Why I'm in love with Rosario Dawson

Enough said.

Get Your Trump Piñata Before it's Too Late

Donald Trump in Piñata form

No Latin American celebration should be without the HUUUUUUGGGGGGGE presence of the Donald Trump Piñata.  Maybe you have some candy you want to stuff up it's ass, or maybe, you and your Latino friends just need something to beat with a stick repeatedly.  Go get yourself a Donald Trump Piñata.

Actually maybe check out the full selection of Trump related novelties for that Trump supporter/hater in your life.

Then beat the piñata with a stick.

Can Bernie Sanders Win the Latino Vote in Florida?

Yes.., but not before March 15.

When Floridians head to the polls on March 15, the Democratic base is expected to continue the gradual confirmation of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America.  The rightful nominee, based on issue preference should be Bernie Sanders, but that will not matter on March 15 as the line of loyal party members march into the polling centers to elect Hillary Clinton.

The problem is not Bernie Sanders himself.  I and many other Latino I know will vote for Bernie over Hillary. but we are not the majority of either the Latino vote or the Democratic vote.  Rather, Hillary's momentum, though slowed in recent months, is carried by a long-term covenant between the Clinton and minority organizations across the United States.  Bill and Hillary both, but mostly Hillary, have accumulated two decades of goodwill with community organizers and their organizations.

When someone asks, "What has Hillary done for the Latino community?" The only real answer is not much.  She has at times spoken the right words at the right time and place, but beyond that there has been little action of any consequence in support of Latinos.  

But if we ask, "What has Hillary done for Latino community leaders?"  The real answer there is that Hillary has always managed to surround herself with Latinos of all nationalities and has done a lot to raise their image, fund raise for them, and lobby for their causes when it was possible.  I this way Hillary has not so much won the Latino community's vote, but rather won over it's organizing structure, the one that will call for volunteers and will hit the streets canvasing door to door.

Bernie's best hope, and there is hope, is for Florida's college students to head out to the polls in massive numbers. The chances of a massive youth turnout is definitely greater than that of a moderate Latino turnout, because history has proven that Latinos will not head to the polls in massive numbers for a presidential primary and don't count on any Latino organizations breaking the Clinton-covenant, even if Bernie's platform is the best for welfare and well being of the Latino community.

Suddenly Puerto Rico Matters to Republican Primary - Delegate Counts 2016

Nothing must feel so odd to a rank-and-file member of the U.S. Republican Party than to hear that the fate of Republican presidential candidates may be decided by Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico this Sunday.  Sort of.

See Puerto Rico holds 23 delegates in the 2016 Republican Primary, and 20 of those will be decided by the primary vote on Sunday March 6.   According to the rules, the votes are apportioned directly by the results in the ballot-box. That is, unless any one candidate gets 50% of the vote, at which point that candidate is granted all of the 20 primary delegate votes.  The remaining 3 delegates are technically "unprojected" or "unassigned" until the Republican National Convention is held (though in reality these have been promised to Marco Rubio).

These twenty-three delegates should not matter in a political race where the winner needs 1237 out of a possible 1777 delegates.  But for Marco Rubio a win in Puerto Rico could be used to argue that he has the ability to unite Hispanics under the Republican brand and do it without jeopardizing Republican principles.  By consequence he could argue that he can steal Hispanic votes away from Hillary Clinton.  Cruz on the other hand does not really want to win in Puerto Rico.  Ted Cruz has neither the ground team nor the community connections necessary to make a play for the island's votes.  He hopes to do well enough to counter any positives Rubio could garner but a better strategy for Cruz is to draw a better line of differentiation between himself and Rubio.  The harder Rubio argues that Hispanics prefer him and his brand of Republicanism, the easier it is for Cruz to argue that Rubio is soft on immigration, even though that issue is generally and logically null for Puerto Ricans.

Don't be surprised on Monday when Rubio claims himself the face of a new Republicam Party based on his win in Puerto Rico, and Cruz claims to be the greater stalwart against amnesty and lax immigration policies.


In the mean time, the Republican primary in Puerto Rico also gives us a great chance to see how easily the candidates  gaffe their way through the island.  The most recent tumble of the tongue happened in 2012, when presidential candidate Rick Santorum managed to alienate the very base of Republican Party support in the island when he noted his belief that Puerto Rico must speak English to be a State of the Union.

"Obviously, people can speak Spanish... but everybody needs to speak English..." he says in the interview with WIPR when asked about the process that the island would need to undergo to become a state.  His answer was the expected answer for anyone running in the Republican field.  Though we could get stuck here deconstructing the historical accuracy of whole statement but that never mattered because whatever rationale he offered would not make up for the slap in the face that the statement became for the local Republican Party of Puerto Rico and its allies on the Partido Nuevo Progresista. 

  

 

The notion that Puerto Ricans will need to adopt English, sounds a lot like saying that Puerto Ricans need to turn their backs to the Spanish-language and over 500 years of heritage to become a US state. These are notions that are quickly and strenuously disavowed by both the Republican Party of Puerto Rico and the pro-statehood Partido Nuevo Progresista. The result was to hand the other political parties in the island another reason to distrust the PNP party heading into the 2012 gubernatorial elections. So you can expect every Republican, and possibly every Democrat, presidential candidate to be asked the same question.

Or that time in 2008 when Daddy Yankee endorsed John McCain which is still one of the greatest comedic episodes in US-Puerto Rico conservative politics.

If any of the presidential primary candidates head to Puerto Rico this weekend, it is  possible this GOP-PNP alliance will again make for great Sunday morning breakfast entertainment on March 6.   

Clinton's Ad Designed to Win Latino Vote in Nevada

Here is Hillary Clinton's new ad directed at Latinos ahead of the Presidential Primary contest in Nevada on February 20th.



The ad is meant to look like a spontaneous question during an unguarded campaign moment.  We are supposed to believe this 10 year-old girl with her hair and makeup perfectly primped just happened to be sitting in that circle of chairs. We can say that at least it was quasi-scripted with the local organizers placing all the important pieces in play to get the right composition of items to make an ad, but we really don't have to.  Seats so close to Clinton are not just randomly available, the whole of it is somewhat suspect just for that reason.  Yet, that doesn't matter.  Authenticity is not what this ad is trying to sell.  The message of the Clinton campaign is a simple one "Estoy Contigo" - "I am with you."  That's the campaign directed at Latino Democratic voters and that is the message that is being reinforced here. "Clinton  is with us,"  Only she understands "us."  It is a manipulative but brilliant campaign and one that I expect will be most effective with Latino women voters than with Latino males.

Notably the ad places Clinton in the role of "ally" of the Latino community and therefore deserving of its vote.  Note that nothing is being proposed, prompted, or promised here, simply the idea that Clinton will take care of "it." She will "worry " about it.  This is good campaign stuff and it cements the core idea that Clinton will support some kind of immigration reforms and will seek to bring relief from the current status limbo of many of the undocumented, without actually taking a clearly defined position.

But lets be real.  While we know that Clinton is "with us," but we should also remember that she is only "with us" for as long as it is advantageous to her campaign.  Immigration, with the Dream Act included, is just another card in Clinton's political deck.  Don't think she wont fold on us when the next hand is dealt.   

How Obama Won

'Knights for Obama' at the University of Central Florida rallying students to turn out and vote on November 4. After months of organizing the student body, arranging early voting opportunities, and maintaining Obama's name on the lips of every student, The 'Knights for Obama' organization did its job, as many others did across the nation. An unpaid army of volunteers powered by the promise of HOPE and the expectation of CHANGE, these students carried the vote to the polls like none other have in Central Florida, perhaps the entire state. If anyone asks how Obama won Florida, and the nation, remember the 'Knights for Obama'











Sometimes the good guys win.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama: Lays down case against McCain

Among the pantheon of great conservative/Republican men and women there is one person who still garners the respect of most Americans, that's Colin Powell. To say that the man has "gravitas" is as obvious as saying that water is wet. Inspite of his role in bringing forward the case for the Iraq War, the level of respect he has been afforded by liberal America is unprecedented. This strange contradiction is due to the fact, as reported extensively by administration insiders, that as Secretary of State, Powell engaged in a vehement one man campaign inside the White House to restrain the Bush Administration. His resignation from the post in 2005 was however the only public sign of disagreement with Bush and his neoconservative cadre.

