Here at home we have the occasional rally at the capitol building. For the most part they’re few and far between, and the amount of people that participate pales in comparison. On the streets of Buenos Aires you’re likely to see a demonstration often, especially during election season.

Occasionally I’ll mention to friends how active Porteños are in politics, and the frequency of the street demonstrations and protests. They assume I’m exaggerating, but if put on the stand I think this verifies it in an interesting and humorous manner.

I watch but mainly listen to C5N for an hour or two every morning. It helps me practice my Spanish, and gives a feel for daily life there. (Even if like here the news carries a heavy focus on the irrational.) C5N is a 24 hour news channel serving Buenos Aires, and is always up to speed on what’s happening in the streets. I grabbed some few screen shots over the past few months to highlight some of the daily occurrences.

The daily interruptions of traffic flow on the streets are so common they are included in the traffic reports, and even plan for upcoming events that are scheduled. These are never violent, but occur to facilitate the awareness of issues important to the workers and residents. And apparently standing in the streets with large signs accomplishes that.

Now that the mid term elections are finished the daily demonstrations have subsided some. It’s chaotic, unorganized, and crazy – and I love and appreciate it. Here are some shots from April and May:

March 23:

April 30:

April 27:

April 9:

April 16:

April 10: Blocking a bridge

May 14: Taxi drivers demonstrating:

May 1: Downtown

May 29: Scheduled protest at 6pm

I really didn’t catch what was going on here, but there is a crowd of people dancing in the street:

Other random shots:

Here’s Christina Kirshner delivering one of her uplifting speeches:

Dealing with the H1N1 virus:

Traffic backup. Makes the 405 look like a country drive:

And of course coverage of South Carolina governer Mark Sanford:

Read for yourself Douglas Brown’s compelling local piece on sexy 40somethings and the younger generation they chase:  “Cougers on the Prowl”

A comment by “Mike 8″ pretty much sums up my thoughts…

Front page news? Are you kidding me? No wonder the Post’s circulation is dropping like a stone. As to the “human interest story” that somehow pushed a Supreme Court nomination and the demise of the US auto industry off the front page, well, just another blow for feminism, eh? Rah, rah, raw. Sheesh. Mike

I also noticed that the “news ticker” is something about lottery doings in Aurora.

I received this email today from manager Paul Christ.  I’m posting his correspondence below because I think it’s important to hear an alternative to the mainstream barrage of pig flu “news.”    The non-stop coverage may have fallen since last week, but unfortunately the economic damage has been crushing.   There are thousands of people like Paul who own businesses or rely on tourism dollars, a great percentage of it from Americans.

Whether or not you agree with the technical aspects of his note I think it’s very well worded and worth reading.  He also references this biting editorial from Alternet, which provides some less heard opinions too.

In light of the current international fixation on the spread of the Type A virus, H1N1, I have decided that it is time to communicate a few facts to friends of Hotel Mercurio. We have, like all hotels and businesses in Puerto Vallarta, been hit with a rash of cancellations in the past week. New reservations are almost non-existent. The situation is dire. We are struggling to avoid layoffs. If you’ve stayed with us, you know that our employees are a family, and we are responsible for their well being. And while we understand the abundance of caution, it is also important to us that you know the real situation regarding the flu in Puerto Vallarta.

Just as the U.S. media has done with regard to border area violence, they have painted Mexico with one broad brush. It seems incredible to those of us in Mexico that the U.S. seems so oblivious to the immense size and diversity of Mexico. All the major TV media outlets depict Mexico as a uniformly dangerous, violent place, source of illegal and undesirable immigrants, and which is now “plagued by contagious disease.”   The fact is, most of Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, is peaceful, safe, and healthy. The violence is over 1,000 mile away. Puerto Vallarta has a lower crime rate than MANY U.S. cities…perhaps even yours! The nearest case of H1N1 virus is some 600 miles away.

To CNN and other 24/7 news outlets, we say this: Please check your map. Mexico is somewhat larger than Rhode Island, and Mexicans resent being depicted generally as gangsters, victims, or dying of illness.  U.S. media treatment of Mexico is neither accurate nor fair.
So, here are some facts.

