I remember a few years ago, I did watch a TV documentary about artificial reefs produced by the National Geographic.

I found it very interesting, except they shown the sinking war ship and tank did provide an eco environment for most of the fish, the most impressed me a underwater concrete art gallery in Mexico MUSA ((Museo Subacuático de Arte) by Jason deCaires Taylor.

The art he made is so impressive, but unfortunately, I will never have a chance to visit that amazing museum, because I don’t know how to swim.

But it is good that we have internet,  I still can keep up to look at his website, they updated his projects very often and I really love his work :

http://www.underwatersculpture.com/pages/projects/mexico.html

And then, we have concrete memorial reefs, which can bury your love one who don’t afraid of sea.  hihihi… 

But actually, I don’t like this kind of cemetery, don’t you think this don’t serve any purpose? Your family need to diving into the deep sea to see your grave? 

And if you think it is good to the environment, but why don’t you just spread your ash into the ocean to feed the fish or into a garden to grow a tree.   The only way good is someone did can earn a living out of it. Haha!

http://www.neptunesociety.com/memorial-reef

http://www.eternalreefs.com/

http://www.mbara.org/memorial-reef-program.cfm

History:

1. In ancient, human built reefs for the other race’s attack.

2. According to the Wikipedia, thousands year ago, Persians (now is Iranian) blocked the mouth of the Tigris River to thwart Indian pirates by building an artificial reef, and then, during the First Punic Warthe Romans built a reef across the mouth of the Carthaginian harbour in Sicily to trap the enemy ships within and assist in diving the Carthaginians from the island.

3. Japanese using rubble and rocks to make reefs to grown kelp (海帶/昆布), since 17th century.

4. And the earliest recorded construction of artificial reef in the United States is from 1830s when logs from huts were used off the coast of South Carolina to improve fishing.

Development:

1. a) According to Wikipedia, when the ocean current reach a vertical structure (like concrete block, sinking ship) which put on the bottom of the sea, the current rise up the a cloud of plankton / ocean micro organisms, that can attract small fish, which also draw in pelagic predators like tuna and sharks.   

    b) It also mentioned same as the National Geographic documentary that fish love the protection of hole or crevice which provided by the sinking ship.

   c) another benefit is algae, tunicates, corals and sponges grown in the reef structure over months or years, that create more food and protection for the fish.

2. Coastal protection: barriers are built near fragile shores, Japan built over 4000 breakwaters in the last 20 years.

3. Surfing reefs: reefs are installed to amplify waves in popular surfing areas.

Material :

1.   Back in 1972, a well-meaning non-profit group came up with the idea of creating an artificial reef off the South Florida coast using two million old tires. The sunken rubber was supposed to lure game fish to the area and simultaneously reduce toxic waste on shore. Reefs like these already existed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Africa, Australia, and the Gulf of Mexico. None of them have been successful. Steel restraints holding the tires of the Osborne Reef together have rusted away. When tropical storms come the tires careen across the ocean floor destroying marine life and damaging natural coral reefs along the way. This ecological catastrophe has gone unnoticed by the critical human eye for decades.

     'Reef', by Hannes Bend:
     http://hannesbend.com/index.php?/bs/eclipse/

     Osborne Reef, more then 2,000,000 used vehicle tires were dumped off the coast of Fort  Lauderdale, Florida to form an artificial reef is a disaster.  

     I remember when we clean up our river, we did find some people dumping vehicle old tires for growing oyster,  vehicle tire is make of toxic plastic, when it dissolve into the water, it will poison the fish and human.  We try so hard to take the tire out of the river, because it weight 10 times when it stuck in the river bed!!!!  That is why I know so well the damage it cost on Osborne Reef.

2.   I think the officially sanctioned material should be non release or dissolve toxic to the environment. 

3.  Another thing that very interesting me on the wiki web, is about Electro mineral accretion, it is not easy to understand for a people like me who have no knowledge about chemistry.  but after explanation from Edward.  I found it incredible interesting.  He told me about the typewriter history, how IBM came up with a solution to electro plate a plastic typing ball with hard chromium in 1961.

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter

   using electrochemical process chrome onto the surface of plastic, this is similar what it explain about EMA (Electro mineral accretion) : a group of scientists put a low voltage current to the sinking ship, in order to electro the limestone which floating in the sea, then attach the coral to grown. 

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_reef

but……..but……….but…….

   when I google about artificial reefs in the google picture…. I can find – dumping subway cars, conrete block, old fishing boat, war ship, antenna, plane………………………..  it is really scare me… it seem artificial reefs also can call artificial rubbish sea!!!!!!!!!!! 

