Earthquake Survival Kits

6 Comments

1. Dave M
   Posted September 9, 2010 at 1:02 am | Permalink

   Talking about Jesus , dont the christian read the bible???
   I tell you, no one know when I will be coming but the time is near. Not even the angel or me but only my father know the time…

   Why these people predict thing and worried people but at the end is all fiction. I believe prediction is a form of gambling and misunderstanding teory. Just live your life to your fullness and I believe certian thing you should worried and certain thing you should not and let god just do the work…

2. renkellym
   Posted September 28, 2010 at 12:42 pm | Permalink

   Spent the evening removing all objects from our walls in preparation for the Huge Earthquake which may/may not happen in the next few days.

3. The Real Tijuana
   Posted October 26, 2010 at 7:25 pm | Permalink

   It would be interesting to know the methodology of this survey. What period did this survey cover? (Police corruption was particularly virulent during Jorge Hank's administration [2004–2007] and does not represent the last thirty years as a whole.) Also, if the respondents were self-selected (that is, if they volunteered to take the survey), the survey's data are specifically those of victims of bribery as found among blog-readers and so the survey’s conclusions represent neither the general population nor the ordinary tourist experience.

   Whenever you pay cash to a traffic cop, you will be paying a bribe or an extortion. (The difference is that, if you offer the money, you are bribing the policeman; if he tells you to pay, he is extorting you.) The perpetrator of either action is punished with prison time under our Criminal Code, just as they are on your side of the border, so be very careful. Honesty is the better policy.

   The normal procedure in Mexico is for the policeman to take a motorist who has committed a traffic infraction immediately to the nearest comandancia (police station), where the juez calificador (traffic-court judge) hears the case and assesses the fine. These judges work around the clock.

   During Jorge Hank's administration, those judges were in on the scams. Fortunately this normal procedure does not need to be applied in Baja California anymore.

   Any ordinary traffic or parking ticket issued in Tijuana or Rosarito can be paid by check to a post-office box in San Diego, just like you do in the U.S. You might also be able to pay the fine by credit/debit card on the spot if the cop has the right equipment with him. In either case you don't have to go to the comandancia and your payment won't go into the cop's pocket.

   If you're guilty (and do remember our speed limits are posted in kilometers, not miles, per hour), this innovation will save you a lot of time. If you're innocent, you still have the right to speak with the juez calificador immediately. Whether guilty or innocent, don't give the cop any cash.

   We do currently have one unusual problem, however. After-market tinted windows are forbidden in Tijuana: tinting film must be removed upon citation otherwise the vehicle will be impounded. A very poorly constructed ordinance, yes. It was rammed through by our current mayor in order to get Jorge Hank's thugs off the street (the political math being Ford Explorer + tinted windows = semiautomatic weapons inside) and the current mayor specifically asked the police not to enforce his ordinance whenever the vehicle bears gringo plates. But many of the police were hired in Hank's administration and they're none too happy that they can't shake tourists down like they used to. The mayor's mistake is the Hankistas' gain, so, if you have tinted windows, you'd better leave them NoB until the ordinance gets revised, which could be next year.

   Those of us who have lived in Tijuana for a long time are uncomfortable talking about this: it's like talking about earthquake preparedness in Los Angeles. A fact of life, yes; a fact of everyday life, certainly not. And those of us who have lived on both sides of the border have reported more problems with San Diego sheriffs than they have with Tijuana cops. Believe what you like; at least down here you have a hotline. Anytime you have any sort of problem in Baja you can dial 078 from a phone down here to speak with a bilingual tourist ombudsman, around the clock and free of charge.

4. Glen Campbell
   Posted October 28, 2010 at 2:36 am | Permalink

   It would be handy to have one of these in your earthquake preparation kit.

5. NZearthquake
   Posted October 30, 2010 at 5:14 am | Permalink

   Preparation for an earthquake or disaster should be on everybodies mind!

6. Mixx
   Posted December 19, 2011 at 9:24 am | Permalink

   How To Pick The Best Earthquake Preparedness Kit