Peanut Corporation Of America Files For Bankruptcy Amid Salmonella Outbreak

Blakley, GA
The Virginia based food processing company, Peanut Corporation of America has filed for bankruptcy protection after 5 deaths have been linked to tainted peanut butter manufactured in a Blakey, Georgia peanut processing plant.

The Center for Disease Control reports that 453 people in 43 states have been infected with salmonella after eating products containing peanut from the plant. One case of infection is also reported in Canada. "Of these, 22 percent are hospitalized and five deaths have been reported that may be associated," the CDC's Dr. Robert Tauxe said.

PCA president Stewart Parnell, of Virginia, issued a statement on Friday saying, "Today, the FDA informed PCA that new product samples in unopened containers tested positive for Salmonella."

The Kellogg Company has recalled numerous products including some Keebler brand snacks manufactured with peanut butter paste from the tainted factory. The company also faces several lawsuits from those who became sick after eating the products.

In recent years another peanut plant in south Georgia was linked to a nation wide salmonella outbreak. It is believed that the problems are caused by unsanitary conditions within the plants, possibly due to the high number of illegal immigrants employed by many food processors in the state.

Illegal Immigrant Registers Car In Fulton County, Sends Innocent Woman To Hospital In Interstate Racing Crash

Union City, GA

Alvaro Gallardo was arrested Tuesday night in connection with a crash on Interstate 85 during the morning rush hour which sent an innocent woman to the hospital with serious injuries.

The crash occurred when Gallardo was driving at race speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and weaving in and out of traffic on the busy highway near Union City, apparently racing with someone driving a White Dodge Neon, as commuters attempted to travel to work on Tuesday morning. Police say that stickers on Gallardo's car indicate that the vehicle had been modified for drag racing. Police are still searching for the Dodge Neon and it's driver.

Gallardo smashed into the rear of a Ford Explorer, driven by 61 year old Linda Wiglesworth, causing the Explorer to flip and roll and then fled the scene before police arrived. Mrs. Wiglesworth was taken to Atlanta Medical Center to be treated for serious spinal injuries and was reported to be in fair condition. Her husband, Reed Wiglesworth, who was driving in another car and witnessed the incident said that another motorist pulled his car in front of the upsidedown Explorer in order to prevent anyone else from running into it.

"It's just reckless disregard for anyone's safety to be operating motor vehicles at that speed on an interstate anywhere in metro Atlanta," said Union City Police Officer George Louth.

Gallardo, 24, has admitted to owning and driving the vehicle which struck the Explorer. He was somehow able to register the car and acquire tags in Fulton County, despite the fact that he is in the country illegally, which he also admitted. He faces several charges including at least one felony.

Illegal Immigrants Deported In High Numbers From Georgia And Carolinas

COLUMBIA, S.C.

The Greenville News reports that federal immigration officials claim over 14,000 deportations have taken place during the past eight months from the states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina alone.

U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement regional spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez credits the screening processes of prisoners of local police departments for the deportations of illegal immigrants.

The immigrants are of course deported at the tax payer's expense.

More than 14,000 illegal immigrants have been deported from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in the past eight months, according to federal immigration officials."The fact of the matter is that our officers deport people every day. Deportations are up every year. I attribute that to increased activities by the agency and increased resources," Barbara Gonzalez, a regional spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency, told The Greenville News.

Federal agents find out about illegal immigrants in several different ways. Some jails screen all their prisoners and notify agents when they find someone in the country illegally. Others are caught in workplace raids or by fugitive teams.Federal officials said 14,118 illegal immigrants in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia have been deported by the federal government since Oct. 1.

Anyone serving time for a crime must complete their sentence before immigration agents start to deal with them. When immigrants lose their appeals to stay in the U.S., they are sent back on flights home to their native country, sometimes with an escort if their are certain risk factors, Gonzalez said. Each flight costs taxpayers between $600 and $700 depending on the destination, Gonzalez said.

Complete controlled media article here.

Gwinnett County Sheriff Can't Enforce Immigration Laws

Lawrenceville, GA

Despite pleas from the County Commission, Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway declares he doen't have the manpower to combat the flood of illegals into the growing metro-Atlanta county.

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The Gwinnett County Commission chairman wants the sheriff's department to begin enforcing federal immigration laws.

Chairman Charles Bannister is calling for Sheriff Butch Conway to sign up for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that trains deputies to start deportation proceedings for illegal immigrants booked into the jail.

