Xico

Having walked around Xalapa enough to gain a pretty good understanding of the interconnections of the arterial streets and where they head out of town, I decided it was time to venture a bit further afield. Additionally I had not driven my pickup since I arrived here August 20th and thought it should have a bit of exercise. I had been wanting to visit Xico, a small town not far from here, and yesterday being Sunday, providing the prospect that I would be able to find a parking space near the dump upon my return, I decided to take a drive.



I knew where to access the road to Coatapec, a city of a size between that of Xalapa and the town of Xico, and headed on my way. I hadn’t yet left Xalapa, however, before I strayed from the proper route, so spent a bit of time driving around a part of Xalapa I had not visited. I backtracked and returned to the old route which I had opted to take rather than the considerably faster highway. You know me.

The two lane road wended it way through the hills, passing quintas and ranchos growing coffee, bananas, citrus, and sugar cane. The road passed through a number of small communities and was often enveloped in a canopy of overhanging trees. It was a very tranquil 20 minute drive to Coatapec, pronounced Qwatapeck, by the way.

I entered Coatapec, following the sign to Xico, but soon strayed from the route and spent a bit of time driving the backs streets until I happened upon what looked like the proper route. Sure enough, in short order I came upon a sign ensuring me that I was heading to Xico, pronounced Heecoe. About ten minutes later, after passing mile upon mile of more coffee, banana, and orange plants and through a couple of small communities complete with the usual multiple speed bumps intended to slow traffic in populated areas, I arrived in Xico.

Traffic entering Xico was backed up quite a ways to a crawl as it was El Dia de Maria Magdalene and there were celebrations and parades impeding traffic. Being extremely devote I didn’t want to miss the celebrations. OK, you're right, I’m about as devout as a heathen can be. Speaking of such things, I didn't know until I watched The DiVinic Files the other night that Mary Magdalene wrote on of about sixty gospels that some politician decided should not be included in the New Testament, even though Mary was apparently referred to by many of her contemporaries as the apostle of the apostles and apparently had a sexual relationship with Jesus. But, then again, being a heathen I'm ignorant of such things.

At any rate I parked in Centro, watched a bunch of folks dressed in clown suits carrying a litter upon which road St. Mary Magdelen followed by a traditional Mexican band and lots of children parade up the main street, and then asked a fellow for a restaurant recommendation. He directed me three blocks down the main drag.

Walking to the restaurant I noticed quite a few horses either carrying their riders or parked riderless. I also noticed the remnants of considerable amounts of horse manure littering the cobblestone streets, which I found considerably more charming than I find the dog crap which litters Xalapa sidewalks.

I soon arrived at the Casa Xiqena, the recommended restaurant, which has been established in a beautiful colonial building. I opted for a table on the veranda where I could enjoy the flowers, that surrounded what I supposed used to be the back yard of the home, and the music provided by a fellow singing to his guitar accompaniment.

I felt obligated to order the mole chicken specialty of the house and a traditional Xico dish, which I accompanied with a Sol oscuro (dark) beer. Mole is a very rich, spicy sauce of unsweetened chocolate, chiles, and spices for which Xico is famed. Soon arrived a chicken breast and leg smoothered in thick dark brown, almost black, mole sauce, along with a large serving of rice and, of course, warm corn tortillos.

As I enjoyed my meal, and music, I noticed the management had posted its “mission statement” on the column adjacent to my table. The owner appeared to be an older very Caucasian looking fellow with a large white beard, who warmly greeted me with a "buenas tardes" and a pat on the shoulder as he passed by.

The pictures you see here are of the restaurant, taken from my chair. Check out the brickwork that fills in the guardrail along the edge of the veranda. I took more picture of Xico with my 35 mm which I will posted when developed. I have been using my 35 mm more and more as the resolution of large prints far exceeds that of photos from the digital and I am thinking that I may take to printing and framing my favorite photos.

Well, as it turns out I'll have to post the pictures another time as the Blogger upload feature is not working.

Here are a few shot of some public art in my neighborhood.

At left is a monument to mothers, in which is bronze woman is holding a child aloft.


So here's a bronze guy with his arm raise. I didn't read the plaque but it must be a monument to the workers of the world.

And how about that rock wall in the background? That baby's like 30 feet high of rock laid without mortar, though I'm pretty sure there's a concrete wall behind the rocks.









This is one of two identical fountains in the bicentennial Park which is a convenient short cut from the made drag trough Centro to near Los Lagos


Speaking of public art, I read in one of the local papers today that the film school at the University of Veracruz his hosting a film festival featuring musical comedies and will show six over the next two weeks ranging in vintage from 1933 to 1950. Admission is free.

Richard Armitage and Robert Novak

Why did Richard Armitage, who we have learned was the first to “out” Valerie Plame, go to Robert Novak with the information?

I suspect because Robert Novak has been a chief republican media whore for almost his entire “journalism” career.

Grupos Religiosos Radicals

According to Diario Xalapa there are some folks here, characterized by the Diario of representing “grupos religiosos radicals”, who are objecting to the fact that the biology text book for junior high school aged students includes a discussion of the human reproductive system, as well as pregnancy and STD avoidance.

I am at a complete loss to understand why the radical religious folks object to including “sex education” in the school curriculum, particularly at a time when the students’ hormones are on the move. Is it because if kids aren’t taught how to avoid becoming pregnant then there will be that many more sheep in the flock to support the shepherd? Additionally, if one limits the breadth of a child’s education, maintaining ignorance as it were, then that child is probably going to be less likely to question that which the shepherd preaches.

As far as I understand the radical religious whacko argument, it is that learning about reproduction etc. will encourage them to have sex. Duh, when do the whackos think that adults telling children not to do something no longer encouraged those children to go try it?

Mes de Patria

September in Mexico is the Mes de Patria, September 16th being independence day. The streets and buildings of Xalapa, and other Mexican cities and towns I assume, are festooned with the red, green, and white colors of the flag, actual flags of all sizes are posted everywhere, and many folks are wearing Mexican flag T-shirts.

Rosie has even posted little Mexican flags along each side of the passageway separating the two buildings that comprise the apartment complex/dog shelter.

The Wobblies Rise Again

I read yesterday that Starbucks’ employees in New York City are represented by the IWW and that Starbucks’ employees in Chicago have notified the company of their intent to seek IWW representation. You know me, I think that is really cool. “Solidarity Forever” in “One Big Union.”

Purposeful Walking

You may remember that last March I reported that a Diario de Yucatan photographer, in the paper’s continuing campaign to shame city authorities into repairing pedestrian hazards, had caught me in mid-stride stepping over such a hazard and that the picture subsequently appeared in the newspaper.

I had commented that one of the things I like about Merida, and Mexico in general, is that one is responsible to watch where one walks. Folks who fall while walking don’t get paid by their local government, such as occurs in the USA, thanks to big hearted, small minded jurors. “Purposeful walking” is how I think Kat of KaTravels blog put it.

Here in Xalapa purposeful walking takes on a new meaning. While the sidewalks here are generally in good shape they are littered with dog crap hazards that require one’s attention. Often an earlier passerby wasn’t paying attention and thereafter has left skid marks a ways along the sidewalk in an effort to dislodge the offending material.

