The de facto government of Honduras

The de facto government of Honduras has said that plans for Manuel Zelaya, the country's deposed president, to leave the Honduran capital for Mexico have been put on hold.
Sources had said on Wednesday that Zelaya, who has sheltered at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since returning from exile in September, was due to head to Mexico within hours.
But Carlos Lopez, Honduras's foreign minister, told Honduran television that the plan had been "aborted under current circumstances".
Milton Mateo, a spokesman for the Honduran foreign ministry, had earlier said that Mexico had asked for a safe-conduct pass for Zelaya, and that the pass had been signed off.
Security forces alerted
Craig Mauro, an Al Jazeera correspondent who has reported on the politicial events in Honduras, said: "There was a lot of activity around the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa where Zelaya has taken refuge for the last couple of months.
"There were reports that the number of security forces there have been doubled, and that Zelaya would be leaving to take asylum in Mexico," Mauro said from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"Since then there have been conflicting reports. Honduran aviation officials [said] that a plane is on the way from Mexico, and there [were] some reports from Mexico, quoting unnamed sources, that he has been granted asylum.
"Zelaya has just spoken to a Venezuelan television network and he has neither confirmed nor denied that he would be seeking asylum."
The de facto government, which has held power since Zelaya was deposed on June 28, wants Zelaya to take political asylum in another country, which would restrict his political activities.
However, Zelaya seeks a status that would allow him to campaign fully for his return, Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's president, said on Wednesday.
Political crisis
Zelaya has demanded his reinstatement since being ousted, but the country's congress voted against restoring him to power.
Fresh elections that were held last month saw Porfirio Lobo, a National Party politician, win the presidency.

Zelaya was forced into exile after the supreme court, congress and business leaders said he acted against the constitution and tried to illegally extend limits to his term in office. He has repeatedly denied this and pointed out that it would have been impossible to change the constitution before his term in office was complete. Divisions in the Central American nation remain wide even after the election, which Zelaya's supporters boycotted, and nations across the Americas are also at odds over whether to recognise the poll. "The US has said that it recognised the elections but that it was only a step forward, and that it wanted to national reconciliation," Mauro said. "Several countiries have followed the US' lead there, but there is also a bloc, led by Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, that refuses to recognise the elections and which is demanding that Zelaya be restored to the presidency [to serve out the rest of his term], no matter what." Lobo, who was defeated by Zelaya in the 2005 election, has pledged to form a unity government and seek dialogue. He is due to take office on January 27, when Zelaya's term officially ends.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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Colangelo: Skip worlds at your own peril

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo has a message for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the NBA stars leaning toward skipping the 2010 World Championships without an approved alibi: You’ve lost your guarantee for a roster spot at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

“There are no free passes to London,” Colangelo told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night. “There are no special rules for anyone. If someone decides to pass without a legit issue, they do it with an understanding of the risk.”
James publicly insisted Wednesday that “I’m probably not playing,” and his reasoning for sitting out the late-summer training camp and tournament – a busy schedule – doesn’t fall within the excused absences Colangelo has laid out. James hasn’t directly told Colangelo of his plans, but he joins Wade in publicly expressing doubt about playing in the World Championships in Turkey.

