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Learn about the new tools for tax filing season

Learn about the new tools for the 2024 tax filing season
Declaración de impuestos 2024, la fecha límite es el 15 de abril del 2024, y de no poder entregar la declaración, se debe presentar una prórroga. Sin embargo, con la finalidad de ahorrar tiempo y dinero, existen herramientas en línea para las declaraciones.

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Es momento de preparar la declaración de impuestos 2024. La fecha límite es el 15 de abril del 2024, y de no poder entregar la declaración, se debe presentar una prórroga. Sin embargo, con la finalidad de ahorrar tiempo y dinero, existen herramientas que permiten hacer la declaración de manera online y con el apoyo especializado en inglés y español. 

Kevin Morehead, comisario adjunto de la división de Salarios e Inversiones del IRS, comentó en una sesión informativa realiza por Ethnic Media Services, que en el Área de la Bahía se espera recibir 146 millones de desembolsos antes del 15 de abril y la preparación de impuestos de esta temporada empezó el año pasado para garantizar que sea accesible y fácil, con herramientas suficientes para cada proceso.

Desde el 8 de marzo, el Área de la Bahía ha recibido 62.8 millones de devoluciones y ha procesado 61.9 millones, mientras que se han entregado 43 millones de reembolsos, con un total de más de 135 mil millones de dólares.

El plazo para presentar los reembolsos de impuestos del 2023 o solicitar una extensión para presentarlos, es el lunes 15 de abril 2024, en tanto que para aquellos que soliciten una extensión, tendrán hasta el 15 de octubre para presentar sus impuestos.

Cabe resaltar que el 12 de marzo se anunció que se lanzaba un programa piloto para presentar los impuestos de manera directa.

Direct File es una nueva herramienta tributaria para declarar tus impuestos federales de forma gratuita directamente con el IRS, se presenta como un método gratuito, fácil de usar, exacto y seguro, ingresando a https://directfile.irs.gov/.

Esta opción es para personas que pagan impuestos en las siguientes categorías: los que reportan un salario que generan un W2, los que presentan un crédito al salario de impuestos, un crédito de niños o de otros dependientes y pueden acordar una deducción estándar, pero también para educadores o de la gama estudiantil.

Es una gran herramienta porque se puede solicitar apoyo de los representantes del servicio al cliente, especiales de la ISR, donde el apoyo se brinda en inglés y en español. 

Direct File, a diferencia de otras opciones, les permite recibir su reembolso en menos de 21 días, al ser una herramienta que facilita y agiliza el proceso, está disponible en 12 estados: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, Nueva York, y Texas, entre otros.

La ISR también cuenta con Free File, que permite a los contribuyentes presentar sus impuestos cuando ganan 79 mil dólares o menos, y hacer su declaración en línea usando el software disponible, dando la opción del idioma inglés, pero también español.

Likewise, they have specialized help to support those who do not know anything about the process, as is the case with older adults. 

En esos casos, se cuenta con un apoyo para presentar sus impuestos en línea a través de un programa de voluntario que brinda asesoría y apoyo a los adultos mayores que no cuentan con la ayuda de familiares para su declaración

Ante ello, se invita a elegir a un preparador de impuestos profesional que pueda cuidar su información personal para evitar alguna estafa; en el sitio https://www.irs.gov/es se puede contactar a personas que brinden la asesoría necesaria. 

"Hay personas que se les llamada preparadores fantasmas, ellos no firman la declaración de impuestos, puede ser una señal de que esta persona es un estafador, porque muchas veces las personas los eligen para obtener reembolsos más grandes”, he commented Kevin Morehead.

 

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The marketing of the crossover; Fortnite and its endless collaborations

The marketing of the crossover. When I was a kid, one of the biggest decisions about going back to school was choosing a new backpack. Of course, the ones with Barbie, Power Rangers, or Dragon Ball graphics were the favorites. The quality or practicality of the item in question takes a backseat when what's important for kids is that they have the design of their favorite characters. 

Of course, even if parents suggest other options for their children, they always end up convincing them to buy school supplies that have drawings of their favorite series or cartoons on them.

This phenomenon is known as “pester power,” and it can be summed up as the power that children have to annoy parents and influence family spending. The concept, well known in marketing, can be found everywhere, from chocolate, candy, and clothing to, as you might have guessed, video games. 

Even some journalists in the media are still surprised by the game's ability Fortnite to close deals with intellectual properties of all types, colors, sizes and origins. 

On an average server you can find Goku dueling Spiderman while Lady Gaga drives past at full speed in a vehicle. From Chespirito to Terminator, Geralt of Rivia to Eminem, Fortnite is the pinnacle of “pestering power”.

As in traditional marketing, the product is actually an excuse to use characters as the real motivation for purchase. 

The marketing of the crossover; Fortnite and its endless collaborations
Skin of the artist Lady Gaga that includes animations and other objects in the video game Fortnite. Courtesy of Daniel Sepúlveda.

This puts us in a difficult position, as the inclusion of these characters is designed to motivate players to spend money on the video games in question. Furthermore, the American Psychological Association warns that children under eight years old do not have the ability to distinguish persuasive speeches in television commercials and recommends doing more research on interactive media such as the Internet. 

One of the biggest problems with video games like Fortnite is that the commercials, i.e. the elements that seek to persuade consumers to buy something, are found within the game itself. There is no separation between the persuasive element and the content that children and the general public consume. 

