From Drudge:
Hugo Chavez Receives Iran's Highest Honor...
Iran to hang six men publicly...
The two stories are, in reality, not related but it sure looks like Iran's highest honor is to hang six men publicly. To honor a lesser light, like, say, Cindy Sheehan, would they just hang 2 or 3? Or maybe an innocent 16 year-old girl or two?
Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Iran, Hugo Chavez, public hangings
The evidence is beginning to mount that the supposed massacre at Qana, where an Israeli attack on a building that subsequently collapsed, killing some 52 Lebanese, including 34 children, was, in fact, a hoax. Viewers can judge for themselves. But the accumulating evidence suggests another explanation for what happened at Kana. The scenario would be a setup in which the time between the initial Israeli bombing near the building and morning reports of its collapse would have been used to "plant" bodies killed in previous fighting -- reports in previous days indicated that nearby Tyre was used as a temporary morgue -- place them in the basement, and then engineer a "controlled demolition" to fake another Israeli attack.
The well-documented use by Palestinians of this kind of faked footage -- from the alleged shooting of Mohammed Dura in Gaza, scenes from Jenin of "dead" victims falling off gurneys and then climbing back on -- have merited the creation of a new film genre called "Palliwood."
You'll have to read it all to begin to see a clearer picture of how this may have been done. Also, you really need to visit this site to review the photographs and how they were manipulated. Warning: These photos are explicit and not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. But you must see them in order to understand what appears to have happened here.
One other thing caught my eye on this photo page:But now, for the benefit of AFP, the photgraph taken by Nicolas Asfouri, we have the same unfortunate child being handled by another worker, the original worker showing in the background, having passed the casualty on. The timing of the photograph is 7.16 pm (now apparently corrected to 6:46 am) and the caption reads:
I thought that the building collapsed about 8:00 AM, 1 hr and 15 minutes after this photo's "corrected" time stamp and 7 hours after the Israeli stike.
We really, really need a forensic expert to examine the photographs and other evidence available on the net to give an opinion. Does anyone know of a forensics expert who has weighed in on this yet?Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah
Reports are somewhat conflicting and confusing, but it appears that the highway blockades and isolation of the capital city by striking teachers and their supporters have not materialized. As of last night, the only blockade that could be confirmed by anyone was to the southwest of Tlaxiaco on highway 125 at Chicahuaxtla, de Putla Villa de Guerrero. This blockade, which is reportedly manned by members of the fringe group Comité de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo (Committee for the Defense of Citizens' Rights) was demanding money from motorists, and when paid, was allowing motorists to proceed. This is a rural highway and not of much import except to the poor locals who really cannot afford to pay extortion money.
For its part, the state government confirmed only this blockade and denied that any other highways were blocked. This morning, the union and its supporters announced that they would begin setting up the blockades that they claimed were already set up on Saturday and Sunday. Most people to whom I have talked think that the strikers now lack enough committed manpower and popular support to carry out their threats.
In downtown Oaxaca, the number of occupied city blocks, which at one point totaled some 56, has shrunk to 20. Many strikers have gone back home and many more have left the downtown area to maintain their blockades of the state government facilities at various locations in and around the city. It may be that this movement is slowly but surely losing steam.
Picking up the slack, AMLO and his PRD supporters have begun setting up their own tent city in and around the Zócalo in Mexico City. The big rally yesterday was a bit of a disappointment for them. PRD spokesmen had been talking all last week about 2.5 to 3 million marchers for yesterday's rally. Only about 500,000 showed up. Having said that, a half a million is no small number. It just turned out to be 20% of what the PRD predicted it would be. I understand that Blvd. Reforma, where the U.S. embassy is located, and the downtown streets adjacent to the national Zócalo are closed to vehicular traffic this morning.
Keep in mind that we are in a vacation period here. It remains to be seen how much support the Oaxacan dissidents and the AMLO/PRD dissidents will be able to command once everybody has to return to work and to school.
Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca teachers strike, AMLO
APPO (Asamblea Popular del Pueblo de Oaxaca) has announced that it has installed or will install 24/7 blockades on several highways throughout the state. This announcement, along with the SNTE (teachers union) announcements of highways that they already have blocked or intend to block, has effectively sealed the state off from the rest of civilization.
The map that you see below can be viewed in a much larger and more detailed size at my Flickr account.
Now, a warning: The locations of the blockades or intended blockades are marked with large black X´s and these marked locations are only approximate. I cannot determine from the various announcements by the SNTE and APPO the exact location of each blockade. In fact, some of the announcements coming from each group seem to conflict. For example, both groups have announced some blockades of the same highways but in different locations. Whether there are, in fact, two blockades being manned simultaneously by two different groups is unknown, but doubtful. I think it is a lack of coordination between the SNTE and the APPO.
The APPO, just to remind you, is an umbrella group composed of all the socialist, communist and anarchst groups that have moved in here to "support" the teachers union. The SNTE has been debating internally for the past two weeks whether or not to continue coordinated efforts with APPO. The teachers seem to realize the economic damage that they have done and the popular backlash forming against them. APPO doesn't care. APPO is in this for the sake of revolution, so the more economic hardship and chaos, the better.
Once again, I caution you. The blockades as marked on the map are only approximate locations which I determined, as best I could, from the conflicting and confusing announcements from both dissident groups.
It would appear from the map that the strategy of the SNTE/APPO coalition is to cut off the city of Oaxaca from its supply lines to the north and east as well as to isolate the tourist beaches along the coast. The SNTE announced earlier in the week the blockades of the highways south to the beaches as well as the one along the coast from Pinotepa Nacional to Acapulco. That would seem to be in keeping with their newly found desire to minimize economic hardships to the city's population. APPO, however, in their announcement yesterday, seems intent on cutting off most of the state and all of the city from the outside world.
Gustavo Adolfo López, spokesman for APPO and himself a member of the FPR (Frente Popular Revolucionario -- the Communists -- photo here) said that the blockades are "permanent and will not be removed until the governor has resigned."
If the highways remain blocked in these locations for any amount of time, the city may begin to run out of food . . . and beer. Now that worries me more than anything. I moved my family north to Puebla last weekend so my belly is the only one I have to worry about feeding.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectables -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike, highway blockades
We wuz so stoopid.
