Weekly Print Edition Jun 20, 2016

Monday, June 20, 2016y, June 20, 2016 Monda San Juan Star The 50¢ DAILY PR Mourners DAILY of Orlando Dead Get Helping Hands P4-5 SJ Metro Statistical Nonstop Montreal Flights Area Added Nonstop Montreal Flights to Key Starting in Decemberting in December Cost of Star Living Index P16 P16 P28-29 NOTICIAS ESPANOL P28-29 en P8 787.743.3346 • Fax 787.743.5100 • thesanjuandailystar.com

2 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING 3 June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ediƟ on, along with a Weekend EdiƟ on to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Puerto Rico Landfill Crisis Discussed in Congress By JOHN McPHAUL development of recycling,” Torres Montalvo said. [email protected] Torres Montalvo described the situation as “a cycle of injustice” provoked by the lack of compli- ep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) called on his fellow ance with the law by the EPA and the Puerto Rico U.S. Congressmen to study the crisis with government. Rout-of-compliance toxic landfi lls in Puerto “In the fi rst place, the … landfi lls ignore the Rico and warned that “we stopped the bombing in law and they don’t install the controls that they Vieques, we are now going to the resolve the crisis must have to protect the public from contamina- of the toxic landfi lls on the island.” tion,” he said. “If this had happened in Chicago, I would be Also, he said, they charge tipping fees “lower surrounded by Illinois legislators,” Gutiérrez said than the landfi lls that are in compliance to attract before a panel of experts and supported by the U.S. more garbage at lower prices, but this money does environmental defense group Greenlatinos. “But not achieve compliance.” for Puerto Rico I have to work with all of you to Torres Montalvo said “recycling has fallen to construct the support infrastructure to achieve a seven percent and it is impossible for people to be change.” interested, because it is too cheap to simply throw He added that the “majority of the 27 landfi lls away garbage when the laws are not enforced.” in Puerto Rico are in non-compliance with the fed- He argued that the “reason recycling is at sev- eral norms and many of them have never been in en percent in Puerto Rico is not because we are lazy INDEX compliance.” or we don’t care about the environment.” “We cannot have all these toxic landfi lls in “It is because the EPA does not apply the Puerto Rico, we don’t have them in Michigan, in laws, it is economically and politically impossible Local 3 Health 30 Maryland, in Illinois, in California, nor in any of to break the cycle,” he said. In his judgment, “While it is easy to break the districts that you represent,” Gutiérrez said. Mainland 11 Science 31 “You would not have them in your backyard. … the law, it will continue to be cheaper to deposit Business 16 Legal NoƟ ces 32 That would not happen. So we are going to help garbage in landfi lls in non-compliance, and more InternaƟ onal 19 Sports 41 our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico.” costly to comply. Meanwhile, the co-founder of Puerto Rico “There are no incentives to recycle and there Viewpoint 24 Games 45 Limpio, Hiram Torres Montalvo, explained in de- is no political will to fi ght against the landfi lls in Travel 26 Horoscope 46 tail the federal legislation and regulation of the non-compliance,” Torres Montalvo said. NoƟ cias en Español 28 Cartoons 47 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the landfi lls on the island and said the lack of eff ective implementation of these laws has resulted in 20 toxic landfi lls continuing in op- eration. “This is a story about how the EPA has failed in doing its job and the consequences this has had for the people. The lack of application of the laws has been the fundamental cause of this crisis, because it has pre- vented safe practices and the

4 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star PR Mourners of Orlando Dead Get Helping Hands By PEGGY ANN BLISS mayor. His grandmother recei- BTT establishment in New Special to The STAR The grandmother of Luis Omar Oca- ved notes from everybody York: [email protected] sio-Capó felt very alone when she fl ew on the plane, according to “We lost a caring and stateside on a JetBlue fl ight for her 20- fl ight attendant Kelly Davis loving young man from he young Puerto Ricans who died year-old grandson’s funeral. He spent Karas, CNN reported. Brooklyn [who] was al- in the June 12 Orlando nightclub his early years in Puerto Rico until his “We didn’t have just one ready serving others. He Tmassacre left behind those who family moved to Cleveland. In 2013, the sheet of paper covered with was attending nursing would miss and mourn them. teenager moved to Orlando, where he names, but page after page school while serving our And at a time when some seemed to was studying theater at Valencia College. of long messages off ering senior citizens as a social have lost their The school, named the best community condolences, peace, love worker. This is the kind of greatest su- college in the nation, had seven students and support,” Karas wrote good human being we pport, others killed in the attack. on Facebook. “There were Franky Jimmy de lost in Orlando, someo- stepped in to The young would-be star, who was even a couple of cash dona- Jesús Velázquez ne with a life ahead, act as surroga- working as a barista at Starbucks, was to tions, and more than a few making the world a bet- te family. They audition last week for a play, according tears.” ter place.” ranged from to his sister, Belinette Ocasio-Capó, who The fl ight had a moment of silence In Orlando on vacation to celebrate airplane seat- said Luis planned to be the next Ho- for her grandson, and as people grabbed his friend’s birthday, he was studying in mates to police llywood star. their belongings to deplane, “[e]very Brooklyn at St. Francis College. Richard offi cers, from He also loved his little Chihuahua, single person stopped to off er condo- Relkin, a college spokesman, said: “Sa- work collea- with whom he posed and posted to lences,” the fl ight attendant said. “Some dly his dreams were cut short by this gues to parents Facebook since he was 16 -- in a black said they were sorry, some touched her senseless act of violence.” of beloved and white dress, in a silver rhinestone hand, some hugged her, some cried with His mother Gertrude Merced, 47, a ja- friends, studded collar and pink nails “getting her. But every single person stopped to nitor in Williamsburg, launched a Fund- Luis Omar Ocasio-Capó even a ready for bed.” speak to her, and not a single person was Me eff ort for which she had already re- impatient at the slower deplaning pro- ceived more than $25,000. cess,” wrote Karas, who with co-worker Cancer Survivor Leaves a Dozen Melinda Sloop Winstead attended to the Mourners grandmother, whom she did not identi- Brenda Lee Márquez McCool, who fy. has family in Patillas, was dancing with Friends, Pets, Even Mayors, Mourn her son Isaiah Henderson, 21, when the Capó also left a friend, Julius Ortiz, shooting began. McCool, 49, a two-time who was taken in by the young student cancer survivor and mother of 12, threw when his father kicked him out. The two herself in front of her son when the gun- were together in Pulse, but Ortiz left man started shooting, according to her earlier. sister-in-law Ada Pressley. His other friends were Tamandra “Brenda saw him point the gun. She Díaz, from Cleveland, who wrote on Fa- said, ‘Get down,’ to Isaiah and she got cebook: “May the only time you rest be in front of him,” Pressley said. “She was after you make some kick-ass choreo up shot dead. That’s how much she loved in paradise. Jean Méndez called him “a her kids.” man full of life and joy who loved his friends and family above all things.” Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado Dancer Franky Jimmy de Jesús Ve- lázquez, the oldest of the dead, at 51, had plenty of friends and admirers, in- cluding his adored gray and white cat, who loved to cuddle with him in bed, as his posts on Facebook attested. “My brother will never die,” said his best friend Susan López. “He will always be in my heart.” Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, a professional Disney Live dancer, leaves his pre-school son, whom he lovingly posed with in a photo on Facebook. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke of Enrique Ríos of Brooklyn at a vigil at Stonewall Inn, the iconic LG-

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 5 McCool was born in He had fl own to Or- campaign for the victims of the #Pul- ce offi cer who recalled dragging seve- Flatbush, Brooklyn, but lando on Friday to catch seNighClubShooting had raised $3 ral wounded people out of the club. later moved to Orlando to a Selena Gómez concert million as of late last week. “We just jetted right inside and the- be with her youngest chil- and had snapped pho- Survivors Give Thanks re were bodies covered with blood all dren, the family said. tos with a wax fi gure of Several of the Puerto Rican survi- over,” Delgado said. “I met Ángel, and Shortly after midnight, his idol. vors spoke to diff erent media Friday, I want to know the others. It was un- McCool posted a video to “With the love of my including Ángel Colón of Guayama. real, you helped save someone. When I her Facebook page of her- life,” Ortiz wrote in Spa- At a press conference televised by met him at the hospital, he hugged me self dancing salsa with a nish on his Instagram CNN on Friday, he said he was shot four or fi ve times.” friend. account. He died only about three times in his leg and fell “I’m so glad you’re alive,” he told “Every year she hours later in Pulse. down, getting trampled by the hun- the victim on a video of the reunion, comes to New York Brenda Lee Young television pro- dreds of people still in adding that he said he still for the Puerto Rican Márquez McCool ducer Jonathan Camuy the club. He left leg was had terrible fl ashbacks of Day Parade,” Pressley died trying to save Yil- shattered, leaving seve- the scene. said. “But this year mary (Mary) Solivan Rodríguez, ral broken bones. Another survivor, Án- she went to Pulse to celebrate. If she’d 24, according to her brother-in-law “I played dead,” he gel Santiago Jr., said he took come to New York, she’d be alive.” William Sabad Borges, who was shot recalled. “I don’t know cover under a sink, and la- Henderson got separated from his twice and survived. how, but by the glory of ter with about 15 people mother in the chaos, the family said. “He died a hero,” said Sabad Bor- God, he shot toward my crammed into a stall for He was later pulled to safety by police. ges, noting that Camuy’s body was head but hit my hand. the handicapped. His mo- Another son, Farrell Marshall, set found on top of Solivan’s, who left her And he shot me again ther Gloria Santiago said up a GoFundMe page to help with fu- husband, Juan Borges, and two little and hit my hip.” he was still unable to talk neral expenses. boys. Colón was reunited about the incident, or to More than 300 people had already Solivan’s sister Natalia Canlan, who with fi rst responder view reports about it on donated more than $10,000 in just a with their mother set up a Go Fund- Omar Delgado, a poli- Jonathan Camuy television. few hours. Me account for her, said: “Her smile lit Leticia Padró, aunt of Ángel Cande- up a room and her laughter brought a lario Padró, 28, told Univision she was smile to your heart.” planning to bring back her nephew’s As of June 16, they had received 149 CARPET body to Guánica. She called him “unas- donations including an anonymous suming, respectful and studious.” one of $300. Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33, from San Although most of the families set Germán, worked as a platelet supervi- up their own funds, Equality Florida, WE ARE YOUR INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING SOLUTION sor in the OneBlood blood bank in or- the largest LGBTT rights group in the der to send money back to family, said state, posted the GoFundMe fundrai- RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIES Yecenia Cabán Jiménez, who knew ser shortly after the attack. By Wed- him in high school. nesday morning, more than 90,000 We Steam Clean.. Geraldo Ortiz Jiménez, known as people had made contributions, inclu- Dust Mites are one Drake, 25, was a Dominican actor/ ding $100,000 from GoFundMe. of ASTHMA dancer raised in the States who moved Fund spokesman Dan Pfeiff er con- • 2 Mattresses - Any Size! sufferers worst to Puerto Rico to study law at Univer- fi rmed that the Orlando campaign was lncluded dust mite anti allergenic for enemies!! sidad del Este. the site’s largest ever. The @gofundme only $139.00 regular price $189.00 Angel Colon save $50.00 .............................................................. • 1 sofá 1 love seat for $139.00 regular price $189.00 CARPET CARPET save $50.00 Sale (dry time 45 minute) Commercial/ Residential Metro Area Only Special until June 30, 2016 10% Discount - Only in Cleaning Services For More Information Call Us (787)765-1584 • (787) 717-0897 • (787) 748-8169

6 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Number of Zika-Positive Puerto Ricans Surprises Health Officials Ana Ríus By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS linked to birth defects in infants and neurological problems in oughly 1 percent of recent adults. blood donors in Puerto “There are a lot more Zika- RRico showed signs of ac- positive people than we would tive infection with the Zika vi- anticipate this early” in the out- rus, suggesting that a substantial break, said Phillip Williamson, portion of the island’s popula- an author of the C.D.C. report tion will become infected, fed- and the vice president of opera- eral health offi cials reported late tions at Creative Testing Solu- last week. tions, a blood-donor testing labo- From April 3 to June 11, test- ratory, on Friday. ing of 12,700 donations at blood Based on prior experience, centers in Puerto Rico identifi ed Dr. Williamson said he would 68 infected donors, according to not have expected so many Zika- the Centers for Disease Control infected donors until late June or and Prevention. early July. Overall, about 0.5 percent The C.D.C. has estimated of donors had active Zika infec- that as many as a quarter of the tions are removed from the tinue making all the necessary tions, but the prevalence rose to island’s 3.5 million people may blood supply. In the continental eff ort to get the message out, but 1.1 percent in the week ending become infected with the Zika United States, where local trans- we need citizen’s cooperation. June 11. The virus, carried by the virus this year. mission of the virus has yet to be This eff ort against Zika is for ev- yellow fever mosquito, has been Zika-contaminated dona- reported, most blood banks are eryone.” not yet using the experimental The symptoms associated screening test used in Puerto with the Zika virus are rashes, A. ZEPEDA REALTY Diagnostics. junctivitis without secretion. Rico, which was made by Roche fever, pain in the joints and con- Also on Friday, Puerto Rico Anyone experiencing these symptoms should go to their Health Secretary Ana Ríus up- dated the report on cases of the doctor and ask for a test to detect Zika virus, indicating that 225 the virus. COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES new cases have been confi rmed [mosquito] repellent and all the “We insist on the use of for a total of 1,726 cases. measures that must be taken to Among these are nine preg- MANAGEMENT INCOME PRODUCING nant women for a total of 191 prevent being infected, such as pregnancy cases, three hospital- wearing shirts with long sleeves izations for total of 43, and nine and long pants, using screens on PROPERTY new cases of Guillain Barré Syn- doors and windows and covering containers that can accumulate drome for a total of 12. “Prevention is the only tool water in the household to avoid that will make a diff erence with mosquito nurseries,” the Health Please Contact Atilio Zepeda the Zika virus,” Ríus said in a secretary said. For more information on the press release. “We are taking the necessary measures to protect weekly report, visit the Depart- Lic. #2095 • 787-616-1038 pregnant women and the com- ment of Health web page http:// www.salud.gov.pr/. munity. Our agency in conjunc- STAR reporter John McPhaul [email protected] tion with all represented by the contributed to this story. Zika Steering Committee con-

The San Juan Daily Star Monsay, June 20, 2016 7

8 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star SJ-Carolina-Caguas Statistical Area Added to Key Cost-of-Living Index By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA The inclusion of Puerto Rico in the [email protected] COLI is also instrumental in increasing the federal funding to the island. Several he Institute of Statistics of Puerto federal programs use cost of living as a Rico reported late last week that the criterion for determining federal funding TMetropolitan Statistical Area com- allocations to a given location. For exam- prising San Juan, Carolina and Caguas ple, the National School Lunch and School was formally included in the publication Breakfast Programs provide a higher rate of the U.S. Cost-of-Living Index (COLI), of reimbursement to Alaska and Hawaii which the Council for Community and because it is recognized that the cost of Economic Research (C2ER) has been con- living in these two states is higher compa- ducting since 1968. red to the other U.S. states. Since 2014, the Institute had been However, in the case of Puerto Rico, a lities), it is ranked fourth among the most following website: http://www.estadis- providing the necessary data to C2ER as higher rate has not been provided because expensive cities, only surpassed by cities ticas.pr/iepr/Publicaciones/Encuestas/ a pilot test, but it was not until this mon- until now there was no reliable and com- in Alaska and Hawaii. IndicedeCostodeVida.aspx. In addition, th that the C2ER formally included Puerto prehensive statistics on the cost of living Supermarket items are 25.4 percent the Institute provides an online calculator Rico. on the island. more expensive than the U.S. average, whi- that allows people in the United States to The U.S. Cost-of-Living Index allows “COLI has been instrumental in get- le housing costs are 3.6 percent cheaper. In access and be able to compare their salary for the comparison of the relative cost of ting the United States Department of Agri- the healthcare area, the San Juan MSA con- or what their annual income would be in living for a professional working family culture to announce recently the alloca- tinues as the most economical among all Puerto Rico or vice versa, after adjusting whose incomes are “high or middle” in tion of $25 million annually in additional other participating cities. for diff erences in the cost of living by ac- about 300 diff erent urban and rural areas funds for the School Lunch Program of the The Cost of Living Index of Puerto cessing the website: http://www.estadisti- in the U.S., and now in Puerto Rico. Department of Education of Puerto Rico,” Rico is reported three times a year at the cas.pr/coli/. As a result, COLI can help, for exam- Institute Executive Director Mario Marazzi ple, a person to know how much it will cost said in a written statement. “This not only to live in diff erent parts of the United Sta- benefi ts our students, their nutrition and tes before moving; this way they can plan education, but also injects millions of do- Statehood Commission Issues an adequate family budget before getting llars into Puerto Rico’s agriculture. Similar on the plane and moving to the mainland to this program, there are several others U.S. that could see adjustments in the following It is also useful for companies that years due to inclusion in the COLI.” Invite to PDP Statehooders are considering moving or expanding ope- The most signifi cant results in the rations to Puerto Rico to learn about the San Juan-Carolina-Caguas Metropolitan costs of living on the island so that com- Statistical Area (MSA) are as follows: the By JOHN McPHAUL Zaida “Cucusa” Hernández in the name pany executives and workers know the Cost of Living Index in the MSA is 11.6 [email protected] of the group. costs they will face on the island, for pur- percent higher than the average of other She added that the “the clamor lea- poses of deciding the compensation they metropolitan areas of the United States. he Statehood Commission, crea- ding to a sovereignist disunity that is oc- need to provide their employees. Within the category of public services (uti- ted by the New Progressive Party curring in the leadership of the PDP has T(NPP) gubernatorial candidate Ri- to be confronted by Popular statehooders cardo Rosselló and resident commissio- with an absolute departure from the ties of the past.” ner candidate Jenniff er González, is invi- AFTER REMODELING THEY ting members of the Popular Democratic members who favor statehood “are the Hernández pointed out that PDP Party (PDP) who are statehood suppor- LEAVE YOU CONTAMINATION ters to “join the eff ort already begun that off spring of circumstances brought about will lead us to a solution to the colonial by the past generations and now is time problem through the admission of Puerto to unite ourselves once again in the fi nal GIVE US A CALL Rico as a new state.” stage of our aspiration for a fi nal resolu- “The Popular Party members who tion so that the political status concludes WE ARE YOUR SOLUTION have considered the Commonwealth in the permanent union that only stateho- formula as the waiting room that would od guarantees.” eventually lead to statehood now live “The doors of our hearts are open DURA CARPET with uncertainty and the risk carried by to those who decide to leave the political the State Department, the decisions of the chaos into which the Popular leaders of a Supreme Court and the bad [consequen- separatist inclination have led us, to link (787)765-1584 • (787)717-0897 ces] of [the] colonial [condition] that have our arms and our wills in a defi ning and led to the deliberations of Congress in decisive struggle for statehood,” Hernán- Washington,” said former House Speaker dez said.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 9 La Fortaleza Suicide Victim Described by Colleague as ‘Respectful’ and a ‘Fighter’ By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA He noted that although the country is State Insurance Fund Corp Administra- Police Associate Superintendent Juan [email protected] facing economic problems, the García Pa- tor Liza Estrada, meanwhile, said Medina Rodríguez told Wapa Radio that Ramos Me- dilla administration has made sure to not Ramos “didn’t present signs of having per- dina had a license to bear fi rearms in force ov. Alejandro García Padilla said on touch the budget of the Puerto Rico Police sonal problems or situations in his work en- through 2018. He said that in addition to the Friday he was “deeply shocked and Department and to help improve the work- vironment.” Glock .40 he used to kill himself and to shoot Gconcerned” after a man committed ing conditions of agents. She said he had been working at the at the governor’s mansion, he also owned a suicide in the wee hours on La Fortaleza “One of the agencies that has kept the State Insurance Fund Corp for the past 18 Beretta gun. He did not carry the latter when Street in Old San Juan, right in front of the [same] budget is the Police [Department] of years and was deputy supervisor at the he arrived at La Fortaleza, however. Rather, governor’s mansion and after apparently Puerto Rico, which has been treated diff er- Fund’s main offi ce. police found it at his home. using his fi rearm to shoot at La Fortaleza be- ently from the other agencies,” Ortiz said. “It “This news took us by surprise because Although Rodríguez said on Friday af- fore taking his life. has been one of the only agencies that has he was an employee who regularly worked ternoon that not much information could “We are extremely concerned about the been treated with priority in terms of the and didn’t show any signs of having per- be off ered as police needed to continue the tragic incident that occurred this morning budget.” sonal or work-related problems that anyone investigation, he noted that authorities were near La Fortaleza,” García Padilla said in The offi cial said the man did not yell was aware of,” Estrada said, according to In- slated to speak to Ramos Medina’s wife later written statements. “The agencies in charge any type of message against the governor or ter News Service. in the day. of the case have been instructed to handle his administration. He did speak with the La the scene thoroughly in order to clarify what Fortaleza police offi cer, who tried to get him happened as soon as possible. As new infor- to put his gun down, but the details of what mation becomes available, we will immedi- was said will not be disclosed as it forms part ately report it through the country’s media. I of the police investigation, Ortiz noted. ask for the prayers and the tranquility of the Meanwhile, García Padilla said authori- family of this Puerto Rican and for his soul ties have been instructed to solve the case to rest in peace.” as soon as possible. The man has reportedly The tragic event took place at about 3:55 been identifi ed as 44-year-old Braulio Ramos a.m. Friday, according to police reports. Medina, an employee at the State Insurance Preliminary police reports stated that af- Fund Corp. The man lived in Toa Alta, ac- ter receiving a 9-1-1 call, police offi cers found cording to preliminary reports. His car was the body of a man who apparently took his found by police on a street near La Fortaleza life with a Glock .40 fi rearm, after shooting at Street. the governor’s mansions several times. Although he shot at the governor’s man- La Fortaleza Public Aff airs Secretary sion, and a bullet actually hit the governor’s Jesús Manuel Ortiz confi rmed the informa- offi ce, Ortiz said the man fi red his gun sev- tion on Friday morning, adding that a La eral times apparently without having a fi xed Fortaleza police offi cer tried to speak to the objective, and then took his own life. man by asking him to stop as he was get- San Juan Criminal Investigation Corps ting closer to the main gate of the governor’s homicide agents are in charge of the inves- mansion. tigation. Ortiz said that one of the shots fi red hit State Insurance Fund Corp. Manage- the wall of García Padilla’s offi ce. Another ment Association President José Ortiz Tor- fragment of a bullet was found in the tunnel res said he feels great dismay due to the the governor uses to leave La Fortaleza in his death of his co-worker “whom I personally offi cial vehicle. knew and can describe as a respectful hu- According to a local TV report on Fri- man being.” day, police were investigating the case as an “He was respectful, friendly and above attack against the governor and his family. all a fi ghter and good co-worker,” Ortiz Tor- Ortiz, meanwhile, noted that the govern- res said in a written statement. “We regret ment continues focused on fi ghting crime. this incident, and we join his wife and chil- “It is a regrettable situation that just hap- dren and publicly request the State Insurance pened. My call to the country is to wait for Fund Co. management to help her [Ramos the offi cial information,” Ortiz said. “This Medina’s wife] and his family and other co- administration has fought crime like never workers in any way possible to face this sad before. Although the statistics have risen a reality. We hope that the uncertainty that has little, the numbers remain the lowest in re- been created with public workers has noth- cent decades …” ing to do with this disastrous decision.”

