“Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who cut short his trip to Central America and Mexico in the wake of the May Day clash between Los Angeles police and protesters, is scheduled to speak this afternoon about the matter, into which the FBI has opened an inquiry. The mayor, speaking to reporters Thursday in Mexico City on a stop during a trade mission, said he would welcome the FBI’s investigation into the violence at the end of mostly peaceful immigrant rights marches and rallies. The mayor, who was seeking to stimulate trade and encourage international cooperation in fighting street gangs, announced late Thursday night that he was flying back to Los Angeles today”

“Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will travel Tuesday to El Salvador and Mexico to discuss ways to boost trade and stem the rising wave of gang members who illegally enter the United States. Villaraigosa will meet with business leaders, elected officials and law enforcement officials from both nations during the four-city trip, according to Villaraigosa’s office. He is scheduled to return to Los Angeles on May 9. Villaraigosa will also speak with executives from airlines based in Mexico and El Salvador to chart out new routes that will involve all of the facilities operated by the city agency that oversees Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Palmdale Regional and Van Nuys airports. Villaraigosa is also expected to discuss clean air initiatives with port officials in both nations. Villaraigosa’s trip will begin with a two-day stop in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador, where he and Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton will meet with President Elias Antonio Saca to discuss trade and transnational gang violence. El Salvador, with a population of 6.8 million, logged an average of 10 homicides a day in 2006, about 70 percent of which were committed by gang members, according to the FBI. In February, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Saca announced a joint cross-border effort to combat Los Angeles-based Mara Salvatrucha and other street gangs. Villaraigosa will travel on Thursday to Mexico City, where he will meet with President Felipe Calderon and business leaders to discuss investment and business opportunities in Los Angeles. Villaraigosa will then stop in Guadalajara on May 8 and conclude his trip the following day in Leon, according to the mayor’s office.”

“Armenians and their supporters gathered on the streets of Hollywood today to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of one of the first acts of genocide in the 20th century. ‘We are recalling the attack on the night of April 24, 1915, when, in Istanbul, the leaders of the Armenian community were executed,’ Haig Hovsepian, community relations director for Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, said this afternoon. Hovsepian described the act as the beginning of years of violence against the Armenian community by Turks. An estimated 1.2 million were killed between 1915 and 1918, the last days of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Turkey maintains that the deaths were not sanctioned by the government and disputes that a genocide took place. Even though the violence took place early in the past century, its commemoration has continued to be laden with political overtones. Los Angeles police estimated that the crowd along Fairfax Avenue at about 1,000 protesters, but Hovsepian said he thought it was double or triple that number this afternoon and growing as the demonstration neared the Turkish Consulate in Hollywood. Thousands also marched earlier in the day. The demonstrations were peaceful with no arrests or traffic disruption, said LAPD spokeswoman Officer Karen Smith.”

“International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz is leading a trade mission to the United States which begins Monday and will end on April 17. The trade mission will be going to Miami in Florida, Minneapolis in Minnesota, and San Jose in California, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said in statement. The mission comprises 25 representatives from the private sector, state governments, the ministry, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade). They will seek to promote investment and activities in food processing, biotechnology, information and communications technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals, chemical and chemical products, transport equipment, telecommunications equipment, medical instruments and devices, and regional distribution centres and operational headquarters… The ministry said seminars on business opportunities will be held in the three cities and Rafidah will address the local business communities in Miami on April 10, in Minneapolis on April 12 and in San Jose on April 16.”

“Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, and five other California lawmakers are scheduled to be in France this week to take a look at the TGV (the French high-speed rail system) as the state considers building a 700-mile, high-speed rail system of its own… Also on the trip are Assembly members John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, Joe Coto, D-San Jose, Michael Duvall, R-Yorba Linda, and Bob Huff, R-City of Industry…

While Nuñez and his group are in France this week, five state senators are in Taiwan to consider opening an office to promote trade with California. Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said the trip will include stops in Taipei, the capital, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s second-largest city. He said visiting the cities will give lawmakers ‘an understanding of their ability to foster trade and enhance trade with California.’ In addition to Yee, the delegation includes Sens. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, Ron Calderon, D-Monterey Park, Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, and Denise Ducheny, D-Chula Vista.

