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January 31st 2010

..the heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit

Tied! going into Day 2 Jaltemba Cup

After day 2 two Lo de Marcos teams were tied for first place with a 65, but several teams were close behind, tournament play résumes today.

Jaltemba Cup Charity Golf tournament

The prestigious and highly successful charity tournament raises money for education and health and its funds are directed through the Jaltemba Foundation.  Last year it bought five computers for children in Lo de Marcos and La Penita de Jaltemba as well as a community use sound system. Click here to view tee times  The Jaltemba Sol is one the many proud sponsors of this event, A total list of sponsors will be in Sundays edition of the Jaltemba Sol Click here to view tournament rules

Become a Friend of Riviera Nayarit on Facebook click here

Headline News

Mexico GDP down 6.8 percent in 2009

Mexico's economy shrank 6.8 percent in 2009, the worst result in at least 30 years, the Treasury Department said Friday.

The decline in full-year gross domestic product outpaced the 6.2 percent fall during Mexico's currency and debt crisis in 1995……click here for original article

Fugitive developer found in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- U.S. Marshals have arrested a former Spokane attorney, suspected of stealing $1 Million dollars from investors and then fleeing to Mexico to live a lavish lifestyle.

Marshals tricked Claude Irwin Jr., who has been on the run for more than a decade, into leaving his tropical retreat and arrested him when his plane touched down in Los Angeles Wednesday night..... click here for original article

Mexico: Maya tomb find could help explain collapse

TONINA, Mexico -- Mexican archaeologists have found an 1,100-year-old tomb from the twilight of the Maya civilization that they hope may shed light on what happened to the once-glorious culture...... click here for original article

Mexico sees record 15.7 pct drop in remittances

Money sent home by Mexicans abroad plunged a record 15.7 percent in 2009 as migrants worldwide struggled to find work during the global economic slowdown, the central bank reported Wednesday.

Remittances — Mexico's No. 2 source of foreign income after oil exports — totaled $21.2 billion in 2009, compared with $25.1 billion in 2008, the bank said...... click here for original article

Mayan spirit endures in the culture of Chiapas

Living traditions and language a direct link to ancient forebears

San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico–On a high curb of a cobblestone street, a Chamula women sits to hike the blue blanket holding her baby higher on her back.

Three women with her wait as patiently as her shadow, each similarly dressed in a long skirt of black wool with fine red stripes, a headdress of the same material folded square on her black hair.

..... click here for original article

Calderon’s Party May Try to Cut Mexico Sales Tax, Lawmaker Says

Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s party may propose a cut in the value-added tax while broadening the tax base to maintain revenue, the party’s vice coordinator in the lower house of Congress said.

Lawmakers from the National Action Party will meet today with Finance Minister Ernesto Cordero to discuss the proposal, which may include eliminating tax loopholes for companies, lawmaker Roberto Gil told reporters in Puebla, Mexico. ..... click here for original article

Mexican election akin to telenove

They appear on the covers of society magazines flanked by their partners, soap-opera bombshells. They use street parties, cheerleaders and slick televised productions to tout their state-level accomplishments to a national audience. …..Click here for original article

Mexican media mogul arrested in fraud case

The owner of a Mexican media empire has been arrested and charged in a multi-million dollar fraud case.…..Click here for original article

Mexico extends losses; Cemex down as results approach

Mexican stocks fell Monday, putting the key index deeper into the red for the year, with cement giant Cemex SA among the session's decliners as it was knocked down ahead of its upcoming quarterly report.…..Click here for original article

Local aid group stranded in Mexico

A group of Western Washington humanitarian aid workers are stranded in Mexico after a torrential rain storm shut off a town from the rest of the Baja Peninsula.…..Click here for original article

Mexico To Produce 22% Of Region's Power

Newly published Mexico Power Report on companiesandmarkets.com forecasts that the country will account for 22.03% of Latin America regional power generation by 2014, with a developing power surplus available for export to the U.S. The Latin America power generation estimate for 2009 is 1,110 terawatt hours…..Click here for original article

Filed of flowers in a Mango Grove north of Las Varas Bill Bell Photograph

Int'l Surfing Tournament in Quimixto
amela Thompson - PVNN
January 27, 2010

Mark your calendar for January 30 and 31, 2010 to head for the small village of Quimixto, on the south coast of Puerto Vallarta's Banderas Bay, where surfers from all around the world will participate in the 2nd Annual Torneo de Surf Quimixto. Last year's tournament was a huge success - and the word has gotten out that this is THE place to surf!