In 2007, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren became the first sheriff in Georgia to initiate the ICE program. A spokeswoman for ICE, Pat Reilly, said Whitfield County in north Georgia will begin training deputies this month.

Conway said he doesn't have the resources to designate the five or six deputies needed for the task. He said Wednesday his department had 60 deputy vacancies last year. Conway said commissioners denied a request for more than 40 additional deputies in 2008 because of budget constraints...

Story continued here.

More Illegal Immigrant Back Alley Dentistry

Lawrenceville, GA

Police have shut down another illegal dentist's office, the second in just two weeks, this time in an apartment in Gwinnett County. Authorities say that maintenance personnel at the Wesley Place apartments on Sweetwater Club Drive in Lawrenceville entered the apartment to fix a water leak and discovered a fully operational dentist office.

A 29 year old immigrant, Jesus Urdaneta-Casanova was arrested at the scene on felony charges of practicing medicine without a license. Earlier this month police in Carroll County arrested an illegal immigrant who was also practicing dentistry in home without a license.

Quote:

LAWRENCEVILLE - The maintenance crews were investigating a water leak at Wesley Place apartment complex Wednesday afternoon when they found a fully functional dentist office

They called police who arrested Jesus J. Urdaneta-Casanova, 29, and will charge him with practicing medicine without a license, a felony.

"It is unknown how long or how many patients Casanova has treated," said Cpl. Darren Moloney, Gwinnett County Police Department spokesman. The investigation is ongoing and further details were not available.

The maintenance people were looking into a leak at unit 1011 at the complex on Sweetwater Club Drive.

Gwinnett Daily Post

Illegal Immigrant Practices "Back Alley" Dentistry In Carroll County

Carrollton, GA

An illegal immigrant from Honduras has been arrested in Carroll County charged with practicing dentistry without a license in a house in Carrollton. Police say that Ernesto Estrada, 31, has ran an illegal dentist practice from his living room for at least four months.

Carroll County police say they found a homemade appointment book inside the home indicating that Estrada may have had more than one hundred "clients", most of whom are also believed to be illegal aliens. Other records found in the home, including numerous Western Union receipts show the illegal immigrant "dentist" charged from $200 to $1,000 for various procedures and sent most of the money to his family in Honduras. Neighbors say the had noticed an unusual amount of traffic in and out of the home.

Estrada, who was deported from the U.S. back in 1999 and crept back in, has no formal medical or dental training nor license, yet he performed dental procedures ranging from applying dental caps to extracting teeth in his living room as his wife and children watched. Police say the back-alley dentist had no sanitation method and used common household drills, box-cutters, needle-nosed pliers and other tools that could be purchased at any hardware store.

Immigrants Busted In Cobb County Illegal Document Ring

Marietta, GA

Last week a federal grand jury indicted six illegal aliens and two so-called U.S. "citizens" on charges that they produced and distributed thousands of forged identification documents in an apartment at the Twelve Oaks complex in Marietta.

Illegal aliens Ricardo Quinones Cruz, 33; Allen Carmona, 21; Enrique Cristobal Martinez, 34; Ivan Raul Garcia, 40; Manuel Dozano Ortiz, 28; Juan Castillo, 36, as well as Cindy Salinas, 19; and Armando Nunez-Briseno, 29 were arrested and charged with aggravated identity theft.

Police confiscated computers, laminating machines, cards, printers, more than 1,000 passport-style photographs and over 200 documents purported to have been issued by the U.S. government from the apartment.

Authorities say that the documents were produced in the apartment on Austell Road and sold at the #1 Coin Laundry in Smyrna and at Juan's Tire Service in Marietta.

Local Mayor Fears Spill-Over Of Immigrant Violence

Lawrenceville, GA

Just weeks after the the city of Snellville began to impose legal restrictions to quell gang violence resulting from the large influx of immigrants and minorities flooding into Gwinnett County, the mayor of a nearby city is afraid that the perpetrators of these violent crimes will migrate to his city after being ran out of Snellville.

Rex Millsaps, mayor of Lawrenceville, GA called for a meeting to discuss enacting laws similar to the anti-gang laws that were recently set forth in the neighboring community of Snellville, which now regulates minority housing in a effort to stop gangs of immigrants from further terrorizing the area. Millsaps hopes to have the laws in place before the summer.

