On Sept. 21, the House of Representatives voted 328-95 to approve HR 6094--the "Community Protection Act of 2006"--an anti-immigrant bill which would allow indefinite detention, overturning the Supreme Court's June 2001 Zadvydas v. Davis ruling. The bill would also allow noncitizens to be quickly deported if the government believes they are gang members, and would bar suspected gang members from obtaining political asylum. The same day, the House voted 277-140 to pass HR 6095—the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006—which would authorize state and local police to enforce federal immigration law, expand expedited removal, limit appeals and lawsuits in immigration cases and revoke the Orantes injunction, which protects Salvadorans from expedited removal. A third bill, passed unanimously, would impose a 20-year prison sentence for creating or financing a tunnel under the US border.

Fox is a savvy one. We recently noted that the UN's Special Rapporteur for indigenous peoples has singled out his government for criticism. Yet he casts a vote for the Universal Declaration of Indigeous Peoples to win support from Mexico's ten million indigenous people. Talli Nauman writes for El Universal, Sept. 25:

As one worthwhile parting shot, lame duck President Vicente Fox went to New York this past week to vote Mexico’s support for the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Rights at the General Assembly meeting of more than 100 nations.

From the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, Sept. 17:

An open letter to Mr. Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretary-General

Re: Deportation of Kurdish asylum seekers from Britain

Dear Mr. Annan,

In violation of the Geneva Convention of 1951 and Human Rights Charter in regard to asylum seekers, the British government has forcibly deported 49 Kurdish asylum seekers to Iraqi Kurdistan.

From the Iraq Freedom Congress, Sept. 17:

IFC Statement On Kidnapping And Raping Of Women In Iraq:
We Must Stand Against Sectarian Barbarism

The dirty sectarian war has launched a new phase in Iraq. A few days ago a sectarian gang abducted a woman of the Shiite sect from Alhussianya district (northern Baghdad), raped her and abandoned her in a deserted area in the outskirts of Baghdad. In retaliation, a Shiite sectarian gang kidnapped eight women of the Sunni sect from Rashidya district (across the street from Alhussienya) and excreted the same vicious acts of rape and torture.

More than 55 heads of state attended the 14th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, held Sept. 15-16 in Havana, Cuba. Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque called the meeting of the 118-member organization an "unprecedented success." The summit's final document expressed support for several countries opposed by the US government: the group said it backed Bolivia and its president, Evo Morales, against "external forces seeking to destabilize the country"; viewed with concern the "aggressive policies of the US" against Venezuela; rejected the US trade embargo against Cuba; and asserted Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Thousands of Puerto Ricans rallied in the northwestern town of Lares on Sept. 23, the anniversary of the 1868 Grito de Lares ("Cry of Lares"), an uprising against Spanish rule. The events also marked the first anniversary of the death of independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios, who was killed in an assault by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the farmhouse where he was living clandestinely. The ceremony in Lares was largely devoted to remembering Ojeda and Socialist Front leader Jorge Farinacci, who died of cancer in August 2006. Organizers said attendance was up this year because of anger over the killing of Ojeda.

From our correspondent Jennifer Fasulo:

Chavez’s Shameful Embrace of Iranian President Ahmadinejad:
Show Solidarity with the Women and People of Iran, not their Oppressors!

Hugo Chavez, one of the key important figures in the left populist movements spreading throughout Latin America, has publicly lauded and embraced Iranian president Ahmadinejad. (See “Two anti-US nations heap praise upon each other,” AP, Sept. 17) It is moments like this, when feminists and any activists who care about women's liberation, are reminded of just how little women’s lives matter in the world of patriarchal nationalist politics.

The Sept. 22 Daily News carries the front-page headline: "BIG APPLE TO BIG MOUTH: ZIP IT!" It gleefully quotes various New York politicians bashing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for calling Bush a "devil," including Sen. Chuck Schumer ("despicable and disgusting"), Gov. George Pataki ("The best thing he can do is go back to Venezuela and try to provide freedom for his people") and Rep. Charles Rangel ("I draw the line at allowing a foreign leader to come to my country and my community to personally insult my president"). The story also has further inflammatory quotes from Chavez's "rambling 90-minute rant" at Harlem's Mount Olive Baptist Church, where he was flanked by actor Danny Glover, City Councilman Charles Barron and author Cornell West. Reiterating the facile if obvious "devil" epithet, Chavez backed up the charge with the following comments: