Cry for Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina

     Perhaps El Gringo Viejo should have been born with an arm behind his back, because he tires of reaching all the way around to pat himself on the back.    Even with all the fish oil, he still winds up with creaking joints when it's all over.

     The point is that the Argentine populace has lost its patience with their "Nueva Evita", and her initiatives to essentially confiscate private pensions, dividends on stocks and bank deposits, and dollars held in private hands.    During the past week-end, hundreds of thousands of Argentines marched through the main boulevards of Buenos Aires and other principal cities of the nation protesting against President Cristina's policies and her announced plans for the near future.   Usually dependable cannon-fodder people failed to come to her defence, such as many if not most of the major labour unions, many of whom joined in the marches.

      Frequently repeated slogans and placards were "We do not want to be Venezuela" and "Cristina, Loan me part of your 70,000,000 dollars".   Her wealth level was disclosed to be at that level due to filings that are normally required in Argentina.  That is a pretty good hunk of change for girl who was a community organiser, after being a committed armed communist revolutionary during her university and post-university period.    Of course, in the way of all communist demagogues, she and the rest....Fidel, Raul, Hugo....actually have much more money slumped away in bank accounts in  Spain, France, Mexico, and other countries with capitalist stain.    So far, only Fidel has more than five billion dollars stolen and squirrelled somewhere.    Shades of Yassir Arafat.

What follows is taken from ABC - Univision from coverage of demonstrations not far from ABC's New York offices. 

 

      Tomas Perez Alati stood proudly with the Argentine flag around his neck and two signs that read, "Cristina: were you able to change dollars for your trip? I couldn't" and "Cristina: Could you lend me some of your U$70,000,000???" His first message was a clear attack on restrictive government measures that prevent people from changing pesos to dollars. The second message refers to Fernandez de Kirchner's personal wealth, which rose to $70,000,000 since the beginning of her first term in 2007.

     Pot-Banging and Anthem-Singing Protests Follow Argentina's Fernandez de Kirchner to Columbus Circle, even as far away as New York City.

Signs at the protest against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. (Univision/Pablo Barrio)

 

     These manifestations are relatively mild compared to what is going on in the homeland.  Marches have become longer and more frequent.   Frequent strikes, infrastructural problems, and increasing crime are beginning to become more and more the norm.....water, sewer, trains, highway repairs....and many Argentines who have the one-quarter ancestry required are trying now to leave and return to assume Italian citizenship.   Rather much like jumping from the frying pan into the frying pan.

     Cristina was re-elected last year to a second term, after having done little beyond promising to do something "for the poor and exploited".   Like Obama's whisper heard round the world: "After my election, I have more flexibility,” U.S. President Barack Obama told his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, earlier this year, leaning over and punctuating the remark with a reassuring pat on his fellow leader’s arm.
      Cristina likewise assured her commie buddies in Argentina that she would begin the "fundamental transformation" in earnest at the onset of her second term, and she did.   She went to Caracas to kiss Chavez's big toe and generally pledged solidarity to the Southern Hemisphere Initiative ....a socialist cabal of countries formally known as "developing world" and soon to be known as the "undevelopable world".   Within this mess, Brazil teeters and totters. Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Venezuela are already inextricably stuck.   The 45 percent are being taxed to death to pay for the 55 percent.
      In Argentina, however, Cristina has it fixed up already...very quickly....so that 100 percent of the people pay everything for nothing.   "We are going to confiscate your bank accounts, but it won't cost you anything." is the new revolutionary motto.    Once again...like Obama.   She has already played the "Malvinas Card", which is the shiboleth that Argentine leaders fall back on during times of trouble.   Stir up a good little war with the British on the Falkland Islands, and that will distract the people for a while.   Then after the war is lost, the leaders can hope for an earthquake.

     Just a bit of a progress report for the New World's favourite female despot.   Who knows, maybe in 30 years more, Hillary can finally kill all the available witnesses again and make another run for the Presidency of the United States.
El Gringo Viejo

Magic Stat

    El Gringo Viejo draws information directly from FWE, and includes the excellent analysis about the data falsification tactics being used by the regime in charge of the central government at this time.   The question is, "Why are Obama donors at the BLS allowed to handle and interpret the data?"

     We use FWE as a reliable information source and also as a wheretogo for explanations about phantasm facts published by the central government.

 

Data Massaging Continues: Initial Claims Tumble To 339K Lowest Since 2008, Far Below Lowest Expectation

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/11/2012 08:42 -0400

• BLS
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• New Normal
• Steve Liesman
• Trade Deficit
• Unemployment

This is just getting stupid. After expectations of a rebound in initial claims from 367K last week (naturally revised higher to 369K), to 370K (with the lowest of all sellside expectations at 355K), the past week mysteriously, yet so very unsurprisingly in the aftermath of the fudged BLS unemployment number, saw claims tumble to a number that is so ridiculous not even CNBC's Steve Liesman bothered defending it, or 339K. Ironically, not even the Labor Department is defending it: it said that "one large state didn't report some quarterly figures." Great, but what was reported was a headline grabbing number that is just stunning for reelection purposes. This was the lowest number since 2008. The only point to have this print? For 2-3 bulletin talking points at the Vice Presidential debate tonight. Everything else is now noise. It is also sad that the US "economy" has devolved to such trivial data fudging on a week by week basis, which makes even the Chinese Department of Truth appear amateurish by comparison. Needless to say, Not Seasonally Adjusted initial claims jumped by 26K to 327K in the past week but who's counting. Finally, what is the reason for ongoing QEternity if the employment situation is now back to normal. Finally, in completely ignored news, because who needs global trade when you have toner cartridge, and generally ink, the US trade deficit in August rose by 4.1% to $44.2 billion, on expectations of a deterioration to $44.0 billion. Then again nobody talks about the US trade deficit during presidential debates so all good here.

Jobless Claims beat by the most since May 2009 and is the lowest since Jan 2008 - the new normal...

This is for OROGs who were scratching their collective heads.   It helped me.

El Gringo Viejo

So What Do We Do With a Dead Cartel Boss's Carcass?

Every time there is a significant advance by Mexican military units...any great success...a few moments go by and then the press begins to remind the public that the success is not all that important.    It is quickly intoned that for every head that falls, two more grow in its place.    Reporters line up to scoff at the "parade arrests" which finds a bunch of thuggish looking thugs being presented to the press with one or two soldiers, heavily armed, standing behind each hapless thug.   Analysts are quick to point out that these line-ups are almost always staged, and usually the arrestees don't even make it to arraignment before they are released for lack of evidence.

     The scoffers continue, with almost pre-fab paragraphs that are always.....and I mean always....employed by the reporter or commentator.   The prisoners who make it into prison are always "sprung" by Cartel invaders and they all disappear into the fog of war.   All of the judicial and constabulary personnel are corrupt and the whole matter is hopeless.   While there is a grain of truth in these reports, those grains are used to perpetrate a false sense of futility.   And, one thousand grains of sand do not make a beach.

      These last two events are a good example.   The Lascano take-down was so important that when El Gringo Viejo was driving up to Texas on the day of the events people were celebrating at the news.   Because of my little fever, I stopped a couple of times at little pleasant restaurants, and in each case, the clients and staff were standing in front of the television cheering the news about the fall of Lascano.   It would be best not to translate the names and epithets employed to describe the Lascano bum and the depraved "El Ardilla" on this blog.

 

      The next point is simpler.  The leftist press celebrated with hilarity the news about how Lascano's body had been taken off, stolen by the heroic cartel thugs, who like the American Marines, never leave a fallen comrade on the battlefield.    Absolute camel puke.

 

      Once Lascano's body had been forensically identified, it is no longer of any use in Mexican court or legal proceedings.   Perhaps the reporters would prefer that the Mexican Army or Naval Infantry take these bums and head them at a taxidermy and hang the trophies on some museum wall somewhere.    The best news we can develop is that a group of people came and took the remains in a bronze casket to the church in Lasano's nearby hometown.    The Catholic church in that  community was rebuilt at considerable expense by Lazcano (something that is rare in Mexico, but not rare enough) and the viewing and rosary was conducted there, interment followed the next day.    To set aside the predictable argument that Lascano's body was not Lascano's body, all should be aware that he was forensically identified and also confirmed by various acquaintances.
     The Naval Infantry spokeman relevant to this particular case did make a perfunctory statement to the effect that "efforts to relocate the body are underway".     My opinion is that there will be pictures of a very eleborate interment either in Progresso or Sabinas, Coahuila, not far from the Texas border coming out in Gazetta Policiaca very soon.


El Gringo Viejo



El Zorro Rides Again

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/09.10/forgottenman.html

 

     This is a necessarily depressing, and well done, piece of work.   The artist put in a lot of time, but the entire tape takes less than three minutes.  Pray for the health of the Republic.  This was sent in by El Zorro during my absence at our place up against the mountains.

