The Affection for Avocados

CA: you call that an avocado?

It was only after moving to the Mainland that I fully appreciated Hawaii's home-grown fruits. Relatives and friends grew mangos, papayas, bananas, lychee, and avocados, all of which I received fully ripe (and free, of course).

California supermarkets carry these items, usually imported from the Philippines and Mexico, but they're half the size and picked for transport before they're ripe.

BTW, it's illegal to hand-carry fresh produce on flights from Hawaii to California in order to prevent the spread of fruit flies.

Hawaii: now that's an avocado.

Of all these tropical fruits, it was the avocado that has exploded in popularity. The reasons are free trade with Mexico and ripening technology.

We have developed such a voracious appetite for this versatile fruit that the U.S. now annually brings in nearly 3 billion pounds of avocados. In fact, 90% of the avocados that Americans eat are imported—and close to 90% of those imports come from Mexico.

It’s hard to remember a time when their availability was so limited that avocados were more like a luxury item. Except that time wasn’t very long ago.

They were only allowed into the country from Mexico in 1997. They weren’t accessible across the country until 2007. Now they are beloved everywhere in America—and not just because they are healthy and delicious.

“The success of the avocado industry is rooted in our trade relationship with Mexico,” said David Ortega, a Michigan State University professor of food economics and policy...

Now a professor at the University of California, Riverside, [Mary Lu Arpaia] started her career there in 1983, when unripe avocados sold in grocery stores felt like baseballs. But it was around that time when avocado researchers became obsessed with an idea that would revolutionize their industry: ripening.

To increase awareness, demand and sales, avocado growers realized they had to give consumers a product they actually wanted, something just firm enough to buy in the morning and eat for dinner that night.

Basically, avocados had to be more like bananas.

It was a simple insight that would change the industry forever. Through a series of experiments, researchers figured out how to improve ventilation on pallets of ripening avocados.

As soon as Americans were able to grab softer avocados in a grocery store, they began filling their shopping carts with them. These days, you can feel a bunch of plump avocados and pick the ones that are immediately ready to be smashed into guacamole. But that’s only possible because of all that ripening progress.

“It laid the foundation for this avocado renaissance,” Arpaia said.

To home consumers the imposition of a 25% tariff on a $9 package of six (6) avocados to $11.25 won't reduce purchases much but it will definitely affect restaurants where guacamole and avocado toast enjoy high margins.

Avocados, like eggs, are not as important to the economy as gasoline or electricity but are of symbolic importance. The majority of Americans will probably allow the Trump Administration some time to work through new tariff and trade arrangements, but the trick will be in ascertaining when patience will run out.

Sad Denouement

Jose Inez Garcia Zarate

After nine years the Kate Steinle murder case reaches its sad denouement:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to deport a Mexican national who was acquitted in the high-profile 2015 murder of Kate Steinle in San Francisco, the New York Times reported.

Jose Inez Garcia Zarate, who is undocumented, was acquitted by a jury in 2017 of murder and manslaughter charges but convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun. The trial drew national attention and was used by politicians as a talking point in immigration debates.

Steinle, 32, was fatally shot while walking along Pier 14 with her father.

According to Garcia Zarate’s attorneys, he found a gun along the waterfront and accidentally fired it – causing the bullet to ricochet off the pavement, striking Steinle in the back. The gun was stolen from a federal Bureau of Land Management ranger’s car.

Garcia Zarate’s gun conviction was later overturned by a court of appeals in 2019.

Garcia Zarate remained in prison for federal probation violations until February, the New York Times reported. In mid-February, Garcia Zarate was transferred to ICE custody and the agency plans to deport him to central or southern Mexico within the next week, a Department of Homeland Security official told the New York Times under the condition of anonymity.

Before the 2015 shooting, Garcia Zarate had been deported five times. He was in federal prison on a conviction of felony re-entry into the U.S. but instead of deportation, he was brought to San Francisco, where he was wanted for a possession of marijuana charge. That charge was dismissed and Garcia Zarate was released from custody under the city’s sanctuary policy, which limits local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials. Federal immigration officials had requested he remain detained until they could pick him up and were not notified of his release.

