A wounded man, blood-covered and frantic, approached a military checkpoint in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, 100 miles south of Brownsville, Texas, with a horrifying story. Reportedly shot in the neck himself, the Ecuadorian would-be migrant to the United States led members of the Mexican Naval Forces to an even more horrendous scene.
Seventy-two migrants from Central America, Brasil and Ecuador lay piled on each other in a large room, dead from gunshot wounds.
From the man’s testimony it seems that the 58 men and 14 women murdered refused to comply with extortion demands from a drug cartel that President Calderón has identified as most likely being the Zetas. According to the “plata o plomo” (money or bullets) law of organized crime, the migrants got the bullets.
The migrants likely did die at the hands of Mexico’s most brutal drug gang. But they also died as a result of both U.S. and Mexican policies that foment violence and have led to a previously unimagined state of lawlessness and brutality south of the border. U.S. immigration and trade policies and Mexico’s U.S.-supported drug war and human rights crisis all played a role in their deaths.
The seventy-two migrants’ names will pass to the growing list of civilians who have become the casualities of a war entered into without thought to its consequences or a coherent strategy for success.
That is, if we ever know their names.
Representatives from the countries of origin are working to identify the rest and have demanded a full investigation, calling the Mexican government’s information to date “insufficient.”
Preying on the most vulnerable
These latest victims come from the ranks of the human beings considered superfluous to an economic system that drives them from their homes and communities to seek work in the United States, despite the risks. Unprotected by the Mexican government--despite numerous reports of these kind of extortion kidnappings over the past few years--and criminalized by a U.S. society that welcomes their labor and rejects their humanity, they continue to travel north because they can´t find work in their countries.
Imagine the trajectory of the 72 lives that were snuffed out on August 24.
Each man and woman sold land, used savings or went into debt to make the trek to the United States. They have no legal channels to enter the U.S. despite the demand for their labor. The cost of rossing has skyrocketed and the risks increased because security measures on the U.S. border have forced them to use human smugglers where before they crossed with migrant guides. The women are particularly vulnerable as they face sexual abuse from criminal gangs and police along the route.
The global crisis is falling on the shoulders of the poor in developing countries. While the U.S. adopts stimulus and jobs programs, its free trade policies have led to imports that displace local production and cut back state subsidies and supports in southern countries.
But the U.S. immigration debate largely ignores the dire conditions they faced in their countries and during their journey, even though alternative policies and actions could help develop livelihoods at home and protect the basic human rights and safety that every human being deserves.
The migrant group found dead in Tamaulipas was reportedly kidnapped arriving in the border region. Typically, organized criminal gangs not only steal the money migrants carry to pay smugglers to take them across the border, but also demand that they contact family in the U.S. to send more money. Neither the Mexican or U.S. governments have done much to stem this transnational extortion ring, probably because both the migrant victims and often the families extorted are undocumented, placing them in a class that has been illegally stripped of state protection and humane concern.
Mexican authorities charged with the protection of people within its borders too often form part of the problem rather than the solution. Crimes against migrants have been rising, as criminals and corrupt police alike find them easy pickings.
Drug War Violence
Although the economic situation of their countries force thousands to seek jobs in the north, U.S. aid has been concentrated in military equipment and security and intelligence training, such as in the $1.5 billion-dollar aid package to Mexico known as the Merida Initiative. Throughout the Western Hemisphere, the drug war has become the latest pretext for militarization in a wide net that not only targets organized crime but also undocumented workers and political opposition.
In Mexico, the drug war strategy has set off a no-holds-barred battle for routes and markets among competing cartels that has broken through the boundaries of crime-on-crime and now affects daily life (and death) in border cities and other regions.
To get an idea of how violence begets violence, take a look at the Zetas? Briefly, they are a group of former Mexican military elite with U.S. training that crossed over into organized crime, taking with them their government-sponsored knowledge of counterinsurgency tactics and brutal repression. They are associated with the infamous Kaibiles in Guatemala who have a similar history. After acting as the armed forces for the Gulf Cartel, they split off and formed their own cartel. Their bid to take over lucrative trafficking routes is at the root of the drug-war violence in many points on the border.