There are lots of dogs here, which again leads me to ask what is it with folks who live in cities keeping dogs?

My Chairs

I’ve been meaning for some time to post a picture of these really cool chairs. The chair on the left I bought at a tourist shop at Parque Santa Ana in Merida for $500 pesos and the one on the left from a roadside vendor just outside of Campeche for $300. peosos.

The wood supporting the hammock, I think, is a type of Cedar. The chairs are quite comfortable, either with one’s feet on the floor or as a recliner with the feet up on a support.

The Birds of Parque Juarez

There is lots of public art in Xalapa so I have begun to make a point of photographing it as I happen upon it during my explorations.

Here are a number of birds that regularly inhabit El Parque Juarez, which I have mention a few times and which is the main downtown city park, flanked by the state and municipal government buildings.





The pink building you can see at left is El Palacio Municipal. City Hall, if you like.

The photo doesn't show it well but the blue bird further in the background at right has what I think are eggs in its mid-section cavity and one protruding from its hind end.



El Parque Juarez, particularly on weekend days is full of folks and vendors of every sort.


Today while I was sitting in the park resting from my daily explorations I was even approached by a woman who asked if I wanted to have my blood pressure checked. I responded "sure" and after she told me that my pressure is fine she asked for $10 pesos.

Also today there was a group of about eight or ten young folks with an assortment of drums hammering out some foot tapping rhythms.

Also today I notice that for the children one of the more entertaining features of the park is its flock of pigeons. The children delight in gathering the pigeons around by throwing feed and then rushing at the flock to send it aloft. The flock lifting off as a unit, I notice, is a bit frightening for the younger children.

The park is beautifully landscaped, affords great views of the mountains to the South and West, and is wonderful place to watch the people of Xalapa.

Vanity Fair Counts Soup on The Weekly Standard

This is a very creative, funny, and well deserved piece of mischief aimed at that neocon propaganda rag The Weekly Standard cooked up by the folks at Vanity Fair magazine.

I urge all of those with access to the magazines to participate.

I'm A Member of Betty's Video Club

OK. I have successfully fulfilled all of Betty’s Video Club requirements to become a renter in good standing.

My first selection was “Good Night and Good Luck”, a George Clooney project which recounts Edward R. Morrow and his staff at CBS taking on Joseph McCarthey. Being essentially ignorant of popular culture I had never heard of the film, even though it was nominated for multiple Oscars.

The movie begin and ends with Morrow telling one of those self-congratulatory assemblages of television industry folks that the TV medium was increasingly being transformed into a tool to entertain and placate the population rather than being used to inform the public of important issues and, thus, strengthen the republic. And that was in, like, 1958.

It’s a good movie which accurately tells the story of one of the many important parts of Morrow’s storied career. The film is shot in black and white, I suppose because the film includes lots of black and white news footage from the ‘50s.

More Government Paid "Journalists"

Here’s an example of why one should be very careful about believing what one is told about Cuba by the USA media, or anything else for that matter.

The Miami Herald reported last Friday that the USA government has been paying “journalists” to write negative “news” stories about Cuba. The Miami Herald has fired two employees and a free lance contributor.

Mas Los Lagos

Here's a shot of one of the many bridges spanning Los Lagos












This shot shows hot each stone in the curb and retaining wall flanking the walking paths has been carved to fitr its neighbors.











On of Los Lagos includes ducks which live in this colonial duck condo.











And here's one of the boys who had been riding the pedicycle down the hill when they spotted me later.

Trying To Rent A Video

Unlike my deluxe accommodations in Merida, the dump came essentially unfurnished, so I do not have a TV. I am, however, able to watch videos on my old Dell laptop with a 15 inch screen, which I plug into the mini sound system I bought in Merida.

Having watched each of my seven DVDs so many times that they hold no surprise, I went a couple of days ago to the video rental store on the corner and thought I’d rent a video. After confirming with the person staffing the place that the videos produced in the USA are in English with Spanish subtitles I began my perusal. I selected The DeVinci Code and laid it on the counter and pulled out my drivers license which is all that the video store in Merida required. After it was confirmed that I had never rented from the store previously I was informed that I would need a picture ID and “comprobante” of my residence, which is proof in the form of a utility bill. I thanked the attendant and left thinking that perhaps she could of explained the requirements before I began my perusal; but, hey, it’s not like I don’t have plenty of time.

Today I walked a few blocks down to another video store, this time equipped with a copy of an electric bill, thinking I’d be watching an unfamiliar video this evening. This time I was educated enough to ask what was required for me to rent a video. The three very pleasant young folks staffing the place informed me that, in addition to the ID and comprobante, I would need to provide the phone numbers of two references.

So here I am again watching An Evening With the Dixie Chicks, in which the Chicks perform the songs from their, at the time, recently released Home album. Some time ago I gushed here about the show. It truly is a beautiful piece of work and the Kodak Theater is stunningly beautiful. And, as I’ve also previously remarked here, I truly the admire the Chicks for speaking the truth about Bush.

As an aside, I notice in the two Dixie Chicks video I have that the audience is composed overwhelmingly of women, particularly young women, who know the words to all the songs and who grow particularly enthusiastic with the performance of “Good Bye Earl”, during which there is a shot of a guy in the audience who looks really uncomfortable.

I’m sitting here thinking about before I moved to Mexico and was trying, through email and the internet, to find a place to live in Merida. I was put in touch with Sr. Lopez, who ultimately became my landlord, by a very helpful office manager of a Merida realtor, which caters to gringos. I was able to rent my apartment simply by wiring Sr. Lopez the first month’s rent and a security deposit equal to a month’s rent.

Sr. Lopez required no references or anything else to rent his apartment to me sight unseen but here one needs references to rent a video. I’m sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for the stores’ requirements but damned I’d like to watch an unfamiliar video.

By the way, the day before I left Merida Sr. Lopez came to the apartment and very meticulously explained how he had arrived at the amount of rent refund he gave me. Additionally, I wanted to show him the lamp that broke when brushed off the nightstand by the wind blown curtain and the two pop rivets “securing” the hinge of the plastic bedroom door that had pulled out. He insisted that he needn’t look at anything, gave me back the entire security deposit, told me that he was sad to see me go, gave me a farewell hug, and told me that if I needed his help for anything to not hesitate to call or send an email message. .

Rarely in my life have I met persons so completely honorable and admirable as I consider Sr. Lopez. I consider myself to have been extremely fortunate in my life and my encounter with Sr. Lopez has reinforced such consideration.

Los Lagos

Yesterday I walked down the hill from the dump; through the Parque Juarez, the magnificent park that is flanked by the beautiful colonial state and municipal government buildings; down hill a few more blocks to the Los Lagos; and circumperambulated the entire complex. I suppose all told it amounted to perhaps a six kilometer walk, with the last kilometer or so of the return trip up the steep hill back to the apartment.

Los Lagos are three lakes, each successively a bit lower, which accept storm water runoff from a good portion of the city and which are circled by a paving stone walk of about fifteen feet wide, landscaped gardens between the path and the water, and more landscaped gardens which include large trees abutting the upland side of the path.