Quote:

Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps has called a special council meeting Wednesday to speed up enacting a proposed law to uproot gang members and stop others from setting up house.

The mayor was inspired by the passage of a law in Snellville this month that makes gang activity on a piece of property a code violation and allows the city to force landlords to evict gang members.

"When they displace them, I don't want them landing in Lawrenceville," Millsaps said.

The mayor wants the new law passed before summer when school-age gang members will have even more time on their hands. The law requires proposed laws to have a public reading at one council meeting before being voted on at a subsequent monthly meeting.

Gwinnett, like much of the suburbs, has seen a growth in criminal and teenage gangs, many of which have migrated here from other states, Central America and Mexico.

"Our police chief started seeing gang activity six months ago, and he was concerned because he had no way to get at these people," Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said. "A lot of these landlords will rent to anyone who can come up with a deposit."

The Snellville law, on which the proposed Lawrenceville law is based, allows landlords to streamline eviction in civil court if at least three gang members are living together. Evidence to show they're gang members include gang paraphernalia, tattoos, graffiti and gang-related arrests.

"We can declare that a nuisance," Oberholtzer said.

The Snellville law arose from a case involving four brothers who were suspected of a being gang members and arrested in an investigation involving burglary, statutory rape and holding a teenage girl against her will. The family, who was evicted, has denied the charges. They had moved to Snellville after being evicted in another county, police said.

The Lawrenceville meeting is at 3 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.

Controlled media article:

Lawrenceville Mayor Takes Que From Snellville Gang Law

Georgia Group Sponsors Anti Illegal Immigration Rally In Washington

Washington, DC
Over 400 activists from across the nation gathered at Lafayette Square, in front of the White House last Sunday to protest the Bush Administration's weak immigration policies and to demand more security at our borders and stricter enforcement against employers who hire illegal immigrants. The demonstration was sponsored by the Dustin Inman Society, a Georgia based organization that opposes illegal immigration. "We are in a struggle to save the sovereignty of our nation, the price of losing is open borders and the loss of the republic", said the groups President, D.A. King.

"We certainly are a nation of immigrants" said U.S. Border Patrol Agent, T.J. Bonner, "But much more important, we are a nation of laws." Bonner added, "What's going on at the border is anarchy. Millions are crossing over, reaping our benefits, taking our jobs and the government isn't doing a damned thing about it."

Also speaking to the assembly was Anna Gaines, a hispanic woman who became a citizen after coming to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1960s. Gaines claims to oppose illegal immigration. "Anybody that comes [into the country] outside of the law does not make a good citizen, these are the same people who destroyed Mexico." she said.

A small group of around 25-30 counter-demonstrators, mostly members of communist based fringe groups A.N.S.W.E.R. and the International Socialists Organization, heckled the activists with shouts of "fascists", "racists" and "immigrants in - bigots out". The counter-demonstrators were kept under control by mounted U.S. Park Police.

The DIS, in conjunction with Federation For American Immigration Reform, has several additional anti illegal immigration events scheduled in Washington, DC through Wednesday.

Lawyers And Catholics Aid Georgia's Immigrant Invasion

Atlanta, GA
The Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta and a group of attorneys are joining forces to assist immigrants in the continued invasion of Georgia. A mass registration for citizenship will take place later this month. The article below includes contact information if readers would like to contact the groups to express your opinions on the continued and increasing flow of immigrants into our state and the dangers it poses to our society.

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The Georgia chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is joining with over 20 other state chapters across the country to provide free assistance with the United States citizenship application process during a one-day event on March 24. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc. will join AILA attorneys and trained volunteers to provide assistance at four locations in Atlanta, Decatur, Roswell and Gainesville between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 24.

Lawful permanent residents (“green card” holders) may apply for U.S. citizenship. Citizenship confers the right to vote, bear a U.S. passport, petition for relatives abroad, and obtain public benefits. To apply for citizenship, a person must be at least 18 years old and have been a lawful permanent resident for five years, or for three years if married to a U.S. citizen. In addition, applicants must demonstrate that they can read, write and speak in English, have paid income taxes, pass a civics test and take the oath of allegiance to the United States.

The event will be held at the Latin American Association, 2750 Buford Highway, Atlanta; Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta, 4151 Memorial Drive, Suite 205D, Decatur; Roswell City Hall, 38 Hill Street, Roswell; and the Community Service Center, 430 Prior Street SE, Gainesville.

