Monterrey

[MonterreyDude]

I just bumped into a Viagra ad in the newspaper. Farmacias de Guadalajara is selling chewable Viagra.

That one is new to me. But the ad is legit, it is Pfizer's V.

163 pesos for a 50 mg smurff.

This way guys, you can place your Vitamin V inside a TicTac pack. For color matching mint swirl will do.

Cure bad breath and ED at the same time.

[MonterreyDude]

Nobody but mongering is twisting your arm to come to Monterrey. It's up to you.

But though I agree that highway violence is high it is limited to central Tamaulipas state. The northern part has now been pacified by the army's fire power.

And then again, all highway robberies occured during the night time.

Time and time again it has been mentioned that traveling should be done during the day time when all highways in the state of Nuevo Leon are checked by federal forces and the stretch of highway between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo belonging to the state of Tamaulipas is also closly watched.

Please do not say that the highway between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo is no longer secure.

You have no idea of what you are saying. You have no idea of the ammount of traffic that travels not only between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, but between Reynosa and Monterrey.

Both are main connections between Nuevo Leon and the US and traffic is extremely heavy.

And this involves both commercial and private traveling to Texas. Which I must point out, Monterrey is the main lifeforce of the both Texas border cities of Laredo, McAllen and almost the whole of the Rio Grande Valley, incluiding South Padre Island, mostly owned by rich people of Monterrey.

I'm not sure what data you have access to that says all the victims pulled off the buses are cartel members. From what's being reported in the mainstream most the identities of the remains have not even been determined yet (much less cartel affiliation). Tho I guess anybody killed in Mexico is presumed cartel member until proven otherwise.

Interestingly, the reports from Marius here were the first I heard about highway violence in this area of Mexico (when everybody here called BS) and it wasn't until much later that it was reported in the border violence blogs and even later BBC, NYT, etc. (makes it harder to make a convincing case it is just made up by the media if the didn't jump on it immediately).

I personally have been advised that highway travel between Laredo & Monterrey is no longer secure although flying into Monterrey is ok. Situation reminds me of Colombia back before they secured the highways and the only option for intercity travel was to fly.

[Dad Fun 555]

It is being implied that "innocent" travelers by bus, in large numbers, are being randomly pulled off of buses by the Cartels, and murdered, and that these travelers have no connection to the Cartels. That is the BS part. Cartel members are being pulled off of buses, and later found murdered, and in mass graves.

I'm not sure what data you have access to that says all the victims pulled off the buses are cartel members. From what's being reported in the mainstream most the identities of the remains have not even been determined yet (much less cartel affiliation). Tho I guess anybody killed in Mexico is presumed cartel member until proven otherwise.

Interestingly, the reports from Marius here were the first I heard about highway violence in this area of Mexico (when everybody here called BS) and it wasn't until much later that it was reported in the border violence blogs and even later BBC, NYT, etc. (makes it harder to make a convincing case it is just made up by the media if the didn't jump on it immediately).

I personally have been advised that highway travel between Laredo & Monterrey is no longer secure although flying into Monterrey is ok. Situation reminds me of Colombia back before they secured the highways and the only option for intercity travel was to fly.

[Member #3453]

Mmmm the LA Times Socialist?

A privatly owned newspaper geared, diminished, employee minimized as to please the stock holders. Socialist?

A total example of capitalism disguised as a socilist propaganda pamphlet?

Total contradiction to the term.

Anyway. Where is the link?

That IS the main topic.

As in their having a "Socialist" agenda...

And, they are not good capitalists. Their rag is going bankrupt as they adopt and promote their socialist agenda through a totally reprehensible and dramatic slanting of the news to their own leftist, socialistic political views, thereby incrementally losing all credibility with the "buying" public at large.

That is NOT unbiased journalism...

THAT is Propaganda.

And, yes, where IS the link???? :-)))))

[MonterreyDude]

Mmmm the LA Times Socialist?

A privatly owned newspaper geared, diminished, employee minimized as to please the stock holders. Socialist?

A total example of capitalism disguised as a socilist propaganda pamphlet?

Total contradiction to the term.

Anyway. Where is the link?

That IS the main topic.

The Times is a Socialist RAG that is close to bankruptcy! They're the worst offenders of dubious, self serving, hidden agendas! I stand by my assessment of the main stream media.

But, none the less, I did not say that some incidents did not happen. I merely stated that these occurrences are not common. And of this sampling of occurrences, I said that the circumstances of the abductions and murder did not occur primarily at the hands of the Cartels, unless said victims were Cartel members themselves.