Since, his voice has been peculiarly absent from the growing critical chorus against Bush as his military sense of loyalty has bound him to the Bush Administration. Others who have left the administration over the years have nevertheless written much on the topic and have thus given voice to a man who to this day will not speak ill of the Bush administration, but whose opposition to the Bush doctrine has only been matched by his loyalty.

Today, Colin Powell broke his silence and spoke before the national television audience of NBC's Meet the Press giving an unambigous endorsement for Senator Barack Obama while equally denouncing Senator John McCain's campaign and personal judgment. While he does not go after his former boss in the White House, Powell nevertheless gives the impression of a man whose consciousness and intellect forbid him to follow the party line any longer.

Here it is in his own words:

Richard Trumka: We can't sit silent or look the other way

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka speaking at the united Steelworkers convention in July of this year. This is an excerpt of the speech. This is a call to arms for all workers who as he says "can't stay silent or look the other way".

Edwin Irizarry Mora para Gobernador de Puerto Rico

Aquí les presento el anuncio político para la campaña del Profesor Edwin Irizarry Mora para Gobernador de Puerto Rico de parte del Partido Independentista de Puerto Rico (PIP).

Este es el momento mi gente. Vamos a votar por el futuro de nuestra patria, nuestra independencia.

Obama, Palin and the Experience Question - Analysis by Luminous

Barack Obama's inexperience has been the core argument of both Hillary Clinton's and now John McCain's Presidential Campaign. However, with Sarah Palin as John McCain's Vice President, doesn't the argument just seem to vanish.

During the primaries I was an avid Barack Obama supporter, in face of the Rev. Wright "Scandal," Rezko-gate, the "cling to guns" gaffe, I remained an avid supporter. While his rhetorical skills were of course impressive, they were not to me inspiring or anything, but the points that he made, to me, always made sense. As a student of Political Science, I have come to understand that diplomacy is an incredibly powerful way to solve problems and resolve issues that effect all of us. Barack Obama was one of the few DNC candidates who said yes to meeting with leaders of so-called "Rogue" nations, without precondition. Because in his view, and in mine, creating preconditions to discussing problems is not productive, all it does is anger the leadership who think they are right. We should not negotiate out of fear, nor should we fear negotiating. My first IR professor made a big point of instilling in us the idea that you cannot change people by ignoring them. Ignoring world leaders doesn't work either. This is not naive, this is one of those few tenets of basic psychology that I can actually agree with.

I will preface the next section by presenting my recollection of the of conversation I had in Indiana with a couple of Clinton supporters. One said that he would support McCain if Hillary was not the nominee, the other said she would be undecided but thought that Obama's high-minded "overly positive" view of the world wasn't reality and that she would have trouble supporting him. Then she said something that struck me and while on my mind, I suppose from Chappelle jokes, not something I really thought would happen, "Plus they are probably going to kill him." Mind you this is Middle-America, but I thought "this is an actual possibility."

So now given that Obama will more than likely be the target of more assassination attempts than any other President in history even the one that literally stole an election circa 2000, I am glad that Sen. Obama chose a running mate that is qualified, intelligent, and passionate (although at times to a fault). Yes Joe Biden says random dumb shit from time to time but at least I know he has sat and actually thought about some of the items on that long list of problems facing the country.

Watch this:

...now ask yourself, seriously, what the hell is she talking about?

Now, John McCain, is 72 years old, a man who has had cancer 3 times, so although his death may not be the result of assassination it is still very much a possibility. And this is who he wants to be the President should he pass.

Check out this article by Fareed Zakaria entitled "Palin Is Ready? Please." and please tell your friends to vote Obama 08.

