QPanama News – The indefinite public health strike, today in its ninth day, will remain in place until the Panamanian government repeals a law regarding the hiring of foreign doctors, the National Negotiating Medical Commission (Comenenal) confirmed today.
The announcement was made before the media by Fernando Castañeda, leader of Comenenal, and he added that the strike to eliminate legislation that now allows the hiring of foreign health workers, both specialists and technicians, will not be abandoned.
Castañeda said that a dialogue was demanded with President Ricardo Martinelli, who passed a law yesterday despite the strikes, to achieve a resolution of the situation.
He stressed that Martinelli’s statements to justify passing the law, are meaningless for the union because they do not guarantee that public health services won’t be privatized.
Health Minister Javier Diaz said that the text is not explicit abouit privatization and the matter is reduced to a presidential promise. He insisted that the “the word of the President is sacred,” and that there is no reason to continue the strike.
However some union spokespersons have doubts about the president’s promises, explaining that they end up not being met, either through subterfuge or delay tactics.
Given these comments Diaz insisted that there is no reason for the strike to continue because there are no signs nor will there be, of privatizating health services.
Diaz recalled that Martinelli, under legal sanction, had promised a salary raise for Panamanian doctors working in the interior of the country.
It’s official: Feeding a family in Costa Rica has become an uphill economical challenge; and the incline is bound to get steeper.
According to the Statistics and Census Institute (Spanish acronym: INEC), consumers in the most expensive Central American nation were hit with sticker shock in September as they visited supermarkets and pulperias (corner convenience stores).
Similar to the Big Mac Index published by respected financial news media publication The Economist, the INEC calculates a Casado Index. Next to gallopinto, casado is one of the most popular nutrition staples of Costa Rica.
This simple, yet delicious, meal that typically consists of rice, beans, fresh salad, a produce-based stew (picadillo), and a choice of beef, fish, chicken, or pork. The Casado Index went up by 0.51 percent in September, and this in turn elevated the cost of basic goods by 0.027 percent.
Not since the flash inflationary period of early 2009 has Costa Rica seen such high prices in the casado ingredients. It is not just the Casado Index that is on the rise, either; Tico consumers are getting squeezed in the following goods and services:
Fossil fuels, including gasoline and diesel: 2.37 percent
Dairy products: 1.23 percent
Taxi service: 0.91 percent
Papayas: 18.88 percent!
Not everything ended up being more expensive in Costa Rica during September.
Economist Milton Castillo, one of the researchers behind the consumer price index (CPI) at the INEC, told Marco Gonzalez Ugalde of La Prensa Libre that although the overall CPI went up by 0.13 percent in September, there were some price reductions in:
Canned tuna by -1.56 percent
New automobiles by -0.5 percent
Onions by -8.98 percent
Potatoes by -9 percent
Tomatoes by -20.05 percent!
September was a tough month for Ticos in terms of transportation as well. Not only were fossil fuels higher, but some bus lines were granted approval to raise their fares. Smokers shelled out 0.30 percent more in September, and so did those who drink liquor.
Compared to last year, the CPI inflation is 4.47 percent higher, which is right on target with expectations by the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Inflation is expected to continue; after all, Costa Rica has traditionally been a country that thrives on inflation. Economists, however, are concerned that the national unemployment rate is going up right along with inflation.
Travelers who are looking for a tropical destination on their next vacation might want to consider a cruise.
There are so many benefits to cruising. You get to visit multiple countries, islands or points of interest all on the same trip without hassling with transportation, border crossings or logistics. On a cruise, you unpack once and your floating hotel takes you from place to place. Dining, entertainment, recreation, and nearly your every want and need are taken care of for you.
Costa Rica has become a hot port of call for cruises to the Panama Canal, Central America and Western Caribbean. The Central American country borders both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and offers cruise ship ports on both coasts. Cruise itineraries either stop at the Port of Limon on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast, or the Port of Caldera or Puntarenas on the Pacific Coast, or both coasts.
