Job Discussion Forums

[GueroPaz]

I lived among foreigners in the US, and attended political rallies with more than a few prior to 11 Sept 2001, a few after then. As far as I know, unless recent legislation rescinded the Bill of Rights, all aliens in the USA, including illegals, have all the rights of citizens, except to vote or run for public office, or be a federal employee..

I think illegal Mexicans and others have the right to protest.

[geaaronson]

That was my understanding as well. And to qualify the federal employee status, it is also illegal for a non-citizen to be a member of the armed forces. The last is an interesting case in point as there have been several fatalities among armed personnel in Iraq who were non-citizens, so I suppose when it comes to dying for your country, the feds look the other way.

[Phil_K]

Going back on topic, why can't you buy a bed in Mexico?
I mean a complete bed with mattress and headboard, not just a base, which you have to add a mattress - I'm sure that's how we used to buy beds in England.

[Guy Courchesne]

[MELEE]

You can also buy all the parts together in Elektra and it's sister stores as well as various other places.

Back off topic,
In the US some states have passed laws to deny certain services to illegal immigrants, like driver's licenses and public health services. Other states have enacted laws to specifically prohibit education and health officials from asking immigrants their migratory status.

[GueroPaz]

My comment about 'federal employees' meant civilian, not military. When I served in the US military long ago, we had aliens amongst us (a French Canadian, no less!!). But at the IRS, every employee had to be a citizen, and there were many naturalized employees, including a Transylvanian with an MA and a lingering Dracula accent (same home town!).

Trying hard to drag this back on topic, each country is entitled to restrict the activities of aliens, and Mexico has special reasons. The big Mexican bread company Bimbo bought Mrs. Baird's bakery from Texas, but doesn't want Big Oil owning Pemex. ....countless jokes about Mrs. Baird now being a Mexican bimbo....

[cangringo]

Ok I said I wouldn't post anymore but this is on topic and I couldn't resist....recently they have been repaving our streets here and they accidentally covered all the manholes...the solution was to send out crews of two men to find them and dig them out which in turn caused cracks and a lot of damage to the new paving. The solution to that is to fill in the holes with dirt and in some instance concrete...which means that the concrete will not settle and the asphalt will. So my point is, it's like they didn't repave at all at this point.

That one just makes us laugh.

[TheLongWayHome]

[cangringo]

it is lunacy

I forgot to mention that the parts they have covered in sand have now washed all the sand down to other streets which I�m sure will help to clog the already pathetic drainage so when it rains it will flood somewhere. Luckily we are on a sloped street and don�t have to worry too much. Every year in hurricane season they worry about the flooding but no one ever seems to fix it.

[Dragonlady]

deleted

not directly related to TESOL

[cangringo]

real bonfide asphalt in some places...although the whole city is not paved yet

[sarliz]

I keep needing to wash grubby, paint-filled things in these sinks that are starting to be the bane of my existance. They have two wells. The one which has a spout over it is drainless and usually deeper, and the well with a drain has no spout. Therefore, you need to hand-ladle the water over from the spout side onto the thing you're washing a cup at a time, or risk getting the gunk you're cleaning off into the undrainable and therefore pretty unwashable side. I am truely baffled. How could someone have designed this sink and though "Yes! Perfectly engineered!". I washed out a paint roller the other night one plastic yogurt container of water at a time, and by the end I had used about 1 grillion cups and was ready to strangle somebody. Anybody?

[MELEE]

These sinks are an evolution from no running water--not necessarily a good evolution and we can hope they won't survive. But imagine if you will, someone washing clothes, dishes, paint rollers, who has no running water only a tank full of water. They would scoop water out of the tank with a gourd, pan, or what ever they happened to have. Now you pipe water into this person's home, cause that's what developing countries do and you want your country to be developed, but the person has never seen any other way to wash. And they develop this sink inorder to keep washing the way they always have, but with piped in water.

Short of tearing up your house (and assuming it's a rental), here's a tip, use a wadded up old plastic bag--a very abundant natural resource these days, to plug the drain in one side, then scope over as much water as you need. Also if you have an old bucket with a chip out of one part near the top, like where the handle broke off, this works great to stand under that tap, a whole bucket won't fit, but a broken one will. You can also get a short bit of hose, like half a meter, and a connection for that tap for REAL cheap at just about any hardware store.

[GueroPaz]

Melee is right about how a developing nation has adapted indoor plumbing and electricity to the existing customs and infrastructure. Our apartment in San Cristobal had a five gallon water heater that looked 40 years old, rusted beyond redemption, no safety valve, no thermostat. You lit it, waited at least 15 minutes, and it kept heating the water until it boiled, spewing out the top and roasting the roof tiles and the person in the shower. It never dawned on the landlady or her tenants to pipe that hot water into the adjacent kitchen.

Here in Thailand, generations of Thais learned to take 'showers' from a big bucket of water in the shed, splashing themselves with a ladle. Some still do that even with a shower unit overhead! They also use their left hand to wash their rear after they defecate! Never shake left hands with a Thai....