is lost, and the paragraphs are not as they were when they were sent to me. But have a read of Patience's email below. This is as direct, honest and observant as it can possibly be.

The only thing I would like to see, is Robert Mugabe's filthy Zanu(PF) being SHOT OUT OF ZIMBABWE. I'd like to see those bastards running for their lives. My own personal view is that they should be executed for what they did to that country and its people. And their families and cronies should be stripped of the enormous wealth which they stole.

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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ANCHORAGE'S PRO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RALLY by William Topel

(Anchorage, Alaska) The largest city in Alaska had its own pro-illegal immigrant rally on May 1, the traditional Socialist holiday. Advertised as a "Peace Rally", the demonstration was to start at 5 PM while the gusty winds kept the 50 degree Fahrenheit temperature cooler than the sunny day would have been otherwise. The protestors were small in numbers initially but grew to between 250-300 by the 7 PM closing, by this reporter's estimate.

On Anchorage's Park Strip underneath the U.S. Flag dedicated to military veterans, small white signs in English & Spanish were prevalent. "Si Se Puede" ("Yes We Can") was the most prominent, along with "Yes to the Dream Act", referring to proposed Senate bills authorizing amnesty & an expanded guest worker program to illegal immigrants, & "No to H.R. 4437", referring to the House bill that passed in April. An American Friends Service Committee (Quaker) poster was paraded by a scheduled speaker.

There were mostly American flags present but a larger Mexican flag could be spotted. The crowd was about 1/3 children & teenagers shouting "Si Se Puede" all during the rally.

Local TV channels KTUU 2 (NBC affiliate) & KTVA 11 (CBS affilate) were visible with their video cameras and a reporter for Anchorage's only daily newspaper was taking notes.

Before the speakers began, event organizer Daniel Esparza told a Democratic Party volunteer to take down his large Alaska Democratic Party banner he was erecting next to a Voter Registration table.

The speakers began at 6:05 PM with Master of Ceremonies (M.C.) Angelina Estrada-Burney of the Hispanic Affairs Council of Alaska (HACA) greeting the crowd & ultimately leading the Pledge of Allegiance & the National Anthem, all in English.

The next speakers were Norma Lucero, also of HACA, and Lee Stephan, CEO of the Eklutna Village Corp. The latter remarked, "Treat everybody with dignity & respect or go back where you came from," referring to all immigrants whocame to North America to live with indigenous native peoples.

The invocation was given by father Don Bramble of the Holy Family (Catholic) Cathedral. He was followed by Robin Bronen, an immigration attorney, who said they were seeking "fairness for undocumented youth & farm workers, too." She wants "no militarized borders" and "no city or state police to enforce immigration laws." She demanded Congress" heed our pleas for equitable inclusion into our society."

Mara Kimball, also an immigration lawyer & wife of Ethan Berkowitz, liberal Democratic state legislator, read prepared remarks by her husband who was absent campaigning for Governor.

Marvin Jones, President of the Hotel & Restaurant Union Local 878 spoke. Then Simon Hernandez sang a mariachi song is Spanish. Father Jose Sanchez-Salcedo, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (Catholic), followed with remarks only in Spanish.

Two unlisted "members of the community" also spoke. Ugo Flores said, "No son criminales" ("we are not criminals") & Maria Soto gave their remarks only in Spanish.

Before introducing the closing speaker, the M.C. said they counted 1,000 attendees, which garnered a loud applause. Daniel Esparza gave his closing remarks in Spanish.

When asked if he was pleased with the attendance of the rally, organizer Esparza answered, "Very happy. We expected 600 people. It's beautiful."

Two anti-illegal immigration protestors were visible with their signs. One of them was a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a volunteer border patrol group that monitors illegal border crossings. With Alaska's 600,000 population it's estimated there are between 5,000-6,000 illegal immigrants.

After the final speaker, the protestors marched around the sidewalk that borders the grassy Park Strip section, shouting,"Si Se Puede".

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Original Investigative Journalism from the
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