This 2013-2014 cruise season began already on September 1. Costa Rica expects to receive a total of 130 cruise ships docking at the ports of Puntarenas and Caldera on the Pacific, and 59 sailing into Limón, according to data provided by the agencies that manage both of these ports. During the 2011-2012 seasons, a total of 345 cruise ships docked at Costa Rica’s ports. The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), along with tourism businesses, are seeking to improve Costa Rica’s position in the cruise ship market by streamlining procedures and improving safety at the Pacific and Caribbean ports.
Major cruise lines that visit Costa Rica include Celebrity, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, NCL, Oceania, Paul Gauguin, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean, Silversea, and Voyages of Discovery. Most cruise ships only spend one or two days in the country.
Small ship cruise lines like Star Clippers or Windstar Cruises spend several days visiting various points of interest in Costa Rica. For example, Windstar offers 7-day cruises up and down the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Cruise ship travelers who would like to explore Costa Rica more in-depth can visit the country before or after a cruise, either on their own or on an organized tour.
Most cruise passengers seek out Costa Rica for its ecotourism opportunities. Effectively a biological corridor between North and South America, Costa Rica’s Neo-tropical climate and rainforests harbor one of the greatest biological diversities in the world.
Veragua Rainforest is one of the best Costa Rica ecotourism shore excursions for cruise visitors to the Caribbean port of Limon. Normally, passengers only have a few hours to experience as many of Costa Rica’s wonders as possible, and want to do so with minimal on-shore travel time. Veragua Rainforest is located an hour away from the port of Limon and offers both half-day and full-day shore excursions.
The research and adventure park is one of the top nature and adventure attractions in Costa Rica’s Caribbean region; plus, it is an important national scientific investigation center. The 3,212-acre (1,300-hectare) park is located in an area of breathtaking tropical rainforest in the foothills bordering the vast La Amistad International Park. Attractions include an aerial tram, canopy zip-line tour, hiking trails through the rainforest and by a river with waterfalls, wildlife exhibits and science labs.
Article by Shannon Farley A Southern California native, Shannon Farley writes English-language blogs and social media marketing for Enchanting Costa Rica and Profimercadeo, both based in San Jose, Costa Rica. She is a professional journalist who spent an 18-year hiatus in tourism and business management, and has since combined all three talents in her current work.
Jorge Guevara, the security guard sentenced in the murder of Justin David Johnston has been acquitted by a Costa Rican court on his second trial.
Guevara, on morning of June 2, 2011, shot Johnston when the 16 year old tried to get into a hotel in Guanacaste. Guevars told the court that he fired a warning shot at what he thought was a burglar.
The security guard had been found guilty and sentenced to 15 years prison at his first tiral, but won a new trial on appeal.
The three judge panel, in their ruling, said he was legitimately confused by Johnston’s attempt to enter from a nearby property instead of the hotel’s main entrance.
Johnston was part of a group of Spanish Club students and two chaperones who were on a nine-day trip to Costa Rica. Authorities said the students had been sent to bed at 10 p.m. but some left their rooms and went to another building on the premises. They were returning to their rooms before dawn when the security guard spotted them.
“We feel like Justin has died all over again,” Wendi Johnston, Justin’s mother, told the Associated Press after learning of the court decision earlier this week. “How do you go from one trial where he is sentenced to 15 years to setting him free?”
The hierarchy of the Ministry of Public Works (MOPT) may be in a state of denial, but is contradicting its own technicians. A heavy rainstorm Monday caused a shutting down of work on the Circunvalacion because MOPT technical staff felt that the sides of the repair had been weakened.
David Melendez, director of emergencies for MOPT told the national newspaper La Nacion Tuesday that he recommended shoring up the sides of the deep trench previous rainstorms had carved in the highway when a culvert collapsed.