Yup. You shore wur, there, Hoss.
However, Jonathan Adler at Volokh's is not.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Teddy Kennedy, stoopid, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, purty smart
Laurence Simon at TBIFOC makes an interesting observation. He notes that CNN mentions nothing about Mel Gibson's behavior during and after his DUI arrest in Malibu. Nothing whatsoever about his threats to the arresting officer, his anti-Semitic tirade nor even his sexually explicit remark to a female sergeant on duty when he was brought to the jail. Nada. Zip. So I thought I'd see what the other MSM outlets are/were saying about the altercation with Sheriff's deputies, the threats, the anti-Semitic tirade and the sexually explicit comment.
The Los Angeles Times:
First report 7/28, 1:30 PM PDT: Nada, but it was early.
Second report 7/29, time not given: Nada
Third report 7/29, 2:11 PM PDT: Nada
Fourth report 7/29 5:25 PM PDT: nada, except to say that the sheriff declined to comment.
The LAT must be in a FOG (Fear Of Gibson)
MSNBC:
Only one report 7/29 4:10 PM CT: Nada. Mentions apology but gives no details as to why.
ABC News:
Nothing. No report whatsoever.
CBS News:
One report 7/29 no time given: Nada. Reports the apology but no details as to why.
The New York Times:
National Briefing 7/29 no time given: Nada. mentions arrest, that's all.
Reuters:
(via NYT search)
First report 7/29 2:05 AM ET: Nada, just mentions the arrest.
Second report 7/29 10:00 AM ET: Nada, repeats earlier report
Third report 7/29 8:12 PM ET: Nada. Mentions the apology but doesn't say for what.
Associated Press:
AP Newswire One report 7/29 7:04 PM EDT: Nada. Reports the apology but gives no details as to why.
AP Breaking 7/29 7:04 PM EDT: Nada. Just reports the apology but, again, no ideas as to why.
AP Headlines; Nada. Same story as above.
AP National News: Nada. Same apology story as above.
CNN
We already know from Mr. Simon: Nada
FOXNews:
Fox doesn't make it easy to find, but here's what they've got:
First report 7/28 no time given: Nada. Very sketchy derttails but then this was very early.
Second report 7/29 no time given: Nada. Just like everybody else, Fox reports the apology without giving any details as to why the Mad Braveheart Road Warrior Max was aplogizing.
Sheesh.
I just spent 1 hour and 40-50 clicks through web pages and their search engines to get zero.
Last night, I got this whole story, except for the apology which was just issued this afternoon, from TMZ's second report via TMZ's first report via WeSmirch via Memeorandum. Four clicks, less than two (2) minutes, last night.
FOUR CLICKS -- LAST NIGHT -- TWO MINUTES.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Mel Gibson, MSM - when you snooze you lose
This, according to the AP, is Mel Gibson's apology, as released by his publicist, Alan Nierob: After drinking alcohol on Thursday night, I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have, and was stopped by the L.A. County sheriffs. The arresting officer was just doing his job and I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person.
I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said and I apologize to anyone who I have offended.
Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry.
I have battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse. I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health.
Well, that's a start. If, however, Gibson does not come forward personally to apologize, we can assume that the apology was written by his lawyers, agents, publicists and other assorted hangers-on desperate to save their golden goose. Even then, even if he does come forward personally but then does not take some serious, public steps to make amends with the those of the Hebrew persuasion, we can further assume that his apology is less than sincere.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Mel Gibson apology,
Dr. Shackleford, aka Jawa the Hut, aka BBH (Banned By Hindus), aka CIZIRD (Capitalist Imperialist Zionist Running Dog) is going to buy hisself a gun. Go heeled. Strap on a smokewagon. Heft a hogleg.
Well, Doc, if you're really serious, you might consider this one.
Now, if that gives you pause, Doc, and this fails to allay your consternation, then you might try this one first, just to become acclimated to the Street Howitzer Classification of small arms self defense.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: The Jawa Report, Dr. Rusty Shackleford
Andrew Sullivan, in another of his catty posts, calls the anti-Semitic, drunken Mel Gibson, "the darling of the Christianist right".
Really? The anti-Semitic ravings of Hutton Gibson are well known. Mel Gibson's refusal to disavow those ravings or to even acknowledge or discuss those ravings of his father are equally well known. And, as a member of the Christian (not Christianist) right, I know no one, not one single person, who believes in the delusional hallucinations of some 17th century German nun which were, in fact, recorded by someone else and upon which Gibson based his shitty movie. I also do not know nor have ever even met a Roman Catholic Sedevacantist, which is what both Gibson and his father are. Sedevacantism means, literally, "There ain't no Pope". Gibson and his father are members of a sect, and a tiny sect at that. So was Squeaky Fromme.
Did "the Jews" kill The Christ? No way. He was crucified, which was a Roman execution method, not a Jewish one. In fact, "the Jews" considered crucifixion to be barbaric and would never willingly have participated in such a ritual. Had he been executed by the Hebrews, he would have been stoned to death.
Did "the Jews" want him dead? Some possibly did. Caiaphus, the leader of the Sanhedrin, knew that the lives of all the Jews in Palestine were in the hands of a brutal occupier( no one else lived in Palestine; just "the Jews" and Roman soldiers). The Romans had already demonstrated their willingness to kill anyone or any group of people who gave them grief. And Jesus gave them grief. Caiaphus no doubt believed that "the Jews" would be better off rid of the carpenter from Nazereth who had attacked even the Sanhedrin itself.
And who were "the Jews"? Well, we can start with Jesus, The Christ, himself. Jesus was not only a Jew, he was a good Jew. He was in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He had been warned not to go. But Passover in Jerusalem was something that good Jews did and Jesus was a good Jew, so he went anyway. And Jesus' followers, his twelve closest associates as well as the multitudes who gathered to hear him speak? They were all Jews, too. Almost every last one of them.
And the Christians? There were no Christians. The Christians came to be long after the death of The Christ. 99.99% of the people who read this blog already know this. But I was shocked at how many Mexicans do not believe it.
And the Christianists? There are no Christianists. That term is a fabrication born of Andrew Sullivan's intolerance and bigotry.
