Tag: MEXICO

A new video game that invites players to virtually participate in Mexico's ongoing cartel war has drawn criticism for glorifying the country's devastating gang violence. According to game developer Ubisoft, 'Call of Juarez: The Cartel' asks players to "take the law into (their) own hands" on a "bloody road trip from Los Angeles to Juarez" -- the Mexican city that has been ravaged by ...

A Mexican tunnel that dates back two millennia has been fully explored for the first time by a robot. Named after the Aztec rain god, the Tlaloque 1 robot measures one foot wide, rolls on four sturdy wheels and boasts a video camera. Having traveled the 100-meter passageway, which may be the entrance to a tomb, the robot has given researchers hope of entering the tunnel themselves by December. ...

Like something out of a futuristic Roberto Bolaño novel, city officials in Leon, Mexico are currently putting together a citywide database of its citizens' irises. They plan on using the system to keep track of known criminal offenders -- and, presumably, every other person in the city. Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers has already begun shipping iris scanners to the city of more ...

Last year, Mexico took the drastic, and Big-Brother-ish, step of requiring all citizens to register their mobile phone numbers and identities with the government. The move was aimed at preventing the country's organized crime syndicates, kidnappers, and drug traffickers from using cell phones in extortion and ransom negotiation. But, with the deadline for registration coming this weekend, over 30 ...

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines.... Italy isn't the only nation attempting to regulate the online actions of its citizens, as Mexico is actually targeting Twitter members for proliferating clandestine messages. The government wants to crack down on Twitter because officials believe it has become an effective means for people, specifically drug dealers, to avoid ...

Cell phones -- and for that matter, app-enabled smartphones -- have typically been aimed at the middle class, containing software designed to help balance meeting agendas, check a flight's status, and the like. But what about the potential for cell phone apps to help a notoriously under-served section of the population? Well, there's an app for that. The 'Transborder Immigrant Tool,' which is ...

Not sure if you folks have heard, but apparently there are some serious gang-related issues in Mexico. Crazy, right? Just about two years after the Mexican government began swapping game consoles and computers for weaponry in a bizarre (and evidently futile) effort to curb crime, the country has now decided to take things one step further. Beginning in April, a law will require mobile phone ...

Craigslist is probably the best resource for finding local people who do things that you need taken care of, whether they be mowing lawns, hauling away old appliances, or watching your kids (if you're brave). According to a report in London's Telegraph, the latest types of ads to show up on the site are giving a whole new angle "taking care of" things, with Mexican hitmen advertising their ...

Many bloggers like to think of themselves as young and hip and trendy (even though many of them are rapidly approaching middle-age and pre-geezer status). One blogger, though, isn't fooling anybody, and isn't even trying. She proudly flaunts her white hair while regaling visitors with tales of the Spanish Civil War during the late 1930s -- which she lived through. That's right, blogger Amelia ...