The repairs have been delayed for the sides of the hole in the road to be shored up by landfill after the approaches to the temporary Bailey bridges had been undermined. Three of the four bridges that had been installed with haste to allow traffic to pass over the damage, had to be just as hastily taken down.
It was not long before the public relations department at MOPT kicked into gear with a press release stating “the work does not present any risk of weakness provoked by the rains of recent hours.” The highway agency, Conavi, director Cristian Vargas insisted that beams put into the ground to hold up the sides of the repair were sound.
Tuesday, Vargas said that the problem was not that the remaining temporary bridge “was compromised but that some reinforcing beams had fallen” and the bridge had to be elongated on the approaches. He said the pavement that had been installed on those approaches had been removed to lighten it.
But that wasn’t the only disagreement between MOPT and technical experts. Minister of Public Works Pedro Castro begged lawmakers to send to the Constitutional Court (Sala IV) a measure approved in committee the week before demanding that he listen to a technical agency.
The unusual bill would require MOPT to follow the findings of the technical laboratory on structure and materials (LANAMME). This would apply to decisions about infrastructure construction and repair. Castro said his doubts stemmed from the fact that LANAMME is a department of the University of Costa Rica.
Comment: Castro’s objection may stem more from the fact that he wants to make decisions on the basis of political advantage, not technical expertise. For example, his agency is busily constructing a culvert to cure the damage to the Circunvalacion when the lab recommends a bridge.
But Castro wants the faster, cheaper solution, even through it will last a fraction of the time a bridge can endure Costa Rica’s rainy climate. That’s partly what’s wrong with the infrastructure of this country in the first place.
It all started Sunday morning after a server upgrade, the site went down for more than 24 hours due to a misconfiguration in the settings at the server level.
Then it was found that the server had issues way beyond our control. Our hosting provider worked around the clock to resolve the issues keeping the site from loading properly, if at all. Worse, on my side, was the problems with the WordPress back-end, making it nearly impossible to do the simplest of tasks as the server kept timing out.
Last night all the issues were resolved and everything is working as it should.
I want to thank each and everyone of your for your patience and understanding. The Q is here to stay!
Rodolfo Hernández is a medical doctor who wanted to be president. But like former president Dr. Abel Pacheco, he found that politics has nothing to do about integrity, honesty and doing something for the country.
The good doctor found himself against the wall, feeling betrayed and angry, mostly from what I can gather at himself for listening to those who hedged him into politics.
For 150 days Dr.Hernández put his personal life aside with the ideal to correct some of the many problems facing the country and its people.
What the doctor found, however, and his words “betrayal, intrigue, selfisheness and disappointment” .
Today, as he goes back to his work as a doctor at the Sick Children’s hospital in downtown San José, I could see a hint of bitterness and anger when he spoke to the television cameras.
The doctor threw in the towel on Thursday afternoon, leaving the PUSC political party with only 14 days to find a suitable candidate. This, a party that alternated (with the PLN) ruling the country for decades.
Perhaps Dr. Hernández, like Dr. Pacheco, thought he didn’t have to play politics to be in politics.
As Rick Philps write in his comments on my story, “the problem is that their medical training is all based on obtaining concrete results for third parties; an objective totally contrary to politicians“.
With 150 days of politicking under his belt, perhaps Dr. Hernández realized is naivity or saw that he could not continue to be honest if wanted to win the elections.
This dynamic photograph was taken by Mark Bridger in Kenya during the annual wildebeest migration of herds from the Serengeti in Northern Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Often called “The Great Show on Earth”, it includes 2-2.5 million of wildebeest, zebras and gazelle moving together from July to October each year.
Dr. Rodolfo Hernandez closed out today his brief chapter as a presidential candidate for the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC).
Arriving at his home later this afternoon, he told waiting reporters to please “respect the privacy of my home”, evading questions.
The doctor said briefly and without details that some of his collaborators, constantly promoted that people not vote for him.
“I am a man of my word, though you may not have believed it, I represented an alternative for Costa Rica”, he said.
