A.L.A. Infogramma / Infogram
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Vol. 1 Number 1
Martins Duhms, President , Valdis Pavlovskis, Director of Information
August 1, 2006
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In this issue:
-- THE 9TH SAEIMA ELECTION PROCESS IN THE US
-- THE 9TH SAEIMA POLLING PLACES IN THE US
-- WFFL's OPEN LETTER RE: TEACHING OF LATVIAN HISTORY
-- U.S. VISA PROCESS SHOULD BE STREAMLINED -- ALA WEBSITE: USEFUL AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Dear American Latvian! Sveiks ASV latvieti!
This is a monthly bilingual ALA Infogram. We hope
you find this information useful. To read the same
story in Latvian, please click on the link below the
story. To unsubscribe please use the link on the
bottom. Thank you!
Si ir ALAs ikmenesa Infogramma.
Mes ceram, ka si informacija bus jums noderiga. Ja
tas ta nav, tad ludzu lietojiet saiti lapas apaksa lai
partrauktu nakotnes sutijumus. Paldies!
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THE 9TH SAEIMA ELECTION PROCESS IN THE US
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Uzmanibu
Latvijas pilsoni ASV!
Latvijas Republikas 9. Saeimas velesanas 7.
oktobri vares piedalities visi Latvijas pilsoni, kas sasniegusi 18. gadu
vecumu, ir tiesigi balsot un vares uzradit derigas Latvijas pilsonu pases.
ALA un PBLA aicina visus ASV latviesus piedalities
velesanas un tagad izlemt vai velesanas balsosiet
klatiene kada no velesanu iecirkniem vai ari pa pastu
un attiecigi sagatavoties sim svarigajam notikumam,
nokartojot vajadzigas formalitates!
Velesanu diena ASV dzivojosie Latvijas pilsoni vares balsot viena no
paredzetajiem deviniem velesanu iecirkniem: Vasingtona DC, (LR vestnieciba),
Nujorka, Cikaga, Losandzelosa, Sietla, Klivlande, St. Petersburga, Mineapole
un Bostona. (Velesanu iecirknu sarakstu un atbildigo personu
kontaktinformaciju varat atrast ALAs majas lapa www.alausa.org. (Galejo
apstiprinajumu par velesanu iecirknu izvietojumu ASV Centrala velesanu
komisija veiks pec 15. septembra.)
Ja pilsoni velesanu diena nevar personigi ierasties
iecirkni, vinam/ai ir dota iespeja balsot pa pastu. Lai
to daritu ieprieks (lidz 15. septembrim) jaregistrejas
LR vestnieciba Vasingtona (2306 Massachussetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
200808. Kaut velesanu
iecirkni ASV paredzeti devini, iecirknis balsosanai pa
pastu ir tikai viens - vestnieciba!
Pieteikuma janorada vards, uzvards, personas kods, dzivesvieta, adrese ASV
uz kuru sutit velesanu materialus. Sutijumam klat japievieno Latvijas
pilsona pase. Veletaja parakstitu iesniegumu kopa ar pasi vestnieciba var
nogadat ari jebkura persona, kam pases ipasnieks uzticas. var izmantot ari
kurjerpastu. Iesniegumu var izdrukat ari ALAs majas lapa www.alausa.org.
Ierodoties
vestnieciba, veletajs sanems atpakal pasi/es kopa ar izzinam par personas/u
registraciju velesanu registra balsosanai pa pastu. Lidz 22. septembrim
vestniecibas darbinieki nosutis velesanu materialus personam uz noraditajam
adresem pa pastu. Lidz 7. oktobrim (plkst. 22:00)
vestniecibai jasanem atpakal balsosanas
zime.
Ludzu ieverojiet, ja esat pieteikusies balsosanai pa pastu, jums nebus
iespeja balsot velesanu diena, ierodoties iecirknî. Lidz 15. septembrim ir
tiesibas mainit adresi uz kuru sanemt velesanu materiâlus.
Ja ir jautajumi, ludzam zvanit Sanitai Pekalei vestniecibas konsularaja
nodala 202-328- 2848.
**************
All Latvian citizens who have reached the age of 18 and who hold a valid
Latvian passport are eligible to vote in the 9th Saeima election to be held
by the Republic of Latvia on the 7th of October, 2006.
Latvian citizens residing in the United States have two options in order to
take part in the 9th Saeima elections: 1) Vote in person on election day at
the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C. or at a designated election precinct;
2) Vote by mail, after registering for an absentee ballot with the Embassy
of Latvia in Washington, D.C.
Nine election precincts are planned for the following cities in the United
States: Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Cleveland,
St. Petersburg and Boston. The Central Election Board in Latvia will publish
a list of the approved election precincts with their addresses after the
15th of September.