10 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star System Said Rigged to Deny School Directors Full Use of Vacation Days BY MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA issues or work-related issues.” He added that in same way, they are denied their excess [email protected] Soto noted that these are the only management vacation days because “their services are needed.” staff who for this “unfair reason are limited to tak- Meanwhile, Soto accused the Education Depart- uerto Rico National School Directors Organiza- ing their vacations days in June and July, even when ment of forcing school directors to pay for their own tion (ONDEPR by its Spanish acronym) President the law allows them to do so during any time of the transportation costs and toll booth expenses during PJorge Luis Soto is calling on Education Secretary year.” the Virtual Education Encounter -- a four-day event to Rafael Román to allow public school directors to “en- “They are the only Education Department workers be held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in the joy [their] excess accumulated vacation days,” which who can’t get sick with dignity and make plans to take Miramar sector of San Juan. they are entitled to, or to proceed with the payment for a well deserved vacation,” Soto said. The ONDEPR president added that Román “is the days not used. “This abusive practice used by the Education De- dragging his feet with regard to our claims and ex- Soto said on Friday that the organization is “de- partment for years, which is detrimental to the health pects, through insensitive special aids illegally placed nouncing this diffi cult situation …” after having ex- of our school directors, must stop,” he said. “School in our school districts, to intimidate the directors so hausted talks with the Education chief. directors can not be penalized for the poor adminis- they don’t claim their right to their vacation days.” “The secretary forgets that if these directors have trative and planning processes in the Education De- “Educational excellence can not be guaranteed by excess vacation days it is because they have worked partment.” turning the school director into a slave of the system,” continuously, tirelessly,” Soto said, according to an Soto said that denying the school directors their Soto said. “Vacations are not a favor or a gift, but a Inter News Service report. “We remind him, in case accumulated excess vacation days -- they have until right that applies to all employees. The ONDEPR will he has forgotten, that these are the only management June 30 to take the days, but also must attend the XVII not allow further outrages and will take our claims to staff who have no one to replace them when they are International Virtual Education Encounter -- under- the necessary forums so that [school] directors’ rights absent, whether it be due to illness, vacations, personal mines their rights and doesn’t give them any options. are respected.” Cataño Cinderellas Celebrate Commencement in Style, Thanks to Godmothers unforgettable night in the Hotel Intercontinental in Isla Bayamón, a group called “De mi Closet a tu Prom” and Verde. a group of volunteers. Employees of the city chipped in The girls selected for this magic night were Dianely for the limousine, in which the mayor accompanied the Cruz, Melany Díaz, Sonia Ventura, Aida Ortiz, Gio- girls to the hotel. vanna Ortozala, Kathia Torres, Bianca Lorraine Torres, “In Cataño we gave each graduate a laptop so they Raysa García, Jesxielle Texidor, Moraima Martínez and can compete in the technological environment and go Lymaris Santiago. on to college,” the mayor said. “The city has also off ered Also involved in the eff ort were Leston College of to pay transportation costs to classes in other cities.” By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected] A group of Cataño high school seniors saw their dreams realized this graduation, thanks to a group of fairy godmothers -- and fathers. The fi rst lady of Cataño, Sonia Meléndez de Rosa- rio, brought together a group of volunteers and busi- nesspeople to help them enjoy prom night recently. “This was an initiative with some outstanding young women who did not have the resources to cel- ebrate such a special night as their high school gradu- ation,” said Meléndez, the mother of Mayor José Rosa- rio. Doña Sonia, as she is known, collected dresses, shoes, accessories, even makeup and manicures, for an

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 11 Mainland In Orlando, a Son of a Muslim Immigrant Rushed to Heal Pain Caused by Another By DAMIEN CAVE are third-generation residents,” said Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando, a Democrat, standing near the Pulse nightclub. hen Dr. Joseph Ibrahim heard that the attack Teresa Jacobs, the mayor of Orange County, who is a at the Pulse nightclub may have been linked to Republican, said that newness, along with the lack of a Wterrorism, he caught himself fearing any kind of single dominant group — plus nonpartisan elections — link to his own Muslim, Middle-Eastern roots. have pushed Orlando toward tolerance. Please, he thought, don’t let Ibrahim appear anywhere “We have to get along,” Ms. Jacobs said. in the gunman’s name. The shooting shattered the area’s image as a welcom- Dr. Ibrahim — who heads the trauma unit at Orlando ing place. It is why at the public memorials here, many Regional Medical Center, and generally goes by Joey — residents said the attack had been particularly hard for had already spent hours repairing gunshot wounds in the people to accept. bodies of Latino men and women, many of whom were And yet, immigrants and the children of immigrants, the sons and daughters of immigrants, too. from the Caribbean and beyond, played a role at every Yanked from bed by a phone call at 2:15 a.m., he was Dr. Joseph Ibrahim, a trauma surgeon and the son of an stage of the tragedy. doing what he had trained for. His old friends from his Egyptian immigrant, worked for hours to save people The gunman, Omar Mateen, was a fi rst-generation hometown in Tennessee were pulling for him. But it was wounded in the Pulse nightclub attack. American. His parents, who got married in New York hard to escape the pairing: the son of one Muslim im- in the early 1980s and briefl y lived in Flushing, Queens, migrant from the Middle East trying to save the lives of grants and their off spring are woven into every aspect of before moving to Florida, were quick to assimilate after mostly gay Latinos whom another son of Muslim immi- American life. moving from Afghanistan. grants tried to kill — all in a chunk of verdant Florida What Orlando looks like today is what the United His fi rst wife, Sitora Yusufi y, was from Uzbekistan. built on Disney joy. States will look like in 30 years — that is what local Re- His second wife, Noor Zahi Salman, was born in Califor- “Maybe we’re a target because of our diversity and publican Party offi cials tell newcomers. In simple terms, nia to Palestinian parents from the West Bank. tolerance,” Dr. Ibrahim said after a morning of surgery the white non-Hispanic population is shrinking (it is now Many of the people Mr. Mateen killed had similar sto- last Wednesday. “Here you constantly see people from all at 43 percent in Orange County) and cultural and ethnic ries of hyphenated existence. over the world, and it’s wonderful.” diversity is expanding and evolving as foreigners, new ar- Jerald Arthur Wright, 31, whose family was from Co- This is the Orlando that the shooting tore right rivals from Puerto Rico, and the children of earlier immi- lombia, worked at Walt Disney World and never seemed through, a place that sees itself as a model of diversity, at grant waves all fi nd their footing in Orlando’s aff ordable to run out of energy, helping guests in both Spanish and ease with diff erence, with room for everyone and every sprawl. English. ride. Even now, as the conversation outside Orlando zeros At Valencia College, more than two-thirds of the Luis S. Vielma, 22; Juan Chevez-Martínez, 25; Joel in on “radical Islam,” this city is awash in American fl ags, 80,000-strong student body is nonwhite. On Wednesday, Rayón Paniagua, 31 — they were all immigrants from vigils with Republican and Democratic politicians trying black and Latino students with the school’s Gay-Straight Mexico, working mostly in tourism, too. If you visited the to speak Spanish, and signs on churches, strip clubs, and Alliance — including Jorge Lanza, 23, a son of immigrants Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, restaurants with two catchphrases: “Orlando Strong” and from Honduras who goes by George — gave out free hugs you might have seen Mr. Vielma. “Orlando United.” and candy near the library; seven of the people killed at Among those who survived and saw their friends die It is hardly a perfect union, one without pain, or frus- Pulse were current or former Valencia students. or be wounded, there are even more — including Adrian tration. Some Latinos have wondered why the shooting Most of them had not been here for long, which is typ- López. An immigrant from Cuba, he stood up before Or- that left 49 people dead has become a gay-rights touch- ical. Nearly two-thirds of the 1.3 million people in Orange lando’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday stone and not a Latino one. Some immigrants with loved County arrived post-Epcot Center, which opened in 1982. night and through tears, after apologizing for his rusty ones among the dead have collapsed in the arms of local “I happen to have been born about 1,000 yards that Spanish, told his heroic tale of escaping the shooting, leaders, desperate for fi nancial help, wishing for more of way, but there is not a large population in Orlando that then running back in to try to save his husband, who was the support found in the larger Puerto Rican communi- wounded. ty. Surlys Morals, left, and Sabrina Caradonna on Wednesday The police SWAT team that killed Mr. Mateen also visited a memorial for those killed at the Pulse nightclub There is some confusion too; many countries in the in Orlando. included at least two Latino offi cers. The Orlando Police hemisphere are still trying to fi gure out if any of their Department is about 18 percent Hispanic and includes of- citizens were killed, a challenge since many of the victims fi cers “from just about every Latin American country and had United States citizenship even if they were originally other parts of the world,” said Deputy Police Chief Or- from somewhere else. lando Rolon. But all of these issues — the intersecting identities, Then there is the Orlando Regional Medical Center, the struggles for recognition — only make more obvious the tall modern hospital a few blocks from Pulse. just how much this most American of places has rapidly Dr. Ibrahim, who is 39 and speaks with a drip of Ten- changed. nessee drawl, said that as he worked on victim after victim Walt Disney had the vision to cobble together a re- early Sunday morning, he was surrounded (as usual) by sort with secret land deals in a quiet cow town of lakes colleagues with ties to other parts of the world — nurses and mosquitoes. Now, Orlando and its suburbs in Orange of Asian and Hispanic descent, technicians from Jamaica, County point to where this country is headed when it and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen- comes to demographics, and the degree to which immi- der community. Continues on page 12

Mainland 12 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star From page 11 gentle and giving.” nicity, they represent a mixture of cultures: Their mother Stephen Miller, a policy adviser to Donald J. Trump, is white, Anglo in the lexicon of Orlando, born and raised “We worked side by side, without question,” he said. said Mr. Trump — who has spent months condemning in Tennessee. In the days that followed, he said, he heard many ar- immigrants from Mexico and the Muslim world — sim- But as a family with Ibrahim for a last name, they are guments for “taking the country back” and keeping out ply wants to “select immigrants who support, defend and still sometimes seen as outsiders. Dr. Ibrahim said his wife Muslims. It was mostly on talk radio, as he drove to work uphold our values.” was once denied a loan because her name was confused for surgery. And while the hosts focused on Mr. Mateen’s Mr. Miller described Mr. Trump’s proposal to stop all with someone on a European terror watch list. father, Dr. Ibrahim contemplated his own dad, an immi- immigration from Muslim countries until a broad security He and his wife also struggled with whether to con- grant from Egypt, who married an American and prac- assessment could be put in place as “about as mainstream tinue the tradition, common in the Middle East, of passing ticed medicine in Tennessee. and common sense as it gets.” on his second name, Abdellatif, to their oldest son. In the “It’s diffi cult,” Dr. Ibrahim said, noting that he would But Dr. Ibrahim said what he heard was mostly an ap- end, they went for it: Abdellatif now links grandfather, not be here if that kind of policy had been in place when peal to ignorance and fear. He said he moved to Orlando father and son, three generations of Egyptian-Americans. his father wanted to leave Cairo. “I just have to believe from Tennessee in part so his twin boys, who are 11, could Dr. Ibrahim is hoping that he won’t regret it. “Hope- that those people have not met the right individual. There grow up around diff erent kinds of people. Like their fa- fully by the time he’s of age,” he said, “people will be even are a lot of people who never meet Muslims who are kind, ther, whose looks make him hard to place in terms of eth- more tolerant.” Why the Orlando Shooting Is Unlikely to Lead to Major New Gun Laws By JENNIFER STEINHAUER In Orlando on Thursday, President Obama made yet ano- ther strongly worded public call — his third of the week — t didn’t happen after a congresswoman was shot in the for tightening gun restrictions, arguing that the latest mass head at an offi cial event. It didn’t happen after 20 children violence should change the debate. During a two-hour private Iwere gunned down in their elementary school classrooms. mourning session with families and friends of the victims at It didn’t happen after terrorists fi red on a holiday party at an an arena, Mr. Obama said, “they pleaded that we do more to agency that provided services for people with disabilities in stop” gun violence. Southern California. “Those who defend the easy accessibility of assault we- Now, after the worst mass shooting in modern American apons should meet these families,” Mr. Obama said, calling on history, major new gun control legislation is still not likely to senators to “rise to the moment and do the right thing.” pass in Congress. While Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican pre- Senate Republicans are clearly feeling pressure to address sidential nominee, said he would like it to be harder for tho- the fact that people whose names surface on terrorist watchlists se on a watchlist to get guns, it was unclear this week which can easily buy guns. But they do not like a bill that Democrats measure he was endorsing, though most Republicans and De- intend to off er this week that would give the Department of mocrats said they assumed it was the Republican version. Tina Meins, whose father was killed in the mass shoot- Justice the authority to stop people on the watchlist and other Election-year politics will make a bill to expand back- ing in San Bernardino, Calif., and the Rev. Sharon Rish- terrorism suspects from buying a gun. ground checks an uphill climb. er, whose mother and cousins were killed in the Charles- A Republican bill would require the government to delay After the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary ton A.M.E. Church shooting, spoke on Thursday. the purchase of a gun for 72 hours by anyone who is a terro- School in Newtown, Conn., Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Repu- rism suspect, or has been the subject of a terrorism investiga- blican of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West tion within the last fi ve years, while a review takes place. Virginia, proposed legislation to extend federal background interest in working with Mr. Toomey on proposals to close the “If Democrats are actually serious about getting a solution check laws to internet sales and gun shows. so-called terror gap in gun laws when he proposed legislation on that issue, they’d join us,” said Senator Mitch McConnell, That bill failed, 54 to 46, with fi ve Democrats opposing that gun safety groups did not support. Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. Democrats and four Republicans — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mr. Toomey will always have his old bill to run on, and have argued that the measure, which is approved by the Na- Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona and Mr. To- the fact that he is now working with Everytown for Gun Safe- tional Rifl e Association, is too onerous to have any impact. omey — voting yes. After the deaths of 14 people in San Ber- ty — a group affi liated with former Mayor Michael R. Bloom- Even less likely to pass is a measure that would extend nardino, Calif., in December, the Senate again voted down the berg of New York — on legislation to prevent terrorists from background checks on gun buyers — largely because of hotly bipartisan bill 48 to 50. A measure to stop people on terror obtaining guns. contested Senate races in a bitter election year. It seems possi- watchlists was also defeated. On Thursday, Republicans came out with their own bac- ble that even Republicans who have supported a background But Democrats have decided to scrap that background kground check measure, which was sponsored by Senator check measure in the past will abandon it this time around. check measure in favor of one sponsored by Senator Christo- Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the But unlike in December, when both measures were defea- pher S. Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who led a fi libuster Judiciary Committee, and included a mental health compo- ted, some Republicans have been more eager to fi nd a compro- of an appropriations bill Wednesday night, that would expand nent. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, also plans mise with Democrats. So far, those eff orts have not produced a background checks to all gun sales except loans and gifts bet- to off er an amendment to prevent terrorists from getting guns. bill both sides can support. ween family members. Votes on all the measures are scheduled for today. “We have to be serious about this,” Senator Chuck Schu- Some prominent Democrats have told fellow party mem- Gun politics infect much of what Congress tries to do; mer, Democrat of New York, said Thursday. “We have to pass a bers not to work with Mr. Toomey, who is in a tough re-elec- bills to advance changes to the nation’s mental health system real measure that actually keeps guns out of terrorists’ hands, tion fi ght, said three Republicans with knowledge of the con- are held up over the issue, and that is unlikely to stop. But not something that just makes it look like we’re addressing versations. Indeed, Mr. Toomey and other Republicans could bipartisan solutions will almost certainly have to wait until the problem.” end up even voting against Mr. Murphy’s bill. Democrats lost the election is over.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 13 Mainland Families Bearing Up a Year After Slayings in a Charleston Church By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ proud of my daughter, is that we began a nonprofi t, the Hate them to take it down. But I said, ‘No I’m going to go ahead and CHRIS DIXON Won’t Win movement. It’s a nonprofi t that’s going to provide and leave them alone just like Ms. Polly says.’ If you leave opportunity, services programs, initiatives about hate-related them alone they’ll eventually settle down. And they took it year ago, the nation was transfi xed by a diff erent crimes, violent crimes, gun control and empowerment initia- down. They’ve got the state fl ag up now. horrifi c crime, the shooting deaths of nine church tives. Chris Dixon: Did you expect the Confederate battle fl ag A members during Bible study at the Emanuel A.M.E. Everybody is doing something, whether it’s going back at the State House to come down? Church in Charleston, S.C. With the backdrop of the Orlando to school with their children, providing scholarships, whe- Mr. Sanders: I was in awe because I didn’t expect it to shootings, survivors and family members of the victims of ther it’s changing their lifestyles to have an opportunity to happen. But that fl ag coming down won’t bring my son back. the Charleston slayings on June 17, 2015, sat down to refl ect give back, to speak in diff erent places, to travel to talk about Or my aunt or the other seven. on forgiveness, race relations, gun violence and the suspect, their personal experiences, to sit down and do an interview Mr. Dixon: How has the shooting changed Charleston Dylann S. Roof, called Prime Evil by some of the survivors. with The New York Times. God chose the right place, the right and the way people relate or interact with each other? The conversation, led by Michael Schwirtz and Chris families and the right individuals and most importantly the Mr. Sanders: If they know who I am, they’re a little kin- Dixon of The New York Times, included: time. God does what he hates to accomplish what he loves. der. When I went back to work, it seemed I got a lot of embra- Felicia and Tyrone Sanders, the parents of Tywanza San- cing from the white guys. ders, 26, who was killed. Felicia Sanders was present at the Ms. Sanders: I still think that there is a lot of unity. I’ve shooting, shielding her 11-year-old granddaughter from the met so many people within this year that I would have never assailant. met. So many people still coming giving their condolences. Polly Sheppard, a retired nurse who survived the attack. That’s unity right there. I see a lot more smiles. The children of Ethel Lance, who was killed. They are the Ms. Sheppard: The same. People are a little kinder to each Rev. Sharon Risher, Esther Lance, Nadine Collier and Gary other. Washington Ms. Sanders: June 17, 2015, was the fi rst racism I’ve ever Daniel Simmons Jr., the son of the Rev. Daniel L. Sim- encountered. And I got it all at once. mons, who was killed. Ms. Sheppard: There’s unity in more ways than one. If Forgiveness you look on Sunday you’ll see about seven or eight of those Michael Schwirtz: Nadine, you gained some fame and trucks with those Confederate fl ags going across the bridge. notoriety when you stood up in court during the bond hea- So they’re unifying, too. ring and publicly forgave Dylann Roof. Do you have any re- The Church grets about that statement? Esther Lance, whose mother, Ethel Lance, was one of nine Mr. Schwirtz: Can you speak about your relationship Nadine Collier: I stand behind it. All the way. I don’t have people shot and killed at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in with Emanuel? Are any of you still active in the church? no regrets at all. I just believe in God. And didn’t have that Charleston, S.C., listened to a conversation on Wednesday. Ms. Sanders: I’ve been trying to go. It’s not easy. It’s a pre- hatred in my heart. The fi rst anniversary of the slayings was Friday. paration for me. When I go there, I have to not eat at night Esther Lance: I don’t forgive him because my heart ain’t or drink anything in the morning so that I won’t have to go there. It ain’t going to be no time soon. I can’t forgive him. downstairs to the bathroom. The Rev. Sharon Risher: Forgiveness is a personal jour- Gun Control Emanuel is not Emanuel no more. Emanuel is the new ney for everybody. I have not gotten to that point where I Mr. Schwirtz: Reverend Risher, what has it been like to Emanuel. The church for some reason thinks it’s about the could forgive Dylann Roof. That’s just me. Being in clergy, I’m be directly involved with the gun issue, pressing for legisla- church. The fellowship hall, where it all happened at, they mandated to forgive, yet I understand that God is a loving tion. Have you felt any frustration? didn’t give it no respect. I was in line to go into my son’s fu- god and that he gives everybody an opportunity to reach that Ms. Risher: Right after June 17, I became very vocal and neral. And I heard somebody say, ‘Oh, you should go downs- path of forgiveness. involved in grassroots advocacy groups on gun control. So tairs now, it smells like blood.’ How do you think that made Felicia Sanders: Forgiveness is not for the person. The I’ve been on Capitol Hill, I testifi ed before the judiciary com- me feel? person doesn’t care whether you forgive him or not. Forgi- mittee in Oregon. I have lent my voice to diff erent bills. This Ms. Sheppard: This happened on Wednesday and they veness is for you. Forgiveness is growth. If you don’t have is what that year has brought for me, an opportunity and a were back in church on Sunday, which I thought was terri- any forgiveness in you, it makes you stagnate. You will ne- platform to beg our American people to look at the gun laws, ble. ver grow. You’re giving the individual the power over you, look at background checks. Ms. Simmons: I don’t feel the church should have been so that means you’re still a victim to the person. I want to say It’s long hard frustrating work, the results aren’t some- opened that soon. Because when I went to the church a couple that we refuse to be a victim. I want him to know, Prime Evil thing tangible that you can put your hands on, but laws are of days after, I could still sense and smell blood. So it wasn’t to know, that just because you took our loved ones, you don’t being changed and the attention to gun reform is out there. a good feeling for me. It was one of my weakest moments I’ve have us. I believe we can get more done now than before. I’m always optimistic. experienced throughout this whole process. Tyrone Sanders: I want to put on the record that I’m not Charleston and Race Ms. Collier: The last time I was there was Aug. 30, 2015, there yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive. Mr. Schwirtz: The shooting prompted fi erce debate over my mother’s birthday. And I haven’t been back since. The Journey the issue of race in South Carolina and culminated with the Growing up I was on choir at the church. Since this ha- Mr. Schwirtz: Is there any wisdom or insight you have removal of the Confederate battle fl ag from the State House ppened, it’s like, everything, my whole life changed. My mom gained over the last year and what challenges are you still grounds. How has the issue evolved over the last year? was assassinated for the church. trying to overcome? Ms. Risher: The racial tension and history of Charleston My momma when she was not ushering, we got a little Daniel Simmons: Over the past year, there are a lot of is there. It took hundreds of years to build it; it will probably seat we sit at, two three rows from the back. I’d come around things that transpired positive and negative for all of us. take hundreds of years for people to look at Charleston, South and sit on the side of her. Can you imagine me coming in One of the things that happens out of tragedy — as people Carolina, as a diff erent place. and sitting in the front? It just freaks me out. Took everything we have a choice of whether we’re going to be active or how Mr. Sanders: I had a Confederate fl ag, like about 10 doors out of my body just to do that on her birthday. I haven’t been we’re going to respond. So one of the great things, and I’m so down from me. I was tempted to go on the porch and ask back.