Side note: Rev. Wright, if you hear him in context, spits some real shit when he wants to. He pointed out a very poignant bible verse John 10:16 "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd," and somehow all those arguments I had in my Christian head about other religions being okay for other people, and being told by various "Christian types" that those folks were doomed to burn, etc. etc. were suddenly resolved. I am now making it a point to reference this verse as much as possible.

And a note to readers about the author, I also cling to guns.

Luminous is one our newest contributor to LatinoInsurgent.com, a Gradute student of Political Science and top local DJ.
www.djluminous.com

Voter Registration Deadline - By State- 2008 General Election

Every state determines their own voter registration procedures including the voter registration deadline, after which you will not be eligible to vote. So make sure you are registered. Make sure you vote.

Alabama Fri, Oct. 24
Alaska Sun, Oct. 5 (postmark by Sat, Oct. 4)
Arizona Mon, Oct. 6
Arkansas Mon, Oct. 6
California Mon, Oct. 20
Colorado Mon, Oct. 6
Connecticut Tues, Oct. 21
Delaware Sat, Oct. 11
District of Columbia Mon, Oct. 6
Florida Mon, Oct. 6
Georgia Mon, Oct. 6
Hawaii Mon, Oct. 6
Idaho Register at Polls
Illinois Tues, Oct. 7
Indiana Mon, Oct. 6
Iowa Fri, Oct. 24 (or on Election Day at polling place)
Kansas Mon, Oct. 20
Kentucky Mon, Oct. 6
Louisiana Mon, Oct. 6
Maine Tue, Oct. 21 (or on Election Day at polling place)
Maryland Tue, Oct. 14
Massachusetts Wed, Oct. 15
Michigan Mon, Oct. 6
Minnesota Same Day Registration at polling place
Mississippi Mon, Oct. 6
Missouri Wed, Oct. 8
Montana Mon, Oct. 6 (or same day at elections office)
Nebraska Fri, Oct. 24 (mail by Fri, Oct. 17)
Nevada Tue, Oct. 14
New Hampshire Same Day
New Jersey Tues, Oct. 14
New Mexico Tues, Oct. 7
New York Fri, Oct. 10
North Carolina Fri, Oct. 10 (or in person until Nov. 1st)
North Dakota N/A
Ohio Mon, Oct. 6
Oklahoma Fri, Oct. 10
Oregon Tue, Oct. 14
Pennsylvania Mon, Oct. 6
Rhode Island Sat, Oct. 4
South Carolina Sat, Oct. 4
South Dakota Mon, Oct. 20
Tennessee Mon, Oct. 6
Texas Mon, Oct. 6
Utah Mon, Oct. 6 or in person Tue, Oct. 28
Vermont Wed, Oct. 29
Virginia Mon, Oct. 6
Washington Mon, Oct. 4 (or Mon, Oct. 20 in person)
West Virginia Wed, Oct. 15
Wisconsin Wed, Oct. 15 (or on Election Day at polling place)
Wyoming Can register at polls

[Source: Rock The Vote]

NCLR: It is now time to VOTE!

NCLR, The National Council of La Raza, has sent out a press release announcing the launch of their online voter mobilization campaign. Also known as a GOTV ( Get Out The Vote) campaign, this one is particularly unique as for the first time it looks like the full weight of the NCLR is going to be mobilized to this effort including the work of its affiliates and community partners. Check out the video below.

Hispanic voter registration campaigns have always been successful, but it is the GOTV, voter mobilization phase that usually gets left behind, and it is also the one that always requires the most funding to accomplish. NCLR is taking a step in the right direction with this campaign. Check out the video below the excerpt of the press release.

From the Press Release:

NCLR LAUNCHES ONLINE MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN FOR LATINO VOTER MOBILIZATION

Washington, DC—Building on the tremendous success of the citizenship campaign, ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía! (It’s Time: Citizenship!), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, today launched Yo Votaré, an online multimedia campaign to complement the ya es hora efforts and those of multiple other partners. The new website, www.YoVotare.org, will serve as a one-stop portal to connect Latinos with various unprecedented efforts to register new voters, provide voter information and education tools, and increase voter turnout in November. There are 17 million eligible Hispanic voters in the United States who can make a difference in this election.