Greg Tinti at OTB says, Expect to see a lot of gloating at the expense of the “Christian right” along the lines of this and this. Don’t get me wrong, if this report is true (and I have no reason to doubt that it isn’t), then Mel Gibson is a total scumbag. But the implication that Christians that liked The Passion are now somehow guilty by association is just as ludicrous as making the same argument about people whom liked Braveheart and Lethal Weapon.
AllahPundit thinks Gibson will soon be joining Sullivan in his grimy little corner of the universe.
Hey, Michelle. They're true.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Andrew Sullivan, hypocrite, bigot
Robert Westerfield: "I'd wish they'd go away and never come back. I wish she'd stay away. Crawford's a Republican town, and she's a dumb Democrat."
Bill Johnson: "But on the other hand, she needs to be respectful for what our country stands for."
Teresa Bowdoin: "When it's here (traffic congestion, noise from rallies and odor from portable toilets), it affects a different set of people."
Bobby D. Ramsey: "(Fonseca) said he was going to build a home and, one day, a shop (on the land). He told me that Katrina wiped him out. It didn’t even occur to me that he could use it for this."
Cindy Sheehan: "I never understood how George Bush could pick such a place as Crawford to have his home."Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Cindy Sheehan, Crawford, Texas
That was the question Mel Gibson asked the police officer who arrested him for DUI yesterday. TMZ had the initial report on the arrest and then added some shocking, but none too surprising details. It seems that Gibson tried to run away when officers first attempted to put him in the police car. Officers had to handcuff him to get him to settle down.
Mel Gibson: "My life is f***ed."
Then, once inside the police car, Gibson went nuts. Besides shouting that "My life is f***ed," he went on an anti-Semitic rampage. He first threatened Deputy Mee with, "You mother f****r. I'm going to f*** you," and, according to Mee, Gibson said that he "owned Malibu" and "will spend all his money to 'get even' with me." Then came this: The report says Gibson then launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements: "F*****g Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Gibson then asked the deputy, "Are you a Jew?"
Deputy Mees: "Do I look like a joo to you, boy?"
TMZ has the arresting officer's hand-written report here. This is the original report. TMZ is charging that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tried to cover up the initial report as written by the arresting officer, Deputy James Mee, because it was "too inflammatory" and would "cause a lot of Jewish hatred". They ordered Mee to re-write the report. There is also a video that was made by a sergeant when Gibson arrived at the jail. Another sergeant, a female, was present and Gibson, according to Deputy Mee's report, yelled to her, "What do you think you're looking at, sugar tits?"
UPDATE: More here in response to lefty gloating and Christian bashing. Also, there was some fear that this story was a hoax. Go here to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Page. Enter Gibson and Mel, then click Search. Put your cursor on anything in the box, then right click and there are all the goodies. Do you suppose he had any trouble raising the $5000 bail? Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Mel Gibson, anti-Semite
Due to the blockades of most government installations being manned by the teachers union and their supporters, Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz was forced to hold official functions in a hotel on the city's far north side. He met with representatives of local commerce as well as with members of the state legislature. During the meeting with the commerce representatives, many in the group stood and shouted, "We are with you."
The governor has repeated his determination to remain in office. The legislature reiterated its position that the law does not allow it to get involved in the union vs governor strife because the legislature plays no part in teacher salaries and benefit agreements. One PANista reprsentative said, "The brains behind these bloques (the union and the many groups here supporting the union) are the same brains behind the radical movements and the vote-for-vote (AMLO's 100% recount demands).
The teachers responded: "We know that the governor controls the legislature and the courts. For this reason we demand that he goes. If he doesn't, then ungovernability will reign." The union spokesman vowed to take this fight as far as is necessary to get rid of the governor.
According to the spokesman, the Mexican constitution permits the removal of a state governor if, due to his presence, a state has become "ungovernable". "The only thing we want and that the people of Oaxaca want is Ulises' exit. So long as this doesn't happen, we aren't going to take even one step backwards. We come today to demand that he goes because his only interest is in repression."Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca tachers strike, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
In the photo below, you see several people celebrating economic suicide. They are cheering the decision by the Chicago City Council to force Wal-Mart and Target to pay a significantly higher hourly wage to their employees than anybody else has to pay (Sears, Home Depot and Bloomingdale's will also be affected). So, Wal-Mart for sure, and maybe Target, also, will concentrate their stores in the "suburban" areas. You know, where all the rich folks live. The ordinance, if allowed to stand by Mayor Daley and the courts, may drive those retailers out of Chicago also.
That would mean that the poorer inner-city residents will have to pay the current 15 to 30 percent higher prices at Jewel and Dominick's. Wal-Mart's plan is to now ring the city with supercenters. The less affluent inner-city customers will have to spend more in $3.00 per gallon gasoline to travel to and from these supercenters if they wish to avoid these higher prices and will not have first pick of the thousands of new jobs that the stores and distribution centers will offer.
The council vote was 35-14. If Mayor Daley vetoes the ordinance, 34 votes are enough to override his veto. If that should happen, the retailers will then go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance. They've got some ammo on their side since, just last week, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz put the kabosch on a similar state law in Maryland. The federal judge ruled that the Maryland Fair Share Health Care Act, more commonly known as the “Wal-Mart bill,” violated the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which sets minimum health plan standards for private businesses. Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectables -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Wal-Mart
Cindy Sheehan has purchased a property in Crawford, Texas, so as to be able to harrass the president 24/7. Along with her ongoing fast, which she vows to continue until her next meal, the Texas property signals a whole new lifestyle.
Cindy Sheehan - Texas cowgirl. Yay-hooooo!
Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectables -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Cindy Sheehan, Texas cowgirl
After meeting with his district representatives yesterday, SNTE (the teachers union) leader Enrique Rueda Pacheco announced through his spokesman, Daniel Rosas Romero, at a news conference that the teachers and their other supporters would intensify their campaign to force the resignation of the state's governor. The union spokesman announced that permanenet blockades would be set up in front of the governor's interim offices, the federal court building (where the strikers ripped the bronze lettering off the facade), numerous satellite installations of the state court system in outlying towns and villages as well as highway blockades and takeovers of municipal government headquarters in various outlying towns and villages.