Mainland 14 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star After Fatal Attack, Theme Parks Weigh Alligator Warnings t’s an unwritten rule for Florida residents: Keep your gators from park waters. most popular tourist destinations. kids away from ponds and lakes because alligators are Disney’s wildlife management system has ensured “that Five gators were removed from the lake following the Ieverywhere. their guests are not unduly exposed to the wildlife in this boy’s disappearance, and trappers continued looking for ga- But after a gator killed a 2-year-old Nebraska boy at a area,” Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said during the tors after his body was found Wednesday. Walt Disney World resort, attention soon turned to tourists. search for the child. While Disney had posted “no swimming” signs at the In a state with an estimated 1 million alligators, how should Yet Kadie Whalen, who lives in Wynnewood, Pennsylva- lake where the boy died, it did not have alligator warning sig- theme parks and other attractions warn visitors, and did Dis- nia, saw no evidence of that system when she visited Disney ns, which are common around golf courses, ponds and public ney do enough? World with her family four years ago. parks all over Florida. That has raised questions about whe- Disney beaches remained closed Thursday after the dea- Whalen said her three young children and niece were ther the company did enough to convey the potential danger th of Lane Graves, and the company said it has decided to playing on a resort beach at the water’s edge with buckets to visitors. add alligator warning signs, which it previously did not have and shovels provided by Disney workers when the beady “They presumably know, since they have caught four or around park waters. eyes of a 7-foot gator appeared in a lake just a few feet away. fi ve alligators in this area, that the area has dangers that far Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Re- She screamed and everyone scattered. and away exceed the danger of drowning,” said Miami-based sort, said in a statement that the resort was also “conducting No one was hurt, but after her experience, this week’s defense attorney Scott Leeds. “So this issue of posting a sign a swift and thorough review of all of our processes and pro- fatal alligator attack did not surprise her. warning of swimming or no swimming doesn’t adequately tocols.” “We knew that Disney was aware that this was a pro- warn patrons of the known danger.” Local law enforcement and state wildlife offi cials publi- blem, and yet they encourage people to be there,” Whalen Responding to questions from The Associated Press, Dis- cly praised the company for spotting and removing nuisance said Thursday in a telephone interview. ney said it has a policy of relocating alligators that are con- The dead child’s parents, Matt and Melissa Graves, who sidered a potential threat. Animals less than 4 feet long are live in a suburban area of Omaha, have not spoken publicly, taken to conservation areas. Larger gators are removed by so it’s unclear whether they knew anything about the ga- state-licensed trappers, the company said. tor threat in Florida. A statement released through a family Whalen said that’s what happened in 2012 after the gator friend thanked local authorities for their tireless work. appeared in the water near her kids at Disney’s Caribbean An autopsy showed that the boy died from drowning Beach Resort, which is on a diff erent lake than the one where and traumatic injuries, according to the Orlando medical exa- the boy was killed. miner. As shocked tourists looked on, she said, trappers caught Most Florida residents know to keep kids and pets away the animal and carried it away, writhing, across a pool and from water, not to feed gators and to be especially vigilant at courtyard area outside the hotel. Disney workers threatened dusk, dawn and during the June-through-July nesting season to confi scate the phones and cameras of anyone who tried to when the reptiles are most active. photograph or videotape the spectacle, she said. State wildlife offi cials say they receive nearly 16,000 alli- Whalen said she complained to the front desk and wrote gator-related complaints a year. Last year, they removed more a letter to Disney but never heard back. She was also chided than 7,500 gators deemed to be a nuisance. by Florida residents who questioned why she’d ever let her Depending on the size of an alligator, the state may send kids get near the water, even at Disney. out a trapper, as happened after the gator grabbed the boy at “It never crossed our minds at Disney World that we Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, located across Se- would have to worry about a predator eating our children,” ven Seas Lagoon from the Magic Kingdom, one of the world’s she said. “We don’t have alligators in Pennsylvania.” Disney Attack Brings Back Childhood Horror for Paramedic ason Kershanick was just 9 when he saw a huge alligator hours later, her body still in its jaws. pretty sure that they had seen that alligator before and that leap out of a lake and kill his 4-year-old playmate in their He suspects few of the tourists at Disney World realize people were feeding it. Whenever that happens, that’s what JFlorida neighborhood. the mortal danger that can lurk wherever there’s freshwater brings them closer to shore. If that’s happening, that’s the Now a 37-year-old paramedic fi refi ghter, he remembers in Florida. real danger,” Kershanick said. the gruesome attack “like it was yesterday.” It hits him hard “We never thought about alligators either. When I was There has been no suggestion that Disney tourists were every time a gator kills someone else. younger, we went to those lakes all the time,” Kershanick feeding the gator that killed the boy, and authorities said After an alligator snatched a 2-year-old boy at a Walt recalled. But “just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean Disney World resort last week, Kershanick’s wife asked if he they aren’t there.” wanted to talk. “I really don’t want to relive it,” he told her. Fatal attacks are rare, despite a gator population that He was just steps away when a bull gator more than 10 surpasses 1 million in the nation’s third-most populous sta- feet long surged toward Erin Lynn Glover as she splashed te. The death of Nebraska toddler Lane Graves last Tuesday through ankle-deep water in Englewood, Florida. It was June increases the tally to 24 since 1973, according to the Florida 1988, and kids at the time didn’t worry much about gators, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. even though the town stood at the edge of the Everglades. Alligators usually avoid humans unless someone feeds As a child, he described his friend’s last moments to them. an Associated Press reporter. Game offi cers killed the beast After Erin’s death, “I remember people said they were

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 15 Mainland Disney’s wildlife managers do a good job of removing dangerous pipes. If it’s a lake in Florida, an alligator can get in there, absolu- He joined the Navy after high school and then became a fi re- animals from its theme parks. Then again, there’s no practical way tely.” fi ghter and a paramedic. The alligator attack still aff ects him as he to prevent gators from slipping back in. Kershanick feels for the Graves family. Erin’s relatives were responds to people suff ering their own horrors. “Nobody should be feeding them, and I hope that that wasn’t forever changed by the horror. Even now, they declined to talk “Every day in my work, I see extreme tragedy,” said Kersha- the case. But people — especially in Orlando — a good percentage about it. Kershanick said he received a lot of counseling as a nick, who now lives in Jensen Beach, on Florida’s east coast. “It’s of them aren’t from Florida. And people could have been feeding child. easy for me to relate when I see someone in pain, because I’ve them anywhere, even outside the parks,” Kershanick said. “They asked me about nightmares, but mostly it was keeping been through that and had to recover. Maybe that’s what helps Gators, he said, can “move everywhere in water, even through me busy that helped,” he said. me in this job.” For Hillary Clinton, a Risk of Excess Caution in Economic Policy By Eduardo Porter For instance, she is proposing $275 billion in federal in- frastructure investment over fi ve years. That is less than 10 he economy, stupid.” percent of what the American Society of Civil Engineers esti- With the threat of terrorism dominating the hea- mates will be needed. “Tdlines, Hillary Clinton’s campaign advisers may Mrs. Clinton’s entire tax plan would raise only $1.1 trillion not have stuck that slogan to the wall at their headquarters in over the next decade, according to the Tax Policy Center, half Brooklyn, as James Carville did for her husband, Bill, in Little a percentage point of the nation’s gross domestic product. Rock, Ark., nearly a quarter-century ago. That might make her look judicious. Mr. Sanders’s plan But they might as well have. For one thing, Mrs. Clinton, would raise $15.3 trillion in new taxes, mostly to pay for go- the presumptive Democratic nominee and strong favorite to vernment-fi nanced health care for all. Mr. Trump would cut win the presidential election come November, proposed to tax revenue by $9.5 trillion, promising impossible growth in draft Mr. Clinton as an economic adviser. Moreover, she has return. But excessive judiciousness can hamstring progress. hitched the economic strategy of her presidential bid to the What about dismissing the defi cit scolds who shape the animating principle that defi ned his presidency: jobs, jobs and outdated Washington Beltway consensus and borrowing $1 more jobs. Hillary and Bill Clinton at the Memorial Day parade last trillion or so to sharply increase the spending on infrastruc- Her lodestar? The economy of spring 2000, when unemplo- month in Chappaqua, N.Y. Mrs. Clinton’s economic strategy ture, letting states and municipalities select the investments yment reached its lowest level since the inauguration of Richard refl ects her husband’s. and manage the job? Nixon 30 years before, and when the real earnings of American How about taking advantage of the cheapest oil prices households in the middle — white, black or Hispanic — achie- Her plan to increase federal investment in infrastructure in a very long time to propose a carbon tax? Or how about ved a peak that has not been reached again to this day. is a particularly good idea, approved by most economists, imposing a progressive wealth tax to tap into the good fortu- “You can aim for a lot of targeted policies in life,” said labor unions and even the Chamber of Commerce. It would ne of 160,000 American families at the very tip of the wealth Gene B. Sperling, a former top economic adviser to President not just lift employment but provide decent wages to those pyramid, who are on their way to pass $12 trillion to the next Bill Clinton and President Obama, who has off ered advice to who need them most. Infrastructure occupations often pay generation, much of it untaxed. Mrs. Clinton during her two presidential campaigns. “But few up to 30 percent more than other jobs to workers with a high The money could be spent on high quality and univer- come close to what you get from tight labor markets.” school diploma or less. sal early education, providing the next generation a better True enough. Her general proposition — that creating eco- With interest rates near zero, infrastructure amounts to a shot at a level playing fi eld. It could be spent on training, to nomic conditions in which employers are desperate to attract slam-dunk investment opportunity. Continuing to defer the provide workers with needed skills, or job search services to workers to fi ll jobs is the best way to improve wages and be- maintenance of America’s crumbling highways and water help match workers and jobs. These strategies have been suc- nefi ts — is correct. And with today’s jobless rate still close to 5 systems will certainly be more costly than fi xing them now. cessfully employed by other advanced nations but remain a percent, who wouldn’t like to see 3.8 percent unemployment? Still, there is something anachronistic about Mrs. rarity in the United States. But the mantra that worked in the 1990s is nonetheless ill- Clinton’s focus. Mrs. Clinton, of course, is not the only candidate indul- matched to the momentous challenges posed by a nation split “I am really, totally committed to bringing back manu- ging in nostalgia. Witness Donald Trump’s bombastic appeal by vast inequities of income and opportunity; where the very facturing” sounds great in Youngstown, Ohio, ahead of the to white working class men uncomfortable in an America idea of getting ahead has become an abstraction to tens of mi- state’s primary. But it is not a policy to revive a struggling where one must dial “1” for English. llions of Americans. working class. There are only 300,000 steel workers in the Still, she has a rare opportunity. If she wins, she may well “She needs one or two big ideas that are proportionate to United States. How many can be added by threatening to come into offi ce with the political wind at her back: a Sena- the scale of the problems we are facing,” said Robert Reich, slap anti-dumping tariff s on imports of Chinese steel? Not te returned to Democratic control and a divided Republican who served as labor secretary during President Clinton’s fi rst many. Party with only a tenuous hold on the House. term, yet endorsed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Her turn against the trans-Pacifi c trade agreement with Americans have just lived through perhaps the most pro- “Her instinct is to be incrementalist.” Asian countries — a deal she once supported — makes sen- gressive presidency since the 1960s. President Obama raised A big part of the problem is the erosion of America’s wor- se within her overall strategy. Why waste time and political tax rates on the rich and expanded health insurance for mi- king class. It has been hollowed out as trade and technology capital on an agreement that might make the economy more llions of Americans. Facing stubborn resistance in Congress, have done away with most of the well-paid jobs once available effi cient but will not create lots of jobs? Still, this does not he leaned on his executive powers to improve working con- to Americans without a college degree, tipping many of them amount to a strategy about global trade. ditions. into a service economy of low wages, uncertain hours and little To be sure, Mrs. Clinton has been pushed to some of Yet the nation’s enormous inequities just got bigger. The job security. these positions by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Their income of the richest 1 percent grew 27 percent from 2009 to Some of Mrs. Clinton’s proposals — such as tax incentives show of force in politically crucial Rust Belt states unders- 2014. The average gain for everybody else barely exceeded 4 for businesses that share profi ts with their employees or invest cored how important it was to strike a pro-manufacturing, percent. A future projected along these lines does not look in forlorn bits of the country like Appalachia, or a “clawback” trade-hostile stance. promising. of tax benefi ts when companies move jobs overseas — could And yet Mrs. Clinton’s careful collection of tweaks and Bernie Sanders talks about a revolution. Mrs. Clinton help. prods is no match for the challenge. might want to try to deliver one.

16 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Air Canada Adds Direct San Juan-Montreal Flight By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA access hub of the Caribbean in the crease in fl ights reiterates the “great its services to Puerto Rico for the [email protected] international markets and make potential for growth in all types of coming winter season.” the island more attractive as a tra- niche markets and the confi dence” “Apart from introducing wee- tarting on Dec. 17, Air Cana- vel destination by providing direct that airlines place in Puerto Rico as kly service from Montreal to the da will have a new route con- fl ight options from two of the key a fi ve-star location in the Caribbean, Luis Muñoz Marín International Snecting the cities of Montreal Canadian airports,” Rivera said in Rivera said. Airport, we are also doubling our and San Juan, off ering its custo- a written statement. Meanwhile, Pittman said “Air frequencies from Toronto to twice mers the option of a direct fl ight The announcement on the in- Canada is very pleased to expand weekly so that, overall, our capa- on Saturdays, Puerto Rico Tourism city will increase 165 percent from Co. (PRTC) Executive Director In- last year,” Pittman said. “This re- grid Rivera announced late last fl ects the popularity of Puerto Rico week. among Canadian travelers while Air Canada Latin America and also giving customers from Puer- Caribbean Sales Director Alex Pitt- to Rico an opportunity to travel to man said the new route is part of Canada or connect conveniently to Air Canada’s expansion of service our international network through in the Caribbean region. our Toronto and Montreal hubs.” Rivera noted that in addition Rivera said the new fl ight to to this new route, Air Canada also Montreal and the expansion of the added a second weekly fl ight to its Toronto route “opens new oppor- Toronto-San Juan route beginning tunities for Puerto Rico’s economic on Nov. 19. growth, our tourism industry and “These routes reinforce Puer- the diversifi cation of new off ers for to Rico’s position as the main air our visitors.” DoubleLine’s Gundlach Sees Bremain, Not Brexit, as Likely Outcome eff rey Gundlach, chief execu- June 23 on a referendum on Brit- America Merrill Lynch said on Fri- of parliament who was shot dead tive offi cer of DoubleLine Capi- ain’s membership in the EU. day. Thursday: “I think the markets are Jtal, said late last week he thinks Gundlach, whose Los Angeles- UK equity funds lost a net $1.1 absorbing the increased probabil- Britain will “Bremain” in the Euro- based DoubleLine oversees $100 billion, the biggest outfl ow in 13 ity of a ‘Remain’ vote - Bremain. pean Union and if investors agree billion, reiterated that polls refl ect months, in the week to June 15, ac- It just is not good when political they should buy beaten-down Eu- people’s complaints and frustra- cording to BAML. things start to go in this violent di- ropean equities. tions rather than the actions they Sterling and bond yields rose rection.” “I’ve never believed in an exit, will actually take. “When it comes on Friday as traders tried to assess If Britain leaves the 28-country or ‘Brexit,’” said Gundlach, known up for a vote, I think it will fail,” he how the killing of a pro-EU British bloc there are concerns it would on Wall Street as the “Bond King” said Friday. lawmaker will change the balance cause turmoil in the global econ- who manages $60.3 billion (£42.01 The scale of withdrawals from of opinions in Britain’s impending omy and European politics. The billion) through the DoubleLine U.K. equity funds was the second referendum. potential exit rattled markets and Total Return Bond Fund. Voters in highest on record because of un- Gundlach said in an interview caused the pound to tumble last Britain will vote on whether to on certainty over the vote, Bank of about Jo Cox, a British member week.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 17 The First Big Company to Say It’s Serving the Legal Marijuana Trade? Microsoft. By NATHANIEL POPPER fi rst of many dominoes to fall.” It’s hard to know if other corporate giants have provid- s state after state has legalized marijuana in one way ed their services in more quiet ways to cannabis purveyors. or another, big names in corporate America have New York State, for instance, has said it is working with Or- Astayed away entirely. Marijuana, after all, is still il- acle to track medicinal marijuana patients. But there appears legal, according to the federal government. to be little precedent for a big company advertising its work But Microsoft is breaking the corporate taboo on pot last in the space. It is still possible — though considered unlikely week by announcing a partnership to begin off ering soft- — that the federal government could decide to crack down ware that tracks marijuana plants from “seed to sale,” as the on the legalization movement in the states. pot industry puts it. The partnership with Kind is yet another bold step for The software — a new product in Microsoft’s cloud com- Microsoft as its looks to replace the revenue from its fading puting business — is meant to help states that have legalized desktop software business. On Monday, it announced that it the medical or recreational use of marijuana keep tabs on was buying LinkedIn. sales and commerce, ensuring that they remain in the day- Microsoft has put a lot of emphasis on its cloud busi- light of legality. ness, Azure. The Kind software will be one of eight pieces of But until now, even that boring part of the pot world preferred software that Microsoft will off er to users of Azure was too controversial for mainstream companies. It is ap- Government — and the only one related to marijuana. parent now, though, that the legalization train is not slow- The confl ict between state and federal laws on mari- ing down: This fall, at least fi ve states, including the biggest juana has given a somewhat improvisational nature to the of them all — California — will vote on whether to legalize cannabis industry. marijuana for recreational use. Stores that sell pot have been particularly hobbled by So far, only a handful of smaller banks are willing to of- David Dinenberg, the founder and chief executive of Kind: the unwillingness of banks to deal with the money fl owing fer accounts to companies that grow or sell marijuana, and “Every business that works in the cannabis space, we all through the industry. Many dispensaries have been forced to Microsoft will not be touching that part of the business. But clamor for legitimacy.” rely on cash for all transactions, or looked to start-ups like the company’s entry into the government compliance side Kind, with its kiosks that take payments inside dispensaries. of the business suggests the beginning of a legitimate infra- will be more sophisticated requirements and tools down the Governments, too, have generally been relying on structure for an industry that has been growing fast and at- road.” smaller start-ups to help develop technology that can track tracting lots of attention, both good and bad. Microsoft’s baby step into the business came through an marijuana plants and sales. A Florida software company, Bi- “We do think there will be signifi cant growth,” said announcement on Thursday that it was teaming up with a oTrackTHC, is helping Washington State, New Mexico and Kimberly Nelson, the executive director of state and local Los Angeles start-up, Kind, that built the software the tech Illinois monitor the marijuana trade inside their states. government solutions at Microsoft. “As the industry is regu- giant will begin marketing. Kind — one of many small com- Kind has no state contracts. But it has already applied, lated, there will be more transactions, and we believe there panies trying to take the marijuana business mainstream — with Microsoft, to provide its software to Puerto Rico, which off ers a range of products, including A.T.M.-style kiosks legalized marijuana for medical purposes earlier this year. that facilitate marijuana sales, working through some of the Twenty-fi ve states have now legalized marijuana in OFFICE FOR SALE state-chartered banks that are comfortable with such cus- some form or another, with Pennsylvania and Ohio the most tomers. recent. The biggest business opportunity, though, will come COND. SAN MARTIN or the actual plants. Rather, it will be working with Kind’s rado, Oregon and Washington already do. Microsoft will not be getting anywhere near these kiosks from states that allow recreational use of the drug, as Colo- This fall, fi ve states — including, most signifi cantly, Cal- “government solutions” division, off ering software only to PONCE DE LEON AVE.- state and local governments that are trying to build compli- ifornia — will vote on whether to join that club. Mr. Karnes, the analyst, said he expected legal marijua- ance systems. SANTURCE Microsoft’s willingness to attach its name to any part of the year. He says that number could climb to $25 billion by the But for the young and eager legalized weed industry, na sales to jump to $6.5 billion this year, from $4.8 billion last IN GOOD CONDITION, business is a big step forward. year 2020 if California voters approve the recreational mea- “Nobody has really come out of the closet, if you will,” sure this year, as is widely expected. APROX. 450 SQ.FT., said Matthew A. Karnes, the founder of Green Wave Ad- The opening up of the market in California is already READY TO MOVE IN, visors, which provides data and analysis of the marijuana leading to a scramble for the big money that is likely to fol- 2 BRAND NEW business. “It’s very telling that a company of this caliber is low, and Microsoft will now be well placed to get in on the taking the risk of coming out and engaging with a company action. ELEVATORS. PARKING that is focused on the cannabis business.” Ms. Nelson of Microsoft said that initially her company FACILITIES. ADJACENT David Dinenberg, the founder and chief executive of would be marketing the Kind software at conferences for TO COBIAN PLAZA. Kind, said it had taken a long time — and a lot of courting government employees, but it could eventually also be at- of big-name companies — to persuade the fi rst one to get on tending the cannabis events where Kind is already a regular For Information board. presence. “This is an entirely new fi eld for us,” she said. “We “Every business that works in the cannabis space, we 787-616-1038 all clamor for legitimacy,” said Mr. Dinenberg, a former would have to fi gure out which conference might be the pre- mier conference in this space. That’s not outside the realm of real estate developer in Philadelphia who moved to Cali- fornia to start Kind. “I would like to think that this is the possibility.”

