Health Care Priorities

You may have recently read that Merck pharmaceuticals has suspended its multi-million dollar lobbying campaign to convince states to mandate that all girls be vaccinated to prevent HPV, human papillomavirus virus, at a cost of $350 – $400 for the three shot series. The lobbying campaign has resulted in more than twenty states considering [...]

Veracruz State Government Building

The state government building, which abuts the Parque Juarez, is also quite handsome.

Spring Seems to Have Arrived

And rather abruptly, at that. A week ago Sunday it was so cool and misty that I had to wear a lined jacket over a wool vest and heavy chamois shirt during my late afternoon walk. The next day was sunny and warm, as it has been since, with temperatures in the mid-70s [...]

Why Hate Crime Laws Are Necessary

Pamela Colloff, in The Texas Monthly, reports that “On a Saturday night three years ago, a mentally disabled black man from Linden [Texas] was taken to a party filled with white kids half his age. A few hours later, he was dumped by the side of the road, bleeding and unconscious. But of all [...]

Death Squads Linked to “Dozens” of President Uribe’s Associates

The Boston Globe reports that dozens of associates of Columbian President Uribe have been implicated for their associations with right wing death squads. Some of Uribe’s associates have resigned their government positions and others have been arrested.
The Globe reports that “a computer seized from paramilitary leader ‘Jorge 40′ revealed the names of dozens [...]

Unity 08

If you’re interested in participating in the first online convention for nominating 2008 presidential and vice-presidential candidates, check out the Unity 08 web site.

Palacio Municipal

I don’t think I’ve previously posted a photo of the stunningly beautiful Palacio Municipal. City Hall to those in the USA.
I am unable to get far enough away for an unobstructed front shot of the building so you’ll have to settle for this shot of the center portion.

If you look closely above the second [...]

Pitiful McCain

McCain delivered a speech to the World Affairs Council and the City Club of Seattle and dispensed more nonsense.
“After the speech, McCain was asked by an audience member if he was ’sucking up to the religious right.’ He drew laughs by responding: ‘What’s wrong with sucking up to everybody?”
McCain has been sucking up to the [...]

The Shame of a Nation

Jose Padilla, according to a psychiatrist hired by his defense attorney, is suffering “symptoms of the Stockholm syndrome”, such that he is incapable of participating in his defense.
Padilla, you will remember, is a USA citizen arrested, on no hard evidence, in the Chicago airport upon his arrival on a flight from Switzerland; and, while [...]

Mel Gibson and Radical “Traditionalist” Catholics

Remember when Mel Gibson was pulled over for drunk driving and launched  into an anit-Semitic tirade, denouncing “fucking Jews” and pronoucing to the sheriff’s deputy who had pulled him over that”The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”?
The Southern Poverty Law Center has issued a report, entitled “The New Crusaders”, [...]

More Parque Tecajetes

Here are photos of a couple of other really nice features of the park.

Parque Tecajetes

Shortly after moving to Xalapa I posted photos of the beautiful Parque Tecajetes, located just a few blocks from my apartment. I returned for another visit last weekend to try out my new camera which takes still photos as well as video.

One of my favorite features of the park is this little aqueduct atop [...]

Xalapa Marimba Band

This is one of quite a number of marimba bands that play on the streets of Xalapa. This particular group includes a drummer. I have seen a group with as many as seven, three on the marimba, a drummer and three on güiros soliciting donations; and as few as two, one on the [...]

Working Nine to Five

This street juggler waits for the light to turn red, dips her batons in an inflammable liquid, lights them up, and performs for the the stopped traffic. Shortly before the lights changes to green she makes her way up and down the stopped cars seeking donations.
Sorry about the traffic noise but I just got [...]

Why USA Health Care Costs Way More Than It Should

Paul Krugman tells us why and reports that two New York hospitals have file a lawsuit charging “UnitedHealth Group and several of its affiliates” with racketeering.
“…marketing and underwriting cost a lot of money. McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm, recently released an important report dissecting the reasons America spends so much more on health care [...]

Giuliani – Pond Scum

Raw Story reports: 
“CNN reports on one appearance at a 2005 tsunami fundraiser for which Giuliani received $100,000, and also mentions a contract stipulation that the former New York City mayor be given the use of a “private aircraft — must be a Gulfstream 4 or bigger.”

Romanesque Statues

Right below and across the street from the Parque Juarez is this display of four Romanesque statues. Another example of the public art one finds throughout Xalapa.

Stone Stairways

Xalapa’s location in the hills make for some fairly radical elevation changes. And given that most folks still walk from place to place, pedestrian stairways, constructed of stone, may be found throughout the City.

This particular stairway is the one I use when returning to my apartment from a walk through the Parque Bicentenario to [...]

Parque Bicentenario

A couple of blocks from my apartment is the Parque Bicentenario, a fairly good size, beautifully landscape park. The park provides a convenient route between Avenida Enrique, which fronts on the Parque Juarez and the main government buildings, and Avenida Ursulo Galvan, which passes through a busy shopping area and leads to the route [...]

All the Belly Aching About Software Piracy Pays Off

The Linux Insider reports that Asian nations are migrating to open source software to cut costs and to cut down on software piracy.
By the way, if you want to try a free open source office suite that does everything Microsoft Office does you can download it here.