BajaNomad - AFN rips Ron Raposa a new one

AFN rips Ron Raposa a new one

arrowhead - 2-3-2010 at 12:18 AM

OK, here is a link to the article in Spanish:
http://afntijuana.info/blog/?p=26665#more-26665

...and here is a link to an instant Google translation:
English translation by Google

There must have been some kind of an RFP (Request for Proposal) put out by some agency in Baja to get consultants to run a program to improve the image of Baja and bring in tourists. Several firms responded, with proposals that varied from around $400,000 to $800,000 in fees + expenses. Ron Raposa, Hugo Torres' "right-hand man" came in with the $800,000 proposal. The AFN article basically craps all over the whole idea. Read the comments of the readers, they are even more to the point.

The basic premise of AFN is that they are going to perfume a pig.

JESSE - 2-3-2010 at 01:19 AM

We don't need no stinking focus groups

CaboRon - 2-3-2010 at 03:58 AM

Perhaps the focus groups are for the tourist police :wow:

Has anyone actually seen these tourist police in action :?:

ELINVESTIG8R - 2-3-2010 at 05:32 AM

Whoever thought up this imbecilic campaign needs to have their heads removed from the deep dark recess of their colon where they obviously maintain them and have their heads examined for stupidity. They get a failing grade for thinking that people who come to Mexico are stupid and can be sucked back with lies. What a bunch of numb-nuts they are! They should give the money they have to the Army and the other Police agencies that are out to capture or kill the scumbags instead of this useless program.

HERE ISSUE THIS INSTEAD

WHAT DUMMIES YOU ARE[/COLOR]

[Edited on 2-4-2010 by ELINVESTIG8R]

Mexicorn - 2-3-2010 at 06:10 AM

Telephone polls?
Lavish trips?
Quarter page ad's in a local rag boasting that its safe to come back in the waters "JAWS" has left the building.
Come on people the Hugo spin machine wants to bolw smoke up your butt!
Honestly the money would br much better spent if it was just given to Harry O of the footprinters.
Harry O could improve the image of baja through the use of his newsletter.

Woooosh - 2-3-2010 at 09:08 AM

You can't fix stupid. I wonder how many of Torres's RBH condo units remain unsold. I'm sure the two are related- at least in his pocketbook. He can't expect tourists to return before the business merchants feel it is safe to. He can't expect the real estate market to return until the economies (in the buyers home country) stabilize and improve.

The problem is the crime, not crime reporting. Tourists won't come to a blighted downtown with boarded-up restaurant and nightclubs.

Yes, the tourist police patrol regularly and I met one wearing fake Armani sunglasses and a pierced tongue who spoke good english. He must be from Torres' private stable.

Dave - 2-3-2010 at 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
Yes, the tourist police patrol regularly and I met one wearing fake Armani sunglasses and a pierced tongue who spoke good english. He must be from Torres' private stable.

Tourist police...Best thing that ever happened to Rosarito. Combined with Torres' preferred visitor card this has virtually eliminated local police corruption against expats and most tourists. I haven't been shaken down in months.

It's all about perception. With the Cartel's hold on Rosarito there's little that can be done about crime except hide it from view. As long as crime doesn't affect the expat community it's mostly ignored.

And, how about giving Ron Raposa a break? He's simply doing the Mayor's bidding. A paid employee.

Woooosh - 2-3-2010 at 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave

Quote:

I agree with almost all of that post. The story/truth about the two American expats who were said to have been carjacked a few weeks back was totally ignored and suppressed. We'll never know what went on and it's no longer "news". One more victory for the spin machine because no news is good news.

[Edited on 2-3-2010 by Woooosh]

Bajahowodd - 2-3-2010 at 01:39 PM

I'm no fan of Torres. Believe me. However, and in light of much of what Dave posted, and given the juggernaut of the cartels, what do people want Torres to do? Board up his property and move to Maui?

lizard lips - 2-3-2010 at 01:47 PM

The Mayor in LA is doing the same thing but he has a different PIG and it smells better-or worse depending on how you look at it. Torres and Veramagoooosssssa use the same PR firm don't they?