Two sources familiar with Wade’s plans say the Miami Heat star has already decided against playing for Team USA this summer. Colangelo has wanted to hold national team players to a revolving three-year commitment on the way to the Olympic Games. How can he still get his biggest stars to Turkey this summer?
Perhaps the shoes will help. Nike has a huge financial stake in USA Basketball, and James and Wade are two of the company’s most important pitchmen. The global stage is important for pushing product, and Colangelo isn’t fearful of exploiting this fact.
“The players are intelligent and they understand that some of this whole thing brands them in the international marketplace,” he said. “And maybe they’ll make some decisions based on the fact that certainly Nike has a big impact on them in terms of what their contract may or may not say about this.”
Free agency starts July 1, and the game’s biggest stars – James, Wade and the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh – will likely have resolution on where they will sign by the middle of the month.
With several other stars also destined for free agency, Colangelo had no expectation they would play and risk injury in the July minicamp in Las Vegas. Colangelo calls himself “flexible,” and says he’ll accept contract status, injury and pressing family matters as reasons for an excused absence.
Nevertheless, he wants all of Team USA to minimally show up for the July minicamp while free agency gets underway, and expects that once deals are signed all the players will attend the August training camp in New York. Team USA has a pool of 27 players to bolster the roster; it would most fear losing Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for the World Championships. Outside of him, the U.S. could be forced to go with Boston’s Kendrick Perkins to play center.
Team USA’s oldest and youngest stars – the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant – are committed to playing this summer. As one source said, “Kobe will probably take inventory on his body at the end of the season,” but he is planning to play. Durant nearly made the 2008 Olympic team as a 19-year-old rookie and promises to be an immense part of Team USA’s future. Durant will be a star among stars the moment he steps on the floor.
“He’s one of the best five, maybe six, players in the NBA already,” Colangelo said. “He’s a pretty good replacement for anyone.”
Durant is young and hungry, and Team USA can use him. The World Championships doesn’t inspire tremendous enthusiasm for the returning players who won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet Team USA lost to Greece in the World Championships’ medal round in 2006, a deflating defeat that stays with some of that team’s players.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

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Question Remains: What Makes Gillibrand Scary?

They appeared on the scene with blustery talk and bravado, dismissing her as weak, spineless and out of touch with New Yorkers. Replace her, they said, with me.

But one after another, each of them — the billionaire, the veteran politicians and the other ideological adversaries who boasted that they could take on Kirsten E. Gillibrand in a Senate race — was scared away, leaving their supporters to wonder: What is so frightening about Ms. Gillibrand?
After all, her poll numbers are unimpressive, and she has never been elected statewide. But the tough challenge that even her advisors expected this year has not materialized.
“I think Gillibrand either has mystical powers or the best luck I have ever seen in politics,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was initially skeptical of her. “It is amazing.”
Vito J. Lopez, the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, who has been open to someone challenging Ms. Gillibrand for the party nomination, sounded vexed after spending many hours meeting with Democrats seeking his endorsement to run against her, only to see them abandon the idea.
“It’s been extremely frustrating,” said Mr. Lopez, who has yet to endorse Ms. Gillibrand. “No one has told me directly why they dropped out.”
Even former Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., who denounced party elders who told him as he mulled a primary fight that it would not be good for Democrats, kept out of the race, basically mouthing the same message.
Ms. Gillibrand has been under siege almost from the moment she was appointed by Gov. David A. Paterson to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in January 2009. Initially, she faced the possibility of challenges from members of her own party, including the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer; Representative Steve Israel of Long Island; and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of Manhattan. But they all opted out.
“I really did feel like this was the one that got away,” said Joe Trippi, the political consultant who worked for Ms. Maloney. “I felt we could have won that seat.”
Several would-be Republican opponents have also stayed out, including former Gov. George E. Pataki and Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the real estate tycoon and publisher of The Daily News.
At this point, Ms. Gillibrand has only token Republican opposition: Bruce A. Blakeman, who dropped out of the New York mayoral race last year; David Malpass, a former economist at Bear Stearns who worked in the Reagan administration; and Joseph J. DioGuardi, a former member of the House.
What makes all the potential contenders ultimately duck the race is not clear. But this much is obvious: Running for Senate in New York is a big undertaking. It takes doggedness, a thick skin and a lot of money.
It has undoubtedly helped Ms. Gillibrand that her powerful allies, like the state’s senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, and President Obama, have helped ward off potential Democratic challengers.
But a more likely explanation is that Ms. Gillibrand possesses assets most of the aspiring senators lack. She has a legitimate geographic base, having represented an Albany-area Congressional district in a part of the state where her family is prominent. She has a network of donors, especially women, who are not going to abandon her. She has a commitment to working her tail off to keep the seat, a fact that even her political enemies grudgingly acknowledge.
And, perhaps most important, she has $5.1 million in her campaign account.
“She remains vulnerable to a surprising degree at this stage of the game,” said a senior Republican strategist who tried to recruit a top-tier candidate to run against her. “But the vulnerability that Gillibrand has is offset by her dominant cash position. That is what has made Democrats blink and it is what has made Republicans blink.”
An adviser to Ms. Gillibrand echoed that sentiment, saying that while she is politically vulnerable, no one who opposed her would come out of the race unscathed.
“She is weak, but she is no pushover,” said the adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be seen as publicly acknowledging her problems. “So there’s a lot to lose in running against her. Nobody is willing to take the risk.”
Mr. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, said he was impressed that Ms. Gillibrand was still standing after a long procession of potential challengers had vowed to topple her.
“Who’s the parakeet now?” he said, referring to an insult that Mr. Ford had directed at her.
“It was hers to fumble,” he continued, referring to the Senate seat. “A lot of people thought she would.”