Another five legislators are in Japan on a trip sponsored by the California Foundation for the Environment and the Economy. The San Francisco-based group finances annual overseas trips for legislators that focus on a particular issue facing the state. The foundation’s board of directors includes representatives of oil and telecommunication companies, utilities, labor unions and environmentalists. Alex Traverso, a spokesman for Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Sherman Oaks, said Levine went on the trip to look at ‘new innovations in cell phones and broadband.’ Also on the trip are Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and Sens. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, and Jack Scott, D-Altadena…

Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, is the lone legislator on another European trip this week, one organized by the California Climate Action Registry. The nonprofit organization was created by the state to promote greenhouse gas reductions. Also on the trip are several Schwarzenegger administration officials, said James Lee, a spokesman for the California Environmental Protection Agency. Lee said the registry was covering costs. The eight-day trip includes meetings with Belgian, German and British officials to discuss their efforts to combat global warming.”

The Wall Street Journal covered the situation of Eric Volz on their front cover on Monday. Mr. Volz had been a student of Latin American studies at the University of California, San Diego, when he moved to San Juan to pursue a dream of starting a bilingual magazine. Something went horribly wrong with his dream, however, as he was charged with the murder and rape of his girlfriend and given a sentence of 30 years after an obviously grossly unfair show trial complete with anti-American mobs outside the court room:

In Nicaragua, the Volz case became a tabloid sensation with headlines cheering the near lynching of the Gringo. There were declarative statements from prosecutor Peña labeling Volz’s alibi as false, as well as misrepresenting evidence, demands for “justice,” cries to not let the Gringo buy his way out… On the day before Eric’s preliminary hearing, announcements were made via loud speakers throughout the streets of San Juan encouraging San Juan residents to attend the hearing so they can “Stand up for their rights and bring justice to the gringo. An angry mob, numbering in the hundreds and wielding machetes and clubs, waited outside the courthouse chanting, “Send out the gringo, we’ll kill him!”

There was strong evidence that Mr. Volz wasn’t even San Juan at the time of the crime but was in Managua over two hours away. Judge Ivette Toruño Blanco, however, threw out all the defense evidence, which included testimony of multiple alibi witnesses, cell phone and computer records, signed credit vouchers, and more. Two other men – native Nicaraguans – had also been arrested and charged with the murder and rape but the first judge to hear the case dropped all charges against the two Nicaraguan defendants. The only testimony allowed was from one of the men who had also been accused of the murder and this was used as the sole basis of the conviction. The family of Mr. Volz, with assistance of the State Department, is now trying to arrange an appeal in another city where it is hoped there will be less bigotry towards Americans and the actual facts of the case can be considered.

“Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem is now in the US for his official visit, until March 18. His first step was San Francisco, California on March 10, where Khiem worked with heads of several universities and colleges of California, the mayor of Berkeley city, the Managing Director of the Bay Area World Trade Centre, CEO of the United Commercial Bank Thomas Wu, overseas Vietnamese in California, and the staff of the General Consulate of Vietnam. Meeting with over 250 overseas Vietnamese in California, Khiem said the Vietnamese Party and Government considered overseas Vietnamese an important part of the Vietnamese community.”

Governor Schwarzenegger has issued this statement praising Prime Minister Tony Blair for the introduction of legislation in Great Britain to reduce greenhouse gases. California and the United Kingdom signed an agreement- some might even call it a treaty- to cooperate in the fight against global warming. The Governor credited Blair with being the inspiration behind California’s Global Warming Solutions act:

I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Tony Blair for taking this historic step to do in Great Britain at the national level what California is doing at the state level. The Prime Minister has been an inspiration to California as we have taken our own historic steps to fight greenhouse gases with the Global Warming Solutions Act. His leadership has shown us that we can protect the environment without harming the economy. Great Britain has already successfully reduced its greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels while at the same time growing their economy by 38 percent.

California’s economy stands to greatly benefit from the wave of new businesses and jobs created by the emerging technologies and different approaches to fighting climate change. By harnessing market forces, we will reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. And by 2050, we will reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels.

California is proudly partnering with Great Britain to fight climate change and I look forward to advancing our efforts and linking our regional trading schemes so we can create a global carbon market.

Last July, Prime Minister Blair and I took the unprecedented step of signing an agreement between California and the United Kingdom to create an international partnership to fight against global warming. Our agreement includes efforts to evaluate and implement market-based mechanisms to spur innovation, deepen our understanding of the economics of climate change, collaborate on technology research and enhance linkages between our scientific communities.

