36 bodies found in three Veracruz houses

A new horror has hit Veracruz, where just 48 hours ago Governor Javier Duarte told us "all is well." The first report late Thursday evening (October 6) was that 32 corpses had been discovered by military forces in three houses, but the number was soon increased to 36. Further details as they're available.

Previous post on governor Duarte: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/make-believe-world-of-veracruz-governor.html

Obama will "stand by his man," even though Mexico says 80% of all weapons seized from cartels come from U.S.

Facing increasing controversy over the now exposed Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver arms programs, in which U.S. ATF and DEA agents secretly allowed military grade arms to be sold to Mexican drug cartels, president Barack Obama stepped up to the plate today and said that he stands by his Justice Department head, Attorney General Eric Holder. Obama insisted again that neither he nor Holder knew anything about either program until Fast and Furious came to public light in January 2011. He added that they would never have authorized the sales.

"I have complete confidence in Eric Holder," said the president. "He has been very aggressive in fighting the flow of weapons and cash from the United States to Mexico."

Earlier this week a Republican House member called for a special counsel to investigate whether Holder was telling the truth in his May 3 testimony before a congressional panel. He told legislators that he had only known about Fast and Furious "for several weeks." Written evidence in the hands of a Senate committee investigating the arms deals indicate that Holder was aware of both by October 2010, and maybe as early as July 2010. Indictments are expected out of the cases, and Obama said today that he and Holder remain committed to finding out who was responsible for the programs.

The Mexican government claims that 80% of all weapons seized from the drug cartels ultimately are traced to the U.S.

More deadly attacks in Quintana Roo state on Mexico's Gold Coast

Apparently mayors and ex-mayors are unpopular in communities along Mexico's famous Gold Coast in Quintana Roo state. Last month a mayor was attacked in a very prominent place -- the main road from Cancun International Airport leading into the city. He had his security detail with him, fortunately, and after a little AK-47 action he managed to escape. No one was hurt and no one has been arrested. That's common.

On Tuesday (October 4) Miguel Ramón Martín Azueta, ex-mayor of snazzy Playa del Carmen, was attacked about 10:30 p.m. He was in his car when a taxi carrying gunmen pulled up next to him and opened fire. Azueta survived, although he was badly wounded. Another man with him was killed. There are no suspects and there have been no arrests. Police located the taxi, but say they don't know the motive.

Mexico's female presidential candidate raps U.S. over drug use, gun trafficking

A few days ago I wrote a brief note about Josefina Vázquez Mota, a PAN (National Action) Party pre-candidate for president in next year's election.

Yesterday she delivered up some tough talk, saying that the "United States has failed to carry out its duty to combat drugs. And it must stop allowing the sale of arms (to Mexican drug cartels)."

She emphasized that in the war against narco violence there can be "neither negotiation nor truce," an apparent reference to some (notably former Mexican president Vicente Fox) who have urged peace talks with the cartels.

Here's the original post on Vazquez: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/mexicos-first-female-presidential.html

Update Apr. 25, 2012 - Josefina pide EEUU corresponsibilidad contra crimen: http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/843651.html.

Barack Obama is listening to Felipe Calderón: Feds ready to bust California pot distributors

Mexican president Felipe Calderón has complained loudly about drug culture and drug demand in the United States, which is greatly fueling the narco violence here. That culture includes hundreds of medical marijuana establishments in places like California and Washington state, which have been openly peddling grass for several years, in defiance of federal law. Although states in the U.S. have their own criminal codes and are free to define what is lawful and what is not within their borders, they are not free to override conflicting federal law. Under the U.S. criminal code, marijuana remains a controlled substance, and states may not circumvent the prohibition simply by declaring it lawful for medical purposes.

