News From The Border

YOU DON'T HEAR ABOUT THIS ON CNN DEPT.

Never mind Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Perceived Terror, a real shooting war is right on our doorstep. This story matches accounts of shooting incidents in South Texas.



War is coming to Tucson


By Lionel Waxman
The Daily Territorial
May 26, 2007

You are not going to like what I have to say today.

But it must be said, out loud. People are whispering about it now, but if we don't face up to it, it will only get worse.

The violent incident in Cananea, Sonora, has hit the consciousness of Tucson squarely between the eyes. Northern Mexico is in a state of war. Who is fighting? That's hard to say. Officially, it is the drug and people-traffickers against each other and the government. But in Mexico, you can't tell the players even with a program. You cannot assume the police or the Army are loyal to their commands. Many are working on their own.

In case you were out of town two weeks ago, about 50 armed men drove into Cananea and killed five policemen nd two other residents. The men fled into the hills with police and soldiers in pursuit. In subsequent gunfights, 16 more were killed.

The U.S. State Department has issued a travel announcement saying narcotics-related "violence by criminal elements affects many parts of the country."

It is not too much to say there is a war going on right across the border. It's not a hot war with firefights all the time. It is not a cold war, either, with posturing and press releases. Let's call it a warm war. Violence breaks out from time to time for reasons unknown to us, but completely unpredictable.

And here's the part you don't want to hear. Violence has spread across the border and has resulted in several deaths of Americans residents and visitors. Most such crimes are reported as isolated incidents.

But the violence in northern Mexico is not stopping at the border. It's headed this way and a lot of Tucsonans know it.

It is crossing the border because there is little to stop it. The Border Patrol is in virtual rebellion against its supervisors. They have felt betrayed by prosecution of some of them for what they see as doing their job. Union Local 2544 of the Border Patrol has published its position of "no confidence" in supervisory and command personnel. They have called a meeting(members only) for June 13 to consider their options.

You can't learn about it in most media, but the whispers around town are people saying they are thinking of getting out. It looks like war and it's coming here. No government has acted to protect Americans living in Southern Arizona. Our federal government is in full collapse as far as the southern border is concerned. All we get from them is talk. The only action we see is toward integrating Mexico into the U.S. and Canada.

What will it mean when the border is actually abandoned and anybody is free to enter without inspection? It will mean that Southern Arizona, specifically Tucson, could become like Cananea and other parts of northern Mexico. Violence will overtake local police. State and federal authorities will look the other way.

Our local news media talks about growth and how we must plan. But these events will make those plans meaningless. When Tucsonans have to risk their lives to go to work or shopping, this city will empty out. Adequate water supplies will be the least of our problems.

The federal government should put troops on the border to defend the United States and its citizens. The troops should be given orders to use as much force as necessary to accomplish that task. No soldiers should be detailed to do paperwork and forbidden to fire on violators. This is another war and if we don't act like it, we will lose this one too.

This war isn't on the other side of the world. This is for our homes, our homes, our homes.

But the feds do nothing. What is happening is according to their plan. Drop in on the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America's website at www.spp.govn and read the plans. Watch discussion of the so-called immigration reform bill, which contains legislation advancing the integration of North America. It's happening whether you like it or not.

And Tucson is on the front lines.

Contact Lionel Waxman at territorial@waxmanmedia.com.

Body of missing Tacoma girl found
http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topstories/story/109060.html

Parkland man being held by feds gave information on location, police say

PAUL SAND; The News Tribune
Published: July 13th, 2007 05:39 AM

KARIE HAMILTON/FOR THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Tawny Snyder, left, and Carol Ramm-Gramenz, center, join other concerned residents Thursday at a meeting about Zina Linnik.

KARIE HAMILTON/FOR THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Tawny Snyder, left, and Carol Ramm-Gramenz, center, join other concerned residents Thursday at a meeting about Zina Linnik.

Tacoma police and FBI agents found the body of missing 12-year-old Zina Linnik on Thursday night, Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said.

Investigators located her body in Pierce County after they were given information from a 42-year-old Parkland man whom police have identified as a person of interest in Zina’s July 4 disappearance, Ramsdell said.

That man was being held by federal immigration officials on a charge not connected to Zina’s apparent abduction.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the Linnik family and we will continue to put forth our best efforts to bring the perpetrator of this senseless and horrific crime to justice,” Ramsdell said at a brief and hastily arranged 9:30 p.m. news conference outside Tacoma police headquarters.

In a statement, Ramsdell did not specify where Zina was found, saying only that it was “within Pierce County.”

He did not answer questions from reporters after reading the statement.

Tacoma police detective Chris Taylor fielded some questions, saying that Zina’s family had been notified. He said the girl’s body was discovered at the same time as a meeting was taking place between police and the public at 6 p.m. in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood.

That’s near where Zina was last since at 9:45 p.m. on July 4 in the alley near her family’s home in the 2500 block of South J Street.

The man who gave police the tip that led to Zina’s body is a convicted sex offender. He’s been charged with failing to register as a sex offender. The man has denied having anything to do with Zina’s disappearance.

The News Tribune is not naming him because he has not been charged with any crime connected with Zina’s disappearance.

The man’s 1990 criminal sex offense conviction for first-degree incest is the basis for his detention and should have led to the man’s deportation, according to a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Court documents state he underwent court-ordered psychological evaluation and was diagnosed with pedophilia as part of the case.

Investigators searched the man’s home Sunday and Monday, seizing items and a gray van. According to search warrant records, they found “girl’s undergarments” during the investigation.

Police found the man after a detective ran a computer search that led to the man’s van. The color, the model and the license plate numbers listed in state vehicle records fit the partial description of a vehicle that Zina’s father told police he saw driving out of the alley July 4. He heard a scream just before he saw the van speed away, police say.

Plates on the seized van had been changed when police first spotted the vehicle. The man said his original plates had been stolen months earlier, and that he couldn’t afford new ones.

The man, who came from Thailand to America in 1977 and later enlisted in the Army, initially cooperated with investigators, but has stopped talking with them.

Investigators had searched Tiger Mountain on Tuesday and Wednesday in east King County, but said they found no trace of Zina.

Earlier Thursday, neighbors and friends met at the Peace Community Center on the Hilltop to exchange information and talk with Tacoma police about the disappearance.

Surprisingly, neighbors Carolyn Nelson and Kim Sheridan said, many people on the Hilltop knew nothing about Zina’s disappearance.

“It’s unbelievable how many people do not know about Zina,” Nelson told about 60 people at the meeting.

A handful of people spoke passionately at the meeting about the person of interest, his immigration status and his right to an attorney.

“How many sex offenders from other countries are molesting our kids?” asked Dwight Steenberg, 50, who lives in the neighborhood.

Paul Sand: 253-597-8872

paul.sand@thenewstribune.com