Amongst the large trees are a type of Cedar and a very strange tree I think is Pine, which resembles a cross between a Pine and a Monkey tree. The needles and bark look like Pine and the needles are in clusters that circle the ends of the branches, which are otherwise bare. They remind me of what are referred to as “poodle trees” in the area of the Olympic Peninsula where I lived for 30 years. The poodle trees are actually Cedar trees that have been denuded of their foliage except for the very top, thus resembling the tail of well groomed Poodle.

The lakes themselves are lined by black stone laid at a perhaps 45 degree slant landward, with thick mortar joints. The stone is no doubt some sort of volcanic rock as the Xalapa area was historically inundated with magma flows from the El Cobre de Perote, a slumbering volcano not far away whose square shape caused one of the Spanish Conquistadors to remark that it looked like Perote’s trunk. Perote being one of his fellow pillagers.

The paving stone walking path is flanked on the lakeside by a curb of perhaps a foot high and on the landward side by a retaining wall of perhaps two feet, both constructed of same stone which lines the lakes, with each stone carved to fit its neighboring stones and laid without mortar. Periodically the retaining wall is interrupted by a shallow alcove in which is a stone bench, complete with a back, constructed in the same manner as the curb and wall. It is all quite stunning.

Occasionally Los Lagos are crossed by traffic and pedestrian bridges constructed as a series of mortared stone arches with red brick lining the archways. Upon the hill flanking the east side of Los Lagos, which stretch for perhaps two kilometers on a NW to SE bearing, is a hospital, an athletic school, and a public gymnasium. The shallower hill on West side is lined with houses and apartments, many with stairs descending to the pathway, some of which are quite creatively constructed of stone slabs cantilevered out of the building foundation or native stone. One of the buildings is supported on and built right to the very edge of native stone which cantilevers above the walking path.

There are pedicycles parked along the pathway available for those who wish to peddle their way along. The group of five or six young fellows you see in the photo repeatedly pushed their conveyance up an inclined access to the pathway, all jumped aboard, and giggled their way on the ride back down the hill. One pedicycle was populated by eight or ten laughing girls peddling their way along shouting warnings to those ahead on the path. It was quite cute. A bit later in my walk the boys riding the pedicycle down the hill passed me in a car and hung out the windows shouting and waving, as they remembered me snapping photos of their ride.

If you’re ever in Xalapa make a point of spending a couple hours walking the Los Lagos trail.

This is the cathedral across the street from the Veracruz state government building and adjacent to the main city park. The photo at the right shows the portion of the building to the right of that shown at left.

There are a great many magnificent colonial building here, and they appear to be well maintained. I have run cross, in my limited wanderings, four other cathedrals that rival the one shown above in their grandeur.

This building is a school for senoritas. I think it may be a part of the University of Veracruz since it is located across the street from a U of V building.

I've also run across quite a few colleges and universities, and my wanderings haven't yet taken me out of the Centro aarea.

Rosie

During my visit to Xalapa on my trip North I had been walking the streets of Centro for a few hours looking for apartments for rent, and hoping to not become lost in the process, when I spotted an “apartment for rent” sign hanging above the gate. I rang the bell and someone answered but I’ll be damned if I was able to understand what he had said. Soon Jorge arrived to open the gate which provides access to the passageway, perhaps 12 feet wide, that separates the two buildings of the apartment complex. Directly Jorge introduced me to my new landlady, Rosie. Jorge I learned is Rosie’s uncle and the complex handyman, though he doesn’t appear to me to be real handy.

As I entered the complex I noted an odor reminiscent of my days working at the McLean Animal Hospital during my high school days. It is an odor that will not cause one to wretch but which can’t be missed. Though we animal hospital “kennel helpers” conscientiously cleaned the kennel and the outdoor runs with disinfectant, as instructed, an odor would linger. I think it emanated from the floor drains.

Despite the odor and less than desirable apartment, needing a place to deposit the stuff I was driving North to Elma to retrieve I struck the deal. The rent is certainly cheap enough and the apartment is located conveniently in Centro.

Rosie is quite a case. Sunday she bought me a liter of Sol beer, so Monday I returned the favor. When I delivered her beer she insisted I come in and drink it with her.

Rosie’s home smells like dogs and I soon learned why. Rosie informed me that she has 26 dogs she has collected from the streets, though I’ve actually seen only about five. She didn’t tell me how many cats she has but I’ve seen at least two.

Rosie, I learned, was an airline stewardess for Aero Mexico many years ago and more recently has been teaching English at a local secondary school, though cataracts have forced her to give up teaching.

During our conversation I noted that my preferred libation is vino tinto. She jumped right up, retrieved a liter box of California red table wine from the refrigerator, poured me a glass, and explained that she drinks a liter each evening. She she said used to drink a 750 ml bottle of hard liquor each evening but has switched to red wine for the antioxidants it contains. I told her that’s why I drink it.

Rosie had quite a bit to say about the anti-immigrant bigots in the USA, understanding clearly that racism is a major factor, as do most Mexicans with whom I’ve discussed the issue. I explained that it being an election year the republicans are cynically trotting out their usual wedge issues to energize their ignorant bigot base.

Although Rosie can’t hold a candle to Sr. Lopez as far as landlords go, nor can her apartment building compare to that of Sr. Lopez, she is certainly a more colorful character.

"Ending the Neoconservative Nightmare"

Daniel Levy has written a very interest opinion piece entitled "Ending the Neoconservative Nightmare". Levy is no mere pundit, the guy has serious credentials.

Aside from noting that the "neoconservative approach has not been good for Isreal, Levy notes the strangness of Isreal's alliance with the USA Christian right.

"Beyond that, Israel and its friends in the United States should seriously reconsider their
alliances not only with the neocons, but also with the Christian Right. The largest "pro-Israel"
lobby day during this crisis was mobilized by Pastor John Hagee and his Christians United For
Israel, a believer in Armageddon with all its implications for a rather particular end to the
Jewish story.'

No Inernet Connection

I do not have an internet connection in m apartment and do not plan to have one installed as I hope to not be there long. Consequently I am relying upon internet cafes, though there is an unsecured wireless network in the Centro area which I can use if I hang out in a particular concina economica.

I am finding that I ma unable to send email from many of the internet cafes. I can receive with no problem but cannot send. I have no problem sending when using the wireless network in Centro.

Parque Tacajetes

I arrived in Xalapa Saturday afternoon at about 1:00 . The parking space nearest to my
apartment that I could find was about 5 blocks away, next to the Hotel Xalapa and across the street from the Parque Tacajetes, a fairly large forested park in El Zona Centro.

I walked the few blocks to my dump of an apartment, which smells a bit musty, has a refrigerator that growls, and a bathroom which permits me to sit on the toilet while showering.

Oh well, as someone who lived in a shack in the Satsop Valley for a number of years, not to mention the roach infested apartment I lived in D.C. in the early '70s, I can put up with it until I find something better. The apartment at least is well located in Centro and I now have kitchen tools from storage so, I an get more creative in the kitchen.

I could get even more creative I had a stove with an oven, rather than a two burner electric counter top unit I bought after the landlady tried to pawn off an encrusted one burner electric unit with a broken knob and bare wires and an equally encrusted two burner gas unit, even though there is no gas line to the kitchen.

