The diversity and sensitivity-trained LA police force
 retreated from gang-controlled areas,
 waiting for help from the Nation Guard
 but were surprised and overwhelmed
 by red Chinese forces  deployed from COSCOcontainers..."
 

The flag of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) of Mexico is shown in a photograph in "US News and World Report," 1996-09-23 issue, page 61. It has a green field with a red star, superimposed over which are crossed rifle, machete and hammer. Just off the three uppermost points of the star are the initials of this faction, EPR. The emblems and letters are in black. 

Two other flags are also shown in the photo, the Mexican Flag and another revolutionary flag of what appears to be dark green with a red star in the center. On the hats of the masked rebels in the photo are emblems, the bottom half of which is the mexican tricolor (without arms; i.e. "Italy") over which is a black panel with three red stars. The four rebels in the picture are wearing red masks over their faces. 

Another photo accompanying this article (page 64) shows some black-masked rebels standing under a Mexican Flag. Their rifles are painted Green-Black-Red. The caption refers to the Zapatista rebels (another faction) but it is not clear if that is who is pictured in the photo. Dave Martucci, 1995-12-19
 

Hispanic Street gangs

Hispanic gangs began forming in California during the early 1920s. They started as
looseknit groups banding together for unity and socializing in the barrios (neighborhoods) where the same culture, customs, and language prevailed. Gang members were male youths ranging from 14- to 20-years-old. Property crimes such as burglary, strong-arm robbery, and vandalism were their crimes of choice. These gangs had no formal structure nor leadership. They were very defensive of their barrio, and they would protect it with a vengeance. Gang fights occurred between rival gangs as a result of disputes, turf differences, or transgressions--whether real or imaginary. Often, their weapons included knives, zip guns, chains, clubs, rocks, and bottles. The commission of a crime became a way of gaining status within the gang. Imprisonment in the California Youth Authority or the California Department of Corrections earned a gang member great stature with other gang members. By the 1980s, these gangs began targeting their communities and surrounding 
neighborhoods for drive-by shootings, assaults, murders, and other felonious crimes.
Violence became a way of life. The gangs developed some organization and structure, and leaders emerged from the ranks of older gang members who had been stabbed or shot in gang fights or released from the youth authority or prison. Known as "veteranos," these gang leaders began to recruit new members and train them in gang-related criminal activities. They continued to be turf oriented, and gang fights progressed to gang wars. The age span for gang members widened, encompassing male youths ranging from 12- to 25-years-old who were willing to fight and die for the gang. Most of the gangs required new members to commit a crime, such as stealing a car or committing a burglary or robbery, before becoming a gang member. As the Hispanic gang members evolved, they established unique trademarks such tattoos, hand signs, monikers, and graffiti. Elaborate tattoos depicting the initials or name of a gang symbolized loyalty to a particular gang. Hand signs formed the letters of the gang's initials. Monikers were names assumed by--or given to--gang members, and they were usually retained for life. Intricate graffiti--or placa--clearly marked the gang's territorial boundaries and served as a warning to rival gangs. Gang members used these distinguishing characteristics to demonstrate gang allegiance, strengthen gang participation, and challenge rival gangs. The Department of Justice estimates there could be as many as 95,000 Hispanic gang members in California today. Located in all of the major metropolitan cities, these gangs vary in size from a few members to several hundred. The gang members range in age from 12- to 40-years-old, and many are second- or third-generation gang members. Adult Hispanic gang members recruit and use juvenile gang members to commit crimes or carry weapons because juveniles are subject to less severe sentences compared to adult penalties. Juvenile gang members are often arrested numerous times before actually serving time in jail or the California Youth Authority. Recruitment of new gang members often requires the prospective member to commit a drive-by shooting or some other form of felonious assault. Loyalty to their gang usually extends to their death. Reliance on tattoos, hand signs, and graffiti continues to dominate the gangs' characteristics. These symbols are frequently used to threaten rival gangs besides endorsing allegiance to their own gang. Their criminal activities now range from robberies, burglaries, grand thefts, vehicle thefts, receiving stolen property to assaults, batteries, drive-by shootings, and murders. They are becoming involved as entrepreneurs in the selling of narcotics--particularly PCP, Mexican tar heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana. The gangs' arsenals have expanded to large-caliber handguns, shotguns, and automatic weapons; and their crimes are becoming more violent. Hispanic gang members were responsible for approximately 80 gang-related drive-by shootings in Stockton, California, during 1991. Gang members will attack rival gangs in defense of their turf. The Eastside Longos--a Hispanic gang in Long Beach, California--has been involved in a gang war since October 1989 with the Tiny Rascal Gangsters--a Cambodian gang also located in Long Beach and in several other parts of the state including Fresno and San Diego. Drive-by shootings and assaults between these two gangs have resulted in 16 killings thus far. Law enforcement is an increasing target of gang violence. Hispanic gangs in the Los Angeles area, such as the Harbor City and the "Crazy," have attacked both on and off-duty officers. A few of the gangs are beginning to recruit non-Hispanic gang members, and some Hispanic gang members are joining different ethnic gangs. Various Hispanic gangs are aligning with other ethnic gangs, usually from the same neighborhood. This affiliation allows them more neighborhood protection from rival gangs. Hispanic female gangs are starting to evolve exclusive of the traditionally male-dominated Hispanic gangs. Some of the female gang members, such as the Fresno Bulldog Babes, are participating in drive-by shootings, auto thefts, and assaults. 
 