18 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Stocks Health and Tech Shares Lead a Down Day for the Market .S. stocks closed out a disappointing week on a modestly MOST ASSERTIVE PUERTO RICO STOCKSO RICO STOCKS MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKSSTOCKS PUERT lower note Friday, as investors continued to monitor UBritain’s frenzied debate on whether to leave the Euro- pean Union. The debate took on a new level of concern after the killing of a member of parliament. Technology stocks were among the biggest decliners. Apple fell as a patent dispute in China threatened to jeopardize future sales of iPhones in the world’s second-largest economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 6.77 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,071.22 and the Nasdaq composite fell 44.58 po- ints, or 0.9 percent, to 4,800.34. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 57.94 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,675.16. COMMODITIES COMMODITIES Anxiety over the British referendum on Thursday conti- nued to dominate trading. Stocks have fallen six out of the past seven trading days. This week the Dow and S.&P. 500 each lost 1 percent and the Nasdaq gave up almost 2 percent. The campaigning in Britain took an alarming turn when a well-regarded politician in favor of staying in the E.U. was killed. Polls have been tight or have shown, on occasion, a slight likelihood that Britain could leave. Many have predicted that could harm the British economy. The pound rose against the euro and dollar, to $1.4375 compared with $1.4205 the day before. In European stocks, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.8 percent, France’s CAC-40 rose 1 percent and the Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 1.2 percent. Technology giant Apple fell $2.22, or 2.3 percent, to $95.33 CURRENCY CURRENCY after Chinese offi cials ruled that Apple infringed on a patent of a major competitor, which could cause iPhone sales to be sus- pended in the country. Elizabeth Arden rose $4.57, or 49 percent, to $13.88 after hair and makeup company Revlon said it would buy the com- pany for $14 a share, or $419.3 million. In economic data, the Commerce Department said that construction of new homes had nudged down slightly in May, a drop of 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.16 million units. Home construction has improved much of this year, with single-family houses accounting for much of the gains. Housing starts have climbed 10.2 percent compared to the fi rst fi ve mon- ths of 2015. Benchmark U.S. crude added $1.77 to close at $47.98 a ba- rrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used LOCAL PERSONAL LOAN LOCAL PERSONAL LOAN RATESRATES to price international oils, gained $1.98 to close at $49.17 a barrel in London. Bank PERS. CREDIT CARD AUTO In other energy commodities, heating oil rose 6 cents to $1.48 a gallon, wholesale gasoline rose 4 cents to $1.51 a gallon LOCAL MORTGAGE RATESRATES BPPR --.-- 17.95 4.95 LOCAL MORTGAGE and natural gas rose 4 cents to $2.62 per 1,000 cubic feet. Scotia 4.99 14.99 4.59 U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10- Bank FHA 30-YR POINTS CONV 30-YR POINTS year Treasury note rose to 1.61 percent from 1.58 percent a day CooPACA 6.75 9.95 2.95 earlier. In other currency trading, the dollar fell to 104.23 yen BPPR 3.00% 0.00 3.50% 000 from 104.31 yen while the euro gained slightly to $1.1275 from Scotia 3.50% 0.00 4.00% 0.00 Reliable --.-- --.-- 4.40 $1.1236. CooPACA 3.50% 2.00 3.75% 2.00 First Mort 7.99 --.-- --.-- The price of gold slipped $3.60 to $1,294.80 an ounce, sil- Money House 3.75% 2.00 3.75% 2.00 ver lost 20 cents to $17.41 an ounce and copper was little chan- First Mort 3.50% 0.00 5.50% 0.00 Oriental 4.95 9.99 7.09 ged at $2.05 a pound. Oriental 3.50% 0.00 3.75% 5.50

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 19 Why the ‘Brexit’ Warnings Don’t Seem to Be Working in Britain questions. Britain relies heavily on immigrants, so res- By Peter Eavis tricting immigration could hurt the economy. And lea- ving the European Union might also reduce British com- he British have been warned many times over. panies’ access to an enormous trade area. The International Monetary Fund; the Bank of But maybe voters do not expect strict curbs on im- TEngland; Britain’s Treasury; David Cameron, the migration if Britain leaves the E.U. A survey from Ipsos country’s prime minister; top bankers like Jamie Dimon; Mori this week, which attempted to measure convic- scores of economists; and even Benedict Cumberbatch tion levels for an opinion and outcomes, suggested that and Keira Knightley have said that a vote to leave the “leave” voters are not strongly convinced that a British European Union would hurt the British economy. exit would actually lead to lower immigration. It’s also Yet the warnings so far have not worked. A stream possible that some of the “leave” voters just want more of recent opinion polls suggests that Britons will vote control over immigration rather than actually using that Thursday to leave the European Union. But the polls control to slash the number of migrants. The polls off ered were wrong in Britain’s general election last year, and no clarity on that. betting markets are saying there is a 64 percent chance Pro-Brexit fl ags fl ew from a fi shing boat moored in Rams- But what about Brexit’s threat to trade? Voters may that Britain will vote to stay. gate, England, last week. simply fi nd it hard to gauge the importance of trade agre- What is clear is that the gloomy forecasts of econo- ements. Or they may believe that the European Union mic pain have not resonated with voters. That’s partly be- have long been concerned about this freedom, and the would seek to maintain most of the current trade arran- cause the referendum has mostly become about national “leave” campaign has focused on those worries. gements, rather than taking a sharply retaliatory line. sovereignty and curbing immigration. A country in the Still, the extent to which the economic question has That’s not a crazy expectation. European Union has little control over the movement of taken a back seat is surprising. A lot is still in fl ux, especially because of the murder people between other countries in the union. The British True, voters are sometimes willing to accept some of Jo Cox, a member of Parliament who supported staying economic pain to achieve other goals they consider im- in. Both sides of the issue have suspended their campaig- portant. A stark example: In the lead-up to the Iraq war ns. Despite the strong economy, it is always possible vo- that began in 2003, most people said they expected the ters may begin to fear economic consequences of Brexit economy to suff er even as they strongly supported going in these fi nal days of the campaign, leading to a victory to war. for the “remain” camp. A big stock market plunge would A not-insignifi cant proportion of the British voters provide a jolt. There are fi ve trading days left until the who support leaving the European Union expect signifi - Brexit polls close. cant economic pain if it were to occur. A recent poll from ComRes found that 21 percent of “leave” voters thought a recession fairly likely, and 5 percent very likely. UN Chief: Haiti Political Crisis Over all, 49 percent of respondents said a recession was likely, and 48 percent said unlikely. That suggests there was enough economic fear circulating to benefi t the “remain” camp. Could Destabilize Country Still, other polls suggest the British people are not particularly nervous about the economic impact. In a re- cent YouGov poll, 37 percent of people said Britain would be worse off if it left the E.U., while 22 percent said the ecretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that country would be better off . But 26 percent said it would Haiti’s political crisis has the potential to des- make no diff erence to the economy. In other words, al- Stabilize the country and reduce international most half the respondents thought the economy would be support. better or no diff erent. (In this poll, 15 percent were “don’t U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late last knows.”) week the U.N. chief is deeply concerned at the conti- If British voters do feel unfazed, it’s understandable. nuing political uncertainty and calls on the National The country’s economy has done relatively well in recent Assembly to urgently decide on a provisional gover- years. Unemployment is low, and the share of the wor- nment for the impoverished Caribbean nation “that king-age population with jobs is at record levels. can ensure the completion of the electoral process Also, British business owners and executives, espe- and a return to full constitutional order without fur- cially those at smaller companies, are mostly unworried ther delays.” by the prospect of leaving the European Union, accor- Haiti entered into another leaderless drift last ding to a recent survey of 3,394 fi rms. Nearly 40 percent Wednesday as the provisional president’s 120-day said Brexit would make no diff erence to the economy, mandate came to a close. Lawmakers were expected and another 25 percent said it would be a positive deve- to decide whether to extend caretaker President Joce- lopment. lerme Privert’s term until new elections can be held Certainly, there appear to be big contradictions in the or pave the way for a new interim leader. But a Natio- minds of the “leave” camp when it comes to economic nal Assembly session failed to take place Tuesday.

20 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star No Food, No Teachers, Violence in Failing Venezuela Schools aria Arias slipped her notebooks into her backpack, was killed in crossfi re this spring while working a second job scrounged for a banana to share with her brother as a barber, one of several teachers slain in the city this year. Mand sister, and set off for high school through narrow Maria’s parents worry most about boys; Venezuela now has streets so violent taxis will not come here for any price. She the highest teen pregnancy rate in South America. The favorite hoped at least one of her teachers would show up. make-out spot for students is behind a pile of 30,000 unopened But her 7 a.m. art class was canceled when the instructor textbooks that block the auditorium stage. The government de- called in sick. History class was suspended. There was no gym livered the books at the start of the year, but teachers decided class because the coach had been shot dead weeks earlier. And they were too full of pro-socialist propaganda to use. in the afternoon, her Spanish teacher collected homework and The supplies they really want are not available. In che- then sent the students home to meet a gang-imposed curfew. mistry class, students can’t perform experiments because they “It’s a trap,” the slight 14-year-old with pink lipstick com- have no materials. The new cafeteria never opened because plained as she sat in the shade of a picked-over mango tree at there was no food or cooking gas, so Maria and her friends the school’s entrance. “You risk your life to be here and end up drink water from home instead of eating lunch. waiting around for hours doing nothing. But you have to keep “When I was in school, they gave us lab coats and we ex- coming because it’s the only way out.” perimented on rats,” freshman coordinator Rosa Ramirez said. The soaring crime and economic chaos stalking Venezuela swers had too many zeros, while her classmates lay with their “And they fed us two meals a day.” is also ripping apart a once up-and-coming school system, rob- heads on their desks. As food grows scarce, schools have reported dozens of ca- bing poor students such as Maria of any chance at a better life. Cubillan says she comes to class as much as she can while feteria robberies. This month, thieves beat a security guard to Offi cially, Venezuela has canceled 16 school days since Decem- hustling to get by on $30 a month. death at one school so they could make off with the cafeteria’s ber, including Friday classes because of an energy crisis. “If I don’t line up, I don’t eat. Who’s going to do it for me?” food. In reality, Venezuelan children have missed an average of Cubillan said. That leaves children with nothing to eat at home or in 40 percent of class time, a parent group estimates, as a third As many as 40 percent of teachers skip class on any gi- school. A quarter of Venezuelan children missed class this year of teachers skip work on any given day to wait in food lines. ven day to wait in food lines that snake through Caracas like because of hunger, according to the national research group At Maria’s school, so many students have fainted from hunger spider veins, according to the Venezuela Teacher’s Federation. Foundation Bengoa. that administrators told parents to keep their children home School director Helena Porras has asked nearby supermarkets “I have one student who missed the whole year,” earth if they have no food. And while the school locks its gate each to let teachers cut in line. And she’s disciplined staff for selling sciences teacher Berli Jaspe said. “We’re going to pass her an- morning, armed robbers, often teens themselves, still manage students passing grades in exchange for scarce goods like milk yway. It’s not these kids’ fault the country is falling apart.” to break in and stick up kids between classes. and fl our. Other students stay home because they have no running “This country has abandoned its children. By the time we But appeals to a teacher’s sense of shame don’t go far in a water to wash their uniforms. Maria’s mother cut into the see the full consequences, there will be no way to put it right,” country that is now among the most violent and lawless in the family’s food budget last month to take the children’s clothes Movement of Organized Parents spokeswoman Adelba Taffi n world. to a laundry service instead. said. Maria has seen robberies, lootings and lynch mobs on her Maria helps when she can. Her teachers rarely see her on Venezuela is a young nation, with more than a third of the way to school. One day, she held her breath on the bus as a man Thursdays, her government-assigned grocery shopping day. population under age 15, and until recently its schools were jabbed a gun into the neck of the woman next to her and sto- One recent morning, her mother asked her to leave art class among the best in South America. The late President Hugo le a wedding ring. Another time, she broke into a run toward because a store across town was selling fl our. Chavez made education a centerpiece of his socialist revolu- the school as vigilantes pressed in on an accused thief lying By the time Maria arrived, the stock already had run out. tion, using the riches from a historic boom in the price of oil bloodied on the ground. She raced back to school to make her afternoon math exam. But to train teachers and distribute free laptops. The government The locked metal gate at the school’s sole entrance makes when she got there, the math teacher hadn’t shown up. It was even renovated Maria’s 1,700-student school and installed a the cavernous building feel like a prison, but students seem his shopping day, too. new cafeteria. glad for the extra protection. One recent afternoon, dozens of That night, Maria remarked bitterly that the metro is the In just a few years, all of that progress has been undone. kids waited patiently to get out. No one could fi nd the worker cheapest thing you can buy in Caracas; if you pay for one ticket A fall in the price of oil combined with years of economic mis- with the key. and throw yourself in front of a train, all your problems are management has brought the country to its knees, along with Robbers still fi nd ways in, though, and students are quick over. many of its 7 million public school students. The annual dro- to give each other up, pointing to friends who have valuables Parents say they struggle to guide teenagers through si- pout rate has doubled, more than a quarter of teenagers are not to shift attention from themselves. Maria was held up once by tuations they fi nd hard to accept themselves. enrolled, and classrooms are understaff ed as professionals fl ee a boy so baby-faced that she assumed he was her 15-year-old Maria’s classmate Roberly Bernal wanted to drop out after the country. sister’s classmate. He leveled a gun at her sister’s ribs and de- a group of seniors threatened to stab her. Her father began wal- Maria’s school sits between a slum and what was once a manded the girls’ phones. king her to class every morning to protect her. Then, in April, middle-class neighborhood in the capital, Caracas. There is Even the other students can be dangerous. One day a boy he was murdered by a mob that accused him of stealing $5. even less food, water and electricity outside Caracas, where doused a classroom with a container of gas, planning to burn Now, Roberly is at a loss. Her mother would like her to talk schools shut down for weeks at a time. down the building. The smell was so strong that Maria was to a therapist, but the school’s two counselors retired last year. Chatty and so studious that her classmates call her “Wi- dizzy. Her mind went to the locked gate. Maria’s mother Aracelis knows her children’s grades have kipedia,” Maria started the year with dreams of becoming an “I’m scared every day. Your heart leaps into your throat fallen this year, though she isn’t sure how much. The school accountant and moving to Paris. Her parents had saved up to and you’re like, ‘Jeez, I thought a school was supposed to be has not had supplies to print up report cards. buy her 12 new notebooks, one for each subject. Nine months safe,’” she said. “I dropped out my freshman year and it set me back,” she later, most of the pages are still blank. Maria’s school looks less like a place of education than a said. “Maria goes almost every day, but I don’t know if she’s Maria has a two-hour free period instead of English. Her downtown bus terminal; grimy, smelling of urine, and full of doing much better. Venezuela must have done something very sister isn’t being taught math. people waiting for something that may not come. terrible to be punished like this.” Her accounting teacher recently went missing for a week Classrooms with puddles are used as emergency toilets When the school day ended, Maria put off returning home and a half. When she returned one afternoon, teacher Betty now that the bathrooms have no running water. Students play and lingered in the hall with friends. A classmate showed Cubillan limited herself to correcting homework. Maria used dice on the cracked asphalt of the yard, trading insults and pi- them a baby sparrow he’d grabbed out of a tree in the yard. a friend’s phone as a calculator to try to fi gure out why her an- les of bills. The patio was used for gym class until the teacher “We should eat it,” he said.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 21 Argentina’s Macri Stamps Out Symbols of Leftist Predecessors rgentina’s center-right President Mauricio Ma- MAIN POLITICAL FORCE cri is taking down portraits and closing mu- While a new leader might redecorate in any country, Aseums and other tributes to his left-leaning Macri is waging war on a movement that is particularly predecessors, getting rid of their cultural legacies as replete with symbolism. Peronism has been Argentina’s A man walks past posters with an image of for- well as their populist economic policies. main political force since the 1940s and images and re- mer Argentine President Juan Peron in Buenos Since taking over for Cristina Fernandez in Dec- ferences to Juan Perón and his glamorous wife Eva (Evi- Aires, Argentina, June 7. ember, Macri has removed sculptures of her late hus- ta) are omnipresent. band and former president Nestor Kirchner and of After her husband died in 2010, then-president Fer- to preserve a positive memory of her, regardless of how Juan Perón, the namesake of Argentina’s most infl uen- nandez sought to build a similar reverence for his 2003- many portraits are taken down. tial political movement. 07 rule. She had streets renamed and monuments built “The new government wants to show something “Culture is crucial to building a political identity,” in his honor, symbols Macri is trying to dismantle as he diff erent, but you can’t erase all the symbols,” said Gus- said sociologist Mercedes González Bracco of state- steers the country on a radically diff erent, pro-market tavo López, a former aide to Fernandez, calling Macri’s run science agency Conicet. “Macri’s party believes a course. eff orts a “vain attempt.” makeover of the Kirchner style is needed.” Macri closed a room dedicated to Kirchner in a local Macri’s government says it expects the economy to Fernandez continues to be a formidable political cultural center and shut down a state-sponsored scien- improve by the end of the year and blames Fernandez for opponent for Macri, even as moderate Peronist fac- ce and entertainment center the couple inaugurated. spending recklessly and scaring away investors. While tions abandon her. Though she isolated Argentina Other monuments to Peronism, including a museum he is rapidly taking down relics of his predecessors, the from capital markets and her nationalist polices spo- dedicated to the life of Evita that is a popular tourist president does not plan to replace the Kirchner’s left- oked investors, about a third of Argentines remain lo- attraction in Buenos Aires, remain open. wing populist narrative with his own, Privitellio said. yal to her and say Macri will never be able to undo her Macri did redesign a presidential museum to down- Walls that previously held Kirchner propaganda legacy. play the legacy of Kirchner and Fernandez’s combined and images of leftist icons like Argentine-born Cuban Nostalgia for her government’s generous subsi- 12 years in power, however, removing photos of the revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Venezuela’s dies, high employment rates and social safety nets is couple and a football uniform emblazoned with “100 late president Hugo Chavez will remain blank while growing as Macri’s austerity measures bite. A poll by percent K.” Macri inhabits the presidential palace. consultant Management & Fit showed the number of “Half the museum was dedicated to the past and “In this battle we have decided to take out the ene- Argentines who view Macri favorably fell 13 percenta- half to the Kirchners,” said historian Luciano de Privi- my cannons but not to replace them. There will no lon- ge points since December to 42.5 percent. tellio, who helped remodel it. ger be an offi cial narrative of history,” Privitellio said. Fernandez’s allies could gain ground in congres- OFFICIAL NARRATIVE sional elections next year as a result, potentially com- Those loyal to Fernandez hope Macri’s failure to plicating the reform eff orts and making Macri all the fulfi ll campaign promises of rapidly kickstarting eco- more keen to get rid of monuments to his ideological nomic growth and curbing infl ation might restore her APARTMENT FOR SALE CONDADO opponents. radical faction of Peronism to power. They are fi ghting COND. ATLANTIC PLAZA Venezuelan Asylum Requests JUST FEW STEPS TO THE BEACH, PRESBYTERIAN Skyrocket as Crisis Deepens HOSPITAL, MEDICAL OFFICES, SCHOOLS, RESTAURANTS, DRUG he number of Venezuelans seeking asylum in of China made more requests, 1,441 of the total 10,345 the United States has soared as the oil-dependent submitted that month. STORES, 3 BEDROOMS, Teconomy crashes and more of the middle class The South American country fi rst cracked the top 3 BATHROOMS, PARKING fl ees. 10 asylum-seeking nations in February 2014 when a The most recent data from the US government’s bloody, months-long street protest movement seeking FACILITY Citizenship and Immigration Services show that in to oust the socialist administration kicked off . But back March 2016, Venezuelans climbed to second place then, amid the widespread jailing and harassment of For Information among nationalities submitting asylum requests, with opponents of President Nicolas Maduro, fewer than 100 787-616-1038 1,345 applications during that month. Only citizens Venezuelans per month sought asylum.