Assemblyman Van Tran has gone to Japan to meet with high-ranking government officials and discuss trade relations, according to the Newport Beach Daily Pilot:

Tran was specially invited by the Japanese foreign ministry and left Tuesday for a five-day trip ‘Basically this is a long-standing invitation that’s gone on for about a year now,’ Tran said by phone Tuesday before leaving. He planned to meet with Japan’s ministers of justice, science and technology, and also with corporate officials from Panasonic, Honda and Kikkoman. Tran said his goal for the trip is “to basically promote trade and have discussions to build better relations between the people of Japan and California.

“The 21st anniversary of the sister city designation between San Jose, California, and Dublin, Ireland, began today with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed hosting a celebratory kick-off welcome breakfast for the Dublin Lord Mayor Vincent Jackson and members of the San Jose and Dublin Sister City Delegations… ‘San Jose’s sister city connection with Dublin is a powerful model for others to follow. Over its 21-year existence, both San Jose and Dublin have benefited from sharing civic, business and economic development best practices. At the same time, we have built a two-way cross-cultural exchange that has paved the way for strong friendships and long-term, productive relationships,’ said Reed… ‘The sister city mission is about working to build cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. To this last point, we want to help both Irish and U.S. companies grow and sustain positions in the global marketplace by strengthening relationships and continually building our business networks that will benefit companies on both continents,’ said Shane Patrick Connolly, president of the San Jose & Dublin Sister City Program. According to Paul Krutko, chief development officer, City of San Jose, there are more than 35 Silicon Valley companies with an Irish presence, including Adobe, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, eBay, Flextronics, IBM, Quantum and Xilinx. “

“The Chevron Company is interested in participating in the Burgas – Alexandropoulos petrol pipeline. This became clear after the yesterday meeting between Rumen Ovcharov, Minister of Economy and Energy, and the company’s Vice President John McDonald, the press office of the Ministry of Economy and Energy announced. During his working visit in the USA Minister Ovcharov had a series of meetings with government bodies, non-government and financial organizations in the capital of California, Sacramento and the Silicon Valley. The chance for a bilateral memorandum between the Commission for Energy of California State and the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy had been discussed at a meeting with James Boyd, Energy Commissioner… In Cisco headquarters Minister Ovcharov met Robert Loyd, Senior Vice President for North America, Hilton Romanski, Investment Director, Laura Ipsen, Vice President Government Affairs. They made the Bulgarian minister aquainted with their plans the company to set up a fund, which would finance small and medium companies in the IT sector in Central and Eastern Europe.”

“A super majority of 88 percent of Bay Area residents feel that ‘all in all’ greater business, personal and cultural connections between the Bay Area and other countries is a good thing, according to the 2007 Bay Area Council Poll of 600 residents released today. Further, 74 percent of residents think their local, state and federal elected representatives should work to encourage greater Bay Area trade and business ties with other countries… ‘These results are astonishing for at least two reasons,’ said Jim Wunderman the president and CEO of the Bay Area Council. ‘First, in the Bay Area where its hard to find agreement on any issue, residents almost unanimously favor greater trade rather than protectionist barriers to trade. Second, just a few years ago the Bay Area seemed to be caught in a great panic over outsourcing and enmity towards international business ties. That fear has vanished. Clearly, the Bay Area residents now recognize our region as a hub of the global economy’. “

“Torture treatment centers across the state are joining to raise awareness about torture survivors living in California. The campaign starts today and will culminate on June 26, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The U.S. government estimates that 500,000 torture survivors live in the United States. University of the Pacific’s School of International Studies in Stockton, Calif. is in the process of developing baseline population data for torture survivors in California. The research will be conducted under the supervision of Professor Jean-Marie Stratigos, a former United Nations humanitarian affairs officer. ‘Survivors are a hidden population in our state and many obstacles prevent them from receiving adequate healthcare,” said Kathi Anderson, executive director of Survivors of Torture, International. “We hope that this campaign will build knowledge among both medical professionals and the general public’. “

“North Korea’s top nuclear negotiator may visit San Francisco to meet nongovernmental groups and then go to New York for talks with his U.S. counterpart, the U.S. State Department said Monday. Responding to media reports of a possible visit by Kim Kye-gwan to the United States, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters: ‘I think that he has some meetings, potentially, with some NGOs out there in San Francisco’. “