Weaker financially and with fewer political contacts, the Zetas work their one comparative advantage—their willingness to be absolutely ruthless. The massacre of the migrants could be a reaction of rage when the migrants refused to pay up, but it could also be an easy way for the Zetas to flaunt their ability and disposition to break all previous codes of behavior between the government and the cartels.
Through the bodies of the migrants, the Zetas are sending yet another bloody message to the armed forces, and to the other cartels, which have unified against them in some border cities.
As far as the Calderón administration is concerned, every act of increasing brutality on the part of the drug cartels is a sign of victory. Calderón issued a communiqué on the massacre saying, “The Zetas are resorting to extorsion and kidnapping of migrants as a mechanism of financing and recruitment due to the fact that they are facing a very adverse situation in attaining resources and people… This is the result of the activity of the State against them, which has significantly weakened the operating capacity of organized crime.”
Incredibly, Calderón publicly admits responsibility, albeit indirect, for the massacre of the migrants and further notes that their brutal assassination is a sign of success in the drug war. He went on to warn that there will be more violence to come. This is perhaps the one aspect of his campaign that no-one doubts.
The constant spin--where each act of greater violence is interpreted as an advance in the drug war—has left much of the Mexican population feeling nauseous. How much more violence can the nation take? And when will the increasing toll of civilians finally reach a point where leaders in Mexico and the United States admit that the drug-war strategy has dragged us into a downward spiral that must be reversed now before more innocent people die?
Laura Carlsen is director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City. She can be reached at: (lcarlsen(a)ciponline.org).
Townes Van Zandt-Pancho & Lefty from Austin Pickers 1984
Emmylou Harris : Pancho & Lefty (1977)
Pancho and Lefty
Pancho and Lefty by Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan
Steve Earle "Pancho & Lefty" Amoeba Hollywood 5-13-09
Poncho and Lefty, Hoyt Axton
Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard...Pancho and Lefty
Pancho & Lefty
Livin' on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
And your breath's as hard as kerosene
Weren't you mama's only boy
But her favorite one it seems
She began to cry when you said goodbye
And sank into your dreams
Pancho was a bandit, boys
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
And nobody heard his dyin' words
Ah but that's the way it goes
All the Federales say
Could of had him any day
Only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose
Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth
The day they laid poor Pancho low
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go
There ain't nobody knows
All the Federales say
Could of had him any day
Only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose
Well, the poets tell how Pancho fell
And Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
And so the story ends, we're told
Pancho needs your prayers it's true
But save a few for Lefty too
He just did what he had to do
And now he's growin' old
All the Federales say
Could of had him any day
Only let him slip away
Out of kindness I suppose
A few gray Federales say
Could have had him any day
Only let him go so long
Out of kindness I suppose
If I could stick my pen in my heart
I'd spill it all over the stage
Would it satisfy ya or would slide on by ya?
Or would you think this boy is strange?
Ain't he strayayange?
If I could win you
if I could sing you
a love song so divine.
Would it be enough for your cheating heart
If I broke down and cried? -
If I criyiyied.
I said I know it's only rock and roll
But I like it.
I said I know
it's only rock and roll
But I like it
like it
yes I do.
Well
I like it
oh yes
I like it
I like it
I said: Can't you see this old boy's getting lonely?
If I could stick a knife in my heart
Suicide right on the stage
Would it be enough for your teenage lust?
Would it help ease your pain?
Ease your brain if I could dig down deep in my heart
Feelings would flood on the page
Would it satisfy ya
would it slide on by ya?
Would you think the boy's insane?
He's insayayane.
I said I know
it's only rock and roll
. . .
Don't you think that you're the only girl around
I bet you think that you're the only woman in town.
