Join us on Friday October 9th!! I will be blogging for a world wide to "Save the Water" Event.
The launch of the Soyuz TMA-16 last September 30, with Guy Laliberté on board, marked the beginning of the Poetic Social Mission, the world’s very first social and artistic mission to be carried out from space. The purpose: to raise everyone’s awareness of water-related issues by drawing inspiration from the ONE DROP Foundation’s dream, “Water for all, all for water.” Seeking to help advance the movement in favour of water for all, Moving Stars and Earth for Water is part of the scheduled awareness activities. This one-of-a-kind global event, next October 9, will consist in a 2-hour artistic happening AROUND THE WORLD! Including Mexico City!!! The artistic core of the show will consist of a poetic tale written especially for the occasion by renowned novelist and Man-Booker Prize-winner Yann Martel. The tale will be gradually revealed as the program takes us through 14 cities around the world and will bring together personalities from different backgrounds such as Former U.S. Vice president Al Gore, U2, Tatuya Ishii, Peter Gabriel, Patrick Bruel, Shakira, A.R. Rahman, Julie Payette and many others who will join voices with Guy Laliberté to celebrate water. Resonating from selected urban centres, these voices will carry all the way to the International Space Station, echoing their concerns and their hopes for this precious resource.
Please please you must join us on October 9th. HOw? Visit ONEDROP.org often, subscribe to the newsletter and follow us on our social networks (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube)Joining this effort in Mexico City will be leading actor, producer and director Salma Hayek who will be emphasizing the importance of water in agriculture and food security. This will be followed by a stellar performance by critically acclaimed singer Lila Downs at the Gran Hotel overlooking Zocalo Square.
I will be providing you the latest of this extraordinary event blogging, on Twitter (Amsalazar) and FB (Ana Maria Salazar Slack)
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
News Summary for October 7th, 2009
++ Mexico City is once again at the top of the list of people infected with the AH1N1 influenza virus, followed by Chiapas and Yucatán… The Health Secretariat said that 35,838 cases have been reported with 245 deaths…
++ Labor Secretary Javier Lozano said accusations by former Mexican Electricians Union leader Martín Esparza Flores, were “ridiculous.” According to Esparza Flores the federal government is seeking to privatize or do away with state run electricity firm Compañía de Luz y Fuerza del Centro.
++ Martín Esparza Flores accused PAN party chairman César Nava of interfering in the union election by backing Alejandro Muñoz… He said a demonstration was being planned…
++ Meanwhile, PAN president César Nava denied any involvement in the electricians union, known as the SME, conflict and denied having met with Alejandro Muñoz, who ran against Esparza Flores.
++ Interior Secretary Fernando Gómez Mont said local and federal governments will intervene in case Mexican Electricians Union demonstrations get out of hand.
++ President Felipe Calderón warned that the economic recovery being felt in Mexico will not be enough to resume the path of growth after huge drops in fiscal earnings.
++ The Federal Electoral Institute said its audit department did not find any illicit money in candidate reports filed by parties.
++ Federal District Public Security Secretary Manuel Mondragón said levels of crime and violence in Mexico City involving minors are “alarming.”
++ The Federal District Attorney General’s Office said no kidnappings were reported in September.
++ The National Water Commission urged politicians not to make a “political” issue out of water shortages but instead work together to seek to guarantee problems are resolved.
++ Labor Secretary Javier Lozano said accusations by former Mexican Electricians Union leader Martín Esparza Flores, were “ridiculous.” According to Esparza Flores the federal government is seeking to privatize or do away with state run electricity firm Compañía de Luz y Fuerza del Centro.
++ Martín Esparza Flores accused PAN party chairman César Nava of interfering in the union election by backing Alejandro Muñoz… He said a demonstration was being planned…
++ Meanwhile, PAN president César Nava denied any involvement in the electricians union, known as the SME, conflict and denied having met with Alejandro Muñoz, who ran against Esparza Flores.
++ Interior Secretary Fernando Gómez Mont said local and federal governments will intervene in case Mexican Electricians Union demonstrations get out of hand.
++ President Felipe Calderón warned that the economic recovery being felt in Mexico will not be enough to resume the path of growth after huge drops in fiscal earnings.
++ The Federal Electoral Institute said its audit department did not find any illicit money in candidate reports filed by parties.
++ Federal District Public Security Secretary Manuel Mondragón said levels of crime and violence in Mexico City involving minors are “alarming.”
++ The Federal District Attorney General’s Office said no kidnappings were reported in September.
