Greetings from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, just outside Guadalajara to start my annual buying trip of Mexican handcrafts. I´ll be here for four days then going down to Oaxaca with a stop in Mexico City to check out the protest gridlock. I hear that AMLO has shut down the center city to vehicular traffic, protesters are camped out on the Paseo de Reforma and it is just an ugly mess. If I can figure out how to get fotos posted, I´ll have some this weekend. Then it´s down to Oaxaca, where things got ugly before the election with a teacher´s strike, got worse for awhile and then the news dried up. I did see a photo in the Mexican edition of the Miami Herald today where the zocalo in Oaxaca City was plastered with anti Ruiz, anti-tourist graffiti. If you think the US is polarized between blue and red states, check out the electoral map of the recent Mexcian election. There is a distinct dividing line in from Veracruz to the pacific that cuts through the heart of the country. Blue, free market PANistas to the north of the line and Red PRD´s to the south. The margin of error in the election nationwide makes Florida 2000 look like a Bush landslide. It´s amazing to me how little play this gets in the US press. With Lebanon, terror plots and Paris Hilton´s chastity, I guess there is only so much we can absorb in the US. However, those who follow the immigration issue (remember that one?..Just a month ago) would be well served to pay attention to what is going on down here. When the Supreme Court handed down it´s Bush v Gore decision, for the most part we went back to our lives. There´s more at stake down here. More to come

Greetings. Man, did I have a blast at eBay Live. Lots of good stuff to fill the brain and "to do" list. One of the most inspiring work shops was the one the brainstormed ideas for international fair trade and the possibility of setting up a fair trade network within the eBay community.

 My selling philosophy for years has been to promote sustainability in Mexico by purchasing and selling handcrafts at a fair price. We also encourage buyers to "spread it around" by purchasing goods from other eBay sellers that share the same philosophy.

For those of you out there that do share that way of doing business, I suggest building our community from within. I am willing to actually list those sellers within my listings with those who are willing to do the same. Within the traditional business model, this would be insanity, because you are referring your competitors within your store. But, following Jerry Greenfield's (of Ben & Jerry) model and success, the non-traditional way of doing something may be the best idea. If we are to walk the talk, the would be a great start and experiment.

I'd love to change the world myself. (We'll, no I wouldn't actually. Too much celebrity and responsibility!). However, a community of dedicated sellers might be able to make a difference.