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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27 Arrests At High-Rise Where Child Was Gang Raped

Police raided a New Jersey public housing complex Thursday where officials say a 7-year-old girl was gang raped, and arrested 27 people on outstanding warrants.

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer said the pre-dawn sweep of Rowan Towers was planned before the girl's attack. He said police hope the arrests will lead to tips that help them find those who assaulted the girl, otherwise the arrests were unrelated to the case.

"This is only the beginning," Palmer said. "We're not going to rest until that area is cleaned up so that decent people can live without the threat of fear and violence."

Police said the young victim's 15-year-old stepsister sold the girl to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a party in a vacant apartment.

According to police, the teen told her sister to "let the boys do what they want."

While the mayor says the arrests are unrelated, police hope they lead to tips that help them find the suspects.

The stepsister is charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. No other arrests directly related to the case have been made.

The encounters allegedly happened inside the Rowan Towers Apartments Sunday afternoon. The teen was said to have willingly engaged in sex with multiple men for cash herself.

"I think everyone, not just in Trenton, in New Jersey but across this nation and the world is shocked, outraged and horrified by the barbaric act of monster pervert rapists and what happened to an innocent angel," Mayor Doug Palmer said.

"They said they would kill her if she screamed. It's crazy," one resident said.

"We do believe that the 7-year-old was held against her will by the individuals, and that's when sexual assault took place," Trenton Police Department Capt. Joe Juniak said.

Police said they have DNA evidence, some surveillance video and leads but need to zero in on exactly who was in the apartment. They said they anticipate making multiple arrests of both juvenile and adult males.

Many of those arrested Thursday were women, who told The Associated Press the warrants were for minor infractions. Police did not immediately return calls for further details.

Residents said the assault was clearly at the forefront of police officers' agenda during the raid at the apartment building, a high-rise complex so dangerous that police are hired as security guards at night.

Tair Rivers, 27, said officers yelled, "What happened to the little girl?" as they arrested her and other women. Rivers was arrested for outstanding parking tickets, she said.

Rivers lives in 13-H, an apartment right across from 13-C where the party occurred. She said she was not home over the weekend but would not hesitate to tell police if she knew something.

"We all got kids," Rivers said. "If we knew something, we would tell."

Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party and say everyone in the apartment when the rape occurred could be legally culpable. There were security cameras at the complex and police said they were reviewing all available building surveillance videos.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

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Michael Steele's very bad week