Filiberto Lives!

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I. assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios. Thousands of people in Puerto Rico and throughout the Diaspora protested. Murals were painted. T-Shirts were printed. Even a reggaeton song was made. All condemning the brutal and cowardly acts of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios. In Puerto Rico people rallied to the streets yelling "asesinos", while the Governor put on his best "I don’t know shit" face and claimed he was not aware of the assassination orders being executed in the small town of Hormigueros on Puerto Rico’s west coast. The chief of Police, an ex-F.B.I. agent himself, did the same.

In Chicago, Orlando, New York, Philadelphia and other cities throughout the Diaspora, Puerto Rican community leaders and their allies and friends held events and organized to spread the word about yet another vicious attack against those struggling for freedom and independence for Puerto Rico.

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I. assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios. The month’s that followed were filled with allegations, denials, and a large-scale witch hunt rounding up professors, shoe repairmen, authors, community organizers, and students whom the F.B.I. tried to tie to the clandestine Pro-Independence group Los Macheteros. After one such round up, at a well respected and much loved professor’s house, the media, who was covering the event, was trampled on and maced by the F.B.I.

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I. assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios. The various multitudes of pro-independence organizations that for decades had been at difference with each other were speaking about unity and collective action. This was to be the defining moment when ideologies and egos were going to be put to the back in the spirit of unity, as Filiberto himself had called for at his last speech. Socialista, pipiolo, nacionalista, Chicago, New York were all identifiers that were no longer going to mean shit. All that was supposed to matter now was that everyone wanted the same thing, the independence of Puerto Rico.

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I. assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios. In the time since then Filiberto has grown to become another symbolic figure that stands to inspire and challenge us.

In reflecting on what occurred that day I kept returning to the fact that the assassination highlighted something for me that I have always believed and spoken about and that is that the "movement’s" failure lays in its reactionary nature.

"Look they assassinated Filiberto! Let’s go out and…. do something!"

Colonialism sucks! No shit!

People know that colonialism is evil and destructive. But what is the alternative? The responsibility of the various organizations and individuals that claim to be pro-independence should be to educate and show the people that alternative.

Alternative schools. Co-ops. Health clinics. Independentista businesses. Community based and centered so that you can decentralize the government and people no longer feel they need it to survive. As they do now, and therefore support and vote for its survival. So come November when people go to vote in the first gubernatorial race since the assassination no surprises will occur. If people didn’t vote for PIP after they spearheaded the removal of the Navy from Vieques, I have no faith that they will now. Nor will this even be an issue of significance to voters on the island.

Three years ago on this day the F.B.I. assassinated Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
But Filiberto lives!

Obama's New Spanish Language Campaign Ads

The latest ads coming out of the Obama/Biden camapign are targeting the Hispanic communities of states considered battleground contests for the November 4th election. The New Mexico ad is particularly important as New Mexico inches closes into the solid Blue category, but in Florida the contest will be tougher and the ads may be too little too late to generate a groundswell of support. The Nevada and Colorado Ads however may just be good enough to edge out a victory in these hard-fought states where the electoral difference is to to be in the fractions of a percent.

These ads are the first in Spanish using the now famous McCain gaffe "the fundamentals of our economy are strong."

Also interesting is how these ads are all essentially the same with the exception of the statistics in the first few seconds of the ads. It would be nice to see some polling numbers of the Hispanic community before and after the ads, as well as in comparison with each other state. Here are the ads:

NEW MEXICO AD:

FLORIDA AD:

NEVADA AD:

COLORADO AD:

If you were the boss, who would you hire?

Carlos Guzman, a Central Florida businessman and community organizer, sent out this email comparing the qualifications of the Obama/Biden ticket versus the McCain/Palin ticket.

