General Discussion Thread

[jemhouston]

Interesting piece of news. Normally if you want to call a number in the security zone in Mexico, you had to dial +52 (Mexico country code). As of March 1, you don't have to dial +52, it's now +1, same as the US and Canada.


According to the rumor I heard, Mexican Security Zone Officials started talking to their friends in Baja about it a few years ago. They started talking to the phone companies.


.

[Poohbah]

Interesting piece of news. Normally if you want to call a number in the security zone in Mexico, you had to dial +52 (Mexico country code). As of March 1, you don't have to dial +52, it's now +1, same as the US and Canada.


According to the rumor I heard, Mexican Security Zone Officials started talking to their friends in Baja about it a few years ago. They started talking to the phone companies.


.

The plot thickens...

[Lordroel]

Interesting piece of news. Normally if you want to call a number in the security zone in Mexico, you had to dial +52 (Mexico country code). As of March 1, you don't have to dial +52, it's now +1, same as the US and Canada.


According to the rumor I heard, Mexican Security Zone Officials started talking to their friends in Baja about it a few years ago. They started talking to the phone companies.


.

The plot thickens...

Mexico City will respond, in their usual way.

Did notice during their last military parade that the regime has some new toys, some drones and some missiles.

Seems they are cheap to make and in large numbers, so far they have not been used against the separatist, wonder why.

[Belushi TD]

Because no one wants to go after the separatists when they are in areas under control of the US military. Sure, no one is really certain what cheap drones can do against a tier 1 military and vice versa, and the separatists are pretty careful to only do their thing in the states under US control.

Belushi TD

OOC - At least that's what I would assume in universe. If I'm talking out my ass, I'll be happy to edit/remove as needed

[jemhouston]

Over at a news site mentioned those drones. He was wonder if they were actually drones, or dummies. The comment section was interesting.

[Lordroel]

Because no one wants to go after the separatists when they are in areas under control of the US military. Sure, no one is really certain what cheap drones can do against a tier 1 military and vice versa, and the separatists are pretty careful to only do their thing in the states under US control.

Belushi TD

So they could be building up, they can be launched from trucks in salvos it seems.

[Wolfman]

Hey, Matt, did the FBI nail Proxmire during the War, or did he escape prosecution?

[Poohbah]

Hey, Matt, did the FBI nail Proxmire during the War, or did he escape prosecution?

Proxmire apparently managed, without significant difficulty, to convince the FBI that he didn't know a damn thing.

Make of that what you will.

[jemhouston]

Hey, Matt, did the FBI nail Proxmire during the War, or did he escape prosecution?

Proxmire apparently managed, without significant difficulty, to convince the FBI that he didn't know a damn thing.

Make of that what you will.

More idiot than useful idiot.

[jemhouston]

I caught part of this, but I didn't find the full store. Since the war, Mexico City would issue passports to residents in the Security Zone to show they still had sovereignty over the area. They were marked as "US Illegally Occupied Territory." They also couldn't be used for entry into the rest of Mexico from another country.

I think Mexico City said they would stop issuing passports to residents of the Security Zone without a time table to remove US forces from the area.

Anyone hear anything.

[Poohbah]

I caught part of this, but I didn't find the full store. Since the war, Mexico City would issue passports to residents in the Security Zone to show they still had sovereignty over the area. They were marked as "US Illegally Occupied Territory." They also couldn't be used for entry into the rest of Mexico from another country.

I think Mexico City said they would stop issuing passports to residents of the Security Zone without a time table to remove US forces from the area.

Anyone hear anything.

And word is that there's a grand total of 3,971 such passports issued since the war. Most of them to high-ranking mucky-mucks who managed to get out ahead of the ordinary folks trying to lynch them.

[Matt Wiser]

If you held a plebiscite today, the results would definitely shock the Communists in Mexico City: the last poll had statehood at about 48%, Commonwealth status a la Puerto Rico at the same, with Independence at 3% and reunification with Mexico at 1%.

Anyone notice the drones? They are very similar to a model that's been displayed at parades and defense exhibitions in Tehran for a number of years. That shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Mexicans don't have the military power to retake what we took in 2010. Eventually, the Soviet leftovers will fall apart due to lack of spares if nothing else.

