2012 02 18
Mexico officially welcomes retirees and tourists, at least in part because they want to get hard money from something other than drugs. Well, pharmaceutical money is from legal drugs, anyway. And granted, there is a lot less money in retirees than in ignoring the killings and other problems concomitant with the drug trade, so one should be prepared to be coddled somewhat less than Don Pendejo. There are published rules about what is required of persons wishing to retire here, and then there are the rules of the assholes in the Inmigracion office. Those rules are not published. So, we decided that I should apply for my FM3, which would allow me to leave the country at my convenience instead of arbitrarily every 180 days. We had oodles of fun with G's application, but we finally got the little plastic permission slip. We were prepared. We got all the documents for me that we needed for him, including getting my Canadian passport renewed because the one on which I last entered the country was slated to expire right around the published limit of six months after filing the application.
There is one office in which one can apply - 3 hours away in Morelia. There is a form on-line that one must fill in - done. One must have photos both full-face and profile - done. One must have proof of income - done. Proof that one is living in some kind of housing in Mexico - done. One fills in another form, which is an application to apply for an application for a visa - done. One needs copies of passport pages, including entry visa stamp - done. We're looking pretty good, here. Saint Paul and I get in his car and take the first all-day trip to Inmigracion. Oops, wrong form, you need to fill in this other one which is precisely the same but has a slightly different title. Oops, you are wearing earrings, you have to take them out and get new photos. Oops, the address of one of your proofs says c. de las tenistas, the other says circ. de los tenistas, you need to use that one instead of this one. It's your fault Mexicans can't fucking spell. Oops, your Canadian passport wasn't issued by Canada, it was issued by the Canadian Embassy in Mexico, therefore you have to state that the issuing country is Mexico, not Canada. It's your fault Mexicans can't fucking think. Oops, in the blank that says state, province, city, you weren't born in Alberta, you were born in Barrhead. Oops, I think your post code is wrong on no you're right forget about that. Oops, I think your bank statement is using the wrong colour of black ink, oh never mind, I made a mistake. After waiting four hours to see this asshole, he has made four mistakes in 'verifying' my forms, identified completely spurious 'mistakes' in my forms and, it turns out, has forgotten to mention one or two other invisible requirements. So, back home to change the forms. Cost: nearly $100 in gas and food.
So, get other forms from my bank. Change silly little shit. Kill another tree printing our new versions, and back we go. Wait around another four hours. Get the same fuck-wit agent. Oops, this is the wrong form. Run around the corner and use another precisely similar form with the name he gave us this time. Oops, I've decided that this needs to say that instead of the thing I told you last time. Run around the corner and reprint form. Oops, I have purposely kept you waiting so long that it is now too late for you to take the form I won't give you to the bank and pay the fees. Oops, this is all your fault because you are a foreigner. Oops, I forgot to mention that you have to include a cover letter that includes all the information in the other two forms plus a request for permission to apply for the visa. No, Paul can't go change the form and get the receipt because it is after 13:00 and nothing can be brought into the office after 13:00. If you leave, you won't be let back in. The police officer manning the door can't hand me the stuff I need if I stay and Paul goes. Cost: $100 dollars in gas and food. And my patience.
I said: we have been here all fucking day and you have... by which time the agent was yelling at me not to yell at him, you used a bad word, you better be careful you will be in a lot of trouble....
It would be funny if it weren't so fucking pathetic. And on top of that, the little cretin had the gall to remark how difficult my Welsh middle name is - this from a twat named Eduardo Pascual Rodriguez Vidridones. Who said: a little power corrupts absolutely?
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20120208
2012 02 08
My G-man has been watching a BBC series on Auschwitz in particular and, more generally, the history of persecution and the Nazis in Germany from the end of World War I to the end of WWII. This led the G-man to remark that he hadn't learned anything much about this in school and he quoted some examples of what he found surprising. Some of you may remember that this is not a stupid man, he has a BA in Biology and an almost Master's in social work. From ordinary middle-US schools in Tennessee to U of Minnesota. Because the BBC is known for trying to get all the research done before they film anything, one is predisposed to believing that the series was accurate - and there were a lot of interesting things that I had not heard before, too.
The second thing that pushed the Education Button was the translation of a line in a US-made movie so memorable that I can't recall what it was called. We were watching it on Netflix with subtitles for our friend Lalo, who speaks English pretty well, but sound-tracks and movie actors being what they are, the subtitles help him keep abreast of the action. Anyway, for some reason one of the female characters stole some Shakespeare: "[character name equivalent to Romeo, Romeo] - Wherefore are thou [Romeo]?" which got translated to the Spanish by the indubitably US-educated service as: "[character name equivalent to Romeo, Romeo], dónde estás [Romeo]?" Clever readers have already figured out that it should have read: "¿por qué estás Romeo?" because wherefore did not mean where, it meant why.