Rolo Romero (tournament organizer) says: "This year we are projecting twice as many visitors that we had the first time. By going to the event, you’ll be contributing a lot to the village of Quimixto, who happens to be the poorest of the so-called 'islands' (Las Animas, Quimixto and Yelapa).

We know of people and charities who go to Quimixto and bring toys and candy to the children, which is praiseworthy, but this event truly brings these children & families hope by realizing the potential they have as a surfing destination, that, well-nurtured, could become a type of Sayulita (with its limitations), where surfing keeps a large number of the population working and earning decent money."

Organizers: Tourist Department of Jalisco, Fideicomiso Costalegre, City of Cabo Corrientes, Surfing Association of Jalisco, the whole town of Quimixto and private enterprises.

What? You don't surf? Well, neither do I - but I'm sure heading over there to see those who do and enjoy a fabulous beach day! If you are interested in going along with a group (of non-surfing beach lovers!) please contact me, as I already have a few who would like to attend! For further information regarding the tournament, please contact pvrolomx(at)yahoo.com.mx, or visit SurfingJalisco.com.

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Pamela Thompson is a registered nurse who has lived in Puerto Vallarta for over 17 years, 10 of them in health care. Pamela now leads HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta, a local healthcare resource network. Her years of experience and expertise are available to you by emailing your questions to pamela(at)healthcareresourcespv.com or by visiting HealthCareResourcesPV.com.

Click HERE to learn more about the health and well-being services offered by HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta.

Shooting of Soccer Star Rivets Mexico
Ken Ellingwood - Los Angeles Times
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January 27, 2010

A fan of the soccer team Club America places a lighted candle in support of Paraguayan footballer Salvador Cabanas at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Cabanas was shot in the head at a bar this week in the Mexican capital and remained hospitalized in an induced coma. The sign reads "You have given us joy, give us the biggest joy ... get better." (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty)

Salvador Cabanas of Club America is in a coma after being shot this week in a Mexico City bar. Suspects are named in the case, which has pushed aside the Haitian disaster and other news.

Mexico City - It has the makings of a pulp novel: A star professional soccer player is shot and gravely wounded in a shady wee-hours bar. The main witness is a skimpily clad blond dancer, the top suspects a businessman known as "the Model" and his supposed bodyguard.

Soccer-mad Mexico has been fixated on the mystery surrounding the shooting early Monday of Salvador Cabanas, a star forward for one of the country's most popular teams, Club America of Mexico City.

Cabanas lay in an induced coma Tuesday in a Mexico City hospital after surgeons unsuccessfully attempted to extract a bullet that had been fired into his head in the men's room of a night club called Bar Bar. He was listed in grave but stable condition.

The shooting of the 29-year-old Paraguayan player, who moved to Mexico in 2003, has pushed aside the Haiti earthquake and election-year political maneuvering as the top news story here. Club America fans have kept vigil at the hospital where Cabanas lies unconscious, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon has issued a statement of sympathy.

Calderon also offered local investigators the help of federal police and prosecutors.

Cabanas was at the bar with his wife and brother-in-law when the shooting took place shortly after 5 a.m. Monday. He last played Saturday, when his team lost, 2-0, to a team from the city of Morelia.

No one has been arrested, and theories have flourished as to a motive, including that the assailant may have been a crazed fan of a rival team.

When Mexico City authorities made public a surveillance tape, the intrigue grew. Cabanas is seen entering the men's room while two people -- a beefy man in a garishly printed shirt and a shapely blond in a shiny dress -- chat nearby.

The man then enters the bathroom. He exits moments later with a second man, just as a security guard arrives and peers inside. Cabanas was later found on the floor, his head bleeding.

A separate camera shows the two men calmly walking out of the bar and calling for their car. No one tries to stop them during the 60 seconds it takes them to leave.

