Senate Republicans hold up Dream Act for children of immigrants

Cached:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106100.html

By Shankar Vedantam

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Republican lawmakers on Tuesday stalled a Senate measure to allow children of undocumented immigrants to get on a path to citizenship, and accused the Obama administration of seeking amnesty for illegal immigrants through administrative changes within the Department of Homeland Security.

The Dream Act, which would grant permanent residency to immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and who have completed some time in college or in the armed forces has been a sought-after goal for Democrats, who attached the measure to an important defense spending bill. Republicans used a procedural vote to block the bill. Immigration advocates accused Republicans of sacrificing the well-being of thousands of young people to cater to nativist sentiment.

Brent Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the vote showed that the Republican party had “once again proven that when Latinos need support, they support a different constituency even when the constituency they are supporting does not have a dog in the fight. If my kids are legal and they are going to college, why would I want to stick it to my neighbor’s kids?”

Senate Democrats vowed to reintroduce the Dream Act, but odds of the measure becoming law this year are slim.

In a day of fast-moving action, Republicans released a draft of a memo they said was composed by Department of Homeland Security staff to explore ways to create a more lenient immigration system, with expedited approvals for visas and family reunification, and measures to head off deportations of undocumented immigrants.

“Done right, a combination of benefit and enforcement-related measures could provide the administration with a clear-cut political win,” reads the draft memo, dated Feb. 26, 2010. The draft, released by Republican senators to the news media, does not cite an author. A Republican congressional staff member who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the matter said the memo was sent to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

“We would need to give the legislative process enough time to play out to deflect against charges of usurping Congressional authority,” the 10-page memo says. Referring to the hopes for passing comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), it adds, “announcement of such measures would have to wait until it was evident that no legislative action on CIR was possible by the current Congress. This is likely to mean the best time for administrative action will be late summer or fall — when the midterm election season is in full swing.”

The idea that the department was seeking to administratively accomplish what Democratic lawmakers had failed to deliver legislatively was ludicrous, said Matt Chandler, a DHS spokesman.

“As we have said repeatedly, DHS will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation’s illegal immigrant population,” he said in an e-mail, as he explained that the agency welcomed policy proposals from staff, but rejected bad ideas. Already, he added, immigration authorities’ “record-breaking enforcement statistics speak for themselves – removing more aliens in 2009 than in any prior year in the agency’s history and already surpassing records for criminal alien removals in 2010 – and demonstrate that we are doing more than ever before to enforce U.S. immigration laws. To be clear, we are not engaged in a ‘backdoor’ amnesty and are on pace to place more people in immigration proceedings this year than ever before.”

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Colin Powell endorses military service as road to citizenship for immigrants

Cached:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/colin-powell-endorses-military-service-as-road-to-927357.html

By John Lantigua

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

AP Photo/NBC, William B. Plowman In this photo released by NBC, former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, retired, speaks on NBC's "Meet the Press" in Washington Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. In challenging the President, Powell, a moderate Republican who endorsed Obama in 2008, says he's not giving up on the Republican Party, despite its rightward drift, and says it might actually help Obama if Republicans win the House in November and gain responsibility for driving policy, not just opposing Democrats at every turn.

With an important vote on the emotional issue of immigration due today in the U.S. Senate, former secretary of state Colin Powell — son of Jamaican immigrants — chose this past weekend to join the fray.

Appearing on the NBC program “Meet the Press” Sunday, Powell voiced support for the pending immigration bill known as the Dream Act. He also attacked political conservatives, including members of his own Republican party, for their “hostility” toward immigrants.

Powell’s words echoed around the country, including in Florida, where thousands of individuals could be affected by the vote. Some South Florida conservatives took issue with his comments.

The Dream Act addresses the legal status of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before the age of 16, have lived here for at least five years and have either graduated from high school or earned a General Equivalency Diploma. It would allow those individuals to qualify for permanent residence either by completing two years of college or by serving two years in the U.S. military.

The Dream Act has been attached to a military appropriations bill and the Senate will hold a crucial procedural vote on the military bill today.