The spokesman also announced that the old state government palace, now a museum and located on the Zócalo, would be "reopened". That means that the strikers will bash down the doors and take possession of the building. Adios museum. They'll steal everything of value from it.
Other measures announced by the union spokesman included a petition, accompanied by "6000 union sympathizers", to be taken to the national senate in Mexico City demanding the ouster of the governor. Along with their own matching petition, the "popular assembly", or APPO, announced that it would set up a permanent tent city outside the national senate on the Zócalo in Mexico City. They'll have to be careful not to get trampeled by AMLO's supporters.
The teachers union has now formally announced that it will not take part in any negotiations to end the standoff unless and until Governor Ruiz Ortiz is gone. "This is the basic fundamental," said the spokesman. "This fight will end when Mr. Ulises Ruiz leaves."
I would imagine that negotiations are going hot and heavy between Ruiz Ortiz and the federal government over just how much it is going to cost Mexico City to buy him out. He has so far taken a hard line that he will not resign. Pressure must be building to remove him from office in any way possible. The easiest way to get him out is to buy him out. It would seem that the economy of the state of Oaxaca, such as it is, will be destroyed if he doesn't go. The authorities, both state and federal, must be loathe to try to remove the teachers by force, especially in view of the earlier failure on June 14.
The teachers union spokesman has even announced a formal name for this new round of anarchy, or civil disobedience, if you prefer; "Ofensiva del 26 de julio" (no translation needed there). He also announced that this new offensive has been dedicated to the memory of Fidel Castro's abortive attack on the army barracks at "Moncada en La Habana, Cuba." One teeny problem with that announcement: the attack on Moncada, in which Castro lost about 1/3 of his force and after which he was captured and imprisoned, took place some 500 miles southeast of Havana, in Santiago de Cuba. Obviously none of the teachers union hierarchy teach geography or history.
So, on we go. The once beautiful colonial downtown Oaxaca is a shambles, government buldings are blockaded, highways are blockaded, the tourist industry -- the only industry -- is shut down, the state has lost some $50 million in desperately needed income, and there is no end in sight.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca teachers strike
Enrique Krause is Mexico's premier historian and one of its most prolific essayists. In today's Washington Post, here is some of what he has to say about Andrés Manuel López Obrador: Besides proclaiming his own victory, insulting the president, personally threatening Calderón and his family, calling the officials of the Federal Electoral Institute "criminals," and anticipating the verdict of the judiciary's Federal Electoral Tribunal, López Obrador has employed tactics worthy of an Orwell novel. Arithmetical irregularities that are isolated, that are only presumed and not confirmed by the tribunal, are presented to the public as clear proof that the whole process was tainted. And if, as occurred on July 11, his own polling-place representatives deny a purported irregularity, López Obrador argues that they were "bought" or corrupted.
Krauze details the citizenship displayed by Mexicans throughout the election process and notes that this process, which AMLO now decries as a "fraud", also gave AMLO's party its largest share ever of the Mexican congress, making it the second largest block in the legislature.After a model Election Day (free, orderly, peaceful) during which 41,791,322 Mexicans voted, their votes tabulated in 130,477 polling places by 909,575 citizens, the PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party) candidate for president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, lost by a margin of 0.57 percentage point to Felipe Calderón, candidate of the National Action Party (PAN).
Krause paints AMLO for what he sees himself to be: "The people," or "the nation," will be those sectors of the population that López Obrador is able to get out into the country's streets and plazas in coming days and weeks -- those who see him as he sees himself, as the Mexican messiah. And who will interpret the wishes of this "people," a repository of natural and divine law rather than of the petty laws written by men? The charismatic leader who incarnates Truth, Reason, History and Virtue, the leader who will save Mexico from oppression, inequality, injustice and poverty, who will "purify national life": Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Krause says that AMLO is prepared to "set the country aflame" and I think Krause is correct. My question is whether or not the law and those who represent the law, from President Fox to the electoral magistrates who must make the ultimate decision as to the election victor, have the will to defend the law and the republic against this onslaught.
I have my doubts.
UPDATE: I forgot to thank Dave for the tip.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: AMLO, Enrique Krause, Mexico election, Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Ayman al-Zawahri, Al-Qaida's no. 2 man, issued a tape, or rather, Al Jazeera television released part of a tape, calling for HOLY WAR against, well, just about everybody. In the portions of the tape which were released he calls other Arab and Muslim governments "complicit" in Israel's attack on Hezbollah (Hizbollah, Hezbullah, Hizbullah, whatever) and said, "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us."
He called upon all Muslims to unite against "tyrannical Western civilization and its leader, America" and that the war would not be ended by "cease-fires or agreements." Well, OK then, since agreements are worthless, I guess we'll just have to kill them all. Al-Zawahri apparently sees this as the only possibility also as he continues: ". . . make yourselves martyrs." It is a jihad (holy war) for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq.
Holy Shit!!!
Well now, let's think about this for a moment. We could give them Spain. It's halfway to dhimmitude already. How does Sheik Jose Luis al-Rodriguez al-Zapatero sound? It probably sounds swell to him so long as nobody shoots at him anymore.
El Cid is rolling over in his grave.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks!TAGS: jihad, holy war, Ayman al-Zawahri, Spain
It's not actually as exciting as it sounds. The striking teachers in Oaxaca, aware that they are beginning to grate on the nerves of the populace after causing some $40 million in economic losses (and still counting) and also aware of the bad press they are beginning to get due to the violence and vandalism throughout the city, have backed off just a bit. They have moved some of their barricades out of the streets allowing traffic to get a block or so closer to the city center. The other barricades all around the Zócalo have been opened enough to allow free passage by pedestrians. The teachers were not stopping and harrassing tourists today. There also were no gangs of armed men manning the barricades.
So, Mark in Mexico did a little exploring, camera secreted in vest pocket. I walked all along the southern barricades as well as those to the west and north. I then cruised right through the Zócalo. What a mess.
There are thousands of people packed into the city's square. The teachers have allowed the street vendors to set up, er, on the streets. You can walk around the perimeter of the Zócolo but you cannot pass through it.