Former President Donald Trump used the case to criticize sanctuary cities.

Kate Steinle's death did not cause "sanctuary cities" to renounce their policy of non-cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And so it is that illegal immigrants continue to be arrested and released by local authorities before they can be turned over to ICE, and some go on to kill American citizens.

The murder of Laken Riley in Georgia last week by an alleged Venezuelan illegal threatens to become Kate Steinle 2.0 this political season. The problem was never solved but only grew worse, and it will be surprising if the voters don't exact a price this November.

No Cruises on the Horizon

During the 1970's we went on our first and only cruise, a trip along the "Mexican Riviera." Starting in Acapulco, the ship made its way north, stopping at port cities until it reached Los Angeles.

I immediately grasped cruising's appeal. Travelers didn't have to pack their suitcases every night to make next morning's bus or train; the floating hotel would move to the next destination while they were sleeping. At one's leisure one could disembark and see the city, or stay onboard if so inclined. Ocean cruises were something we would want to do when we retired.

During the 1990's there were outbreaks of legionnaires' disease on cruise ships. Diseases spread quickly in close quarters.

Now that we're retired we're leafing through the brochures. However, health and safety risks still appear to be as significant as they were three decades ago. Headline:

The Viking Neptune outbreak originated in Iceland

Stomach Virus Spreads Through Cruise Ships at Fastest Pace in Years

So far this year, there have been 13 outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships, according to reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That marks the largest number of norovirus incidents on these vessels in a single year since 2012—and the year is only halfway over.

The most recent outbreak occurred on a North Atlantic Viking Cruises sailing that docked in New Jersey on June 20. More than 100 passengers fell ill, according to the CDC, accounting for 13% of all vacationers on the ship. Crew members also contracted the gastrointestinal illness.

We'll still travel by ship when it's clearly the best option--for example, Alaska--but for right now there are no cruises on the horizon.

Two Floods Coming

We've been given ample time to prepare for two floods, but readiness is questionable.

El Niño is coming

The chances of any El Niño forming are now 82% by July and 94% by November, according to the NOAA report.

More significant for California, there’s a 46% chance of a strong El Niño by November, increasing to 54% by January, NOAA researchers concluded Thursday...

Since 1951, there have been 26 El Niño events. Of those, 11 have been weak, 7 moderate, 5 strong and 3 very strong. Overall, rainfall in Southern California averaged 126% of normal. In the Bay Area it was 109% of normal.

But two of the three very strong El Niños, during the winters of 1982-83 and 1997-98, were associated with seasons that were among the wettest in recorded California history, with massive Sierra Nevada snow packs and major flooding.

More Migrants are Coming

A pandemic-era public health policy known as Title 42, used to turn away asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border, is coming to an end just before 9 p.m. tonight, prompting concerns about unprecedented migration flows.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants have been waiting outside between border walls in San Ysidro for days, sometimes with nothing more to eat all day than a single granola bar handed out by Border Patrol officers.

Federal, state and local officials have had more than two years to prepare for this moment. But officials running migrant shelters on both sides of the border say they have very little information about how to handle the anticipated increase in asylum seekers trying to cross from Mexico into California and other states.

Update: Border appears calm after lifting of pandemic restrictions

The border between the U.S. and Mexico was relatively calm Friday, offering few signs of the chaos that had been feared following a rush by worried migrants to enter the U.S. before the end of pandemic-related immigration restrictions...

“We did not see any substantial increase in immigration this morning,” said Blas Nunez-Neto of the Department of Homeland Security. He said the agency did not have specific numbers because it was early in the day.

By the way, I hope this guy makes it:

“I hope it’s a little better and that the appointments are streamlined a little more,” said Yeremy Depablos, 21, a Venezuelan traveling with seven cousins who has been waiting in the city for a month.

Fearing deportation, Depablos did not want to cross illegally. “We have to do it the legal way.”