“Korean American community leaders who met with a top official at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles on Friday said they were disgusted by anti-Semitic depictions in a comic book by a popular South Korean author and vowed to mobilize community resources to launch a protest against the publisher. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center, met with the group and said he would visit Seoul on March 15 to raise concerns about the comic book. He said its publisher has an obligation to pull the book from the market and replace it with one that depicts Jews accurately. The controversial book, written by Lee Won-bok, a South Korean university professor, is one in his series designed to teach youngsters about other countries in a comic book format. The series, “Distant Countries and Neighboring Countries” in English translation, has sold more than 10 million copies, Cooper said. The images ‘echo classic Nazi canards like those found in [Nazi newspaper] Der Sturmer and ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ by recycling various Jewish conspiracies, like Jewish control of the media and money, Jews profiting from war, and even the reason for the 9/11 attacks,’ Cooper said.”

“Greece’s ambassador to the United States, veteran diplomat Alexandros Mallias, concluded a nearly week-long tour of Arizona and California this past week, where he was received by.., Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, among others. In California, the Greek envoy appeared at several public events and held meetings with, among others, the LA Times’ editorial board, the leadership of the Rand Corp. and the J. Paul Getty Museum. He also served as the guest speaker at an event hosted by the west coast office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC)…. Mallias spoke at events held at the USC Center of Public Diplomacy, the University of San Diego’s School of International Relations and the University of Santa Barbara’s World Affairs Council, along with providing interviews to a handful of Southern California media outlets and holding contacts with local Greek-American community representatives.”

“In protest against the continuing violence in Darfur, Los Angeles will withdraw $27 million from pension funds with companies that deal with the Sudanese government. ‘The city of Los Angeles is adding its voice to the international outcry over the genocide in Darfur,’ said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a statement after announcing the city’s intention to divest. ‘We must stand for freedom and basic human rights for all, and we must do everything possible to stop the killing in Darfur,’ the mayor said. Violence in Darfur, which Congress has unanimously declared to be genocide, has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced around 2.5 million people since fighting broke out in the region in 2003. The Sudanese government has been accused of providing money and assistance to militia groups carrying out the violence and participating in joint attacks.”

New American Media has reported that the Indian Consulate in San Francisco is in damage control following a San Francisco Chronicle report revealing that that piles of visa applications containing personal information were found in a recycling center with open public access. The report said the boxes contained confidential paperwork for virtually everyone in California and other Western states who applied for visas to travel to India between 2002 and 2005.

NAM reports that news of the data dumping comes at a time when there is growing concern in the U.S. about identity theft, and concern in particular about data security in India following recent reports of data theft in outsourcing operations there.

Consul General B.S. Prakash, in his defense, said they didn’t consider the documents confidential, “We would see something as confidential if it has a Social Security number or a credit card number, not a passport number.” Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Ronen Sen, however, disagreed: “I am appalled,” he said “What has happened is inexcusable.” Calling the dumping of documents “totally unacceptable,” he assured that “immediate remedial measures had been taken,” and pledged that “it will never recur again.”

“Two Los Angeles-area groups are planning protests against a talk by former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Monday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and two performances in early February by the Israel Philharmonic at Disney Hall. A Los Angeles affiliate of the international Women in Black organization held one demonstration outside Disney Hall on Jan. 14 and plans a second one for 1 p.m. Sunday before the scheduled 2 p.m. L.A. Philharmonic performance of Schumann’s Second Symphony. Other protests will coincide with the Israel Philharmonic’s scheduled concerts Feb. 5 and 6. The group earlier had petitioned the L.A. Philharmonic to cancel the concert as part of its attempt to bring international pressure on Israel to change its policies toward Palestinians, including its occupation of Gaza. In a letter to WIB-LA, Deborah Borda, president of the L.A. Philharmonic Assn., rejected calls for a boycott of the Israeli orchestra. ‘We will never support the silencing of artists from any culture as a means of political action’, Borda wrote. ‘Whenever this unfortunate course of action has been pursued by governments and political entities, it is always to the detriment of society at large, and certainly the artists’. “

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has formally invited California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to visit Canada. Harper and Schwarzenegger met in December at the airport in Mexico, where they were both attending the inauguration of President Felipe Calderon. The governor told Harper he wanted to come to Canada on a trade mission and the prime minister “encouraged him to come,” said Genevieve Desjardins, spokeswoman for the prime minister.
The Vancouver Sun