++ The National Water Commission urged politicians not to make a “political” issue out of water shortages but instead work together to seek to guarantee problems are resolved.
Monday, October 05, 2009
News Summary for October 6th, 2009
++ President Calderón acknowledged that the budget proposal sent to Congress “is a difficult fiscal package.” … But he called on Mexicans to prevent one third of the nation’s citizens from falling more deeply into poverty…
++ Chiapas governor, Juan Sabines, backed the proposal to set a two-percent consumption tax to fight extreme poverty although he said basic food items should not be taxed…
++ The Mexican Banking Association endorsed the two-percent consumption tax… However, the association rejected the plan to increase public debt in 2010 saying it would create macroeconomic instability…
++ The Labor Secretariat failed to grant recognition to Martín Esparza as new leader of the Mexican Electricians Union… Labor Secretary Javier Lozano said the election was plagued by irregularities…
++ Mexico City Government Secretary José Ángel Ávila said he trusted that Rafael Acosta, “Juanito,” will not break an agreement he reached with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, to leave Clara Brugada in charge as Iztapalapa borough chief until 2012.
++ The Supreme Court commission investigating the fire at the ABC day care center in Hermosillo, Sonora, will meet over a three-day period with the parents of 49 infants and toddlers who were killed in the tragedy.
++ Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said that four of the 23 people arrested during the October 2 march were arraigned and taken into custody…
++ Health officials launched a national seasonal influenza vaccination campaign … The campaign seeks to vaccinate millions of Mexicans against seasonal influenza… Vaccines are free and will be available until December 17…
++ Chiapas governor, Juan Sabines, backed the proposal to set a two-percent consumption tax to fight extreme poverty although he said basic food items should not be taxed…
++ The Mexican Banking Association endorsed the two-percent consumption tax… However, the association rejected the plan to increase public debt in 2010 saying it would create macroeconomic instability…
++ The Labor Secretariat failed to grant recognition to Martín Esparza as new leader of the Mexican Electricians Union… Labor Secretary Javier Lozano said the election was plagued by irregularities…
++ Mexico City Government Secretary José Ángel Ávila said he trusted that Rafael Acosta, “Juanito,” will not break an agreement he reached with Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, to leave Clara Brugada in charge as Iztapalapa borough chief until 2012.
++ The Supreme Court commission investigating the fire at the ABC day care center in Hermosillo, Sonora, will meet over a three-day period with the parents of 49 infants and toddlers who were killed in the tragedy.
++ Mexico City Attorney General Miguel Ángel Mancera said that four of the 23 people arrested during the October 2 march were arraigned and taken into custody…
++ Health officials launched a national seasonal influenza vaccination campaign … The campaign seeks to vaccinate millions of Mexicans against seasonal influenza… Vaccines are free and will be available until December 17…
Sunday, October 04, 2009
News Summary for October 5th, 2009
The United Nations has suggested that in a debate over the 2010 economic package the possibility be discussed of creating a special category of basic foods and medicines that would not be included in the two-percent consumption tax proposed by the government…
----
Deputy Finance Secretary in the revenues department José Antonio Meade insisted that new taxes in the economic package are necessary because oil revenues fell…
----
The PAN Senate caucus denied that the official party has taken a recalcitrant attitude regarding the two-percent consumption tax…
And Senate speaker Carlos Navarrete, a PRD politician, once again expressed opposition to new taxes and said that despite the crisis Mexico still has other options that ensure viability…
----
PRI politician Francisco Rojas, who heads PRI deputies, warned that his party will not rush into approval of any measure whatsoever that has not been fully analyzed…
----
Speaking from Japan, Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard predicted that eight out of 10 deputies will fail to support the government’s economic budget proposal for 2010 because they are not swayed by it.
----
A judge indicted Abel Silva Petriciolet, head of the gang of kidnappers accused in the Fernando Martí and Antonio Equihua kidnappings and murders…
----
A pair of trained dogs at the Mexico City airport sniffed out a large shipment of cocaine – more than 10 kilos – inside a container coming from Amsterdam… Federal Police seized the drugs…
----
Hundreds of people took part in a march in Hermosillo, the 12th such march organized by parents of 49 young children and infants who were killed in the fire at the ABC privately-run IMSS day care center…
----
The Mexico City Health Secretariat was set to launch its seasonal influenza vaccination campaign… Health authorities hope to apply one million doses of the vaccine.