Giving and Receiving

Shelley served up pie....charts

On Sunday the church began its 2022 stewardship campaign. After the service we were served a brunch of salad, lox and bagels. It was the first time in over eighteen (18) months that we had had so large a gathering. The two hours in the school courtyard went by quickly.

Alison and Shelley made a plea for pledges. Alison had organized the brunch, and Shelley showed up faithfully every Sunday for over a year as part of a small group who ran the church's streaming-only services. Of course, we listened politely out of respect for two volunteers who put our own efforts to shame.

The church has run a deficit this year and will do so the next, but reserves built up from bequests and the pre-COVID pre-school should see us through.

As we said our goodbyes one church member offered me a vegetable from his backyard garden in Redwood City. I did not know what it was.

Do you, dear reader?

Mexico: Where Political Assassinations are Normal

Politics is indeed a rough business, with opposition researchers delving into every aspect of a candidate's past. What was once personal and off-limits is now fair, or should we say foul, game.

Once in a while Americans should be reminded how lucky they are to have political campaigns that destroy candidates, but only metaphorically.

Popular mayoral candidate and former prosecutor Abel
Murrieta was killed on May 13. (Mexico News Daily)

Headline: Dozens of Mexican Candidates Have Been Killed in a Bloody Election Season [bold added]

Even in a country with a history of electoral violence, this vote is shaping up as the most bloody in recent memory as more, smaller criminal gangs viciously compete to control local areas by intimidating or killing off politicians.

From February to April, 46 elected officials, members of political parties and candidates for office were killed, a 44% jump compared with the 2018 elections, according to Integralia, a Mexican political consulting firm. Since September, when the electoral process began, 82 politicians have been killed, most of them gunned down.

With politicians unable to protect themselves, many of them have withdrawn their candidacies. The gangs are the authority in various towns, and with little or no resistance to confront them, are expanding their operations:

Aside from trafficking drugs to the U.S., these gangs smuggle migrants, sell black-market gasoline, and extort legal businesses which range from avocado farms to taco stands. Once in control of local governments, the gangs also take a cut of tax money meant for public works, according to organizations that track and analyze crime trends.

As more of their income comes from activities such as extortion, these groups’ success depends on their ability to control territory. That means controlling, through threats and bribery, the local mayor, police chief, and other top officials. Those who don’t cooperate are often killed.

The environment in Mexico is so horrifying that we can't imagine how it could be transplanted here.

Meanwhile the progressive leadership in California is pushing for open borders, defunding the police, and more restrictions on private gun ownership. I really do need to learn Spanish...

Please Don't Poison the Customer

The above hand sanitizers contain harmful methanol, not ethanol. (AARP image)

American consumers, including your humble blogger, generally trust the safety of branded products.

However, the coronavirus has disrupted supply chains, and unfamiliar labels have popped up on retail shelves,

New suppliers, for example liquor manufacturers, are helping to meet the demand for hand sanitizers.

I've been using an unknown-brand one-liter bottle from Costco for the past two weeks. When the FDA issued a recall of certain hand sanitizers made in Mexico, which this one was, I immediately checked the label. It wasn't on the list (above), and it didn't contain methanol.

It's one thing for a product not to work, it's quite another to make a consumer (a lot) worse off than if he didn't use it.

Cinco de Mayo, 2020

Learning never stops: now I can find the date on the calendar. From 15 years ago:

SF CdM Festival, 2016 (Chron photo)

There’s a Chevy’s Restaurant near our house, and every Cinco de Mayo the cars overflow from the parking lot into our quiet neighborhood. It doesn’t matter whether one is Latino, Anglo, Asian, or black; the urge to party spans all races and cultures. Today we are all Hispanics, just as we’re all Irish on March 17th.

At least I’ve expanded my cultural horizons. When I first became aware of the holiday, I approached assorted individuals and asked, “When is Cinco de Mayo?” Years later, when I learned to count in Spanish (and French and Italian….) it dawned why they gave me strange looks.

If you're gonna ask a stupid question, you may as well ask the stupidest question.