[Poohbah]

If you held a plebiscite today, the results would definitely shock the Communists in Mexico City: the last poll had statehood at about 48%, Commonwealth status a la Puerto Rico at the same, with Independence at 3% and reunification with Mexico at 1%.

Anyone notice the drones? They are very similar to a model that's been displayed at parades and defense exhibitions in Tehran for a number of years. That shouldn't come as a surprise.

The Mexicans don't have the military power to retake what we took in 2010. Eventually, the Soviet leftovers will fall apart due to lack of spares if nothing else.

More than one observer--from both within and outside the Security Zone--has observed that all of the proposed solutions are completely unsatisfactory at this time.

Key words: "at this time."

The longer the present situation continues, the more likely that the situation will evolve toward either statehood or commonwealth status. Independence isn't in the cards because Northern Mexico just doesn't have the infrastructure or resources to be truly independent. Reunification is going to require radical change in Mexico City.

What's interesting is that, for the vast majority of the people, the statehood/commonwealth argument is a fun diversion . . . at this time. Until there's a very definite preference one way or another, that's what it's going to be, something to have a bull session about over adult beverages and finger foods until the football match comes on. When the time for choosing draws near, the arguments will be more serious, because there will be real choices to be made, with real consequences, real winners, and real losers. But tomorrow can take care of itself; in the meantime, enjoy the debate and the refreshments . . . at this time.

And, increasingly, those arguments are moving from Spanish to English.

[Matt Wiser]

Remember when the last UN Mission went down there a couple of years ago? They were very surprised to see the pro-Commonwealth and Pro-Statehood camps being as large as they are. They were also shocked-their words as quoted by CNN-that the locals refuse to use the term "Occupied." They prefer "Liberated" to describe their situation at present.

Locals working on American bases and American-funded public works projects, American companies coming in and setting up shop, American TV available either over the air or by satellite, the local papers have editions in both Spanish and English, and both major political parties now have operations in the SZ. The UN observers were shaking their heads when they left.

[jemhouston]

I forgot to post this last month. At the Houston Auto Show, the stickers show where the cars are produced. On the stickers new this year according to people doing the talking, Domestic Content SZ. The SZ is security zone.

[Belushi TD]

Remember when the last UN Mission went down there a couple of years ago? They were very surprised to see the pro-Commonwealth and Pro-Statehood camps being as large as they are. They were also shocked-their words as quoted by CNN-that the locals refuse to use the term "Occupied." They prefer "Liberated" to describe their situation at present.

Locals working on American bases and American-funded public works projects, American companies coming in and setting up shop, American TV available either over the air or by satellite, the local papers have editions in both Spanish and English, and both major political parties now have operations in the SZ. The UN observers were shaking their heads when they left.

Probably with dismay.

Belushi TD

[Wolfman]

Hey, Matt, did the FBI nail Proxmire during the War, or did he escape prosecution?

Proxmire apparently managed, without significant difficulty, to convince the FBI that he didn't know a damn thing.

Make of that what you will.

More idiot than useful idiot.

Either way, it ended his political career… and a lot of people were saying “Good riddance to bad rubbish!”

[Poohbah]

Proxmire apparently managed, without significant difficulty, to convince the FBI that he didn't know a damn thing.

Make of that what you will.

More idiot than useful idiot.

Either way, it ended his political career… and a lot of people were saying “Good riddance to bad rubbish!”

Unless you were a Wisconsin dairy farmer, they loved him...

[Poohbah]

And Roberta officially has her tags reserved for her Aston Martin Valhalla.

She got this past Idaho's DMV:

GYWYCF

I am in awe of her ability to get stuff over on stuffy, humorless bureaucrats.

[clancyphile]

I assume you told them to sit down and STFU?

The staffer who took the call was smart. Not that he knew how to fix right away (he didn't), but he immediately passed it up the line after he took thorough notes. In fact, he also sought the SME on my staff (the legislative assistant for DOD) as well.

They took one look, brought it to my attention, and we pretty much arranged to keep it quiet. Not quite STFD and STFU, but, more along the lines of "call the day you find the cache."

They're getting nice checks for that. Auto shop funded for one, college taken care of for the other. Both have plenty left over... once they're no longer grounded (should be another week or so...).