A R C H I V O 2 5
Lunes,
20 de Abril, 04:42:12 PM
"Dia de los Niños..." Yes, today
is Children's Day in Mexico... another day that goes by without teaching kids
in Mexico's embarrassingly low educational system. This also starts the beginning
of almost 2 weeks of holidays here - straight through Mother's Day. It is funny,
here in Mexico they don't invent holidays to sell greeting cards, candy and gifts
- well maybe to a point.... but not their main goal. What they really create
and celebrate holidays for is to be off work, hang with the family, get borracho'd
(drunk)
and just
have
a
good
time! "La Vida" (life) is more important in the Mexican culture than
working........ which being from the country up north, where working is the most
important thing you can do in life, this all seems like a crock to me! And though
I have been involved in and had to live through the inconveniences of banks being
closed, no deliveries, etc. for ten years now, I still do not grasp the need
for all of these "useless" holidays.
Now when I lived in the US as a teenager, I worked in a flower shop - so I got to see alot of useless holidays invented by the floral industry and greeting card companies, and I delivered thousands of flowers on holidays like Secretary's Week, Boss's Day, 'Can't We All Just Get Along'... Day, etc. But at least government offices and banks didn't close down like they would here if they decided to act on some of those ridiculous holidays in Mexico. Geez, I really hope nobody down here is reading this! I may have given them some new ideas for reasons to get off work! I can see it now... Teacher's Day (oops, they already have that one....), Taco Day, Be Nice To Your Neighbor Day, Telmex Day (wait, they already take vacations and let telephone and internet services go down...).
What we need is an 'Indigenous Person's Day'... they get a rough deal everywhere in Mexico! Now I'd be for that! Maybe we could get rid of one of these more "useless" holidays and replace it with Indigenous Day.
Is anybody out there listening?!?
Martes,
24 de Abril, 10:23:47 PM
"Abortion Is Legal In Mexico..." The
80% Catholic country showed more sympathy and intelligence today when the Congress
voted 49 to 19 to legalize abortion. The US needs to look at this (especially
the Republican camp) and see that laws and other people's opinions should be
allowed to get in the way of a woman's right to abort an unwanted child - does
Mexico need to save every unwanted baby? Does Mexico need more poor or homeless
single mothers? Congratulations to an intelligent pro-choice law that the people
of Mexico and all countries need to have in place - the Vatican can stay in
their bubble, but the world... and women should be free to choose!
Amen..........
Lunes,
16 de Abril, 02:11:36 PM
"Back To Work..." The Santa Semana
holidays (Mexico's version of 'Spring Break') is finally over - yeah! Now we
can get back to work..... so what did I miss? Besides the head of Mexico's
University of Education saying Mexican's have to stop being laborers and become
the forefront in technology - and soon all tacos will look and taste like Taco
Bell too! What this guy also wants is to keep Mexico's few talented people
here in the country, most end up finishing their education in the US and never
return to work for Mexico. What we really need (right now, today - 2007) is
to re-train all of Mexico's government run school teachers, give them tests,
see what they know - if they aren't internet and computer savvy they sure shouldn't
be teaching anybody, anything!
Isn't it strange that there has not been one case reported of dog or cat deaths from the Chinese rat poison tainted dog food that has killed a couple thousand pets in the US this past month or so? We know the same low quality pet food are on the shelves right now at your local Comercial Mexicana, among all of the small family run tiendas (shops) throughout Mexico. There have been no warnings, no news stories, nada............. and now it comes to light that the bastard in charge (chief financial asshole) sold half of his personal shares of Menu Foods, three weeks before the recall of all products was announced - that $90,000.00 might not seem like much when oil company CEO's are getting a few million dollar bonuses lately, but the fact remains it took three weeks to decide to recall the hundreds of products and as of today they only confirm a handful of deaths from their products. A site dedicated to keeping up with the latest on this animal mass murder (which by the way... isn't it a coincidence that the Chinese approve of killing pets, clubbing them to death usually right in front of their owners) : Dogblog.Dogster.com
Glad to be back..........
