Staring at Strangers

Strap on cash and duty of confidentiality BIS: lawyers, hand over your clients’s secrets. « The JurisMex Blog

As anticipated in my previous post, President Calderon introduced a bill to Congress aimed at reducing the financial power of organized crime in Mexico, but that also outlaws all cash purchases of real estate,and similar operations over a certain amount of money for a variety of items as cars, jewelry and other luxury items.

via jurismex.wordpress.com

The New Money

You have to admit that, when it comes to money, sometimes Mexico’s got a sense of humor. While we in Mexico do have the best-designed money in the world, I’m not so sure that I’m ready for Diego and Frida on my $500 bills.

 

Technorati Tags: Banixco, peso, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera

David Lida » Blog Archive » The Chinese are coming

During the early twentieth century, the Chinese were one of the largest immigrant groups in Mexico, particularly in the North, where they had great success as merchants. Unfortunately, their accomplishment was followed by an anti-Chinese movement, which included racist legislation and even some incidents of riots, desecration of property, and jailing of Chinese for no reason. This monolithic timepiece, on Calle Bucareli in the Colonia Juarez in Mexico City, is known as “the Chinese clock.” It is a replica of one that was given as a gift to the Mexican people by the Emperor of China in 1910, to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.  Anti-Chinese hooligans destroyed it in 1913. The replacement was set in its place in 1921.

via davidlida.com

Everything is impossible, unless you look at it the right way.

When I was five years old my parents separated and announced they were getting a divorce. I was displeased, to say the least. None of my schoolmates had divorced parents. None of them had manic-depressive mothers either, as far as I could tell.

via www.ernietheattorney.net

Will El Hermano Mayor de Leon be Watching You?

Writing in Fast Company, Austin Carr made more than a few scratch their heads in wonder this evening:

Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. (GRI) announced today that it is rolling out its iris scanning technology to create what it calls "the most secure city in the world." In a partnership with Leon -- one of the largest cities in Mexico, with a population of more than a million -- GRI will fill the city with eye-scanners.

Houston-based lawyer Ignacio Pinto-Leon, who is admitted to practice in Mexico as well as New York, smells an urban legend in the making:

• Leon is a municipality in the state of Guanajuato. I would think the city does not have a budget for the price tag of the technology. The state executive maybe; the federal government for sure. But not a city.
• City jails house only drunks and prostitutes for up to 36 hours for each infraction.
• The state and federal government run the real jails. So, the first take of irises on inmates would give a very poor—but probably cheerful—sample.
• Put  fancy little cameras in public places in Mexico, and most likely they would get stolen quickly. I'm not bashing my countrymen; just guessing. 
• So, it would flag the "bad guys." Well, the bad guys in Mexico are really bad guys. They have really big guns—we don't sell guns in Mexico except through the Mexican Secretary of Defense, but have a neighbor nearby who sells everything from grenades and whatnots at good prices. And sometimes the bad guys attack in groups of forty or more. 
• Kidnappers would routinely include ripping the eyeballs to avoid detection.
• Is the government going to share the information with stores in the case of shoplifters? Really? Entrepreneurs distrust the government; why would they open their computers to them?
• The only two sources with information are: the company's webpage, and a press release published in an online newspaper. The press release is also by the same company and a local partner.
• No AP, REUTERS, NOTIMEX or any other agency note. Nada.

Having said that, Pinto-Leon commented:

Mexico is Mexico. Few things would surprise me regarding my beloved country. We say that compared to Mexico, Kafka was a costumbrist (Mexico is essentially Kafkian by nature). I don't know if they have the technology to try it on such a wide population. My guess is that the note is inaccurate. It would be interesting to read more about it. Constitutionally speaking, there could be some freedom of transit and freedom of privacy issues too. 

 

Technorati Tags: Leon, Guanajuato, biometrics, Big Brother, Portoss

Aguachile: Free trade goes both ways: Mexico slaps tariffs on United States for denying its trucks access

KNIFE TRICKS: I Can't Get This Tune Out Of My Head And, If You Watch The Video, Neither Will You

via knifetricks.blogspot.com

same life -- new location

Flags are the standards of national myth.Take a look at the flag pictured at the top of the post. What can we tell about the nation it represents?Obviously, a monarchy. The crown is a dead give-away.And the national creed is not subtle. Right in your face.  Religion.  Union.  Independence.  All in a romance language.It would be understandable if a reader thought he was looking at an early version of a flag from the Kingdom of Italy. But it's not. It is the personal banner of the first ruler of post-independence Mexico: Emporer Agustín de Iturbide.

via www.steveinmexico.blogspot.com

Cheese to gas, as lawyers transition from law. « The Irreverent Lawyer

Cheese, cakes and comedy.

