U.S., MEXICO WORK TOWARD A NEW RELATIONSHIP

WASHINGTON -- The visit this week of Mexican President Felipe Calderon seems, at first, haunted by memories of the past. The U.S. Marines landing in Veracruz in 1914 and staying for seven months ... American troops "relieving" Mexico of Texas in 1848 and taking over what had been one-third of Mexico ... President George W. Bush sending troops to the border to stem illegal immigration ...

Those are only a few of the events that Mexicans have traditionally carried around like balls and chains in their sacks of memories of El Norte. That they don't do anything except fertilize resentment on both sides is a repetitious truth.

But what is new here is that the visit is not accompanied by these usual tiresome complaints. Some analysts are saying that there has been a "significant shift in Mexico's level of nationalism" (Roderic Camp, an expert on the Mexican military who teaches at Claremont McKenna College in California). Others, like the Mexican ambassador to Washington, Arturo Sarukhan, says that his government wants a "modern, objective relationship" between the two military establishments, the kind of military ties that exist between Germany and France.

Surprisingly, President Calderon's schedule has him paying his respects to American fighting men and women at Arlington Cemetery -- in which case, he would be the first Mexican president to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Two interesting items of history here, old and new: Arlington is the last resting place for many U.S. Marines who took part in that 1914 seizure of Veracruz, but ... it is also the last resting place for innumerable American Latinos who have fought in the American armed forces.

These public evocations of friendship and respect wouldn't mean much if the situations of the two countries had not changed, particularly in Mexico -- for peoples with injured psyches are incapable of relationships of equals.

But Mexico IS changing. Jorge Castaneda, Mexico's former foreign secretary and one of her most brilliant sons, wrote this week in The Washington Post that, despite everything, Mexico is slowly evolving into a middle-class country. This, he said, is the moment for the two countries to work to solve immigration problems in a larger context.

The U.S. needs Mexico, he wrote, "and Mexico needs the United States if it aspires to become a consolidated middle-class society, achieve needed economic growth, and provide security and the rule of law for citizens and visitors. ... Calderon's meeting with Obama could be the 'big idea' moment that starts us off."

The major development in pushing these ideas of change has of course been the drug war within Mexico and at the border, and the fact that President Calderon has challenged the drug traffickers so forthrightly. He has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers across the country to aid police forces that have been heavily infiltrated by the organized cartels that moved from Colombia when it got too hot for them there. Calderon's approach has been praised as both heroic and tragic, with 23,000 people killed by the cartels in the last three years.

President Calderon believes that Mexico is winning this vicious war, which has claimed both personal friends and candidates from his center-right National Action Party (PAN). He has bravely said that "the only battle in which we are not advancing well is the battle of perception." But the problem of guns for the cartels being supplied from the American side of the border, as well as the historical and ongoing corruption of Mexico's federal and regular police, leaves the question of winning or losing unresolved.

More and more, the two countries' militaries are working together and liking one another. Analysts say the drug war has transformed the Mexican military's perception of its real threat as an external one from the United States, to a threat from the drug cartels, and thus from within. This has led to frequent visits between senior American and Mexican military officials, the exchange of intelligence, and even naval military exercises with the two nations' forces.

The U.S. has provided $1.3 billion for equipment and training over the last three years for the Mexican military (the Merida Initiative), and more is called for in 2011. Astonishingly, large minorities within Mexico are even expressing support in polls for the presence of U.S. or United Nations troops in their country -- something never dreamed of before.

Mexico still has a long way to go, what with the ongoing corruption and the self-isolation of the elites from national problems and national progress, but there is certainly more hope than ever before. Perhaps Mexico really is really growing up.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucgg/usmexicoworktowardanewrelationship;_ylt=Ah_O0EV2mAiBBVIYCXkbFnVzfNdF

Exercise as meditation: Five techniques for success

There is a stereotypical image that meditation can only be performed sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, and without movement.