The San Juan Daily Star 22 Monday, June 20, 2016 The Deeper Meaning of Mexico’s Giant Speed Bumps By DAMIEN CAVE they look like or where they go. I’ve seen makeshift topes materialize in upper-class neighborhoods from he 229th time I scraped the bottom of our Vo- one day to the next, and I’ve seen topes that were built, lkswagen over a tope — Mexico’s brand of speed I’m convinced, just to make drivers slow down for ven- Tbump — I swore as though I’d just been rear-en- dors who sell candy and water. ded by a truck. Other topes seem to have been created more with There was no sign to warn of the giant mound of vengeance in mind, which now makes me wonder: Was pavement, which meant that I hit the thing at full-on someone after a corrupt gang member or businessman Colombia’s FARC Rebels Ready To launch velocity. And its size practically guaranteed who sped by every morning? Or was the target really damage: In my rearview mirror, I could see deep lines me — a foreigner from that country up north that ne- scraped by my car’s chassis and many others before ver seems to give Mexico the respect it deserves? Return To War If Talks Fail: President me. Must have just been poorly fashioned, you say? A mistake? If only. A well-worn tope in Mexico City, scarred by the under- olombia’s leftist FARC rebel group is prepared to re- There are thousands, maybe millions, of these carriages of countless cars. turn to the battlefi eld, especially in urban areas, if misshapen risers on back roads and highways all over Cpeace negotiations with the government fall apart, Mexico. The biggest of the bunch look like Fernando President Juan Manuel Santos said late last week. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Botero sculptures before he slimmed them down. have been holding peace talks for three-and-a-half years in When I arrived in Mexico as a New York Times co- an eff ort to put an end to more than fi ve decades of war in rrespondent, I thought the topes were just infrequent the Andean country. oddities. But over time, layers of meaning emerged, as “We have ample information that they are prepared they do with so many things in Mexico. to return to war and urban war, which is much more des- Topes (pronounced TOE-pace) are suspension- tructive than rural war,” Santos said at the World Economic killing wonders that fi ll a void in law and order. In a Forum’s Latin America meeting in Medellin on Thursday. country where impunity rules, topes are screams of “That is why it is so important we reach a deal,” the pre- frustration. They’re a means of enforcing speed control sident said, adding he was confi dent a peace accord would and civility on the road, and they can’t be avoided. They be ready soon. can’t be bribed to look the other way. The FARC declared a unilateral ceasefi re nearly a year But topes also refl ect the same failures that they ago and the government has halted bombings on rebel aim to fi x. There appear to be few rules governing what camps while the talks continue. The two sides last week an- nounced a deal on joint eradication of illicit crops. No Birth Defects Seen in Babies Exposed to Zika Late in Pregnancy: Study study of Zika infections in Colombia has found no fect marked by small head size and underdeveloped bra- “I think the numbers are going to come up,” said Ho- obvious birth defects among women infected du- ins. nein, who expects increasing reports of microcephaly, brain A ring the third trimester of pregnancy, raising hopes In Brazil, authorities have confi rmed more than 1,400 anomalies and other birth defects among women infected that Zika may not cause serious harm to the fetus when cases of microcephaly in babies whose mothers were expo- with Zika earlier in their pregnancies. mothers are infected later in pregnancy. sed to Zika during pregnancy. Researchers have been clo- CDC investigators are working with their Colombian “It’s somewhat reassuring that it looks like third-tri- sely watching for the same issues among infants in Colom- colleagues to determine which cases are due to Zika and mester infections aren’t posing a major risk of that very se- bia. The virus arrived in Colombia in October 2015, about which are due to another cause. rious outcome,” said Dr. Margaret Honein, chief of the birth fi ve months after the start of Brazil’s outbreak. defects branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and The Colombian study involved data on 65,726 Zika ca- Prevention, who was one of several authors of the study ses reported between Aug. 9, 2015 and April 2, 2016. These published online last week in the New England Journal of included 1,850 pregnant women in which the researchers Medicine. knew the trimester in which the mother became infected. She stressed that the fi ndings are preliminary, saying Of the 600 women infected during their third trimes- “it is critically important” to continue following these ba- ter, 90 percent have delivered their babies, and none gave bies to look for other eff ects from exposure to Zika. birth to a child with microcephaly or other obvious birth Honein said the infants in Colombia need to be wat- defects. ched for other potential eff ects of Zika infection, such as As of early April, most pregnancies in which women hearing loss or vision problems, or any other developmen- were infected in the fi rst or second trimester were still on- tal problems. going, but some of those mothers have started to give birth. The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been shown to In these women, Honein said, there have been “a growing attack fetal brain cells and cause microcephaly, a birth de- number” of problems.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 23

24 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star New York Times Editorials Britain’s Dangerous Urge to Go It Alone By THE EDITORIAL BOARD areas from the environment to banking. on the rise in many European countries, is not There is no argument that the European about effi ciency or history. It is about ill-defi ned ritain’s moment of truth is fast approaching. On Thursday, Union is a fl awed institution. Its dysfunction frustration with the complexities of a changing the country will vote on whether to remain in or to leave the has been on display in its fi tful handling of the world and a changing Europe, a loss of faith in BEuropean Union. The referendum has generated a torrent Greek debt and refugee crises, its bureaucracy is mainstream politicians and experts, a nostalgia of analyses, commentaries and appeals — including President pathetically slow to recognize or correct its fai- for a past when nations decided their own fates Obama’s urging Britain to stay in. Most serious studies have con- lings and it often acts like an out-of-touch and and kept foreigners out. To those who hold these cluded that Britain would be economically and politically dama- undemocratic elite. Part of that is the inherent views, the European Union is the epitome of all ged by “Brexit,” a British exit from the E.U. ineffi ciency of an institution of 28 member states that has gone wrong, an alien bureaucracy deaf And yet the chorus of disgruntled voters convinced that with big diff erences in size, wealth and democra- to the traditions and values of its members. Not bureaucrats in Brussels are threatening their identity, sovereig- tic traditions, and which participate to diff erent surprisingly, Mr. Trump and the French politi- nty and values, and also packing their island with foreigners, is degrees in the single currency and border-free cian Marine Le Pen both favor Brexit. growing by the day. This British version of “make America great zone. But there is no turning back the clock, and again” is every bit as illusory as Donald Trump’s slogan — and Yet the E.U. is an extraordinary achieve- an exit could create new problems at home — just as potentially dangerous, for Britain and for its European and ment, a voluntary union of nations whose his- like a Scotland that would want to go ahead and North American partners. The campaign has generated powerful tories include some of the bloodiest wars ever waged. However break with Britain in order to stay in the E.U. And apart from the emotions. Last Thursday, after the shooting death of Jo Cox, a La- fl awed the bloc, it has replaced blood feuds with a single market, fi nancial chaos and damage it would do to Britain, a vote to leave bour Party politician who has been a strong voice for staying in the shared values, free travel and labor mobility. Britain has always would encourage euroskeptics across the Continent, putting the union, both sides suspended all campaigning. been something of an outlier in the E.U., joining what began as entire European project at risk. Britain’s exit, in short, would be a There will be concrete consequences for Britain if it severs the European Coal and Steel Community two decades after it was disaster. itself from the union. It would lose tariff -free access to its largest formed and declining to participate in either the euro currency or To the skeptics, though, President Obama, the International trading market, or be forced to make big concessions. It would the borderless Schengen zone. Yet there is no question that Britain Monetary Fund, the German government and all the others who have to negotiate its own trade pacts with other nations, and has benefi ted from membership, both economically and as a strong have argued against a departure are only the predictable voices of would have much less bargaining heft. The anti-union crowd voice in shaping E.U. policy. the global order they want to escape. The hope at this stage rests promises that freedom from E.U. regulation will bring economic The euroskepticism that has led to the British referendum, and on the Britons who understand what is at stake. Every one of their gains, but Britons will have to write their own protections, in that forms a strong component of the right-wing nationalist parties votes is critical on Thursday. Religion’s Wicked Neighbor ness. Sincere faith begins with humility in relation to the Almighty and a sense of being strengthened by his infi nite love. In some sense the phrase “Islamic radicalism” is wrong becau- se terrorism is not a radical extension of this kind of faith. People By David Brooks fellowship and peace. don’t start out with this kind of faith and then turn into terrorists Worst of all, his decision to dance around an unpleasant reali- because they became more faithful. arack Obama is clearly wrong when he refuses to use the ty is part of the enveloping cloud of political correctness that drives The spirit of dominion, on the other hand, does not start with word “Islam” in reference to Islamist terrorism. The people people to Donald Trump. Millions of Americans feel they can’t say an awareness of God. It starts with a sense of injury and a desire to Bwho commit these acts are infl amed by a version of an Isla- what they think, or even entertain views outside the boundaries heal injury through revenge and domination. mist ideology. They claim an Islamist identity. They swear fealty to laid down by elites, and so are drawn to the guy who rails against For the terrorist, a sense of humiliation is the primary reality. organizations like ISIS that govern themselves according to certain taboos and says what he believes. Terrorism emerges from a psychic state, not a spiritual one. This interpretations of the Quran. The fact is that 15 years after 9/11 we still haven’t arrived at a turns into a grievance, the belief that some external enemy is the As Peter Bergen writes in his book “The United States of Ji- true understanding of our enemy. How much is religion involved cause of this injury, rather than some internal weakness. had,” “Assertions that Islamist terrorism has nothing to do with in jihadism, or psychology, or politics? This then leads to what the forensic psychologist Reid Meloy Islam are as nonsensical as claims that the Crusades had nothing And the core of our confusion is that we are unclear about calls “vicarious identifi cation” — the moral outrage that comes to do with Christian beliefs about the sanctity of Jerusalem.” what a religion is, and how it might relate to violence sometimes from the belief that my victimization is connected to the larger vic- On the other hand, Donald Trump is abhorrently wrong in carried out in its name. timization of my group. implying that these attacks are central to Islam. His attempt to ban For clarity on that question, it helps to start with William It’s only at this point in the pathway that religion enters the Muslim immigration is an act of bigotry (applying the sins of the James’s classic work, “The Varieties of Religious Experience.” In picture, or rather an absolutist, all-explaining political ideology few to the whole group), which is sure to incite more terrorism. that book, James distinguishes between various religious expe- that is the weed that grows up next to religion. Bin Ladinism ex- His implication that we are in a clash of civilizations is an insult riences and “religion’s wicked practical partner, the spirit of corpo- plains all of history, and gives the injured a course of action that to those Muslims who have risked and lost their lives in the fi ght rate dominion, and religion’s wicked intellectual partner, the spirit will make them feel grandiose and heroic. It is the human impulse against ISIS and the Taliban. of dogmatic dominion, the passion for laying down the law.” for dominance and revenge that borrows righteous garb. The problem is that these two wrongs are feeding off each In other words, there is the spirit of religion and, frequently For the religious person it’s about God. For the terrorist, it’s other. Obama is using language to engineer a reaction rather than accompanying it, its wicked neighbors, the spirit of political and about himself. When Omar Mateen was in the midst of his ram- to tell the truth, which is the defi nition of propaganda. Most world intellectual dominion. page, he was posting on Facebook and calling a TV station. His leaders talk about Islamist terror, but Obama apparently thinks It seems blindingly obvious to say, but the spirit of religion audience was us, not the Divine. that if he uses the phrase “Islamic radicalism” the rest of us will begins with a sense that God exists. God is the primary reality, Omar Mateen wanted us to think he was martyring himself be too dim to be able to distinguish between the terrorists and and out of that fl ows a set of values and experiences: prayer, praise, in the name of holiness. He was actually a sad loser obliterating the millions of good-hearted Muslims who want only to live in charity, contrition, grace and the desire to grow closer toward holi- himself for the sake of revenge.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 25 New York Times Editorials Why We Should Politicize the Orlando Massacre thdraw from public life. Quite the contrary: When the of mass murder capable of shooting over 20 rounds in AIDS epidemic struck the gay community in the 1980s, nine seconds — the civilian version of a military we- gay men mourning the deaths of lovers and friends did apon — is also the product of our politics, which makes not turn inward. They turned to the streets, unleashing no distinction between guns that can be used for sport one of the modern era’s largest and most eff ective pro- and self-defense and those designed to take as many li- test movements. Because of their eff orts, the federal go- ves as possible in a short amount of time. A tragedy with vernment changed the way it tested and released lifes- political causes has political solutions. aving drugs. L.G.B.T. organizers know from experience that It’s easy to forget that 10 years ago, the partners theater is part of politics. When activists from the H.I.V.- of victims in Orlando’s shooting might not have been AIDS advocacy group Act Up stormed the headquarters permitted to visit their loved ones in hospitals. It is be- of the Food and Drug Administration in the 1980s, part cause of the L.G.B.T. movement’s political mobilization of their goal was to create a scene in order to capture the that we can now stand beside wounded lovers in hos- media’s attention. But it was not spectacle for its own pital beds. sake. The ultimate goal was to change policy. Given the By GABRIEL ARANA If people dying of AIDS or facing discrimination amount of energy the Beltway expends on Donald J. can channel their outrage into political action, why Trump’s latest zinger, it may be tempting to think that ALLS to resist “politicizing” tragedy have beco- shouldn’t the 49 victims gunned down on Sunday beco- it’s all just for show. But the consequences of our politi- me a standard feature of our political discour- me political symbols? cal actions — and inaction — are as real as the bullets in Cse following mass shootings. From Newtown, For those directly aff ected by mass violence, the Mr. Mateen’s weapon. Conn., to Aurora, Colo., politicians and pundits have desire to avoid politics is about giving victims and urged us to refrain from politics as predictably as they their loved ones space to grieve and refl ect. The politi- have off ered hollow “thoughts and prayers” as a condo- cal class’s stubborn refusal to connect what goes on in lence to victims and their families. Washington to the way life is lived, and ended, refl ects The tragedy in Orlando that claimed the lives of 49 something far less noble. people at a gay nightclub has proved no diff erent. When Many journalists and politicians have become ac- Senator Bernie Sanders used his time on NBC’s “Meet customed not only to seeing politics as mere theater — a PO BOX 6537 Caguas PR 00726 the Press” Sunday to call for a ban on automatic we- source of television ratings, fodder for books and news Or e-mail us at: apons, the host, Chuck Todd, asked pointedly whether it stories — but as an insider’s game. When politics is the [email protected] was possible to discuss the shooting “without trying to domain of the elite, it’s natural to think the relentless Telephones: (787) 743-3346 • (787) 743-6537 politicize one version of events over the other?” Gary Jo- churn of the Beltway commentariat has nothing to do (787) 743-5606 • Fax (787) 743-5100 hnson, the Libertarian presidential candidate, sounded with a mass murder in Florida. a similar note when he told The Washington Post that Americans have learned to feel helpless in the the current moment was “not a time to either politicize face of mass shootings. But the triumphs of the L.G.B.T.- or jump to conclusions.” rights movement show that it is possible to change stag- But it is only the most privileged among us who nant systems, even radically. But it requires more than have the luxury of divorcing politics from everyday life. a momentary outburst of resolve whenever crisis hits. Those of us in the L.G.B.T. community know better. Po- Changing public opinion and our laws to recognize Dr. Ricardo Angulo litics is how we won the right to be free from discrimi- the humanity of our community happened only after Publisher nation in government jobs, to have sex without fear of a sustained campaign across decades that included the criminal prosecution, to serve in the military, to get ma- eff orts of countless grass-roots organizers, activists, Manuel Sierra Aaron Christiana rried and adopt children. In about 28 states, we are still lawyers, lobbyists, writers and advocates. It will take an General Manager Editor fi ghting to outlaw discrimination in employment. And organizing eff ort on a similar scale to stop anyone with transgender Americans are still fi ghting for the right to a cause, a grudge or simply a screw loose from being Lisette Martínez Maria Miranda pee in peace. able to obtain the tools for mass murder. Advertising Agency Director Local News Editor To think that a mass shooting at a gay nightclub fi - The disgust that the Orlando gunman Omar Ma- Ray Ruiz lled with Latinos and committed by a Muslim-American teen reportedly felt at seeing two gay men kiss in front Legal Notice Director Ismael Reyes sympathetic to religious extremists is beyond the scope of his son was political, the product of a culture whe- Sports Editor/Assistant Editor of politics is absurd on its face — you couldn’t dream re leaders have for decades compared same-sex love to Allan Gil up a scenario more rife with political implications. But bestiality, portrayed gay people as threats to children Internal Auditor María Rivera it is especially absurd to those of us in the L.G.B.T. com- and passed laws to stop them from adopting and even munity, whose very existence has been politicized for marrying. Sharon Ramírez Graphic Artist Manager decades. That Mr. Mateen was able to purchase a weapon Legal Notices Graphics Manager However personal, tragedy is no occasion to wi-