Watching girls go passing by
It ain't the latest thing
I'm just standing in a doorway
I'm just trying to make some sense
Out of these girls go passing by
The tales they tell of men
I'm not waiting on a lady
I'm just waiting on a friend
A smile relieves a heart that grieves
Remember what I said
I'm not waiting on a lady
I'm just waiting on a friend
I'm just waiting on a friend
Don't need a whore
I don't need no booze
Don't need a virgin priest
But I need someone I can cry to
I need someone to protect
Making love and breaking hearts
It is a game for youth
But I'm not waiting on a lady
I'm just waiting on a friend
I've been holding out so long
I've been sleeping all alone
Lord I miss you
I've been hanging on the phone
I've been sleeping all alone
I want to kiss you
Well, I've been haunted in my sleep
You've been starring in my dreams
Lord I miss you
I've been waiting in the hall
Been waiting on your call
When the phone rings
It's just some friends of mine that say,
"Hey, what's the matter man?
We're gonna come around at twelve
With some Puerto Rican girls that are just dyin' to meet you.
We're gonna bring a case of wine
Hey, let's go mess and fool around
You know, like we used to"
Oh everybody waits so long
Oh baby why you wait so long
Won't you come on! Come on!
I've been walking in Central Park
Singing after dark
People think I'm crazy
I've been stumbling on my feet
Shuffling through the street
Asking people, "What's the matter with you boy?"
Oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh
Oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh
I won't miss you child
I guess I'm lying to myself
It's just you and no one else
Lord I won't miss you child
You've been blotting out my mind
Fooling on my time
No, I won't miss you, baby, yeah
Angie, Angie, when will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, Angie, you can't say we never tried
Angie, you're beautiful, but ain't it time we said good-bye?
Angie, I still love you, remember all those nights we cried?
All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear:
Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?
Oh, Angie, don't you weep, all your kisses still taste sweet
I hate that sadness in your eyes
But Angie, Angie, ain't it time we said good-bye?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, I still love you, baby
Ev'rywhere I look I see your eyes
There ain't a woman that comes close to you
Come on Baby, dry your eyes
But Angie, Angie, ain't it good to be alive?
Angie, Angie, they can't say we never tried
The Rolling Stones - Memory Motel (Live with Dave Mathews)
MEMORY MOTEL
Hannah honey was a peachy kind of girl
Her eyes were hazel and her nose was slightly curved
We spent a lonely night at the Memory Motel
It's on the ocean I guess you know it well
It took a starry night to steal my breath away
Down on the waterfront her hair all drenched
in spray
Hannah baby was a honey of a girl
Her eyes were hazel her teeth were slightly curved
She took my guitar and she began to play
She sang a song to me, stuck right in my brain
You're just a memory of a love that used to be
You're just a memory of a love that used to mean so
much to me
She got a mind of her own and she use it well, yeah
Well she's one of a kind
got a mind
She got a mind of her own, yeah, and she use it mighty fine
She drove a pick-up truck painted green and blue
The tires were wearing thin she done a mile or two
And when I asked her where she headed for
(Back up to Boston I'm singing in a bar)
I got to fly today on down to Baton Rouge
My nerves are shot already the road ain't all that smooth
Across in Texas is the rose of San Antone
I keep on a feeling that gnawing in my bones
You're just a memory (just a memory) of a love that used to mean so
much to me
(just a memory)
You're just a memory of a love that used to mean so
much to me
You're just a memory girl, you're just a sweet
old memory
And it used to mean so much to me
Sha la laa la
Sha la laa la
Sha la laa la
Sha la laa la
You're just a memory of a love that used to mean so much to me
She got a mind of her own and she use it well
Mighty fine she's one of a kind
She got a mind of her own
She's one of a kind and she use it well
On the seventh day my eyes were all aglaze
We been ten thousand miles and been in fifteen states
Every woman seemed to fade out of my mind
I hit the bottle and I hit the sack and cried
What's all this laughter on the twenty-second floor?
It's just some friends of mine and they're busting
down the doors
It's been a lonely night at the Memory Motel
You're just a memory girl just a memory
And it used to mean so much to me
You're just a memory girl you're just a memory
And it used to mean so much to me
You're just a memory girl you're just a sweet old memory
And it used to mean so much to me
You're just a memory of a love that used to mean so
much to me
She's got a mind of her own and she use it well yeah
Well she's one of a kind
ROLLING STONES - Tumblin' Dice
TUMBLING DICE
People think I'm crazy, they're always tryin' to waste me
make me burn the candle right down,
but baby, baby, I don't need no jewels in my crown.