Proper breathing is the common denominator in both exercise and meditation. While meditation is all about the breath, these same breathing techniques can be applied to enhance your exercise routine.

When physically active, the muscles warm up, the blood moves more freely and endorphins kick in and make us feel more awake and alive.

Applying these yoga breathing techniques during exercise will help to reduce tension and negative thought processes, which open the mind to new ideas and paths to problem solving.

• Breathing - The flow of energy begins with the breath. Visualize breathing in fresh ideas with fresh air. Exhaling and sweating release toxins and can be utilized to reduce ill will and stress. With each exhale visualize negativity leaving your body. Take yourself to another level of consciousness and let go of the day’s activities by focusing on the breath while you exercise. In this way you can be present with your training and achieve your fitness goals.

• Release - When we feel tension in our muscles we are holding onto something that we don’t want to release. Direct your breath to areas of tension and with your exhale, feel the release of energy. Exercise is known to physically release pent up stress and negative energy and can help us to see things in a different light. Training is about cellular memory, teaching the muscles a certain response in a particular situation. Use positive thinking; it is a powerful training technique.

• Realization - Letting thoughts flow through the mind without controlling them is a form of meditation. Often, we don’t realize what is causing stress or how we are holding onto it. When we exercise, we change our environment, which allows our thoughts to flow more freely and can result in a fresh perspective. This level of awareness helps to distinguish between the answer you may be searching for versus thoughts that may be of no use.

• Focus - Realization brings clarity to our thoughts and helps us to focus to what we are hoping to achieve. Visualization is a strong training tool used by all competitors, not just athletes. Most successful people, whether artists, business executives or well-known personalities were able to ‘see’ what they wanted and found the path they needed to succeed. Whether it’s an upcoming race or a big project at work, being able to visualize the desired outcome strengthens us and brings success.

• Success - Even struggling through a long distance run is a positive experience. Each opportunity teaches the body how to respond during tough times and can make you physically and mentally stronger. Repetitive behavior, from physical movement to mental processing, creates muscle memory to recall for future performances. With these techniques you are reinforcing positive training. The next time you find yourself struggling, your mind will kick in and say, “I’ve been here before, I know what to do, and I will succeed.”

The culmination of meditative work is success. We all succumb to the power of suggestion. Own that power by incorporating positive exercise and training techniques in your daily routine.

Angela Ewari, owner of Running Yogini, is a certified running coach and yoga trainer in Denver, Colorado. Follow Angela on Twitter: http://twitter.com/running_yogini

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecomii_healthy_living/103/exercise-as-meditation-five-techniques-for-success.html;_ylt=AgcNZoDbQEpz9DR1MP4BvkBzfNdF

U.S., Egypt strive for Mideast nuclear arms ban deal

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States and Egypt are working to bridge differences on a proposed Middle East nuclear arms ban, an idea that could one day force Israel to scrap any atom bombs it has, U.N. diplomats say.

The U.S. efforts to secure a deal with Egypt and other Arab countries reflect Washington's concern to win their backing for sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program by offering a concession over U.S. ally Israel, even though Washington says such a ban is impossible without peace in the Middle East.

Western diplomats say that the success or failure of a month-long meeting on the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) currently under way in New York hinges on the sensitive negotiations on an Egyptian proposal to hold a conference on establishing a zone free of nuclear arms in the Middle East.

"If we can't get a deal on the Middle East in the next few days, the NPT review conference will probably collapse," a Western diplomat told Reuters. "It's what happened in 2005."

Another Western diplomat familiar with the talks was guardedly optimistic. Despite the appearance of a chasm separating the Arabs from the United States and the four other permanent U.N. Security Council members, "informal conversations indicate the sides are not in reality too far apart," he said.

"The next few days will be critical," the envoy added.

NPT review conferences are held every five years to take stock of and assess compliance with the anti-nuclear arms pact. They make decisions by consensus, which makes it difficult to reach agreements, since all 189 NPT signatories have a veto.