The armed forces have backed the Dream Act, because it will afford them a new population from which to recruit. In fact the military already has thousands of enlistees who are not full U.S. citizens.

Powell, a retired four-star general and former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, closed ranks with his fellow military men.

He said a path to legal status should be offered to illegal immigrants, not just because of the role they could play in the military, but because they “are doing things we need done in this country.”

Powell said he knew this from his own experience.

“They’re all over my house, doing things whenever I call for repairs, and I’m sure you’ve seen them at your house,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to bring these people out of the darkness and give them some kind of status.”

A moderate Republican, Powell was President George W. Bush’s first-term secretary of state and was once considered a strong candidate for the GOP presidential or vice presidential nominations in 2008. In the end, he stayed out of the race and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama.

During the Sunday interview, Powell lamented the GOP’s stance, not only against the Dream Act but against other new immigration legislation proposed by Obama that would open a path to legal residence for 11 million undocumented people now in the country. He said Republicans must not become anti-immigrant because immigration offers the U.S. a chance to maintain a youthful population in contrast with the aging of Europe and Japan.

Powell also said “fringe” elements on the right are taking a low road when they label Obama a foreign-born Muslim and peddle other false theories about non-American influences on the president’s character. Obama was born in the U.S. and is Christian.

“Let’s attack him on policy, not nonsense,” he said.

He also said the conservative activist organization known as the Tea Party would not become an enduring force in U.S. politics until it moves beyond slogans and promotes an agenda that people “can see, touch and actually believe in.”

In South Florida, Tea Party spokesmen reiterated its opposition to the Dream Act.

“The Dream Act is a form of amnesty,” said Everett Wilkinson, a spokesman for the Tea Party based in Palm Beach County.

Wilkinson also opposed the fact that the Dream Act had been attached to a military appropriations bill, despite the fact that the military has supported the Dream Act. “I am not against foreigners and we are not against education and or against defense, but these are separate issues,” he said.

Broward-based Tea Party spokesman Tim McClellan said he also opposed most elements of the Dream Act.

“We have to stop kowtowing to illegal aliens,” he said.

But McClellan said he would support legislation that offered a path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented people who serve in the armed forces.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” McClellan said. “If you’re willing to risk your life for the U.S., for freedom, that’s a different situation.”

The Associated Press and Post researcher Michelle Quigley contributed to this story.

John_Lantigua@pbpost.com

German scientists discover rare ape species in Asia

Cached:  http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4348978

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 9/21/2010

German scientists said on Tuesday they had discovered a new rare and endangered ape species in the tropical rainforests between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia by its distinctive song.

The new type of crested gibbon, one of the most endangered primate species in the world, is called the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon or Nomascus annamensis, a statement from the German Primate Centre (DPZ) said.

“The discovery of a new species of ape is a minor sensation,” said Christian Roos from the DPZ.

“An analysis of the frequency and tempo of their calls, along with genetic research, show that this is, in fact, a new species.”

The distinctive song “serves to defend territory or might even be a precursor of the music humans make,” the statement added.

The male of the new species is covered with black fur that appears silver in sunlight. His chest is brownish and his cheeks deep orange-golden in colour. The females are orange-beige in colour.

Crested gibbons are found only in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China. Scientists had assumed there were six different species but the recent discovery takes the number to seven.

Gibbons have become endangered due to illegal hunting. “Gibbons are kept as cute pets, or they are eaten, or they are processed into traditional medicines,” said the DPZ.

Many species number only around 100 individuals, said Roos. Scientists currently have “absolutely no idea” how many of the new species might be alive, but are conducting further study to determine this, he told AFP.

Like orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos, gibbons belong to the apes, man’s closest relative.

“Only if we know where which species is found and how many individuals there are can we start with serious conservation actions,” added the scientist.

News of the discovery was published in the Vietnamese Journal of Primatology.

