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The Mexican Government Absorbs the Autodefensas?Or Is It Just Recognizing the Power They've Won?

Jesse Walker|Jan. 28, 2014 12:45 pm

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"The lunatic is all id?e fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars." ?Umberto EcoIn parts of Mexico ravaged by the drug war, ordinary citizens have formed militias, dubbed autodefensas, to protect themselves against brutal cartels such as the Knights Templar. (No, not those guys. These guys.) The militias haven't been shy about taking on the government either: "In some instances," a sympathetic piece in Dissent notes, "the groups disarmed and arrested the local police before acting against the criminals." Sometimes damned as vigilantes and sometimes hailed as liberators, the autodefensas have represented a grassroots third force in the conflict.

This week the dynamics of that conflict changed. Borderland Beat reports:

The Self-Defense Groups that emerged in Michoac?n signed an agreement today along with the federal and state government that will transform them into elements of the Rural Defense Corps, an existing organization under the control of the military. Rurales, groups of armed volunteers who were once used to keep peace in rural areas when security forces were unavailable, once existed between 1861 and 1914, during Mexico's turbulent 19th century.

The signing achieved under the Agreement for the Federal Security Assistance of Michoac?n (Acuerdo para el Apoyo Federal a la Seguridad de Michoac?n), states that the government of the Republic and the state of Michoac?n came to a "conviction of rebuilding peace and public order". The Self-Defense Groups also agreed to provide a list of all of its members.

So: Did the state just formally recognize the power the volunteer forces seized for themselves? Or did it find a clever way to take command?and take names? Discuss in the comments.

Books Editor Jesse Walker is the author of The United States of Paranoia (HarperCollins) and Rebels on

(Reuters) - The Republican Party is expected to approve a resolution this week, calling for repeal of an Obama administration law that is designed to crack down on offshore tax dodging.

In what would be the party's first appeal to scrap the law - the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) - a panel was slated to vote at the Republican National Committee's (RNC) winter meetings in Washington, likely approving the resolution on Friday, according to party members driving the repeal effort.

John Boehner has often said in the questioning and criticism of his lack of leadership in the House, What are the Republican standards for judging the lower chamber? And he's proudly boasted that his chamber should not be judged on how many bills it's passed, but rather on how many bills it's repealed.

Try and try as the GOP might, they've tried some 46 or more times to repeal Obamacare. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. They've worked arduously on curtailing the effects of Dodd-Frank and most other financial regulatory issues. These are protections from abuse of the super rich banking institutions on the backs and shoulders of the masses.

So what's the latest on their agenda? Just look at this, as reported by Reuters:

(Reuters) - The Republican Party is expected to approve a resolution this week, calling for repeal of an Obama administration law that is designed to crack down on offshore tax dodging.

In what would be the party's first appeal to scrap the law - the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) - a panel was slated to vote at the Republican National Committee's (RNC) winter meetings in Washington, likely approving the resolution on Friday, according to party members driving the repeal effort.

What's this mean? The Republicans want to allow rich individuals and wealthy companies to continue to harbor money in off-shore banks without subjecting these monies to federal taxes.

Approved in 2010 after a tax-avoidance scandal involving a Swiss bank, FATCA requires most foreign banksand investment funds to report to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service information about U.S. customers' accounts worth $50,000 or more.

Yup, they want to make the rich richer by allowing them to hide money offshore. What's amazing is that this issue should be of primary concern for the Republicans who are taking a beating in the polls over their income inequality stands. This is just another example of the GOP being out of touch with reality and the public's best interest.

No one is asking the rich to pay unfairly -- we give them all kinds of breaks already -- but to encourage tax evasion seems to be beyond the pale. Just pay your fair share and watch the federal deficit fall -- without giving up food stamp subsidies or long term unemployment benefit funding.

So next time you hear Republicans talking about cutting the deficit, ask them why they're also against everyone paying their fair share? Why they are for tax evasion as opposed to tax compliance.

Hopefully someone will ask Boehner why this issue of promoting and harboring hidden money and not paying taxes on it is in our best interest. It may be in this -- that son of a barkeep is a multi-millionaire. We know it was a key loophole for Romney. How much more of the burden can be put on the public before we break? Remember, we're their foundation. If we fall, they fall as well.