On Tuesday, chief Mexico City prosecutor Miguel Angel Mancera identified one of the suspects as Jose J. Balderas Garza, known as "J.J." or "the Model," about whom little was known except that he worked in the night club business, went to Bar Bar regularly and spoke with an accent from the northwestern state of Sinaloa. The second man was said to be his bodyguard and was identified Tuesday as Eduardo Garcia Alanis.

Mancera told a radio interviewer that the blond witness is a Cuban dancer. He said the suspects may have shot Cabanas out of anger that his brother-in-law had been talking to the dancer, who was sitting with two other young women at the suspects' table.

ken.ellingwood(at)latimes.com

 

 

 

 

   Looking Towards the Future:                

Anna’s Kids Viridiana and Kenia

                     © Tara A. Spears

Upon meeting the charming, intelligent young daughters of Anna Avila it is easy to understand why the Riviera Nayarit community is working together to provide for their future after their mother’s unexpected death.  These motivated young ladies look to the future as a way to honor their mother’s memory. The goal of Sunday’s fundraiser, held at Petra’s Deli, was to generate funds to pay for materials needed to complete the family home in north La Penita to insure that the girls can stay together and stay in school. A preliminary tally indicates that the event raised $10,000 pesos for the project.

Continued click here

 

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Submitted by Our Wonderful French Yvonne

 

Buy a ticket for this beautiful knit afghan

 

A hand-made Afghan, knitted by Micheline Bédard, will be raffled off with proceeds going to the primary school ''Sebastian of La Colonia de La Penita''. 
 
Tickets are selling for 50 pesos for 3 tickets and can be purchased at the Hotel & Bungalows Guayabitos, 15 Sol Nuevo, apartment 215.  I will also have tickets available.  Draw will be held February 15, 2010. 
 
Hope your readership supports this activity.  

 
Yvonne
 

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Specialists Support Re-Election in Mexico
Víctor Mayan - The News
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January 27, 2010

Mexico City - National and international specialists endorsed the re-establishment of re-election in Mexico but they agreed that it should entail a thorough examination of the candidates' performance.

Otherwise, “It would be a trick to justify the activities of the government, such as the establishment of local oligarchies, which would damage the country,” said Mauricio Medino, a political scientist of Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM) and former advisor to the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).

During the second the conference of the Seminar for the Analysis of Political Reform organized by the Institute “Belisario Domínguez” of the Senate, the French politician, Jean Claude Colliard, stated that re-election of deputies, senators and municipal presidents would result in more benefits than damages to Mexico's politics.

“Free elections should not be limited because if the population is happy with the person they chose, they should not be deprived from choosing them again. In this context, the restriction of re-elections would present more advantages than disadvantages,” he said

Dengue Cases Fall in Tabasco State
The News
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January 25, 2010

Villahermosa - The Tabasco State Health Secretariat said Monday that its recent anti-dengue fever measures have been effective, with recorded cases falling by 80 percent.

Last month, Tabasco registered 154 cases, nine of which were hemorrhagic, the secretariat said. And since then, the number has dropped even further.

Ramón de Jesús Velarde Ayala, director of the secretariat's Prevention Programs, said that the use of pesticides on land and by air in areas that were recently flooded have controlled outbreaks.

Velarde also credited citizens in the Chontalpa region in western Tabasco, for their awareness and efforts emptying receptacles that held standing water.

Although cases have been reduced significantly, he said, the secretariat won't let its guard down, and will continue monitoring for potential outbreaks via its mobile medical units across the Gulf coast state.

Dengue can spread quickly in populated areas, and mosquito populations fuel the fire of infection. The more mosquitoes present, especially of the Aedes Aegypti variety, the faster dengue can spread. Dengue is a chronic illness, not a medical problem.

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The Pope says pollution is a sin!

paid advertisement

 

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Despite Australia Ban, Cougar Cruises to Double in 2010
Kirk Cassels - Travel Agent Central
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January 27, 2010

The Norwegian Sky hosts a Cougar Bahamas Cruise this year .

In the Chinese calendar, 2010 may be the Year of the Tiger. For the cruise calendar, however, 2010 may as well be the Year of the Cougar. After the first-ever international cougar cruise set sail late in 2009, the sexy travel trend continues to make waves throughout the travel industry in the New Year. For starters, Carnival Cruise Lines announced that it would no longer offer the niche vacation, despite popular demand. But Royal Caribbean was right there to pick it up after it was dropped off at port.

