Border Issues
4/28/2009 | Border Issues, Healthcare
World closer to swine flu pandemic
Reuters
A new virus has killed up to 149 people in Mexico and the World Health Organization moved closer on Monday to declaring it the first flu pandemic in 40 years as more people were infected in the United States and Europe. The WHO raised its pandemic alert level for the swine flu virus to phase 4, indicating a significantly increased risk of a pandemic, a global outbreak of a serious disease. ...Although the new flu strain has so far killed people only in Mexico, there were more than 40 confirmed cases in the United States, including 20 at a New York City school where eight cases were already identified. ...The swine flu is not caught from eating pig meat products, but several countries imposed import bans on pork from the United States. Stocks in companies such as airlines were also hit as investors worried about the impact on travel. Spain became the first country in Europe to confirm a case of swine flu when a man who returned from a trip to Mexico last week was found to have the virus. Texas health authorities confirmed a third case of swine flu at a school near the Mexican border and California said it now had 11 confirmed cases. The U.S. State Department and the European Union urged citizens to avoid non-essential travel Mexico and other areas affected by swine flu. ...Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the outbreak was now suspected of having killed 149 people and warned the number of cases would keep rising.
2/26/2009 | Border Issues, Gun Control
Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
ABC News
The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today. Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration. As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters. Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border. "I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum." Holder said at a news conference on the arrest of more than 700 people in a drug enforcement crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S. Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S.
8/6/2008 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration, Terrorism
US races to erect controversial steel fence on Mexican border
Breitbart.com
Just west of El Paso, near where Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in 1598, construction crews have completed a steel fence authorities say is a new model for border security. The five-meter (18-foot) tall fence has a mesh woven so tightly that feet and fingers cannot grab hold, but it still allows people to see through. Steel pylons are set close enough to stop a truck from bursting through, and two meters of reinforced concrete underground deters any tunneling. The structure is designed to push would-be illegal immigrants and drug smugglers out into the desert where they are more easily caught, said Border Patrol Agent Martin Hernandez. "Will it completely stop them from coming across? Of course not," Hernandez said. "Rest assured, there will eventually be holes in parts of the wall made by people trying to get in. But it buys us valuable time." The US Department of Homeland Security is racing to meet a December 31 deadline to raise 670 miles of steel fences and vehicle barriers along the 3,200 kilometer (2,000 mile) long southern border. About half has been completed, including this six kilometer (four mile) segment at New Mexico's Santa Teresa Port of Entry. But DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff faces a flurry of lawsuits by environmentalists and border communities that could stop construction cold. To meet his deadline, Chertoff is using sweeping authority Congress granted in 2005 to waive 36 federal laws protecting water, air quality, endangered animals, and native American sites.
Recommended Guests:
Zakariah Anani, Shoebat FoundationJoel Anderson, Assemblyman, California State AssemblyDavid Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCMajor Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyPaul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT PublicationsColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingPeter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological SeminaryJan Markell, President, Olive Tree MinistriesJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinKamal Saleem, Shoebat FoundationWalid Shoebat, President, Shoebat FoundationTimothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions7/15/2008 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration, Presidential Issues
McCain rejects Obama attack on immigration
Yahoo News
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain defended himself on Monday against charges from Democrat Barack Obama that he adopted a more aggressive stance against illegal immigration for political purposes. McCain's support among Hispanic Americans is lagging behind that of Obama, who has attracted many Hispanics who had supported Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Hispanics are a key constituency in the November 4 election and could make a difference in several battleground states.
Recommended Guests:
Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)David Bossie, President, Citizens UnitedDemos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of RepresentativesWilliam Devlin, National President, Redeem The VoteJessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle ForumJames Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLCSteve Elliott, President, Grassfire.orgJoseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDailyRick Green, President, Torch of Freedom FoundationColin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom RingDr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers MinistriesBishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian ChurchGary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation NetworkJoe Murray, Columnist, The BulletinGrover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)6/24/2008 | Environmental Issues, Governmental Control, Illegal Immigration, Border Issues
Next battle over border fence may be Texas
Yahoo News
McALLEN, Texas - A U.S. Supreme Court decision paving the way for a 670-mile federal fence along the U.S.-Mexico border drew swift criticism from environmentalists, who promised to make another legal stand in Texas. The justices' turned down a plea Monday to hear a lawsuit opposing a two-mile section of the fence in Arizona brought by the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife. The section of fence in question in that case has already been built and even if the court had taken the case, oral arguments would not have been heard until October. But Monday's decision could have the most immediate implications for Texas, where opposition has been most widespread and fence construction is expected to begin next month.
Recommended Guests:
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