26 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star 36 Hours 36 Hours A. ($5) is the proper pairing with “Beer Bottle Mama.” 4. NIGHTCAP AT THE CLUB, MIDNIGHT The Rainbo Club in Wicker Park is said to be the inspiration for the in Chicago in Chicago Tug & Maul in Nelson Algren’s “The Man With the Golden Arm” (he lived and wrote close by) and it makes few concessions to time. The stage where burlesque dancers once shimmied, still there. A Pabst Blue Ribbon is $2, a 3 Floyds Yum Yum pale ale, $5. Re- cords are played on a turntable. Late one Saturday night, at appropriately high volume, came the insistent bass line of the garage-rock classic “Pushin’ Too Hard.” A patron stood up, raised his arms and with unadulterated joy asked, “Is this the Seeds?” Saturday 5. HITTING THE TRAIL, 9 A.M. Grab a well-made cappuccino at Caff é Streets and head for the Wood Street entrance to the 606, once an ele- vated rail line, now a wide, welcoming walkway that takes runners, strollers and cyclists through northwest-side neighborhoods. Urban and pastoral meet-up: The El rolling overhead at Milwaukee Avenue. On North Hum- By STEVE REDDICLIFFE “You don’t want to be stuff ed.” Good boldt Boulevard you’ll fi nd the marker thought — and it allows for dessert at 1667, where L. Frank Baum wrote he neighborhoods on Chicago’s (shokolad means chocolate). The fi rst- “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (his near northwest side are an invig- rate beet soup ($4) is served with fl uff y home has since been torn down). Fol- Torating blend of refl ection and focaccia. Mushroom and potato pierogi low your own mellow, quick road to reinvention. ($4.25 for six) are easy eating. Sand- North Avenue and Roeser’s Bakery, The neighborhoods on Chicago’s wich cookies (ginger, hazelnut) are 60 in business since 1911. Allow time for near northwest side are an invigorat- cents each; buy a bag. scouting before taking a number — ing blend of refl ection and reinven- 2. AFTERNOON AT THE MUSE- Swedish fl op coff ee cakes, maple bacon tion. Families from Ukraine, Poland UMS, 2 P.M. long johns and a boatload of bismarcks and Puerto Rico settled here, and to- At the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Slip into a booth at the handsome (pastries from $1.19). Take them across day expressions of their cultures can be Art (suggested donation, $5) the per- Haywood Tavern, a Humboldt Park the street to Humboldt Park, where found in museums, churches and cafes manent collection includes works by pub with an accomplished kitchen. the statue of the explorer Leif Erikson- serving traditional dishes. These have Ukraine-born artists like Anton Skoru- Start with smoked catfi sh dip with speaks (it’s part of the Statue Stories been joined by new restaurants and bsky Kandinsky, Olga Antonenko and fresh potato chips ($7) and a Sneeze Chicago program). This Leif, the voice bars, fresh faces that honor a past of Alexandra Diachenko. For the current Guard cocktail (whiskey, lemon, gin- of the Second City alum Fred Willard, ice cream parlors, tiki dens and break- exhibition, “Chernobyl 30 Years Later,” ger beer — a refreshing cure for the gives props to himself and gently diss- fast as the best meal of the day. These the museum enlisted 30 Chicago artists cold you don’t have; $8) and move on es Columbus (Columbus could not be neighborhoods are great places for to provide perspectives on the nucle- to grilled trout ($19) or a husky double reached for comment). long walks — to parks, pubs and blues ar disaster in Ukraine. At the nearby cheeseburger made with Slagel Farms clubs — on bothlandmark boulevards Ukrainian National Museum of Chi- beef ($14). Then go across the street and a landscaped trail where freight cago, docents guide visitors through a and into the seductive rouge glow of trains once rumbled. collection that ranges from celebratory the California Clipper cocktail lounge Friday (the vibrantly painted Ukrainian Eas- (the building dates to 1911), where, if 1. A TASTE OF UKRAINE, 1 P.M. ter eggs called pysanky) to somber (an you’re lucky, the guitarist Joel Pater- A small bowl of borscht and a half- exhibit about the Holodomor, the fam- son’s trio the Modern Sounds will be dozen pierogies — is that enough for ine orchestrated by Stalin in the early playing. “I tend to play jazz and swing lunch? “It depends on how hungry you 1930s). It is a small museum but its because it kind of fi ts the room,” Mr. are,” said the waitress at the Shokolad messages stay with you. Paterson said. A Founders All Day I.P. Pastry & Cafe in Ukrainian Village. 3. HUMBOLDT HAVENS, 8 P.M.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 27 6. ART IN THE PARK, 11 A.M. ter and Bruce Sherman (at North Pond), and he The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & brings considerable creativity to breakfasts and Culture (free) is in the oldest surviving structure lunches at his bustling Logan Square cafe. The in Humboldt Park: stables built in the 1890s. In- smoked salmon plate with perfectly poached side the red-roofed building withits gables and eggs and potato-leek cakes ($16), a chive waf- turrets, contemporary Puerto Rican art is on fl e with sausage and fennel cream gravy ($14) view. On the fi rst fl oor is “Las Caras Lindas,” a — everything’s delicious. You’ll want a Bacon collection of colorful, mesmerizing masks made Old-Fashioned, too ($9). Because it’s breakfast. of coconut shells andpapier-mâché inspired by a After, walk east on Logan, one of the prettiest character known as a vejigante (the show’s cata- stretches of the city’s boulevard system (don’t log notes that themasks are often considered a miss the Rath house at 2703 West Logan, a commentary on colonialism). The show will run prime example of Prairie School architecture). through July 30. 13. MARKET PLACE, 11 A.M. 7. A JIBARITO AND CABRITO, 1 P.M. The Logan Square Farmers’ Market is a spir- You can go the buff et route or get table ser- time there, makes his own yogurt and breads ited Sunday showcase for everything from fresh vice at La Palma, a cheerful Puerto Rican cafe in (the pita is outstanding). It’s a good-looking produce (Mr. Mauro is a frequent shopper) to Humboldt Park (in a mural, a grinning frog plays place — vaulted ceilings, copper-topped tables Zullo’s zeppole. You may be too full for a Croa- the bongos). Take the table; that way you can ask — with an abundance of energy. The rooftop re- tian sausage from Cevapcici Chicago, but you the enthusiastic servers which fi lling they rec- cently opened for the season. At this elevation, can take home caramels from Katherine Anne ommend in the jibarito ($7.75), the sandwich in Mr. Schneider will be serving lamb roasted as Confections and Gouda from Stamper Cheese which disks of plantain serve as a crisp bun; you shepherds doin the mountains of Crete. Company, whose banner reads “Caseum Diem can’t go wrong with pernil(slow-roasted pork). 10. BLUES PROJECT, 9 P.M. — Cheese the Day.” The tender cabrito (goat stew), a weekend spe- The Happy New Year banner was still up in Lodging cial, is another must ($12.95 with side dishes). April at Rosa’s Lounge in Logan Square, but The Wicker Park Inn, 1329 North Wicker Park 8. ICE CREAM DREAMS, 2 P.M. it doesn’t seem out of date — this is an upbeat Avenue, wickerparkinn.com. Rooms from $109. Claim a stool at Spinning J, a sweet twirl on place, from the greeting at the door to the dy- Pleasant staff ; continental breakfast included. an old-time soda fountain (the 1920s marble namic performance by Lil’ Ed & the Blues Impe- Ruby Room, 1743-45 West Division Street, counter came from a pharmacy in Milwaukee) rials (weekend tickets $12 to $20), led by Ed Wil- rubyroom.com. Something of a retreat on a busy opened last year by the baker Dinah Grossman liams, who plays a scorching slide guitar. Rosa street (no TV). Rooms from $130. and Parker Whiteway. Ms. Grossman makes Mangiullo and her son Tony, a drummer, opened outstanding pies — banana cream drizzled with the club 32 years ago, after moving to Chicago caramel, lemon Shaker (from $5) — and shakes, from Milan. “To me blues is an honest form of sodas and fl oats (from $6.50) are superb. The sas- expression,” Mr. Mangiullo said. Vaclav Havel, safras in the house-made root beer: foraged. then the president of the Czech Republic, was 9. GET TO THE GREEK, 7 P.M. in the house in 1993. Magic Slim played — Mr. The chef David Schneider was of the opin- Havel’s request. ion that Greek cuisine, and culture, had become 11. TIKI TIME, 11:30 P.M. something of a “cartoon” and he didn’t like it. The cocktail magazine Imbibe named Lost So he devised his excellent restaurant Taximin Lake its bar of the year for 2016, and three sips Wicker Park to “show that there’s regionalism in into a Tic-Tac-Taxi (two rums, coconut, passion- Greece.” Try the fried caulifl ower with whipped fruit, lime; $12), you are pretty sure the vote was feta ($8); the cloud of tzatziki with cucumbers unanimous. This blast of “Blue Hawaii” comes and dill ($6); the duck gyro with a pomegranate from Paul McGee, among the city’s most praised reduction ($25); and a bottle of Greek red from a bartenders, and Shelby Allison, his wife. Drinks list deep with discoveries. Mr. Schneider, whose are beautifully balanced; the Lost Lake with mother is Greek and who has spent considerable aged rum and pineapple has a nip of Campari ($12), and sherry sidles into more than one cock- tail. The room nods to places like Don the Beach- comber — lots of bamboo, banana-leaf wallpa- per — and the soundtrack includes new-wave surf (“Bikini Sunset” by the Volcanos) and reg- gae. It’s a giddy getaway; the banana adorning a daiquiri, carved to resemble a dolphin (complete with clove eyes), really is smiling at you. Sunday 12. JAM SESSION, 9 A.M. The salmon is smoked in house. The pastra- mi too. The hollandaise — English pea, maitake mushroom — changes with the season. The chef at Jam, Jeff rey Mauro, cooked for Charlie Trot-

NO en en 20 de Junio de 2016 NOTICIASTICIAS ESPAESPANNOLOL Pr Provistas por Internews Serviceovistas por Internews Service Los artículos de supermercado en la isla son 25.4% más costosos que el promedio de los EEUU l InsƟ tuto de EstadísƟ cas de Puerto Rico informó que los arơ culos de supermercado son El Índice de Costo de Vida de los Estados Unidos permite comparar el costo de vida rela- E25.4% más costosos que el promedio de los Estados Unidos. Ɵ vo de una familia profesional o gerencial de altos o medianos ingresos en unas 300 disƟ ntas El antecedente se conoce luego de que el área metropolitana estadísƟ ca de San Juan, áreas urbanas y rurales de los Estados Unidos y ahora en Puerto Rico. Carolina y Caguas fuera formalmente incluida en la publicación del Índice de Costo de Vida o Como resultado, COLI sirve, por ejemplo, para que una persona pueda saber cuánto va a Cost-of-Living Index (COLI) de los Estados Unidos, que se lleva realizando desde 1968 por el costar vivir en disƟ ntas partes de los Estados Unidos antes de mudarse, de tal manera que Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). se pueda realizar una adecuada planifi cación presupuestaria familiar antes de montarse en Desde 2014, el InsƟ tuto de EstadísƟ cas había estado proveyendo los datos necesarios el avión. al C2ER a manera de prueba piloto, pero no fue hasta este mes que el C2ER incluyó formal- También, es úƟ l para que aquellas empresas que están evaluando mudarse a Puerto Rico mente a Puerto Rico. puedan conocer los costos de vida que sus ejecuƟ vos y trabajadores van a enfrentar al mu- Dentro de los datos, se destaca que el Índice de Costo de Vida del Área Metropolitana darse a Puerto Rico, para propósitos de decidir la compensación que necesitarán proveer a EstadísƟ ca de San Juan es 11.6% mayor al promedio de otras áreas metropolitanas de los sus empleados. Estados Unidos. “COLI ha sido instrumental en lograr que el Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados En la categoría de los servicios públicos (“uƟ liƟ es”), ocupa el cuarto lugar entre las ciu- Unidos haya anunciado recientemente la asignación de 25 millones anuales adicionales para dades más costosas, sobrepasado nada más por Alaska y Hawaii. el Programa de Comedores Escolares del Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico. Esto Los arơ culos de supermercado son 25.4% más costosos que el promedio de los Estados no tan solo benefi cia a nuestros estudiantes, su nutrición y su educación, sino que también Unidos y los costos en vivienda son 3.6% más económicos que el promedio de otras áreas inyecta millones de dólares a la agricultura de Puerto Rico”, expresó Mario Marazzi SanƟ ago, metropolitanas de los Estados Unidos. director ejecuƟ vo del InsƟ tuto de EstadísƟ cas. En el renglón de cuidados de la salud, el Índice de Costo de Vida del Área Metropoli- tana EstadísƟ ca de San Juan conƟ núa refl ejándose como el índice más económico entre todas las otras ciudades parƟ cipantes. Tasa de desempleo para mayo se colocó en 11.7 % l Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos, dio a conocer que la tasa de desem- Epleo ajustada correspondiente a mayo 2016 se colocó en 11.7 %. La cifra refl eja una baja de 0.4 %, al compararse con mayo 2015, cuando la tasa de desempleo alcanzó el 12.1 %. Los esƟ mados de Empleo y Desempleo en Puerto Rico, correspondientes a mayo, tam- bién refl ejaron que la tasa de parƟ cipación se colocó en 40.6 %, lo que equivale a un aumen- to de 1.1 % al comparar la cifra con mayo 2015, cuando la parƟ cipación laboral se esƟ mó en 39.5 %. El secretario del Departamento del Trabajo declaró que “es importante destacar que la tasa de parƟ cipación durante los pasados ocho meses se mantenido estable en los 40 %, lo que infi ere que los desempleados no se han desalentado en la tarea de la búsqueda de empleos. De igual manera, esta encuesta refl eja un aumento de 19,000 empleos mas que mayo 2015 (988,000) para colocar la cifra de empleos en 1,007,000, número que no se alca- nzaba desde marzo 2013”. También se difundieron los resultados de la Encuesta de Empleo Asalariado No Agrícola DESPUÉS DE LA REMODELACIÓN la cual refl eja que varias industrias tuvieron aumentos en la creación de empleos. TE DEJAN LA CONTAMINACIÓN DURA CARPET ES LA SOLUCIÓN LLAMAR PARA EVALUACIÓN DURA CARPET (787)765-1584 • (787)717-0897

NO en en 29 20 de Junio de 2016 The San Juan Daily Star NOTICIASTICIAS ESPAESPANOLOL Vaticina exembajador Alarcón que la isla será independiente con el concurso de todos los puertorriqueños Por Nelson del CasƟ llo lados, y esa propuesta de Cuba fue derrotada”, expresó Alarcón. l intelectual cubano Ricardo Alarcón, otrora embaja- Se refi rió a un libro que se editará en Puerto Rico que con- Edor en las Naciones Unidas, vaƟ cinó que, como resul- Ɵ ene un documento de enero de 1959 del exgobernador tado del “torbellino esperanzador en que se encuentra”, puertorriqueño Luis Muñoz Marín, cuando busca un acer- Puerto Rico será independiente en un escenario en el camiento con la naciente Revolución Cubana y trata de ver cual estarán involucradas las diversas corrientes ideológi- cómo pueden establecer relaciones cordiales, construcƟ vas. cas que hoy forcejean por su propia solución. El expresidente de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popu- “Permítanme la ligereza de hacer pronósƟ co sin el lar aseguró que Muñoz Marín aclaró que para lograr eso “los menor intento de injerencia en los asuntos internos cubanos Ɵ enen que recƟ fi car, cambiar algunas concepciones puertorriqueños, pero yo vivo convencido de que Puerto erróneas que han estado teniendo”. Rico no podrá dejar de ser una nación soberana, inde- “Por supuesto, Muñoz no se refería al periodo de BaƟ sta, pendiente, porque ya derrotó los peores riesgos que la América LaƟ na todavía está cuando ocurrió todo lo contrario, se acabaron las críƟ cas de la situación de Puerto Rico, afrontando; que logró salvar su cultura, su idenƟ dad, en las peores condiciones que desaparecieron las preocupaciones por respaldar la independencia de Puerto Rico, le nadie ha tenido que soportar en este conƟ nente”, aseguró Alarcón. preocupaba, con toda razón, que regresáramos a lo que había antes de la Ɵ ranía, y así El veterano diplomáƟ co de 79 años de edad, que ha ocupado diversos cargos en la fue”, relató. estructura políƟ ca de la Revolución Cubana, aclaró que en medio de la situación en que Alarcón expuso que lo único que ha hecho la Revolución Cubana es asumir esa se halla Puerto Rico, se avanzará hacia la consecución de la independencia. línea, esa tradición, que va más allá de los parƟ dos, de las corrientes ideológicas, de las “El futuro de Puerto Rico independiente no va a ser el futuro construido y sostenido religiones en Cuba, para hacer una cuesƟ ón nacional fundamental, desarrollarlo con- por aquellos que han creído siempre en la independencia, lo será también con aquellos secuentemente. que por diversos moƟ vos tuvieron sus dudas o sus discrepancias, o lo que fuera, y hacia “A mí me tocó, por esas locuras de la Revolución ir a Nueva York a los 28 años como eso deben trabajar. Ese debe ser el saldo principal de esto úlƟ mo que ha ocurrido”, ex- un embajador y asumir el papel que tenía que asumir cualquiera que hubiera estado puso en aparente referencia a la crisis fi scal y económica en que está sumido el país, con en esa situación. El saldo de todo eso es que guardaré siempre una profunda amistad una deuda de 70 mil millones de dólares que lo ha colocado al borde de la bancarrota. y un profundo respeto por los puertorriqueños y las puertorriqueñas más allá de las Alarcón aclaró que cuando estuvo en Puerto Rico la vez anterior en 1979, “Ɵ empos ideologías, más allá de las concepciones tácƟ cas y estratégicas de esta problemáƟ ca de bastantes diferentes”, se reunió con representantes del espectro políƟ co puertorrique- la relación con Estados Unidos”, precisó. ño, incluidos las diversas corrientes en que se mulƟ plica la izquierda. Se mostró convencido de que los puertorriqueños lograrán, fi nalmente, “ejercer sus Con humor, recordó que antes solo asisơ an a las Naciones Unidas los dirigentes in- derechos inalienables y lo lograrán en primer lugar porque se lo han ganado, porque lo dependenƟ stas Juan Mari Brás y Rubén Berríos, a los que se unió después la Gran Logia merecen, porque ningún otro pueblo de América LaƟ na ha afrontado los desaİ os que Nacional del Oriente. este pequeño pueblo ha tenido que encarar”. “La solidaridad cubana con la independencia de este país no la puede cambiar na- “Sobre ningún otro se lanzaron tantas amenazas y tantos riesgos, ya en Ɵ empos más die”, advirƟ ó al dirigirse a los asistentes a un almuerzo en el Colegio de Abogados y recientes en las repúblicas independientes, en algunos casos entrecomillas, había un Abogadas de Puerto Rico, donde su presidente Mark Anthony Bimbela le entregó la gran debate, un gran tema, los peligros de la asimilación, de la destrucción de América Medalla Presidencial, acuñada en bronce, después de una presentación realizada por el LaƟ na, (cuando) avanzaba el ALCA, la zona de libre comercio de las Américas, donde se licenciado Alejandro Torres Rivera. enfrentó Brasil, Venezuela, Cuba, etcétera. Puerto Rico estaba durmiendo en un ALCA Alarcón manifestó que la idea de José Marơ de la unidad vital entre las AnƟ llas, “O se centenario”, comentó. salvan juntas o juntas perecerán”, condenadas o bendecidas a un desƟ no común, está Alarcón advirƟ ó que “Puerto Rico está aquí, hablando su idioma, pensando en puer- arraigada en la tradición cubana, y la sostendrá siempre todo cubano bien nacido, lo torriqueño, sinƟ endo en puertorriqueño, ahora indignados muchos, quizás la mayoría, que nada Ɵ ene que ver con ideologías contemporáneas ni con la confrontación con el quizás la totalidad de los puertorriqueños por lo que ha ocurrido recientemente”. imperialismo norteamericano o con el marxismo-leninismo. Se refi rió el intelectual cubano, sin mencionarlo, a dos decisiones del Tribunal Su- “Antes de que todas esas cosas hubieran nacido, ya exisơ a ese compromiso, por lo premo de Estados Unidos que establecieron que el Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) carece menos de la parte cubano, salvo quien no merezca la condición de cubano, todos la de soberanía, contrario a lo que Washington había dicho en 1952 y que tampoco puede habrán de sostener siempre”, recalcó al recordar que esa línea de conducta permanente tener su propia ley de quiebra, pese a haber sido excluido de la norteamericana. solo fue ignorada durante las dos grandes Ɵ ranías de Gerardo Machado (1925-1933) y Además, el Congreso federal legisló Promesa (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, Fulgencio BaƟ sta (1952-1959). and Economic Stability Act) para imponer a esta isla del Caribe una junta de control Estableció que la lucha por la independencia de Puerto Rico no solamente la dieron fi scal la devuelve jurídicamente a principios del siglo pasado, en la primera etapa de la la sociedad civil, la juventud progresista o la Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios colonización estadounidense, cuando no tenía ningún grado de gobierno propio. (FEU), también el Congreso, la Presidencia de la República, la diplomacia cubana. “Yo no sé cuántos otros países hubieran soportado la avalancha de presión, de in- Ese compromiso de Cuba se evidencia “desde que el vicepresidente primero de fl uencia, de dominación que cayeron sobre esta pequeña isla, el único país de nuestro nuestra República fue también presidente de la Sociedad Cubana por la Independen- conƟ nente que nunca ha sido independiente, porque todos los demás, más o menos cia de Puerto Rico, Enrique José Varona, hasta la batalla que libró Carlos Prío Socarrás, con limitación, tuvimos nuestros momentos, Puerto Rico no, pasó de un imperio a otro, el úlƟ mo presidente ante de la dictadura de BaƟ sta en la OEA (Organización de Estados de un imperio decadente, derrotado en las guerras en Cuba a un imperio que surgía, la Americanos)”. estrella naciente que se elevaba poderosa, dominante, la gran potencia que llegó a ser, Contó, además, que en los Ɵ empos de la Guerra Fría, del anƟ comunismo, cuando Es- ya no, como el gran dueño del universo”, dijo sobre España y Estados Unidos. tados Unidos dominaba completamente el conƟ nente, la delegación cubana, que por El exdiplomáƟ co destacó que “con todos sus recursos, económicos y materiales y cierto encabezaba un puertorriqueño, Juan Juarbe Juarbe (1909-1990), dio una batalla culturales, le cayeron encima a la nación más pequeña de nuestro conƟ nente, pero de un año para que la OEA se pronunciase sobre la independencia de Puerto Rico. nadie puede dudar que se trata de una nación que fue capaz de sobrevivir, de derrotar “Y no abandonamos esa posición, incluso cuando quedaron completamente ais- a ese intento de destrucción total que ha pasado sobre ella”.