From Both Sides

In another dark week of mass shootings and political nastiness, the priest looked for a sign of hope. He mentioned the seesaws at the border:

These custom-built seesaws have been placed on both sides of a slatted steel border fence that separates the United States and Mexico. The idea for a "Teeter-Totter Wall" came from Ronald Rael, an architecture professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San Jose State University

This project is self-described as an "act of activism" and is undoubtedly political.

Although your humble blogger doesn't share many of his views, I find Professor Rael's pink seesaws refreshing: they're inventive, he's creating and not speechifying, and no one is being vilified. Let's hope we see more of this kind of politics from both sides.

Cinco de Mayo: It Never Gets Old

We checked, but the President hasn't (yet) tweeted about Cinco de Mayo. So we are reprising our 2016 post below.

--------------------------------------------------------

May 5, 2016

Donald Trump wishes everyone a happy Cinco De Mayo, digs into a taco bowl, causes millions to have indigestion.

Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016

I don't like the guy's style or much of his politics, but I do love the way he knows how to provoke a reaction--he drives his opponents barking mad--in people who are already angry all the time. Deep breathing, folks. If you're Hispanic and reject his "love," think how unhappy he must be that you don't return his affection!

Already the deconstruction has begun on this supposedly innocuous Tweet.

The taco bowl is round and the dishes are square. Symbolism? Of what?

That's a horribly unhealthy-looking taco bowl, with cheese, beef, and sour cream all smushed together. The kitchen could easily have lightened it with more vegetables of color. Here again Mr. Trump is thumbing his nose at the sensibilities of the East and West Coast elites.

Speaking of thumbs, his left thumb is pointed up. Does it mean agreement, Tr(i)ump(h), or something else?

That "something else" could be related to the half-hidden picture of his bikinied ex-wife Marla Maples in the bottom right of the picture.

There's a lot of serious news out there, but the Donald knows how to suck all the oxygen out of the media room.

--------------------------------------------------------

Note--here's another remembrance: The Taco Bowl That Saved the World

More Cheese

Cinco de Mayo was a big holiday in California BT (before Trump), but the then-candidate made it h-u-u-u-g-e-r two years ago with his tweet. In its honor we are reprising our 2016 post below.

--------------------------------------------------------

May 5, 2016

Donald Trump wishes everyone a happy Cinco De Mayo, digs into a taco bowl, causes millions to have indigestion.

Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016

I don't like the guy's style or much of his politics, but I do love the way he knows how to provoke a reaction--he drives his opponents barking mad--in people who are already angry all the time. Deep breathing, folks. If you're Hispanic and reject his "love," think how unhappy he must be that you don't return his affection!

Already the deconstruction has begun on this supposedly innocuous Tweet.

The taco bowl is round and the dishes are square. Symbolism? Of what?

That's a horribly unhealthy-looking taco bowl, with cheese, beef, and sour cream all smushed together. The kitchen could easily have lightened it with more vegetables of color. Here again Mr. Trump is thumbing his nose at the sensibilities of the East and West Coast elites.

Speaking of thumbs, his left thumb is pointed up. Does it mean agreement, Tr(i)ump(h), or something else?

That "something else" could be related to the half-hidden picture of his bikinied ex-wife Marla Maples in the bottom right of the picture.

There's a lot of serious news out there, but the Donald knows how to suck all the oxygen out of the media room.

--------------------------------------------------------

Note--here's another remembrance: The Taco Bowl That Saved the World

Not So Innocuous

Donald Trump wishes everyone a happy Cinco De Mayo, digs into a taco bowl, causes millions to have indigestion.

Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016

I don't like the guy's style or much of his politics, but I do love the way he knows how to provoke a reaction--he drives his opponents barking mad--in people who are already angry all the time. Deep breathing, folks. If you're Hispanic and reject his "love," think how unhappy he must be that you don't return his affection!

Already the deconstruction has begun on this supposedly innocuous Tweet.

The taco bowl is round and the dishes are square. Symbolism? Of what?