“If you need a doctor and a human being, I am always available”, Dr. Hernandez said before closing the doors at the media and when inside.
Earlier in the day, the good doctor thanked everyone who support him during his brief period as a presidential candidate and said that he manage to know more deeply the needs of low-income Costa Ricans.
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla was on hand (in front of the cameras) at the start of the Interlinea service this morning. Photo: Casa Presidencial, via Facebook
The first results are in, the first hours of the new Interlinea bus service went smoothly, the buses rolling for the first since the project was announce fives years ago.
Officials of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) told the press they were pleased with the start of the service this morning, as the 36 buses weaved through three routes without having to go to and from downtown San José.
From downtown Escazú passengers can now travel to the Pozuelo factory in La Uruca and back with 46 stops in between; or connect to the next route that will take passengers to Guadalupe and back, with 60 stops; or connect to the next route that takes passengers to downtown Desamparados and back, with 60 stops.
The cost on each one of the three routes is ¢350 colones. Each route takes about 45 minutes to travel one way.
Missing are two routes that had been part of the original network, Escazú – Alajuelita – Desamparados and Escazú – Santa Ana – Belén and La Uruca.
The Spanish language newspaper La Nacion has prepared a digital map and App of the route, click to go there.
Also, La Nacion published in today’s print edition a big map of the routes and their stops.
The road over the Parisimiina bridge on the Ruta 32 was completely washed away by the strong currents. Photo: Reiner Montero
La reparación de la carretera en Parismina podría demorarse unas 48 horas estima el Conavi. (Reiner Montero)
The road over the Parisimiina bridge on the Ruta 32 was completely washed away by the strong currents. Photo: Reiner Montero
Four nationals roads are completely closed at this moment – the worst Ruta 32 (San José – Limón), and four others with partial closures as a result of the rains of the last several days.
In the wee hours of Thursday morning, strong currents of the Parismina river washed away a large section of theRuta 32, the major route connecting the Carribbean coast and the port of Limón and the Central Valley.
Given the magnitude of the damage and inclement weather, the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) says it will be four or five days before a temporary bridge can be erected.
Alternate routes, like through Turrialba is an option, but very slow due to the steep and narrow road and large volume of traffic, that inclues tractor trailers and buses.
The other three closed roads are the Ruta 142 in Unión de Tilarán towards the dam; Ruta 296 at the entrance of Tronadora towards río Chiquito, between Tilarán and San Carlos; and, Ruta 150 between Nicoya and Sámara.
Roads with partial closures or “paso regulado” is Ruta 1 or the Inteamericana norte, in Esparza; Ruta 2 or Interamericana sur, in the area of Cerro de la Muerte, near Vara del Roble; Ruta 14 in Golfito; and, the Zona de los Santos, between Juan and Copalchí.
Meanwhile in San José, the Circunvalación continues closed in both directions.
If online social networking was the electoral platform of Costa Rica, the shoo-in presidential candidate would certainly be Jose Maria Villalta Florez-Estrada of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party. No other candidate has been able to gain such a significant market share in terms of social media, not even former Mayor of San Jose Johnny Araya, the leading candidate to succeed President Laura Chinchilla.
According to online daily news site El Pais, which is often the voice of the opposition in Costa Rica, Villalta’s strong presence in social media and his high level of activity will probably make the 2014 elections a runoff between him and Araya. As of early October, Villalta’s Facebook page had more than 43,000 followers, and his Broad Front party had more than 12,000. Facebook is the most popular online social network in Costa Rica, one that couples often use for spying on each other.
Candidate Villalta is a young legislator who has accomplished quite a bit in the 21st century. He is 36 years old and has been involved in the intricate politics of Costa Rica since the year 2000. His alma mater is the University of Costa Rica, where he got his start in student politics. He is an attorney and an expert in political science, as well as a passionate environmentalist.