Carnival is not the only one shying away from the taboo topic. Australia does not appear interested in welcoming cruises for cougars and the cubbies. “After the tremendous success of the world’s first International Cougar Cruise, we were excited about bringing this concept to Australia," said Rich Gosse, executive producer of www.cougarevents.com and chairman of The Society of Single Professionals. "We are shocked that all three major cruise lines in Australia have rejected our request for an Australian Cougar Cruise. If there had been problems on the first Cougar Cruise, we would understand being banned. But hundreds of our cougars and cubs onboard were well-behaved, and there were absolutely no problems. Alas, there won’t be an Australian Cougar Cruise, unless a willing cruise operator can be found."

Australia may not be biting but, according to Gosse, that won't stop business from soaring, er, sailing. “2010 will see two more [cougar cruises], on the East Coast and West Coast of the U.S.," Gosse said.

The Cougar Mexican Riveira Cruise takes place May 16-23, and departs from Los Angeles aboard Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.

The Cougar Bahamas Cruise takes place December 3-6, and departs Miami aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s (NCL) Norwegian Sky, which visits Nassau, Bahamas and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island.

Guests of honor on one or the other of the two cruises will be: Miss Cougar Las Vegas, who won a free berth on January 22 at the Las Vegas Cougar Convention at The Tropicana Hotel; The Cutest Cub in America, who will win a free berth on January 30 at the National Cub Convention at The Clarion Hotel San Francisco Airport; Miss Cougar America 2010, who will win a free berth this at the National Cougar Convention in Chicago this spring; Miss Cougar Canada, who will win a free berth this spring at the Canadian Cougar Convention in Toronto.

Before its denial from entry, the Australian Cougar Cruise was scheduled for later this spring.

 

nfo

 

The News
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January 27, 2010

Nation becomes member of int'l science academy's executive committee. (The News)

Mexico City - Mexico has been named a member of the executive committee of the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP), one official said Tuesday.

José Franco López, secretary of the Mexican Science Academy (AMC), explained that the designation is a recognition for the leadership Mexico has taken in Latin America. It is one of 11 countries to be on the committee.

According to the IAP's website, the academy is an international network of science academies from 104 countries. The London-based IAP's main goal “is to help member academies work together to advise citizens and public officials on the scientific aspects of critical global issues.”

The website says that “IAP is particularly interested in assisting young and small academies to achieve these goals and, through the communication links and networks created by IAP activities, all academies will be able to raise both their public profile among citizens and their influence among policy makers.”

In a press release, López underscored the importance of Mexico's inclusion on the 2010 to 2012 executive committee. It includes five developing and five industrialized countries.

The Chilean Academy of Sciences was the only other Latin American academy to be included on the list.

The designation, the secretary explained, is part of the efforts AMC has made in the past few years on an international scale, such as its membership in the Inter-American Network of Science Academies (IANAS) and the group of science academy experts in the G8 + 5.

López added that science academies should play an important role in society as the political arm of scientists, who represent a particular country's highest level of knowledge.

With Mexico's inclusion on the executive committee, Mexican lawmakers and authorities should give more weight to science, López said.

The IAP has regional organizations as well, which answer to areas or problems of interest specific to each region.

Former AMC president Juan Pedro Laclette San Román presides over Latin America's IANAS.

The other countries that will serve on the executive committee include Australia, China, France, India, Egypt, Italy, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Reform to Benefit Citizens and their Rights: Calderón
Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
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January 27, 2010

It is time to expand Mexicans’ political rights: President Calderón declares that political reform gives citizens a say. (Presidencia de la República)

Puebla, Puebla - President Felipe Calderón declared that the Political Reform being promoted by his government empowers citizens, since it will enable them to have a say in the debate on national issues.

“It is time to expand the political rights of Mexicans, particularly those that repeatedly express their dissatisfaction with the way democracy works in this country," he said.

At the start of the Plenary Meeting of National Action Party Delegates, the President declared that this initiative will face many obstacles, myths, prejudices and interests that will have to be overcome to ensure that the Reform is carried out.