The feds have been lukewarmly warning medical marijuana farms and retailers for some time, but now it appears they're getting serious about the matter. Associated Press reports today federal prosecutors in California have sent letters to 16 San Diego pot dispensaries, reminding them that federal law "takes precedence over state law and applies regardless of the particular uses for which a dispensary is selling and distributing marijuana." The letters were signed by the U.S. Attorney in San Diego, and added that "Under United States law, a dispensary's operations involving sales and distribution of marijuana are illegal and subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions."

My analysis is that this week's fury in Mexico over the secret ATF and DEA arms sales programs, coupled with a U.S. Senate report in late September which said that almost one out of every 10 Americans is a drug user (that's about 22.6 million people), has catapulted Obama into action, if for no other reason than to appease his good friend Calderón . By sending out these "target letters," as they're called, Obama can demonstrate that he's prepared to get tough with U.S. drug dealers - even of the medical marijuana type.

Sept. 25, 2011 - Americans like to get stoned

Even pharmacies get extorted in Mexico

Mexico abounds with pharmacies. Sometimes it seems like there's one on every corner -- certainly far more than in the U.S. Now it appears that they too are being hit up for the dreaded derecho de piso, or "floor charge." That's an extortionist's slang for the weekly or monthly fee a business owner must pay if he wants to prevent his establishment from being torched or blown up. Or of perhaps greater concern, if he wants to avoid his and/or a family member's sudden decapitation.

Even though most pharmacies here are large chains and are corporate owned, the extortionists could care less. In some parts of central Mexico, reported extortion demands have increased 40% since last year. Officials say that the extortionists are frequently minors, who threaten store owners with robbery and/or murder if their demands are not met. It is unclear whether they're acting on their own or on behalf of organized crime enterprises such as the drug cartels.

Extortion is so rampant in this country that it became punishable by life imprisonment in December 2010. That penalty was just meted out for the first time on September 12. Read about the case and how extortion works in Mexico here: http://mexicogulfreporter-supplement.blogspot.com/2011/11/life-sentence-for-mexican-extortionists.html; and here: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/extortion-in-mexico-one-way-its-done.html.

Footnote: According to an October 6 article in the Mexican newspaper El Universal, there are 24,000 retail pharmacies in the country.

Mexico's "tercera edad:" the lonely face of its disgarded senior citizens

In Spanish "la tercera edad" means the "third age," or the "third generation." In English we translate the term as senior citizen.

According to Mexico’s 2010 census, the median age in this country is 26. Therein lays the primary obstacle faced today by those of the "third age." There is no place for these people in a nation where the young are regarded as equitably entitled to a first shot at employment. The government says that 10.1 million people over 60 years of age have insufficient income to sustain themselves. By 2050, say experts, 28% of the population will be age 60 or over. Of that estimated 34 million people, about 15 million will be unable to secure the basic necessities of life.

"Nobody wants to hire an old woman," Elena told a CNN interviewer. A local church allows her to teach catechism. She receives some food in return, but is otherwise unpaid. In a 2010 national survey, nine out of 10 seniors said it was difficult to get work, and 66% said it was very difficult to get government assistance. Among women seniors, a staggering 76% cannot provide for themselves.

Social scientists here say that senior citizens are frequently discriminated against, along with children and those with physical or mental disabilities. They’re regarded as unproductive, and they’re an unrepresented constituency in Mexican politics. "Society’s obligation and that of the state to senior citizens should be the same as it is to children – to create conditions which enable them to fully develop and to utilize all their potential," concluded a Mexican governmental commission last year.

Elena has no pension, and she’s grateful that her children took her in and provide her with necessities. But she wishes that people would not regard her as useless, when she still has the strength and the desire to contribute something to society. "But no one sees us that way," she says.

One picture is worth a thousand words . . .

And this one tells all you need to know about what is unfolding in the streets of New York, Boston, and many other communities across the United States.

When the social contract is broken: http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2011/08/at-the-edge-of-the-precipice/.

Sarah Palin spares us her candidacy: Thanks, Sarah, thanks very much

Sarah Palin, mercifully, will spare us her candidacy for president of the United States. There is a God in heaven after all.