Miercoles,
4 de Abril, 07:03:56 PM
"Playa de Cuidad Mexico..." Mexico's
City's past two mayors have done some amazing things for the cuidad - Lopez
Obrador (besides trying to become the president of the people) helped get special
programs and money to the poor, old and my favorite... the aging prostitutes.
The city's new mayor - Marcelo Ebrard has some excellent ideas moving in the
works, the best being getting the entire city wireless next year, with the
help of everybody's '(no) hecho en mexico' trinket maker - the Chinese.
But what does all of this have to do with a playa (beach) in Mexico City? Well, we all make blunders, and this one could be a big one for the mayor - yesterday he opened the first of four beaches in Mexico City. Yep, right in the middle of the smog and high rise apartment buildings we find sand and a doughboy swimming pool covering a large area of the park. These playas are supposed to be for the financially distraught so they can have a nice vacation close to home (instead of going to Acapulco - the cheapest place for most Mexicans to go on vacation... i.e. Severed Headlandia). Playa D.F.
Seems like a waste of alot of money, the sand was imported from Veracruz for $220,000... there has to be a 24/7 clean-up crew working there - or in a few months 'playa de cuidad mexico' will become 'trash dump' de cuidad Mexico. Couldn't we have funneled the money into special services for the poor? Or... destroying the buildings that are covering up the ancient Aztec ruins that the city built itself upon? Or probably the best idea of all! EDUCATION - the government school system here is crap, the teachers can't teach, so the students don't learn and the computers still use Window '95, floppy discs and have dot matrix printers. Okay, so I may be exaggerating a bit - but, they are very behind and this just makes for more reasons in the future to Mexican's to hoof it across the borders.
Miercoles,
28 de Marzo, 07:12:33 PM
"Trade
Your Weapons For Microsoft Crap..." Hmmmm, doesn't seem
like a fair deal... but a first for Mexico. Starting in one of my favorite
barrios to visit when I´m in Mexico City - Tepito. A great place to find
some amazing treasures at the weekend mercado of La Laguna (or get robbed and
mugged if you aren't a local). Anyway.... the police are starting a new program
for locals to turn in their guns. Turn in a handgun - get an XBox, turn in
a machine gun and get a computer!
Niños, turn in your dad's uzi or pistola today! Too bad the computer isn't a Mac, might be worth it then.....
"Ser
mexicano es un privilegio, pero ser de Tepito es un don de Dios..."
("Being Mexican is a privilege,
but being from Tepito is a gift of God...")
Martes,
27 de Marzo, 10:04:14 PM
"Government School Helps Students Cheat On Exams..." Our
local government school has gotten itself into a jam - their non-teaching program
has proven itself 95% successful. What I mean is that this school never has
bothered to teach the kids, the teachers have zero training (most kids know
more about a computer than their teachers) so after a surprise series of tests
from a Queretaro University here last month to see what level of learning the
children were at, the study found that 95% were far below the rest of the country
in qualifications. If they check a little deeper they will also find that the
teachers are way underqualified to teach as well.
Sooooooooooo, the school is freaking out at the moment, because the University is coming back to re-test the kids tomorrow. This school of delinquent teachers decided the best way to teach the kids and not lose their precious government funding is to give the students an overdose of homework just before the spring break (Santa Semana) holidays. Now this might sound okay to you, I know I always had a ton of homework in grade school... but the twist here is - included in all of this excessive homework, they are also giving the kids ALL OF THE ANSWERS! So in other words, they are giving the students a crash course in cheating to make sure they don't lose their govt. funds. (no more cafe y pancito in the teachers lounge)
I am sure this must be happening in other government schools around the country - but what pisses me off is the parents end up being the teachers and the "teachers" just babysitters! Most of us have jobs and work for a living, so the extra hours that the government school system is supposed to be using to teach our kids is being thrown 100% to the parents. All the while the teachers complain that they don't get paid enough and want more vacation days.