Of particular concern is that young children, for example, cannot distinguish mechanisms designed to make them ask their parents for money to buy the characters they want.

This type of marketing is harmful to youth, as an example we can use the junk food and sugary food business. It is especially important to remember the powerful commercial triangle formed by the animation companies that made shows for children, the toy manufacturers that used the children's shows as commercials and the food industry that used the characters to sell candy and cereals, all fueled by the power of children to convince parents to buy what their favorite characters advertised. 

Interestingly, in Mexico, recognition of this marketing tactic led to a ban on the use of mascots to promote sweetened cereals and other products. That's right, for those who didn't know, you can no longer find “Toño the Tiger” on cereals sold in the neighboring country.

The marketing of the crossover; Fortnite and its endless collaborations
Example of the presentation of sugary cereals in Mexico. All mascots and drawings have been removed from the product covers.

That is why it is our responsibility as adults and/or guardians to develop in children these tools to differentiate between persuasive speeches and mechanics in their entertainment media. 

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Showers are expected in the north of the bay on Wednesday, more snow in the mountains

Showers are expected in the north of the bay on Wednesday, more snow in the mountains
In the coming days, rain showers are expected in the north of the bay on Wednesday, more snow in the mountains.

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By Tony Hicks. Bay City News.

No se deje engañar completamente por más sol y temperaturas ligeramente más cálidas el lunes, ya que las posibilidades de lluvias disminuirán en el Área de la Bahía para el miércoles, y llegará más nieve a la Sierra.

Se espera que las máximas diurnas estén entre los 50 grados y los 60 grados en la costa y alrededor de la bahía, y en los 60 grados en el interior. Los mínimos nocturnos estarán principalmente en los 40 grados, y algunas áreas alcanzarán los 50 grados.

De igual manera, se prevé que un frente frío comience a recorrer el norte de California el miércoles. Los cielos permanecerán secos al menos este martes.  

Luego, las condiciones inestables regresarán el miércoles y jueves, con posibilidades de lluvias en la Bahía Norte. Esas lluvias podrían extenderse hacia el sur y el este a lo largo del día y probablemente persistirán hasta el jueves.

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional dijo que dos sistemas más traerán períodos de nieve moderada a intensa a la Sierra desde el miércoles por la noche hasta el jueves, y nuevamente desde el viernes hasta el sábado por la mañana.

Los meteorólogos dicen que hay que estar preparados para períodos de retrasos en los viajes de montaña, carreteras cubiertas de nieve y controles de cadenas, aunque el momento exacto es incierto.

El NWS dijo que entre el miércoles y el sábado, los picos más altos de la Sierra podrían ver hasta tres pies de nieve nueva, con otros 1 a 2 pies por encima de los 5 mil 500 pies.

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With US abstaining, UN approves resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza

With US abstaining, UN approves resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza
La ONU aprueba resolución de alto al fuego inmediato en Gaza durante el mes de Ramadán, que comenzó el 11 de marzo, votación en la cual Estados Unidos se abstuvo. Foto: ONU

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The Consejo de Seguridad de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) aprobó este lunes una resolución que pide el alto el fuego inmediato durante el mes de Ramadán, que comenzó el 11 de marzo, votación en la cual Estados Unidos se abstuvo.

De igual manera, la resolución también exige la devolución de unos 130 rehenes secuestrados en Israel y retenidos en Gaza, y hace hincapié en la urgente necesidad de permitir que una amplia ayuda vital llegue a la población hambrienta del enclave asediado.

The text has been prepared by the 10 non-permanent members of the Council.

La exigencia de poner fin a las hostilidades había sido eludida hasta ahora por el Consejo tras la invasión de Gaza por las fuerzas israelíes en octubre, después de que los ataques de Hamás dejaran casi mil 200 muertos y 240 rehenes.

Desde entonces, los bombardeos diarios de Israel, junto con el bloqueo casi total de agua, electricidad y ayuda vital, han matado a más de 32 mil palestinos en Gaza, según el Ministerio de Sanidad, donde un reciente informe respaldado por la ONU mostraba la inminencia de una hambruna.

Reaccionando inmediatamente después de la votación, el secretario general António Guterres dijo en X que la tan esperada resolución debe aplicarse; el incumplimiento del Consejo “sería imperdonable”.

Así, el Consejo exige “un alto el fuego inmediato durante el mes de Ramadán, respetado por todas las partes, que conduzca a un alto el fuego sostenible duradero”.

También exige “la liberación inmediata e incondicional de todos los rehenes, así como la garantía de acceso humanitario para atender sus necesidades médicas y otras necesidades humanitarias” y “que las partes cumplan las obligaciones que les impone el derecho internacional en relación con todas las personas que detengan”.

A su vez, el Consejo pone de relieve “la urgente necesidad de ampliar el flujo de ayuda humanitaria y reforzar la protección de los civiles en toda la Franja de Gaza”.

En este sentido, el Consejo reitera su exigencia de que se eliminen todos los obstáculos que dificultan la prestación de asistencia humanitaria a gran escala, en consonancia con el derecho internacional humanitario y las resoluciones 2712 (2023) y 2720 (2023).

Tras la votación, la embajadora y representante permanente de Estados Unidos declaró que, al adoptar la resolución, el Consejo de Seguridad “se pronunció en apoyo” de los esfuerzos diplomáticos en curso dirigidos por Estados Unidos, Qatar y Egipto para lograr un alto el fuego inmediato y sostenible, garantizar la liberación inmediata de todos los rehenes y ayudar a aliviar el tremendo sufrimiento de los civiles palestinos necesitados en Gaza.