JESSE - 2-3-2010 at 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
I'm no fan of Torres. Believe me. However, and in light of much of what Dave posted, and given the juggernaut of the cartels, what do people want Torres to do? Board up his property and move to Maui?

How about fire his Police chief, hire a new one that will actually fight the criminals. Clean up his police force, fire all cops that are demanding bribes from tourists, escorting drugs for the cartel, and killing people.

Seems basic to me, either do your job, or quit and let someone else do it.

No, it wasn't

Dave - 2-3-2010 at 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh

The story/truth about the two American expats who were said to have been carjacked a few weeks back was totally ignored and suppressed.

The mayor went so far as to have a meeting with concerned expat residents. Think he does this with the locals who have their cars jacked?

The point is that when this happens to gringos it makes noise.

Mexican on Mexican crime isn't a public relations problem.

Mexicorn - 2-3-2010 at 05:31 PM

I think Mr. Raposa should be able to speak for himself if he wants to.
I dont take nicely to being force fed a line of C-R-A-P about how things are getting so much better in Rosarito. Bums, drug addicts and beggers frequent the streets of Benito Juarez. What you havent heard about are all the break in's that are ocuring in broad daylight when theres no cops around.
I think my ole buddy Dennis from punta Banda coined it correctly when he once reffered to it as "ROB-ME-A-RITO."
I see frogs went under how about that all boarded up with graffetie scrawled all over the exterior-
Que Bonito!

Woooosh - 2-3-2010 at 05:43 PM

Quote:

During the violent period last summer- Hugo Torres said that if he only owned a hot-dog stand- he would leave town himself too. no lie.

What he should do is show leadership. Suck it up and talk to Iggy and the big club owners. Convince them to move back and open their clubs. Convince Iggy to re-start the Rosarito marketing effort for Spring Break he used to bankroll. Work with merchants to open all the businesses in the tourist section- no plywood ranches. Do whatever it takes to make the Tourist zone active and appealing.

The tourist coupon system he created that let you bypass most of the line at the border- if you spend money, didn't work so well I guess. Haven't heard a peep about it lately.

arrowhead - 2-3-2010 at 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
And, how about giving Ron Raposa a break? He's simply doing the Mayor's bidding. A paid employee.

That was Adolf Eichmann's defense at his war crimes trial in Israel for shipping hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death in concentration camps. They hung him anyway. I guess that is not a good alibi.

DENNIS - 2-3-2010 at 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
Do whatever it takes to make the Tourist zone active and appealing.

Easy enough. Just make a "NO CLOTHING" rule which would mean no concealed weapons. :lol:

Defense?

Dave - 2-3-2010 at 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
And, how about giving Ron Raposa a break? He's simply doing the Mayor's bidding. A paid employee.

Is Ron on trial for something?

Woooosh - 2-3-2010 at 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
And, how about giving Ron Raposa a break? He's simply doing the Mayor's bidding. A paid employee.

Well, Torres has only convinced 10,000 Americans to ship themselves (and their retirement funds and entitlements) to Rosarito Beach so far, so maybe he's only an Ike-ette.

I'm having a hard time with the crime stat censoring thing. We never leave the house empty even with great, watchful neighbors. It would be nice to know what is happening in town. In the absence of facts- the locals spread rumors that serve no one well down here right now.

arrowhead - 2-4-2010 at 12:26 AM

The Grim Reaper is carrying a smoking automatic rifle and says, "What a great country!" His suitcase shows he has been to Cd. Juarez, Guanajuato, Tabasco, Torreon and Mexico City. His itinerary says Sinaloa, Tijuana, Chihuahua. The tourist kiosk says "Mexico, Tourism Promotion Counsel" and the sign on it says, "Thanks to you, Mexico lives."

Cartoon is from La Journada.

Mexicorn - 2-4-2010 at 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
And, how about giving Ron Raposa a break? He's simply doing the Mayor's bidding. A paid employee.

A little extreme?

arrowhead - 2-4-2010 at 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexicorn
A little extreme?