NOTICIASTICIAS ESPAESPANOLOL The San Juan Daily Star 20 de Junio de 2016 29 NO en en Vaticina exembajador Alarcón que la isla será independiente con el concurso de todos los puertorriqueños Por Nelson del CasƟ llo lados, y esa propuesta de Cuba fue derrotada”, expresó Alarcón. l intelectual cubano Ricardo Alarcón, otrora embaja- Se refi rió a un libro que se editará en Puerto Rico que con- Edor en las Naciones Unidas, vaƟ cinó que, como resul- Ɵ ene un documento de enero de 1959 del exgobernador tado del “torbellino esperanzador en que se encuentra”, puertorriqueño Luis Muñoz Marín, cuando busca un acer- Puerto Rico será independiente en un escenario en el camiento con la naciente Revolución Cubana y trata de ver cual estarán involucradas las diversas corrientes ideológi- cómo pueden establecer relaciones cordiales, construcƟ vas. cas que hoy forcejean por su propia solución. El expresidente de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popu- “Permítanme la ligereza de hacer pronósƟ co sin el lar aseguró que Muñoz Marín aclaró que para lograr eso “los menor intento de injerencia en los asuntos internos cubanos Ɵ enen que recƟ fi car, cambiar algunas concepciones puertorriqueños, pero yo vivo convencido de que Puerto erróneas que han estado teniendo”. Rico no podrá dejar de ser una nación soberana, inde- “Por supuesto, Muñoz no se refería al periodo de BaƟ sta, pendiente, porque ya derrotó los peores riesgos que la América LaƟ na todavía está cuando ocurrió todo lo contrario, se acabaron las críƟ cas de la situación de Puerto Rico, afrontando; que logró salvar su cultura, su idenƟ dad, en las peores condiciones que desaparecieron las preocupaciones por respaldar la independencia de Puerto Rico, le nadie ha tenido que soportar en este conƟ nente”, aseguró Alarcón. preocupaba, con toda razón, que regresáramos a lo que había antes de la Ɵ ranía, y así El veterano diplomáƟ co de 79 años de edad, que ha ocupado diversos cargos en la fue”, relató. estructura políƟ ca de la Revolución Cubana, aclaró que en medio de la situación en que Alarcón expuso que lo único que ha hecho la Revolución Cubana es asumir esa se halla Puerto Rico, se avanzará hacia la consecución de la independencia. línea, esa tradición, que va más allá de los parƟ dos, de las corrientes ideológicas, de las “El futuro de Puerto Rico independiente no va a ser el futuro construido y sostenido religiones en Cuba, para hacer una cuesƟ ón nacional fundamental, desarrollarlo con- por aquellos que han creído siempre en la independencia, lo será también con aquellos secuentemente. que por diversos moƟ vos tuvieron sus dudas o sus discrepancias, o lo que fuera, y hacia “A mí me tocó, por esas locuras de la Revolución ir a Nueva York a los 28 años como eso deben trabajar. Ese debe ser el saldo principal de esto úlƟ mo que ha ocurrido”, ex- un embajador y asumir el papel que tenía que asumir cualquiera que hubiera estado puso en aparente referencia a la crisis fi scal y económica en que está sumido el país, con en esa situación. El saldo de todo eso es que guardaré siempre una profunda amistad una deuda de 70 mil millones de dólares que lo ha colocado al borde de la bancarrota. y un profundo respeto por los puertorriqueños y las puertorriqueñas más allá de las Alarcón aclaró que cuando estuvo en Puerto Rico la vez anterior en 1979, “Ɵ empos ideologías, más allá de las concepciones tácƟ cas y estratégicas de esta problemáƟ ca de bastantes diferentes”, se reunió con representantes del espectro políƟ co puertorrique- la relación con Estados Unidos”, precisó. ño, incluidos las diversas corrientes en que se mulƟ plica la izquierda. Se mostró convencido de que los puertorriqueños lograrán, fi nalmente, “ejercer sus Con humor, recordó que antes solo asisơ an a las Naciones Unidas los dirigentes in- derechos inalienables y lo lograrán en primer lugar porque se lo han ganado, porque lo dependenƟ stas Juan Mari Brás y Rubén Berríos, a los que se unió después la Gran Logia merecen, porque ningún otro pueblo de América LaƟ na ha afrontado los desaİ os que Nacional del Oriente. este pequeño pueblo ha tenido que encarar”. “La solidaridad cubana con la independencia de este país no la puede cambiar na- “Sobre ningún otro se lanzaron tantas amenazas y tantos riesgos, ya en Ɵ empos más die”, advirƟ ó al dirigirse a los asistentes a un almuerzo en el Colegio de Abogados y recientes en las repúblicas independientes, en algunos casos entrecomillas, había un Abogadas de Puerto Rico, donde su presidente Mark Anthony Bimbela le entregó la gran debate, un gran tema, los peligros de la asimilación, de la destrucción de América Medalla Presidencial, acuñada en bronce, después de una presentación realizada por el LaƟ na, (cuando) avanzaba el ALCA, la zona de libre comercio de las Américas, donde se licenciado Alejandro Torres Rivera. enfrentó Brasil, Venezuela, Cuba, etcétera. Puerto Rico estaba durmiendo en un ALCA Alarcón manifestó que la idea de José Marơ de la unidad vital entre las AnƟ llas, “O se centenario”, comentó. salvan juntas o juntas perecerán”, condenadas o bendecidas a un desƟ no común, está Alarcón advirƟ ó que “Puerto Rico está aquí, hablando su idioma, pensando en puer- arraigada en la tradición cubana, y la sostendrá siempre todo cubano bien nacido, lo torriqueño, sinƟ endo en puertorriqueño, ahora indignados muchos, quizás la mayoría, que nada Ɵ ene que ver con ideologías contemporáneas ni con la confrontación con el quizás la totalidad de los puertorriqueños por lo que ha ocurrido recientemente”. imperialismo norteamericano o con el marxismo-leninismo. Se refi rió el intelectual cubano, sin mencionarlo, a dos decisiones del Tribunal Su- “Antes de que todas esas cosas hubieran nacido, ya exisơ a ese compromiso, por lo premo de Estados Unidos que establecieron que el Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) carece menos de la parte cubano, salvo quien no merezca la condición de cubano, todos la de soberanía, contrario a lo que Washington había dicho en 1952 y que tampoco puede habrán de sostener siempre”, recalcó al recordar que esa línea de conducta permanente tener su propia ley de quiebra, pese a haber sido excluido de la norteamericana. solo fue ignorada durante las dos grandes Ɵ ranías de Gerardo Machado (1925-1933) y Además, el Congreso federal legisló Promesa (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, Fulgencio BaƟ sta (1952-1959). and Economic Stability Act) para imponer a esta isla del Caribe una junta de control Estableció que la lucha por la independencia de Puerto Rico no solamente la dieron fi scal la devuelve jurídicamente a principios del siglo pasado, en la primera etapa de la la sociedad civil, la juventud progresista o la Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios colonización estadounidense, cuando no tenía ningún grado de gobierno propio. (FEU), también el Congreso, la Presidencia de la República, la diplomacia cubana. “Yo no sé cuántos otros países hubieran soportado la avalancha de presión, de in- Ese compromiso de Cuba se evidencia “desde que el vicepresidente primero de fl uencia, de dominación que cayeron sobre esta pequeña isla, el único país de nuestro nuestra República fue también presidente de la Sociedad Cubana por la Independen- conƟ nente que nunca ha sido independiente, porque todos los demás, más o menos cia de Puerto Rico, Enrique José Varona, hasta la batalla que libró Carlos Prío Socarrás, con limitación, tuvimos nuestros momentos, Puerto Rico no, pasó de un imperio a otro, el úlƟ mo presidente ante de la dictadura de BaƟ sta en la OEA (Organización de Estados de un imperio decadente, derrotado en las guerras en Cuba a un imperio que surgía, la Americanos)”. estrella naciente que se elevaba poderosa, dominante, la gran potencia que llegó a ser, Contó, además, que en los Ɵ empos de la Guerra Fría, del anƟ comunismo, cuando Es- ya no, como el gran dueño del universo”, dijo sobre España y Estados Unidos. tados Unidos dominaba completamente el conƟ nente, la delegación cubana, que por El exdiplomáƟ co destacó que “con todos sus recursos, económicos y materiales y cierto encabezaba un puertorriqueño, Juan Juarbe Juarbe (1909-1990), dio una batalla culturales, le cayeron encima a la nación más pequeña de nuestro conƟ nente, pero de un año para que la OEA se pronunciase sobre la independencia de Puerto Rico. nadie puede dudar que se trata de una nación que fue capaz de sobrevivir, de derrotar “Y no abandonamos esa posición, incluso cuando quedaron completamente ais- a ese intento de destrucción total que ha pasado sobre ella”.

HEALTH 30 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Women’s Emotions Do Not Cause Their Migraines By JOANNA KLEIN interpret as pain,” she said. M.R.I. data backs this up. isconception: Migraines are psychologi- Hormones are just one piece of the puzzle, said cal manifestations of women’s inability to Tobias Kurth, an epidemiologist at Harvard who Mmanage stress and emotions. has investigated the potential dangers of overlooked Actually: Neurologists are very clear that mi- migraines in women. graines are a real, debilitating medical condition re- Lights, smells, alcohol, and certain foods are lated to temporary abnormal brain activity. The fact among the hundreds of environmental factors that that they may be more common for some women can trigger migraines in people with genetic predis- during “that time of the month” has nothing to do positions for them. At last count, variations of more Eat Whole Grains, with emotions. than 40 genes were associated with migraines, ac- For centuries, doctors explained migraines as a cording to David W. Dodick, the president of the woman’s problem caused by emotional disturban- International Headache Society. Research suggests ces like hysteria, depression or stress. that there’s a genetic component to at least 50 per- Live Longer? “Bizarrely, the recommended cure was marria- cent of migraine cases. ge!” said Dr. Anne MacGregor, the lead author of A better way to understand how various ele- the British Association for the Study of Headache’s ments work together to produce symptoms, Dr. By NICHOLAS BAKALAR guidelines for diagnosing and managing migrai- Dodick said, is to “picture yourself in front of the nes. television, and the volume keeps going up and up While that prescription may be far behind us, and up until it becomes deafening — and you’re not wo large review studies have reached the the misconception that migraines are fueled by a even holding the remote.” same conclusion: Eating whole grains is woman’s inability to cope persists. Networks in the brain that control the so-called Tassociated with signifi cant reductions in “It was considered psychological, or that I was a volume of all the sensory information entering it — the risk for premature death. nervous overachiever, so I would never tell people such as light, odors and pain — become activated ei- One report, in BMJ, found that whole grain that I have them,” said Lorie Novak, an artist in her ther spontaneously or by an environmental trigger. consumption was associated with a reduction in sixties who has suff ered from migraines since she Because the brain is so interconnected, this rogue the risk for death from cancer, coronary heart di- was 8. volume control also aff ects nausea-, spatial equili- sease, respiratory disease, infectious disease and After reading Joan Didion’s 1968 essay “In Bed,” brium, thinking and vision, among other areas. about the writer’s struggle with migraines, Ms. No- “And that’s why you see patients retreat to this diabetes. Using data from 45 studies, researchers vak decided to tackle the representation of these dark room,” Dr. Dodick said. “They’re not depres- calculated that compared with eating none, ea- debilitating headaches. Starting in 2009, Ms. Novak sed, they just can’t handle the light.” ting 90 grams of whole grains a day reduced the photographed herself every time she got a migrai- Importantly, it’s not the light, per se, that causes risk for all-cause mortality by 17 percent. ne. the migraine; it only activates those networks. The The other analysis, in Circulation, used Under the hashtag #notjustaheadache, hundreds same story goes for factors like stress, anxiety and data from 14 prospective studies with 786,076 of others on Twitter and Instagram have demons- depression, according to Dr. Dodick. participants and found that compared with those trated their own frustration with a widespread lack Anyone who fails to note the diff erence between who ate the least whole grain foods, those who of understanding of the reality of migraines. triggers and causes is fueling misconceptions about ate the most had a 16 percent reduced risk for Among the 36 million people who experien- migraines, wrote Dr. William B. Young, a neurolo- all-cause mortality and an 18 percent reduced ce migraines in the United States, the affl iction is gist at the Jeff erson Health Care Center in Philadel- three to four times more common in women than phia, in a blog post. risk for cardiovascular mortality. Each 16-gram in men. “When you let someone (maybe yourself) get increase in whole grain intake reduced mortality It’s the reasons behind them that have a way of away with thinking of migraine as caused by a trig- risk by 7 percent. getting twisted. ger,” he wrote, “it either makes it your fault (you ate A slice of 100 percent whole grain bread Dr. MacGregor, who is also a neuroscience pro- that cheese after all) or hopeless (you are screwed; contains about 16 grams of whole grains, and fessor at Barts and The London School of Medicine you can’t control the weather).” current dietary guidelines recommend 48 grams and Dentistry, said that hormonal changes related When people blame migraines on a person’s or more of whole grains daily. to the menstrual cycle do play a role in migraines failure to control something in their life — be it The senior author of the Circulation study, for some women and that migraines have been anxiety, stress or environmental factors — they Dr. Qi Sun, an assistant professor of nutrition at found to be more common in some women during are succumbing to this same scientifi cally fl awed their periods. logic. This misconception is potentially dangerous Harvard, cautions that eating whole grains is not “Clearly this is not a relevant trigger for men!” for migraine suff erers and those advising them, Dr. a panacea. she wrote in an email. Young and other neurologists emphasize. “You shouldn’t hope that you will cure di- But excess emotions are not that trigger. Rather, “If they succumb to the myth that people get seases with whole grain foods,” he said. “You it is a shift in hormones starting “a chain of events migraine because they can’t cope with stress,” adds still have to pay attention to other good dietary which activate neurons in specifi c parts of brain Dr. MacGregor. “They are, one, completely wrong and behavioral practices.” and send out signals which other parts of the brain and, two, will not get optimal treatment.”

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 31 SCI & TECH Fighting ISIS With an Algorithm, Physicists Try to Predict Attacksighting ISIS With an Algorithm, Physicists Try to Predict Attacks F By PAM BELLUCK But because the Kobani attack was the only example cited, she said, “Frankly, at fter Orlando and San Bernardino this point, I don’t think they’re predicting and Paris, there is new urgency to anything.” Aunderstand the signs that can pre- “There may be fi ve other independent cede acts of terrorism. And with the Islamic reasons for the spike in this pro-ISIS propa- State’s prolifi c use of social media, terrorism ganda,” she noted, “and I don’t know they experts and government agencies continua- have taken into account the other possible lly search for clues in posts and Twitter mes- explanations.” sages that appear to promote the militants’ Mr. Berger said Kobani, aside from cause. being the sole example cited, was a military- A physicist may not seem like an ob- style operation, not a terrorist attack, so the vious person to study such activity. But for formula, should it hold up, might only apply months, Neil Johnson, a physicist at the Uni- to large-scale sieges. versity of Miami, led a team that created a “With military action, if their strategy mathematical model to sift order from the is to use social media to intimidate, then it chaotic pro-terrorism online universe. makes sense” that there would be a spike in In a study published last Thursday in online groups’ forming just before, he said. the journal Science, Dr. Johnson and Miami “But with a terrorist attack, we’re often ta- colleagues searched for pro-Islamic State posts cusing on small, nimble groups because they tect oneself during drone attacks. The pull of lking about one, two, sometimes a dozen each day from mid-2014 until August 2015, refl ect groundswells of new activity and, if small groups is strong. So-called lone wolf people who are operating out of conditions mining mentions of beheadings and blood followed, can potentially point to where that sympathizers do not remain alone long, the of secrecy.” baths in multiple languages on Vkontakte, a activity is going. While such tracking in it- study said: They usually join a small group Attacks like the one in Orlando are still Russia-based social media service that is the self might not prevent individual acts, like within weeks. rare, Ms. Patel said, with “so many diff erent largest European equivalent to Facebook. Ul- the massacres in Orlando or San Bernardino, Quashing these groups, the study variables that it’s very, very diffi cult to come timately, they devised an equation that tries it can help identify when conditions are ripe found, can prevent their members from fu- up with any predictive formula.” to explain the activity of Islamic State sympa- for such acts to happen, the study said. sing with larger pro-Islamic State groups, Both Mr. Berger and Ms. Patel noted a thizers online and might, they say, eventually The tracking of terrorists on social me- which can quickly distribute inciting videos tricky question raised by the research: When help predict attacks that are about to happen. dia should take a cue from nature, Dr. John- or statements to much broader audiences. But is it best to try to suppress small groups so Experts who study terrorism and on- son said, where “the way transitions happen when small groups are blocked by Vkontak- they do not mushroom into bigger groups, line communication said that the new re- is like a fl ock of birds, a school of fi sh.” te, about a quarter of them reinvent themsel- and when should they be left to percolate? search was informative, and that they appre- “There’s no one fi sh saying, ‘Hey, I ves — changing their names, reincarnating, Letting them exist for a while might be a ciated that the authors would make their want everyone to be about fi ve inches away or briefl y going dark before re-emerging, the way to gather intelligence, Ms. Patel said. data available to other researchers. But they from someone else, and we’re going to have researchers found. Dr. Johnson said that was one of many cautioned that the actions of terrorist groups this shape,’ ” he said. The researchers also said there might questions for further research. “If I break are extremely diffi cult to anticipate and said The researchers — including experts be a spike in the formation of small online the groups up too quickly,” he said, “I have more information was needed, especially to in international covert networks who spoke groups just before an attack takes place. This the risk that I’m liberating out these indivi- substantiate any predictive potential of the Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Russian is based on the one major unexpected attack duals,” scattering them like a virus to infect team’s equation. and Spanish — analyzed activity on Vkon- by the Islamic State that occurred during the other groups. “This is an interesting approach, this takte because Facebook shuts down pro- months the researchers studied: the attack on Other questions involve how fast in- is a potentially valuable approach, and more Islamic State discussions very quickly, Dr. Kobani, a Syrian town on the Turkish border, formation travels among small groups, and research should be done on the approach,” Johnson said, and because Vkontakte’s 350 which came under siege in September 2014. the role of women — who, the researchers said J. M. Berger, a fellow in George Was- million users are diverse, including many Just before the Kobani incursion, the reported in a previous study, accounted for hington University’s Program on Extremism Chechen members who have been targets rate of creation of pro-Islamic State online about 40 percent of group members and and the co-author of “ISIS: The State of Te- of Islamic State propaganda. For compari- groups accelerated, Dr. Johnson said. After were likely to communicate about twice as rror.” “But to jump ahead to the utility of it, I son, the researchers tracked groups promo- all the data on small groups was plugged many pieces of information through the so- think, takes more work.” ting civil unrest in Latin America, including into the team’s equation, the Kobani attack cial network as men were. Dr. Johnson, who also heads the Com- strikes and protests, and found both simila- was the only one the formula would have Mr. Berger praised the researchers’ plexity Initiative, an interdisciplinary re- rities and diff erences to online activity su- predicted, showing that the equation mat- transparency. search program at the University of Miami, pporting the Islamic State. ched real-world occurrences during the pe- “There are a lot of companies that claim said the study’s goal was to start “a proper The study focused on small groups of riod studied, he said. to be able to do what this study is claiming, quantitative science of online extremism to Islamic State supporters that formed onli- Faiza Patel, a director of the Liberty and a lot of those companies seem to me to replace the black-box narrative that is cu- ne and found about 200 such groups, with and National Security Program at New York be selling snake oil,” he said. If the predic- rrently used.” more than 100,000 members combined. University’s Brennan Center for Justice, said tive theory holds up, he added, it would be Instead of focusing only on large social The groups’ postings included pledges of the study showed that “there are ways to “the silver bullet everybody in the govern- media groups or trying to track millions of allegiance to the extremists, fund-raising look at narrow groups rather than the entire ment and everybody in the private sector has individual users, the researchers suggest fo- appeals and survival tips, like how to pro- population of internet users.” been chasing for years.”

41 Sports The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 Baseball Fails to Connect in Puerto Rico By NICK BROWN League Baseball, a complex link in some 29 in 2007, and a fraction of the Dominican’s ways refl ective of the identity struggle at the 83 — Puerto Rico’s inclusion in MLB’s draft hen the ball cracked off Cariduros heart of Puerto Rico’s status as a US terri- is a touchy issue locally. shortstop Luis Mateo’s bat, driving tory. A generation ago, prospects such as Pe- Win the eventual winning run in a A policy change in 1990 forced Puerto rez could sign at any time with any Major crucial June 4 play-off game, Angel Mulero Ricans, who are American citizens, to enter League team, just like players from the Do- and his family didn’t just cheer. a draft that requires them to graduate high minican, Venezuela and other countries. They broke out panderetas, tambourine- school and compete for attention with top Edwin Rodriguez, whose MLB career like percussion instruments, rapping out prospects trained at the best US schools. included a two-year stint as manager of the synchronized beats that sent Fajardo’s Con- The highly-indebted island’s high pover- Florida Marlins, remembers being signed cepcion Perez Alberto Stadium into frenzied ty rate, poor infrastructure and lack of ro- outright by the Yankees in 1980. “It was just dance. bust school sports programs puts younger like free agency,” said Rodriguez, now an Cariduros players receive no salaries, players behind in the count right from the MLB scout who runs a baseball academy in they’re not famous, and most have day-jobs. start against players from the continental US Puerto Rico. Yet the 43-year-old Mulero attends every and foreign markets such as the Dominican MLB policies are not the sole drivers of game — home and away. Republic, where MLB invests heavily in pla- pro baseball’s decline in Puerto Rico. Base- “Baseball is therapy,” he said in Spanish, yer development. ball experts criticize weak marketing eff orts hoarse from cheering. “We work with the system,” said Ramon by local baseball leagues, the rise of cable TV He’s not alone: Puerto Rico’s so-called Orta, Puerto Rico’s sports and recreation di- and increasing popularity of other sports. Double-A amateur baseball league, where rector. “But we need MLB to work with us to But the policies are resonate with Puerto Ri- Fajardo Cariduros play, drew some 400,000 is struggling to maintain relevance at the create more opportunities for our players.” cans who see them as refl ective of the long fans last year, notable on a mostly rural is- sport’s professional level, which is increa- Last week’s MLB 2016 draft saw 17-year- struggle over their political status. land of 3.5 million. The league has 42 teams, singly dominated by Latin American talent. old Delvin Perez, of San Juan suburb Loiza, On an island close to economic collapse while a government-run Single-A league has Fewer Puerto Rican prospects are rea- picked 23rd by the St Louis Cardinals. He and where political parties identify solely another 89 teams — all crammed into a mar- ching the top tier US teams, and the island’s follows fellow Puerto Rican shortstops Car- according to their stance on US statehood, ket about the size of Connecticut. own pro league is a shell of its once-vibrant los Correa and Francisco Lindor as recent MLB’s fl exibility to change its draft policy But for an island where baseball borders self. MLB draftees. is a frustrating reminder that Puerto Rico on religion, Puerto Rico, the birthplace of Part of the reason for the stagnation: the But with MLB rosters featuring just 13 is caught between sovereignty and state- hall of fame outfi elder Roberto Clemente, island’s relationship with US-based Major Puerto Rican players in 2015 — down from hood. Puerto Rico Completes Roster for Centrobaskeat Championship uerto Rico has announced the 12- Some of the headlines include the re- The top two teams from each group play for bronze. The teams that fi nish player roster that will represent the turn of Peter John Ramos and Ricky San- will advance to the Semi-Finals. The win- third during the group phase will face each Pcountry at the 2016 Centrobasket chez. Ramos last featured for the national ners will square off for the gold medal other to determine 5th place, while those Championship in Panama City from 19-25 team at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying of the competition, while the losers will that fi nish last in the groups will do battle June. Head coach Eddie Casiano made the Tournament (OQT) in Caracas, while San- in the 7th place game. announcement Thursday during a press chez last appeared in Puerto Rico’s jersey at Whoever fi nishes fi fth will automa- conference in San Juan. the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. tically qualify to America’s Division A of Another stand-out is Alex Abreu, who FIBA’s New Competition System and get is making his senior national team de- a chance to take part in the qualifi ers for but after shooting 45 percent from the fi eld the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. and handing out 5.9 assist with Santeros de After the Centrobasket a large part of Aguada during the 2016 Puerto Rican na- the announced team will play in the B2016 tional league campaign. FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Puerto Rico’s national league fi nals (OQT) in Belgrade. The only known addi- MVP, Renaldo Balkman, is on the 12-player tion for the OQT is Carlos Arroyo, who and was the last member who confi rmed will join the team during its preparation in his participation at Centrobasket. Europe. At the Centrobasket, Puerto Rico will The Boricuas will go up against Serbia be play in Group A along with Nicara- and Angola in Group A and then potentia- gua, Antigua, Panama and Cuba. Group lly face Japan, Latvia or Czech Republic in B consists of Mexico, Costa Rica, Baha- a Semi-Final. The Semi-Final winners will mas, Virgin Islands and the Dominican square off with a spot at the Olympics at Republic. stake.