“Estados Unidos apoya plenamente estos objetivos críticos”, afirmó Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Sin embargo, dijo que “un alto el fuego puede comenzar apenas se libere al primer rehén”, pues “este es el único camino para asegurar un alto el fuego”.

El observador permanente del Estado observador de Palestina dijo que habían hecho falta seis meses, con más de 100 mil palestinos muertos y heridos, para exigir finalmente un alto el fuego inmediato.

El observador permanente del Estado observador de Palestina dijo que habían hecho falta seis meses, con más de 100 mil palestinos muertos y heridos, para exigir finalmente un alto el fuego inmediato.

“Su calvario debe llegar a su fin, y debe llegar a su fin de inmediato, ahora”, dijo Riyad Mansour a los embajadores.

Expresó que los palestinos habían sido asesinados si se quedaban, o se iban, y ahora Israel amenaza con una invasión de Rafah. También han continuado con su incitación a la ONU, atacando al titular de la ONU y a la UNRWA. “Hay que defender a la ONU”, señaló.

Mansour celebró la adopción de la resolución y saludó la unidad árabe para exigir el alto el fuego.

Sin embargo, el embajador y representante permanente de Israel cuestionó por qué el Consejo de Seguridad “discrimina” entre las víctimas, recordando que el viernes condenó el atentado mortal contra una sala de conciertos en Moscú, pero no condenó la masacre del festival de música de Nova del 7 de octubre.

“Lamentablemente, también hoy este Consejo se ha negado a condenar la masacre del 7 de octubre; es una vergüenza”, dijo Gilad Erdan.

“Esta resolución denuncia la toma de rehenes, recordando que constituye una violación del derecho internacional”, dijo, subrayando que tomar como rehenes a civiles inocentes es un crimen de guerra.

“Cuando se trata de traer a los rehenes de vuelta a casa, el Consejo de Seguridad no debe conformarse sólo con palabras, sino pasar a la acción, a la acción real”, añadió.

Antes de la votación, el embajador ruso señaló que el hecho de que la palabra “permanente” en el párrafo operativo uno del borrador original fuera sustituida por un lenguaje más débil era “inaceptable”.

Antes de la votación, el embajador ruso señaló que el hecho de que la palabra “permanente” en el párrafo operativo uno del borrador original fuera sustituida por un lenguaje más débil era “inaceptable”.

“Todos recibimos instrucciones para que se votara el texto que contenía la palabra ‘permanente'” y cualquier otra cosa podría verse como un permiso para que Israel continuara sus ataques, dijo Vassily Nebenzia. 

Por ello, su delegación propuso una enmienda oral para devolver la palabra “permanente” al proyecto, en lugar de “sostenible y duradero”. La enmienda fue rechazada con 11 abstenciones, 3 votos a favor y uno en contra.

Aunque en noviembre se produjo un alto el fuego de una semana de duración en el que se intercambiaron rehenes retenidos en Gaza por palestinos detenidos en Israel, los combates se reanudaron y no han hecho más que intensificarse, mientras el número de muertos y la desnutrición en Gaza han seguido disparándose junto con los llamamientos cada vez más enérgicos para que se ponga fin a la guerra y se aborde rápidamente el grave sufrimiento humanitario.

Los anteriores borradores rechazados contenían básicamente las mismas disposiciones que este nuevo, al igual que las resoluciones 2712 y 2720 que se adoptaron a finales de 2023, pero persisten los puntos de desacuerdo entre los miembros mientras continúan los llamamientos para que el Consejo de 15 miembros adopte una postura más firme para poner fin al conflicto.

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Do you have a small business in California? It's time to register it

Do you have a small business in California? It's time to register it
If you have a small business in California, the time has come to register it and although it may seem like a long and tedious process, the benefits can be greater since California state agencies are mandated to develop an action plan and a “first economic equity” policy to ensure the active participation and benefit of small businesses in the contracting process and other benefits.

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Formalizing your small business may seem like a long and tedious process, but the benefits can be greater when you know the requirements, benefits, and how to navigate effectively to ensure your business is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities available.

California state agencies are mandated to develop an “economic equity first” action plan and policy to ensure active participation and benefit of small businesses in the contracting process and other benefits, experts said during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services.

To start registration, you must find out about the requirements on the website: https://caleprocure.com/  or Caleprocure.ca.gov.

Joann Patty, the Small Business Liaison for the Office of Small Business and DVBE (Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise) and the California Department of General Services, explained the process in general terms, as it is done online on the website, so every person has the opportunity to register their small business. 

He explained that the goal is to support individuals to ensure that the state as a whole and each department and agency meet the goal of spending 25 percent of the contract money with certified California small businesses and 3 percent with disabled veterans' business enterprises, among other purposes. 

The purpose of the certification and recognition programs is to promote and increase the participation of SB, SB-PW, DVBE, NVSA, and NP in government contracting. By having knowledge of each of these, one can act more effectively in each case: Small Businesses (SB), Small Businesses for Public Works (SB-PW), Disabled Veterans Business Enterprises (DVBE), Non-Profit Veterans Service Agency (NVSA), and Non-Profit Organizations (NP).