There have been no confirmed or even suspected cases of H1N1 flu in Puerto Vallarta. In fact, there have been no cases in the state of Jalisco (which includes Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico), where Vallarta is located. If you live in a U.S. state or city where H1N1 has been confirmed, you are more at risk of contracting the virus at your local grocery store than you are in Puerto Vallarta. But even going to your grocery store, your major risk would be an auto accident on the way… not catching a case of the Swine Flu.

The Secretary of Health for Mexico has announced that the number of cases in Mexico generally, is beginning to decline. This is in keeping with epidemiological models that predict the rise and decline of contagions based on a number of factors such as the season, general health of a population, population density, etc. Thus, it’s no surprise that this is turning out to be much less of an “event” than the U.S. media has made it out to be during the past week.

There is, to date, no scientific evidence that the behavior of this particular strain of flu is any different from normal, seasonal flu virus. It seems no more contagious, and does not seem to have a higher mortality rate than normal, seasonal flu (which may kill over 30,000 people per year, but this doesn’t make the news!).

All the aforementioned being said, the response of the Mexican government has been both rapid, and admirable. Not because there was any certainty that this could become a vast and deadly pandemic, but out of an abundance of caution. The most recent indications are that, in Mexico, the worst is over, and it wasn’t nearly the big deal that the media made it out to be. Bars and clubs that were ordered closed in Puerto Vallarta are re-opening today. Schools will be opening this week. It is time to get back to normal (because, in fact, nothing abnormal has occurred).

Most of the public does not understand the scientific community’s use of the term “pandemic.” It does not refer to the deadliness of an outbreak of illness. It means merely that the outbreak is spread across multiple countries, and is spread from human to human, thus has the potential for many cases to develop. The fact is, we have a number of pandemics of flu every flu season, but it doesn’t become the #1 item on CNN round the clock for weeks on end.

The airlines are not refunding, but are allowing re-scheduling. We feel no obligation to offer more than the airlines are offering. This is particularly the case given the utterly unfounded fears that have become rampant this past week. This situation is not YOUR fault, but it isn’t OUR fault, either. If anyone might be blamed, it seems the MEDIA is responsible here.

So, if you have vacation plans for Puerto Vallarta, we simply ask you to look beyond the hype, and come to enjoy our beaches, our friendly people, our vibrant nightlife, our endless variety of gastronomic delights, and the natural beauty of our area.

We’re here to serve you, and look forward to your visit!
Paul Crist and the entire team at Hotel Mercurio

1. I like the typeface, style and overall clean design. It’s simple and intriguing. And kudos for not throwing “www” in front of the website. It’s an unnecessary and overused prefix.

2. The “GJ” stamp looks great but is ambiguous.  A visitor to Denver isn’t going to know what “GJ” is.   Maybe the lack of detail is intentional.   The website “tastetheadventure.com” forwards to the Grand Junction Visitors Bureau.  Although “Grand Junction” conjures up an industrial image I’m not convinced “GJ” sounds or looks hipper than Grand Junction. Clarity is key for reaching visitors.

3. A wine glass full of golf tees does not look easy on the stomach. But the juxtaposition if unique. Other photos include a wine glass with a bike chain, and either an altimeter or a compass.  Even though everyone uses GPS now it’s not a bad reminder that a compass can save your life when hiking.

Overall I like this campaign.

Related:  Western Colorado

Last month’s “Role Model” section features Hassina Omar, a co-worker and friend for whom I manage her charity’s website “Handicapped Children of Afghanistan.” (Manage in that I simply post photos and nice media articles like this one.)

In this visit with Carol McKinley she recounts her Afghan history and upbringing. She shares experiences from her October trip delivering wheelchairs and medical supplies to kids who live the day to day consequences and effects of a war torn country.

I recently shared a number of photos of the October trip, including the children and families benefited by her work.

Read the full article and interview here in Denver Woman. I personally would call it “Denver Women” because there are more than one.