Every exposed wall all around the square, with the exception of the cathedral walls, has been painted with various slogans, and caricatures. The best one I saw was, "URO - Guelageisha" with the state's governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, caricatured in a Geisha getup. The teachers and the other "support groups" use oil-based paint to make the eventual erradication of their slogans and drawings extremely difficult, time consuming and expensive. Almost all of the walls, portals, gateways and arches are in natural stone and will have to be cleaned chemically and physically using wire brushes. I have never seen, in all my time in Mexico, a sandblasting operation which is what this place really needs to have.
When the eventual cleanup takes place, the colonial architecture will all be two-toned. The bottom half of all the buildings will look like new stone while the upper sections will still have the 300-500 year-old look.
Broken windows, broken doors, smashed and twisted street lamps, parking meters gone, trash and garbage everywhere, banners hanging everywhere and every square foot of space taken up with tents, tarps, sleeping bags, awnings and people. The Zócalo, which was completely refurbished just before Christmas at a reported cost of $8 million USD, is pretty well trashed. All of the flowers and shrubs are gone. I could not get into the Zócalo itself to see if the new fountains had been damaged or not.
I walked all along the front and side of the Marquis del Valle hotel. I could not see any obvious damage from the city bus that was smashed into it. However, the hotel is built of massive pieces of stone so I imagine that the bus took the brunt of it. The restaurant all along the north side of the Zócalo has been stripped. All of the furniture is gone and the decorative wooden railings and gates that were once there are gone as well. You cannot tell it was ever the most popular restaurant on the square. I took no photos because here is where most of the anarchists, socialists, communists and revolutionary groups have set up shop. There is every "Movimiento de . . . ", "Bloque de . . . ", "Grupo de . . . ", "Comité de . . . ", and "Asamblea de . . . " that you can think of. I thought I was in Berkeley for a moment.
Here is a view from a southern barricade looking towards the Zócalo. The street was being rebuilt by the city but that work was halted on May 22 when the teachers arrived.
Here is a view of a northern barricade. I'm on 5 de Mayo which was closed off and just rebuilt as a pedestrian-only promenade but is now packed with cars. It would have looked really nice and given the city two parallel promenades leading to the Zócalo from the north. I was standing a half a block south of the Camino Real Hotel when I snapped this one. You can see the sheet metal barricade in front of the white Nissan pickup.
The USSR was well represented. FPR stands for "Frente Popular Revolucionario", or Popular Revolutionary Front. They just got in from Berkeley, I suppose. If you look right above the banner you can see the parasol canopy over the bandstand which is in the center of the Zócalo itself. As you can see, it is just not possible to pass because the square is an impenetrable jungle of strikers and their supporters. I got this photo by weaving my way through a restaurant, staring down a surly waiter, and snapping the picture and hightailing it before the guy in the dark glasses challenged me. It is impossible to determine who is a striker and who is a tourist. I saw only 8 people that I could positively say were foreign tourists trying to make the best of a bad situation and an unwise investment. All of the other thousands of people I saw today were Mexican tourists, striking teachers or their supporters. Not good news for the poor street vendors.
This is the Llano park which is about 10 blocks from the city center. This refurbishmnet project is at least 3 months behind schedule. Because of the destruction of this park, the big tianguis (open air market) which sets up all around it has been moved to Macedonio Alcalá just north of Santo Domingo, trashing that pedestrian promenade as well. This park is identified on most tourist maps as "Parque Benito Juárez".
Here is the burned out bus parked inside Benito Juárez University. All of the news reports said that the bus was 200 meters (200+ yards) inside the university when it was burned. It is really only about 75 yards from the street. The bus had been commandeered by students and driven inside the university the day before it was burned. The police here did not have enough power to either retrieve the bus or stop it from being burned. It was a city-owned bus, paid for by the people of Oaxaca and will have to be replaced by them.
On the city's south side, in front of Plaza Oaxaca, I found this freshly painted plea. I had seen a banner hung in front of the baseball stadium a few days ago with the identical message and thought it was interesting. This sign had just been painted - the paint was still wet when I spotted it. It says, "We kneel and pray and ask for God's intercedence for peace in Oaxaca and Mexico." At the far right of the sign is this: "What are you going to do about what you see? The anger, the fear, the poverty, the violence . . ."
Good question.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike
Note: Some type of problem with Blogger.com is making it very difficult to post today. I don't know what's going on but posting may be delayed or even non-existent. I'll do my best.
At 5:00 this morning students inside the Benito Juárez University grounds burned a city bus parked there. Teachers/students/APPO thugs stationed outside the university gates would not allow firefighters to enter to put out the blaze. Students have taken to the airwaves on Radio Universidad to call for "more radical action" against the state. A voice which identified itself as a student said, "We're not going to gain anything with marches and blockades. We must take over the government offices, Channel 9 (the state-owned TV channel) and any radio stations that are against us. If the teachers don't want to do this then we'll have to do it ourselves."
The respected newpaper Reforma from Mexico City seems to be aware that the teachers' union is not wholly responsible for some of the violence now occurring in the city. Reforma names "student groups, APPO, human rights groups and revolutionaries" as the proponents of and major actors in the violence taking place all over the city. That would be my take on it, also. The teachers' union started something that it no longer can control.
Yesterday, there was some guy identified as a "campesino" who apparently had some beef with the state's Human Rights Commission. According to what I have heard and read, he had been parked outside their offices for the past 3 days trying to gain an audience with the director of the commission. Failng that, at some point yesterday he threatened to set fire to his car. Municipal police were called and they hauled him away. 200-300 students then marched on the Municipal Police headquarters downtown, broke down the doors, took the Municipal Police commander and one other officer hostage and released 4 prisoners being held in the jail. But the campesino they were trying to free was not there. I would imagine that he had been chewed out by the cops and set free before the student mob arrived. They released their two hostages about an hour later in front of the Juárez University law school, which is also downtown.
Students who are associating themselves with the APPO announced a "polical act" which they will make in front of the Gueleguetza Amphitheater, already heavily damaged, sometime today. They'll then march to the Zócalo to demand the resignation of the state's governor. This should be interesting.
APPO, which is trying to organise and conduct a "Guelaguetza Popular" and got rained out Saturday, now says that they are reconsidering the planned location of their probably doomed festival. I saw a sign painted on a wall downtown that will give you an idea of how these people think. "Tourists get out. No international commerce in Oaxaca".