The third push was a Republican candidate named Rick SanctimonousVomitori-um spewing hate and misinformation. I know, that is basically the definition of 'Republican' in the US, but still, this one is a real piece of uneducated unthinking work, even by the low standards of the US. I should of course feel flattered that he is an equal-opportunity hater, but equating being gay with the evils of Islamic terrorism, abortion, social conscience and, just generally, thinking for oneself, is a new low even for the party that gave us Reagan and the Bush Clan. Here's the link to the quotes: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/05/31-rick-santorum-quotes-that-prove-he-would-be-a-destructive-president/
The positive upshot of this crap in a thinking country would be the re-election of Obama. In the non-thinking US, no-one knows for sure what will happen. Obama has been ineffectual and less than perfect, in large part but not wholly because of pointless obstructionism from the opposition, but that is a treatise for another day. This one is about education. Or lack thereof. I know that general education in Canada and England has slipped to new lows as well, but I fervently hope that it is not nearly as low as in the US. The brass-plated-shite standard, I call it. A really good education can be had in all three countries - if you have enough money to buy it. Unfortunately, by the time one gets to university age, it is really late to start trying to learn how to think logically, so the expense starts in kindergarten. We know who can afford that, right? And you probably remember how I feel about private 'charter' schools and home-schooling: may as well just run out a kill the T-Rex (dinosaur) living next door watch out for the glacier. The Republican method of surviving is to kill any hope of actual education in the general public: keep them ignorant and afraid and you can do what you will.
It is unfortunate that the rest of the world - and more sadly, I - needs to pay so much attention to the bullshit in the US, but that is a fact of life: they are bullies with big guns, and they need to be watched. Yes, Virginia, even the Democrats, however much better than the other guys they may be. If you can only chose between certain death and probable death, what kind of choice have you got?
The second thing that pushed the Education Button was the translation of a line in a US-made movie so memorable that I can't recall what it was called. We were watching it on Netflix with subtitles for our friend Lalo, who speaks English pretty well, but sound-tracks and movie actors being what they are, the subtitles help him keep abreast of the action. Anyway, for some reason one of the female characters stole some Shakespeare: "[character name equivalent to Romeo, Romeo] - Wherefore are thou [Romeo]?" which got translated to the Spanish by the indubitably US-educated service as: "[character name equivalent to Romeo, Romeo], dónde estás [Romeo]?" Clever readers have already figured out that it should have read: "¿por qué estás Romeo?" because wherefore did not mean where, it meant why.
The third push was a Republican candidate named Rick SanctimonousVomitori-um spewing hate and misinformation. I know, that is basically the definition of 'Republican' in the US, but still, this one is a real piece of uneducated unthinking work, even by the low standards of the US. I should of course feel flattered that he is an equal-opportunity hater, but equating being gay with the evils of Islamic terrorism, abortion, social conscience and, just generally, thinking for oneself, is a new low even for the party that gave us Reagan and the Bush Clan. Here's the link to the quotes: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/05/31-rick-santorum-quotes-that-prove-he-would-be-a-destructive-president/
The positive upshot of this crap in a thinking country would be the re-election of Obama. In the non-thinking US, no-one knows for sure what will happen. Obama has been ineffectual and less than perfect, in large part but not wholly because of pointless obstructionism from the opposition, but that is a treatise for another day. This one is about education. Or lack thereof. I know that general education in Canada and England has slipped to new lows as well, but I fervently hope that it is not nearly as low as in the US. The brass-plated-shite standard, I call it. A really good education can be had in all three countries - if you have enough money to buy it. Unfortunately, by the time one gets to university age, it is really late to start trying to learn how to think logically, so the expense starts in kindergarten. We know who can afford that, right? And you probably remember how I feel about private 'charter' schools and home-schooling: may as well just run out a kill the T-Rex (dinosaur) living next door watch out for the glacier. The Republican method of surviving is to kill any hope of actual education in the general public: keep them ignorant and afraid and you can do what you will.
It is unfortunate that the rest of the world - and more sadly, I - needs to pay so much attention to the bullshit in the US, but that is a fact of life: they are bullies with big guns, and they need to be watched. Yes, Virginia, even the Democrats, however much better than the other guys they may be. If you can only chose between certain death and probable death, what kind of choice have you got?
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