Gangland by Jerry Langton

Gangland: The Rise of the Mexican Drug Cartels from El Paso to Vancouver, Jerry Langton. New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2012. 253 pps.



Gangland is the second book that convinced me not to migrate to Mexico. Jerry Langton goes into depth about the various factions in Mexico which are trafficking drugs up to the United States. He points out that there is a definite presence of these cartels in some cities in the U.S.A. already. The violence that is committed by the members of the cartels is not just a problem south of the Rio Grande. It is here in our cities and I suspect will increase. Where there are illegal immigrants, the presence of these cartels is higher than in communities where Mexicans who crossed legally are settled.

Jerry Langton accurately points out that even if the United States legalizes the use of marijuana, drug trafficking may not stop. Some will still obtain pot from the streets rather than from a legal "store." Taxes. Strength. Yes, those are two reasons why people will avoid acquiring it from sources that have a government stamp of approval. People up here don't just want pot. There is a demand for Mexican heroin, M.D.M.A., cocaine and meth which will not go away.

One thing unique to Gangland is the description of what is happening in drug rehabs throughout Mexico. Folks from cartels have broken in and either murdered everyone there or murdered the patients that they recognize there. Rehabs have also become a favored recruitment ground for the cartels.

sapphoq reviews says: Gangland is a scary book. It is worth reading for anyone who wishes to understand more about the violence associated with the Mexican cartels and their increasing presence in North American cities. Highly recommended.

El Narco by Ioan Grillo

El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency, Ioan Grillo. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2011. ebook, 327 pps.


El Narco gives the lowdown on the total FAIL of the United States' so-called War On Drugs and this country's efforts to strong-arm other countries into joining up. [note: The United States appears to have a sort of pattern of demanding that other countries get on the latest bandwagon. This aggravates me. As an American citizen, I cannot condone these actions. As a human being, I am against my country's politicians and presidents attempting to manipulate other countries into enforcing our "laws," especially if those "laws" are unjust]. There is also a very good description of devotion to the folk-saint Malverde. Jesus Malverde of Sinaloa is revered by many people, not just drug dealers. A shrine to him is popular in spite of the official non-recognition of his veneration by the Roman Catholic Church.

But what really distinguishes El Narco from other books describing Mexican "cartels"-- a term which is not entirely accurate and out of favor-- are the interviews with past and present narcos themselves. I found the interviews to be very informative. They put human faces on the information being presented.

sapphoq reviews says: It is because of this book and another one that I no longer wish to migrate to Mexico. Mexico will always remain special in my heart of hearts as a place that I have fallen in love with and as a spiritual home. Definitely worth reading for a more global understanding of the Drug Wars.

Marching Powder by Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden

Marching Powder: A true story of friendship, cocaine, and South America's strangest jail, Rusty Young and Thomas McFadden. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. e-book, 378 pps.

Thomas McFadden was an international [sort of] distributor of drugs. He was living in England and had the misfortune to be caught holding at a Bolivian airport. After some time in a holding cell, he was sent to San Pedro. 

San Pedro at that time was a different sort of prison. Thomas McFadden quickly discovered that he was expected to pay some money to get in to the prison and then he was expected to buy his own cell. Another prisoner befriended him and promptly gave him the nic "ingles" which pretty much saved his life. The prisoners hated Americans. Bunches of folks were in the prison because of the so-called War On Drugs.

The prisoners were also expected to find their own jobs within the prison if they wanted to work. A prisoner could help make cocaine, sell cocaine, run a restaurant or grocery story, act as a courier or some other stuff inside. Ingles began conducting tours. The tours became widely popular among the backpacking set and then spread to other tourists.

Yes, Thomas McFadden did cocaine and quite a few other drugs and got drunk in San Pedro just like almost everyone else. There is a pretty woman, some rapists, a prison pool, and the families of the other prisoners in the story. Marching Powder illustrates the depth of corruption within San Pedro at that point in time. Reports differ as to whether or not things have changed there.

sapphoq reviews says: Thomas McFadden and Rusty Young have written a captivating [and true] narrative. I could not put the book down. Highly recommended.




a couple of news articles you can check out if you want to:

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jan/17/prison-tour-la-paz-bolivia

and

http://rt.com/news/brad-pitt-cleans-up-bolivian-prison/

Winter World by Bernd Heinrich

Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, Bernd Heinrich. New York: HarperCollins e-books, 2007, 2003. 284 pps.

I love the writing of Bernd Heinrich. He is to the northeast what Ed Abbey was to the west. I have re-read Winter World and decided that this book deserves a review here.

Bernd Heinrich and I share a fascination with the woods. Unlike me, he is able to draw what he sees in the woods fairly well. [I have to resort to a camera. My drawings all look like cartoons]. Like me, he has spent much time in the woods listening as they tell their story.

Winter World addresses how various animals manage to survive the brutal temperatures of winter without freezing to death and stuff like that. From nests to dens to other shelters and from squirrels to birds to turtles to frogs and more, Heinrich satisfies my curiosity.

sapphoq reviews says: If you want to know what ruby-crowned kinglets eat in the wintertime, you should read this book. If you know what a ruby-crowned kinglet is, you should read this book. If you want to know more about nature, you should read all of the Bernd Heinrich books-- even the one about running. 

Hackers Anonymous by A.H. Wetherington

Hackers Anonymous, A.H. Wethering. city not found: Paper Lake Press, 2012. e-book, 43 pps.

This short story addresses what happens within a community when someone is cajoled into working for the perceived enemy. I've seen this happen. 

There is a certain former member of the hacktivist collective Anonymous who now is hiding under the 'ninja' umbrella on one social media site. I love ninjem and I love Anonymous but I don't love him.

This certain fake ninja plea-bargained his way into becoming a turncoat. I clearly remember him on the channels trying really hard to get people to incriminate themselves. Note to Feds: Please instruct your informants in the art of being not so frigging obvious. Supposedly, the man is currently in San Francisco making a living as a sort of painter of pictures-- I think he calls himself a street artist now-- and whatever else he does to hustle for a living I don't really know. The ego-fag in him attracted a certain amount of ill-gotten 'fame.' The Feds perceived of him as a sort of leader of Anonymous. He was willing to be a self-set up spokesperson which in itself is bullshit. And so he got sucked into the machination of social justice and is now working for the enemy.

There are other Anons who refuse to become snitches. For them I have the utmost respect. Contributing to their legal defense funds is one way to let them know that we appreciate their integrity. Writing to them in prisons and publicizing their plight are two other ways of letting them know that they are certainly not forgotten. Because they are not forgotten.

The short story primarily tells a tale of a teen hacker who is quite good at what she does and her parents who don't truly understand her. Dad is a detective in the local police agency. He wants to spend time together as a family. Mom wants teen to enlarge her social circle from two best friends to being a sort of social butterfly.

By and large, that sort of wish is frustrated by the hackers and aspies among us. Technology is for playing with in order to improve both the security and the product. I still remember the olden days when one could call up a company and point out their security flaws. But nowadays, all hackers have become vilified. There is no longer a distinction made by organizations or by law enforcement between hacking as a form of social protest and pen-testing a site without having been asked to versus the loose mafioso-like shadow
companies that are in the business to rip people off.

sapphoq reviews says: A.H. Wetherington has written a short story which is suitable for teens. It was okay. I'm not sure that the message it intended to portray [according to the advertisement blurbs] is the one that teens will get from reading this story. Mom and Dad seem a bit too typical-fifties for my taste. I liked the main character but not the dialogue. Neither recommended nor un-recommended.