IS THIS INSANE OR WHAT?!!!
Our precious tax dollars at work... yeah, I pay my taxes! I am paying alot (for Mexico) especially this week as final taxes are due by the end of March. So I know a few teachers and a director that could really use a bit of street smart education from a guy that works 7 days a week and I mean works! Not just sits around bitching and watches the clock for that final bell.
Miercoles,
21 de Marzo, 11:51:37 AM
"Spring
Equinox..." All over Mexico this morning were sunrise
celebrations at all pyramids and local ruins - as well as the world's 3rd
largest monolith Peña San Bernal here in Querétaro. Along with
ancient Aztec and Mayan dance rituals for the planting of crops took place,
as the sun rose over the hills and mountains to commemorate the first rites
of spring. Here at home, we planted a few seeds as well... hopefully the seedlings
will be healthy enough to take with us when we move next month.
Martes,
13 de Marzo, 03:24:18 PM
"Dubya Has Landed..." Merida is playing
sacraficial host to Presidents Calderon and Bush,
with an over abundance of security in one of Mexico's safest city's. A great
comment in today's El Universal...
"I don´t understand why there´s so much security," mused Sterling Alberto, 35, a luggage handler at Mérida´s International Airport, surrounded by security detail, Black Hawk helicopters buzzing overhead and military convoys outside. "You´d think that a villain, not a friend, is coming to visit."
Yes, a villain and dangerous egomaniac is in our midst! At this moment GW is desecrating ancient Mayan soil at the Uxmal pyramids... hopefully (like in Guatamala) the area will be a cleansing by Maya Shamans after Bush departs. Why is Bush spending so much time here? Nothing new or earthshaking is going to be discussed... seems like a waste of alot of manpower and dinerito. Oops, but I almost forgot... the Hacienda in Merida where the Bush's are staying is a gift from host Roberto Ramirez - the "narco banker" who owned Banimex and now has a cushie job on the Citicorp board. Kinda Deja Vu.... from when Presidents Clinton and Zedillos met there.
Jueves,
08 de Marzo, 04:58:39 PM
"Democracy
For Latin America..." Who is the 100% wrong person to be
sending to South America and Mexico to promote democracy - the White House
egomaniac - GW Bush. Yes, stop laughing... South America has - in fact everywhere
he goes over the next week is going to be met by massive protests, which sounds
about right. Bush has turned the US into the most hated country in the world,
no other president has even come close to causing this much permanent damage
to the American people... and the world!
Now he is pushing ethynol alternative fuel consumpsion (which the US produces 70% of that world's fuel source) so why are thousands of people dying needlessly to protect and claim Iraq's oil fields? Bush still believes that in thirty or so years that history will prove him a great visionary - in thirty years the muslum culture may rule the world - they already do financially. Awaiting the Bush's visit here in Mexico City next week, be sure to duck as the "caca" is going to be flying everywhere when Calderon and Bush trade crap... two men bent on their legacy, not on the rights or the well being of the people they supposedly are to support and protect. They both massage the politics to benefit big business!
Jueves,
01 de Marzo, 12:42:17 PM
"Freedom Of Speech In Mexico..." Not
exactly a given right, but at least their is hope now that a new law is passing
in the Senate. The "honor crimes" of people in the press will now
likely still be open to defamation and monetary compensations if the verbally
attacked wishes to persue their rights in the courts, but as a writer for the
press and hopefully soon... blogs ;-) will no longer be hauled off to jail
- of course if you slander a powerful person you could still end up dead, this
is still Mexico.
Coldplay ( the U2 and Bono wannabes...) are here in Mexico City to play a couple concerts and again (like a couple years ago in Cancun) are opening their mouths, this time in solidarity for the Mexican farmer who now has to compete with the tariff-free corn coming into Mexico. Well Coldplay... what you don't understand is - this is not the fault of the US or any other country shipping the much needed corm into Mexico, it is the new Mexican government that is causing the rising proces in corn, sugar and other food staples of mexico's poor. Coldplay... your thoughts are uneducated and your music is boring - so play your concerts, don't get mugged and go home, okay? ...........bueno.