During WWII, the Judenräte were administrative bodies that the Germans required Jews to form in the German occupied territory of Poland, and later in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union.

With the formation of ghettos, these Judenräte were forced by the N-zis to provide Jews for use as slave labor, and to assist in the deportation of Jews to extermination camps during the Holocaust.

Now look again at the gringo ghettos in Baja and the Ron Raposa's of the world.

DENNIS - 2-4-2010 at 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead
With the formation of ghettos, these Judenräte were forced by the N-zis to provide Jews for use as slave labor, and to assist in the deportation of Jews to extermination camps during the Holocaust.

Now look again at the gringo ghettos in Baja and the Ron Raposa's of the world.

I agree. This is a bit extreme. Besides, isn't Raposa's focus on BSing the tourists rather than the Chicken Coopers?

Mexico...The fourth Reich

Dave - 2-4-2010 at 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead
.
With the formation of ghettos, these Judenräte were forced by the N-zis to provide Jews for use as slave labor, and to assist in the deportation of Jews to extermination camps during the Holocaust.

Now look again at the gringo ghettos in Baja and the Ron Raposa's of the world.

So...The master plan is to staff the maquiladoras with gringos... Then exterminate them?

This could work :rolleyes:

Bajahowodd - 2-4-2010 at 12:36 PM

If Torres had a magic wand, waived it, and eradicated all crime in Rosarito, fact is that tourism doesn't stand to ever return to historic levels. People continually fail to understand the impact of US citizen's low rate of passport possession. Rosarito was a weekend getaway for many folks of limited means, college kids, etc. No visa required. Possess a photo ID such as a drivers' license and you were golden. Same would apply to the historic numbers of day-trippers to TJ.

arrowhead - 2-4-2010 at 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
I agree. This is a bit extreme. Besides, isn't Raposa's focus on BSing the tourists rather than the Chicken Coopers?

Chicken Coopers. That's a new one. I think Raposa's focus is helping Hugo sell those $300 -$500K chicken coo....er, condo's to the tourists.

[Edited on 2-5-2010 by arrowhead]

DENNIS - 2-4-2010 at 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead

Chicken Coopers. That's a new one.

That was a JR thing. I just couldn't think of anything else at the moment.

Woooosh - 2-4-2010 at 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh

The story/truth about the two American expats who were said to have been carjacked a few weeks back was totally ignored and suppressed.

The mayor went so far as to have a meeting with concerned expat residents. Think he does this with the locals who have their cars jacked?

The point is that when this happens to gringos it makes noise.

Mexican on Mexican crime isn't a public relations problem.

Yes, he held a meeting almost two weeks after the carjacking event, which has never been in print or on the net, as far as I can determine. So what happened- did anyone go to the meeting to get the explanation? Not even a reporter?

Mexicorn - 2-4-2010 at 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by arrowhead

Quote:

Originally posted by Mexicorn
A little extreme?

Arrowhead-
You need psychiatric help-
Comparing Torres and Raposa to war criminals is nuts.
You are nuts, or drunk or taking to much perscription drugs.
Tone down your intake by half. And for Christs sake stop smoking pot!

arrowhead - 2-5-2010 at 12:47 AM

Put a sock in it corny. You're the one orbiting beyond Pluto most of the time.

In the meantime....
82-year old Gringo tied up, beaten and robbed in Rosarito

An 82-year old American was beaten, tied up with electrical wires and robbed in his home in Rosarito. The robbers stayed in the house with him tied-up for more than a day and then took off in his car.

k-rico - 2-5-2010 at 02:14 AM

wow!!

That really sucks. Poor guy. I wonder if he needs help in some way. He could be all alone.

Even makes this Tijuana dude frightened.

Sick, very sick people. This isn't cartel crap.

DENNIS - 2-5-2010 at 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico

Sick, very sick people. This isn't cartel crap.

Most probably not. More like pus oozing from the infected wound that is Rosarito.

k-rico - 2-5-2010 at 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico

Sick, very sick people. This isn't cartel crap.