The last review conference in 2005 was widely viewed as a failure. It collapsed due to Egypt's outrage at the failure to move forward on the Middle East nuclear-arms-free zone idea and developing nations' anger at the United States for refusing to reaffirm disarmament pledges from 2000.

Both Egypt and the United States are eager to avoid another collapse. Cairo does not want to be labeled as a spoiler again, while the United States wants an outcome that helps ratchet up the pressure on Iran and supports President Barack Obama's determination to move toward a world free of nuclear arms.

If there is no deal on the Middle East, envoys say, there can be no agreement on a final declaration that "names and shames" Iran and North Korea and acknowledges the disarmament steps the big powers have taken, which Washington and its allies want.

U.S. COUNTERPROPOSAL

The United States and the four other countries allowed to keep nuclear arms under the NPT -- fellow Security Council veto powers Britain, France, China and Russia -- have been negotiating with the Arabs on the sidelines of the NPT meeting, which concludes at the end of next week, to secure a deal.

Egypt, which chairs the powerful 118-nation bloc of non-aligned developing nations, circulated a proposal to all 189 NPT signatories calling for a conference by next year on ridding the Middle East of nuclear arms in which all countries in the region would participate.

Washington came up with a counterproposal, which calls for "the convening of a conference in 2012-2013 of all states of the Middle East to discuss implementation of the 1995 resolution in its entirety."

The 1995 resolution adopted by NPT signatories calls for making the Middle East a zone without atomic bombs or other weapons of mass destruction, and notes that the Middle East peace process could help to make it a reality.

Israel neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms.

Egypt has insisted that both Israel and Iran would have to participate in such a conference, even though Tehran does not recognize Israel's right to exist. Western diplomats agree, but say that Israel would be reluctant to participate.

Still, the Jewish state could be persuaded, they say.

"Israel will attend if the cost of not attending is higher than the cost of attending," a senior Western diplomat said.

Among the possible enticements for Israel would be to ensure that any such regional conference also covers biological and chemical weapons, not just nuclear arms, as well as regional security and other issues, Western diplomats said.

Like nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, Israel never signed the NPT and is not officially at the NPT review conference. Egypt and Syria are outside the chemical weapons convention that bans production, stockpiling and use of chemical arms.

Diplomats say the sticking points include the format for such a conference and the question of whether it should be organized by the United Nations, as the Arabs would like.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100521/pl_nm/us_nuclear_treaty_mideast;_ylt=AuHmyCz1wccFGEE9az0cfc1zfNdF

Fresh from France, Lohan comes home to legal woes

LOS ANGELES - Lindsay Lohan is coming home to a litany of legal woes after a few breezy days at the Cannes Film Festival, where she attended various events to promote her Linda Lovelace film and partied into the wee hours on the day she was supposed to be in court in Beverly Hills.

The 23-year-old actress was to be arrested upon her return to Los Angeles for missing a mandatory court hearing, but a judge recalled the warrant late Thursday after Lohan posted bail.

Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel set bail at $100,000, revoked Lohan's probation and imposed strict new conditions on the star, who was due in court for a progress report on her probation stemming from two arrests in 2007.

The judge ordered that Lohan be prohibited from drinking any alcohol, required to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet and submit to random weekly drug testing.

"If she wanted to be here, it looks to the court that she could have been here," Revel said, frustrated at Lohan's absence.

The actress, wearing short shorts and high heels, was partying on a yacht in the French Riviera until early Thursday morning, says celebrity photographer Phil Ramey, who posted the photos on his website tinselclown.com.

Lohan's attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said Lohan's passport was stolen while in Cannes and she was unable to return to Los Angeles in time for Thursday's hearing.

"She did, in fact, have airline tickets," Holley told the judge. She said Lohan would be back in the United States by Friday evening.

Lohan has been on probation since August 2007 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug charges and no contest to three driving charges. The plea came after a pair of high-profile arrests earlier that year.

