U.S. Department of State

Sábado de Gloria at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena: Booze, Babes, and Banda aka SoCal's Best Easter Party

In the annals of Lenten celebrations ala Carnaval and Mardi Gras, few match the desmadre that is the pachanga that happens during Easter weekend and the week that follows in Jerez, Zacatecas, the ancestral home of our Mexican-in-Chief and tens of thousands of other Mexican-Americans in Orange County ... More >>

Cyber Exploitation of Kids Explored Today and Saturday at Vanguard University

President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act Thursday, and there have been demonstrations across the country since Wednesday as part of a national call to "Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!"Today and Saturday, the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University, a private C ... More >>

Maen Areikat, Chief Representative of Palestine Liberation Organization Set to Visit OC

Stationed in the nation's capital, diplomat Maen Rashid Areikat wasn't invited to President Barack Obama's second inauguration. As he told The National, the oversight was relayed as unintentional resulting from outdated contact information. Whatever the case, the chief representative of the Palestin ... More >>

Ex-Orange County Cop Who Headed U.S. Embassy Security in Libya Resigns

A former Orange County police officer who became an acclaimed, high-ranking officer in the U.S. Department of State is one of three senior government officials to resign today in the wake of an unflattering report about management and security errors leading to the Sept. 11 Benghazi, Libya attacks t ... More >>

Jenna Milburn-DiPasquale, OC Cybersitter Marketer, Sees Red Thanks to China's Hackers

Jenna Milburn-DiPasquale was working on the computer in her Orange County home office in June 2009 when she received an email from her father. There's nothing strange about that since she does all the marketing for her Santa Barbara-based dad's eight-person company, Solid Oak Software, best known fo ... More >>

[UPDATED with Defense Move to Dismiss Criminal Case:] Christopher Ryan Smith's Family Sues Alleged Killer, His Accomplice, Employees and Family

See the update at the end of this post about the accused killer's defense filing a writ in the Court of Appeals to dismiss the criminal case.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 17, 3:29 P.M.: The family of the late Christopher Ryan Smith, whose body has never been found, is suing his accused murderer and business p ... More >>

Newport-to-Baja Boaters Eye Cuba Trip

Later this fall, the Newport Harbor Yacht Club hosts the annual Fleet Under Way to Baja Rally--better known as the FUBAR rally of recreational powerboats to La Paz.Meanwhile, the member of another yacht is organizing a FUBAR to Cuba. FUCR, anyone?

[UPDATED with Family Cleared to Leave Ghana:] Sol and Christine Moghadam, Irvine Couple Held for Child Trafficking, Get Assist

See update at the end of the post on the family being cleared to return home with their children.ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 27, 3:06 P.M.: A website that allows participating American families to raise money so they can adopt children overseas, including an Irvine couple that was detained in Ghana for susp ... More >>

Marbel A. Para Popped for Poaching 42 Spiny Lobsters from Marine Sanctuary

​A Riverside County man was cited Sunday for allegedly poaching 47 California spiny lobsters from Laguna Beach waters within Southern California's new marine sanctuary zone that went into effect Jan. 1.State Department of Fish and Game warden popped Marbel A. Para, 30, of Romoland, off Heisler Pa ... More >>

Mexico As Imagined By the Washington Post

Flickr user yarhargoat​It gets fatiguing reading the same articles on travel to Mexico that parrot the U.S. State Department over and over again. Precious few of those people have ever actually been to the places they're writing about, but they turn the fear dial up to 11, the result being that Am ... More >>

Dengue Fever Going Back to Southeast Asia to Tour for the Third Time

​Dengue Fever is going back to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in November on the "Electric Mekong Tour" with the cooperation and support of the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and local promoter in Cambodia, Dickon Verey. The band received the Arts Envoy grant, d ... More >>

Futures of Syria and Bashar Assad Aired at Town Hall

​The focus of the international media may have switched from Syria to Israel-Palestine (for now), but that won't stop the Los Angeles chapter of the Syrian American Council from holding its third town hall meeting in Anaheim Saturday to examine the current situation and future outlook for members' ... More >>

The Sad Saga of the Playground Festival

[Mental Notes] Plenty of finger-pointing about the epic fail of "OC's Coachella."

Jose Solorio and Tony Mendoza, Assembly Democrats, Blasted for "Anti-Business" Bills

Solorio​A proposed law authored by one Orange County assemblyman is being called a big favor for big labor, while legislation from another has powerful California business interests lined up against it.The legislators are Democrats and California Latino Legislative Caucus leaders Jose Solorio of S ... More >>

Locals Push Bill Spreading Religious Freedom

​A Santa Ana-based group pushing for religious freedom worldwide has launched a new advocacy campaign aimed at beefing up the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and, with it, U.S. foreign policy. Turmoil in Nigeria, the Middle East, Northern Africa and Pakistan--including the burning of ... More >>

Where Can a Gabacho Live in Mexico?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And is there any beef between Mexicans and Ecuadorians?

