"Wow, this is like a real live American cultural experience," I said to Jack. Trees lined a largish field, surrounded by a red circle. A band played the national anthem in the background. Middle class families, baby strollers and beer coolers in tow milled about, searching for a little shade until the sun set and the fireworks display began.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he replied. Jack's a simple guy. Works with his hands all day long, loves country music and his daughters too. I've known him since I was about 18. His sister and I, Winona have been best friends since high school. There is absolutely no pretense around Jack. All is real, vivid, life bubbles out of the guy's pores. My love for the Wickham's is complete. They are my family. Have been since I was about 17, when they adopted the mixed up loner I was back then.

More after the jump.

Most of Mexico is voting today in federal elections that are widely seen as a referendum on President Felipe Calderon and his PAN party. Calderon has bet the house on a full-tilt "Drug War to the Death" strategy that has probably only increased the violence and chaos while doing little if anything to reduce the grip of the narcos on the Mexican economy and polity.

There's a big Wall Street Journal piece from Friday that merits some excerpts and analysis:

Until recent years, Mexican drug traffickers focused the bulk of their bribery efforts on law enforcement rather than politicians. Their increasing involvement in local politics -- in town halls and state capitals -- is a response, experts say, to the national-level crackdown, to changes in the nature of the drug trade itself and to the evolution of Mexico's young democracy.

Starting in 2000, a system of fiercely contested multiparty elections began to replace 71 years of one-party rule, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. "In this newly competitive, moderately democratic system, it takes serious money to run a political campaign," says James McDonald, a Mexico expert at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. "This has given the narcos a real entree into politics, by either running for office themselves or bankrolling candidates."

In addition, the gangs have evolved from simple drug-smuggling bands into organized-crime conglomerates with broad business interests, from local drug markets to extortion, kidnapping, immigrant smuggling and control of Mexico's rich market in knockoff compact discs. "There is more at stake than before. They need to control municipal governments," says Edgardo Buscaglia, a professor of law and economics at both Columbia University and Mexico's ITAM University.

That's all decent enough info, but the WSJ also slips in this bit of disinformation from the FBI, charges so dubious even the WSJ has to caveat them at the end:

According to a September 2007 intelligence assessment by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governors of the states of Veracruz and Michoacán had agreements with the Gulf Cartel allowing free rein to that large drug-trafficking gang. In return, said the report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the cartel promised to reduce violence in Veracruz state and, in Michoacán, financed a gubernatorial race and many municipal campaigns across the state.

...

Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, the Michoacán governor from the leftist PRD party who was in the office when the FBI said the deal was made, says the allegation is "totally false." Mr. Cárdenas Batel, grandson of the former Mexican president for whom the port is named, said Mexican ports are controlled by federal agencies, so drug traffickers have nothing to gain from bribing state officials in connection with them.

His successor, the winner of the 2007 election, is Leonel Godoy, also of the PRD. He calls the FBI allegation "an infamy" with "not a shred of evidence or any proof," and said he had never met or cut deals with drug traffickers. Messrs. Cárdenas Batel and Godoy both say they had alerted authorities before the elections about the growing infiltration of drug traffickers in Michoacán.

None of the three men -- Messrs. Cárdenas Batel, Godoy and Herrera -- have been charged with any crime. U.S. intelligence documents have occasionally proved unreliable in the past.

I find it hilarious that the FBI is out there openly blaming PRD officials of being in the thrall of the narcos. Meanwhile, Amercian oil companies are watching these elections and realizing that their hopes of cutting deals with Calderon to get at the (rapidly diminishing) Mexican reserves are bleeding away:

A former energy minister, Calderon had hoped to overhaul the state-run energy sector to open the door to some foreign investment, possibly through strategic alliances with state oil monopoly Pemex, to reverse declining oil output. But few see such a reform possible in his second half-term.

We'll see how prescient all this gringo analysis turns out to be after the election results are in.

Last fall, The New York Times Magazine commissioned Edgar Martins, a 32-year-old Portuguese photographer based in London, to capture on film the physical evidence of the real estate bust in the United States...

From Slide 8:

"What color are your dreams?" asked the promotional material for this 700-acre planned community in Bakersfield, Calif., that promised a manmade lake and "lush parks." Last summer, however, the master developer defaulted on four large loans, and construction ground to a near halt.

I've been using windows 7 for 7 months. On my laptop its great, and the virtualisation XP mode works well. I recently bought a dell hybrid to use as a music server and to act as a backup for my important files. The processing chip does not support XP mode. I didn't want to install Virtual PC 2007 and force it to work grudgingly under windows 7, but instead discovered a free offering called virtual box from SunMicrosystems, who produce versions for PC's, Apples' et al. The great thing about it is the seamless mode, where the window border is gone, and I have the XP menu along the bottom of the screen, and Windows 7 along the the top. My 'ancient' bible software still works! YAY. Anyone else taken VIRTUAL BOX for a spin?

I learned the above from an update in Al Giordano's blog.