I have yet to determine why it is that the apartment rules limits visits to 4 hours and prohibit visitors after 11 PM, rules even my late '60s dormitory didn't even have.

After hanging out in the apartment for a couple of hours, and growing a bit tired of the refrigerator'’s growl, I walked down the hill for a tour of the park, and a magnificent park it is.

The park is described by the entry signs as an urban ecological preserve and discuss the interactions of urban human activities and the natural environment. The park is laced with stone and paving stone walkways and water ways which feed a number of ponds.
One, particularly creative, waterway consists of a narrow aqueduct constructed atop a stepped retaining wall from which the water cascades into the channel atop each succeeding step in the wall; crosses the path atop an arch; and discharges into a pond which in turns discharges into a lower pond.

The walkways are flanked by native vegetation, including some very large trees and flower blossoms of all hues. With the forest canopy, vines climbing the trees in search of light, and the abundance of water the place has the feel of a rain forest. It really is an enchanting place.

The park includes a couple of playgrounds; a skateboard area; a empty swimming pool that young folks were using as a soccer field; a picnic area with three really nice elevated, stone BBQs; and a small circular stage and concrete bleachers.

I plan to return for further explorations during the week when the park is not so busy. Today the park was very busy with families and lovers young and old holding hands and strolling. There were also a number of young lovers in out of the way places holding more than hands and definitely not strolling. It was all very cute.

There is, reportedly, an exceptional botanical garden nearby Xalapa on the road to Coatepec which I plan to visit soon and supposedly another large forested park in Xalapa I will also visit.

Final Merida Garden Report

Tomorrow morning I leave for Xalapa and new adventures, so I thought I should post a garden report.

Upon my return form my trip North, which covered about 8,000 miles, five Mexican states, and seven USA states, my garden was engulfed in a sea of weeds. Once I had removed the weeds this is what I found. One expansive watermelon plant with seven developing melons. Yes, the picture at left is of one plant.





The plants in little patch of corn I planted in early July have done really well and are now developing ears.









One cherry tomato plant survived my absence and the consequent lack of water.










Papayas are developing on the volunteer plant you can see at the right and the four plants that I grew from seeds.

So in my gardening pursuits here in Merida I have had success growing watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, onions and papaya. Pretty much everything else I've tried to grow has been a bust.

I expect greater success in Xalapa with its cooler temperatures and more rain. Once I find a place with a garden space I'll see what I can do.

Ria Lagartos

Late last week I visited Ria Lagartos, a long, narrow estuary along the North Yucatan coast, nearer to Cancun than to Merida. Like Ria Celestun, which I visited in February, Ria Lagartos is located within a "Biosphere Reserve" that supports a number of fishing villages and is home to flocks of flamingos, cormorants, pelicans, many other species of water fowl, crocodiles and other terrestrial fauna. Also like Celestun, local entrepreneurs offer boat trips during the day to view flamingos and trips after dark to view crocodiles. Unlike Ria Celestun, which has one outlet to the Gulf of Mexico at its Southern end, the peninsula that separates the Ria Lagartos from the Gulf is transected by a number of channels.

To travel there I opted to drive federal highway 176 rather than 180, the direct route to Cancun, and then North on federal highway 295 from Tizimin. Just before reaching the town of Rio Lagatos I headed West to the town of San Felipe where I arranged a room at the Hotel San Felipe. As you may see in the photo to the left, heavy rain was falling upon my arrival.

After checking into my room the proprietor asked if I’d ever eaten Manta Ray, which, of course, I never had. Soon I was served a delicious meal of a shredded Manta Ray/vegetable stew, mixed cooked vegetables, onions marinated in vinegar, refried beans, corn tortillas and a cold Superior.

After lunch I walked along the San Felipe malecon photographing birds perched on pilings and the fishing boats that lined the malecon. Later I drove to the towns of Rio Lagartos, from where boats trips up the Ria leave; and Las Coloradas, a tiny puebla on the Ria at the end of the road where salt is extracted from sea water and placed by a conveyor onto a huge purewhite pile. The salt is transported by conveyor across the road to a dock in the Ria.

As dusk approached the sky cleared and I headed for the roof of the hotel to await sunset in hopes of getting a good picture. The roof afforded a nice view of the small town; the Ria; the heavy, open hulled, fiberglass fishing boats along the malecon; and the Gulf beyond the peninsula.

Soon a woman and her two daughters from Merida joined me and immediately engaged me in conversation. They suggested that for my return to Merida that I take the road along the Gulf coast from where one may see flocks of flamingos and the many coastal fishing villages. Soon we were joined by a fellow from Mexico City who was also anxious to talk.

As it turned out there was pretty nice sunset. The moonset the next morning wasn’t bad either.

Thanks to the woman from Merida and her daughters, though, the best part of the trip for me was the return. From San Felipe I drove South to the small town of Panaba; from there took a very narrow, sparsely traveled road through completely undeveloped back country to the even smaller town of Yalsihon; and on to Dzilam de Bravo where I rejoined the Gulf coast. The drive afforded views of lots of vultures, Crested Caracara, Ibis, and some sort of small mammal with a bushy tail that looked like a cross between a fox and a cat.

At one point I noticed a small animal slowly walking across the road which seemed to me to be a small crab, which I thought a bit strange given the distance to the water. A bit later I spotted another of the same crawling creature, stopped to get out for a better look, and discovered it was a very large black and orange tarantula.

The drive from San Felipe to Chelem, with a stop for a lunch of fried fish, marinated vegetables,
and refried beans, took about three and a half hours.

So it seems to me that a great trip from Merida would be a drive to Progreso, East along the coast to Dzilam de Bravo, along the back road to Panaba, and South for a night in Valladolid.

El Cumbanchero

Last Saturday evening I had dinner at the El Cumbanchero restaurant with a number of friends, whom I will miss upon my move to Xalapa. From left to right, Ariel, Maria, Ana Belem, Federico, and Armando.

Ariel, Maria and Ana Belem operate the cocina economica from where Armando gets his lunch each day. Ana, Ariel and I had weekly language classes together and I have accompanied them on a number of excursions. Ariel Marie and Ana lived in Miami for a number of years until Ariel lost an arm in an auto accident which ended his truck driving career.

Federico operates the Cafico coffee shop, on Calle 58 just South of the Parque Santa Ana, where he roasts organically grown beans grown in Chiapas and Veracruz states and where Armando and I have coffee several times each week. Federico, whose sincerity is manifest in his ready smile, likes to talk politics and is a big AMLO supporter. When he’s roasting a batch of beans the aroma can be detected a half block from his shop.

Armando is my 89 year old Cuban American neighbor who has lived in Merida for 28 years and who increasingly requires assistance.

El Cumbanchero is owned by Ruben Gonzalez Jr., son of the famed Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez who performed with the Buena Vista Social Club, whose CD of the same name gained a Grammy Award. Ruben Gonzalez Sr. died a couple years back and now his Grammy and lots of other Buena Vista Social Club and other memorabilia is now on display in the El Cumbanchero restaurant.

Ruben Gonzalez Jr., also an accomplished pianist, and his group perform regularly in the restaurant. The food was nothing to write home about but the music and atmosphere definitely merit a visit. The place and its dance floor became filled to capacity, with folks waiting on the patio, by about 10 PM. The restaurant, located at Calle 39 and the Paseo Montejo is open from 7 PM to 2 AM Tuesday through Saturday.

