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Last December, Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said $352 billion in criminal money was laundered and kept the financial system afloat during the worst of the crisis. "In many instances, the money from drugs was the only liquid investment capital. In the second half of 2008, liquidity was the banking system's main problem and hence liquid capital became an important factor," he said. Keep that in mind as we explore the increasingly unstable border between the US a

With a whopping victory of sixty-four percent over Steve Poizner’s twenty-seven percent, Meg Whitman is prepared to fight her Democratic opponent Jerry Brown in November for the big cheese.  As one of her strategies, Whitman is ready to round up the Hispanic vote, even with the GOP’s anti-immigrant stigma and her strong, anti-illegal immigration stance during the primary. If anyone is most equipped to garner even a slice of the California Hispanic vote, however, it would be Whitman.  What Whitm

For California cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, opposition to the Arizona immigration law has been strident.  Their reaction is quite typical, considering that their citizens and governments lean heavily Democratic. In cities like Costa Mesa, however, sentiments about the law lie on the opposite side of the fence, as evidenced by declaring their city off-limits to illegals.  Costa Mesa’s response is also quite typical, considering that the city resides in the predominantly conservativ

Reported by the Whittier Daily News, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Lakewood) believes racist forces are the driving support for Arizona’s immigration law.  She slammed the law for being a “concentrated effort” by people who “have ties to white supremacy groups.” Labeling the law as outside mainstream politics, Sanchez compared it to “a Jim Crow system where based on the color of your skin you could be treated as a second-class citizen or harassed based on how you look.”  In a poll by the Daily News,

With the primary just a week away, the Republican gubernatorial dance around illegal immigration seems to have ended for now.  The clock ticking with an intense urgency, contenders on the Republican primary ticket are now succumbing to pressure to explicitly come out against illegal immigration. The main candidate under pressure is Meg Whitman.  While media outlets noted Whitman’s flirtation with amnesty, Politico now reports her rightward shift.  Countering Steve Poizner’s claims to a hawkis

Attempting to snuff out Arizona’s immigration law, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is trying to wield its influence, asserting the problematic law is a violation of the Constitution’s 4th Amendment.  In their legal analysis, the ACLU takes aim at the provision allowing law enforcement to make an arrest without a warrant (if there is “probable cause” to do so). Section E, lines 32-36 of the Arizona bill state the following:     “A law enforcement officer, without a warrant, may arr

For all the media coverage many California cities are receiving for their call of an Arizona boycott, the new immigration law seems to have had the opposite effect in another part of California that actually favors SB 1070. The city of Costa Mesa has passed a resolution declaring that it is not a sanctuary city sheltering illegal immigrants.  While sanctuary cities protect illegals from serious discipline, the goal of a “Rule of Law City” is the exact opposite.  While Los Angeles perpetuates it

Steve Poizner was once considered too far behind in the polls for the Republican gubernatorial nomination; however, the tide now seems to be changing.  With recent events on the immigration reform front, Poizner seems to be using these issues as political capital in his surging bid. According to Michael A. Moodian, assistant professor of social science at Brandman University in Irvine, immigration enforcer Poizner may now have a legitimate chance against the attack ad machine of Meg Whitman.

Passing by a 13-1 vote, the Los Angeles City Council’s ban on Arizona’s businesses seems to be selective in nature, affecting only some business sectors. One of the charges hurled at the new immigration law is that it is racist in nature, which was a concern voiced by many Hispanics almost right after its passage.  The Los Angeles City Council’s view is that what it is doing is a noble action on behalf of fighting racism. "As an American, I cannot go to Arizona today without a passport. If

After Governor Jan Brewer’s signing of the new immigration law in Arizona, various California officials met the law with opposition, calling for a boycott of the Grand Canyon State’s businesses.  Particular businesses targeted by opposition to the law are mainly essential, travel-related services, including food and lodging necessary when officials conduct state business. In effect, the boycotts California officials mean for good may have unintended consequence for the Hispanic community, a c