Candidate Villalta is a partisan man. His website contains the 100 legislative proposals introduced by his party, of which 10 have been approved and are now law in Costa Rica. When it comes to criticizing the Executive or President Laura Chinchilla, he mostly stays put and explains he has other things to focus on. Villalta does not yet have a solid plan for his administration; that is because he is listening to his constituency in this regard, and he is doing so on Facebook and Twitter.
Villalta is running on a slightly liberal platform on some issues, but he has been known to take a conservative stance on others. He has thus far shown conviction in the sense that he believes that Costa Rica should allow more elements of a participatory democracy, similar to Switzerland.
Although Villalta and his Broad Front party are hardly the first or the only political entities in Costa Rica to campaign on social media, he seems to have a clear advantage in this regard. Voters in Costa Rica traditionally enjoy participating in rallies and other events organized by political parties; however, many complain that they no longer have time for doing so. Thus, they flock to social media instead, and they are finding that candidate Villalta is ready to engage them.
Could Facebook and social media expertise guarantee victory at the polls for Villalta and Broad Front in 2014? It is hard to say; Johnny Araya and the National Liberation (PLN) party have considerable political clout and are considered shoo-ins in the coming elections; however, Broad Front is a party that is gaining momentum. It is too early to tell whether Facebook and Twitter can turn the political tides in Costa Rica.
A powerful and destructive synthetic opioid made popular by Russian street chemists has apparently reached the United States. Krokodil is the name of a scary mixture of codeine, gasoline, paint solvents, and household cleaners that aims to approximate the effects of desomorphine. Once designer drugs become popular in the U.S., they tend to reach Costa Rica in just a few months, but we hope Krokodil never does.
The Institute on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: IAFA) has not yet made an announcement on Krokodil, although the government entity has done considerable research on the use of morphine, heroin and other opiates and synthetic opioid derivatives in our country. Should Krokodil find its way to Costa Rica, law enforcement and public health officials will certainly have to react quickly; after all, this is a drug that is known for its severe flesh-eating side effects.
According to recent reports from the Banner Poison Control Center of Arizona, there are two documented cases of this awful drug in the Southwest. There is a reason for the drug to be known as Krokodil: Users tend to suffer the incredibly gruesome side effect of their skin rotting from the inside until their epidermis takes on a reptilian appearance.
Recipe for Disaster
Similar to heroin, desomorphine was synthesized from opiates by chemists looking for a substance for effective pain management. According to futurism site IO9, the creation and patent of desomorphine took place in the U.S. before World War II, and it was briefly marketed in Switzerland under the name Permonid. This drug is reportedly more potent than morphine and lacks the sharp decrease of respiratory activity and nausea associated with heroin. It is an explosive high that does not last as long as the several types of heroin produced and sold in underground markets.
A drug that packs a powerful punch will certainly have the potential to ensnare those addicted to opiates. The problem with Krokodil is that its production does not take place in a clinical setting. Reports of Krokodil manufacturing in Russia indicate that the drug in a manner similar to that of methamphetamine, which is often extracted from pseudoephedrine. In Costa Rica, meth is sometimes mixed in small quantities with powder cocaine or molly (cristal), the new trendy designer drug that emulate MDMA -essentially a powder form of Ecstasy.
In the quest for extraction and synthesis of active opioid molecules from codeine medications, bathtub chemists making Krokodil will use gasoline and other corrosive substances that users will later inject into their veins. This explains the awful side effect of skin falling off users’ bones.
In a way, Krokodil is nothing like desomorphine, but it is still an incredibly destructive drug that Costa Rica does not want. Unfortunately for Russia, thousands are already addicted.
The central park in Grecia. Photo: http://www.anywherecostarica.com/
The central park in Grecia. Photo: http://www.anywherecostarica.com/
A wave of crime that has been sweeping through the northwestern rural areas of the province of Alajuela seems to be spreading to other cantons to the south.