Florida Senator Mel Martinez Excuses Terrorism

Florida Senator Mel Martinez excuses the 1976 bombing of a Cubana airlines plane by Luis Posada Carriles, saying “without condoning any specific act of violence, there was a hostile state of affairs at the time.” He also says that “Cuba began the practice of hijacking airliners…” as if no one will read the New Yorker article in which the quote appears and realize that it’s a complete fabrication.

The folks of Florida have many reasons to be proud, but their election of the dumb ass Martinez has to rank amongst their proudest.

Joe Lieberman Takes It In The Shorts

Sorry for the iconoflatulence (a term coined by my high school buddy Verde, who I think should retire to a life as a Northern Neck writer. Anyone who can come up with such a term should be writing.) But as you no doubt by now know, I can't help myself.

I must admit I am taking great pleasure in the demise of Joe (2%) Lieberman to, the heretofore unknown, Ned Lamont in his bid for a fourth Senate term. (2% is about the most Lieberman received in votes in any of the 2004 democratic presidential election primaries.) That well publicized Bush kiss and his gushing praise for Bush's Iraq policies are coming back to bite the arrogant bastard in the butt. Realizing that he will lose the democratic primary in early August, Lieberman has filed the necessary signatures to enable him to run as a repubdependent.

Lamont is leading the three term senator in all demographic groups except those over 65 and even the NYT has turned against him.

The establishment media and pundits are blaming the "netroots" for Lieberman's political problems. I think his problems have more to do with his hubris, and his sense that he is entitled to his senate seat.

I Think Hugo Chavez It Exactly Right

"After almost 200 years, we can say that the United States was designed to fill the entire world with poverty as if in the name of freedom," he said according to Interfax.

"The United States' empire is the greatest threat which exists in the world today. This is a senseless, blind and dumb giant, which does not know the world, does not know human rights, and does not know anything about humanity, culture, conscience, or consciousness."

He said the "winds of war" were blowing in the Middle East and were a "product of hegemony and imperialistic aspirations, which reveal Washington's bid for power over the whole planet".

Read the entire Guardian report here.

Villahermosa

Tonight I am in Villahermosa, with one days drive left to Merida. I’m pretty sure I will never return to this city. This afternoon I paid my first ever bride in the time I’ve been in Mexico.

Driving around the city looking for a place to stay for the night I pulled into a traffic lane reserved for buses and cooperatives. A police officer pulled up behind me and motioned for me to do a U turn and pull over. He explained the lane was reserved, I apologized and he asked for my driver’s license and registration. After telling me he would have to write me a ticket and that I would have to go tomorrow to pay it he began to walk toward his car. He turned around, came back and began explaining that if I put something in his mano he wouldn’t write me a ticket. I asked how much and he answered whatever I thought. I gave him $100. pesos and we both went on our ways. A violation of my principles, to be sure, but in this case expediency prevailed.

The best thing I can say about Villahermosa, of the limited area I saw, is that it has a highway that runs right through the middle of it which permits one to transit the city without stopping.

July 20th

Tonight I am staying in the El Castillo (which looks like a castle) another drive in hotel with private garages, though this one just has a curtain for a door. The room is quite plush and very dark. There is not enough light in the room for me to type on my laptop, so here I am in an internet café.

I have come to the conclusion that the hotel with the garages are places for discrete rendezvous. The room I’m in has a huge mirror at the head of the bed, colored lights above the bed, piped in music, and a price list on the wall that includes drink, toiletries and condoms. There is also a wooden rotating shelf in the wall between the room and the garage through which the staff can deliver items without opening the door or seeing in the room.

Generally having my head in the clouds, it usually takes me a while to figure these things out.

I expect to arrive in Xalapa during the early afternoon tomorrow. I will unload my household goods there and return to Merida.

Back in Mexico

I am back in Mexico, having tracked down a customs broker and successfully entered the country with a truck load of household goods.

I am feeling quite relieved to back in Mexico and to have crossed the border with my household goods with no problems. I now have no property or possessions, other than bank accounts, in the USA.

As it happened I was able to track down one of the customs broker with whom I had been communicating through email, though it took a bit to find his new location. I arrived at his office at about 9:00, provided him with copies of the “menaje de casa” visa issued me by the Mexican consulate in Seattle. He called his contact in Matamoras and informed me of the fee.

While I went to the nearest bank to get some cash, he made copies and arrangements with the broker with whom he works in Matamoras. When I returned to his office he instructed me to follow him to his warehouse where I would leave my truck while we crossed to Matamoras and went to the Mexican broker’s office to deliver the paperwork.

The USA broker took me on a driving tour of Matamoras for about an hour while the Mexican broker was preparing the “pedimento”. After a bit he suggested we stop at his favorite bar for a Clamato and vodka, which has to be about the most wretched drink I’ve ever tasted. I drank about half and pawned the rest off on him, explaining that I was getting a bit light headed and wanted to be completely sober for my border crossing.

We returned to the Mexican broker’s office, picked up the pedimento, and returned to his warehouse in Brownsville to await a call from the Mexican broker’s office with instructions on when to leave for the border. The call came and the Brownsville broker led me to the proper border crossing and left me with instructions of which line to get in and that a person from the Mexican broker’s office would meet me at the border with the necessary paperwork.

Sure enough the fellow was there with the papers and stood by as I made my way across the border to be sure everything went smoothly.

After crossing I parked my truck, went to the immigration office to have my visa stamped, and then moved my truck into an inspection bay where I waited for about a half an hour for my pedimento to make its way from the border crossing gate to the inspection area. Soon a fellow approached and asked me to open the back of the truck and to begin removing the stuff for his inspection, but after I had removed only a few items he indicated that he’d seen enough and a couple of fellows helped me reload. Everyone was quite jovial.

So off I was with one more gate to pass and perhaps another inspection. The fellow at that gate took a quick look at the pedimento and waved me through. About 10 kilometers down the road I had to pass through another inspection point but the fellow there also waved me through after a quick look at the pedimento.

So here I am in Ciudad de Victoria spending the night in a luxurious motel, with my own garage with an electric door, for $360 pesos. After getting settled into my room I notice there are 4 and 12 hours rates posted on the back of the door. I think I’ll call for room service, so to speak.

July 18

I arrived in Brownsville at 6:00 this evening and am settled in to a room at the Red Roof Inn with a high speed LAN connection. Tomorrow I go looking for a customs broker. One of the brokers with whom I’ve been communicating informed me today that her Mexican broker is no longer doing "menaje de casa"” work and I have not heard back from the other since I sent him a message informing him that I would be at his office early Wednesday morning.

During my four days of driving since leaving Elma last Saturday morning I have covered 2741 miles, or an average of 685 miles per day.

The drive today and my drive through the Cascades on Saturday were by far the most scenic. Today I left the dessert Southwest, which often looks like one big strip mine, and South of San Antonio drove through what I suppose one would call a coastal plain. The area between Corpus Cristi and Brownsville is particularly nice with lush, green grasslands, shrubs, and trees. (Did you know that Arbusto, the name of Bush's failed oil exploration company, is Spanish for shrub or bush?)