You'll Flip Over Pat Robertson Seminar in Costa Mesa

​From 2-4 p.m. Friday, associate professor of history David Marley hosts a seminar at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa based on his 2007 book, Pat Robertson: An American Life. "This is a fantastic lecture for VU students because Pat Robertson is such an influential and important person in Chris ... More >>

WikiLeaks Expose Questionable Details From Dana Rohrabacher's Visit to Honduras

​R. Scott Moxley told you in October about Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) having inserted himself in the violent 2009 coup that toppled the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Was Dana Rohrabacher Playing Kingmaker in Central America?To refresh your memory, th ... More >>

Asylum Denied

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Eating Tijuana, Part Two

Dave Lieberman​I wanted to see whether the news reports were true; I missed Baja and the laid-back lifestyle it represents. When Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA offered a quick one-day tour, I jumped at the chance to see whether it was time to go back.I'm happy to report that it is. No soldiers ... More >>

Eating Tijuana, Part One

Dave Lieberman​"You're insane." "You're going to die, you know." "Are you stupid?" "Can I have your car?" Such were the reactions I got when I mentioned that I would be taking part in a culinary tour of Tijuana given by Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA: total certainty that I would never ma ... More >>

Rep. Loretta Sanchez Condemns Vietnam Cyberattacks, Assorted Douchebaggery

​Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) is "outraged" that Vietnam used malware to illicitly monitor the Internet activity of human rights and democracy activists.

"Most Egregious of Any Investment Fraudster or Ponzi Schemer This Court Will Ever See"

​John Anthony Miller made promises to clients of his Newport Beach-based investment companies, JAM Jr. Enterprises and Forte Financial Partners, of "guaranteed" annual returns of as much as 18 percent per year, telling investors that their money would be invested in foreign currency trading, oil w ... More >>

Drive Announced for Anti-Slavery Ballot Initiative

Aaron Cohen in the field.​While sometime Costa Mesa resident Aaron Cohen travels the globe in his quest to end human slavery, a drive for a voter initiative to strengthen human trafficking laws and increase trafficking victims' rights was announced in his home state today. California Against Slave ... More >>

Register Report on State Dinner for India Leader Is Bombayboozled

Rep. Ed Royce loves Indiana food.​Not that yours truly would want to get into a pissing match with the Orange County Register over typos, but Washington Bureau chief Dena Bunis' "Total Buzz" blog post on Congressman Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) attending President Barack Obama's first State Dinner--in ... More >>

McKinney Follows UC Irvine Speech With Israeli Detention [UPDATED, THE SEQUEL]

UPDATE: MCKINNEY IS ON HER WAY HOME, REPORTS ATLANTA-JOURNAL CONSTITUTION ...Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) is shown speaking at UC Irvine May 13 as part of the Muslim Student Union's controversial, three-week "Israel: The Politics of Genocide" teach-in. Here she makes the c ... More >>

Royce, Sanchez Blast North Korea's Harsh Sentencing of Journos

Two Orange County representatives in the U.S. Congress came out strongly today against North Korea's harsh sentencing of 12 years hard labor for two U.S. journalists charged with "hostile acts." The other four Members of Congress were silent.Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) emailed the Weekly t ... More >>

Royce, Sanchez Blast North Korea's Harsh Sentencing of Journos

Two Orange County representatives in the U.S. Congress came out strongly today against North Korea's harsh sentencing of 12 years hard labor for two U.S. journalists charged with "hostile acts." The other four Members of Congress were silent.Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) emailed the Weekly t ... More >>

Downtown Ozy

Ozomatli

The Laguna Playhouse’s Red Herring (Mostly) Doesn’t Stink

Goodbye, Tancredo, and Take Morey With You

Not to pick on Irvine Islamic "expert" Robert Morey any further this week, but I was reminded of his idiocies today, as I bide my time in Fort Collins, Colorado, before a book signing hosted by the Rocky Mountain Chronicle. The paper runs a great column called "Tancrazy Train," which monitors Colora ... More >>

Wednesday's Headlines & Surprises: Police Seek Laguna Retard

The Fourth Reich: Way before there was “Don’t Taser me, dude!” there was Benito Acosta, arrested by Costa Mesa police after he allegedly spoke too long during a January 2006 city council meeting. Acosta opposed training local police as INS agents, a pet project of Mayor Allan Mansoor. A right ... More >>

From Hunter to Hunted

In his quest to free slaves around the world, Aaron Cohen thought hed seen it all. Then he went to Myanmar

Friday's Haul

An Irvine spy? Irvine businessman and peace activist Ali Shakeri has been imprisoned in Iran and charged with espionage. A State Department official denied that Shakeri was working for the U.S. gov't, though. Gobsmacked: Folks at Capistrano Unified can't fathom how a guy could turn dow ... More >>

Talk About Pop Muzik

Sandy Zipp, Professor, UC Irvine

Numbers, Numbers (and a semi-Nun)

First for some numbers that aren't as big as you might think, or others might want you to think. If California were a separate country, it would have the world's sixth-largest economy, one hears time and time again. The governor even repeated the We're Number 6 bleat in his State of the State spee ... More >>

The Woman with a Limp

When her Aunt Virginia died in 1982, Lorna Catling had no idea that forty years earlier the Gestapo had declared her aunt "the most dangerous of all Allied spies" in France, and issued orders to "find and destroy her."  Virginia Hall seldom spoke about what she had done during World War II, and ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

Oct. 18 - Oct. 24

Welcome Back Taliban!

You'd better sit down. Today Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist suggested that the best way to deal with the increasing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan ... is to reintegrate the group into the Afghani government. From the AP via the International Herald-Tribune: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill F ... More >>

Too Much Dick Spoils the Gumbo

Losers Again

Communists, Bush defeat Little Saigon in human rights war

Spread Some Aloha

World peace starts at your summer barbecue

Call Me Irresponsible

Yes, Its Undeniably True

Patriots Travel Package

Xenophobia, the Musical

The closing of our cultural borders

No Escape

Couched in Ignorance

Your TV and the Middle East

Diary of a Mad County

Freedom! We Think

Alleged terrorists family wants answers

The Terrorist Next Door

The U.S. says a former Anaheim resident is trying to kill us all