 8/26/98 -- 5:42 AM

 Detective Mark Fuhrman's legacy: LAPD reform 

 LOS ANGELES (AP) - Detective Mark Fuhrman leaped into history when he jumped the gate
 at O.J. Simpson's house and found a bloody glove matching one he had discovered earlier at
 Nicole Brown Simpson's condo. 

 More than four years later, however, Fuhrman's biggest impact on the  Los  Angeles  Police
 Department remains his ``egregious, systemic misconduct,''  which came to light  in the
 Simpson investigation,  according to reports by Chief Bernard Parks. 

 The department's Mark Fuhrman Task Force has identified 23 areas
 where it can take action to prevent lying, racism, sexual harassment,
 excessive force and creating a hostile work environment. 

 Of those, 12 have been addressed and the rest can be taken care of
 by  the end of the  year, Parks reported Tuesday. 

 The recommendations were developed by Internal Affairs investigators
 who spent 17 months researching Fuhrman and stories he told to writer
 Laura Hart McKinny in a series of interviews during the 1980s. 

 The report called on the LAPD to revise its approach to discipline and
 recommended more thorough investigation of officer histories. 

 The statements to McKinny were used to discredit Fuhrman's testimony,
 a critical part of Simpson's criminal trial. 

 Fuhrman's use of racist epithets and boasts about police brutality and
 sexism undermined his credibility. Simpson was acquitted of murder
 charges, although he was later held liable for the killings in a civil trial. 

 After Simpson's criminal trial, Fuhrman pleaded no contest to a perjury
 charge after the tapes proved he lied when he denied on the witness 
 stand  that he had used a racial epithet during the previous 10 years. 
 He was sentenced to probation and fined $200. 

 Fuhrman later said that racially charged statements made to McKinny
 were exaggerations or fabrications created for her screenplay. He has
 since retired and moved to Idaho. 

 Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 This material  may  not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 
 

Copyright © 1998 Nando.net 
Copyright © 1998 Reuters News Service 

TOKYO (August 17, 1998 8:42 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) 
- Port officials in Tokyo discovered eight dead Chinese stowaways
who appeared to have been trying to enter Japan illegally on board a container ship, 
a Maritime Agency official said on Tuesday. 

Another eight were discovered alive on Monday, but weak from dehydration, 
in a container on board the 2,900-ton freighter Goldrich River, the official said. 

The survivors, five men and three women, were hospitalized, 
and the men were arrested by Japanese authorities for illegal entry, he said. 

Seven of the eight people found dead were women, who succumbed to temperatures 
that rose to 50 C (122 F) inside the compartment. 

The survivors told authorities they had boarded the ship, 
registered in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in the northern Chinese port of Dalian. 

A Maritime Agency official said the ship's captain heard cries coming from the container
on Sunday, but the container was only opened after the Goldrich River 
arrived in Tokyo on Monday afternoon. 