----
Deputy Finance Secretary in the revenues department José Antonio Meade insisted that new taxes in the economic package are necessary because oil revenues fell…
----
The PAN Senate caucus denied that the official party has taken a recalcitrant attitude regarding the two-percent consumption tax…
And Senate speaker Carlos Navarrete, a PRD politician, once again expressed opposition to new taxes and said that despite the crisis Mexico still has other options that ensure viability…
----
PRI politician Francisco Rojas, who heads PRI deputies, warned that his party will not rush into approval of any measure whatsoever that has not been fully analyzed…
----
Speaking from Japan, Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard predicted that eight out of 10 deputies will fail to support the government’s economic budget proposal for 2010 because they are not swayed by it.
----
A judge indicted Abel Silva Petriciolet, head of the gang of kidnappers accused in the Fernando Martí and Antonio Equihua kidnappings and murders…
----
A pair of trained dogs at the Mexico City airport sniffed out a large shipment of cocaine – more than 10 kilos – inside a container coming from Amsterdam… Federal Police seized the drugs…
----
Hundreds of people took part in a march in Hermosillo, the 12th such march organized by parents of 49 young children and infants who were killed in the fire at the ABC privately-run IMSS day care center…
----
The Mexico City Health Secretariat was set to launch its seasonal influenza vaccination campaign… Health authorities hope to apply one million doses of the vaccine.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
News Summary for October 3rd, 2009
++ President Felipe Calderón said that extreme poverty in Mexico shot up in 2008, increasing from 14 million to 20 million people who live in dire poverty.
++ The head of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers Salomón Presburger said the two percent consumption tax being proposed by the governemnt will create more red tape and additional costs for businesses.
++ Mexico City riot police clashed with youths calling themselves “anarchists” who tried to enter the historic quarter in downtown Mexico City with the rest of the marching groups who marked the 41st anniversary of the October 2 student massacre in Tlatelolco square in 1968… The group of “anarchists” graffitied walls, threw firecrackers and damaged buildings… No one was hurt in the skirmishes…
++ Investigations by the Attorney General’s Office show that Ramsés Villareal, a suspect in the explosive attacks on several bank branches in Mexico City, could be linked to the three main subversive groups in the country.
++ Lucía Morett’s parents denied any link between their daughter and Ramsés Villarreal … They said it is a propaganda strategy on the part of the Attorney General’s Office to fabricate culprits…
++ Rafael Acosta, “Juanito,” announced he would meet with Clara Brugada to demand that she respect an agreement to appoint five officials close to him to the Iztapalapa government which she pledged to do, since he said, Brugada is refusing to accept the appointments.
++ The Health Secretariat said Mexico has negotiated with pharmaceutical laboratories and also with the U.S. government to obtain an early shipment of at least five million vaccines doses against the AH1N1 influenza virus.
++ Authorities in Manzanillo, Colima, seized 37 tons of chemical precursors to manufacture synthetic drugs… This is the largest amount of this kind of chemical substances ever to be seized.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, October 02, 2009
News Summary for October 2d, 2009
++ Federal police agents arrested Ramsés Villarreal Gómez, who is accused of the bombing attacks in bank branches in Mexico City in September… Authorities said bank closed circuit video matches the suspect’s physical description.
++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal rejected the swearing-in of federal deputy Julio César Godoy Toscano, since there is an arrest warrant in his name.
++ The 16 new borough chiefs in Mexico City were sworn in… Rafael Acosta, known as “Juanito,” took office shouting “Death to the treacherous Labor Party.”
++ The Federal Disrict government said that after he was sworn in, Rafael Acosta requested a 59-day leave of absence and appointed Clara Brugada as director of judicial affairs and government in Iztapalapa.
++ The newly-appointed head of the Mexico City Human Rights Commission Luis González Plascencia, announced that he will seek that recommendations issued by the human rights commission in the News Divine, Casitas de Sur and Cevallos Coppel, cases be fulfilled.
++ Emilio Álvarez Icaza, former Mexico City human rights ombudsman, announced he is seeking to become the new head of the National Human Rights Commission.
++ Attorney General Arturo Chávez acknowledged that the nation’s 32 state attorney generals have been unable to reach an accord to establish an anti-kidnapping law.
++ President Felipe Calderón announced a series of actions to guarantee investment in infrastructure as the country suffers through the current economic crisis… The project includes the possibility that AFORES be used to inject capital into those projects… Using retirement pension funds for investment…
++ The peso fell to 13.82 pesos per dollar, its lowest level since July 14, when it reached 13.92 pesos per dollar.