via lawmrh.wordpress.com

U.S. Immigration Policy Via Devil’s Highway – Travelojos

When I e-mailed author Johnny Rico last year for a review copy of his book Border Crosser, he declined my request.

via travelojos.com

Maximilian and Carlota: A Blog for Researchers: The Maximilian Diamond

Warmest thanks to my Austrian correspondent in Los Angeles, who sends this news about a most interesting auction. See the Christies announcement in full here, and see my comments at the end of this post in italics.

via maximilian-carlota.blogspot.com

Indulging in the “sobremesa” « The Mija Chronicles

When I first moved to Mexico, I was annoyed, frankly, by the amount of time it took people to eat here.

via lesleytellez.wordpress.com

Gone with the Wind in Mexico

Ever since C.M. Mayo’s The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire came into my hands a year ago last May, via Baltimore of all places, my reading life hasn’t been the same. Entire evenings would be spent hanging out at the Maximilian von Mexiko page, reading through the bibliography, following the links, and even plunging into more research. And now, Mayo’s dedicated a new blog, Maximilian-Carlota, for researchers of the tumultuous period of Mexico known as the Second Empire.

The Empress of the Farewells proved to be an exhaustive history of her life, but it still left me with questions to ponder. What was the real extent of Carlota’s madness – bad chemicals, circumstance, poisoning, or a matter of everyone being mean to her? Really now, wouldn’t you be just a little bit crazy if you went through all that she did? Did Maximilian and Carlota each produce out-of-wedlock progeny?

Going back in the other direction, Agustin de Iturbide, whose son begat the last prince, came from Morelia. Why can’t I find a fascinating biography of him? And why doesn’t Morelia celebrate him, whom I consider the real hero of independence, the problem-solver, as much as it does our other hometown hero, Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon?

 

Technorati Tags: Charlotte of Belgium, Carlota, Maximilian, Second Empire

Better Than a Thousand Words

How would you like to be named “Distinguished Tourist of the Year,” win an all-expense paid trip to Mexico for your family and pocket $25,000MN?

You could have all that and more if you’re the lucky winner of the Vive Mexico en una Foto contest. Get out your camera or cell phone and go here.

Technorati Tags: Vive Mexico en una Foto

Why Books Aren’t Dead Yet

I spent my undergrad years painting dorm rooms to pay my tuition and graduated from college in 1976. After four years of pulling all-nighters to write papers and study for exams, my schooling was complete; I figured it was time to get an education. I set about reading all of the books that I never had time to read when I was a student and quickly amassed a formidable library of mostly paperback books. I went in for concrete-block-and-board shelves and lined the walls of a one-bedroom apartment in mid-town Omaha.

via www.richarddooling.com

Burro Hall: Subway Series

At the risk of sending nativists to the fainting couch with an attack of the vapors, here's a scene from the Fourth of July in New York City, on the downtown 1 train - the one that goes to the Statue of Liberty Ferry. Our favorite moment is at :54, where the guy with the Guadalupe tattoo gives them a buck.

via burrohall.blogspot.com

Books, Sports and Life – A Blog Worth Reading

I’ve known Elio Martinez, a partner in the South Florida law firm Concepcion, Sexton & Martinez, for at least two decades through bar association activities. Beyond his life as a lawyer, I considered him one of the most reliable sources around when it came to books and restaurants – and particularly the latter. He bears responsibility for introducing me to my all-time favorites, Versailles on Calle Ocho in Miami and to El Palacio de la Papa Frita, serious-food restaurants where the tables are lined up with precision, the waitstaff stooped, elderly men who would’ve been old long before either of us were born, and the air filled with political intrigue over at the corner tables.

Not until he unveiled his new blog, Books, Sports and Life, did I know about Elio’s past as a sports statistician and historian. It’s amazing what a blog can reveal.

 

Technorati Tags: Elio Martinez, blogs

Books, Sports and Life: From the Streets of Boston

I could feel the tension. When Johnny Temple, former bassist for the indie rock band Girls Against Boys, and founder and publisher of Brooklyn-based Akashic Books, introduced author Dennis Lehane at the 2010 Miami Book Fair International, it was clear that something was awry.

via bookssportslife.blogspot.com

Bolivian Coca Colla Is The Real Thing -- Coca Leaf Included - The Consumerist

Back in the late 19th century, Coca-Cola hooked customers with a narcotic hit drawn from its namesake coca leaf. These days, Coke is cocaine-free, and may or may not still have coca-leaf flavoring, depending on who you speak to. But a new drink from Bolivia, Coca Colla, isn't shy about its ingredients, even sporting a bright green coca leaf on its label.

via consumerist.com

The Presidential Semaphore

 