El Gringo Viejo

A Few Short Notes

During our last stay down on the face of the Sierra Madre Oriental, days were confused by positive and negative clashes of information on various fronts.   Yesterday, coming back up from the Quinta, it was amazing to see the number of tractor trailer rigs....really comment worthy.  Many were in same company convoy, others just moving along.   I was passed by scores of these trucks, almost all expertly handled....(there are always one or two jerks in the mix).    A roughly equal number was encountered heading South into the interior, loaded with some American-orginated something.

     For someone who grew up essentially travelling throughout Mexico, we still marvel to see transport trucks that have all 18 (or frequently 22) tires being the same brand, age, mileage, and "truth of axle".   Such a think has been commonplace for about 15 years now, longer on 1st class and deluxe busses...but, back in the 1950s it was a marvel to see how many different wheels, tires, and whatever they could adapt to the issue of moving this thing to that place. 

 

 

Big Bird?

    The silliness over introducing Big Bird into the issue of this campaign, or a debate, is on a parallel path into the Brea Tar Pits.   Parallelling paths include Miss Fluke's  demand that someone pay for her birth control pills.   All of this is driven by Democrat focus group respondents who famously have no remote notion of "what means" critical thinking.    Democrat focus groups are well-known to be unable to respond to questions about certain common topics because they have never heard about the common topic under examination.

     But!   One thing stands out about the common Democrat voter;   they love things that make them feel good.   Big Bird has helped many a busy mother distract her little litter launchers during early morning and/or after-school episodes.   So mothers love Big Bird.   The children love amorphous, androgynous "beings"...(Big Bird, Barney)...and so it is a big, happy, warm, and fuzzy Daisy chain of parasitism.

     It also feels good to remember that Big Bird comes from Sesame Street, where there are no churches or synagogues and where heroes are garbage scavengers, and where five year old girls lecture 50 year old men about moral issues and "social justice" and global cooling...I mean global....wait, it's polar bears and recycling to-day?

      Also, Big Bird fits the template.   He's unemployed, educated after a fashion that he's not even qualified to do jobs for which he feels he is too good to stoop.   He's also able to take advantage of his Uncle's house AND his insurance until pigs fly and Government Motors pays back the bond holders and preferred stock owners from the days of the expropriation in 2009.

      It would be so much nicer if Big Bird and all of his peculiar fifth-column strangoes could go out and support themselves, as did Fred and another famous Barney, as well as the Jetson.  But, (sigh)  Big Bird has the curse and blessing of having a very rich uncle.

 

The Military and the Cartel

    

    The normal, reasonable, and commonly civil and inefficient Mexican rural condition has continued to improve over the past couple of months....faster than we thought it could.  There were two major figures in our general area, very senior level, very animalistic who were taken down.   One was killed, and perhaps better, the other one was captured.   They had been encountered in a remote area in Coahuila State a few miles southwest of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

     The captured one has been fingered as the ZETA area commander at the time of the situation on Falcon Lake.   He has the unlikely nickname of ''ardilla" (squirrel).  He is a remnant of a treasonous group of ranking sergeants of the Mexican Army from about 15 years ago now.   (Has it really been that long?)

     He was never a member of the Mexican Army.   He post-dates the formation of the ZETA group.  He was a child in the real heyday of the organisation.  He has brutally killed many people personally, many of them illegal aliens from Central America who refused conscription into the new, improved ZETA organisation.

      There is hope that "El Ardilla"  will shed some light on the happenings at Falcon Lake.

 

What all does this mean to El Gringo Viejo or anyone else?   Nothing more, really, than having to go out to the gate more frequently to receive "drop-in" type visitors who are moved to want to take a better look at our little mud hut on the Rio Corona and to census our gardens and stories.    Perhaps business will soon return to normal.

 

 

 

Doing a bit poorly....nothing serious.

 

     We have been beset upon by the Devil with having a bit of a runny nose which turned into a bit of throat discomfort  and then a lot of slop being coughed up.   Throw in some fever and a pre-disposition of moan and groan....we just haven't been really, really up and in the mood to attack yesterday and to-day.   At this moment, we are feeling much improved.

      It is fascinating how many women in general, and in particular the better three-quarters of the Gringo can have all this same symptoms and just keep right on going.   But, for me, it just seems impossible to think with a fever.

 

 

More Later.

El Gringo Viejo    

Open for Business Again

Another uneventful drive back to the Republic of Texas.   This is just a note to allow all OROGs to be aware that El Gringo Viejo is back.   We shall return to this same column later to-night and then again in the morning early with stories about the Quinta and issues affecting our Nations.