New ape species uncovered in Asia

Cached:  http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0921-hance_newgibbon.html

Jeremy Hance
mongabay.com
September 21, 2010

Discovering a species unknown to science is a highlight of any biologist’s career, but imagine discovering a new ape? Researchers with the German Primate Center (DPZ) announced today the discovery of a new species of ape in the gibbon family, dubbed the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus annamensis), according to the AFP. The new species was discovered in rainforests between the borders of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia: an area that contains a number of gibbon species.

The new species had been thought by past researchers to be the yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae), however analysis of the animals’ DNA and distinct calls convinced researchers that although the species looks almost exactly like yellow-cheeked gibbons, they were in fact a wholly different gibbon.

Both of the gibbons belong to the family of ‘crested gibbons’, one of the most imperiled groups of mammals in the world. Yellow-cheeked gibbons are currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss, hunting, and the pet trade. Other crested gibbon species are down to less than 200 individuals.

“The crested gibbons are the most threatened group of primates and all species require urgent attention to save them from extinction”, Thomas Geissmann, gibbon expert from Zurich University and adviser with Fauna & Flora International (FFI), recently said.

It’s likely this new species—the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon—is also facing extinction, yet more research needs to be conducted. Many of the crested gibbons have been under-researched to date and scientists are still uncertain of some species’ range and population making conservation efforts difficult. Gibbons have long been overlooked by researchers and conservationists compared to their more popular ape relatives.

Scientists have dubbed gibbons the ‘lesser apes’ since they share some behavioral and physical characteristics with monkeys, but, like all apes—gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans—they possess no tail. Gibbons are known for their high-flying rapid-swinging antics among their lives in trees and their booming unmistakable songs. They are the world’s fastest arboreal mammal without the power of flight.

‘Asian unicorn’ spotted for first time in a decade

Cached:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8006076/Asian-unicorn-spotted-for-first-time-in-a-decade.html

Published: 10:51AM BST 16 Sep 2010

One of the world’s rarest animals, the saola, known as the ”Asian unicorn”, has been sighted for the first time in more than a decade.

The 'Asian' unicorn Photo: PA

However the animal died after been captured by villagers in a remote region of Laos.

The critically endangered mammal, which is found in the mountains of Vietnam and Laos, was first discovered in 1992.

The saola, which looks similar to the antelopes of North Africa, but is more closely related to wild cattle, is so elusive it has been likened to the unicorn, despite having two horns, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said.

It has never been seen by conservation experts in the wild and the last confirmed sighting was from camera traps in 1999.

The animal is listed as critically endangered, with just a few hundred thought to exist in the wild.

Conservationists said that with none in zoos and almost nothing known about how to keep them in captivity, if the species vanish in the wild they will be extinct.

The Laos government said villagers in the country’s central province of Bolikhamxay captured the saola in late August and brought it back to their village.

When news of the capture reached the authorities a team was sent, advised by the IUCN and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), to examine and release the animal.

Unfortunately the adult male saola was weakened by several days in captivity and died shortly after the team reached the remote village. It was photographed while still alive.

IUCN saola working group coordinator William Robichaud said: ”The government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and WCS are to be commended for their rapid response and efforts to save this animal.

”We hope the information gained from the incident can be used to ensure that this is not the last Saola anyone has a chance to see.”

The provincial conservation unit of Bolikhamxay province said the animal’s death was ”unfortunate” but the incident confirmed an area where it was still found and the government would immediately strengthen conservation efforts there.

And Dr Pierre Comizzoli, a member of the IUCN saola working group, said study of the animal’s carcass could yield some good from the incident.

”Our lack of knowledge of saola biology is a major constraint to efforts to conserve it.

”This can be a major step forward in understanding this remarkable and mysterious species.

”It’s clear that further awareness-raising efforts about the special status of saola are needed but the saola doesn’t have much time left.

”At best a few hundred survive, but it may be only a few dozen. The situation is critical.”

It is not clear why the villagers, who reportedly found the animal in the village’s sacred forest, took the saola into captivity, but the authorities are urging villages in the area not to capture them and to release any they might encounter.