“The state is mandated to spend 25 percent of all contract money on small businesses and 3 percent of all contract money on disabled veteran-owned businesses, so all small businesses get up to 5 percent preference on the contract, and as a DVBEs, they can receive up to 5 percent incentive and contracts, and that really gives your business a leg up,” Patty said.

There are many benefits to becoming a certified company, so the community is invited to register and carry out their process effectively and, as each company is different, the requirements must be considered in each case.

“Right now we have about 45 percent of all subcontractors – the main contractor gets the benefit of their certification, which makes them look like a much more desirable subcontractor to someone, generating more trust,” he added.

To research UNSPSC codes you can visit the website: https://unspscsearch.apps.dgs.ca.gov

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“The caste has a servant”: the march of memory in Argentina is aimed against Milei

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Wealth dreams of robbing the poor.
The poor dream of being able to dream.
Poetry dreams of frightening with beauty
the sadness of these days.
‒ Vicente Zito Lema

After hours of congregating on Avenida de Mayo; of crowding the road that, in a straight line, links the National Congress with the Casa Rosada, the executive headquarters; of batucada and combative cumbia villera; of choripanes, beer, water and soda; of waving flags of parties and their subdivisions, of unions and organizations; of mockery of power, defiance of arrogance, the popular counterargument, the carnival that ridicules in posters, banners and graffiti; of the historic arrival of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), adhering for the first time to this mobilization; From the Grandmothers and Mothers protected by security delegations and applause of admiration, from the platform the last statement of unity of the march for the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice outlines a defined rival: Javier Milei, and clearly establishes a purpose: to maintain the active struggle and to reverse the decree of urgent need, a multifocal tool with which the President of Argentina seeks to weaken the State, cut public work positions and advance an ambitious privatization agenda with the argument of seeking the reconstruction of the national economy.

It is March 24, 2024 in Buenos Aires, 48 years after, in the early hours of that day in 1976, the armed forces forcibly deposed President María Estela Martínez de Perón to install a military regime and a policy of state terrorism through the persecution, detention, torture and extrajudicial execution of thousands of political dissidents. That regime, which extended its dominance over Argentine society until 1983, maintains impunity among several of its political agents while the current vice president, Victoria Villarruel, seeks pardon and house arrest for several of them, although the trial of the military leadership responsible is an example of transitional justice worldwide, as portrayed in the celebrated film Argentina, 1985, directed by Santiago Miter.

It is March 24, 2024 in Buenos Aires, 48 years after, in the early hours of that day in 1976, the armed forces forcibly deposed President María Estela Martínez de Perón to install a military regime and a policy of state terrorism through the persecution, detention, torture and extrajudicial execution of thousands of political dissidents.

The constant struggle for justice and memory of Argentine society —which throughout the country, in internationally acclaimed tourist walks or in lost alleys, remembers with plaques organized by neighborhoods the names and places of kidnapping of the victims—, despite its sustained efforts for almost half a century, has not achieved a stable guarantee of non-repetition, to the point that today Villarruel exercises constant violence against memory, denies the figure claimed by the organizations of the total victims of the dictatorship, around 30 thousand detained and disappeared people, and describes the leftist movements that persecuted the military juntas as terrorists with pending punishments.

Thus, despite the overflowing festivities in the streets during the day of protest this Sunday, March 24, both President Milei and Vice President Villarruel did not cease their direct confrontation against the protesters from their natural discursive terrain: social networks.

"The march for 'memory, truth and justice' had nothing to do with memory, because they erased the victims of subversion from history.(1) “There was no truth to it either, since they manipulated statistics and hid information… and there is no justice either, since terrorists continue to occupy positions,” retweeted from a semi-anonymous account, identified as a militant of La Libertad Avanza, the president of one of the most complex states in Latin America, in a prolonged inflationary crisis that weakened the Kirchnerist candidate, Sergio Massa, to such a degree that it allowed Milei to win the popular vote in 2023, grouped with one of the main debt acquirers in Argentine history, the magnate and former president Mauricio Macri.

Despite the overflowing festivities in the streets during the day of protest this Sunday, March 24, both President Milei and Vice President Villarruel did not stop their direct confrontation with the protesters from their natural discursive terrain: social networks.

For this reason, because of this constant provocation against the social movement, accompanied by a strategic attack against public areas, such as the Télam news agency, now closed, the National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts, or the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, Milei is the visible rival of the march for memory of this 2024, together with the vice president and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich (The dinosaurs can reappear, says a poster attached to the walls, in reference to the anti-dictatorship anthem of Charly García, which shows Milei, Bullrich and Villarroel with tyrannosaurus bodies).

Thus, the protesters, who although they work for the past do not settle in it, interpret that the current president's economic program is homologous with the wave of privatization that the government of the military dictatorship operated, in the international era of application of the neoliberal project sponsored by Thatcher and Reagan, and carried out by Miguel de la Madrid or Augusto Pinochet. Perhaps that is why the Open Letter from a Writer to the Military Junta, issued on the punctual first anniversary of the coup d'état, on March 24, 1977, by the writer and journalist Rodolfo Walsh, is quoted from the platform. The next day he disappeared.

In the text, the author of the celebrated Operation massacre, a report on an extrajudicial execution carried out in 1956, after analyzing the torturous cruelty with which the uniformed men terrorized their victims, does not lose sight of the fact that the regime's greatest violence was its thirst for privatization, since its economic policy condemned millions of Argentines to poverty, precariousness, uncertainty, and exploitation.