So Mr. Speaker, get ready to tell us again why repealing laws is more important that upholding them? They were voted on and passed for a reason. Maybe you should start pushing for our laws and regulation to be followed, not scoffed at.
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Velocity Factor
Velocity Factor in Cables

In theory, electrical signals move at the speed of light. Cables only slow them down. The ratio of actual speed to the speed of light is known as the velocity factor, or Velocity of Propagation (VOP), expressed as a percentage of the speed of light in free space.

This slowing effect is almost entirely caused by the dielectric material; in coaxial cables, the insulation between the shield and the center conductor. For a closed-cell foam dielectric, for example, the VOP may approach 90%, meaning that a signal will travel at 90% of the speed of light. For solid Teflon?, the VOP is typically about 70%.

(These figures can differ according to specific formulation of the material. They are also subject to variation depending on the construction of the cable.)

What effect does the VOP have? After all, 70% of the speed of light is still pretty fast! Fact is, in some avionic and other electronic applications, speed and delay are critical factors and need to be measured with precision.

The delay from one end of a cable to the other is inversely proportional to the VOP: the lower the VOP %, the longer the delay.

This can be important in relative signal timing, for navigation systems, for example. Delay is independent of frequency. In effect, it is the defining factor of the electrical length of a wire or cable.

Published literature often lists delay among the characteristics of cable. If so, it's a simple matter to calculate the delay for a specific length of cable based on the "ns/ft" value. But it is also practical to calculate delay using the VOP and the following formula:

...or, more practically,

where:
d = Delay in nanoseconds
L = Length of the cable in feet
C = Velocity of light in free space
VOP expressed in percent

As a guideline, Table 1 lists VOP, dielectric constant, and delay for some of the common cable dielectric materials, along with a few less common materials, included for your amusement. Table 2 carries this into
PIC coaxes and a few RG- types.

Delay is a critical factor in determining the bearing of transponder signals received by a directional TCAS antenna. But the figure of merit here is the absolute phase angle of the cable at the specified frequency.
Wavelength & VOP

At microwave frequencies (TCAS and transponders operate near 1000 MHz), a single nanosecond (a billionth of a second) is an entire wavelength. TCAS II tolerates one such wavelength (360?) of mismatch among the four upper or lower directional antenna cables, and some TCAS I processors require even greater precision than that. Note that such phase-matching requires not only that the waves coincide in pattern with one another from cable to cable but that they must do so within the very same wave. (See Figure 1.) Thus both phase and delay measurements are important.

At 100% VOP, the physical wavelength at 1000 MHz (1.0 GHz) will be 11.80 inches. This can be proportioned according to the cable's actual velocity factor, as well as other frequencies. A practical formula is:

A practical formula is:

Or, reduced,

where:
L = Physical length in inches
VOP expressed in percent
f = Frequency in MHz

It needs to be understood, however, that even with the relatively uniform VOP figures in a given cable type, physically measuring them by the inch for phase-matching is no assurance of an accurate match. This is because actual VOP is not always exactly the published figure, nor can it be considered perfectly uniform, even within a single production run of cable. Variances are apt to be more pronounced in cables having high VOP's. Only test equipment which measures electrical length with precision can verify meeting stringent standards such as required for TCAS directional antennas.

PIC produces cables which meet and exceed the requirements established for TCAS and other RF systems. Precise testing is performed to assure that crucial timing and phase- matching requirements are met.
A related Issue: Dielectric Constant

This is a property of the material itself — independent of dimensions — but is an important factor in determining VOP and delay.

The word electric derives from the Greek elektron, which translates to amber. However, amber is an insulating material and is known to produce an electric charge when rubbed. And so even though we think of electric as inferring the flow of electrons (current), we now know that the term comes from some ancient insulator (which has even been known to entomb prehistoric insects. But that's another story — already made into a hit movie or two.)

The prefix di- infers the effect of preventing this flow. A dielectric (amber would qualify) then, is a barrier — an insulator — separating positive and negative electric charges from one another, preventing direct current flow. This action is typified by a capacitor.

In a cable, the dielectric is defined as the non-conducting plastic or rubber (or even air) which insulates a conductor from others.

No conductor material is perfect and the same is true of insulation materials. There are superconductors, special alloys which, in a very low temperature environment, actually do exhibit zero resistance. A perfect vacuum is also an absolute, but is as yet unattainable. What about making cables using a perfect vacuum as the insulation medium? It's even more impractical than superconductors.

So, in the real world, while we might quantify absolutes without practical access to them, we can at least relate to them by a ratio. Thus defines the dielectric constant (electrical symbol ) — the ratio of a material's dielectric (charge storage) quality to that of a perfect vacuum. A perfect vacuum is valued at 1.0. All other materials have a greater value of .

