Is your MOM addicted to drugs?… drug violence in their country?
Did Joe make his daughter apologize to the police officer that she spit on?
Is it safe to assume no one got hurt when she did those coke snorting parties with her 3 somes?
http://www.celebstoner.com/200903291812/news/celebstoner-news/ashley-bidens-pot-bust.html
Hillary said our drug use causes the deaths and violence in Mexico
Obama himself talked about doing drugs in his autobiography to ease the pain of being half white (look it up libs). Should Obama and Biden personally apologize to the Mexican President since they are partially responsible for the demand of illegal drugs? Biden’s daughter was filmed doing several lines of cocaine; how come no apology from Mr. gaffe-a-minute?
*between 33 and 2007 years old
Yes and the cheese was intelligent designed from some moldy old socks which was all that was available. The wine of course was intelligent designed from water.
Drug wars? Insecurity issues? As I sit on the patio of our ranch in the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico, waving to one of the villagers as he rides slowly by on his donkey, enjoying the view of our sheep grazing peacefully on our pastures, I ponder what I have just read on internet. I certainly couldn’t deny that these things exist in Mexico, but what surprises me is that it has suddenly become such big news.
I have lived and worked at Moonbeam Rancho, 2 hours from one of the major drug capitals of the world, Guadalajara for almost 20 years now,. I have also lived in the city of Guadalajara for 3 years and the two locations are worlds apart. Nonetheless, they are both places I chose to raise my children and where I felt secure living. I didn’t have keys to the house at the ranch since I never locked my doors, until I began renting it as a rural tourism adventure stay. The house was robbed about 10 years ago, but it was an inside job by a disgruntled worker, done while I was away and only the obvious was taken, the TV, etc. while leaving my mysterious computer and FM radio alone. I called the local police, they hauled him in for an overnight stay at the jail, he paid to get out and thus learned his lesson. No one has ever harmed me or my two daughters; quite the opposite, the sense of community is very strong around us, and I feel I can rely on people to help me the many times I have needed it and I have gladly reciprocated. Running a 300 acre livestock ranch on a shoestring often left me running out of gas or my nearly bald tires having repeated flats. I have never waited long for someone to stop and help me out and to my shame, have never changed my own tire!
The city of Guadalajara has over 6 million people, yet taxis are plentiful (the taxi drivers to watch out for are in Mexico City NOT Guadalajara) and the worst they might do is try to double your fare if you are a “gringo”, but the abundance of this cheap transportation makes travelling around the city easy and economical. It is a place fueled by drug money, but “don’t hang out your dirty laundry” is the modus operandi here and here is where the rich send their kids to the best schools, have their golf courses and every other convenience easily and safely available, including world class restaurants. Mind your own business, as I did while my daughter was attending private school, shoulder to shoulder with kids of these “drug lords’ and take everyone’s story at face value. After all, when I first came to Moonbeam Rancho and began investing our once ample, and later meager, savings, local people certainly speculated on where my money was coming from…as it turns out it came from my husband’s salary as a public defender in Wisconsin and my own inheritance.
I was quite integrated into our local community about ten years ago which meant gossiping on a street corner with everyone else, when I heard in passing about the 3 “muertos”, dead persons. I said, “what!” how could someone have died and I didn’t know before this?!” Usually a death in our community involves holding all night vigil for the dead, a lengthy funeral and burial service which all attend. It turned out that it was people from “outside” , not part of the community that had been quietly executed in the house in which they were hiding out. Enough said, no more comments. Did I feel threatened or endangered by this? Not being in the habit of hiding out these types of people in my home, or not having the bad luck to be in that home at the wrong time, I have to say it passed me by. These incidents have been happening in Mexico for years, as I imagine they do in many places in the world.
Drug wars? Maybe at the border, but not where these people have their families. 13,000 dead in three years in a country of 110 million people and 1,972,550 square kilometers, what are your chances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time: more than I can calculate, but you get my drift. Corrupt cops? For sure, and in what country are there not, especially in undeveloped countries where wages are too low to compete with bribes. These economic facts often translate to low cost, great value vacations where the tourist dollar is far too important to have the police hassle the tourists.
Kidnappings? Don’t be too shocked, but I know a number of people who have been kidnapped. They have always been either people involved in some way with drugs (in one case, just being the fiance of a drug lord’s daughter who inadvertently heard too much) or surprisingly not such rich folks, but the small town moneychangers (changing dollars is a big business in Mexico with all the US money orders and Social Security checks that are sent down) or gas station owners that have a lot of cash on hand for quick transactions. No foreigners are involved, we use our ATM cards too much and that’s just too much work to plan out when you have your local factory owner easily available and know his habits and when he makes payroll. I don’t mean to make light of a disturbing and serious crime, but the idea that it would be danger to travel in Mexico because of the possibility of being kidnapped is quite remote.
Our ranch is the most peaceful and wonderful place I have ever been in my travels of over 55 countries of the world. Think about Mexico, the wonderful climate, amazing food, warm and friendly people, rich culture, and weigh this against some remote threat fueled by the latest press reports. Mi casa es tu casa (my home is yours) as we say here, I can’t guarantee your security, but I can guarantee a wonderful vacation.
Moonbeam Rancho offers a unique ranch house rental with horseback riding and lots of peaceful cultural interaction with the local villages. More information can be seen at http://moonbeamrancho.com
Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.
My longtime passion for riding a motorcycle took a twenty year hiatus until taking up residency in Oaxaca. I ignored the foreshadowing and warnings. While my story pales compared to the epic journey of Ché Guevara popularized in the film Motorcycle Diaries, there is a tale to be told, with observations and advice for those with such suicidal ideations.