"I can be on the right path without being a candidate," Palin allegedly said in an interview announcing that she would not run.

Some of us will doubt that, Sarah.

Footnote: It would be nice if I could add Michelle Bachmann's photo to this post, but that probably won't happen for a number of months yet. I have nothing against a woman candidate for president. It's long past time. There's no reason why the United States shouldn't have multiple women running in every presidential contest. I just want qualified candidates, whatever their gender. Palin and Bachmann are both dingbats (or "airheads" as we used to say when gas was still about $1.50 a gallon), in the same way that Rick Perry is a warmed over, half-baked Ronald Regan, right down to the omnipresent cowboy boots. Too bad more people won't take a serious look at former Utah governor John Huntsman, Jr. But he's moderate and composed, and will likely be swamped by the far more conservative Mitt Romney (even though both are Mormons). That's the way I see the Republican side of things to date. The Democratic side we need not address because we already know who their candidate will be.

The Ugly American - and the Jesuits

Bear with me for just a few minutes while I briefly digress from today’s other important topics. I’ll get back to collapsing economies and Mexican drug cartels soon enough.

I had the great fortune in life to be educated by the Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus. For those of you unfamiliar with the "SJs", the Jesuits are not some fanatical religious organization bent on destroying nonbelievers. They are a 500 year old Order of the Roman Catholic Church, founded in Spain by Ignatius of Loyola. The Jesuits’ focus and principal mission since their establishment five centuries ago has been education, especially the education of young men. To that end they run premier, prestigious high schools, colleges and universities worldwide. Most of their high schools are all-male institutions. Lots of famous – or infamous – people have attended Jesuit schools. Bill Clinton attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., of which I am also proud to be a graduate. Who else is a Jesuit product? Fidel Castro, for one. Wouldn't the good Fathers be proud of how he turned out? That’s one reason I enjoy writing about Cuban affairs so much.

It’s my Jesuit high school education of which I’m most proud, because it helped form me intellectually in a very significant way. I attended Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri, from which I graduated in 1970. That’s where I learned to think, and that’s where the Jesuits taught me how to teach myself. Their philosophy was that you can learn anything you want, if you first learn how to teach yourself. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” You might say the Jesuits taught me how to fish.

Which brings me to the point of this post. When I was a freshman at Rockhurst High, a then classic work of fiction was mandatory reading: The Ugly American. I won’t digress into a discussion or analysis of the book, but now I understand why the Jesuits insisted we read it. The Ugly American was set in the fictional Southeast Asian nation of Sarkhan, but everyone understood that the name was just a euphemism for Vietnam – a front page topic in those days. It told the story of American diplomatic and military personnel (and others) stationed in Sarkhan who failed to appreciate what was actually happening in and to the country. Eventually, Sarkhan fell to the "communist empire" (as it was called then), because the communists better comprehended what was really going on, and how to relate to its people. More than that, the term “ugly American” came to symbolize anyone residing outside of his or her own country who is unable to comprehend the profundities of life in the “adopted” (foreign) country which has become his or her new home, temporarily or permanently. It is allegory for profound cultural ignorance - and bias. Not infrequently, it applies to so-called "expats" living abroad.

Recently I had to deal with an Ugly American on this Blog. A few days ago I posted an article about Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and his suggestion that the United States should consider sending troops into Mexico. Many of you read that post, but if you haven’t seen all of the comments – including today’s – take two minutes and go back to it now. Be sure to read all the comments at the bottom.

Note: The Ugly American is still very much worth the read, more than 50 years after it was first published (1958). It’s available at Amazon.com.


[Image: Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. In the United States alone there are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities, and more than 50 preparatory schools.]

Greece erupts in urban violence: 10,000 demonstrators shut down Athens

The photos tell the entire story, so I have little to add. The protests have been brought on by extreme austerity measures implemented by the Greek government in an desperate effort to stay afloat - even though the entire world knows that the country's economic collapse may be just days away.

