LAist: Entire Mexican State Underwater, U.S. Slow to Notice

Harriet Shaw Raider

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:51:27 -0800

To Jimmy Diego - while I don't mind a nation's nationalizing its resources, I oppose monopoly when it comes to consumer services. You got it right about the phone company Telmex gets the job done only when you slip a small bribe to your local technician - and its services are damned expensive. The internet backbone is still going in down South at a Mexican, economical pace, but once it's in, we'll see if there's a call for a break-up comparable to breakup of ATT a couple decades ago up here. Oh wait, you Righties are opposed to antitrust actions like the break-up of ATT. You like monopolies here at home, but hate them across the borders....

Harriet Shaw Raider

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:28:31 -0800

I saw the LA Times coverage too - AFTER I read coverage on the BBC and international news websites. And the coverage on the LA Times was good when it came - I was just shocked that I had to wait and watch for it. To Jimmy Diego - even you end your little screed by noticing that the NY Times fell down on the job too. Oh - Mexico immediately offered its Navy and Coast Guard during Katrina, but your hero GW Bush told them that 'we have it under control, thanks, don't need your help.' I'm 'blaming America first'? Get a life. I'm just noticing another example of our media's lack of proportion - and our citizenry's outright ignorance - when it comes to anything happening outside our borders. Neither serves us well. And by the way - American companies do invest in Mexican industries, it's just more difficult in Mexico for international money to take over the entire industrial infrastructure. The natinoal oil industry in Mexico at least keeps Mexico out of huge international debt, which is the gateway to most American "investment" in 3rd world countries.

mathenyc

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 21:49:07 -0800

Where was the Mexican Government to aid these people. Oh I forgot, counting the money given to them from other countries.

Jimmydiego

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:37:31 -0800

Simple question: where was the Mexican Coast Guard when Katrina hit New Orleans? I didn't read any posts about its failure to assist US citizens. Maybe if US companies could actually invest in Mexican industries there'd be a greater INSURANCE industry oversight of natural risks. If Big Oil wasn't a national monopoly and the phone compnay wasn't owned by one company more jobs would actually exist in Mexico and a few million Mexicans in the US would be working in Mexcio and able to work on infrastructure. As to the poster who laments US media coverage of Hurricane Dean, "US media slow to notice" - hnmm - what internet planet does he/she live on. This takes "blame America first" to new levels. Everyone knew of this via the web (last time I looked the backbone of traffic on the web was a US entity) - it's still ongoing - and given the fires in southern cal., the drought in the US southeast, a little thing called war coverage in the middle east, well, OK, I'll fault the NY Times for not having this on page one, and not writing an editorial on it immediately as the rain falls.

spoon

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:34:48 -0800

Although to be fair, I did see the coverage of the floods first on the BBC newscast, which I watch because our local news is dumbed down just enough to be pointess.

spoon

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 12:25:15 -0800

Actually the LA Times did cover this. I assume that the rest of the US doesn't really know where it is. It's not that the US dosen't care, it's that the news staff on TV and in print has been cut to the bone in favor of fluffy entertainment "news". The BBC still has people who know what they are doing. The LA Times is currently getting carved up by it's new owners who have stated time and time again that they are cutting international news. Many US papers are doing the same, ...stupid, but there you have it. And although the rest of the world did cover the CA fires, their coverage wasn't so hot. The focus seemed to be "why are those people living there?" and "celeb/rich people's homes burn".

Harriet Shaw Raider

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 02:09:46 -0800

Thank you for the coverage of this story. The US media ignore Hurricane Dean (http://www.helpafterdean.com) once the hurricane didn't strike the US - and this flooding is an even worse disaster since 10 times as many people are involved.