There are plane crashes too, but few of us refuse to fly because they happen to occur occasionally. When an entire plane goes down with several hundred passengers, something that occurs far more frequently than the single incident of a bus abduction and murder, everyone accepts the loss with respect to getting on airplanes themselves. Everyone knows that statistically it is not likely to happen to them. But, an analogy can be drawn. Several hundred on a plane, and one hundred on ONE (1) bus.

In making my comments, I am drawing the same kind of analogy. Travelers accept a certain element of risk when flying. When traveling by bus in Mexico, the risk of being killed at the hands of banditos intent on robbery, murder, and eventual interment in a mass grave is significantly less than a potential plane crash.

Did you know there are more deaths per billions of people on buses, just from accidents, than from plane crashes? These are bus accidents, and not the statistically infinitesimally small number of bus robberies and murders where whole buses ended up in mass graves.

Your risk of death by bus with respect to accidents is. 4 in one billion people, by air it is. 05 in one billion people. The odds of being a victim of robbery, murder, and ending up in a mass grave between Mexico and the US border, provided you travel with precautions in mind, are so inconsequential that they can not even be statistically measured. You have a greater likelihood of being killed in a bus accident than being murdered by banditos, and interred in a mass grave.

The media likes to promote the idea that all the mayhem against innocents is at the hands of the Cartels, and they pander to a buying public, sensationalizing the news for their own profit, and fulfillment of their own dubious agendas.

I say most of these incidents are crimes of opportunity committed by freelancers that are running free as government officials deal with the Cartels, having no time or resources to deal with random crime that is not Cartel related.

There are incidents of "crime" occurring all the time in Mexico, and there are freelancers committing crimes in Mexico that have no specific affiliation with the Cartels and / or their specific agenda. Many are crimes of opportunity, committed during late hours, some of which are committed against the buses. But, they are crimes committed by freelancers, and they are not primarily committed by the Cartels upon innocent victims with no ties to Cartel activity, nor are they anything relating to any kind of Civil unrest, or anarchy theory. It's just random crime.

I ride the buses all the time. Provided you follow the proper travel agenda with respect to time of day, just as you should with respect to exposing yourself to the risk of random crimes anywhere in the world, it is relatively safe.

I do not tempt fate, and choose to ride them at night. I do ride them so my arrival is during daylight hours. I simply follow the precautions I would normally follow to avoid random criminal acts.

The Mexican Army is patrolling the highway between Laredo and Monterrey during daytime hours, and the incidents of "Crime, and / or "Cartel Activity," are diminished significantly as a result.

I don't know the circumstances near Brownsville or McAllen, but maybe you should just take a short bus ride up to Laredo if you're worried about the routes you normally take between the border and Monterrey Marius.

Don't blow it so far out of proportion when you see a news story about an isolated incident. An isolated incident does not make a trend. Statistically, the risks are just not there with respect to bus travel between the border and Monterrey.

[Member #3453]

This next News Piece is from the Los Angeles Times.

Oh, unsponged just stated the Times is also lying; also states some were American killed on the busses!

The Times is a Socialist RAG that is close to bankruptcy! They're the worst offenders of dubious, self serving, hidden agendas! I stand by my assessment of the main stream media...

But, none the less, I did not say that some incidents did not happen. I merely stated that these occurrences are not common. And of this sampling of occurrences, I said that the circumstances of the abductions and murder did not occur primarily at the hands of the Cartels, unless said victims were Cartel members themselves.

There are plane crashes too, but few of us refuse to fly because they happen to occur occasionally. When an entire plane goes down with several hundred passengers, something that occurs far more frequently than the single incident of a bus abduction and murder, everyone accepts the loss with respect to getting on airplanes themselves. Everyone knows that statistically it is not likely to happen to them. But, an analogy can be drawn...several hundred on a plane, and one hundred on ONE (1) bus.

In making my comments, I am drawing the same kind of analogy. Travelers accept a certain element of risk when flying. When traveling by bus in Mexico, the risk of being killed at the hands of banditos intent on robbery, murder, and eventual interment in a mass grave is significantly less than a potential plane crash.

Did you know there are more deaths per billions of people on buses, just from accidents, than from plane crashes? These are bus accidents, and not the statistically infinitesimally small number of bus robberies and murders where whole buses ended up in mass graves.