***警告: (以下含有大量極之殘酷血腥暴力的照片, 不適合18歲兒童或對血/死亡有恐懼症的成年人, 又或是有心臟病, 又或容易發惡夢者觀看!!!)***

看了今週的 foreign correspondent -  gangster’s paradise.  影片中介紹了墨西哥國內現正在發生的一場戰爭 - 一場不可思議的巨大毒品戰!

而在這場國家軍隊與毒梟集團大戰以來(2006年開始), 大概已死了4萬人, 而1萬至1萬5千人是無辜者(與毒品交易無關的人, 是平民百姓, 是一批被毒梟屠殺他們來向政府還以顏色, 顯示實力的不幸者), 另外失蹤者無數! 現時軍隊人數已由原來的6千5百人增加為4萬5千人來對付這班擁有厲害軍火的毒梟. 

首先來看看一些驚人的如下照片, 這些都是在 blog del Narco 一個全日報導墨西哥毒品戰的博客中下載.  blog del Narco 由3月2010開 blog, 雖然是用西班牙語的博客, 可是因每天都有大量的當地血腥殘酷虐殺而死的照片上載, 卻能向全世界反影了墨西哥暴力城市真實面貌.

6月21日, 2011

3個人被斬首, 去臉皮和肢解後被棄於城市路口the intersection of Zaragoza and Boulevard Avenue Plutarco Elias Calles:

6月11日, 2011

2個人被虐殺而死, 看來是先虐打後, 再割下臉皮流血而死! 頭顱外皮被發現與警告海報Narcomensajes之上. 他們其中1個人是前度警察, 另一個是他的律師, 他們被殺前幾天才被媒體報導了前度警察曾是的其中一個販毒集團的會員.

Narcomensajes are messages left by criminal groups, belonging to a drug cartel, together with attacks and / or performances in which they try to justify their crimes I send threats to rival gangs, police, politicians, businessmen, etc. In some cases, the narco-messages, have also served to offer rewards leading to the arrest members of a rival group. In other cases, the narco-messages can also be used to try to convince public opinion that their actions are justifiable.

6月11曰 2011

兩人被吊在Nayarit公路橋(一個經常作為毒品交易場所)上, 1個跌下後被經過的車, 輾成肉醬:

8 June 2011

3名10幾數男孩, 兩人被吊到公路橋上, 另一名嘗試逃走時被立即槍殺.  槍手又向已吊在橋上的兩男童不斷射殺. 事發在繁忙車道上, 車來車往.  警察來到發現1名被吊男童仍活著, 也同時發現了Narcomensajes警告海報, 是由Gulf Cartel( 販毒集團)發出, 說任何人如果支持另一販毒集團出售毒品, 小至散賣都會得如此下場.

6月4日2011

不再詳述了, 你睇到什麼就是什麼啦, 太恐怖了.....

http://www.blogdelnarco.com/search?updated-max=2011-06-05T10%3A57%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=5

濫殺無辜, 在去年的3月13日, 35年歲的 美國人Lesley Enriquez 跟她的老公 Arthur Redelf在墨西哥邊境被槍殺了,  一直都沒查出原因來, 經過一連串的追查, 才知道Barrio Azteca 幫派(一群收錢殺人的殺手)所做的好事! 而被殺害的人只是因為他們跟美國領事館有關連:

Barrio Azteca 幫派 - 身上必須紋上大副紋身.

現在來講一下, 我看過的這部紀錄片 -  foreign correspondent -  gangster’s paradise 罪犯天堂:

在1960 -70 年代, 墨西哥Acapulco城曾是一個極美麗的渡假城市:

有美女, 豔舞, 陽光與海灘:

可是現時, 一切都改變了, 沒有旅客外, 店舖出租都 是沒人問津:

每天在街道上看到的是軍隊, 又或一連串槍擊的暴行和被殘殺的屍體:

自2006年12月, Felipe Calderon 被選為總統後, 他誓言要終結國內一切販毒罪行後, 於是墨西哥進入了有史以來的最大毒品戰. 現不單, 毒梟與毒之間的殺戮, 更加上了國家軍隊對戰毒梟, 毒梟殺戮平民來向政府宣示自己的實力,以保衛自己的皇國. 故做成了4萬人失去生命和政府用上數十億元的開支:

前總統的助手 JORGE CASTANEDA 猛烈評擊現總統的這種做法, 他認為這是未有穿著防蜂衣和面罩就去踢蜂窩般. 而且軍隊根本沒經驗去對付毒梟,他們只會做成更多無辜人死亡!

他又說你美國佬(gringo)要打擊毒品, 你在你自己邊境上攪呀, 我們國家從來沒有過嚴重的毒品問題! 但現在卻被他(Calderon)攪出來了! 

