A while back I talked about the firebombings going on in Montreal, targetting Italian cafés, which pointed to trouble ahead for the Mafia here.

Sure enough, about 2 months ago, Nick Rizzuto, eldest son of Montreal Mafia capo Vitto Rizzuto, was gunned down in the streets of Montreal. Vitto, who was "awarded" Montreal after helping the New York families take care of a little problem (meaning exactly what you think) in the 70s, was pinched for this crime recently, and is now in prison. Probably sensing opportunity, looks like a Mob war is brewing to fill in the power vacuum.

Just a few days ago, there was a retaliation hit on a man named Joseph Ducarme, known to be a druglord and overall crime kingpin. He got out ok, but his bodygaurd, an associate and (sadly) some innocent bystanders were killed.

So yeah, it's on, baby.

More info on the whole thing

Afaik, the most fun is to be had in Mexico - it's just as hot, but with less huge crime syndicates and more petty gangs and random violence.

petty gangs don't load up on rpg's and full auto AKs in the huge quantities the criminal groups are in Mexico. Those are groups with international arms connections. gun shows do not have grenades and rpgs availible and legal full auto AKs from the US are so expensive criminals will get theirs from overseas.

Yea the stuff in Mexico is drug cartels. Those guys are using full on military gear and duking it out with the Mexican military. Sounds like how Aztechnology got started.

When it comes to "fun", I generally categorize that as the place where civilians are the least likely to be intentionally targeted.

Crazy story though - especially to happen to a shadowrun fan.

Was not that bad ... I live in one of the Italian neigborhood ... and nothing changed ... still really calm.

So just saying "sorry" a few times isn't going to fix this one, huh?




-karma

Given that members of the Mexican police and military are being targeted for coercion, and normal civilians are being terrorized and extorted to fund what is in essence a civil war, I got to second that Mexico is definitely not fun at the moment.
For reference we're talking about the chief of police in Neuvo Leon-- just across the Rio Grande River (the southern border of Texas) was beheaded yesterday, and there's roughly 3 dozen cases of civilians being kidnapped in the national capital of Mexico per day.
One has to wonder if and when foreign "police action" is going to kick in.

I guess the US is taking Mexico before they eat up Canada, eh? That mean we'll become the UMAS?

I don't think we WANT Mexico.

It's sad that Mexico being overtaken by a giant, heartless conglomerate funded by drug money which regularly practices human sacrifice might in fact be an improvement

United Corporate and American States After all, Both Mexico and Canada are in America.

Yeah, I read once that to many in the rest of the world, "American" refers to the people who live in the Americas. So that would mean there's about a billion of us. I don't recall what term the writer said those people use to refer specifically to residents of the U.S.A.

Hm, probably "yankee" a lot.

that's a nasty thing to call someone.

*shrugs* Certainly not around here. Maybe in Asia? Was he specific?

No, sorry, this one of those "I heard a while back, don't know when, who or where." Very loose support for the statement, I know, but I thought I would toss it out to see if anyone else had heard the same.

That's the case in Venezuela. Strictly speaking, Americano refers to anyone from the Americas, and Estados Unidosian (sp?) refers to someone from the US. However, one term is used more often than the other, for obvious reasons.

The conitnued saga. Yesterday one of the Montreal Mafia bigwigs was executed outside a sugar refinery he owns. Experts say this is most likely a rival mob clan hit, either as payback for decades-old hit, or as a power play.

Article about the hit

Article about the ramifications of the war

I think I need to read the newspaper more. I seem to be getting more and more of my local news from Dumpshock

ORO is already in the area...

"Estadounidense" is the word you're looking for - roughly, "United States-ian". "Norteamericano" is another one, but IIRC some of these are derogatory and I don't remember which.

Where's Batman when you need him?

I'm just amazed that there are Italians in Montreal. I've been there, and all everyone I met was a transplanted Frenchman or fellow New Englander.

A) That's pretty boderline racial slur buddy, watch your tongue
B) You clearly didn't take a good look cause Italians are one of the largest ethnic groups in Montreal

I apologize, post edited for content.

I was also young and stupid at the time. 18 year olds from New Hampshire go to Canada for the drinking age, not the sightseeing.

*shake's Red_Cap's hand*

Yeah calling someone a Yankee down here will get you punched.

Quebec has always been an... "Interesting" part of Canada. Between the Mob, the Bikers, and the FLQ trying to reorganize... And that's just in living memory.

But organized crime is very much in my "Peaceful" home town. In fact, both the Hell's Angels and Satan's Choice were both pushed out of my home town. Luckily, this was done with a minimum of firearms discharges and explosives. Even luckier when you consider that I lived in a mining town where Dynamite is easy to get in quantity and quality!

And now I live in what used to be the Murder Capital of Canada. With an exceptional amount of Gangs and Auto-Theft (Insert "Stealing Ford Americars for spare change" joke here). And I moved here willingly. Go figure.

Wait. There's a lot of car theft in Winnipeg?

Seems like it would be an involved process, what with shoveling the snow away and warming it up for half an hour before you can drive off...

In the seasons that don't involve snow, smart-hoop. Well, season, "Road Construction". But even in Winter it's a major thing, there's not "Much" snow in Winnipeg. (Note: I base this on what I grew up with, and I grew up on in a Valley.).

And it's serious enough I've heard of at least one Car Thief that's been beaten when attempting to steal a car. And the car wasn't even owned by any of the vigilantes, either.

Certainly sounds like something that would happen in Shadowrun, especially in some of the areas that don't get a lot of police support. Most certainly something that would happen if someone tried to break into any PC's ride!

Someone jack a Rigger's Ride? I don't think so!

Montréal has the longest continuous run of the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in North America. (The world?) Something like 140 years running now.

I thought they called us gringos....

I think the citizens of the USA are called american, while Canada is for canadians (except maybe the quebecquois ), the citizens from mexico are mexicans...are there still some aztech populations that consider themselves seperate from the mexicans?

Yes, and are they ever angry. Like, Irish angry.

And they weren't even kicked off their Island like the Irish were.

To be fair, CanRay, some of us weren't kicked off -- we left to get out from under English thumbs.

Same reason my family left.

But the Elves making Tir na Nog did not help matters much.

Well that is more about narcoterror than anything else., mexico that is.

Quick question but does any of the mexican narcoterror spill over into the US?

In modern day? Yes. There's a reason Phoenix is the kidnapping capital of the US. In the UCAS? Yes. It's called Aztechnology.