As previously reported by Radio Santa Clara, robberies and break-ins have multiplied in recent months, but criminals are now turning violent and targeting expats from the United States living in the Grecia canton.
are now using firearms and blunt metal objects to ply their wicked trade. Degenerate criminals who had robbed lottery salespeople in the San Pablo neighborhood and relieved them off 6 million colones (about $12,000) continued their crime spree and shot a young woman in the abdomen as she carried her baby.
Five days before that ghastly incidents a man broke into a home in a new residential community and sexually assaulted a woman before he made off with valuables. A similar incident took place at the Abundancia neighborhood, where assailants resorted to sexual intimidation of a woman before running away with more than $6,000 in stolen goods.
On September 22nd, a security guard at the Meco Shopping Center was overpowered by various individuals who broke into the San Ramon Jewelry shop and stole about $80,000 in assorted merchandise. Just a few days ago, a man shot at a woman right in front of a Banco Nacional branch in San Roque in Grecia; the woman was not injured, but the thief snatched her purse containing $6,0000. Fuerza Publica officers quickly reacted, caught the assailant and returned the stolen purse.
U.S. Expats in Grecia Victims of Break-In
In the Laguna sector of Rio Cuarto, a couple from the U.S. was surprised when three individuals invaded their home and stole a few items. Fuerza Publica officers caught the suspects. The regional director of Fuerza Publica stated that more information on these criminals was forthcoming.
Along with the daytime street robbery in San Roque, residents of the large Grecia canton of Alajuela are worried that their idyllic paradise, which is just beyond the edge of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM), will fall victim to crime.
Paradise Lost
The Municipality of Grecia was once known as the cleanest city in Latin America, at least until the majestic city of Curitiba in Brazil took those honors. For many foreign expats residing in the Grecia canton, this is one of the best-kept secrets in Costa Rica. The charming city of Grecia is just an hour away from downtown San Jose, which makes it part of the GAM. The surrounding districts, however, are rural areas where wealthy and working-class families rub elbows with the occasional expat.
Earlier today, the staff at Cafe Delicias, a sidewalk cafe that caters to expats in downtown Grecia, were busy discussing recent events and how expats would react to the home invasion in Rio Cuarto, the armed robbery in San Roque, the scary hostage negotiation at a retail store, and today’s violent execution of a man as he was getting ready to take his 6-year old daughter to school.
A few people from Grecia also have ties to the U.S., and it is not unusual to hear English conversations in the downtown district. The Grecia canton is home to considerable wealth produced by sugarcane and coffee crops. There is also a healthy real estate and used car dealership scene; to this end, the Organization for Judicial Investigations (OIJ) has conducted investigations on money laundering operations involving individuals from Costa Rica and the U.S.
By Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com – Costa Rica signed the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises on September 30, 2013, an OECD press release revealed.
The Central American country thus became the 45th country to adhere to an OECD international investment instrument, designed to help the country attract more and better foreign investment and promote responsible business conduct.
Welcoming Costa Rica’s signing of the Declaration, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said at a signing ceremony in Paris: “Costa Rica’s ability to attract foreign investment has helped transform its economy to make it more diversified and knowledge-intensive. Signing the OECD Declaration is another important step that will deepen its international integration and benefit growth and development.”
As an adherent to the Declaration, Costa Rica commits to providing national treatment to foreign investors and promoting responsible business conduct. In turn, other governments commit to treating Costa Rican investors abroad fairly and encouraging their multinational enterprises operating there to contribute to economic, social and environmental progress.
The OECD Investment Policy Review of Costa Rica, released on September 30, says that the country’s inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) have increased at an impressive pace, growing on average 13 percent per year over the past decade. Manufacturing activities make up a large part and the share of flows into the services sector has also jumped in recent years, boosted by the opening of the telecommunications market, from only 8 percent of total inflows in 2002 to 40 percent in 2012.
According to the OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index, Costa Rica’s legal regime for foreign investment is more open than the average for the 57 OECD and non-OECD countries reviewed.