They seem to think that these poor people can support themselves and one another without any income from the only industry that Oaxaca can offer; tourism. There is nothing else here. No factories, no plants, no industry, nada. They seemingly have no idea from where the money is to come to pay for, for example, their radio station. Who do they think pays for all of this? I saw a figure the other day that Oaxaca contributes 1.5% of the federal budget. There are 31 states and the Federal District in Mexico. Oaxaca has the ninth largest population but is next to last in percent of federal contributions. Hello, is anybody home? What this state desperately needs more than anything else is INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE, and lots of it. What the students and revolutionaries are demanding is charity. Not muy macho, that.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, violence, Oaxaca teachers' strike
Floyd Landis won the Tour de France today, becoming the 8th straight American to steal France's greatest athletic trophy. The past 7 were robbed by Lance Armstrong, and just when the French could bid adieu to the second most hated Texan in Europe, another colonial rears his ugly head.
The French and the rest of Europe have been following the wrong strategy in their attempts to stop the 8 year-long domination of their most cherished athletic event by the despised Americans. They have resorted to such things as accusations of drug use against Armstrong - those didn't stick, sprang midnight raids on his hotel room - they found nothing but Armstrong sleeping, and all the while sending forth the best and most highly trained athletes that they could muster to try to beat the hated Yanquis. Finally, becoming desperate, they resorted to the same drug use of which Armstrong was accused, only the Europeans really did it. It was not a figment of someone's imagination. Four or five of the top riders in the world got kicked out of cycling just before this year's tour began.
Lance Armstrong is a brain cancer survivor once given only a 5-10 percent chance to survive. Floyd Landis cannot walk without severe pain and must undergo hip replacement surgery before riding in another race. Neither has ever failed a drug test and they have been subjected to hundreds, if not thousands. Armstrong won 7 straight tours and, upon his retirement after last year's victory, Landis limped in on his bum hip to keep the 2006 yellow jersey on American soil, or soiled by Americans, depending on your point of view.
The French and the other Europeans must find some people sick enough to compete with the Americans. The too-healthy cream of European athletic stock can't get the job done, at least not legally. They are going to have to resort to scouring hospital wards and out-patient clinics. They'll have to visit the sewers of Paris searching for diseased, homeless waifs - 18-22 years of age. They'll send emissaries to the hashish dens of Amsterdam, ablutophobia isolation wards in Berlin and cacophobia hospices in Rome.
No rock must be left unturned to see what might crawl from beneath it in this French led all-European effort to recover a . . . yellow t-shirt.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: 2006 Tour de France, Floyd Landis
The Associated Press: The protests erupted in late June after police attacked a demonstration of striking teachers looking for a wage increase. Since then, thousands of demonstrators have camped out in the center of Oaxaca, spraying buildings with revolutionary slogans, smashing hotel windows and building makeshift barricades.
This is completely untrue. Where do they get their reporters? How much do they pay these people? The police did not attack a demonstration. The police struck at 4:30 in the morning. When was the last time you ever heard of a demonstration at 4:30 in the morning. The police attacked the tent city in the city's center which had been there for 3 weeks, not "since then" (the police attack). The police action did not trigger the campout nor the barricading of the streets. The police action was an effort (a miserable failure, I might add) to remove the barricades and get the tent city and its inhabitants, the striking teachers, out of the city's center. And this: Gunmen attack Oaxaca student radio station
One could, I suppose, argue that the radio station which may or may not have been attacked, is a "student radio station". The AP fails to mention that the striking teachers took control of the radio station some weeks ago when their own station was taken off the air by the authorities. The station is no longer the university's or the students'. It belongs to the teachers.
The AP says, "authorities said" and "the state government said" in reporting the alleged attack. The state Secretary of the Interior, as reported in the previous post, has accused the teachers' supporters of staging the attack. I quote his statement (translated to English) and give his name. The AP quotes no one and gives no names as their "authorities". Who is the AP's source for this information.
The AP report credits Iaon Grillo in Mexico City as having contributed to the report which was written by one Rebecca Romero who must be in New York or London or someplace. I have seen some of Grillo's work before and have no particular bone to pick with him. Maybe the AP should start allowing Grillo to edit its stories from Mexico rather than just contributing to same. Better yet, before reporting a story from Oaxaca, Mexico, it might be a good idea to actually send someone to Oaxaca, Mexico.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike, Associated Press
In response to the alleged attack last night on the teachers' radio station, Radio Universidad, which used to belong to the university before the teachers' union took it, a gang of striking teachers commandeered three city buses in front of Benito Juárez University this morning. They pulled the buses across the north bound lanes of Boulevard Universidad, then proceeded to slash the tires and bash out the windows. Then they caught a luxury tour bus driver unawares and proceeded to do the same to the ADO-GL bus. That will be expensive.
The alleged armed attack has been reported by the teachers' union as;
50 paramilitary commandos in 2 SUV's, or
50 paramilitary commandos in 2 pickup trucks with Mexico City license plates, or
50 paramilitary commandos in a city police car and a Hummer with Oaxaca plates 525-BV.
The commandos either did or did not fire thousands of bullets at the radio station and either did or did not throw molotov cocktails at the building, depending on which version you hear.
The state government's Secretary of the Interior, Heliodoro Díaz, says that APPO probably did it in order to keep the teachers riled up. APPO is the "citizens group" formed shortly after the teachers went on strike. APPO's purpose, according to its mysterious and shadowy leadership, is to support the teachers' union against the state government's aggression. Díaz says that APPO staged the attack because, if the attack had happened the way the teachers claimed, the results would have been fatal. He's got a point. I cannot imagine an attack on a building filled with women and children by 50 heavily armed paramilitary commandos with nothing to show for it but some broken glass.
The attack occurred at about 9:30 last night when there is a lot of traffic on Boulevard Universidad. The commandos, a gang that couldn't shoot straight of didn't want to shoot straight, arrived in 2 or 3 vehicles which had to sit in front of the university's gates for at least a few seconds while the chains and locks were cut. Then the 2 or 3 vehicles, pickups or SUV's or a car and a Hummer, drove into the university for some 200 meters to where the radio station is located. They either fired thousands of rounds or not, they either threw Molotov cocktails or not, then they returned to their vehicles and drove away. All this either did or did not occur in full view of the university's private security guards who were manning the guardhouses just inside the gates. Unless they were not. Who knows?