In order to register to vote by absentee ballot,
you
will be required to complete and send to the Latvian
Embassy in Washington your name, personal code
number, a valid Latvian passport and your address in
the United States where the absentee ballot and
election materials should be sent. Embassy staff recommends that the
information and passport be sent by courier mail. The request must be
received by the Embassy no later than September 15, 2006. Absentee ballots
and election materials will be mailed to registered voters no later than
September 22. The address of the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia is 2306
Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20008.
The Embassy must receive your marked absentee
ballot by the close of balloting, no later than 10:00
p.m. on October 7, 2006.
Voters may also apply for an absentee ballot
in
person at the Latvian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
or may have an authorized person do so on their
behalf.
Registration information can also be found on the American Latvian
Association website at
www.alausa.org
or on the Central Election Committee website www.cvk.lv.
Additional information about the election can also be obtained at these
websites as well.
Please note that if you have registered to vote by absentee ballot, you will
not be allowed to vote in person at the election precinct nor can you turn
in your absentee ballot on election day at a precinct. The ballot has to be
returned to the Embassy. Mailing address changes must be received by the
Embassy no later than September 15th.
The American Latvian Association and the World
Federation of Free Latvians urge Latvian citizens
residing in the United States to make plans now to
vote in person at a designated precinct or to vote by
absentee ballot, preparing for the important event
by fulfilling all the necessary formalities.
Time still remains to acquire a new Latvian passport or to renew a passport
that has expired or is about to expire. Instructions can be obtained by
calling the Consular Division at the Latvian Embassy at (202) 328-2848.
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THE 9TH SAEIMA POLLING PLACES IN THE US
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Washington, DC - Embassy of Latvia
New York - Latvia's Mission to the UN
Chicago - Zion Latvian Ev. Luth Church of
Chicago
Los Angeles - Latvian
Association of Southern California
Seattle - Latvian
Association of the Washington State
Cleveland - United Latvian Ev. Luth. Church
St. Petersburg - Latvian Association of St.
Peterburg
Minneapolis - Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Boston - Bosto
n Latvian Ev. Luth. Church
Please see more detailed info in Latvian
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WFFL's OPEN LETTER RE: TEACHING OF LATVIAN HISTORY
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WFFL Open Letter: History--A National
Obligation
July 21, 2006
On June 30th, Latvian History protocols for the 8th
and 9th grades were completed and posted on the
Educational Subject and Examination Center (ISEC)
website, www.isec.gov.lv. The public was invited to
submit comments about this project by no later than
July 15th.
The World Federation of Free Latvians has been
involved with issues concerning the teaching of
Latvian history for at least the past 10 years --
financing Anda Tomason's and Gunars Kurlovic's
Latvian history text books, with assistance from
Latvians abroad, and through various fundraising
activitiesand donating large numbers of Latvian
history books to schools in Latvia. Nevertheless,
Latvian society today is still of the opinion that
Latvia's youth have a weak understanding of Latvian
history.
It is frequently heard that:
- Not enough hours are devoted to teaching Latvian
history;
- Teachers are not prepared -education/experience
obtained during the Soviet occupation does not
always correspond to today's needs (although
teachers are given a choice regarding teaching
materials and the historical context);
- Schools do not take responsibility to teach
patriotism;
-Historical facts are secondary - the main thrust is
to teach students to analyze information and
understand different points of view.
Of course, the total number of hours devoted to the
study of history is inadequate - 280 hours from grade
6 - 9. Two hours a week. It must be noted that
this year history is not taught at the 5th grade level
but rather is begun in the 6th grade, accordingly
grade school history classes were reduced by 70
hours total. The fact that recent Latvian history has
been separated from general history classes has not
helped to solve this problem. (This is expected to
occur in the 8th and 9th grade classes.) 45 + 70
hours = 115 hours. That is little more than 40% of
all hours devoted to history. The standard
requirement is that of total hours, the number of
hours spent on Latvian history shall be at least 33%.
This is not enough. The result is that history
continues to be taught in a much too general and
sketchy manner.
If the number of hours dedicated does not change,
the method of teaching history will need to radically
change. Of course, schools alone cannot ingrain
patriotism, but if youth do not have a clear and
fundamental understanding of their nation's history,
they will not learn and feel patriotism in its full
meaning. A nation's responsibility is to make sure
that 9th grade graduates have the knowledge and
experience, so that at a basic level, they have
everything they need to know and understand
historical processes (especially recent historical
processes that led Latvia to where it stands today
with all of its social, political, economic, and cultural
problems and eccentricities.
Major themes including, for instance, the 19th
century reawakening; WWI; Latvia's Declaration of
Independence; the fight for freedom; the period of
independence; the June 17th, 1940 Soviet
occupation; deportations; nazi occupation; and
soviet occupation until 1991, must be taught clearly
and concisely without any
misunderstandings.
