It's Biden!!!

The long awaited answer to the VP question finally came last night by way of an electronic text message.

Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on http://www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!

The answer was actually less of a surprise than a confirmation as speculation in the media had already narrowed the decision down to Joe Biden(D-Delaware) just hours before the text message arrived.

The pick is a good fit for the Obama Campaign, with good credentials and a better than average record on Democratic issues. His background as a Pennsylvania native, and as a regional political institution should also help to draw support in the middle states (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland) where support will be crucial for their electoral votes.

For the McCain campaign, rumor is he's looking at former Governor of Massachusetts and used-car-salesman-lookalike, Mitt Romney.

Justice Department adds indictments to Acevedo's corruption charges

Press Release from U.S. Justice Department.

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, today returned an indictment against Puerto Rico Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, a senior aide and a former campaign director for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez announced. Today’s indictment follows an earlier indictment, returned on March 24, 2008, which charged these same defendants and others with related crimes.

The five-count indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, charges Acevedo Vilá, 46, of San Juan; Luisa Inclán Bird, 47, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico; and Miguel Nazario Franco, 61, of San Juan with honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Acevedo Vilá was Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives between 2001 and 2005, and has been the Governor of Puerto Rico since 2005. Inclán Bird, a lawyer, was a legal advisor for the San Juan Resident Commissioner Office when defendant Acevedo Vilá served as Resident Commissioner and a volunteer in the finance department for Acevedo Vilá’s 2004 gubernatorial campaign. Currently, Inclán Bird is a senior advisor for Governor Acevedo Vilá. Nazario Franco, a businessman in Puerto Rico, was director of the finance department for Acevedo Vilá’s 2004 gubernatorial campaign.

According to the indictment, the charges are focused on two related courses of conduct. The first, in counts one through four, alleges that the defendants deprived the citizens of Puerto Rico of the honest services of Acevedo Vilá as Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Specifically, the indictment alleges that during his campaign for governor, and continuing after he was elected and inaugurated, Acevedo Vilá and others connected with his campaign solicited and received approximately $250,000 from a local businessman, referred to as "Collaborator 18," for the benefit of Acevedo Vilá and his campaign. Furthermore, the indictment alleges that during his term as governor, Acevedo Vilá participated in official actions intended to aid the business interests of Collaborator 18, while failing to disclose the nature and extent of his financial relationship with Collaborator 18.

In the indictment, count five sets forth the second related course of conduct and alleges that the defendants conspired to conduct financial transactions with the illegal funds provided by Collaborator 18. These transactions were designed to conceal and disguise the nature and the source of the money, which constituted the proceeds of the honest services fraud alleged in the earlier counts. The indictment further alleges that the media company used by Acevedo Vilá’s campaign created approximately $250,000 in fake invoices, which were provided to Collaborator 18’s company under the guise that the media company had provided bona fide services when, in fact, it had done no work for Collaborator 18 or his company. These invoices were designed to conceal the fact that the $250,000, which was subsequently paid by Collaborator 18’s company and used to offset debts incurred by the campaign, was the proceeds of the honest services fraud perpetrated by the defendants.

If convicted on counts one through four, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted on the fifth count, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of twice the value of the property involved in the transaction or $500,000 – whichever is greater.

This case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney María A. Domínguez and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernesto López of the District of Puerto Rico, as well as Trial Attorneys Daniel A. Schwager, Ethan H. Levisohn and Peter M. Koski of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The Public Integrity Section is headed by Chief William M. Welch, II. The case is being investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service, with assistance and cooperation from the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico.

The investigation into related corruption and other crimes is ongoing in the District of Puerto Rico. An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.

Paraguay's Leryn Franco named "Hottest Olympian"

Just about every magazine around the world has used the Olympics as an excuse to show off athletic bodies and pass it off as journalism. But King Magazine thinks it found the right Olympian. Meet Leryn Franco from Paraguay... More Pictures Below

Latinos for Obama meeting in Aurora, Colorado [video]

In Aurora, CO, former U.S. Secretary of Energy Federico Peña talks about what's at stake in this election. Very good.

Cuba defeats Puerto Rico in Olympic Boxing

In what has turned out to be another disappointing performance at these Olympics, McWilliams Arroyo was defeated by Cuba's Laffita ending Puerto Rico's hopes to break the ongoing medal drought. The last medal won by a Puerto Rican Olympian was in 1996, twelve years ago in Atlanta.

With a score of 11 to 2 Andris Laffita Hernandez of Cuba moves on into the semifinals. Arroyo however felt cheated by the scoring which only awarded him two points for the entire match. Speculation is that Arroyo may turn professional as soon as he returns from Beijing.

These are the breaks. Hope it wasn't so, but Puerto Rico is officially done in these Olympic games. ***UPDATE-Asuncion Ocasio has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women's 67kg Taekwondo tournament, and Angel Roman will get his chance a few hours from now in the Men's 80kg Taekwondo, thanks for the heads up.***

Cuba's Olympic tradition is nevertheless as strong as it ever was with 13 medals thus far. Cuba is the only Latin American or Caribbean country with double digit medal totals.

Jessica Alba at NCLR Alma Awards 2008

Actress Jessica Alba (my future wife and mother to my future children) presents fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez with the award for Special Achievement in Fashion during the taping of the 2008 "NCLR Alma" awards at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, August 17, 2008. The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) gives out the ALMA awards to honor outstanding Latino artistic achievement in television, film and music. The show airs September 12 on ABC.(Xinhua/Reuters Photos)

Latin American & Caribbean Olympic Medal Standings

These totals will be updated daily and expanded.
Last Updated on SUN. August 24 --Final Update.

Latin America & Caribbean Medal Standings	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Jamaica	6	3	2	11
Brazil	3	4	8	15
Cuba	2	11	11	24
Argentina	2	0	4	6
Mexico	2	0	1	3
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	2
Panama	1	0	0	1
Trinidad & Tobago	0	2	0	2
Bahamas	0	1	1	2
Colombia	0	1	1	2
Chile	0	1	0	1
Ecuador	0	1	0	1
Bahamas	0	1	1	2
Venezuela	0	0	1	1

***Proper Olympic rankings are in medal value order, not the total number of
medals***

Congratulations to all of our brothers and sisters from Latin America and the Caribbean for the great performances. 2012 will be even better.

Urakan is coming!!!

Urakan, Juracan, Jurakan, Hurakan...The great god of wind and chaos, revered and feared by the Taino Indians, comes to Florida once again. The Great Juracan can not be denied. Bow down and take cover.

Puerto Rico's McWilliams Arroyo moves into Boxing Quaterfinals at Beijing Olympics

Puerto Rico's hopes for a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics are still alive with McWilliams Arroyo Acevedo, who on WED August 20th at 7pm will fight in the Boxing Quaterfinals.

If Arroyo can make it past Cuba's Andris Laffita Hernandez he will move to fight on Friday's semifinal bout. If all goes well, by Saturday evening, Puerto Rico may have a claim to its first Gold Medal in its Olympics history. Go Puerto Rico!

[images from El Nuevo Dia]

U.S. in Nicaragua [cartoon]

Cartoon by Barry Deutsch