BorderLine Propaganda

In the wake of so many U.S. politicians (especially those in AZ) clamoring for greater "border security," it seems that the claim that Mexican drug violence is destabilizing the border regions is simply not true:

The top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states: San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin, according to a new FBI report. And an in-house Customs and Border Protection report shows that Border Patrol agents face far less danger than street cops in most U.S. cities. 

From "AP Impact: US-Mexico border isn't so dangerous."

 I have colleagues who work closely with border issues who have often vented about how mainstream media often blows the Mexico violence issue completely out of proportion. In fact, my buddy Paul even took on the L.A. Times on its Mexico coverage and got into a little back and forth with their Mexico correspondent. Immigration reform is definitely an important issue that the Obama Administration will have to tackle in the near future. I think the upcoming November elections are reason enough to believe that fearmongering over Mexico, Mexican immigrants and the safety of our borders have more political motivation than anything else.

Mexico City Mayor: "I want to ride my bicycle "

The Danish Foreign Ministry (Public Diplomacy Division) and bike designer Biomega teamed up for a  event during the climate talks in Copenhagen that demonstrated Copenhagen's layout as a bike-friendly city. Cruising down Copenhagen's numerous bicycle paths were the Mayor of Chennai, India and the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, who were both interested in incorporating more bicycles into their urban planning. 

In 2007, Ebrard began closing many of the downtown thoroughfares EVERY Sunday in Mexico City, allowing families and bike enthusiasts to ride without the insanity of D.F. traffic. This falls in line with Ebrard's goal of building almost 200 miles of bike paths around Mexico City by 2012.

L.A. Comes to Mexico

My old flame, Los Angeles, got major props from the biggest literary event in the Americas this past week. Before being tapped as the guest of honor at the Guadalajara International Book Fair,  L.A. had the opportunity to showcase some of the best L.A.-centric music, architecture, films and authors (yes, people from L.A. have actually written books!). Mexican-American Mayor Antonio Villaragosa even lent his dreamy telenovela charm.
The warm outward gestures offered by both cities were seemingly directed towards strengthening and deepening ties of what each has to offer as important cultural centers.  Thanks to Titus for the heads up, you can read the article here:

L.A. Shines At Mexican Book Fair