Alec Saunders SquawkBox

One of our favorite day trips in the Yucatan is from Cancun down to Xcaret, an eco-park just south of Playa Del Carman — a 45 minute trip.  Monday we rented a mini-bus and driver for the thirteen of us, and headed there for the day.

Xcaret sits on a rocky bay with beautiful sandy inlets for snorkelling and swimming.  The park also sports a small zoo, with native species like tapir and coatimundi, as well as animals like deer.  The big attraction, however, is the underground river.  Geologically, the Yucatan peninsula is a massive spit of porous limestone.  It has no surface water, except where water from the underground aquifer bubbles to the surface in limestone wells called cenotes.  At Xcaret, snorkellers enter one of these underground rivers at one cenote in the park, and then swim the river until it surfaces at an exit near the ocean about 45 minutes later.  At various places throughout the swim, surface light enters through overhead light wells, which allows views of the river bottom, and surrounding rocks.  The water is clear (cenotes frequently boast visibility in the hundreds of feet), and cool, and the swim is hugely enjoyable.  At the exit, the brackish pools support a thriving and colorful fish population.

The other great attraction of Xcaret is the two hour long night show.  When we we first saw the show 8 years ago, it was a reenactment of the Mayan ball game, followed by a trek over to a natural amphitheatre where troupes of Mexican dancers performed traditional dances from different Mexican states.  It's evolved to a Las Vegas style extravaganza.  Now staged in a massive new theater, evocative of a Mayan ball court, it begins with the ball game, the Oaxacan flaming hockey game (played with a ball soaked in kerosene, it makes the NHL look just a little ordinary), and a short set-piece on the history of the Maya and the conquistadors.   Following an intermission, there are traditional Mexican dances, horse tricks, singers and more.

The night show really is the best part about Xcaret.  It would be hard to justify the steep entrance fee to the park solely based on the other attractions, but you would easily pay that fee for the show alone in any other city.

Here are some photos

Well, in the EU, it’s worth about 3 million euros.  Axel Horn’s posting from November 16th is a summary of the high points of an EU Commission study on patents.  The median value for patents is around 300,000 euros, but a few very valuable patents skew the average much higher. The commission also argues for a more uniform patent regime across all EU member states.

I wonder what a patent is worth in North America, on average?  And given this kind of information, what’s the right amount to pay for a patent license?

My friend Shel Israel dropped me a note about the overview of his upcoming book, Global Neighborhoods–How Social Media are moving power from institutions to  people.  It’s a theme near and dear to me.  In fact, I had a very interesting discussion about this with my 83 year old mother-in-law over the holidays.  The theme of our conversation was the democratization of religion. 

My thesis?  Organized religion is a retail business.  The hierarchy receives the truth wholesale from God or one of His representatives, and dishes it up retail to the masses in their places of worship.  Wrapped in the dogma and doctrine of a particular denomination or faith, the power structures of religion have managed to hold sway over the masses for thousands of years.  Minor differences in doctrine have been the excuse for wars, intolerance, and hatred for most of that time too.  So, what happens when adherents are easily able to freely discuss differing viewpoints?  How do faithful Christians react to the idea that Mary is also venerated by Muslims, for instance?  We’re soon to be in one of the biggest periods of idealogical cross-pollination between the major religions that the world has ever seen.  Moreover, it’s likely the only way some denominations can remain relevant, given the continued decline in attendance.

The influence of social media on politics is also fascinating.  Canada’s own Garth Turner, the blogging politico dooced by the Conservative Party, is a trail blazer.  Garth is building a populist movement around himself using social media to communicate with his fans.  It’s clear that the rest of the political establishment doesn’t know how to deal with this dynamo, and equally clear (at least to me) that they will have to learn. How long until the party structure disappears, replaced by populist representatives unafraid representing their constituents views without the strictures of party discipline?

Swing by Shel’s blog, and check out the overview and commentary.  Lend him your ears, your minds, and your voices. 

The folks at Jajah have a nice Christmas promo going.  Want to call a family member on Christmas day?  For 24 hours on December 25th, all calls to any of Jajah’s zone 1, 2, or 3 countries are absolutely free.  The caller needs to be a member, but that’s all.

Details here.

Internet journalists are being imprisoned in ever greater numbers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.  For the first time, two bloggers have been imprisoned, Arash Sigarchi and Joshua Wolf. 

IRAN: 1
Arash Sigarchi, freelance
IMPRISONED: January 26, 2006

Sigarchi, a former editor of the daily newspaper Gilan-e-Emruz and a Web blogger, was sentenced to three years in prison by an Iranian appellate court on several offenses, including insulting Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and propagandizing against the Islamic Republic in his online blog.

Sigarchi had posted entries and given interviews to Western radio stations that were critical of the government’s harassment of fellow bloggers. He was originally given a 14-year sentence by a revolutionary court in Gilan in February 2005.

UNITED STATES: 1

Joshua Wolf, freelance
IMPRISONED: September 1, 2006

Wolf, a freelance blogger and videographer, was jailed in San Francisco for refusing to turn over to a federal grand jury a videotape of a 2005 protest.

The case pending in a federal appellate court hinges on whether Wolf has a First Amendment or common law right not to turn over his videotape. On August 1, a federal judge ordered him to jail for refusing to turn over the tape. He was incarcerated for 30 days before a two-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered him free on bail while his appeal was pending. On September 11, a three-judge panel for the same appellate court revoked Wolf’s bail at the prosecution’s request. He returned to jail on September 22 even as his appeal was pending.

Wolf taped clashes between demonstrators and San Francisco police during a June 2005 protest by anarchists against a Group of Eight economic conference. Wolf sold footage of the protest to San Francisco television stations and posted it on his Web site. Investigators are seeking Wolf’s testimony and portions of his videotape that were not broadcast. A federal grand jury is investigating possible criminal activity, including an alleged attempt by protestors to burn a police vehicle.