Despite spending 84 minutes in jail and performing mandatory service at the county morgue, Lohan has struggled repeatedly with the terms of her sentence. In October, a judge extended her probation for another year but a prosecutor warned the actress she faced jail time if she violated her probation.

The extension was the third time Lohan escaped punishment after her alcohol-education program notified the court the actress had violated its rules. Two of the instances were described as misunderstandings; the third was chalked up to a busy work schedule.

Revel said Thursday there is probable cause to believe Lohan may have violated her probation. A formal hearing will be held to determine if Lohan is in compliance with the court's conditions. No date has been set.

In a video posted online on the celebrity website Hollywood.TV Monday, Lohan says she's "been in compliance more than ever" with the terms of her probation and could complete the required alcohol-education classes in "about two and a half weeks."

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Holley said that Lohan has completed 10 of the 13 required alcohol-education classes. She said the actress went to Cannes to promote a film, adding, "It's her job."

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/fresh-from-france-lohan-comes-home-to-legal-woes/41170;_ylt=AkkpVvCuxlgGAko0A9B4iyZzfNdF

Rodent scurries by as Obama lauds Wall Street vote

WASHINGTON – In the midst of his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Barack Obama was nearly upstaged by a rodent. Obama had just begun a Rose Garden statement lauding the end of a Senate filibuster on his financial overhaul when some kind of rodent dashed out of the bushes to his right, just outside the Oval Office.

As photographers snapped away in the sun-drenched garden, the critter scurried straight past the gray podium with the presidential seal and made a bee-line for another set of bushes to Obama's left.

It's not clear if the president could even see the streaker, but he didn't show any reaction. And he concluded his statement minutes later, returning to his office without answering a few shouted questions on other topics.

Once he was safely inside the Oval Office, a fierce debate erupted among the photographers and reporters who'd witnessed the dash. Was it a rat or a mouse? Or maybe a mole, or some other kind of related creature.

Before long, experts had joined the fray.

"I would partially rule out rat," said Russell Link, a wildlife biologist who works for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. "That's due to the lack of a tail that is typically equal to body length."

After viewing a photograph of the surprising scurry, Link said, "My suspicion is it's a vole, commonly called a 'meadow mouse' out our way."

In fact, this wasn't the first time a rodent's been spied in the White House, or even the Rose Garden.

Just last week, as camera crews set up for an Obama statement on the Gulf oil spill, what's believed to have been the same rodent made a dash across the famous garden.

The press work areas behind the White House briefing room have had at least one rat sighting, though that was before a multimillion-dollar rehab project finished by the Bush administration.

Moreover, rodents of all kinds are pretty common in Washington. From time to time, city officials issue alarms about surges in the rat population when residents put out extra-big summer piles of garbage.

Washington is, after all built, along a river, on what used to be a malarial swamp.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_rodent;_ylt=Ag0cVElQgm1Q74FiZ_NWjSRzfNdF

Bill Clinton brings down the house in Vancouver

The 42nd president ranged over topics, from rebuilding Haiti's coffee and mango plantations to raising per capita income in Rwanda, to the "rigidity" that kept America from reforming health care for so long. Clinton was, at times, scathing about his own country's political climate. He did note that Americans have made great strides overcoming racial prejudice and homophobia, but quipped "now we're just prejudice against anyone who disagrees with us."

Noting the recession in states on the East Coast, he mocked Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell for choosing to celebrate "the glories of Virginia during the Civil War" and not to recognize that they had slaves. The governor recently proclaimed Confederate Month in the Old Dominion. He joked about state legislatures passing laws allowing people to pack loaded guns into restaurants and Starbucks coffee outlets.

He decried China's human rights record, but noted that populous China and India are forcefully "in the future business."

"I'm embarrassed by the fact that the Chinese spent twice as much last year on solar and wind energy as we did."

Clinton is a man unable to stay still, even having spent eight years in the White House. Had it not been for the constitutional limit to two terms, "they would have had to defeat me or carry me out in a pine box."