With regard to the 50 years of occupation of Latvia
and the processes that led to the occupation, it is
urged that IZM declare the Latvian Occupation
Museum's "Latvia under Soviet Occupation and
National Socialistic German Power 1940-1991" (1st
edition 1998 and re-published numerous times in
Riga.) as the primary source of information.
PBLA also believes that reformation in Latvian History
programs is so essential, that without such reform,
effective integration of Russian speakers cannot
occur.
Read the Letter in Latvian ....
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U.S. VISA PROCESS SHOULD BE STREAMLINED
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U.S. VISA PROCESS SHOULD BE STREAMLINED,
OFFICIAL SAYS
By Kate Ericsson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - U.S. visa policies can and should be
improved, concluded a group of experts – including
an official in the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) – during a recent discussion at the
Heritage Foundation in Washington.
During the July 24 panel titled “Rethinking Visa Policy
for the 21st Century,” Stewart A. Baker, assistant
secretary for policy at DHS, acknowledged that it
could be difficult to obtain a U.S. visa. The visa
process needs to be more efficient, streamlined
and “a lot less hassle for people,” said Baker. “These
are ideas that we’re currently struggling
with.”
Another panelist, James Jay Carafano, a senior
research fellow on defense and homeland security at
the Heritage Foundation, emphasized how important
it is for the United States to have a visa policy that
promotes economic growth, builds strong alliances
and contributes to the safety and security of the
nation. He also stressed how important and personal
the visa application process is for people who want
to visit the United States.
Currently, 27 countries participate in the Visa Waiver
Program (VWP), which allows people traveling to the
United States for tourism or business to stay for up
to 90 days without a visa. In addition to the 27 –
mostly from Western Europe but including Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Brunei and Slovenia -
there are more than a dozen so-called VWP
Roadmap Countries that have expressed interest.
According to Baker, the VWP Roadmap Countries are
Bulgaria, Cypress, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania,
Slovakia and South Korea.
Countries have to meet certain immigration criteria to
participate in the VWP, and they must issue machine-
readable passports.
“The last countries to join the VWP joined in 1999,”
said Baker. “Since September 11 [2001, when the
United States was attacked by terrorists], no one
has been added to the program, in part because of
concerns about the security implications of adding to
the VWP.” He said the United States is examining
whether changes to the program should be made and
whether it should be expanded, but he did not
elaborate.
Carafano and another panelist, Dan Griswold, director
of the Center for Trade and Policy Studies at the
Cato Institute, said the Visa Waiver Program should
be expanded. They said an expansion would enhance
U.S. relations with other countries.
“I think the VWP has been a great success,” said
Griswold. He said the U.S. government should "be
exploring prudent ways" to expand the program. The
Roadmap Countries do not present an additional
security risk to the United States, he said.
“It’s hard to see a dividing line between those
countries and the 27 countries already in the
program, other than the matter of timing,” Griswold
said.
Carafano suggested that expanding the Visa Waiver
Program “to countries in Eastern Europe and Asia,
where the United States has growing economic,
cultural, and security ties could both strengthen
America’s bonds to these nations and enhance
security.”
Security would be enhanced, he claimed, because
VWP countries “must maintain the same security
standards as the United States.”
Furthermore, “increased participation in VWP allows
the Department of State and DHS to focus their
assets on travelers from nations of greater concern,”
Carafano added.
“Unfortunately, I am cautiously pessimistic that
Congress will do anything,” said Griswold. “The
House seems to be in the mood to build walls rather
than take them down.”
“We will have to wait for a more opportune moment
to expand the Visa Waiver Program,” he
predicted.
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative policy
research institution.
Additional information on the Visa Waiver Program is
available on the State Department Web site.
Read the story in Latvian ... Lasiet latviski ....
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ALA WEBSITE: USEFUL AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have not done so already, you are invited to
check out ALAs website at www.alausa.org. You will
find up to date information about the activities of the
American Latvian Association and the American
Latvian community, as well as useful and important
information about the upcoming Saeimas election on
October 7. Most information is provided both in
Latvian and English.
The website contains information about all of the
requirements you must comply with to vote in the
Saeima elections, important election campaign
events, locations of polling places and other
information you need to know to be able to
participate in the election. The site lists some 40
Latvian political parties and their website addresses,
party platforms, and information about the party's
candidates. The ALA website also carries news
stories about the candidates and the election
campaign.
Read the Info in Latvian ... Lasiet latviski ....
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Contact Information
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American Latvian Association | 400 Hurley Avenue | Rockville | MD | 20850
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Daugavas Vanagi, sasauksimies!
Copyright Latvian Association Daugavas Vanagi ASV, Inc. - 2006
DV tîmekďa lapas un grafikas izveidojis -
Margers pinnis@banet.net
- developed the DV site web pages and graphics.
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