Radio Globo (broadcasting from clandestinity after coup soldiers invaded and destroyed their broadcasting equipment) reports that there are now 200,000 Honduran citizens surrounding the Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa in protest against the coup and awaiting the arrival of their president. This, in spite of a massive military and police operation to block citizens on all roads leading to Tegucigalpa from throughout the country.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

"So, what's it like being back?" my buddy in New York asked me. "Lots of changes since you left last year, yeah?"

"Actually, none. Everything is the same. People are still arguing about the same shit. Obama hasn't made any real changes," I told him.

"No, that's not possible," he replied.

"Oh, so what has he done? GITMO is still open. No one has been guaranteed a real trial. Warrentless searches are still on. Healthcare, don't make me laugh. And the stimulus? What a joke. Just look at the numbers that came out today. We're going to double down in Pakistan and that will blow up in our face," I told him.

More after the jump.

In Parts I & II we looked back on days past, via Steinbeck and the Great Depression, and wondered if that is a vision of our economic future? Economic issues aren’t the only thing we should be concerned about in the future…, and those issues seem particularly relevant on Independence Day. Thomas Pynchon took a look back at the 60’s and 70’s and gave us his vision of what the Ronald Reagan Road of the 1980’s looked like, behind the media veil, in his book, “Vineland“. I wonder what Pynchon is saying today…, with a new cabinet level government law enforcement agency called Homeland Security…, and Border Patrol agents manning checkpoints, stopping all law abiding citizens and boarding buses? Are they really looking for “terrorists” and illegal aliens? Or are they just testing us…, again…, to see what magnitude of fascist oppression we will stand still for?

Today is a fine day to introduce Stuart's new twice-monthly column, "Post-Modern Pastoral. ~spk

As an expatriated US citizen, the 4th of July has become ever more problematic every year as I continually rework who I am and how I fit into America. And how America fits into me. Identity, I've discovered, is a process, a renegotiation with myself and the people, places, and ever changing contexts around me. I'm not the same man I was a year ago, let alone 10. And so too has the meaning of Independence Day shifted for me over time. Today I feel independent, though I'm not really. I'll get to that later. But I'm privileged in this here world. I'm White, male, educated, and I live in Denmark.

As most of you know Sean Paul was up here in my little postmodern pastoral neck of the woods before returning back to the land of sprawl. He invited me to write about the garden, "kind of like Don's Sabbath eve series," he said. No thanks. Can't do it. That would require a degree of candor and personal honesty that I simply can't muster. It's damn hard work separating the bullshit from the real shit. Americans, and increasingly the rest of us, our chin deep in bull shit.

More after the jump.

A Nation on the Brink Mexico's
July 5 Legislative Elections

Part 2 of a three part series (Part 1)

Michael Collins and Kenneth Thomas

Mexico approaches this election confronting the rise of a narcostate, growing economic chaos, social inequalities, citizen disenchantment--or worse

As Mexico approaches the July 5^th mid-term elections, the nation confronts two critical problems. An expanding an increasingly violent "war on drugs" threatens to convert Mexico into a narcostate. This will lead to the inevitable compromise of the members of all political parties. An expanding economic crisis in the wake of NAFTA and the global financial situation, threatens private companies, the Central Bank, and government programs -- as well as the income and employment of most citizens. Rising social inequality and a workforce crisis mean that many, perhaps most, Mexicans live in conditions parallel to those of sub-Saharan Africa.

Disenchantment and dismay reign. The volatile political situation foreshadows a change in the air. Close to 80% of Mexicans voted in mid-term elections in the 90's. Tomorrow, turnout is expected to be less that 50%. An attempted "no confidence" vote on the government looms. Members of the various parties engage in what has been called "fratricide." And there is talk -- talk which hearkens back to the Revolution of 1910 -- that it's time for the people to ignore the major parties and take matters into their own hands.

Monday, May 4, 2009

MotherJones:

Due to a fire at a massive server center our site is down. We hope to be up soon and bring you the latest on Sarah Palin's resignation, sunscreen scams, and MoJo's scoop that the White House garden has been poisoned by sewage sludge.While you wait, you can follow us on Twitter at @motherjones!

Also taken down: Bing travel and a number of other internet sites, for an updated list see kyle mulkas blog. cnet has the story here.

Listening to Gov. Sarah Palin today announce her resignation, I couldn’t help but be impressed with her selflessness in saving Alaska from the trauma of her continuing in office. Now that she has decided not to run for reelection, she has also decided to hand over the keys to the governor’s office to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, because, as she described it, she is not the usual sort of politician. She believes she can fight for Alaskans with more success from the outside than the inside as a lame-duck governor, flopping around in her office in Juneau with no power, subject to the terrible mean-spirited partisanship that characterizes modern political discourse.

In a rare display of concern for their citizens, the North Korean government have authorised a television commercial for its local beer: ' “Pride of Pyongyang“- the beer that will help ease stress. '

see BBC for video.

David Carr at the NYT opines on the cancellationof the Washington Post salon fiasco. He comments that the upstart beltway Politico has caught

the paper on a fundamental lapse in the wall between church and state.

Sabbath eve. July 3, 2009

I’ve had several topics in mind—even went so far as to jot down a line or two in my notebook. Had I written this ahead of time it would have been about something else, but now I sit down with an open mind; another Sabbath eve approaches, and none of the shit I wanted to say seems to matter.

The heat was once again rough this week—the weatherman's numbers were slightly lower, but I can attest to what it felt like out in the sun—goddamned hot. Apparently so hot that a couple of elderly women in San Antonio died from heat stroke.

According to CDC, swine flu cases went down last week. Have circumstances changed or is wave I ending?

170 deaths in the USA when 1% of the pandemic has passed (ignoring future vaccinations).

Three Tamiflu resistant infections have been reported from Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan.

Europe exceeded 10 000 cases. 4 deaths. The UK stopped counting of cases.

About 1/10000 of the pandemic has passed in the world (ignoring future vaccinations).

After reading Krugman today I'm ready to go hide under a rock. I figured it was bad, but sheesh. There's bad and then there is bad.

This is great news, if true. Yes, the guts of the story have already been posted here at The Agonist, but Harper goes into a bit more detail, worth reading, if you ask me. I do wonder what Ross did to get fired.

My first week home was, while not exciting, pleasant. Hanging out with my Mom, seeing my sister, old friends, catching up, all a part of the return. After staying at my Mom's the first week I headed out to Williamson County to stay with a buddy until my flat is ready. He's got a wonderful house, spacious, with two dogs that are sweet--if one is a bit to exuberant in the mornings, you know, I just don't like being licked (cue the peanut gallery)--but it's out in sub-urban hell. The last several days after waking up and eating breakfast I drive into town to spend my day writing in a local coffee shop. I greet each morning with a smile, the promise of a new day. But the moment I pull the car out of the subdivision onto Anderson Mill Road, my mood sinks. I look around me. I see blue skies, a warm sun and concrete big boxes in all directions. Home.

"Where is the wonder," I ask myself? I know it's silly. Austin isn't Istanbul. It's not Muscat. It's not even Singapore. And so I drive thirty minutes into town, sit down at a table and fire up my Mac Book Pro. The blank white page and the blinking cursor reflect back on me the emptiness I feel.

More after the jump.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

and had the 2nd hottest June on record
Lakes are setting records for low water- only 1 boat ramp open at Buchannan and Travis(last one still in water)
Hay is available but with out rain soon will be scarce fall and winter
horse slaughter plants are closed in Texas and restrictions on taking them to Mexico
Selling a low end horse is near impossible
Rescues are full
Folks are turning their horses loose- sherriff offices are beggin folks to take them
How long before folks think maybe the Europeans eating horse flesh isnt that bad an idea

If the horses continue being turned out as stray

The USA in my childhood was the country putting Man on the Moon, and fighting alongside my schoolmates older brothers in Vietnam. Our cultural myopia, depending on imports from the UK and a ever-evolving domestic TV panorama (that in hindsight was just copies of succesful US shows), was shattered forever with the introduction of Sesame St and subsequently the Muppets:

Speaking of evolution, an intriguing side by side comparision of some drafts and the final Declaration of Independence of these United Statef of America.

Of course US movies, MASH, Beverly Hillbillies, Days of Our Lives and General Hospital created stereotypical Americans in many Australian eyes, and we could snigger along with Monty Python "Shut up, you American. You always talk, you Americans. You talk and you say, "let me tell you something" and "I just want to say this"... well, you're dead now, so shut up". Yet we and many others around the world became American on 12/9 waking up to the carnage that had happened during our night-time in Australia. However, many Canberrans were less than impressed when your last president ordained that a jet fighter would loop above the suburbs all night, whilst he slept!

TV shows, movies and stereotypes aside, it's been a real pleasure learning from the real Americans here at the Agonist: my world view and understanding has been greatly amplified. Thank y'all and have a great holiday weekend!

They're still not big fans of the U.S., but Barack Obama is a big improvement over W. from the poll:

Most Pakistanis now see the Pakistani Taliban as well as al Qaeda as a critical threat to the country–a major shift from 18 months ago–and support the government and army in their fight in the Swat Valley against the Pakistani Taliban. An overwhelming majority think that Taliban groups who seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan.

But given Sharif's numbers, this makes the tie of his to the Taliban important to make:

Asked about the nation’s leaders, a large majority–68 percent–views President Zardari unfavorably (very, 50%), but–unlike the recent past–there are multiple national leaders whom most do view favorably. Prime Minister Gilani is seems untarred by negative views of Zardari and gets favorable ratings from 80 percent of Pakistanis. The restored Chief Justice Chaudry is very popular (82%), and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif is extremely popular (87%). The leader most associated with the Pakistani Taliban, Maulana Sufi Mohammad, is viewed positively by only 18 percent of Pakistanis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saddam Hussein believed Iran was a significant threat to Iraq and left open the possibility that he had weapons of mass destruction rather than appear vulnerable, according to declassified FBI documents on interrogations of the former Iraqi leader.

"Hussein believed that Iraq could not appear weak to its enemies, especially Iran," FBI special agent George Piro wrote on notes of a conversation with Saddam in June 2004 about weapons of mass destruction.

He believed Iraq was being threatened by others in the region and must appear able to defend itself, the report said.