In any event, some buses that were no doubt innocent in all of this paid a heavy price today.
An armored bus, more or less teacher proofPlease visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike, bus violence
Tiger Woods vs Sergio Garcia at the British Open. This matchup had been billed as a "duel in the works". It didn't last long. Garcia started out the day just one shot back but quickly lost six shots to Woods and the duel turned into a dud.
Woods is a heart breaker. Chris DiMarco was also just one shot back when the day started. Woods built his lead over DiMarco to three shots and it looked like it might be over. But, after Woods bogeyed the 12th while DiMarco birdied the 13th, the lead was back to one and Woods looked vulnerable. Then Tiger Woods answered:
birdy - birdy - birdy - bye bye
Only DiMarco's birdy on 16 has kept this from being a rout.
UPDATE: DiMarco has also birdied the 18th to crawl back to within two shots of Woods. There was no quit in DiMarco today. Woods is playing the 18th now but it's pretty well all over.
It's over and Tiger Woods is $1,320,000 richer than when the the day dawned.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectables -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Tiger Woods, British Open
I just got a call from a very highly placed state government official who tells me that the teachers are claiming that they suffered casualties in the alleged attack on their radio station tonight. The teachers claim that there are several people dead and more wounded. These claims are being broadcast over Radio Universidad, 1400 AM.
What makes these broadcasts weird is that the teachers initially claimed that there were no casualties but the station had suffered damage which knocked it off the air. But they are still broadcasting. They also originally claimed they were attacked by "50 armed paramilitary commandos". They now say that those commandos arrived in two SUV's. I have difficulty picturing any SUV that could hold 25 or more heavily armed men - or boys for that matter.
Regardless of the dubious nature of the teachers' allegations, they are announcing that they have declared war on the state of Oaxaca. My source says that what the teachers are really angry about is that they have discovered that Felipe Calderón, the apparent winner of the July 2 presidential election, is vacationing with his family in Huatulco. My source further states that the teachers charge that the state governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, has gone to Huatulco to meet with Calderón. If you are unfamiliar with this area, Huatulco is Oaxaca state's premier Pacific coast resort city.
So, while the teachers are getting soaked to the skin in torrential downpours as well as getting shot at here in Oaxaca City, the hated Governor Ruiz Ortiz is soaking up the sunshine at the beach with the country's probable new president. They charge that Ruiz Ortiz left the city in order to have an alibi when the armed attack against the radio station occurred. That is, if any armed attack occurred at all. The site of the alleged attack, Benito Juarez University, is just 10 minutes away. You'll have to excuse me if I don't make it over there tonight. My source suggests, in fact, he highly recommends that I stay off the streets.
If, in fact, Calderón is in Huatulco, that seems to me to have been an unwise choice in vacation spots. With all of the trouble throughout the state, I would have thought that Oaxaca would be very low on his list of getaways. In fact, he would have been better off in Beruit. This could get even nastier than it has already been.
The teachers are vowing to seal off the city, blocking the highways and closing the airport. I wish that this had not happened so late. I would send my family north but I don't dare do that this late and may not be able to tomorrow. I am blogging from my office because the heavy rains knocked out my internet connection at home. In order to return, I have to drive either right past the university or try to pass through the teachers' blockade of the city's center. I could try to go around the north and west sides of the city which means that I would have to pass through their blockade on the highway in front of the partially destroyed Guelaguetza Amphitheater. Looks like I'm sleeping in the office tonight.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike
The striking teachers claim that their radio station, Radio Universidad, was attacked by "50 paramilitary commandos armed with rifles". Radio Universidad is ostensibly the property of Benito Juárez University but in reality is in the hands of the teachers' union.
The union claimed that women and children were present in the radio station when the attack occurred. There were no wounded and no deaths reported. In fact, union officials, when questioned in detail by reporters, had no details to give, including being able to identify any target at which the commandos were firing.
In other words, 50 heavily armed paramilitary commandos attacked a building guarded by women and children and there are no casualties and no bullet holes.
Right.
In other hilarity from the area, the teachers' union's Guelaguetza Popular", or their own version of the canceled festival, was attended by an enthusiastic throng of, uh, 3000 fans. El Universal is reporting that only 50 teachers attended the festival. I find that number to be a little too low to be believed. Regardless, they all left when it started to rain. One of the two big local dailies, Noticias de Oaxaca, so rabidly anti-government that it no longer bothers to differentiate between fact and fiction, reported on its front page today that "60,000 teachers have returned to the tent city in the Zócalo." That would mean that only 5% (or less) of them attended their own Guelaguetza Popular, and then only until the rain started.
The return of the 60,000 teachers, or their ghosts, since I haven't seen more than a thousand or so, was reportedly due to the completion of the school year. The teachers' strike caused the loss of 43 school days and when some of them went back to work they managed to complete the school year in only 15 days.
Right.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers' strike, Guelaguetza+Festival
Stand
In the end you'll still be you
One that's done all the things you set out to do
Stand
There's a cross for you to bear
Things to go through if you're going anywhere
Stand
For the things you know are right
It's the truth that the truth makes them so uptight
Stand
All the things you want are real
You have you to complete and there is no deal
Stand
You've been sitting much too long
There's a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There's a midget standing tall
And the giant beside him about to fall
Stand
They will try to make you crawl
And they know what you're saying makes sense and all
Stand
Don't you know that you are free
Well at least in your mind if you want to be
Everybody
Stand, stand, stand
Gawd damn, boys. We're standing with you. At least, George and Condi are.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Israel, Never Again, Sly and the Family Stone
A typical question that I have been receiving in comments and by email: Mark, Is anything in the Zocalo open? Any of the resturants or stores? Is it safe at all to visit the Zocalo?
Virtually nothing is open on the Zócalo worth visiting. The big hotel and restaraunt all along the north side, the Marquís del Valle, have been gutted of anything of value and the teachers smashed a city bus into the hotel's front.