World soccer champions, their homeless population is multiplying, precarious salaries force prudent spending, street vendors are proliferating, who, between jobs or a plea, seek to earn a few coins, from one moment to the next since Milei took office, money is not enough for less, a new radicalized episode of an inflationary path that his predecessor in the Casa Rosada, Alberto Fernández, could not contain either.

So much time later, this is the climate in which Argentines live today. World soccer champions, their homeless population is multiplying, precarious salaries force prudent spending, street vendors are proliferating, who, between jobs or a plea, seek to earn a few coins, from one moment to the next since Milei took office, money is going to go for less, a new radicalized episode of an inflationary path that his predecessor in the Casa Rosada, Alberto Fernández, also could not contain.

And yet, despite the reiterations of memory to vindicate the meanings of pain, there is a good group of Argentines who voted in majority for Milei and who in street conversation reiterate that they not only support him, but also celebrate his rhetoric as an aggressor, a bully, his provocative style that speaks of the left as “lefties,” that blames public spending for economic instability to prolong the cut in rights, that paints the financing of the collective as a waste that would be corrected by privatization and its alleged market competitiveness, and that consumes as a television spectacle, as a comedy show —of course available on TikTok—, the mocking ways in which the presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, exchanges words with the press, between disqualifications, minimization, ridicule, denial of the microphone and other scrapes. 

It is against this climate of denial in the vice presidency —“Carlotto, no one voted for you, they voted for Javier Milei. Respect the Argentine people, who said no to you too. It wasn’t 30,000,” Villarruel tweets in the middle of the march—, this repressive policy of Bullrich, that the voices of a demonstration attended by thousands and thousands and thousands of Argentines, from children around five years old accompanied by their parents, to smiling elderly women perhaps already in their eighties, or more, who hold hands to support each other as they walk through the streets.

“Memory refutes lies”, “We are more people than soldiers”, “We do not negotiate or reconcile”, “Neither behind nor to the right”, “Without public education there is no future”, “Thirty thousand comrades detained and disappeared… Present!… Now… And always!”, “Never again”, exclaim the attendees, the graffiti in the streets, the posters stuck to the wall. 

And there is a repeated, common political reading that exposes Milei's promise of capitalist efficiency, his projection of operating against the political caste, and interprets it as truly making the elite pay the debt to the working class, while the rich in politics and the private sector gather around him, comfortable, simulated under the president's shouting.

Thus, in the vicinity of Plaza de Mayo, a man holds the presidential effigy with a reversible face between Milei and Macri and a slogan: "The lion ended up being a cat." 

“Milei is the real estate market.”
“The caste has a servant.”
“The debt is not mine.”

The echo of the congregation is clear in its demands: Peronism, the recently deceased Hebe de Bonafini, who presided over the organization of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo —“Hebe lives in the plaza”—, the audacity with which these women alone went out to the streets taken over by the military to demand clarification of the whereabouts of their children, Diego Armando Maradona who joined them, the soup kitchen with which solidarity cushions the rise in prices, the collection of signatures in opposition to the privatization of the Banco Nación, the repudiation of the International Monetary Fund, the defense with one's life of democracy, restored 40 years ago.

“We, organized workers, have memory. We remember who took our jobs, who liquefied our wages, who devalued our currency. We remember who made us disappear and killed us. No one here forgets anything. We think about each other, we regroup with strength, happiness and unity. We are still here. With love, tenderness and organized hatred. We will be your worst future. Fraternal fire, imprinted strength. We will fall upon you with the weight of History. We remember. We will win,” reads a statement printed in red letters on white and stuck to the walls. 

The CGT, which is accused by certain groups of collaborationism both with the anti-communist actions of the 1970s and with the current government, is explicitly called upon to call for an imminent second national strike (the first took place in January 2024) to ensure that its position does not remain rhetoric and that the current government is problematized from the working class: “Enough of beating around the bush: set a date, CGT!” they shout from the platform, urging action to applause. 

The CGT, which is accused by certain groups of collaborationism both with the anti-communist actions of the 1970s and with the current government, is explicitly called upon to call for an imminent second national strike (the first took place in January 2024) to ensure that its position does not remain rhetoric and that the current government is problematized from the working class: “Enough of beating around the bush: set a date, CGT!” they shout from the platform, urging action to applause.

And if the voices of protest claim the January strike and the women's march on March 8 as two days adjacent to the mobilization of March 24, chapters in a general plan of struggle, towards the end of the day (6:14 p.m., local time) they demand the outline and exercise of a constant strategy of struggle until the president's attempts are stopped. 

The festivities, the massiveness of the mobilization, the beauty of the mothers' and grandmothers' scarves stylized in an installation open to the wind, the conversion of the vehicular zebra crossings into Argentine flags for memory, truth and justice, the agitation between drums and jumps that he who does not jump is a soldier, he who does not jump voted for Milei, well, they draw only one episode in the prolonged social clash that Argentina is resisting today. And as soon as Monday, March 25, the day after, enters, the president makes it clear that he will maintain his narrative confrontation against the left and the victims' organizations of the country.

With just over a hundred days in office, everything is yet to happen for the South American nation and its forces in conflict and resistance.