Pensions and retirement payments have been cut, public sector jobs curbed or altogether eliminated, and entitlement programs slashed. Today 10,000 people turned out on the streets to go a few rounds with local police. Athens, including its international airport, has been shut down. Most schools and virtually all government offices are closed today, and many hospitals report they are operating with minimal staff. On Tuesday (October 4), 540 secondary schools nationwide were forced to close their doors - for lack of textbooks. All of this in a country where one of the world's earliest civilizations established itself 3,000 years ago. This is what excessive long term governmental debt does to a country and its social fabric.

Think exactly the same couldn't happen in the United States? Read At The Edge Of The Precipice.

Double dip recession in U.S. is inevitable and "imminent," says expert.

Those are the words today of Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. ECRI is not just another brokerage house or financial management firm trying to transfer money from your pocket to its own. It's an academic "think tank" focused on business trends, and it does not sell investment products.

Achuthan says we're already in the early days of the the second dip, and that things will only get worse "on a persistent basis." His prediction is based upon "dozens of leading economic indicators, all of which are falling." The further bad news, according to Achuthan, is that governments world wide and their agencies (central banks such as the U.S. Fed, for example) are powerless to stop it. "It's part of the inevitable cycle of free market economies," said the ECRI expert. Nor will they be able to detour around it via massive stimulus programs, such as those already tried in the United States since 2008. "This recession will not be denied," said Achuthan.

Greek debt default a "given," says European banker -- not "if," just "when"

Wolfango Piccoli, director of the London office of the Eurasia Group, says it's inevitable -- Greece will default on its sovereign debt. "The question is (just) about the timing," he told CNN in a report carried by the network today. Key excerpts:

"The timing is important because European authorities are scrambling to build a "firewall" that will protect banks and other Euro area nations from the fallout of a Greek default. The first step is to overhaul an existing bailout fund for Europe, which is expected to be officially approved by all 17 Eurozone nations by the end of October. The goal, analysts say, is to create conditions for Greece to default in an organized way, rather than an abrupt collapse that could cause chaos in global financial markets.

"Euro area officials have said repeatedly that Greece will meet its obligations and avoid a default. Yet the inevitability of a Greek default has become conventional wisdom in financial circles. "The debt level of Greece is not sustainable," said [one expert]. "No matter how much austerity, they will not be able to pay their creditors. At some point in time, they are going to default."

"The argument is that Greece owes more money than it can realistically repay, considering that its economy has been in recession for years and is not expected to turn around any time soon. For the past 15 months, Greece has been kept afloat by billions of euros in bailout money from the International Monetary Fund and its European 'partners.'"

My two cents worth: Don't let the bankers and money manipulators fool you. There will indeed be chaos in global financial markets when Greece goes under -- maybe later this month.

If you do nothing else today, read this fabulous editorial

Update: I neglected to mention in my original post this morning one of the things I like most about Mr. Rushkoff's article (link below). He correctly points out that "traditional journalists" are a large part of the problem in today's world. Apart from their inability to write coherent language -- any language -- far too many journalists fail to critically analyze issues, and simply parrot back what their editors want. That may be one more reason traditional newspapers are most useful for cleaning windows, or for reading when you're -- well -- sitting down. Is it any wonder so many papers are folding?
Original post: It's by Douglas Rushkoff, who points out why so many self-proclaimed "experts" just don't understand what's behind and what's happening in Occupy Wall Street. "The current economic system is broken," says Rushkoff: http://us.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html?hpt=hp_t1.

Wall Street protest spreads to Boston

CNN reports that a Twitter account called Occupy Boston is calling for a city wide college and university walkout today. The Massachusetts Nurses Association says it will participate.
Some observers say that the movement's strength rests in the fact that it is leaderless. Economic issues and chronic high unemployment appear to be the major propellants -- "liberal economic populism, a powerful force in U.S. history during times characterized by economic stress," opines the CNN analysis.
New York activists are camping out in parks as Occupy Wall Street enters its third week. Social media is playing a significant role in the demonstrations.