That's a horribly unhealthy-looking taco bowl, with cheese, beef, and sour cream all smushed together. The kitchen could easily have lightened it with more vegetables of color. Here again Mr. Trump is thumbing his nose at the sensibilities of the East and West Coast elites.

Speaking of thumbs, his left thumb is pointed up. Does it mean agreement, Tr(i)ump(h), or something else?

That "something else" could be related to the half-hidden picture of his bikinied ex-wife Marla Maples in the bottom right of the picture.

There's a lot of serious news out there, but the Donald knows how to suck all the oxygen out of the media room.

Chuckled, but did not Guffaw

Actress Kate del Castillo helped arrange the meet
between El Chapo and Sean Penn. (Daily Mail)

Last night Jimmy Fallon channeled Henny Youngman with a series of rapid-fire jokes about El Chapo's medical problem. The whole bit took only a minute, including rim-shots, mugging for the audience, and laughter.

There are reports that while he was on the run El Chapo got surgery for erectile dysfunction.
Guess his chalupa had a little droopa.
Doctors tried to help him go from a soft shell to a hard shell.
He’s looking for a little cure-o for his churro.
Every time he took off his pants he said say hello to my really little friend.
Apparently he has a one “inch”-alada.
His amigo was taking a permanent siesta.
Told his doctor he had a floppy sombrero.
When his girlfriend saw it, she ran for the border.
Nothing will come out of his piñata no matter how much he beat it.

(Guardian photo)

It's hard to keep up with what the offense-police find objectionable. Racist humor apparently is okay if the person mocked is a) wealthy, b) male, and c) criminal. For the record, I chuckled but did not guffaw.

Note: being the subject of ridicule does not seem to have hurt "skyrocketing" demand for $128 El Chapo shirts.

A Significant Step

(Graphic from cato.org)

Republicans may finally help Barack Obama achieve passage of a major bill, one that is sure to have long-lasting effects [bold added]:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would link 11 economies of the Pacific rim—including Japan and Singapore—with America. These 12 countries together account for 40% of world GDP and one-third of trade. As well as dismantling tariff barriers, the TPP is meant to tackle tough issues such as intellectual property, labour and environmental standards. American trade negotiators predict that by 2025 the TPP will make the world $220 billion a year richer.

While the TPP is supported by majorities in both parties, it has encountered opposition from both the left and the right. Some Democrats say that more American jobs will be lost to cheap-labor countries that have lax worker and environmental protections, while some Republicans worry that controls over immigration will be greatly loosened:

The TPP....allows for the free migration of labor among the signatory nations...it would override national immigration restrictions in the name of facilitating the free flow of labor.

More troublesome is the secrecy that has surrounded the negotiations ("secrecy may now be so strict that it ends up irritating everyone"). Republicans still rankle at the lack of transparency in the passage of Obamacare (Speaker Pelosi: "we have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it"), the IRS' selective scrutiny* of Obama opponents, and other matters foreign and domestic. Republicans will need to take a leap of faith to believe Administration assurances about the TPP's provisions.

None of these concerns appear to be insurmountable, however, and it's likely that free trade will take a significant step forward this year.

[*Update - 4/26, Glenn Reynolds: "With so Many Red Flags, Why Isn’t the IRS Auditing the Clinton Foundation? Probably the same reason they’re giving Al Sharpton — and, apparently, the entire on-air staff of MSNBC — a pass."]

Cooking Time: 5 Days

Gomphothere drawing by Nature.com

North Americans ("Clovis") of 13,000 years ago hunted gomphotheres, now-extinct elephant-like creatures. Scientists originally thought that gomphotheres pre-dated the Clovis, but a recent find in Mexico showed that man and beast co-existed.

Further digging revealed the complete remains of two gomphotheres—one 13 to 24 years old and the other a comparative juvenile at 10-12 years old. Mingled in with the bones were more spear points and though weathering on the bones made it hard to look for the cut marks and gouges that usually indicate butchering, the signs of a hunt were unmistakable. For one thing, animals that die natural deaths leave bones arranged in more or less the proper skeletal configuration. In this case, however, the remains were stacked in two distinct, non-anatomical piles.