Your risk of death by bus with respect to accidents is .4 in one billion people, by air it is .05 in one billion people. The odds of being a victim of robbery, murder, and ending up in a mass grave between Mexico and the US border, provided you travel with precautions in mind, are so inconsequential that they can not even be statistically measured. You have a greater likelihood of being killed in a bus accident than being murdered by banditos, and interred in a mass grave.

The media likes to promote the idea that all the mayhem against innocents is at the hands of the Cartels, and they pander to a buying public, sensationalizing the news for their own profit, and fulfillment of their own dubious agendas.

I say most of these incidents are crimes of opportunity committed by freelancers that are running free as government officials deal with the Cartels, having no time or resources to deal with random crime that is not Cartel related.

There are incidents of "crime" occurring all the time in Mexico, and there are freelancers committing crimes in Mexico that have no specific affiliation with the Cartels and/or their specific agenda. Many are crimes of opportunity, committed during late hours, some of which are committed against the buses. But, they are crimes committed by freelancers, and they are not primarily committed by the Cartels upon innocent victims with no ties to Cartel activity, nor are they anything relating to any kind of Civil unrest, or anarchy theory. It's just random crime...

I ride the buses all the time. Provided you follow the proper travel agenda with respect to time of day, just as you should with respect to exposing yourself to the risk of random crimes anywhere in the world, it is relatively safe.

I do not tempt fate, and choose to ride them at night. I do ride them so my arrival is during daylight hours. I simply follow the precautions I would normally follow to avoid random criminal acts.

The Mexican Army is patrolling the highway between Laredo and Monterrey during daytime hours, and the incidents of "Crime, and/or "Cartel Activity," are diminished significantly as a result.

I don't know the circumstances near Brownsville or McAllen, but maybe you should just take a short bus ride up to Laredo if you're worried about the routes you normally take between the border and Monterrey Marius...

Don't blow it so far out of proportion when you see a news story about an isolated incident. An isolated incident does not make a trend. Statistically, the risks are just not there with respect to bus travel between the border and Monterrey...

[Marius 67]

this next news piece is from the los angeles times.

oh, unsponged just stated the times is also lying; also states some were american killed on the busses!

by tracy wilkinson, los angeles times.

reporting from matamoros, mexico— suitcases started piling up, unclaimed, at the depot where buses crossing northern tamaulipas state ended their route. that should have been an early clue.

then the bodies started piling up, pulled by forensic workers from two dozen hidden graves in the scruffy brush-covered ravines around the town of san fernando. 80 miles south of this city that borders brownsville, texas.

at least 177 corpses have been recovered in the last few weeks, most of them, officials now say, passengers snatched from interstate buses, tortured and slaughtered. women were raped before being killed, and some victims were burned alive, according to accounts from survivors who eventually overcame their fears and came forward.

the slayings have horrified a mexican public already awash in violence and led commentators to call them "our auschwitz" and a "mexican genocide."

worse yet is the realization that the killing in tamaulipas state has been going on for months — including the brutal slayings of bus passengers — and no one, not the bus companies, nor the police, nor the officials in charge, acted to stop it.

elida martinez, a gray-haired woman in her 60s, was one of dozens of mothers, fathers and siblings of the missing who were waiting in the morgue here the other day to offer blood samples for dna testing.

two of her daughters disappeared in february, one kidnapped from the hotel in san fernando where she worked and the other seized from her home in the middle of the night a short time later. between them they left behind four children.

"you pray to god you won't find them here," she said. yet the gut-wrenching uncertainty tears her apart."you don't sleep. you can't work. you live in anguish."

it now appears, however, that the killings continued, and not just of immigrants but mexican citizens and, perhaps, a handful of americans. on wednesday, authorities said they had rescued a group of 68 mexicans and central americans who had been seized by gangsters from buses or from bus stations in the same area.

the motives behind the bus kidnappings remain unclear. gangs may seize the passengers hoping to extort money from them, to forcibly recruit them or because they are searching for rivals.

the killings have galvanized an unusual if belated consensus, even among conservative commentators and politicians, that parts of mexico have indeed been lost to criminal gangs such as the zetas and the gulf cartel that control (and are battling each other to dominate) the northeast. what does it mean, they ask, when the federal government cannot keep the nation's highways safe from brazen predators?

[Member #3453]

[/QUOTE]The bodies of people abducted from busses have been positively identified in mass graves. That is no BS. [/QUOTE]

It is being implied that "innocent" travelers by bus, in large numbers, are being randomly pulled off of buses by the Cartels, and murdered, and that these travelers have no connection to the Cartels. That is the BS part. Cartel members are being pulled off of buses, and later found murdered, and in mass graves.