At these locations AILA, Catholic Charities and other organizations will have staff present to help screen people to determine whether they are eligible for citizenship. Eligible persons will receive assistance with the paperwork, which can be daunting.

Event chairperson Elizabeth L.A. Garvish stated, “This event highlights one of the most important events in an immigrant’s life—becoming a U.S. citizen. We are joining together with over a dozen community partners to assist Georgia’s law-abiding legal permanent residents in the naturalization application process. “

The American Immigration Lawyers Association is a national association of over 10,000 attorneys and law professors. Member attorneys represent tens of thousands of U.S. families who have applied for permanent residence for their spouses, children and other close relatives. AILA members also represent thousands of U.S. businesses who sponsor highly skilled foreign workers. Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization with 35 chapters and over 50 national committees.

Those who plan to attend will need information about what documentation to bring to the drive. Contact Elizabeth Garvish at (678) 904-0085 or (404) 606-3399 or e-mail her at egarvish@mklawllc.com.

Original Controlled Media article here:

Catholic Charities To Help With Citizenship Drive

Georgia's New Message For Immigrants: Speak English Or Get Out

Atlanta, GA
The Journal-Constitution is reporting that we may be one step closer to having English constitutionally declared the official language of Georgia.

Quote:

A proposed constitutional amendment that would reaffirm English as the state's official language took its first step toward the ballot box Tuesday, gaining unanimous approval of a House subcommittee.

English is already the official language of Georgia by statute. But Rep. Timothy Bearden (R-Villa Rica), sponsor of HR 413, said he wants to give voters a chance to cement it into the state constitution in 2008. Protecting English is critical now, he said, in light of the federal government's inability to control the flow of illegal immigrants who aren't assimilating into American society.

28 other states have laws in place designating English as the official language. Bearden hopes that this resolution will enable Georgia officials to cease to offer the driver's license exam in languages other than English. However, those who support illegal immigration are highly opposed to the resolution.

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Allen Shaklan, one of two immigrant advocates to speak against the measure Tuesday, said Alabama's English law was struck down precisely because the state failed to provide driver's exams in other languages.

The proposed resolution in Georgia would harm immigrants who need to obtain a driver's license so they can better integrate into society, said Shaklan, executive director of Refugee Family Services in Stone Mountain.

"This would dramatically affect their ability to find jobs and support their families," he said. "Is this the message Georgia wants to send . . . that people of different backgrounds are not welcome?"

Supporters of the resolution seem confident that it will be passed.

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Anti-illegal immigration advocate D.A. King, president of the Marietta-based Dustin Inman Society, spoke in a language all the legislators could understand. Polls, King said, consistently show widespread support for English as an official language.

Original article here:

Panel OKs Amendment Making English Official Language

Peanut Butter Recall Expands

Sylvester, GA
The recent salmonella outbreak, which was traced to a ConAgra Foods plant in the town of Sylvester in an illegal immigrant infested region of south Georgia, has been expanded to include brands other than Peter Pan and Walmart's Great Value peanut butter. Salmonella has also been found in some dessert and ice cream toppings.

The salmonella germ is a group of bacteria that pass from the feces of people or animals to other people or other animals and can cause diarrheal illness in humans. Salmonella bacteria have been known to cause illness for more than 100 years.

To date, nearly 400 people have contracted salmonella from products manufactured at the south Georgia plant. Last week the FDA announced that they had found salmonella to be present in the plant, but declined to indicate the source. The plant remains closed.

These product are now thought to also be contaminated:

- Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping (6 lb., 10.5 oz. cans) used to make the peanut butter regular and fudge shakes and the peanut butter regular and fudge sundaes. Sonic discontinued use of this topping on February 16 when the recall began.

- Carvel Peanut Butter Topping (6 lb., 10 oz. cans) used in the following various Carvel ice cream products: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Treasure, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher, and other customized products containing the peanut butter toppings and flavors for ice cream within the cakes used by Carvel. These toppings and flavorings or products were discontinued by Carvel on February 16 when the recall began.

- J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping (6 lb., 10 oz. cans). Although this product is not available for direct public purchase, retailers and restaurants across the U.S. may have used this topping in or on their food products.