Related posts: Armchair Afghanistan.

Although I read the two newspapers almost daily online, I can’t remember the last time I purchased a newspaper. With the exception of flipping through a discarded newspaper on the bus, my news content is welled from online resources and news aggregators. Since the transfer from print to online has not been friendly to advertiser revenues I suppose I’m to blame as anyone else for the demise.

The last issue contained nostalgic articles from the Rocky’s columnists and newsfolk, and a compilation of notable headlines from the past 150 years.

On September 12th, 2001, I grabbed about eight copies of the Rocky Mountain News, of course struck and stunned by the events of the previous morning. These have been gathering dust under my bed since then, so I figured I’d share the front and first few pages of the Rocky Mountain News from 9/12/01.

I guess if I wanted to sell a few copies on eBay now would be as good a time as any.

Meanwhile if you yearn to still read the Rocky, you can find copies lining the walls of The Brown in Breckenridge.

In order to print coupons from this site, (linked through 9News.com) they require you download and install “couponprinter.exe” to your computer.  I abstained, being savvy enough to know it’s a bad idea to download random executables.  I really don’t think one of the top consumer/news sites in the city should be affiliated with this, or prompting folks to download shoddy third rate apps.   Even if it’s not malicious, programs like these are not designed well, hog space, and rarely leave your PC in better shape than before.

Here’s what a contributor to TechSupportForum.com had to say when asked “Should I Install this?”

Maybe and maybe not. That’s not much to go on, really. If they are telling you that you HAVE to install the program to print some kind of coupon, then I would be suspicious, since you really don’t need to.

I’ve seen one out there that claims it is the only way to make a machine-readable bar code, but that is a lie. I print out machine-readable barcodes all day long from Word, of all things, LOL!

Someone sent me a coupon printer exe file one time and I decided to run it on one of my Virtual Machines, and when I went to install it, it told me that it does not allow itself to be installed on a virtual machine. HUGE red flag!!! About the ONLY things that do checks for VM before installing are malware apps…

Personally, the last time I ran into this, I sent an email to the company and told them that I refuse to install any untrusted 3rd party program on my machine just to print a coupon. The coupon was for $1.00 off their product. A week letter I got a letter of apology from the company, indicating they have received many complaints about that and apologize for any inconvenience, are looking into it, blah blah blah, AND they included a nice shiny FREE coupon for their product! :)

So instead of saving a dollar and doing who knows what to my machine, I wound up saving almost 9 dollars by getting the item for free :) That’s my advice!

This site rates it even more infaborably. Needless to say I agree, and think this is a terrible idea. 

Well, perhaps because of me, or maybe because of the new administration, my most recent mailing featured this nice African American lady.  She’s on the go with her companion and dressed in pristine white pants (just yearning to be smudged and stained,) and a functional beige pocket laden vest.

Good job Magellan’s.  Looks like my online chat session with Ken may have helped too.   So how about some credit?

One other thing though…  This same lady is shown in their online catalog, (wearing pajamas or something,) under “Sun Protection.”  An African American co-worker got a chuckle from that, especially given the pastiness of the rest of their crew.

My coworker Hassina is originally from Afghanistan.  Her family relocated to Colorado during the Russian invasion.  She’s lived the Colorado for many years and is well traveled with family abroad.  All that and she’s one of Denver’s finest media consultants too.  (For those companies who still have dollars left to advertise anyway.)

For the past few years her mother, Khadija Omar, has raised money to purchase wheelchairs and medical supplies for hospitals and aid organizations around Afghanistan.  The recent years have taken a major toll on the children due to war, land mines, and the general chaos that comes with a disorganized society.  Many children live with injuries and the constant reminders of war. They are the generation that must carry the brunt of the damage these difficult years of war have brought.  

With the passing of her mother in 2007 Hassina has taken over the charity, which not only involves fundraising but the complex task of coordinating delivery and travel logistics.  She recently returned from this year’s trip to Afghanistan, delivering these supplies and necessities to schools and hospitals.