US Highway 77 from Corpus Cristi to Brownsville is a beautiful highway that is more like a boulevard, with a very wide grassy median with occasional palm trees. The only draw back was the storm of flying insects through which I drove most of the way.

This morning, a bit East of Fort Stockton and South of Odessa and Midland, in an area predominated by mesas, I came upon hundreds and hundreds of very large wind powered electric generators, such as one may see in the Columbia Gorge. And just outside of Ozona I left the freeway to get gas and came upon a very pleasant young couple who waved me down for help.

All but two of the lugs bolts had broken in a rear wheel so they had pulled over with their SUV at a slant on the shoulder. They had jacked the beast up, I suspect with the jack parallel to the slant; the jack buckled; and when I came upon them the wheel was setting on the dirt. Fortunately neither was hurt. I pulled out my jack and as I was positioning it under the leaf spring, thinking it would probably not jack the rig high enough, two fellows in service trucks stopped to help. I was able to use my jack to get the leaf spring far enough off the ground to enable one of the other fellows to get his jack under the spring and raise the vehicle far enough to get the wheel on so they could limp the two miles to town in search of a permanent fix.

One of the fellows who stopped to help, the one that actually did something, was all business while the other was a big, round, very friendly bubba type with a wad of chew and lots to say. It was heartening to see folks stop to help the couple.

The couple noticed my Yucatan license plates and commented that I must be learning to speak Spanish and indicated that they are they are learning English. We spoke a bit in both Spanish and English, bid farewell with warm thanks, and I was on my way.

July 17

I am staying tonight in Fort Stockton, Texas, having driven the almost 800 miles from Flagstaff and enjoying the morning rush hour in Phoenix with lot of stop and go and the smooth evening rush hour in El Paso. I-10 in Texas is a far better roadway than it is in Arizona or New Mexico and with a speed limit 80 mph I was able to cover quite a bit of ground. Given that Texas is fairly flat I was actually able to drive 80 most of the day.

Tomorrow I should arrive in Brownsville, where Wednesday morning I will visit a customs broker who will help with the process of moving my truck load of stuff across the border.

Once again I am in a hotel without wireless internet access but am able to connect to an unsecured wireless network located elsewhere.

July 16

Tonight I am spending in Flagstaff, AZ, in a Motel 6 scabbing off the Ramada’s wireless network. I am amazed at how often one can find an unsecured wireless network through which to access the internet. At one of my stops on the way North I tapped into a wireless network named “Brad is a Stud.”

I spent the last half of today on the US highway that passes Bryce, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. It was the most direct route to get to Flagstaff and I 17 South which I will take to I 10 which will take me to Corpus Cristi.

During the last 40 or so miles of my drive I was treated to a spectacular lightening storm, with actual bolts that reached from the sky to the earth.

On The Road Again

I left Elma this morning after a great six day visit. I was able to spend a good bit of time and share lots of laughs with Long Time Harborite, my neighbor and very good friend of 30 years; visit with a few other Elma folks I wanted to see; ate and/or drank at Saginaw’s just about everyday; shared a couple of beers at Fred’s with Shu; and enjoyed a bit of Fred’s special sweet bread.

I am now sitting in a Super 8 motel in Buely, ID just North of the Utah border.

Last Tuesday I drove to the Mexican consulate in Seattle, where I arrived about 8:30 AM and took number 51 while the staff was serving number 21. My number came up after only about 45 minutes and I submitted the paperwork necessary to secure a visa which allows me to take into Mexico the household goods I had in storage in Elma. Amongst the paperwork was a detailed list of the items I wish to take to Mexico which I was told was in the wrong format.

So I walked a block to a restaurant where I reformatted the list on my laptop, in Excel spreadsheet format, while I ate. Then walked two blocks to Kinkos where I plugged my laptop into their docking station, printed the list, and got the copies I needed. The docking station was pretty cool, included a credit card reader, and put a little screen on my computer screen informing me of the running charges, which came to $ .78.

In about an hour I was back at the consulate, handed in my revised list, and was told to return at 4:30. I returned and received my “menaje de casa” visa. The service was great and the fellow at the consulate who helped me was very pleasant. With the receipt of the visa I had no further responsibilities except to load my truck which I did yesterday.

During my visit to Elma I stayed at the Elma Microtel Inn and Suites, and since I am an honorary employee of WSCO Petroleum, the owner of the hotel, I received the employee discount rate of $25 per night. Upon my arrival at the Microtel last Sunday I pulled into a parking space right next to the van you see in the picture and upon which you can see a reference to the Osgood Brown Conference Center.

As some of my very few readers know, during my last job, working for the City of Elma, I was responsible for processing the land use and building permit applications for the construction of the hotel and inspected its construction. During the grand opening ceremonies of the hotel, after I had left employment with the city, Mayor Osgood and I were informed that WSCO Petroleum was naming the conference center after the mayor and me and naming one of the two rooms in the conference center for the mayor and me.

I always had thought that building are only named for dead people. Also during the ceremony I was informed that WSCO was designating me an honorary employee.

I promise you that nobody at WSCO or their architects, engineers, or contractors ever even suggested that they should not be required to comply with all applicable regulations or in anyway received any special treatment from the city with regards to applicable regulations. What city staff did do, however, was to provide excellent service in reviewing and approving all necessary permit applications. The whole project was a great experience for me and, as it happened capped my career as a local government regulator.

My Pickup

I received a request for a photo of my little pickup.

Welcome ToThe Police State

Isn’t the act of people reporting to authorities the activities of their neighbor and friends just the sort of thing for which we of the USA regularly criticize totalitarian governments. So here we have FBI agents telling Muslims living legally in the USA that they will be deported if they don’t becomes snitches.

The Columbia River Is a Sewer

The Seattle Times has a very good report of toxic pollution of the Columbia River.

Columbia River toxins moving up food chain
By Craig Welch
Seattle Times staff reporter

VANCOUVER, Wash. — First were the crayfish near Bonneville Dam, so loaded with toxins that scientists wondered how they could still be alive.

Then researchers learned Columbia River fish were contaminated enough that nearby tribes face dramatically higher risks of disease. Scientists since have found deformed sturgeon, uranium building up in clams near the Hanford nuclear reservation, and water in parts of the last stretch of the river as contaminated as Seattle's Duwamish River, a federal Superfund site.

Israeli Hypocrisy

Today while driving through Utah and listening to NPR news I heard a spokesman for the Israeli foreign relations ministry refer to Hamas as a “terrorist organization” that has become the Palestinian Authority ruling party.

So history repeats itself. Israelis who committed terrorist acts against the British, who controlled Palestine after WW II, later became Israeli prime ministers and other government officials.

July Fifth

I grabbed a cup of coffee from the OXXO store across from the Dolores Hotel and left Aldama about 7:30, heading North on Federal highway 180, which I have been following off and on from Merida, toward the border crossing at Matamoros and Brownsville.

The roads were excellent all day so I was able to travel at about 70 mph for most of the day. I drove until 8:00 pm, with only a brief stop about 11:00 to eat a cantaloupe from my garden and once for gas.