Those that are being pulled off of buses are mostly victims of independent freelancers intent on robbery, and they are not ending up, murdered, in mass graves.

The implied warnings that suggest you have a higher likelihood of being murdered by the Cartels because you choose to take a bus from the border to Monterrey is BS.

The recommended travel times by bus between the border and Monterrey are 6am-3pm. That significantly reduces the likelihood of your being targeted for what is essentially criminal activity, ie; robbery.

If you are a careful monger, and not a Cartel member, your likelihood of being victimized by the Cartels is still exceedingly low, even when traveling by bus.

[Cdiazgto]

[QUOTE. That is pure, unadulterated BS that the mass graves consist of kidnapped bus riders. Pure BS! [/QUOTE]Why the denial?

It is true that the majority of those found in mass graves are as you stated, cartel related. But there are 100's of confirmed cases to the contrary. The bodies of people abducted from busses have been positively identified in mass graves.

That is no BS.

[Member #3453]

Please see this news cast, it's from the Mcallen News station; it's in english! Listen to what the news caster says the bodies come from. Adminstarters please do not censor the link, as it shows the real dangers in Mexico at this moment and it comes from a legitament local news station.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=609221

The news media is merely a pawn of both governments. I trust the government about as much as I trust the news media. In all respects, everything they say has an underlying hidden agenda. That is pure, unadulterated BS that the mass graves consist of kidnapped bus riders. Pure BS!

[Larbo]

Please see this news cast, it's from the Mcallen News station; it's in english! Listen to what the news caster says the bodies come from. Adminstarters please do not censor the link, as it shows the real dangers in Mexico at this moment and it comes from a legitament local news station.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=609221

If non-gang US citizens were being yanked off a bus going North to South from the border, all of the US newspapers would be full of accounts of the action. Newspapers live for this sort of thing. My company would be forbidding me to travel to Mexico, and that certainly hasn't happened.

I stand by my previous post.

If you are not a member of one of the gangs, if you are not a member of the police or Federal troops actively fighting the gangs, if you are not carrying a suitcase full of money to buy drugs, and if you are not trying to take over the turf of one of the gangs, then you are as safe as you have ever been in Monterrey.

You still have to take the same precautions you should have always been taking. They are the same precautions you take in any city when you are in an area where there are opportunistic individuals ready to take adventage of unwary prey. Previous reports state these precautions in detail. If you are not doing these precautionary actions at all times, you are in danger, but not in any more danger than you have always been.

[Marius 67]

The part of your post that implies that people are being yanked off of buses and murdered, then buried in mass graves, is totally and completed unsubstantiated.

The occupants of mass graves are Cartel members, or Cartel Sympathizers, that have been targeted by rival gangs, murdered, and disposed of in mass graves.

The mass graves have nothing whatsoever to do with people being kidnapped off of buses in large numbers, murdered, and buried in mass graves.

Please see this news cast, it's from the Mcallen News station; it's in english! Listen to what the news caster says the bodies come from. Adminstarters please do not censor the link, as it shows the real dangers in Mexico at this moment and it comes from a legitament local news station.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=609221

[Member #3453]

Sir, the incident I talk about was in the Mcallen monitor newspaper website, whats messed up about it, was that the Town mayor of Megual Aleman said no such incident had occured, I was there, seen it, but mostly heard the mexican army and the thugs shooting at each other. I was too afraid to take a peak when hiding in the pharmacy I agree with your statement; the last few months it seemed that everything was back to normal in Mexico; then all of a sudden Sh*t hits the fan. Also tell me why the busses have stop running? I know why, because zetas were boarding busses and just randomly killing people, also they are finding more graves with hundreds of people in them. And it's reported that only a fraction of those mass graves have been found, and most of the victims were kiddnapped from busses. I really would like for mexico to be safer.

The part of your post that implies that people are being yanked off of buses and murdered, then buried in mass graves, is totally and completed unsubstantiated.

The occupants of mass graves are Cartel members, or Cartel Sympathizers, that have been targeted by rival gangs, murdered, and disposed of in mass graves.

The mass graves have nothing whatsoever to do with people being kidnapped off of buses in large numbers, murdered, and buried in mass graves.