You can get to the zócalo but there is nothing to see once you get there. The teachers have tents and tarps spread out from the cathedral's esplanade all the way to the two big markets south of the zócalo. Their tarpaulins effectively block your view of anything past 10 feet. You cannot even admire the new paving stones as they are covered by tents, sleeping bags, cots and trash.
You must pass through the teachers' blockades, both going and coming, one block away from the zócalo on all sides. You will have to open any packages or backpacks that you are carrying for inspection. You may have to show them ID. They are doing this just to harass and intimidate. Ordinary looking Mexicans pass with no trouble but white folks, Gringos and anyone who looks like a "rich" Mexican will be stopped and made to perform a little dog and pony show so that the teachers can demonstrate their control of the streets and their power over, well, whomever.
Macedonio Alcalá is pretty much a disaster area also. Because of the closure of Llano park (on the tourist maps it's identified as Parque Benito Juárez or Parque Llano Benito Juárez), the big tianguis (open air market) which is usually installed there has been stuck into Alcalá north of Santo Domingo. When this market operates in the Llano it is usually quite clean and neat and is worth a visit. Not now. For whatever reasons, the city has not been able to service the market and it is really nasty. Trash, garbage and bad smells. It's a real shame but the booth proprietors could keep it cleaner if they wanted to.
One thing about this culture that is maddening is that they will scrupulously clean the 1m x 3m area directly in front of their particular booth or display but studiously ignore a maloderous pile sitting directly beside their booth because that's someone else's responsibility. As a consequence, it should be avoided. It's dirty. I have never seen Macedonio Alcalá looking and smelling this badly.
About 2/3rds of the block directly in front of Santo Domingo is clear. The next block in front of the U.S. Consulate Agency is clear except for the anti-American signs plastered on the walls. I think that's where Mayordomo is. I've only walked down that promenade about 10,000 times and visited Mayordomo a dozen times or more, but I'm not sure it's on that block. Familiarity breeds contempt, I guess.
The next two blocks to the south -- towards the zócalo -- have cars and trucks parked bumper-to-bumper on both sides of the promenade where no vehicles are supposed to be. It ruins the rustic, colonial setting. At this point you are one block away from the zócalo and up against the teachers' blockades. They have strung sheets of galvanized metal across the streets for barricades and there are 6-12 men armed with clubs, bricks and paving stones waiting to harrass you if you go that far and try to pass.
Let's back up a bit. On another promenade directly on the south side of Santo Domingo the state has set up the big tents for all the indigenous artisans to sell their crafts. This is a nice market to visit but it will bring a tear to think of what should have been. These poor people have carried their wares for hundreds of miles in some cases to sell them during the Guelaguetza. There are few customers this year. However, if you come here, that is where you must go. Just pass by Santo Domingo and look left or to the east; you can't miss it. If you buy anything here, please buy it from these people. Also, on the next block there is yet another promenade running east-west where the artists gather to sell their artwork. They are there as usual. Buy something from them if you can.
Is it safe to visit? I'll answer that with this analogy. Is it safe to visit downtown Detroit? I've been down there, at night and on foot, a dozen times or more. Usually I drive in to Greektown and park directly across the street from the People Mover station -- Bricktown, I think. I take the People Mover to Joe Louis Arena and watch the Wings beat the crap out of some hapless group of skaters that just thought they had a hockey team when they arrived at the Joe. Then I take the train back to Greektown for dinner -- Oompah! (my best Greek) -- retrieve my car and drive home. Have I ever had a problem? No. Is it safe? No.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectables -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Zócalo, Oaxaca teachers' strike
I am finally beginning to see some anti-striking teachers sentiments expressed in grafitti spray-painted on walls. While it is of little solace to property owners and businesses that must constantly repaint their exterior walls to cover the protest paintings, at least we are beginning to see other opinions expressed. Today I saw, in 3 foot high letters, "Maestros Drogadictos"
That translates to "Drug addict teachers". I've heard that before. There was a pro-government march about a month ago, a week or so before the national election. Some marchers were chanting, "Maestros drogadictos" and carrying signs stating same. I'm not sure what that "drug addicts" business is all about but I'll try to find out. And then there was this: "SNTE (the teachers' union) asesinos. Matan la Geulaguetza"
That translates to "Union murderers. They killed the Guelaguetza Festival"
I don't have any photos but I'll try to get some up tomorrow, including the good ol' anti-American and "Bush - terrorist" stuff.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Oaxaca teachers strike
I just came back from what little downtown Oaxaca can be safely visited. With the big Llano park still closed for refurbishment, the flea market that usually occupies that space was placed at the north end of Macedonio Alcalá. That is the main promenade that goes past Santo Domingo all the way to the Zócalo. 100 meters of street is now filled with their booths and fairly well coated in smelly garbage.
The striking teachers and their minions have barricades up about one block out from the Zócalo and on all sides. They are forcing tourists to stop and have their bags searched. They are also demanding that tourists show identification. Their right to do this is enforced with a show of clubs, bricks and paving stones.
One half block south of Santo Domingo and across the promenade is a commercial building called Plaza Domingo. It is full of restaurants, shops, boutiques, a travel agency or two and . . . the U.S. Consular Agency. The outside wall beneath the second floor window of the Consular Agency is now decorated with at least four big 4 sq ft hand lettered signs. Two of them had been damaged by rain and I didn't take the time to try to decipher them. The other two had been lettered in idelible ink or placed on the wall after the rain had stopped. One sign said, as nearly as I can recall, "Do you realise that every time you buy something from the Americans you help to pay for bullets, bombs and rockets that are being used against our Arab brothers? Boycott America."
The other sign said -- and you knew this was coming -- "Bush is the terrorist who is killing our brothers in Lebanon."
Seated on the sidewalk directly in front of the anti-American signage were several campesino women selling hand made whatevers. When I stopped to read the signs, they jumped to their feet to try to entice me to buy whatever it was they were selling -- right in front of a sign demanding that they boycott American goods.
It is probable that they cannot read English and do not know what the signs say. Nevertheless, it seemed to me to be just about a guarantee that they'll never sell anything to an American in front of a sign that calls for boycotting America. At least, not to this American.Please visit the Pale Horse Galleries online store
for art, gifts and collectibles -- all hand made
by Mexican indigenous artists.
Thanks! TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Guelaguetza Festival, anti-Americanism