Jueves,
22 de Febrero, 11:46:58 AM
"Mexican Ingenuity At Work..." Twice
in the past week the border patrol has found Chinese immigrants stuffed in
homemade engine compartments. Imagine being stuufed in a trunk or under a seat
barely able to breathe for hours as you get smuggled across to the US, now
add a hot metal engine, gas fumes and burning rubber - whew! Amazing those
Chinese illegals survived... some people are just too desperate to get over
to George Bushlandia. They would be better off here in Mexico, after all...
rice is one of our main food stuffs, next to corn.
Domingo,
18 de Febrero, 03:40:06 PM
"The
Year Of The Boar..." But since boars are fairly ugly, most
of the Chinese celebrations are using cute little pigs to try and buffer what
most predict will be a turbulent year. The conflicting elements of fire and
water, and with fire sitting on top of water this lunar new year is predicted
to be full of skirmishes, conflicts y mas. But, on the reverse... people born
under the sign of the boar or pig are usually 'lucky'. According to Chinese
astrology, people born in this year are polite, honest, hardworking and loyal.
While the Chinese love their pig, it is considered an offensive animal to Muslim people, who consider the pig to be unclean. And let us not forget! Ronald Reagan, the Terminator, Woody Alan, Hillary Clinton and Arnold Ziffle were all born pigs as well.
Throw another pig on the barbie, its carnitas time!
Miercoles,
14 de Febrero, 06:53:21 PM
"Free Emergency Health Care In Mexico City..." Lo
siento 'locals' this is just for the touristas, the poor still have to go to
Hospital General - a minimalistic hospital (by US standards)... though sometimes
they get some really great doctors, it is just keeping them is difficult. So
Mexico City is pushing the safe and happy tourism destination in Mexico, seems
to be less dangerous than Acapulco and Cancun lately - no drive by shootings,
no heads washing up on shore... you can still get ripped-off and kidnapped
until you empty your account at the ATM machine, but I guess that is far less
an ordeal than the alternative. Have you noticed that most of the killings
of tourists have been Canadians lately?
Félix Cárdenas (mexico city's attorney general) said. "We want every visitor to feel confidant that the city government will guarantee his or her physical integrity and material well-being," - "There´s been an atmosphere of alarm that has no reason for existing." Ask any Mexican if they believe either of these statements and most will think they are on the wrong planet! The Calderon propaganda machine plows on__________
Domingo,
04 de Febrero, 02:36:04 PM
"Super Sunday In Mexico..." For the
first time in Mexico's futbol history, there will be no games in Mexico played
or televised during the Super Bowl. The NFL has been slowly filtering down
to Mexico - as does most of the US culture (for good or for bad...). In Mexico
City this year the new phenomenon has been Monday Night Football in the dozen
or so Cinemax movie theatres around the city. The only part of the Superbowl
we still won't see down here are the unique commercials that are made especially
to be shown during the game. Still, you can usually find them a day or two
afterwards on YouTube.com .
The two major TV networks here will both be televising the game "live"... so there will be no futbol during football!
GO BEARS!!!
Viernes,
02 de Febrero, 12:09:23 PM
"Mexico Takes Steps To Protect Wildlife..." 16
states lobbied against protecting lands and waters, but in an unusual show
of support the wildlife won. So now the hotel developers are pissed and the
wildlife is feliz. 
Except
for one species of porpoise... which help seems to be coming a little too late.
The Vaquita porpoise in the upper Sea of Cortez is fighting a losing battle
against pollution from the Colorado River and the fishing nets of the pescaderos.
There are less than 400 of these small porpoise left in the world - which are
only found in this small area of the Sea of Cortez. It looks like the Vaquita
is going the way of the Chinese
River Dolphin, which was just declared extinct recently in China. As usual
in Mexico - when we get around to trying to improve and take care of the problems
athand it is always just a bit toooooo freakin' late.
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