Most probably not. More like pus oozing from the infected wound that is Rosarito.

Oh, come on, no need for that. Where do remarks like that come from?

Plenty of good people live in Rosarito, no need to make them feel worse by slamming their hometown.

Two guys in San Diego were just sentenced for kidnapping and beating up an 80 something old lady and throwing her in the truck of her car. It happens everywhere.

Perhaps tonight in Punta Banda.

DENNIS - 2-5-2010 at 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico

Plenty of good people live in Rosarito, no need to make them feel worse by slamming their hometown.

Who did that? Cancer patients have all my sympathy.

By the way....it doesn't happen everywhere.

Woooosh - 2-5-2010 at 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico

Sick, very sick people. This isn't cartel crap.

Most probably not. More like pus oozing from the infected wound that is Rosarito.

Did you read the comments posted on the AFN story?

How can you blindly defend Rosarito when the crime news coming out of it is blocked from the USA media? They have formally been threatened not to issue "security alerts". How many crimes like this happen every day? Every minute? We do not know and will not know- yet they want us to come to Rosarito Beach to buy houses, condos and eat lobster!

I did read about that poor old lady and saw her on the Today show. The thugs who did this to her knew her, were caught and received two life sentences- not roaming free as these criminals are now among us in Rosarito. Maybe if this man's story was on the Today show- things in Rosarito would change. As long as Rosarito is a tourist destination for Americans- visitors should have access to the information they need to decide FOR THEMSLEVES what is safe, not Mayor Torres.

No worries for Rosarito- Sandra Dibble and the UT won't report this either! She said she was interested in and would report any crime directed specifically at Americans/tourists in Rosarito Beach, but is not true to her word. The proof is that nothing has been printed about the carjackings and this man's confinement.

ELINVESTIG8R - 2-5-2010 at 10:49 AM

This is going to happen if the crime wave does not stop. You wait and see.

Blocked?

Dave - 2-5-2010 at 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
How can you blindly defend Rosarito when the crime news coming out of it is blocked from the USA media? They have formally been threatened not to issue "security alerts".

The crimes were reported in the Mexican media. The fact that they weren't picked up by U.S. sources is whose responsibility, exactly?

And just how would you expect Rosarito or it's mayor to enforce a threat against anyone?

A lifetime ban on lobster dinner at Puerto Nuevo?

DENNIS - 2-5-2010 at 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
A lifetime ban on lobster dinner at Puerto Nuevo?

Now...This is no lie. I heard the restauranteurs in Puerto Nuevo are starting to save the gutted shells of the lobsters. Word has it that they'll soon be stuffing them with squid meat, flavored and pressed by a special machine made in China. They say the flavor resemblence is uncanny [which I think means it can't be canned].
The Puerto Nuevo Marketing Association flattly denys this with an addendum, "Anyway, squid meat is good and good for you."
They also say prices will soon drop fifteen percent to entice an even more robust tourist market. Outside experts say that will be a sign the switch has been made.

Dave.....Are you going to be serving the new Squidster?

Woooosh - 2-5-2010 at 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave

Quote:

First, let me assure you no one is coming down to pay $25 for a frozen lobster dinner in this economy. Why do you think Ortegas opened a San Diego location?

The two recent carjackings were not reported by the Mexican or USA media anywhere as far as I can tell. No report in the UT of the 82 year old who got tied up, held captive and beaten yesterday either...

What good does Spanish language crime reports in Mexican papers do a family planning a baja vacation? They are pushing hard to change the image of Rosarito by blocking the US Media and sailing clubs from reporting crimes ("security Alerts". That is a fact they aren't ashamed to announce:

"In an effort to reverse the poor image of Baja California, Tijuana particularly with respect to security, the Secretaria de Turismo del Estado (SECUR) has prepared the implementation of two new strategies: To move directly against anyone who generates alerts and to begin a political campaign with the help of the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores(SER).

I do agree it is no one responsibility to report anti-American crime in English to Americans. Using that standard- there would be no newspapers at all. The ONLY one who took crime reporting seriously in Rosarito in English for Americans was the Gringo Gazette- and they drove her out of town.