(我覺得他說無錯啊! 我國民賺錢有飯開就得喇! 毒品運到去你國家就是我們的本事, 你國家人民沒有這需求, 我國民又什麼賺到你的錢! 哈哈!)

而JORGE CASTANEDA 為什麼這樣說呢, 背後不是無因的. 在美國總統奧巴馬Barack Obama訪問墨西哥時所說的, 就是給予現時墨西哥最大的後盾(其實就是施以壓力)來解決世紀以來的毒品smuggling對美國人毒害的問題.

好了, 那又是什麼原因使現時總統Calderon下這麼大決心去展開這場戰爭, 最大的原因是墨西哥最大的毒梟 El Chapo or Shorty. Joaquin Guzman, 他是 Sinaloa cartel 錫那羅亞(墨西哥西北部一州)毒品集團的手領,他的集團為了取得關鍵性Guerrero格雷羅州的控制權，而與其他毒品集團決戰. 該地區的包括了Acapulco阿卡普爾科(就是紀錄片中60-70年代有陽光與海灘的地方)。他下令殺害所有對手來報復，導致了一連串的循環反覆復仇集團之間的血戰, 這才是導致了總統Calderon的宣戰。

他成交的可卡因是以噸計的, 亦因此他已成為億萬富翁.

他亦是當拉登被殺後, 成為美國FBI的頭號通緝入物, 懸紅5百萬.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Guzm%C3%A1n_Loera

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/Z1A05P7mrBY/

墨西哥總面積: 1,972,550/km² 人口112,322,757  人口密度:57/km²

墨西哥城市(Mexico City)1,485/km² 人口8,851,080  人口密度:5,960.3/km²

香港1,104/km² 人口7,055,071  人口密度:6,480/km²

澳洲總面積:7,617,930/km²  人口22,636,666  人口密度:2.833/km²

^{所以看得出, 墨西哥城的人口密度都非常高:}

無辜父親失去兒子:

失蹤的女兒(墨西哥大學的學生), 警察竟然不派人員去追查下落:

於是, 這批失去至愛的平民百姓出來示威:

去片:

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/drJ0L5g143Q/

歷史背景: 

鑑於其地理位置，墨西哥一直被用來作為轉運毒品的轉驛站，非法移民和走私運往美國市場和南美等世界各地。在80年代和90年代初, 哥倫比亞的Pablo Escobar (有史以來最大毒販)是cocaine可卡因最大出口商, 他管理有組織犯罪網絡遍及世界各地.

事實, 墨西哥遠久已經是一個海洛因和大麻主要來源，毒品販運者從墨西哥已經建立了一個基礎設施，隨時準備為哥倫比亞的毒販販毒。

在總統 Vicente Fox, 2000年 開始, 他已經嘗試送小量軍隊去Nuevo Laredo,  Tamaulipas.. 這些美墨之間邊境去掃蕩毒梟, 而有小小的成績的了.  可是春風吹草, 草又生!

在2006年12月, 總統Felipe Calderon 被選出後, 用超過4萬5千的軍隊, 嘗試整治墨西哥的罪行社會.  卻做成以上紀錄片中所說的, 毒梟以濫殺無辜來報復政府.

走私槍械Smuggling of firearms:

墨西哥人有擁有槍支的憲法權利，可是合法購買到單槍的店在墨西哥城, 而且是由軍隊控制, 所以一般人是不容易可以買到槍械的.

販毒集團走私槍械，是通過美國或危地馬拉邊界或海上，或從他們警察或軍隊中竊取。另外許多是由美國婦女，沒有犯罪記錄，在美國採購，通過親戚和熟人，然後走私到墨西哥. 所以黑市槍支被廣泛使用.

最常見的走私槍械，有: AR-15, AK-47型步槍，FN 5.7 口徑半自動手槍。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War

我聽過 JJ Cale 的  Tijuana

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/rFL97S7umZc/

Tijuana Lyrics

Just below San Diego Tijuana, land of broken dreams Senoritas dancing in the moonlight Flashing Spanish dark eyes to everyone, it seems They say "Hey, gringo Can you take us across the border Just tell them I`m your daughter Of a local." Down the backstreets, through the alleys All the young men stand with pride They guard the palace to the kingdom Called Tijuana, their heritage they decide They say "Hey, gringo Can you take us across the border We`ll work for just a quarter On the other side"

P.S. : gringo : 墨西哥人叫那些美國人為"外國佬"（拉美人對英美等外國人的蔑稱）當然香港人就會叫"鬼佬".

參考:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12396171

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcomensajes

http://www.fbi.gov/elpaso/press-releases/2011/federal-state-and-local-law-enforcement-round-up-barrio-azteca-members

完.