++ The Federal Electoral Tribunal rejected the swearing-in of federal deputy Julio César Godoy Toscano, since there is an arrest warrant in his name.
++ The 16 new borough chiefs in Mexico City were sworn in… Rafael Acosta, known as “Juanito,” took office shouting “Death to the treacherous Labor Party.”
++ The Federal Disrict government said that after he was sworn in, Rafael Acosta requested a 59-day leave of absence and appointed Clara Brugada as director of judicial affairs and government in Iztapalapa.
++ The newly-appointed head of the Mexico City Human Rights Commission Luis González Plascencia, announced that he will seek that recommendations issued by the human rights commission in the News Divine, Casitas de Sur and Cevallos Coppel, cases be fulfilled.
++ Emilio Álvarez Icaza, former Mexico City human rights ombudsman, announced he is seeking to become the new head of the National Human Rights Commission.
++ Attorney General Arturo Chávez acknowledged that the nation’s 32 state attorney generals have been unable to reach an accord to establish an anti-kidnapping law.
++ President Felipe Calderón announced a series of actions to guarantee investment in infrastructure as the country suffers through the current economic crisis… The project includes the possibility that AFORES be used to inject capital into those projects… Using retirement pension funds for investment…
++ The peso fell to 13.82 pesos per dollar, its lowest level since July 14, when it reached 13.92 pesos per dollar.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
News Summary for October 1st, 2009
++ In a unanimous vote the Federal District Legislative Assembly appointed Luis González Plascencia as new president of the local Human Rights Commission taking over from Emilio Álvarez Icaza… González Plascencia’s term begins on September 1 and will end on September 30, 2013.
++ National Human Rights Ombudsman José Luis Soberanes said that a government that fails to make human rights a top priority is “crippled.” …
Nearing the end of his ten-year tenure at the helm of the Human Rights Commission the country’s ombudsman charged that neither this administration nor the previous one, have distinguished themselves for safeguarding fundamental rights of Mexicans.
++ The Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved 44 parliamentary committee appointments… The PRI will head 20, PAN 12 and PRD six, while the Green Ecologist Party gets to lead three and the PT, Convergencia and the Panal party one each.
++ The chairman of anti-crime and corruption organization SOS, businessman Alejandro Martí, whose son was kidnapped and killed, charged that corruption and impunity in Mexico turns citizens into potential victims of criminals and institutions.
++ And businessman Nelson Vargas, who also lost a daughter murdered by kidnappers, said it was regrettable that the government is more concerned with combating narcotics trafficking than with other crimes such as kidnapping… He said that impunity and an attitude of “I could care less” or to use the colloquial Mexican term “valemadrismo,” continues to prevail within government…
++ Three hours before president Calderón was set to take part in a civic ceremony in Morelia, Michoacán, three individuals, apparently inebriated, driving two vehicles, tried to break security cordons… Military troops opened fired wounding all three…The Office of the Presidency reported that president Calderon’s security was never compromised by the incident… When it occurred Calderón was visiting his mother at her home in Morelia.
++ National Human Rights Ombudsman José Luis Soberanes said that a government that fails to make human rights a top priority is “crippled.” …
Nearing the end of his ten-year tenure at the helm of the Human Rights Commission the country’s ombudsman charged that neither this administration nor the previous one, have distinguished themselves for safeguarding fundamental rights of Mexicans.
++ The Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved 44 parliamentary committee appointments… The PRI will head 20, PAN 12 and PRD six, while the Green Ecologist Party gets to lead three and the PT, Convergencia and the Panal party one each.
++ The chairman of anti-crime and corruption organization SOS, businessman Alejandro Martí, whose son was kidnapped and killed, charged that corruption and impunity in Mexico turns citizens into potential victims of criminals and institutions.
++ And businessman Nelson Vargas, who also lost a daughter murdered by kidnappers, said it was regrettable that the government is more concerned with combating narcotics trafficking than with other crimes such as kidnapping… He said that impunity and an attitude of “I could care less” or to use the colloquial Mexican term “valemadrismo,” continues to prevail within government…
++ Three hours before president Calderón was set to take part in a civic ceremony in Morelia, Michoacán, three individuals, apparently inebriated, driving two vehicles, tried to break security cordons… Military troops opened fired wounding all three…The Office of the Presidency reported that president Calderon’s security was never compromised by the incident… When it occurred Calderón was visiting his mother at her home in Morelia.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)