I crossed the border, paying the $23. peso fee to leave Mexico only to find that no one at the gate would stamp my Mexican FM 3 visa to note I was leaving the country, which is required. So after passing through the USA border control station the USA customs folks very nicely helped me do a U turn. I entered Mexico, paying $23. pesos to enter, was waved over by Mexican officials for a look in the back of my truck, and was instructed that to have my visa stamped I must go to another border crossing, the Puerta Nueva. So off I went to Puerta Nueva, passed through the gate, again paid $23. pesos, the Mexican authorities showed me where to park and opened a gate through which I could pass to access the immigration office, and eventually got my visa stamped. So now I know.

From Brownsville I followed US highway 83, that snakes its way along the Rio Grande. It was almost as though I hadn’t left Mexico. I stopped for the night in Carrizo Springs, Texas, a hundred milesor so f rom Del Rio, where I happened upon a nice motel for $45. per night that consists of one story concrete block buildings constructed in the 1950s before construction of the interstate freeway system cut into its business. Though the building is old, the room is very nice, with air conditioning, a refrigerator, microwave, and a TV with a zillion, or so, channels. A very nice fellow from San Francisco bought the hotel a year ago and is now remodeling and modernizing the buildings.

To complete my day I watched a Bob Dylan documentary.

Along the way during the day I happened upon a fellow with his herd of cows grazing along the side of the highway confined within an electric fence which I assume the fellow moves along the road, thus obtaining low cost feed for his herd. All through Mexico, as well in Texas, one happens upon cows, horses, goats, and donkeys tethered along the roads feeding.

Along Highway 83 there were tornado evacuation route signs, which struck me as more ludicrous than the tsunami evacuation signs one finds along the coast in Washington State. I mean, if one encounters a tornado wouldn’t one head away from the twister? At least with a tsunami one knows where it will land, even though the two lane tsunami evacuation routes leading away from the coast will be so bollixed that folks won’t be able to escape. A tornado, on the other hand, has no established route. So how can one establish an evacuation route?

Tomorrow it’s on to Eagle Pass, where I will again join the Rio Grande and then on to Del Rio from where I will take US Highway 90, still trending to the Northwest heading for Santa Fe.

The Courier has not skipped a beat and is remarkably comfortable for the cheapest little pickup truck I could find. I have now had two days of driving for 13 hours and am without aches and pains.

My July Fourth

There are a number of Marimba bands performing on the streets of Xalapa. The percussionist in this particular band was quite adept at extracting donations from those passing by.

After thoroughly enjoying 4 days in Xalapa I left about 6:30 the morning of July 4. In keeping with my preferences, I opted for the secondary roads heading to the Northeast, rather than returning to Veracruz and the main road North. The road wound through the densely vegetated mountains and was a fairly slow go, especially when stuck behind a truck on a winding upgrade. However, the countryside was beautiful and the drive took me through every city, pueblo, and wide spot in the road along the way.

Not too far out of Xalapa I came upon a fellow sitting beside the road with six large sacks. He gestured that he was looking for a ride so I stopped; backed up; we loaded his sacks, each of which I'm certain weighed more than 100 pounds; and away we went to Martinez del Torre. The bags, I soon learned, were filled with plants he had gathered from the mountains and which he was taking to town to sell to gardeners. I helped him unload his bags in Martinez de la Torro and took him to pick up his tricycle with which he would deliver is plants.

Eventually I arrived on the coast in the town of Naulta and headed North, along what is called The Emerald Coast. The road carried little traffic even though the road is lined with hotels and restaurants. I learned later that August is the peak month for visits to the area. I seems the area would be a nice vacation spot for those who don'’t want to hang out with other gringos when vacationing. There is an airport not far up the road at Poza Rica.

A ways up the coast I drove past a restaurant with a large grill filled with cooking meat out front. The aroma of the grilling meat entered and lingered in my truck, even after about a half mile. So I stopped, turned around, and returned for a lunch of mixed grilled meat, onions, and cheese together with the omnipresent black beans and tortillas. As usual in Mexico more was served than I could eat.

From the Emerald Coast the road moved inland a bit, passed through Poza Rica, and returned to the coast at the city of Tuxpam. I did not stop in either City as I wanted to cover some ground after spending so much time in Xalapa.

The road leaving Tuxpam toward Tampico was atrocious, consisting of a muddy, pot holed terror. Though the mud soon ended the pot holes didn'’t. I have found that the roads in Veracruz state are terrible compared to those in Yucatan, Campeche and Tampico. On the other hand I found Veracruz much cleaner than those other states. I noticed the Veracruz state governments is conducting an anti-litter campaign with billboards and TV ads.

At Tampico I passed through the city as I had decided to continue on to Altamira, just to the North, to look for a hotel. As it turned out Altamira was a huge industrial park with no hotels, so I continued on. As my good fortune would have it I ended up on a beautiful two lane Tamaulipas state road, with very little traffic, that wound its way through a beautiful coastal plain. I had no idea when I might arrive someplace with a hotel for the night, but eventually came to Aldama and the Delores Hotel, a very modern building with rooms for $260 pesos. I found an internet cafe in town, later had a dinner of fried shrimp and all the fixings at the restaurant next door to the hotel, and called it a day.

Bill Bennett Smack Down

Apparently that self-important, imperious gasbag Bill Bennett has been going around avering that reorters and editors who report classified information sshould be jailed. The Washington Post's Dan Priest, on Sunday's Meet the Press, reportedly, pointed out to the gasbag, who has admitted to a gambling problem, that publishing classified information, like casino gambling, is not illegal.

Xalapa Sunday in the Park

Xalapa

I am in Xalapa, the capitol of the state of Veracruz, where I arrived yesterday about noon. Xalapa, called the garden city as it is lush with vegetation, lies in the hills about 60 miles West of the city of Veracruz.

It's elevation of about 3,500 feet ensures a more temperate climate, generally about 15 degrees cooler than Merida or Veracruz, and gets plenty of rain to keep things green.



The picture above is of a lake on the edge of the Centro district which receives storm water runoff for the city and is circled by walking paths, which was well used by joggers, walkers, and young children on bicycles when I visited.

The shot to the right is from the Middle of the extensive park located next to the state government building. The park has been constructed on a number of different elevations connected by a number of stairways and contains number of very large trees and various sculptures. The pink building is a public building which serves a number of functions and in which last evening there was a free concert

The City, with a population of about 600,000, has been built on the hillsides so one gets lots of exercise touring the place.

More Premediatd Atrocity In Iraq

Premeditated rape and burning of the body by USA troops.

USA Interference in Mexican Elections

Greg Palast reports that apparently it is not only slime bucket political consultant Dick Morris who isinterfering in the Mexican preidential election (Morris was hire by PAN candidate Calerderon and began spreading the lie that PRD candidate Lopez Obrador is buddies with Venezuelan president Chavez).

Committee on the Present Danger

Well the same collection of self-important “neo-conservatives”, military industrial complex profiteers, and Likudniks, that have rendered the status of the USA to that of a global pariah, and consistently been proven wrong, while mendaciously presenting their war on Islam as an effort to spread freedom and democracy, are at it again.