The dielectric constant figures into determining characteristic impedance, loss, capacitance, cutoff frequency and velocity of propagation of coaxial cables.

For example, the dielectric constant of solid PTFE (as used in RG142 and RG393) is nominally 2.1. This means that it will store about twice the charge as a vacuum, or, put another way, roughly doubles the capacitance. PIC's S33141 low-loss coaxial cable employs a dielectric with an ? of about 1.8. It is lighter and thinner but electrically equivalent to RG393, and the dielectric constant is one reason why. Tables 1 & 2 above list these details.

The lower the dielectric constant, the lower the loss, the lower the capacitance, the higher the velocity of propagation — a cable which approaches the ideal. But then we're talking superconductors with a vacuum for insulation, or at least we are venturing into currently impractical materials.

Some formulas for determining cable parameters related to the dielectric constant are shown below:

Impedance in ohms —

Velocity of Propagation (expressed as a % of the Speed of Light) —

Capacitance in pF/ft —

For the equations above,
D = Inside diameter of shield (inches)
d = Outside diameter of center conductor (inches)
= Dielectric constant

Calculating VSWR and loss, while the dielectric constant is a factor, is not as straightforward. For VSWR, it is also necessary to establish the reflection impedance and, for loss, the stranding and braid factors — all this being part of the cable design and engineering process.

The dielectric constant is not the only measure of quality of a cable; cellular polyethylene has an as low as 1.4, but it is rated at a lower temperature. MIL-spec coaxes using polyethylene dielectrics (such as RG58 and RG214) customarily also have PVC jackets and are, therefore, unacceptable for aircraft applications because of smoke and fire concerns.

But some newer techniques and chemistries have developed — such things as foamed, wrapped or expanded tape high-temperature dielectrics. All of these reduce the dielectric constant; but, as increasing amounts of air are incorporated, the material becomes softer and there is a compromise with strength. A nice solid extrusion of, say, PTFE is tough, but losses will be greater than with expanded PTFE tape. Then again, maybe it needs to be tough for practical or environmental reasons.

The trade-offs begin. Electrical performance vs. weight and strength — a never-ending concern in the avionics industry. Cost figures in, too, but often it is simply among the least of concerns.

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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Decent sound, "quirky" design, no warranty through Amazon.
By Andrew N. Price on October 13, 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase
So I bought these speakers as well as another set of what I thought would be complimentary Pioneer car audio products (model number TS-A1374R) through Amazon recently, and overall I would say they sound pretty good; especially given the relatively meager price point that I purchased them at. That said, upon receiving and installing said speakers in my car, I ran into an issue with one of the woofers that was included in this system. More specifically, it was making a very annoying vibrating sound when reproducing certain tones. After several rounds of diagnostic tests I was able to isolate that it was the speaker itself generating the offending noise and not the Amazon sourced mounting hardware or the door it was mounted to. (I determined this by removing the woofer from the door entirely and then playing audio; at which point said vibrating sound was still present.) In further analysis of the issue I found that that if I pressed my finger lightly against the woofers cone that the issue would go away. This in turn led me to assume that the speaker in question suffered from a quality control issue, but it also generated some concerns in regards to Pioneers chosen design for this product; as unlike most other manufacturers, woofers made by Pioneer have an usual protruding voice coil that extends through center of the cone and may in fact be the object that said cone is vibrating against when it is active.

Regardless, as I did not want to have to ship back the whole system to Amazon for a replacement, I elected to contact Pioneer about getting a replacement part; as I had hoped this would help me avoid a lengthy and annoying uninstall process. After waiting a few days for a reply from their customer service department, I eventually received an email with the following message:

"We are sorry to hear about the problem you are having with your speakers. Unfortunately, we must respecfully deny your request for warranty replacement due to the fact that the speakers were purchased from a non-authorized dealer of our car products. Please return the product to the dealer for replacement or refund."

This of course made me go ballistic, and I instantly contacted Amazon's customer service department in regards to why this was the case. The customer service representative (a guy who said his name was Chester) I talked to was extremely polite and apologetic in dealing with me, but unfortunately was unable to provide any details as to why my warranty claim was denied. It was only after I checked Pioneer's site itself and looked under the warranty details section that I finally found the answer I was looking for: Pioneer, along with most other car audio manufacturers, only warranty their products if they are purchased through select online retailers. In the case of Pioneer this means that you have 11 different "authorized online dealers" to select from; of which Crutchfield, Best Buy, and Walmart are on the list, but sadly Amazon is not.