[Marius 67]

Really, seriously, Marius, if you have any experience in Monterrey whatsoever, you must know that visiting around Easter is like the deadest time of year, maybe second only to Christmas, if that. Probably no less than 75% of the bar girls have kids, and 95% have families. That same sense of duty that motivates 90% of the girls to demean themselves in the bars for their kid's benefit, will be no less a motivation to be with their kids, and / or their families, at Easter. Many will be traveling back home to other parts of Mexico to be with family, and many will be spending time right in Monterrey doing Easter related "kid stuff."

Believe me, the bar girls will be totally and completely occupied during the Easter weekend, and their availability will be virtually non-existent.

You know, I find your stories amusing for several reasons Marius. Overall, for this reason. I regularly travel by bus between the US and Mexico, and have absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Why is it that as frequently as I make those trips between the US and Mexico, I have NEVER had any problems whatsoever, nor have I ever even seen anything even remotely approaching the "suspense" that seems to be regular part of your life traveling between the US and Mexico, you experiencing what is akin to "Civil War" each and every time you attempt to make the trip?

I also find it amusing and suspiciously coincidental, that every time activity on the forum is running at a slow pace, with very little new commentary being posted, like the last few weeks, we see what could only be described as unverifiable, and wildly sensationalized experiences from you concerning Monterrey, ones that no other mongers ever seem to also "endure" in their own exploits. Why is that? I would suspect that at least we would also hear the same kinds of stories being related by other mongers coming to Monterrey on a regular basis. Yet, we hear from them that in their experiences Monterrey is safe, they're having fun, their travels have been uneventful, with no suspenseful, life threatening experiences, and that they have been virtually unaffected by the "Civil War" you say exists.

Could it be you are just planting seeds, bored that the forum is slow, and hoping to act as a catalyst for commentary?

Bored? Craving entertainment are we?.) Well, you are planting the seeds for literary discourse in what has become a virtual wasteland of bogus reports and disingenuous contributors? Enjoy.

Sir, the incident I talk about was in the Mcallen monitor newspaper website, whats messed up about it, was that the Town mayor of Megual Aleman said no such incident had occured, I was there, seen it, but mostly heard the mexican army and the thugs shooting at each other. I was too afraid to take a peak when hiding in the pharmacy I agree with your statement; the last few months it seemed that everything was back to normal in Mexico; then all of a sudden Sh*t hits the fan. Also tell me why the busses have stop running? I know why, because zetas were boarding busses and just randomly killing people, also they are finding more graves with hundreds of people in them. And it's reported that only a fraction of those mass graves have been found, and most of the victims were kiddnapped from busses. I really would like for mexico to be safer.

[Member #3453]

thought it would be a good time to be in Moneterrey this easter weekend

Really, seriously, Marius, if you have any experience in Monterrey whatsoever, you must know that visiting around Easter is like the deadest time of year, maybe second only to Christmas, if that. Probably no less than 75% of the bar girls have kids, and 95% have families. That same sense of duty that motivates 90% of the girls to demean themselves in the bars for their kid's benefit, will be no less a motivation to be with their kids, and/or their families, at Easter. Many will be traveling back home to other parts of Mexico to be with family, and many will be spending time right in Monterrey doing Easter related "kid stuff."

Believe me, the bar girls will be totally and completely occupied during the Easter weekend, and their availability will be virtually non-existent.

You know, I find your stories amusing for several reasons Marius. Overall, for this reason...I regularly travel by bus between the US and Mexico, and have absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Why is it that as frequently as I make those trips between the US and Mexico, I have NEVER had any problems whatsoever, nor have I ever even seen anything even remotely approaching the "suspense" that seems to be regular part of your life traveling between the US and Mexico, you experiencing what is akin to "Civil War" each and every time you attempt to make the trip?

I also find it amusing and suspiciously coincidental, that every time activity on the forum is running at a slow pace, with very little new commentary being posted, like the last few weeks, we see what could only be described as unverifiable, and wildly sensationalized experiences from you concerning Monterrey, ones that no other mongers ever seem to also "endure" in their own exploits. Why is that? I would suspect that at least we would also hear the same kinds of stories being related by other mongers coming to Monterrey on a regular basis. Yet, we hear from them that in their experiences Monterrey is safe, they're having fun, their travels have been uneventful, with no suspenseful, life threatening experiences, and that they have been virtually unaffected by the "Civil War" you say exists.

Could it be you are just planting seeds, bored that the forum is slow, and hoping to act as a catalyst for commentary...?????

Bored? Craving entertainment are we? :-))) Well, you are planting the seeds for literary discourse in what has become a virtual wasteland of bogus reports and disingenuous contributors? Enjoy...