But there is one slogan that makes the protesters smile:

Ole, ole.
Olé, olá.
Like the Nazis
It's going to happen to them:
where they go
we will go find them

(1) It is the discursive strategy of the right in Latin America, whether in Peru, Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Uruguay or Argentina: to label the guerrillas as terrorist groups, to give a touch of irrationality to their armed mobilization, to ignore the social reasons of deep inequality and cancellation of political rights by the traditional means that led them to radicalization and to leave out of the frame, of course, the systemic violence, designed, budgeted many times with the open support of the United States and in disproportionate force, with which these movements are persecuted, terrorized, punished or annulled, with a constant balance of innocent people tortured and murdered by the armies in charge of the repression, as in the case of the Party of the Poor of Lucio Cabañas, in Guerrero, which motivated an excessive deployment of armed forces in that entity in southern Mexico, or the actions of the Peruvian uniformed men against peasants in Ayacucho in their persecution against the Communist Party of Peru. Shining Path.

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“Folk groups are life and culture, and should not be lost”: Blanca Araceli Soto, actress and producer

United Dancers Festival
United Dancers Festival, a folkloric ballet festival with more than 1,500 registered people, a festival that brings together folkloric groups from all over the country, where they meet with teachers and students. Photo: P360P

 

By Pamela Cruz with reporting by Anna Lee Mraz. Peninsula 360 Press.

Surrounded by flowing dresses, colors, footwork, and lots of partying, sociologist Anna Lee Mraz interviewed teacher Blanca Araceli Soto, who is currently leading an incredible folkloric ballet festival taking place in Fresno, California.

Anna Lee Mraz: I'm in Fresno, California, at the United Dancers Festival, a folkloric ballet festival with more than 1,500 people registered, a festival that brings together folkloric groups from all over the country, where they meet with teachers and students. 

There is a show every day, there is a little shop, there are classes by region throughout Mexico; I, in particular, am taking the Hidalgo course with the teacher Netza Vidal. This festival has been going on for 45 years, it is a festival that the teacher María Luisa Colmenares started, and I am here thanks to her. Casa Circulo Cultural He was also invited by the maestro Omar Quesada who is also giving classes at the festival and we are going to perform tonight. I had the good fortune to speak yesterday with the maestro Blanca Araceli Soto, master of ceremonies for this festival and we are going to listen to her.

Blanca Araceli Soto: Well, look, I’ve been here in Los Angeles, California for 36 years. I’m from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, ever since I arrived, and one of the reasons I stayed in Los Angeles was because, in addition to it being the capital of the entertainment industry, unfortunately our working class didn’t have cultural programs, especially the southeast of Los Angeles, which is like 12 cities, and still to this day there isn’t a single theater. So, that motivated my husband and me to stay, to form an organization called Tierra Blanca Center, and to take on the task of creating cultural programs in theater, music, dance, painting, and folklore from both Mexico and Latin America, so that children and young people, whose parents often can’t travel to their countries of origin, could bring the essence of their country here to California.

English: Then I formed my dance company with which I was for almost 27 years, it closed when the pandemic hit and now I dedicate myself more to coaching actors in Spanish, for those adults or seniors who sometimes don't know how to enter the entertainment industry, film, theater and television, I teach classes for them now and I also continue to promote folklore, culture and tradition through getting involved with different movements like this one of Danzantes Unidos, it's been 45 years with the organization, but I've been in the organization for, I think, like 30; I am super happy, whenever I come to these festivals, more than the music concert festivals of you know which one, that you say, I don't understand, it steals your energy, I think that these festivals here charge you with energy, from seeing the young people, the adults and, as you saw yourself just now, of the 30 students who were there, none were born in Mexico, but Mexico is born in their hearts and that is something so beautiful that I thank the parents, the teachers, all of them who make it possible for all these children to know Mexico through music and folklore.

Anna Lee Mraz: Absolutely, and today is the first day of the Danzantes Unidos festival. What did you think?

Blanca Araceli Soto: Wow, it's a wonderful thing. I'm behind the stage, from the first group, who were all nervous, we said a little prayer and I told them: 'There are no mistakes here, it's just about enjoying, feeling and vibrating with the people' and, you know, it's not a competition, everyone here, you know, some came from Washington, others from Iowa, others from Oregon, others from here in Los Angeles, but what moves us all is our great passion for our Mexican culture.

You can feel it through every pore and you leave injected with energy. Right now the fandango continues, tomorrow the workshops continue, in the evening another concert, then the party. You say: where do they get so much energy? We do so much, we are already a bit old, but all of this is injections of pure life and a lot of positive energy.

Anna Lee Mraz: What would you recommend to someone who doesn't necessarily know much about folklore? What would you recommend to them to get closer to it?

Blanca Araceli Soto: You see, as human beings, we have this great need to feel part of, and one of the things that became international and worldwide was sharing our culture through the Day of the Dead, so when you don't know where you come from, if you can get closer to your culture, your folklore, your tradition, do it; if there isn't one where you are, create it, promote it, participate. 

I think that gives us more life than many other things, there is no richer drug than getting involved in the folkloric movement.

Anna Lee Mraz: Anything else I haven't asked you that you'd like to say to the Spanish-speaking audience in the San Francisco Bay Area? 

Blanca Araceli Soto: Well, likewise, all of us who say that we are Hispanic, that we are Latin American, let's show it a little more by supporting the folklore groups by participating in the local folklore groups, whether as dancers, as volunteers, as assistants, everyone needs them, not just those from Mexico, those from Latin America, those from Europe, all the folklore groups are life and culture and we don't want them to be lost.