The June 23 edition of the Asian Times online contains a rather lengthy, but really informative, report of the formation of the “Committee on the Present Danger III (CPD).” The previous such “Committees” were formed in the 1950s and 1970 to promote higher military spending to counter the hyped Soviet threat. The difference in the current “Present Danger” is that it is not external; but, rather, the sagging public support for their screwball ideas of world military domination to maintain markets for USA good and services. The article is well worth a read.

It’s too damned bad that the USA media doesn’t usually carry such analysis; but, generally speaking, the management of USA media goose steps in time to the CPD tune.

Here is the article’s denouement, which I hope is correct in its conclusion that the CPD III is spinning its wheels:

“The ‘present danger’ of growing domestic dissent alarms CPD members. All the more alarming to the neo-cons and the pro-Israel hardliners in the CPD has been the rising criticism that US policy in the Middle East, including the escalating tensions with Iran, has been driven by the US-based Israel lobby. ”In this political context of mounting criticism, the contemporary CPD faces more adverse conditions in imposing its agenda. The first CPD closed down in 1953 after the country was well on its way to having a bipartisan foreign policy in support of Cold War militarization, and the second CPD defined the policies that would then become the guidelines for the Reagan foreign-policy team. Although apparently enjoying access to deep funding pockets, the prospects of CPD III achieving similar success appear dim. ”Like its two predecessors, the current CPD aims to create widespread public and policy community support for higher military budgets and expanded troop deployment to meet the "present danger". By raising fears that the Soviet Union represented an imminent threat to national security, the previous CPDs succeeded in isolating and impugning the credibility of the political leaders and public intellectuals who favored constructive engagement with the Soviet Union rather than a Cold War of global militarization. In both cases, the CPDs discredited the less politicized, more objective "threat assessments" prepared by the CIA, the State Department and the Pentagon. ”The third CPD also aims to raise the level of fear among Americans by declaring that the United States is immersed in World War IV, but has not yet committed adequate resources to the global battle. But after five years of exaggerated threat assessments from the neo-conservatives and the Bush administration - many of which have already been publicly exposed, such as the weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein-Osama bin Laden ties that proved baseless in Iraq - the CPD faces a major challenge in winning acceptance for its call for the US government to expand its misdirected "war on terrorism" and its missionary crusade to spread "freedom and liberty". ”The new Committee on the Present Danger may be the first CPD that is unable to sell its alarmist version of the ‘present danger’".

What "Liberation" Means for Iraqis

The USA ambassador to Iraq enumerates all of the wonderful things "liberation" has brought to Iraq, and they aint pretty.

Children Should be Eating More Dirt

I have long believed and often remarked that eating dirt is good for children's immune system.

Here is a report of a study that found that the immune systems of rats and mice living in the wild are more robust than those of their lab bound cousins.

Jun 16, 10:56 PM (ET)

By SETH BORENSTEIN

"WASHINGTON (AP) - Gritty rats and mice living in sewers and farms seem to have healthier immune systems than their squeaky clean cousins that frolic in cushy antiseptic labs, two studies indicate. The lesson for humans: Clean living may make us sick.

"The studies give more weight to a 17-year-old theory that the sanitized Western world may be partly to blame for soaring rates of human allergy and asthma cases and some autoimmune diseases, such as Type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The theory, called the hygiene hypothesis, figures that people's immune systems aren't being challenged by disease and dirt early in life, so the body's natural defenses overreact to small irritants such as pollen."

Juxtaposition - Haiti 1915, Iraq 2006

I am reading “The Banana Wars” , “A History of United States Military Intervention in Latin American from the Spanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama” by Ivan Musicant.

The book recounts an incident involving USA troops during the occupation of Haiti in the early 1900s that stands, it seems to me, in stark juxtaposition to the recent revelation of the murders of noncombatants by US troops in Haditha, Iraq.

USA troops occupied Haiti in a humanitarian effort to end rule by a mob of mercenaries whom constantly hired themselves out to seize power for whomever would pay them. Within weeks or months after seizing power for one patron, another aspirant would hire the thugs to seize power for him. Meanwhile the civilian populations was starving and the mercenary gangs ran wild throughout the country looting, murdering and extorting. Finally President Wilson had had enough and sent troops. The military commander made it absolutely clear to the marines and Navy “blue jackets” that the Haitians were not to be mistreated and that US troops were there to establish order, feed the population, help in developing the economy, and end the cycle of continuous “revolution”.

There was an incident where one of the US troops accidentally drowned while swimming in a creek. As US troops assembled at the creek to recover the body a group of Haitians gathered to observe. Amongst the Haitians, armed with a rifle and a machete, was a exceptionally large fellow well know amongst the locals as a ruthless, violent bully who had earlier been embarrassed by one of the US marine officers at the creek directing recovery of the marine body. The bully raised is rifle to shoot the US officer but when his gun did not fire he swung his machete at the nearest US marine, almost completely severing his head. Upon seeing their comrade brutally murdered the marines began moving into the crowd of Haitians to exact revenge.

A marine sergeant on scene immediately ordered his troops to halt and to remain silent. The sergeant sent for reinforcements and ordered his troops to surround the fallen marine and to remain silent. The sergeant had prevailed upon his troops to remain professional soldiers and to avoid harming civilians. Later the fellow who had murdered the marine was apprehended, jailed and tried.

In Haditha, you will recall, a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb and his comrades moved into a nearby house and exacted revenge by murdering 11 men, women, and children.

It seems to me the sergeant in Haiti in the early 1900s is a true American hero and that if US troops were used for such humanitrian missions such as was the case in Haiti the majority of the people of the world wouldn't hate us.

Tony Snow and Dan Bartlett Go To War

This AP photo of White House press secretary Tony Snow, at left, and White House "counselor" Dan Bartlett riding in a helicopter in Baghdad looks to me like a shot from one of those teen slap stick movies. You know, like the "Revenge of the Nerds". Snow looks like he just wet his pants.

Now that Faux News propagandist Snow is press secretary the White House press corps is getting a literal snow job.

Volunteer Papaya

At left is a Papaya that sprouted next to the back yard wall.

I fertilized, mulched, began watering it and now it is blossoming. The blossoms, as near as I am able to determine, are hermaphroditic which are the type that most reliably produce fruit.







At left is a close up of the blossoms. The fruit will hopefully form at each blossom.

I also have four Papayas growing that I planted from seed.

The Papayas that grow here are quite different from those grown in Hawaii, being larger with red/orange skin and orange flesh.

Mexico Wins First World Cup Match

This afternoon, after watching Mexico beat Iran 3 – 1 in its first World Cup match, I walked down the Paseo Montejo to Chedraui to buy some of the organic sheep manure compost I use to fertilize the garden.

In celebration of the Mexican victory, lots of vehicles driving down the Paseo were honking their horns, all in the same honk, honk – honk, honk, honk cadence, and displaying Mexican flags. Many of the pedestrians responded with cheers.

I don’t understand soccer but did find the Mexico/Iran match exciting and got a kick out of the celebrating on the Paseo.

Later: I know soccer is no big thing in the USA and the USA/Czech Republic match tomorrow, at 9:00 AM PDT, will not see people standing in front of TVs in shop windows or having their radios turned up in their work places; but the Czech Republic team is apparently rated 2nd in the world and the USA team 5th. It could be a good match.