Clinton has, in the past six days, helped Democrats hold a Pennsylvania House seat, delivered a commencement speech at West Virginia University and lectured for profit in Calgary and Vancouver.

Clinton was hosted Thursday night by the Vancouver Board of Trade as part of his RIX Center for Engaged Leadership & Corporate Citizenship.

The Board of Trade last hosted Clinton in 2007. About 1,400 people showed up to hear him Thursday night. Members paid $399 (gold level), $299 (silver level) and $199 (bronze level) in Canadian dollars to see him - plus Canada's 5 percent goods and services tax. Students could get in for $99.

"He knows so much about so many subjects," said Carole Taylor, former chairman of the CBC and the event's emcee. Asked about Clinton's affinity for Vancouver, she added "it's a compliment to us."

Clinton first ducked north in 1991, after attending a governor's conference in Seattle. He hosted a summit with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1993, returned for an Asia-Pacific in 1997, and was shaking hands down on Granville Street and collecting a lofty honorarium within months of leaving office.

In his talk Thursday, Clinton spoke of two obstacles to change in the world, "rigidity" on the part of developed nations and the lack of capacity with such country's as earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

He hit hard at global warming, declaring "the whole energy model we got rich on is not sustainable because of climate change."

He noted the lack of agreement at last winter's Copenhagen climate summit. Why? Because people involved were not convinced you could reduce greenhouse gases and grow your economy. He talked about rigidity on health care, saying "who in his right mind would pay 17 percent of national income for 84 percent coverage, when our Canadian friends pay 10.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product to cover 100 percent?"

Clinton discussed in detail problems in Haiti. He talked about getting people living in tents ready for the winds of the hurricane season, and trying to implement a development plan in a country that lost 17 percent of its public employees in the earthquake.

He wants Haiti to emerge as a "wireless country," that is energy independent and on the way to full recovery within three to five years. "When it's done they should be pretty close to running their own country."

Clinton is visibly greyer, abit thinner, and can ramble. He appeared about a half-hour late - early by Clinton standards - spoke for 47 minutes and then sat on stage answering questions. There's one other reason why Clinton loves British Columbia.

A major donation to his foundation is local entrepreneur Frank Giustra, founder of a movie production company and active in the mining business. He was in Thursday's audience, and was even used as a prop by Clinton. "You don't have to be as successful or our Mexican partner (billionaire) Carlos Slim for you to want to make a difference," he told the audience.

It was not Bill Clinton's standing ovation in Vancouver, and it certainly won't be the last.

http://www.seattlepi.com/connelly/420400_joel21.html?source=ybuzz

Sarah Palin: Every state should have immigration law like Arizona

Sarah Palin not only thinks Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law is a great idea, she thinks everyone should do it.

The ex-Alaskan governor wants to see other states along the Mexican border adopt similar laws.

"Every other state on the border should emulate what Arizona has done," Palin said during an interview on Fox News Business.

"Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, has taken it upon herself and the state government to do what the feds should have been doing all along," she said. "Yes, other states should do what Arizona is doing."

Several states, including Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Maryland and Colorado, are already considering tougher illegal immigration laws in the wake of Arizona's efforts. However, fellow Mexico border states New Mexico, California and Texas have been less willing to adopt similar policies.

Each of those states fear alienating their Hispanic communities, which are deeply ingrained in the state cultures, and in the case of New Mexico, is much larger than in Arizona.

Although it doesn't take effect until July 29, the controversial immigration law passed recently by Arizona has deeply divided the nation, with politicians and activists speaking out in droves to either slam, or support, the effort.

Several cities and states have formally boycotted Arizona, arguing that the law - which strictly states race cannot be used as a factor for questioning a suspected illegal immigrant - would still lead to racial profiling.

msheridan@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/05/20/2010-05-20_sarah_palin_every_state_should_have_immigration_law_like_arizona.html#ixzz0oZ8yEHWK


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