“No-one belonging to a political party can say that his reasons are more important than citizens' demands to make democracy not only an electoral system and effective suffrage but a system that responds to society’s concerns and needs, in other words, effective democracy. We must shift from effective suffrage to effective democracy,” he said.

In this respect, he said that politicians cannot ignore citizens’ wishes or their demands and suggestions. He therefore called for a debate to be held and to create a current of opinion that will promote the changes required by the country.

“And I am fully aware that if this debate is carried out properly, it will enrich the country. And I am also aware that many people will oppose it, for many reasons. But those that encourage party machinery over citizens will undoubtedly continue to opt for a closed political system under their control," he said.

Accompanied by César Nava Vázquez, President of the PAN's CEN, and Josefina Vázquez Mota, coordinator of the PAN delegates, the Mexican president urged them to promote and defend this reform, in order to facilitate the construction of agreements to enable Mexico to overcome the immobility and irresponsibility of political actors and set off on the route to development.

President Calderón listed the ten points proposed by the reform to create a new relationship between society and its authorities and between the three branches of government and the various orders of government and to help the Mexican democratic system open the doors to citizens' public decisions.

“Whoever thinks that citizens are incapable of distinguishing between what is good for them and what is not are starting out from a false premise. This effort at transformation should be led by citizens,” he explained.

 

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Suzanne Stephens Waller - Presidencia de la República
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January 19, 2010

As part of Independence Bicentennial and Revolution Centennial celebrations, President launches Let’s Discuss Mexico Program, and calls for frank, open debate to analyze country’s future. (Presidencia de la República)

Mexico City - President Felipe Calderón declares that Mexico has left behind authoritarianism, oppression and censure and that we have become a democratic nation, in which freedoms are unrestrictedly exercised.

“There is freedom to think, criticize and dissent. Freedom to organize to fight for ideas and for or against rulers. We have a system of checks and balances that controls the exercise of public power and is the most effective antidote to the arbitrary decisions that have caused the country so much harm over the years,” he said.

At the National Museum of Anthropology and History, during his inauguration of the Let's Discuss Mexico Program, during the Independence Bicentennial and Revolution Centenary festivities, the President underlined the fact that nowadays, problems and conflicts are solved in accordance with democratic rules as a result of which his government will continue with the substantial changes required by the country.

“Federal Government has proposed and will continue proposing substantial changes that seek to destroy the logic of the possible and offer responsible, viable and above all, lasting solutions to Mexico's structural problems,” he added.

A propos of this, the Mexican president stressed that these changes, which are being carried out in key areas of the economy and institutions, will make it possible to remove the obstacles that prevent Mexicans from achieving Mexico's full development potential. They are political changes that give citizens more power while making politicians accountable.

“The aim is to put Mexico on the route to effective democracy rather than just effective suffrage. As I said on September 2, it is time to make thoroughgoing changes, not only through small, adaptable steps tolerated by people's understandable resistance, but to make the reforms and transformations that Mexico needs to overcome resistance and assume risks," he explained.

Accompanied by his wife, Margarita Zavala, President Calderón declared that we must continue to fight to turn Mexico into a country of laws and freedoms and preserve it from those that threaten it from outside the law.

Evoking the leaders of the Revolution, he said that dreamt of a fairer nation and that it is up to Mexicans today to redouble their efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, marginalization and inequality, burdens that limit the development of millions of people.

“These ideals that marked the Independence and Revolution movements: the ideals of equality, development, democracy, and of the men and women of 1810 and 1910 should encourage us in 2010 to implement the profound changes required by the country,” he said.

The President declared that the Let's Discuss Mexico Program is a discussion program that will compare ideas on the country's past, present and future and enrich the democratic debate.

TV and radio broadcasting, scheduled to begin on January 25, will consist of 150 programs in which 500 specialists will participate.

“Only a few times in history has our country organized a public forum and rarely, perhaps never has it organized one with so many voices, historians, humanists, scientists, artists and writers to discuss and analyze our history, culture and identity," he said.

President Calderón urged society to reflect profoundly on our country’s social, economic and political reality and to make 2010 an unforgettable year for future generations.

“Mexico today needs a frank, open debate, with mature, profound, pluralistic reflection, on what we have been, what we are and what we can and want to be. Mexico deserves to evaluate the reasons and works that will make us feel deeply proud of being Mexican,” he said.