Conclusion: the paleo diet may be attracting much enthusiasm, but unless it includes a side of gomphothere it ain't the genuine article.

(Photo by nerdfitness.com)

Top Ten Reasons I Should Leave California

1. The third consecutive dry year means water rationing.

2. Bay Area housing values are collapsing, and I should grab the equity that I can.

3. Mexico is disintegrating.

4. I’m too old to learn Spanish.

5. The Yellowstone caldera is going to blow its top.

6. The State deficit through June, 2010, is $42 billion (fewer government services and higher taxes on my shrinking income and wealth equal misery).

7. All the major sports teams are terrible, and they look like they'll stay that way for a long time.

8. Governor Gavin Newsom.

9. Catastrophic earthquake(s) will happen during my lifetime.


10. I can move in with my parents (in Hawaii), 2,000 miles removed from all of these troubles.

Mom, get my old room ready.

© 2009 Stephen Yuen

Happy New Year

At the stroke of midnight I poured a sip of “champagne” for everyone. The bottle was Costco’s Kirkland brand and cost $20. It was the thought that counted, since no one in the household drinks except for me (for medicinal reasons, of course). Nevertheless, the sparkling liquid was surprisingly crisp and light.

In a couple of days we’ll be heading north, college graduate in tow, to a year of new pathways, discoveries, and uncertainties. He and we will be leaving behind some old possessions, a sofa bed, a TV (a 22-year-old Toshiba, the best we’ve ever owned because it never required repair), some chairs, and a table. They are destined for people who can make better use of these things south of the border.

How little in fact is different from January 1, 2007. The post from one year ago:

It has been another good year. A few mild infirmities are nagging for attention, but as of today we have no unmanageable health worries.

We bade farewell to some dear friends, again reminding ourselves that life is short and that we should make the most of the time we have.

We earned more than we spent; still, we’re a long way from being free of monetary worries.

Our children are progressing fitfully toward the day they will be self-sufficient, although the precise day and time no man can know.

From one year ago :

We have our home, our health, each other, and hope for the future. That’s a lot to be grateful for.

Happy New Year!

© 2008 Stephen Yuen

Too Much South of the Border

This morning's news:

Five people trying to sneak into the United States from Mexico became trapped in a narrow tunnel and had to be rescued Tuesday after the largest of them, a nearly 200-pound man, got stuck trying to climb out through a storm drain, authorities said. Firefighters used jackhammers at the city's border with Tijuana to widen the opening and free the man, who had become stuck at the hips.

All You Have to Do Is Pass Another Law

I would like to see more legal immigration. I’m optimistic about the ability of American society to welcome, find a place for, and assimilate those who wish to join our 230-year experiment. But note the qualifying adjective. We are a nation founded upon the primacy of law. If the laws are openly flouted, and the State won’t enforce them, then the voluntary compliance that is at the heart of our system will erode. Rules apply to thee but not to me.

If the State won’t enforce laws against illegal immigration, maybe it won’t enforce others. Scofflaws will scoff and wrongdoers will wrong. Police will be overstretched, if they aren’t already. (From daily observation there are many people who don’t fear getting caught for speeding, running red lights, or driving through crosswalks containing pedestrians).

That’s why I sympathize with the Minutemen, the group of volunteers who patrols the southern border. They are helping to enforce the law that various government agencies can’t or won’t. But what if the Minutemen armed themselves and started to shoot people who are attempting to cross? Our police would be obliged to stop them.

Imagine that our law enforcement looked the other way, perhaps because they were too weak or because they agreed with the group’s objectives. The Minutemen, emboldened, started firing heavy weapons, including rockets, deeper into Mexico. Most of us would agree that the Mexican military would be within its rights to cross into U.S. territory and force a halt to this violence against Mexican citizens and property. Death and destruction will reign on both sides of the border, the result of a weak State that could not enforce its authority over a powerful armed private group operating on its territory.

I am only speaking hypothetically, of course. This is the 21st century, and we are past such things happening. © 2006 Stephen Yuen