Hassina has allowed me to share some of these photos, and as she reminds us we’re well served to remember that despite our squalid economy and domestic squabbles we are fortunate to have shelter, assistance for our children, and don’t live in fear of random attacks from sparring factions.

You can see photos and trip summaries at Children Of Aghanistan.com -   and also watch a recent 9News interview.  If you’re thinking the site design looks quite similar to this one that’s because I designed it.

Should you consider including this wonderful local cause in your group of charities there’s information on how to donate (now by credit card,)  Did you know Google checkout provides free processing for non-profits?

When she was planning her trip last fall I said I wanted to accompany her, but she forgot to pick me up that morning,citing concerns about my safety or something.  We’ll see how this year progresses, and hopefully conditions will allow yet another delivery this fall.  With or without me.

The below photos are of deliveries to hospitals and schools, some friends and family, and some general photos of city life.   Some photos, especially of the children, are tough to see.  However it is reality – which should never be ignored.   Others pictures simply describe the differences from Western life, such as this explosive going off while people in the foreground go about their business. 

Sorry I don’t have them all labeled, but there are more descriptions and history at Handicapped Children of Afghanistan.

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Comprising the left side of the rack is the usual porny but not extreme hard core magazines like Playboy, Hustler, and other no-name adult oriented rags.  In the middle are qausi adult magazines which brand themselves as something credible.  Typically these are mens’ muscle magazines or motorcycle and auto magazines – but just photos of girls humping cars rather than solid articles on vehicles.   The other third of the display is “real” magazines like GQ, Vanity Fair, and People.   However the selection of reputable magazines, (no offense Easy Rider,) is quite scant.  I’ve studied the magazine rack at 7-Eleven before, but I just don’t remember being that tacky.

Then I noticed yet another one of those cheesy Obama magazines; the ones laughably lauded as “collectors items.”  (Just like the commemorative plates.)  These have been seen since August at checkout stands everywhere, and usually are 35-50 pages of stock footage from Obama’s youth, family, history, and rise to presidency. 

This one, titled “The Dream Fulfilled,” ropes in the civil rights era and Martin Luther King Jr. angle – and how it paved the way for Obama.

The merchandiser of this 7-Eleven placed it at the highest possible visibility, directly in front of the “Black Lingerie Show.” The “Black Lingerie Show” is a magazine dedicated to the oily posteriors of African American females.  This issue is titled “Cabana Lust.” 

Here’s a photo of them side by side.  Although I think it would be more suitable to have Obama next to People or even Good Housekeeping  – I’m not passing judgement on “The Black Lingerie Show,” or the publishers of this insipid Obama photo album.  (Although I suspect of Dr. MLK Jr might have a differing view.) 

Somehow these ridiculous magazines are making money, while established magazines are losing money by the truckloads and shutting down their presses. The mind boggles.

The creation was thought up by Dr. Robert Jackler, a dean at Stanford University, after his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer.  He explores the rational and reasoning behind stifling real smoking studies of that time, (money,) and how the cigarette manufactures reach extended cart blanche into every aspect of media, including the Sunday funnies.

Having grown up in the 80s, (with non-smoking parents thankfully,) our opinions were certainly more forward thinking.  As a result I tend to see these ads as kitschy and hilarious, however the N.Y. Times describes the work of copywriters and the accompanying photos as disturbing and flabbergasting.

“They used images of doctors to reassure the public, but these characters came right out of central casting and only looked like doctors,” said Dr. Jackler.  “The medical profession didn’t complain, because the ads made doctors appear noble. And the public were taken in by the ads, because if a doctor smokes, it must be ok.”

“Not A Cough In A Carload: Images Used by Tobacco Companies to Hide the Hazards of Smoking” is on show at the N.Y. Public Library from October 7 to December 26, 2008

NYPL Site with details, and even if you don’t see this personally on the road – the NY Times article has a slideshow of select ads worth checking out.

A month later 9News/KUSA ran a story lamenting how mean and nasty people become in their anonymous internet conversations –  focusing on the made up concept of “internet rage.”