'Cause all you wimen is low down gamblers,
cheatin' like I don't know how,
but baby, baby, there's fever in the funk house now.
This low down bitchin' got my poor feet a itchin',
don't you know that duece's stay wild.
Baby, I can't stay, you got to roll me
and call me the tumblin' dice.
Always in a hurry, you never stop to worry,
don't you see the time flashin' by.
Honey, got no money,
I'm all sixes and sevens and nines.
Say now, baby, I'm a rank outsider,
you can be my partner in crime.
But baby, I can't stay,
you got to roll me and call me the tumblin',
roll me and call me the tumblin' dice.
Oh, my, my, my, I'm the lone crap shooter,
playin' the field ev'ry night.
Baby, can't stay,
you got to roll me and call me the tumblin',
roll me and call me the tumblin' dice.
Got to roll me. Got to roll me.
Rolling Stones - "Jumping Jack Flash" - LIVE - '68 - HQ
JUMPING JACK FLASH
I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow - Shame [Official Video]..
I REMEMBER, A LONG TIME AGO, THAT 'SHAME' AND 'GUILT' WERE SUPPOSED TO GO HAND IN HAND,
LIKE TWO LOVERS IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, BUT I FORGET WHY, TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH
WAS IT BECAUSE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ASHAMED OF BEING, ERM, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT,
THE WAY OTHERS WHO WERE NORMAL WEREN'T?
OR WAS IT GUILT YOU WERE FEELING, TO PURSUE WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED, SO, SHAME ON YOU?
BUT SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKEST OF THE NIGHT, SHAME AND GUILT WERE NOT TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE
ON THE PREMISES, LEAST OF ALL HOLDING HANDS
IF WHAT WENT ON IN 'BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN' DIDN'T REALLY, BUT YOU WISHED IT DID,
THEN SHAME ON YOU FOR WANTING IT, BUT NEVER DOING IT
A PERSON WHO DOESN'T TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE IS ALWAYS THOUGHT LESS OF, ISN'T HE?
IS THIS WHAT THEY MEAN BY 'SACRED MYSTERY', THIS WISHFUL DOUBLETALK SO POPULAR TODAY?
I DON'T KNOW, SEARCH ME, I HAVE NO IDEA
MAYBE THOSE WHO 'GET IT' ARE MEMBERS OF SOME SECRET SOCIETY, LIKE THE ILLUMINATI
FOR MY SISTER TONI
VERY NOSTALGIC FOR ME, BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT NANCI, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN
ABOUT HER
WHEN THEY SAY 'AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL', THIS IS IT, RIGHT HERE, THE WAY ALL THESE FRIENDS
LIFTED EACH OTHER UP, SO SELFLESSLY (DID I SPELL THAT RIGHT?)
Nanci Griffith Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 1 - Mary Margaret
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 2 - Talking About Growing Up in Austin Texas
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 3 - Trouble in the Fields
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 4 - Kate Wolf''s - Across the Great Divide
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 5 - Are You Tired of Me Darling
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 6 - Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 7 -Three Flights Up
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 8 - Nanci and Other Musicians talk about Nanci
Nanci Griffith-Other Voices|Other Rooms-Pt 9 - Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
1. NAUGHTY FRANCE, 'WINK, NOD, GESTURE, GESTURE, FORGET ABOUTIT
2. SUPPOSED TO CONDITION US ABOUT THE 'UNFIXABLE' 'NATURAL' DISASTERS THAT BEFALL US,
INSTILL IN US A GOOD LESSON IN APATHY
3. THE TRUTH IS, WE'VE CAUGHT A (SUPPOSEDLY ENLIGHTENED, A 'GOOD GUY') GOVERNMENT
PRACTICING ETHNIC CLEANSING (OMG!!!!)