You are The Boss... which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, skyrocketing Federal spending, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc. etc., this is an unusually critical election year. The idea of "leadership" must be broadened from mere "experience" to include knowledge, learnedness and insight.

Let's look at the educational background of your two options:

Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 of 899

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire ?

The fact that Mr. Guzman is the owner and operator of various businesses around Central Florida, with vast experience in community organizing, helps to make the point that: All things being equal, if the decision faced by the American people in this election were taken from the proper perspective, the outcome would be obvious.

***UPDATE: Mr. Guzman wants all to know he is not the original author of the email.

Obama Waffles

This is what Republicans call proper political discourse. I mean, in what planet is this appropriate? These Obama Waffles are being sold by Republicans at conventions around the country for $10 each.

Pepe Escobar on U.S. VP Candidate Sarah Palin

Award winning Brazilian journalist and Real News Network correspondent Pepe Escobar breaks down Sarah Palin's views on American foreign policy. This is perhaps the most analytically dead-on deconstruction of Sarah Palin. Watch below:

Barack Obama vs. Bill O'Reilly: The September Interview

Our Special Insurgent Correspondent Aileen collected these videos from Fox New's Bill O'Reilly's Interview with Barack Obama. Watch Obama as he answers O'Reilly's arguments one by one. Watch it all to see the progression, about 30 minutes total.

Click "READ MORE" to see the other three parts to the interview.

Jessica Alba and Christina Aguilera in Bondage for Your Vote

Jessica Alba, a.k.a. my future wife, and Christina Aguilera, a.k.a my future wife, posed for celebrated photographers Mark Liddell and David LaChapelle for the Declare Yourself voter registration campaign. The pictures, inspired by bondage-like apparel, are part of an online gallery and an ad campaign to encourage the youth vote in these upcoming elections. Cause nothing says "vote" like a little bondage. (By the way... I do not see a problem with both of them being my future wives)

Hispanic Republicans out-of-touch with real Latinos

If anyone ever doubted how out of touch the Republican Party is with the issues affecting Latinos across the country, they need only visit the website for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (or RNHA for the hipsters).

Apparently, there is only one issue we Latinos care about according to the GOP and that's the passing of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Funny how in all my sleepless nights that never crossed my mind. Here I was thinking about the shrinking job market, rising unemployment, failing schools, police brutality, immigration laws, and my friends and family fighting in Iraq. Thanks to the Republicans now I know that all the issues I thought were important were just foolish. After all, if they say so, they must be right, I should only care about the Colombian Free Trade Agreement. Thanks G.O.P. for setting us dumb Latinos on the right path.

Here's a close-up:

Oh, in case you are wondering who these Republicans are who are so in touch with our needs here are the names of the members of the RNHA Advisory Board (its like a who's who of mediocrity and bad ideas):

George Allen
Former US Senator and VA Governor

Michael Barrera
Former Ombudsman, SBA

Victor Cabral
Senior Counsel, NBC/Telemundo

Roger Campos
President, Minority Business Round Table

Al Cardenas
Former Chairman, Republican Party of Florida

Linda Chavez
Chairman, Center for Equal Opportunity

Rita Dimartino
Former VP, Congressional Relations for AT&T

Ron Ebensteiner
Former Chairman, Republican Party of Minnesota

Luis Fortuño
US Congressman, Puerto Rico

Esperanza Guerrero-Anderson
President, Guerrero-Anderson, Inc.

Orin Hatch
U.S. Senator – Utah

Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. Senator - Texas

Tony Jimenez
President, MicroTech, LLC

Carol Jean Jordan
Former Chairman, Republican Party of Florida

Mel Martinez
U.S. Senator - Florida

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform

Henry Ramirez
Former Nixon White House Official

David Rivera
Florida State Representative

Marco Rubio
Speaker of the House, Florida

Michael Steele
Chairman, GOPAC

Massey Villarreal
Former Chairman, RNHA and USHCC

Juan Zapata
Florida State Representative

Gee, I almost expected Alberto Gonzalez on the list, I guess they have standards.