Controlled media articles related to this story:

FDA Update On Peanut Butter Recall

Georgia Couple Suing ConAgra Over Tainted Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Sickens Wilmington Woman

Peanut Butter Recall Shuts Down Perrysburg Confectioners Work

One Case Of Peanut Butter Salmonella In Louisianna

Gonzales Vows Vengeance Against Elderly Whites

Washington, DC
In an unprecedented maneuver designed to persecute and intimidate a number of elderly White people, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and F.B.I. Director Robert Mueller have teamed up and dug way back into the history books and pulled out about one hundred murder cases, some over 60 years old in which they intend to charge, what are now elderly White people.

"Much time has passed on these crimes," Gonzales told reporters in Washington. "But we are committed to re-examining these cases and doing all we can to bring justice to the criminals who may have avoided punishment for so long."

The announcement followed a decision Tuesday in which a grand jury in Leflore County, Miss., declined to indict Carolyn Bryant in connection to the 1955 Emmett Till case, and is in no doubt a response to that decision.

Although officials declined to comment on which cases have been reopened, they confirmed that the deaths of four negro sharecroppers in 1946 on Moore's Ford Bridge in Walton County, Georgia were among the cases.

It is suspected that other Georgia cases will be reopened including a 1956 case in Molena, Georgia and a 1958 case in Dawson City, Georgia.

Below is an interview in which Gonzales all but admits to Wolf Blitzer that his parents came to this country illegally.

Immigrant Forgery Ring Busted In Carroll County

Carrollton, GA
Three people were arrested in what investigators say was a large illegal identification forgery ring in Roopville, a small town in southwest Carroll County. Police say that Christine Garcia, a 42 year old White woman has admitted to manufacturing hundreds of fake ID's in her home and selling them to illegal immigrants.

Carrollton Police Captain Daryl Diamond said that investigators purchased two fake documents for $130 during an undercover buy. Garcia's sister in law, Elisa Garcia and her husband Hugo Castillo were also arrested. It is believed that the second two individuals sought out illegal immigrants needing false documents as customers.

Police found a computer in the home with evidence that Garcia had manufactured and sold hundreds of state ID cards, social security cards and resident alien cards. Christine Garcia is charged with six counts of forgery. Elisa Garcia and Hugo Castillo are illegal immigrants and remain in federal custody and are expected to be deported back to Mexico.

Georgia's Illegal Immigrants Responsible For Salmonella Outbreak?

Sylvester, GA
A nationwide outbreak of salmonella has been traced to jars of Peter Pan and Wal-mart "Great Value" brands of peanut butter manufactured at a ConAgra Foods processing plant in an illegal immigrant infested region of south Georgia.

The Center For Disease Control announced last week that between August 2006 and January 2007 almost 300 people in 39 states, including Georgia had contracted the disease. The CDC released a report which can be viewed here.

ConAgra Foods has recalled all containers of this peanut butter with product codes beginning with the numbers 2111, which indicate the product's origin at a food processing plant in the south Georgia town of Sylvester. ConAgra said today that the recall will cost them $50-60 million.

Neither the CDC nor ConAgra Foods have confirmed any source for the contamination of the products at the Sylvester, Ga plant. The plant has been closed until the source of the contamination is determined.

ConAgra, like many other large corporations, participates in a diversity program which can be viewed here. These government sanctioned programs allow companies to openly discriminate against more qualified personnel in favor of less qualified individuals based on that individual's race, religion, national origin, etc. Many of these companies also utilize illegal immigrants as a key element in their labor force as part of their celebration of diversity.

Hiring of illegal aliens in this region of Georgia is an immense and steadily increasing problem. The illegals work for very low wages, saving the corporations big money on payroll. American citizens (i.e. people who pay taxes) can't afford to work for what the immigrants will work for. This means Americans are out of jobs when companies are hiring illegals.

Aside from there being no jobs for Americans when companies employee illegals, there is also a downside that many of the companies may not consider when they employee undocumented workers. A recent government sweep of illegal immigrants in another south Georgia town devastated a poultry processing plant after a large percentage of the company's employees were arrested.

The Crider Poultry plant in Stillmore, Ga was forced to raise wages at least twice in an effort to attract new employees after over one hundred undocumented workers who had previously staffed the plant were deported. Even after raising wages the second time, the Crider plant still was not able to maintain sufficient labor for daily operations and may be forced to close and transfer operations to another plant in Alabama, which means fewer jobs in Georgia.

ConAgra Foods manufactures various food products sold under many national brands including Peter Pan, Reddi-Whip, Chef Boyardee, Banquet, Healthy Choice, Kids Cuisine, Hunt's, Orville Redenbacher's and Hebrew National.