LEY SOBRE EL ESCUDO, LA BANDERA Y EL HIMNO NACIONALES 
CAPITULO CUARTO DEL USO, DIFUSION Y HONORES DE LA BANDERA NACIONAL

ARTICULO 34.-LA BANDA PRESIDENCIAL CONSTITUYE UNA FORMA DE PRESENTACION DE LA BANDERA NACIONAL Y ES EMBLEMA DEL PODER EJECUTIVO FEDERAL, POR LO QUE SOLO PODRA SER PORTADA POR EL PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA, Y TENDRA LOS COLORES DE LA BANDERA NACIONAL EN FRANJAS IGUAL ANCHURA COLOCADAS LONGITUDINALMENTE, CORRESPONDIENDO EL COLOR DE VERDE A LA FRANJA SUPERIOR. LLEVARA EL ESCUDO NACIONAL SOBRE LOS TRES COLORES, BORDADO EN HILO DORADO, A LA ALTURA DEL PECHO DEL PORTADOR, Y LOS EXTREMOS DE LA BANDA REMATARAN CON UN FLECO DORADO.

Yesterday, President Felipe Calderon switched that around, flipping the presidential sash so that red instead of green would appear topmost. So, what’s behind that move? Is it simply to show the world that he’s still Boss of Mexico? Or is it another step toward the North American Union? All right, so what does this signal?

 

Technorati Tags: Felipe Calderon, simblos Mexicanos, flag

Women in the Mexican Wars for Independence and Revolution

2010 marks the bicentennial of the Mexican wars for independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution. We in Mexico believe in doing things efficiently. Drop in over at the Mexico 2010 website. You could easily spend a week there. And it’s presented in Spanish as well as English.

 

Technorati Tags: Mexico 2010, Mexican Independence, Mexican Revolution, Conaculta

Secret History: Reflections on Latin America: I Am Better Than You (Said the Lady to the Tramp)

About Secret History

via latamreflections.blogspot.com

A Bitch in Need

This bitch’s mother does nothing but practice law all day long so that she can feed three hungry poodles. She has no life except attending dog shows and participating in listserves. Her only human friends are imaginary. Please brighten her day by going here or here or here, and voting this dog A Dog’s Purpose Dog of the Week. And tell everyone you know to do the same.

Technorati Tags: Lisa Runquist, A Dog's Purpose, dog of the week

Carlos Monsiváis, QEPD

He was Mexico’s mirror image of Tom Wolfe. And he was the most important Mexican writer most Estadounidenses never heard of. If you’re one of them, read Mexican Postcards. It’s an essential step toward knowing Mexico and understanding its culture.

 

Technorati Tags: Carlos Monsivais, Mexico

Gancho: Learning English

Via Matt Yglesias and Made in America, evidently today's Spanish-speaking immigrants pick up English significantly more quickly than previous waves of immigration, though slightly more slowly than today's non-Spanish-speakers:It seems clear that today's immigrants are not taking longer to adapt linguistically than in the past, and one can only assume the acculturation goes beyond mere language. I wonder what the reason for the difference between then and now is: better schools, less clustering in ethnic ghettos, more familiarity with English upon arrival, a variety of other factors I've not thought of?

via ganchoblog.blogspot.com

New York City's Popsicle Renaissance - Food - The Atlantic

Share « Previous Food | Next Food » Email Print

via www.theatlantic.com

Burro Hall: Balls Like Mexican Churchbells

In 20 years of watching bullfights, we’ve seen quite a few failures of nerve, and occasional displays out outright cowardice - including our own, like the afternoon in Mexico City in 1994 when a bull flew over the first barrier (but not the second) not too far from where we had splurged on front row seats, causing us to squeal like schoolgirls at a Jonas Brothers concert. But we can say with some confidence that we’ve never, ever seen anything like the show young Cristian Hernández put on this weekend during a novillada at Plaza Mexico.

via burrohall.blogspot.com

Opera Ambulante

Who says bus stations have no class? In Tijuana, culture comes to those who wait.

Thank you, Cuauhtemoc Rivera, for sharing the link.

 

Technorati Tags: Mexico, opera, Tijuana

Merida Expat Legacy of the 1980s « Gorbman.com

Actually, it’s not much of a legacy. It’s a not-very-interesting history. The foreign community of Merida was founded primarily (with notable exceptions) by drunks, misfits and criminals. Fortunately, things have changed.

via gorbman.com

Expat legacies like this exist everywhere.

A mostly middle class country « Mexico Institute

Despite widespread opinion to the contrary, Mexico is becoming a middle-class society, largely because this is how most of the population perceive themselves. The strengthening of this sector is perhaps the most important issue for the country’s future development and the most significant historical event of recent decades.

via mexicoinstitute.wordpress.com