The RNC says Michael Steele is ordering "substantive changes" to the Republican Party's accounting procedures in the wake of news that it spent nearly $2,000 at a bondage club in Hollywood.
But the damage control may be coming too late — not for Steele, whose job seems safe, but for the RNC itself.
The RNC's latest made-for-Jon Stewart sex-related slip-ups — combined with Steele's previous string of well-publicized gaffes and missteps — are threatening to damage the party's already lagging fundraising efforts. And that could limit the number of races Republicans win in what's otherwise shaping up to be a good year for the GOP.
“Raise more money, talk less,” said longtime GOP lobbyist Ed Rogers, voicing the sentiment of at-their-wits'-end Republican professionals. Steele "is in a fragile situation. He and his organization must be very sure-footed and quiet for the next few months.”
But the RNC suffered another blow Thursday, when POLITICO reported that one of the party's fundraising letters mistakenly directed would-be donors to call a telephone number belonging to a phone-sex operation.
Recognizing the damage they've suffered from the bondage-club story — and the need to mollify fretful donors, activists and operatives — RNC officials are reorganizing the way the party approves expenditures and are bringing in former RNC chief counsel Tom Josefiak to head the process.
Josefiak will work to tighten RNC spending while scrutinizing committee spending practices closely, according to New Jersey Republican Committeeman David Norcross, who spoke with Steele on Thursday afternoon.
Norcross said that Josefiak's mission is to crack down on the kind of accounting practices that allowed a nearly $2,000 expense at Voyeur to show up on the party’s fundraising disclosure form.
"That should have never happened," Norcross said. RNC spokesman Doug Heye confirmed Thursday night that the party was making changes in its "review and approval process" — "per Chairman Steele's direction."
But the most consequential development of the RNC’s unholy mess of a week didn’t involve leather or naughty talk but, rather, the sharply worded comments from one of the most prominent social conservative leaders in the party. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins used his regular newsletter to members to urge them to stop giving money to the national GOP.
"This latest incident is another indication to me the RNC is completely tone-deaf to the values and concerns of a large number of people they are seeking financial support from,” Perkins wrote.
Perkins’s comments won’t suddenly dry up fundraising from the party’s Christian conservative base. But by going public, he offers cover to other Republican leaders and activists to stop giving to the committee.
The RNC’s public relations fiascoes also make the party’s image-conscious politicians want to keep their distance from the committee — which in turn deprives the committee of fundraising draws.
A high-dollar reception slated to coincide with the Southern Republican Leadership Council’s meeting next week in New Orleans, for example, right now does not include any of the party’s biggest names. And the effort to lure contributors by highlighting “invited guests” on the invitation — a time-honored fundraising sleight of hand — blew up when Sarah Palin’s camp told POLITICO that they had twice asked the committee to remove her name.
Palin, probably the biggest fundraising "get" in GOP politics at the moment, “will not take part in any RNC fundraiser in New Orleans,” an aide said.
While many Republicans blame Steele for the party's fundraising struggles, few want to see him tossed out of his job.
I "have heard of no one calling for his removal," said South Carolina national committeewoman Cindy Costa.
Steele would have to be forced out by a two-thirds vote of the national committee, and those members don’t show any appetite for launching a coup against their first African-American chairman at a time when the party desperately needs to increase its appeal among minority voters.
But many prominent Republicans are now starting to worry that, under Steele’s leadership, their prospects to recapture one or both chambers of Congress could be weakened because they simply don’t have the money to give to the two congressional campaign committees and state parties.
"The question is not Michael Steele," Karl Rove said this week in San Francisco. "The question is the management of the building and whether the procedures are in place to spend money on elections — and not to spend money on jets and bondage clubs."
A well-connected member of the RNC who has not been among Steele’s loudest critics was more direct.
“This is madness,” said the committee member. “He just continues to erode any confidence he has on the committee.”
The RNC has $9.4 million in the bank right now, which is less than it had at the same point during the last midterm elections four years ago. Party officials note that they then had a Republican president in the White House, making it considerably easier to raise money. And Heye said that the party has added 556,000 first-time donors since Steele took over the committee.
But plainly, the national party is not going to be able to offer the sort of assistance this year that candidates and other committees may have been counting on. In 2006, for example, the RNC gave the NRCC more than $25 million. The total so far this year: $2 million.
“The crux of the issue ... isn’t necessarily what they are spending money on but how little money they have compared to 2006,” said a top party strategist. The strategist said that the entire budget for this year's Victory programs — which help state parties' get-out-the-vote efforts — is just $10 million.
"They keep saying they are right on their fundraising targets, but that is a little misleading because they’ve lowered their goals to the point of being completely ineffective in a cycle where 40-plus states will have targeted races and Steele is implementing a 50-state strategy where he’s spending at least $35K in every single state,” added the strategist.
Not all Republicans blame Steele for the party's plight.
“Overall he’s done a good job,” said Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams, a longtime party strategist. “I’m willing to give him benefit of the doubt.”
But asked what advice he’d have for the national chairman, Wadhams said, “Chairman Steele needs to focus on the basics of doing what he needs to do for the RNC.”
And what would those fundamentals be?
“Fundraising, and basically that’s it,” Wadhams said.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

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