United Dancers Festival United Dancers Festival United Dancers Festival

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Argentina prepares for mobilizations in the midst of a polarized environment

Argentina prepares for mobilizations in the midst of a polarized environment
Argentina is preparing for protests against the government of President Javier Milei, all in the midst of a polarized environment that has divided the country into those who support the current Argentine administration, and those who are tired and fed up with more of the same.

Listen to Samuel Cortes' participation in Por La Libre. 

 

By Pamela Cruz with information from Samuel Cortes. Peninsula 360 Press.

Argentina prepares for a Sunday full of mobilizations against the president's government Javier Milei, all of this in the midst of a polarized environment that has divided the country into those who support the current Argentine administration, and those who are tired and fed up with more of the same.

Thus, this Saturday, Manuel Ortiz spoke on Península 360 Press' mobile community radio station, Por la Libre, with Samuel Cortes, who, from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, gave an overview of how the atmosphere is and is perceived hours before one of the most intense mobilizations expected in the country of Patagonia.

Manuel Ortiz: We are listening to Triste Cancion de Amor by La Renga, a recommendation from my dear friend and colleague Samuel Cortes, who is joining us from Buenos Aires. How are you, Samuel? Good afternoon.

Samuel Cortes: Very good Manuel, nice to greet you and your audience.

Manuel: Thank you very much for connecting, I think it's nighttime there, right? 

Samuel Cortes: Well, not yet, but it's already around 5 in the afternoon. 

Manuel: Samuel, you are there to cover what is happening right now in Argentina, particularly the massive mobilizations expected tomorrow. Tell us what is happening there.

Samuel Cortes: Exactly, well I arrived at the beginning of this month, in March, and from the first moment the social heaviness that Javier Milei's government is generating was perceived, but it is not a very easy statement to make, because there is also support for the president, finally we must remember that he won the popular majority, he gathered the largest number of votes in last year's elections, so despite the shocks that his government has generated, he still has significant social support.

And to this we must add that, as you say, March 24 is the Day of Remembrance, articulated by the victims of state terrorism carried out by the last military dictatorship in Argentina and is celebrated on that day because on March 24, 1976, the armed forces carried out a coup d'état, deposing the president and implementing a regime of terror and persecution of left-wing opposition for almost 10 years.

So, for tomorrow, social organizations, activists, memory protectors, workers' organizations, the feminist movement, grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, etc., are summoned to gather in Plaza de Mayo to address Congress. That is the general climate in which I intend to participate.

Regarding what you mentioned before, the climate, I see a very polarized Argentina, precisely because of what I'm telling you, although there is a lot of articulation against President Milei, it is also true that it is not difficult to find on the street, in conversation, in casual exchanges with Argentines a thirst for Milei's government to work on what he promised to shake up the political elite, to improve the economy through alleged cuts to public spending, which this president equates with waste, with squandering, poor functioning of the state, of public affairs.

The problem is that this discourse actually hides a privatizing agenda among the elites and that will not alleviate the social needs of the Argentine community, but on the contrary will aggravate poverty, will ruin public services, will ruin social assistance, and will benefit the richest as has historically happened in the countries of the region in the neoliberal model, more or less that is the scenario in which we find ourselves Manuel.

Manuel Ortiz: Thank you very much Samuel, how would you personally define Javier Milei? How would you explain his popularity in Argentina?

Samuel Cortes: It is a very broad question, but I have the feeling, the analysis that there are two lines that explain it: one is that the right in the region has known how to exploit this need for economic balance that the people have through very “scandalous” characters, they know how to take the microphone, the social networks, promising that the political elite will be submitted and they identify a legitimate social discontent and use it as a flag, it was the case of Yahir Bolsonaro, the case of Donald Trump, it is the case of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, so from the left, from the positions of social struggle it is shocking because it is known that, for example in the case of Trump, he belongs directly to the political economic elite, in the case of Jair Bolsonaro he belongs directly to the military elite, but you have to understand something about the voter who supports him instead of just doing the ideological analysis of where these presidents, these charismatic leaders place themselves, understand why they speak to a community.

I think Javier Milei had the cunning to be a loudmouth who knew how to stir up that discontent that is evidently one of the daily problems of all the people in Argentina, because the inflation figures are very high, the economic instability is permanent, the uncertainty is permanent, and for a long time he has been carrying his personality like a lightning bolt that promises that he will collapse the political system because of its corruption, and since those problems do exist in reality, he knows how to use them to promote himself.

But, personally, imagining him as an individual, in his particular case, I see a very responsible subject, because although he has this appetite to seduce through these speeches, it also entails frontal threats of violence. His speech is very aggressive, as you will remember he even appeared on television waving a chainsaw with the metaphor that he is going to mutilate the State, things like that, but that has emboldened the right-wing forces, the oppressive forces, the fascist groups to attack the victims of violence in Argentina, that polarizes public opinion.

There is a taste among his supporters for humiliating left-wing citizens. His presidential spokesman, Manuel Adorni, has the same role as a troll. Another significant aspect is that he is not a president of ideas. He is not a president who takes the floor to make political speeches, who makes analyses of the historical moment that Argentina is experiencing, but rather he is simply a shouter.

It is not that presidents have to be intellectuals, but that there is no closeness to achieving a real understanding of Latin America. Rather, he is putting forward a privatization agenda under the pretext that he is fighting against the political elite that he calls the caste.