Part of my response was that there will always be trolls on the ‘net who derive a charge jolly out of scribing the most hurtful or outlandish thing.  I wrote the responsibility lies with the OWNER and OPERATOR of the message boards and news sites who ALLOW anyone and everyone to comment no holds barred.  Like other sites on the web that allow user interaction, constant moderation is needed to keep comments on topic and eliminate snarky off-topic jabs. I emailed the editors at 9News my post, as well as posting it on the comments section following the story.  (Yes I know – the irony.)

It seems that 9News did actually implement some changes.  I noticed today that a few stories now have “comments disabled.” following the story.

From a cursory review the stories sans comments appear to be of a more factual nature, such as “Cops searching for hit and run” and “Windows broken at DNC headquarters.”   Articles carrying a community feel, like “Changes to Wolf Creek Ski Area” and “217k register to vote” have their comments open.   (Read and shudder at your leisure.)

I would love a comment on the subject of comments by anyone at 9News.   Personally I think its a decent medium.  “Dog bites man” doesn’t need the pontification of every Joe Schmoe in town.  However I do enjoy reading opinions on community and city issues, and voicing my opinion on them as well.   That said,  open comments still need to be monitored and moderated.

Related posts:

9News and Comments
I Think it Would be Fun to Run a Newspaper

Why not allow readers to submit their comments, and then have someone review them and select which ones are posted? If the comment is insightful and engaging THEN approve it. I’d rather read 10-20 well thought out smart comments than 250 repetitive insults. Many online papers already follow this method, and while it certainly requires some extra time it will filter out the nonsense, insults, and garbage – and allow readers to absorb the BEST writing by our most well spoken citizens.

Like many other sites on the web, moderating the comments keeps them on topic and weeds out unconstructive posts and personal attacks. Vikki Migoya, an editor at the post was kind enough to engage in a discussion and we chatted a bit via email too.

Tonight, KUSA 9News is airing a piece titled “Why Does the Web Make People so Angry” and discusses viewer comments on the 9news.com website.

An article on the web, promoting the story, was posted today:

Here at 9NEWS we always appreciate your input to the comments section of our Web site – in fact, we thrive on it. Occasionally however, we’ll see viewer comments go a little too far.

Recently a family lost loved ones in a car accident. We reported on it and later heard from relatives, not upset with the coverage, but viewers comments suggesting victims deserved to die.

I don’t blame the relatives. If 9News reported on a personal tragedy involving myself I’d be ticked too seeing off color and hurtful comments.

But the focus of this story is misdirected. 9News is addressing the fact that comments are often vicious and spiteful. Duh. Of course they are! Welcome to Web 2.0 – This isn’t anything new. Trolls have been around since the dawn of the ‘net. The direction this story seems to be taking is “Why are people so mean… and how can they be nicer?”

But hold up – what about KUSA/9News? Where is THEIR accountability?

The 9News website houses the story, and 9news runs the message board. The operator of a site serving over three million people, who CHOOSES to open a conduit of interaction, bears responsibility for what passes through the funnel. (Assuming there is a funnel.) If 9News allows comments mocking a person’s death to be posted, and the answer is to shrug off THEIR control and ask “what about these mean posters,” to me it appears that 9News doesn’t really care about maintaining a decent decorum in the “community roundtable” of Web 2.0.

A news website serving the entire state of Colorado isn’t a town hall meeting. You can’t “ask someone to play nice or leave.” There will always be nutcases who post the most vile of responses just to get a rise out of people. But you CAN strike the gavel and silence their voice by simply DELETING their comment.

But wait – are you saying….? No. Moderation is NOT censorship. I don’t care if your comments agree or disagree with mine or the article, or even if you’re a bit loony or off the deep end in solutions or opinions – so long as the comments are on topic and don’t personally attack anyone. Many sites I participate in moderate comments and forums. Gawker, Flyertalk, Lonely Planet, Bike Forums, all maintain a positive social atmosphere, yet can engage in disagreements and spirited discussions thanks to the work of a moderator.

