Thursday, January 15, 2009

In The News

Some interesting things have appeared in our local rag sheet, Por Esto, lately. The ones of interest to me are:



* Our local gynecologist has deserted his job, leaving patients waiting. Wage increases for the doctors in our local clinic have repeatedly been denied and this is the result. How far will this go? How many doctors are we going to loose as they seek a "worthy wage" elsewhere?



* Z Gas has gotten another "cuff on the ears". This company is pathetic. They are the only suppliers of propane gas to the island. They use this monopoly arrogantly to deliver gas when and where they feel like. They do not keep to any scheduled routes and it is almost impossible to get a tank of gas from them. They are rude and arrogant. They supposedly have a warehouse on the south end of the island. The Office of Civil Defense has told them that they have to shape up. There was no "or else" statement though. Civil Defense is concerned about the danger to people and property as more and more people are loading their propane tanks onto their motor scooters and either driving around the island looking for a truck or going directly to this warehouse. It is only a matter of time before there is a devastating accident and explosion.



* Since President Calderone has announced the freeze on gas prices in Mexico, the local taxi drivers union has announced that it will also freeze taxi fares at their present level. No new fares will instituted until the freeze on gas prices is lifted.



* The Mayor has dismissed over 50 City employees in the recent weeks for failure to perform the job for which they were hired. Most of these have occurred in the area of Public Security and Income and Control. Surprisingly, most of these people are ones that supported her candidacy and that she appointed.



* About time for this one. Local citizenry has filed complaints against our only grocery store, Super Express. Among the complaints are double charging for items (ringing it through twice), charging full price for an item that is tagged as "on sale", poorly trained and ill mannered staff and refusing to give refunds and keeping the original receipt while they conduct an "official investigation". They also complained about the long lines at the cash registers due to under trained and/or uncaring staff.



* There has been an increase again in burglaries to our south end residents. This is commonly known as the wealthiest neighborhood on the island. The Mayor has assigned four full time police officers to patrol this area. They will all be undercover. The best part? They will be on bicycle!



* I am really concerned about this last item. The head of the USA Dept of Defense, Robert Gates, has placed Mexico on the same list that contains Pakistan as a threat to American security and way of life. The reasons stated are Mexico's inability to get organized crime and drug trafficking under control. This is causing chaos and instability to the Mexican government and threatens American security. The USA has issued a warning that must get this under control or suffer invasion from American troops to remedy the situation. I find this unbelievable and insane. Has anybody heard about this? If so, I would like more information. I can't even imagine what will happen to us expats if the USA invades. Scary stuff.


* It was on this day, 29 years ago, that B and I met. That would make today our anniversary.

EDITED TO ADD:

Many readers have sent links via Comments to news stories regarding the possible intervention of the US into Mexican territory. I found the El Paso Times article very good. In part, it said:

"Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

It doesn't state what the "American response" would be, but we all know what liberties the US takes under that horrible umbrella of homeland security. I'm not worried, but a bit concerned.

The article also goes on to say, in part:

"...two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico."

This may be true. Mexico's economy is quickly getting out of control. Today the offical exchange rate for the dollar is a little over 14 pesos! This can't continue or we are going to see a serious devaluation of the peso, like in the early 90's.

Go to Comments to read the entire articles provided by readers.

15 comments:

Nancy said...

Wayne,

First, congratulations on your anniversary! That is wonderful...29 years!

With regard to the Gates issue here´s a link. http://www.pfcf.com.tw:82/gate/gb/blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/01/07/pakistan-mexico-and-us-nightmares/

Nancy

K.W. Michigan said...

Happy Anniversary! Enjoy the day with a couple of SOL's. Interesting stuff in the paper. I need to investigate the last item of concern. Hope it is not true. There are several automotive plants in Mexico not to mention all the US citizens. Need to keep our fingers crossed that the drug trafficing gets under control.

Anonymous said...

Feliz Aniversario to you both.
- 29 years of pure bliss!

Don't you have a favorite joke concerning Gynecologists??

I have not heard about the USA warning...but I would not be surprised.. I am fed-up with our (US) government sticking it's nose in other Countries business!

Doug in CT

Sue said...

Happy Anniversary to you and "B"! Working on 30 years together - beats a lot of other couples!

I'm concerned about that last item too, can you imagine being invaded here? I hope it's an over-exaggeration but the drug and kidnapping situation is pretty scary.

Mimi said...

Hey! WOW! Happy Anniversary W and B!

Ann said...

Thanks for all the info & congratulations on your anniversary! See you soon!

Anonymous said...

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_11447730

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/09/news/letter.php

Here is two articles

Michael

CancunCanuck said...

Ok, all the news aside, Happy Anniversary!!!! 29 years, holy crap, good job!

I don't think there is much chance of a US invasion, if it does happen I hope it's by the invitation of Calderon, a request for assistance in fighting the cartels, not a take over of the whole country.

If it does happen, I'm on the first raft to Cuba. ;-)

Brenda Maas said...

Happy Anniversary.
That news report is scary.

Islagringo said...

nancy: double thanks for the well wishes and link.

kw: I can't believe the US would ever send troops over the border without an invitation. But that reference to homeland security worries me. IMHO, many atrocities and liberties have been taken under this banner.

doug: thanks and no, I don't have any jokes. I'm not even sure what they do! I agree about our country's big nose though.

sue: thanks! we all need to keep watching the news I guess. Kind of hard now that they have replaced CNN with Rachel Ray and Oprah.

mimi: thanks!

jamqueen: thank you!

michael: thanks for the links. they were very helpful.

canuck: thanks. I agree with you and it would probably only involve the border areas. The US would not be looking to overthrow the government or anything like that. But it reminds me of Viet Nam. Would we really be able to ever route out the cartels? And I think I would head for Belize.

brenda: thank you! The news is probably even scarier for you, that close to the border.

My Way said...

Happy Anniversario!!! Yay for you! That is soooo awesome.

And the other stuff...it just makes me laugh. All of it......especially the gas tanks. We all know how much I love the gas companies in Mexico. ARgggg!

Steve Cotton said...

Wayne -- I have the full report on my desk. I am going through it tonight. My first impression is that the newspapers have blown everything out of proprtion -- as they have with every other story on volence in Mexico. We shall see.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on 29 years of togetherness! That is a wonderful thing to celebrate.
Yes, what is up with no CNN? I was really disappointed!

Anonymous said...

hi. i am a former and future visitor to your stunning island. i live in north carolina, and have been reading about the kidnappings and murders of women taking place all over mexico. namely juarez (google the lost women of juarez-over 300 murdered women in 5 years.) a girl from savannah, ga was recently kidnapped and murdered while visiting puerto vallarta. i would like to know what your solution to this problem would be. if it is not assistance from the u.s., what else? and how would you like to see it happen? because SOMEthing needs to be done, wouldn't you agree?

Anonymous said...

I believe Gates was referring to adding extra security at the border to prevent the recent Mexican violence from spillilingn over into the US. It is preventative for the safety of US citizens, especially along the Mexico/US border.