"Under maritime law, it's up to the captain to decide when to inspect the hold for stowaways, 
so we really can't comment on why he waited," a Maritime Agency official said. 
 

"...despite the commitment of 11,000 federal agents"

 "In other words, despite the commitment of 11,000 federal agents,
the nation is still losing the battle of the border. While there is no way of ensuring that his plan will   help, McCaffrey said that after two years of studying the drug battles at the border, he is ready to try. The retired four-star general believes the United States suffers not only from a shortage of border resources but also from a lack of coordination among the federal agencies that police the border. They include the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the National Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Agriculture Department." 
 

 7/1/98 -- 9:00 PM

 Officials relight France's eternal flame after `unspeakable act'

 PARIS (AP) - French and Mexican officials re-lit the eternal flame under the Arc de Triomphe on Wednesday after two Mexican tourists  extinguished it by urinating on it. 

 Mexico's ambassador to France, Sandra Fuentes, laid a wreath by the flame, which commemorates the nation's war dead. 

 A statement by the Defense Ministry said the flame was ``soiled'' in an ``unspeakable act.'' 

 ``This has been an attack on the memory of those who died for France, and their honor,'' the statement said. 

 It did not elaborate, but a member of the Committee for the Flame, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police caught two drunken Mexicans late Tuesday night after they urinated on the flame. 

 The man and woman were questioned and released, their embassy said. 

 Members of the Committee for the Flame and police guard the flame day and night. 

 Robert Combres, one of about 20 veterans attending the ceremony, said the incident should not distract attention from France's war heroes. 

 ``This place of remembrance is very important to us since it represents all our colleagues who lost their lives,'' Combres said. ``Whatever happened, nothing can take away from that.'' 

 A spokeswoman for the Mexican Embassy in Paris, Anne Morales, called the affair ``an accident'' and said she did not expect ties between the nations to be greatly affected. 

 Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

* Additional links by user request: (4th of July, 2000)
* July 13th, 1998: Dateline: France--Meanwhile, the Gallic land continues to revel in the fallout from World Cup fever. The international soccer championship continues to bring out the finest in national pride. Just last Wednesday, a drunken Mexican soccer fan "extinguished" the eternal flame burning under Paris' Arc de Triomphe. Twenty-four-year-old Rodrigo Rafael Ortega was arrested for "offending the dead" and for being drunk in public. The flame has been burning since 1921 over the grave of an unknown French soldier who died in World War I. The War Veterans Ministry said Mexican Ambassador Sandra Berain and the French Junior Minister for War Veterans, Jean-Pierre Masseret, were "deeply hurt" by the "unspeakable act." The beer-bloated Ortega is believed to have extinguished the flame au naturale, if you catch my drift.
* Nothing is permanent, witness the dousing of the eternal flame over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arc de Triomphe by a drunken Mexican fan. The flame was re-lit, as was the most important aspect of this or any World Cup. I refer not to victory or defeat, or sometimes more depressingly no score and rotten penalty shoot-outs. Rather to the spirit of carnival around the stadiums, around the 10 cities, around France.
* "We are deeply hurt by this unspeakable act." French junior minister for war veterans Jean-Pierre Masseret on Mexican fan Rodrigo Rafael Ortega, who extinguished the eternal flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Paris by urinating on it
* Eternal flame succumbs to beer PARIS -- A Mexican football fan incurred the wrath of the host nation yesterday after being arrested for putting out the 77-year-old eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe. The man doused the flame at the site of the unknown soldier with a glass of beer and was arrested on public drunkenness and disturbance of the peace charges. The Mexican ambassador was at a special ceremony last night to relight the flame. -- Sapa-DPA
* Another bad decision. Two Mexican tourists, whose names were not released, have gotten inna little trouble in Paris. In their drunken state, it seems they felt that the City of Lights had one light too many. When visiting the Arc de Triomphe, they extinguished its Eternal Flame - which commemorates France's war dead - by urinating on it. The French were not amused. Mexico's Ambassador to France, Sandra Fuentes, laid a wreath by the flame while assisting in the re-lighting, so as not to piss away any good relations between the two countries.