Manuel Ortiz: A loudmouth, I like that term. I find it very interesting also with the characters you compare him, they have this whole line of loudmouths; Donald Trump, who we know very well here in the United States.

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“The King of Empanadas,” a little piece of Argentina in Redwood City

The Empanadas King
The Empanadas King, a restaurant and bar where many Argentines from the city, Latin Americans, Americans and people from other countries come on the weekend, in search of empanadas, but also Argentine barbecue, mate and facturas.

 

By Raúl Ayrala.

At first his name was El Empanadero, but later he was crowned The King of Empanadas, The Empanadas King

Julio Kluss was born in Buenos Aires and emigrated to the United States twenty years ago. Today he has a factory making empanadas from Argentina and other countries, here in Redwood City, on Spring Street, among workshops and industries. 

After the pandemic, he set up a restaurant and bar in the same place, where many Argentines from the city, Latin Americans, Americans and people from other countries come on the weekend, looking for empanadas, but also for Argentine barbecue, mate and facturas. 

The bills are sweet Argentine breads or pastries, ideal for breakfast or snack. 

The place is decorated with posters of Argentina, soccer and basketball jerseys, icons of Rioplatense graphic comics, and a large television for the games of the national team and River Plate, Julio's favorite team. 

What does an immigrant - especially an Argentine immigrant - have to learn from the idiosyncrasy of this country? Julio admits that he has a lot to learn.

“It was hard work because everything I have today, my factory, everything started from scratch, that is, peso by peso with a lot of sacrifice, but over time I began to understand and adapt, and I really educated myself on what the USA is, on how to respect a country, because it’s like you come to live in my house and tomorrow you want to paint my house a different color and play your music, but it’s my house, so it’s our mistake not to adapt. I’m not telling you to lose your habit of drinking mate,” said Kluss.

The Argentine-born player, whose surname is Polish but whose roots are Uruguayan and German, said that at 54 years old, he has no regrets.

“I am 54 years old, I grew up late, but I don’t regret it. Despite everything, I feel very happy, an immigrant, and having arrived at a place and being well and learning to respect and being able to grow and achieve it and try to stay there, I think that is the most important part.”

To meet the King, taste some Argentine, Chilean or Bolivian empanadas, or some Argentine-style meats and spend a day of nostalgia and camaraderie, Julio Kluss “The Empanada King” is located at 2992 King Street in Redwood City, Monday through Friday for lunch or Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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East Palo Alto robotics team Churrobots looks to go to world championship in Houston

East Palo Alto robotics team Churrobots looks to go to world championship in Houston
The Churrobots, the Hope Horizon robotics team from East Palo Alto, managed to qualify for the world championship in Houston; However, they need to raise 40 thousand dollars for their trip.

Listen to this note:

 

The Churrobots, the Hope Horizon robotics team from East Palo Alto, were part of the winning alliance at the Silicon Valley Regional FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) on March 3, and despite many obstacles, managed to qualify for the world championship in Houston; however, they need to raise $40,000 for their trip.

Obstacles such as bumper issues, the lead student driving the robot being ill, and a lower ranking that did not reflect their actual performance were not enough to stop them and the Churrobots managed to remain competitive. 

Having qualified for the world championship for the first time, the Churrobots need to raise $40,000 for their trip to Houston from April 17 to 20.

Angel Fernandez, head of the electrical sub-team, is delighted with this opportunity. “When I first joined this team, I wasn’t too sure. I was thrown into wiring on my first day and was intimidated to jump right in, but then it was great to see how it all worked,” he said.

“I certainly never imagined going to the Worlds.” 

The Churrobots are a community team based in East Palo Alto that draws students from over 10 different schools, as East Palo Alto does not have a full high school. 

The vast majority of students will be first-generation college students, and many alumni have already gone on to study engineering fields at schools such as the University of Michigan, Harvey Mudd and UC Davis. 

The team started in 2019 with two highly motivated students who wanted to continue their experience after graduating to the FIRST Lego League team. The Churrobots use one of their coaches' garage as a workshop where they design and build an industrial-sized semi-autonomous robot over the course of six weeks. 

Head coach Greg Corsetto believes the World Championships will be an important milestone in the lives of his students. 

“I think the whole experience there will mean a lot to them and really encourage them in their professional careers or in their future goals beyond high school,” Corsetto said.

“This year, we attempted our most complex robot yet, in terms of functionality and skills in the field to score. The students have really been able to raise their level and follow the entire process, from design to construction, through testing and troubleshooting,” he said, acknowledging significant growth of the team in recent years.

The team is made up of students and adult mentors, and also has strong family support. 

“Not only are families helping their students juggle schoolwork and robotics, but families have stepped up to support the team by providing meals and planning celebrations. This effort has helped spread the workload normally shouldered by coaches and families have taken on a greater role in the team,” Corsetto said.

In the FRC competition, teams are seeded using a round-robin format, and then teams form alliances of three to compete in playoffs. During the Silicon Valley Regional, the Churrobots (Team 8048) were joined by the Number 1 Alliance led by the Blazing Bulldogs from San Jose High School (Team 581) and Citrus Circuits from Davis, CA (Team 1678).

The Churrobots need support, and supporters can visit the site to help: https://hopehorizonepa.kindful.com/?campaign=1292995 to achieve his dream of competing in Houston and bringing the cup home.

Hope Horizon is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible. You can also follow the Churrobots on their Instagram page @churrobots.8048.

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