Sports 42 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Pérez Hopes to Follow Correa’s Footsteps ce McCullers. Correa and McCullers both had superb rookie seasons three years later to help the Astros reach the playoff s for the fi rst time since 2005. Because of the Cardinals’ success, they haven’t had the be- nefi t of stocking their farm system with high picks like the As- tros did while picking fi rst overall from 2012 through 2014. The Cardinals have had to do it the hard way, the non- tanking honorable way, some would suggest. This year was diff erent, though. Despite winning a major league-best 100 games last year, the Cardinals entered the 2016 draft with a robust $9.1 million draft spending cap because they received two picks (33rd and 34th overall) in the draft as compensation for the free agent Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak and scouting di- departures of John Lackey and Jason Heyward. rector Randy Flores are banking that Perez has the character to One year after a pair of Puerto Rican shortstops fi nished match the baseball tools that prompted many baseball insiders By Jesús Ortíz fi rst and second in the AL Rookie of the Year race, Perez beca- to consider him a Top 5 talent. me the fi rst Puerto Rican taken in the fi rst round since Correa The Astros gambled with Correa by choosing a player they pon hearing that the agent for the Cardinals’ fi rst-round in 2012. could sign $2.4 million under slot. The Cardinals are also ta- pick was at Busch Stadium, 2015 American League Ro- Perez looks up to Correa, and the admiration is mutual. king a chance with Perez by taking Top 5 talent who tumbled Uokie of the Year Carlos Correa went in search of fellow “I’ve seen him play a few times, and he’s a tremendous ta- down to 23rd overall because of a failed test. Puerto Rican shortstop Delvin Perez. lent,” Correa said of Perez. “He went in the fi rst round and is Like Correa, Perez was drafted as a 17-year-old. “Donde esta? Donde esta?” Correa said in his native Spa- a great talent.” Once Perez signs, and that could be soon, he’ll try to prove nish. More importantly for the Cardinals and Perez, Correa is that the Cardinals made the right decision. “Where is he? Where is he?” open to helping Perez. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound shortstop from Puerto Rico’s Inter- Perez wasn’t out for batting practice at Busch Stadium ear- Correa, 21, vows to be a phone call away if Perez ever wants national Baseball Academy will have a clean slate once he joins lier last week when the Astros’ 21-year-old phenom looked for to talk. the Cardinals’ farm system. him, but the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 draft will have a tre- Correa delivered that message at Busch Stadium to Perez’s What he accomplished as an amateur won’t matter anymore. mendous role model willing to help him navigate his eventual agent, Melvin Roman. “This is just the start of a career,” Correa said. “This isn’t march toward the majors. “Carlitos is a role model for these young players,” Roman where the work stops. This is when the work truly starts. He Although it’s unfair to compare Perez to Correa, who made said. “He’s successful in the big leagues, and a lot of young kids has to focus and work even harder to get to the majors as soon his debut in the majors at 20 years old on June 8, 2015, there are in Puerto Rico look up to him.” as possible. quite a bit of similarities. In many ways, Correa is similar to former Cardinals slu- “And he should know that if he ever needs me for any ad- Correa wasn’t a consensus No. 1 overall talent before he gger Carlos Beltran, who appears destined to follow Roberto vice, I’ll always be there to help.” became the fi rst Puerto Rican ever drafted fi rst overall in the Clemente’s path to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Mu- Last season was the year of the Puerto Rican shortstop in draft in 2012 as a 17-year-old. Many so-called experts had him seum in Cooperstown, N.Y., fi ve years after he retires. the American League with Correa and the Indians’ Francis- potentially falling to fi fth overall. Correa and Beltran are bright, talented and conscientious. co Lindor fi ghting for the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Perez also was considered a Top 5-10 talent before reports They aren’t just satisfi ed with being great on the fi eld. They are Award. surfaced that he had tested positive for a performance-enhan- eager to raise the Puerto Rican fl ag with pride and dignity. Perez has made it clear that he hopes to follow Correa’s cing drug. When Correa says he’s willing to help Perez, he means it. footsteps. An entire island will watch what he does on and off The Astros gambled by picking Correa fi rst overall. Then “That’s what is good about him,” Perez’s agent said of Co- the fi eld. Correa fi gured that out early. Perez will be wise to they paid him $4.8 million, which was two-thirds of the re- rrea. “Away from the fi eld and his game, he also worries about follow his favorite shortstop’s example. commended $7.2 million bonus slot for the fi rst pick in 2012. serving as a good example for the kids coming behind him. “I know that he personally will always be open for the Then former Cardinals scouting director Jeff Luhnow used That’s a great attribute he has. We know he’s a great player, but Puerto Rican youth,” Perez’s agent said of Correa. “If he has a some of the extra savings to sign high school righthander Lan- to also be a great person is excellent.” chance to give (Perez) advice, he’ll do it.” LeBron James Is the Most Unique Basketball Player Ever, and Cleveland Finally Understands That By Martin Rickman dual series when it was all said and done – James was not really anyone in professional sports, and it can be tra- his typical calm self at the postgame podium. ced to any number of things. The weather. The losses efore The Decision, there was the Boston series. One quote especially drew the ire of Cavs fans, who the city has taken in both real life and the sports world. You know the one. The one that birthed the terms held onto that statement – among other perceived slights The national perception and the constant jokes hurled at BLeQuit, LeChoke, and everything in between. The – for years after The Decision was made, and LeBron won their expense. The narratives they’re forced to swallow one where LeBron James walked off the fl oor in a Game his titles in Miami, and up until James returned home in any time Cleveland is put on a broadcast in front of the 5 loss in Cleveland and looked as though he may never one of the sport’s storybook moments. whole world. walk back into Quicken Loans Arena as a Cleveland Ca- “I spoil a lot of people with my play,” James said. Spoiled? How could they be? This city hasn’t won valier ever again. During that series, bothered, and fl us- Cleveland never wanted to admit that was true. Cle- anything since The Dick Van Dyke Show was on the air. tered – even though he still had himself a terrifi c indivi- veland has an inferiority complex that’s unrivaled by Everybody hates Cleveland.

43 Sports The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 Rafael Nadal Sets Eyes on Toronto Masters Before Returning for Rio Olympics Nadal will not be playing Wimbledon on ac- winner could start training on court again in he has been champion on nine occasions, af- count of his wrist injury two weeks. ter injuring a tendon in his left wrist after just “It’s following the normal recovery two rounds. Nadal, the world number fi ve, is afael Nadal is on track to make the schedule and now he has to strengthen the keen to play at the Rio Olympics after being Olympics and plans to return from a wrist and the arm again,” said Toni Nadal. unable to defend his gold medal at the 2012 Rwrist injury at the Toronto Masters at “(Nadal) will arrive in form in Rio. It will London Games because of a knee injury. the end of July, days before the Games begin, give him time to prepare.” He had been scheduled to be Spain’s fl ag- his coach said. Nadal, 30, will miss Wimbledon after bearer at the opening ceremony. The Span- “The plan is to play in Toronto because failing to recover from the wrist injury which ish federation announced earlier last week that’s what suits us,” Toni Nadal, who is also also forced his early withdrawal from the that Nadal and Garbine Muguruza will lead Nadal’s uncle, told a press conference in Mal- French Open last month. Spain’s charge for Olympic tennis glory and lorca, adding the 14-time Grand Slam title He pulled out of the French Open, where could play together in the mixed doubles. Venus Williams Is Looking for Tour Titles, Gold Medals appearance at Stanford and her fi rst since won a tour title. The fi eld is loaded and Wil- “It never changes. Second it’s about trading the 2014 event. She’s reached seven champi- liams leads the way with seven grand slam pins and then you fi nd out it’s about meet- onship matches, winning twice. Her last vic- titles and four Olympic gold medals. ing people.” tory was over Kim Clisters in the 2002 fi nal. “You want to come in strong, playing World No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska has She also beat Lindsay Davenport in 2000. a lot of matches, hopefully winning titles. been one of the hottest players on tour to “It’s great to play at home in front of the There’s always something to work on,” Wil- start the 2016 season. She has reached the home crowd,” she said. “There’s not as many liams said. “It gives me the opportunity to semifi nals or better in fi ve of the eight events opportunities as there was when I fi rst start- fi gure out what I need to perfect at this mo- she has entered this year including a win in ed to play in the U.S. Just being able to play ment in time.” Shenzhen. She advanced to the semifi nals of at home, I really cherish it.” As for her Olympic outfi ts? the Australian Open for the second time of Williams is one of the 13 women, of the “Each and every Olympics it’s Wonder her career which also marked her fourth ca- By RICK EYMER 20 on the current acceptance list, who has Woman as the inspiration,” Williams said. reer Grand Slam semifi nal appearance. er Olympic fashion is inspired call former world No. 1 Venus Williams a Poem Written by Michael Jordan by Wonder Woman and there are Hmany tennis observers who would wonder woman even now. Williams’ next WTA Tour title will be in Grade School Up for Auction the 50th of her career and despite setbacks over the years the ninth-ranked women’s tennis player has won over 78 percent of her career matches. By Darren Rovell All we know at this point is that it’s a She’s returning to play in the Bank of poem supposedly written by MJ in grade the West Classic, with the main draw begin- very once in a while a quirky item school on lined paper and signed with his ning July 18, and will then travel to Brazil to surfaces in an auction that makes full name. participate in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Eyou stop fl ipping the pages of a bid Outstanding item in @GoldinAuctions “Additional challenges? Absolutely book. next sale. A poem Michael Jordan wrote because the Olympics is such a highlight,” It’s not necessarily a Babe Ruth ball or to a girl in grade school pic.twitter.com/ Williams said in a press conference. “At some super rare jersey, it’s just that item ublInUWppF the same time it’s important to play tourna- that stands out. — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) June ments so you can continue with success on We think we have found one in a Mi- 16, 2016 the tour.” chael Jordan poem in Goldin Auctions’ la- The item is certifi ed by authentication Williams will be making her 13th career test sale, which begins next month. company JSA.

Sports 44 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star Russia Olympic Track and Field Ban Upheld by IAAF he IAAF upheld its ban on Russia’s track re-testing samples. The debate next Tuesday The IAAF rejected a last-minute plea by cluded from the games. Other cases could end and fi eld team for the Rio de Janeiro will be on the issue of individual justice and Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who up in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. TOlympics in a landmark decision that pu- rights.” claimed the country had clean up its anti-do- Many sports offi cials and athlete groups nishes the world power for systematic doping. The decision to uphold the ban came in ping system and met all the requirements for outside Russia called on the IAAF and IOC to The Russian sports ministry said it was no- a meeting of the IAAF’s ruling council. The readmission. take a hard line, citing a loss of faith in the enti- tifi ed of the decision by track and fi eld’s world IAAF acted on a recommendation by a special “We fi rmly believe that clean athletes re drug-testing system. Evidence of state-spon- governing body, which ruled that the country task force that has monitored Russia’s reform should not be punished for the actions of sored doping should be enough to disqualify had not done enough to earn reinstatement. eff orts. others,” he said in an open letter to IAAF the whole track team, they contend. The suspension was imposed in Novem- The meeting came two days after a new President Sebastian Coe. “Russia is doing Former WADA president Dick Pound, ber following a report by a World Anti-Doping WADA report cited continuing obstruction and everything possible to ensure our athletes are whose report led to Russia’s suspension, said Agency commission that alleged state-sponso- violations of drug-testing in Russia. a part of clean and fair Olympic Games. In he saw little reason for the ban to be lifted. red cheating, corruption and cover-ups in Rus- “We are extremely disappointed by the light of our eff orts, I urge you to reconsider the “I don’t think it’s an easy case to make that sian track and fi eld. IAAF’s decision to uphold the ban on all of our ban on our athletes.” all should be forgiven,” he told The Associa- The Russian ministry said it was “extre- track and fi eld athletes, creating the unprece- Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Ye- ted Press. “A lot of credibility is at stake for the mely disappointed” by the decision to ban the dented situation of a whole nation’s track and lena Isinbayeva is among the Russian athletes Russians, the IAAF and the IOC. If you’re con- entire team from the Rio Games. It appealed to fi eld athletes being banned from the Olym- hoping to compete in Rio. She has threatened vinced it’s a state administered system, your the IOC to “consider the impact that our athle- pics,” the Russian sports ministry said. “Clean to go to court on human rights grounds if ex- athletes have to pay the price for that.” tes’ exclusion will have on the dreams and the athletes’ dreams are being destroyed because people of Russia.” of the reprehensible behavior of other athletes The International Olympic Committee has and offi cials. They have sacrifi ced years of their scheduled a summit of sports leaders this Tues- lives striving to compete at the Olympics and day to address “the diffi cult decision between now that sacrifi ce looks likely to be wasted. collective responsibility and individual justi- “We now appeal to the members of the ce.” International Olympic Committee to not only That meeting could potentially open the consider the impact that our athletes’ exclusion door for individual athletes who have never will have on their dreams and the people of been accused of doping and are deemed to be Russia, but also that the Olympics themselves clean to compete at the games. will be diminished by their absence,” the sta- “We will look at the next step for us,” IOC tement said. “The games are supposed to be a vice president John Coates said earlier in Aus- source of unity, and we hope that they remain tralia. “It’s the IOC who have been testing and as a way of bringing people together.” Soccer’s Popularity in America Grows With Every USMNT Victory By MARTIN ROGERS survived into a part of the summer where there is no real com- lling to do whatever it takes to walk off winners, the atmosphe- petition from other major sports except for Major League Ba- re really pushes us in a big way.” urgen Klinsmann believes the United States’ dramatic run seball, off ering the chance to dominate the news cycle, albeit Klinsmann’s reputation with USA fans has risen along to the semifi nals of the Copa America can provide a signifi - briefl y. with his squad’s improved performance as the tournament has Jcant boost to the growth of soccer’s popularity. “We are not trying to displace the NBA’s Game Seven,” US progressed. His interaction with the supporters was animated Klinsmann, the USA head coach for the past fi ve years, Soccer president Sunil Gulati said. “But you will see through on the night of the Ecuador clash, regularly pumping his fi sts said he sensed the team’s successful revival following a diffi cult this tournament that the ratings will be very good compared to and raising his arms to demand more noise and greater inten- start to the tournament has captured widespread national buzz World Cup, compared to the European Championship. That is a sity. that could be sustained into the future. sign of the growth of the game for sure. That is a big plus.” “I think it is just wonderful to see how people jump on soc- “The locomotive for interest is always the national team The noisy atmosphere at CenturyLink Field on Thursday cer here in this country,” Klinsmann added. “Sometimes you because it is obviously televised throughout the country and was a major lift and the American camp will hope for some- have got to give them a little push. We want them to hang in that is what people want to see,” Klinsmann said. “That lear- thing similar at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Tuesday. there and have a little more energy coming from the fans and ning curve is now coming through. People understand it more If world No.1 Argentina gets past Venezuela it would come they do it.” and more. This is big time.” in as an overwhelming favorite, though having an extra two Victory over Ecuador in Thursday’s quarterfi nal in Seatt- days of rest could help narrow the gulf in quality and lift the le completed an impressive nine-day run encapsulating three Americans. wins for Klinsmann’s squad. The USA will next take on either “The atmosphere was amazing inside the stadium (on Argentina or Venezuela in Houston on Tuesday, with a spot in Thursday) and the fans pushed us on in an big way,” midfi elder the fi nal up for grabs. Michael Bradley said. “We certainly hope that getting to a semi- With fi ve of the top ten teams in the world participating fi nal against (a big team) means people will really pay attention in Copa America, the originally stated goal of a top four fi nish and really watch us in what is, aside from a World Cup, the seemed optimistic, and its fulfi llment is worthy of satisfaction biggest possible stage. even if the dream ends the next time out. “The fans can make the diff erence for us. When the game With Seven Games of the NBA Finals the USA’s has now gets turned on its head a bit and we have to suff er and be wi-

The San Juan Daily Star Games Monday, June 20, 2016 45 Sudoku How to Play: Fill in the empty fi elds with the numbers from 1 through 9. Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Crossword Wordsearch L Z G R O G G Y A W H G I H A D E C A R R I E S A E C T O W S Y F J W E I R D O S E C A N R C O L D N E S S M I R S O T R Y E E E T R A I T A T R H U O A P S H I R T R H E T U N U N P T G T N E O C D A M A S E I E I L R G F S U P P W L D U A F D A I D E U R H A Y N Q K T R I R B V V O V Y M A E S G N A N E L S O C E O P R L E T O H G E N F T U D X E R E C T C U D E W O S M E G R A S P T N Array Fighters Pamper Stove Begun Fortieth Patrons Thump Birthed Froth Proof Tiding Carries Gargle Quipped Trait Cease Glare Raced Wasted Charcoal Grasp Renting Weirdo Coldness Groggy Retard Whose Contain Highway Runaway Curved Hotel Shirt Delves Joyously Smite Erect Leaned Sowed Expand Mucous Steaks Answers on page 46

46 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star HOROSCOPE Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 45 Aries (Mar 21-April 20) Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23) Take this opportunity to add tasteful furnishings and art- If you’ve ever wanted to pursue a career in the arts, now work to your home. The more comfortable and attractive is the time to do so. You’ll make a great impression on so- your surroundings, the greater your enjoyment will be of meone who is looking for an employee who is charming, domestic pursuits. Don’t be surprised if you start enter- diplomatic and tasteful. Don’t worry if this position pays taining a lot more once you paint a drab room a warm, less than the one you currently hold. There will be plenty inviting colour. A once forbidding space will become your of growth opportunity at a company, museum, charitable favourite place to gather with friends. or humanitarian organisation. Taurus (April 21-May 21) Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22) Your boss will ask you to serve as a spokesperson for Learning as an adult is very diff erent from learning as the business. Your velvet voice puts people at ease. It a child. Now you’re older, you’ll be able to pick what also reassures customers that it’s all right to spend lots you want to study. You can also choose an educator who of money. These powers of persuasion make you a va- makes you excited to learn. Take this opportunity to ex- luable asset to the organisation. Therefore, you are jus- plore a subject that has always fascinated you. Reading tifi ed in asking for a raise. Be charming and witty when about your favourite topic will renew your enthusiasm making your request. This will make it virtually impos- for life. You’ll become more optimistic and it will become sible for your boss to turn you down. easier to solve problems. Gemini (May 22-June 21) Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21) Splash out on some luxury purchases. This is a terrifi c A fi nancial windfall could arrive in the form of an in- time to go shopping for clothes or buy glamorous ac- heritance, royalty cheque or dividend payment. Put cessories. If you’d rather buy a book, purchase a special this money towards something that makes you happy. edition that has an eye catching cover or beautiful illus- This could be anything from a trip to a rare book to an trations. It’s important to indulge your sensual side from advanced course. Be honest with yourself about what time to time. When you neglect your love of beauty, you you really want. Pampering yourself will help you out become tired and irritable. Spend some of your hard ear- of a rut. Lately, you’ve been working overtime to make ned cash on pure pleasure. others happy. Cancer (June 22-July 23) Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20) You draw love like a magnet. People enjoy your off beat Treating your romantic partner like royalty will streng- sense of humour and kind heart. It’s a nice combination then your bond. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been that makes people want to get closer. If you’re looking together. Show your aff ection in a variety of ways. Lo- for romance, you’ll have your pick of admirers. Choose ving words, gifts, acts of service, quality time and physi- the one who is accomplished, dynamic and ambitious. cal touch will make your amour swoon with happiness. You’ll make a great couple. If you already have a partner, Are you single? You are at the brink of meeting someone let your amour wait on you for a change. Be assertive special. If a relative off ers to set you up on a blind date, about your needs and don’t hesitate to ask for favours. accept. . Leo (July 24-Aug 23) Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19) Keep your sensitive side under wraps. You’ve always had A pleasant job will be off ered to you. Don’t hesitate to a tender heart. This causes manipulators to seek favours accept it. Not only will you enjoy your duties, you’ll from you. The last thing you want is to feel compelled also like your colleagues. Having a regular paying job to give someone money who doesn’t deserve it. If you will also allow you to buy some luxuries that were pre- want to make a positive diff erence, get involved with a viously out of reach. You’ll be able to add some stylish charity that is close to your heart. Donating time, money items to your wardrobe. Beautiful clothes bring out the and resources to this cause will satisfy your humanita- best in you. This attracts money, romance and creative rian impulses. opportunities. Everything is coming up roses for you. Virgo Aug 24-Sep 23) Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20) An artistic friend will off er to share their creative skills Spending time with a charming admirer boosts your con- with you. Expanding your repertoire will be lots of fun. fi dence. It’s wonderful to be appreciated by someone who You’re a multi-talented individual who isn’t content is so attractive and humorous. Now you know you’re lo- specialising in one fi eld. By feeding your creative side, vable, take this opportunity to be kinder to yourself. Give you’ll notice improvements in virtually every other area yourself compliments whenever you fall victim to self- of life. A close relationship will become more passionate, doubt. Accept compliments with a cheerful ‘thank you’ your job will be more rewarding and your home life will instead of brushing them off . Make a list of twenty things seem more fulfi lling. This is a valuable lesson. you love about yourself.

47 comics The San Juan Daily Star Monday, June 20, 2016 Cartoons Herman For Better or for Worse Wizard of Id Speed Bump Scary Gary BC Ziggy Frank & Ernest

48 Monday, June 20, 2016 The San Juan Daily Star