4. YESSIREE, CHECK OUT THE LEGAL DEFINITION OF ETHNIC CLEANSING, DUMMY!
5. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S WORKING, OH YEAH, IT'S THE
'IF THEY CAN DO IT SO CAN WE, AND GET AWAY WITH IT' MEME
6. 'THEY', IN CASE YOU NEED TO KNOW, ARE 'ISRAEL', THE ONLY GOVERNMENT IN THE HISTORY
OF THE WORLD WHO CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT ('WHAT WE MUST' IS WHAT THE NAZIS SAID)
WHENEVER THEY WANT IT, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T LET THEM, WE'RE ANTI-SEMITES
7. SO SHUT THE F UP IF THERE IS ANY DINT OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN YOUR FUCKING HISTORY
(YOU REMEMBER WHAT HISTORY IS DON'T YOU?)
8. 'HISTORY' IS WHATEVER WE TELL YOU IT IS, LEAVING ALL THE GOOD PARTS OUT, BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST TOO EMBARASSING (NOTE: ONLY MORONS ARE EVER EMBARASSED BY HISTORICAL FACTS)
9. 'MORONS' ARE BASICALLY OUR LEADERS, THAT'S WHO THEY ARE
10. PAY ATTENTION, THE FRENCH HAVE ALREADY DEPORTED THESE 'SUB-HUMANS', FAIT ACCOMPLI
THEY AREN'T QUITE ASKING FOR YOUR PERMISSION, DEARS, JUST THINK OF WHAT THEY MAY
CONSIDER THE 'RANK' OF RUMANIANS IS, IF THE TARGET NATION IS RUMANIA
11. OBVIOUSLY, THEY AREN'T AS GOOD AS FRENCHMEN, HEIN?
12. PLUS ÇA CHANGE, MY HAIRY CUL!
13. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, YOUR CHIMP-LIKE CONTORTIONS AT IMITATING AMERICANS, JUST AIN'T WORKING
NATURAL-BORN HYPOCRITES WILL ALWAYS BE BETTER AT 'DOUBLESPEAK' THAN YOU
BTW, ISN'T SARKOZY A HUNGARIAN NAME??? IT SURE AIN'T FRANSAUSAGE
There's A Whole Lot of Heaven - Iris Dement
Iris Dement - vocals
Bruce Molsky - fiddle
Jerry Douglas - dobro
Russ Barenberg - guitar
Phil Cunningham - piano accordion
Todd Parks - bass
Will the circle be unbroken
Michelle Wright-Iris DeMent-Mairead Ni Mhaonaight
John Prine and Iris DeMent - In Spite of Ourselves
Iris Dement & John Prine - Let's Invite Them Over
James Taylor ft Iris Dement - You can close your eyes
IRIS DEMENT & THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH - JOOLS WITH JACQUELINE ABBOTT
SOMEONE ASKED ME WHEN I CHOOSE THE VIDEO EMBED CODE DON'T I SEE THE OPTIONS FOR SIZE?
YES, THANK YOU I DO, BUT THE SMALLER SIZE STILL GETS CUT OFF
SO I MANUALLY SIZED IT DOWN TO 400X305 (THE CUSTOM BOX INSISTS ON 325 IF I ENTER 400)
I DO GET ALL THE HELPFUL TWEAKS, I'M NOT BLIND OR DUMB
SO THANKS FOR THE 'HELP', BUT IT WORKS FINE IF I MANUALLY FIX IT
YEAH, THE REASON ALL THE POSTS THAT GO BACK TO 'JULIAN ASSANGE' LOOK OK IS BECAUSE I FIXED THEM,
THANKS
I FINALLY GOT SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING MY YOU TUBE VIDEOS SLICED OFF AT THE
RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN
PLUS NOT BEING ABLE TO CLOSE THE AD BOX BECAUSE THE 'X' BUTTON WAS MISSING
WHAT EXACTLY ARE GOOGLE THINKING? THAT WE'LL JUST PUT UP WITH INCOMPETENT SHIT
FOREVER? NOT ME, I'D RATHER RESIZE THE VIDEOS MANUALLY (WHAT A DRAG, SINCE COMPUTERS WERE
INVENTED TO CUT THE TEDIUM OF REPETITION, BUT I GUESS GOOGLE DOES NOT KNOW THAT)
TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT YOUR SHITTY WORK, GUYS, AND GET ON THE STICK AND FIX IT, IT
SHOULDN'T BE TOO HARD, EVEN FOR MORONS