[Edited on 2-5-2010 by Woooosh]

Bajahowodd - 2-5-2010 at 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico
wow!!

That really sucks. Poor guy. I wonder if he needs help in some way. He could be all alone.

Even makes this Tijuana dude frightened.

Sick, very sick people. This isn't cartel crap.

Perhaps this is at least to some extent the chickens coming home to roost in the lengthy recession combined with the deportations Southbound and the drying up of Northbound immigration. There have been other threads containing discussion about the seeming incongruity of decreasing crime in time of economic hardship. Maybe we're witnessing the more long term effect.

Woooosh - 2-5-2010 at 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Dave
A lifetime ban on lobster dinner at Puerto Nuevo?

I don't doubt the ability to convert squid to somethingthat looks and tastes like lobster. They already do the same with surimi crab- that fake crab meat no one mistakes for the real thing.

I was once approached by a meat vendor representing a company that had a product (called fibrix) that turned meat scraps from trimming back into whole meat cuts- almost distinguishable from a real fresh cut of beef. They thought we would like something like "bullseye steak" which looked like a slice of prime rib with a round pork center. They thought it would give us a marketing advantage and it would have cut our food costs to amounts in the $Millions per year.

It almost cost me my job- but I held fast to a "parts is parts" defense. It's was a matter of public trust. Personally, I like a steak charred black on the outside and cold on the inside (Philadelphia style). If it's a fresh-cut piece of meat, I trust the cold center to not have been contaminated. With a Fibrix steak- it would look the same, but the inside would have been open to contamination from a number of sources and it wouldn't be cooked high enough to kill the pathogens. Not good. So we said no thanks...

We also had some Swiss idiots from Nestle come in to offer whipped beverage machines- remember those Orange Julius kiosks in malls? Nestle thought their best product was a whipped Iced Tea. Who would drink whipped Iced Tea? They didn't last long in the room with me that day...

But I'm not sure a Puerto Nuevo lobster restaurant has the same focus on quality and food safety a US fortune 500 hospitality company does.

DENNIS - 2-6-2010 at 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
remember those Orange Julius kiosks in malls?

Ooooh, yeah. I love Orange Julius. Are they still around?

Woooosh - 2-6-2010 at 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh
remember those Orange Julius kiosks in malls?

Ooooh, yeah. I love Orange Julius. Are they still around?

I haven't seen one in a long long time. I think they were a mall thing in the 80's. You can make your own:

* 6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
* 1 cup milk, lowfat okay
* 1 cup water
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 8 ice cubes

DENNIS - 2-6-2010 at 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Woooosh

I haven't seen one in a long long time. I think they were a mall thing in the 80's.

Thanks for the recipe, Woooosh. There were OJ stands, like AW Root Beer before the malls. I forgot all about those things.

rob - 2-6-2010 at 10:14 AM

what happened to Orange Julius? This from Wikipedia . .

"In 1987, the Orange Julius chain was bought by International Dairy Queen. IDQ, and by inclusion since 1999, Berkshire Hathaway, owns the rights to all Orange Julius stores, and have expanded the chain so its drinks are included in many of their Dairy Queen mall stores, called Treat Centers.[4]"

DENNIS - 2-6-2010 at 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rob
what happened to Orange Julius? This from Wikipedia . .

"In 1987, the Orange Julius chain was bought by International Dairy Queen. IDQ, and by inclusion since 1999, Berkshire Hathaway, owns the rights to all Orange Julius stores, and have expanded the chain so its drinks are included in many of their Dairy Queen mall stores, called Treat Centers.[4]"

Thanks. I'm on a quest.

Bajahowodd - 2-6-2010 at 03:24 PM

Dennis- I believe your best bet is Mission Valley Mall. I know there is one there.

DENNIS - 2-6-2010 at 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Dennis- I believe your best bet is Mission Valley Mall. I know there is one there.

Very cool. I may be spending a couple of days in MV next week....or the week after. I'll look into it.