In fact, upon doing further research, I only found one mainstream car audio manufacturer that lists Amazon as an authorized online dealer: Sony; a company that I have historically loathed due to their insistence on using proprietary parts and designs in their various home audio/video and computing products. That said, in this case, they actually seem to be the only company that actually offers warranties through a wide variety of online retailers, and so, that being the case, I have decided to return any and all Pioneer products that I have purchased through Amazon and I purchasing Sony sourced car audio solutions to replace them.

While I understand that this seems to be the status quo among car audio suppliers, I overall am extremely disappointed with Pioneer over their policy in this area. My family and I have historically been extremely loyal and ardent supporters of Pioneer audio products ever since my Father first purchased a home audio system from them during the mid 80's. (It was a rather expensive system at the time; as he wanted something that had a turntable and the ability to record and duplicate audio tapes. Ohhh how far technology has come lol.) However, I personally find the fact that Pioneer as a company refuses to stand behind all of the products that they manufacture as morally unconscionable; especially given that I can purchase a similarly performing product (a set of Sony derived XSGS1720S component speakers) from a competitor that actually stands behind the products that they manufacture. (For three years no less: I know what an amazing luxury right?)

In fact, as much it pains me to do so, as a longtime fan of their products, I am so disgusted with Pioneer over this issue that I am basically boycotting any and all of their goods until their policy in this area changes. I additionally am more than a little disappointed with Amazon over the fact that they do not let customers know that certain goods that are purchased, in good faith, on their site are not afforded the most basic of consumer protections: a warranty. Perhaps this was a recent policy change that they as a retailer are unaware of, but I would hope at the very least that a warning of some sort would be prominently displayed on any of the product pages displaying goods from manufacturers like Pioneer, Infinity, Blaupunkt, Kicker, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, (just to name a few) or any of the other producers of car audio products that do not offer warranty coverage to purchases made through Amazon's website; as at least then consumers would know what they were getting themselves into before they made a purchase. In fact of all of the manufacturers that I researched only Sony seems to explicitly offer warranty coverage to Amazon customers; although it seems that some brands, like JVC, (as to the best of my knowledge anyways) do not have "authorized online retailer" policies included as part of their product support programs.

In general, I see this as being a case of buyer beware, and I would encourage any of you that are reading this rather lengthy post to check out a particular car audio manufacturers website (specifically the "authorized online retailer" and/or warranty sections) before you purchased any of their products through Amazon or any other online retailer.

In the event any of you are curious as to which websites are considered "authorized online retailers" for a specific brand, here are some links that might make that process a bit easier:

Alpine - Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the extensive list, 8 in all, of online dealers that they offer support through.)

Infinity - Where to buy - Infinity

Kicker - Authorized Online KICKER Dealers | KICKER

Pioneer - Pioneer Car Audio Video Authorized Internet Dealers | Pioneer Electronics USA

Rockford Fosgate (which offers support for Blaupunkt as well) - Rockford Fosgate? - Authorized Dealer Locator (Whose site does not actually show any online retailers when you click on the "internet dealers" tab in Firefox/Chrome.)

Sony - http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Sony_Retailers

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An emaciated man who claims he survived 16 months adrift in the Pacific has washed up on the Marshall Islands

A "castaway" was discovered on Thursday when his powerless boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll. The Spanish-speaking man claimed he was adrift for 16 months and survived by eating fish, birds and drinking turtle blood.

The man apparently set off from Mexico heading for El Salvador along with a companion in September 2012. According to his reports, the companion died at sea several months ago. The man, with long hair and beard, was discovered in his 24-foot fibreglass boat on a reef at Ebon Atoll by two locals.

Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student doing research on Ebon, described the man's condition as "not good, but getting better", adding that the man's name was Jose Ivan.

"The boat is really scratched up and looks like it has been in the water for a long time," Fjeldstad said. No fishing gear was on the boat and Ivan suggested he caught turtles and birds with his bare hands. There was a turtle on the boat when it landed at Ebon.

Ebon is the southern-most outpost of the Marshall Islands, located some 8,000 miles away from the Mexican coast. The Marshall Islands, in the northern Pacific, are home to barely 60,000 people spread over 24 atolls, with most of them standing at an average of just two metres above sea level.

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