Moderating comments is a good thing. As of 7pm this story has over 400 comments trailing it. I didn’t read them all, but many are just silly witty quips contributing nothing to the story at hand. Or worse attacking other posters.

The answer to this dilemma is clear as day: Take responsibility for your own message boards and MODERATE your comments.

That said my prediction is that future comments will NOT be moderated. KUSA writes “We thrive on comments” and they mean in. When people leave a comment they return often to view responses, and write more comments. These frequent visits command higher rates for web advertisers, so unfortunately limiting comments also means limiting return visitors. Not in the best interest of KUSA – or the daily newspapers.

I certainly hope they’ll consider my suggestion. I sent a copy of this post to Quentin Tice (Quentin.Tice@9news.com)

Reading the comments on the Anchorage Daily News article I spotted this insightful comment by Mark, (comment 94 at 5:25pm,) describing how this really may not be hacking, and some good reasons to refrain from using personal email for business purposes.

This, frankly, is not hacking in the true, high-tech sense. It’s child’s play. I say this as a system administrator, who has seen this technique commonly used by young teens to hijack other teen’s weblogs, gaming accounts, and the like.

There are settings in Yahoo! and other services that let you secure your email account at a higher level, but if you don’t have this set up and don’t routinely use highly secure, complex, unguessable passwords (using no words, and a combination of upper and lowercase letters, and numbers) you can exploit someone’s email, and use that exploit to exploit their online banking, online stock trading, or any other online account that uses that email address for “forgotten password” notifications. You can literally change their passwords, lock them out of their online accounts, and drain their entire life savings!

Frankly, it’s grossly irresponsible to use such an account for official state business! Gov. Palin should consider herself lucky that the hackers weren’t malicious… or worse yet, from a foriegn intelligence agency! If these kids can hack her Yahoo account, it is entirely possible that online intelligence agents from other countries could do so, and may even have already done so without alerting Palin to their handiwork, as these hackers did. They literally could read every piece of email that comes across her desk, and use those emails and a bit of research to determine the online accounts of other state and Federal politicians and hack into them in the same easy manner! The governor may have already compromised dozens of online accounts belonging to people throughout the U.S. government, and once you know a person’s common login and/or password, you can easily exploit those accounts, including logging in to any private state and federal sites they might have access to! The potential security implications are enormous, as are the implications for other abuses such as using the contents of government emails for insider trading, etc.

That’s why there’s a strong need to stay on government-owned domains, ideally run by a competent systems admininstrator who will put proper security procedures in place, require long, secure passwords that are routinely changed, etc.

Wow – Maybe I’ll take back my post bashing newspaper comments...

A ridiculously large percentage of phone books that are DELIVERED wind up in the garbage. Its wasteful plain and simple, and the only reason they’re given out like candy on Halloween is to trump up circulation numbers for advertising rates.

Last year Yellow Pages industry head Ken Clark commented on my frustration, and in March some good folks gave info on how to opt-out in this post. The high profile site The Consumerist also ran an opt-out story earlier this month with some good ensuing discussion.

By the way I only really get inspired to bitch about phone books when an inky yellow dinosaur arrives my doorstep. So why is it this happening over FIVE TIMES A YEAR? This delivery thanks to Verizon, who I didn’t even know served our market. (I thought it was Qwest.)

Some phone book industry advocates like Ken Clark have touted how easy and convenient these are to recycle. (This is irrelevant. It’s still wasteful.) So today I’d like to debunk the “easy to recycle” statement: This morning’s phone book by Verizon arrived entombed in a tight clear plastic covering, inside of a loose plastic bag. (More waste.) So before heaving it into the paper recycling bin you need to remove it from the bag, and then peel off the tight plastic wrap. Ladies don’t break a nail.

Also stuck to the front of the book was a refrigerator magnet for an urgent care center. This can’t go into paper recycling. Nit-picking? Yes. But its still work to be done, and you probably just want to go to work right?

Also consider many individuals and families just don’t recycle. So while its not the green thing to do, some just pitch the whole mess, magnet and all, into the trash.