For Oaxacans, it’s part economic necessity and part climactic permissiveness, with street logjams and a parking crisis factored in, as well as, dare I opine, a somewhat different attitude towards life and living amongst those at and below a certain socio-economic level…fatalistic. What’s striking is the paucity of helmeted riders, and prevalence of entire families (the record number of family members seen on one bike is currently five) who take to negotiating the jammed streets on a single motorbike often mechanically unfit, each member including young children bare-headed and unsafely dressed (no gloves, leathers, jeans, etc.). Enforcing the helmet law and mandatory education might help. Educators must remember to teach that the helmet is to be worn on the head, not simply slung over an arm. Additionally, owners of deliver services such as and by example, Chuchos Tortas y Mas, should watch their couriers leaving the premises to ensure helmets are worn and not carried.
For my part, I’ve been accused of having yet another mid-life crisis at 55, having recently purchased a 150 cc. Honda “Bros”, off road moto for use on the streets, complementing our car and pick-up. Perhaps each above-noted reason applies to me, despite leading a middle class existence.
I sold my Suzuki 550 in the mid 1980s when my wife became pregnant. But now, in quasi-retirement, family grown, life insurance policies kept current, I was only minimally fazed when Canadian Consul Frances May warned that she’s lost three friends to motorcycle accidents. And compadre Pancho was in three accidents within about 2 years. He once took me on a trip with some of his motorcycle buddies through the mountains to the town of Sola de Vega. It was the first time in 15 years that I’d been on a bike. I forgot a cardinal rule: never brake while negotiating a turn on gravel. I recall regaining consciousness, covered in blood, with severe knee pain, in the back room of some pharmacy, to teary-eyed Pancho, shaking me with hands on my shoulders while screaming “¡compadre, compadre!”
But by adopting and adhering to a number of simple riding guidelines, some of which are admittedly difficult to follow, I’ll hopefully stay out of the hospital and my 20-year-old daughter will never “benefit” from my being over-insured. My less-impetuous and more level-headed wife surprisingly enough enjoys riding with me despite serious reservations.
For those unattached and in their 20s and 30s, I’ll indicate which of the following rules I’ve set for myself you’ll likely want to break and how to minimize the adverse implications of so doing:
1) Don’t ride at night unless absolutely necessary. Alcohol-related and other driving deaths increase when road conditions are less than perfect. Lighting and highway markings are often absent.
2) If you know that it’s likely the weather will become inclement (i.e. during the rainy season) consider another means of transportation, or at minimum dress appropriately and check your tires.
3) Try to follow the rules of the road to the extent you can discern them, and when in doubt fall back on the highway traffic laws with which you grew up.
4) Try to resist the temptation to weave, as difficult as it will be. Once you’re in your fifties you’ve likely lost much of your neck range-of-motion, so if you must weave, rely on your peripheral vision and mirrors.
5) Always use full-face helmets, appropriate footwear and leathers, gloves and jacket at minimum. It’s better to be hot and uncomfortable than require jaw surgery and extensive skin grafting. Leather provides that first layer of defence and it gives…cotton, wool and polyester each will simply rip, along with your skin.
6) Never permit an unhelmeted passenger to ride with you.
7) If you’re a tourist and have an opportunity to rent a motorcycle, unless it’ll be used strictly for cross-country, or you have a great deal of experience driving in third world congested cities and are certain of the condition of the bike, resist the temptation. As my father often said, “don’t be an idiot.” It’s not worth the risk.
8) When buying, make it a new cycle, and keep it in top condition.
9) Don’t buy a small scooter or anything under 125 – 150 cc. You may need power to extricate yourself from danger caused by other drivers. The most popular bike in Oaxaca is the Honda 125, used by a plethora of businesses. If you can afford a Japanese make, or better, go for it. Many Oaxacan friends have cautioned against, for example, the Chinese models. My off-road Honda 150 was carefully selected, even though it’s smaller than those that I’d been accustomed to riding in my former life. It’s an off-road model given the numerous topes and state of disrepair of the streets. Motor size is 150 because it’s the smallest engine I feel comfortable gets my wife and I up the steep hill to our home, is light and has sufficient power for defensive maneuvers. It’s small enough so that it helps me resist the temptation to do highway touring.
10) Think twice before opting for a larger bike that you may use on the carreteras. There’s nothing like open highway touring, but the danger increases exponentially the higher the speed of vehicles. By contrast, while living in Toronto I always felt safer riding on the highways than in cities…more control, drivers more vigilant and experienced, and easier to avoid potential dangers. By contrast, in Oaxaca the highways aren’t as good, many motorists drive under the influence, and vehicle mechanical condition is generally questionable, leading to less control by drivers. If you are set on touring, make it at least a 550 cc. model, the minimum power with which I felt comfortable and safe on the open roads with a passenger.
Apart from organized cycling groups that meet periodically for generally weekend off-road challenges, there is at least one traditional motorcycle club in Oaxaca, Los Caballeros Templarios. These riders are the exception to most of what I’ve indicated. The individuals, at least when touring outside of the city, follow virtually all of the rules I’ve set out. The group is comprised of mainly shopkeepers, tradesmen, restauranteurs, and professionals such as doctors and accountants, average age being 40 something. Their bikes are kept in excellent condition, they dress appropriately, complete with leathers embossed with club and rider name and logo, and they host and attend national conferences as well as enjoy frequent local get-togethers and regional excursions of one to several days. The camaraderie is strong, warm and welcoming. And thus with my little Honda 150, I continue to resist invitations to fulfill the initiation requirement and join…until the purchase of a larger bike, and with that a divorce.