The report makes a series of recommendations to address key challenges facing the country. These include:
Make better use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in transport and electricity, develop management expertise, and offer more opportunities for foreign investors to participate in PPP projects. This will help modernize the electricity sector, meet growing demand and ultimately reduce costs.
Streamline and modernize procedures for doing business and cut red tape to facilitate domestic and foreign investment.
Reinforce partnerships between the government, universities, R&D centers and the private sector to meet a growing gap between supply and demand in priority sectors, notably high-tech industries.
Continue its efforts to fight corruption in the public sector and foreign bribery as set out in the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, part of the Declaration.
Irazu Volcano has not erupted since the months-long devastation of 1963, but scientists have studied thousands of best- and worst-case scenarios to help prepare the National Emergency Committee for such an eventuality.
During the last eruption, the volcano dumped ash all over the Central Valley, extending to outer provinces. To test some 51 scenarios, vulcanologists, geologists and computer experts conducted 320 simulations to probe effects on health and agriculture of ashfalls.
In 1963, the ash and smoke darkened the skies around Cartago and the rest of the densest population areas, piling on roofs and seeping into attics like a heavy snowfall. The computer studies simulated this but also milder eruptions as well.
The analysis in the United States took up 138 computers. Here, the Costa Rican Technological Institute ITCR) cobbled together a network of 16 computers as well. “There was so much data that it was more work to take the material there (the U.S.) than it was to analyze it here,” joked ITCR’s Jose Castro.
Design of the study was in the hands of ITCR and the National University at Heredia (UNA). Despite all the work there is no one decisive scenario, cautioned the experts who noted that wind direction and the height of the plume of gases spewed above the crater will determine damage.
The study covers an event so mild that ash does not even reach the outskirts of Irazu National Park. But should a more severe eruption occur scientists will have only a matter of few hours to advise authorities. Although the ash, when it decomposes, makes a fine fertilizer, a heavy coat of the sulphurous fall can kill even trees.
“If authorities who make decisions have only the worst case scenario,” says UNA’s Gustavo Barrantes, “but we don’t say how probable that may be, they cannot do their jobs.”
Crusading Costa Rican prosecutor Francisco Dall’Anese has resigned from his appellate court judgeship without explanation. The prominent attorney had completed a United Nations post in Guatemala he took in August, 2010.
Dall’Anese was Chief Prosecutor in this country between 2003 and 2010, when he headed up the team that put together cases against ICE-Alcatel and the Caja-Fischel, ending in prosecution of ex-presidents Rafael Angel Calderon and Miguel Angel Rodriguez.
While in Guatemala for the United Nations, he was in charge of the International Commission against Impunity, legally duelling with that country’s corrupt politicians who had escaped punishment. His Spanish predecessor had resigned the post in disgust at roadblocks put in his way by portions of the government.
Dall’Anese also complained bitterly of a lack of support by the Guatemalan government, but doggedly forged ahead. After leaving that post, he was scheduled to take a magistrate post on the appellate court at Goicoechea.
We have been working on improving our site. However, we are still working out “server issues” with our HSP, Godaddy.
It all started on Sunday after upgrading to a new server. Things didn’t go that well from the start. And since we – and you – have had to endure time outs, internal server error, 404 errors and a pretty slow loading website.
We’ve reorganized the home page, cleaned it up, cleaned up the code and run a series of optimization routines. The underlying problem of server issues still continue, a situation totally out of control, unless we change Host all together and that just may have to be unless Godaddy can fix the issues real quick.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.
While we continue with these issues we will be posting all the current news and stories on our partner site www.todaycostarica.com.
About TodayCostarica. This is a new product that we will soon be launching. It is part of the “Today” network of websites to bring you news – only news – from Central and South America. Using a sophisticated news aggregator, we fetch news stories from selected sites and post the automatically on a continuing basis.
We are excited about this and will inform you of its launch!
A total of 3,066,087 Costa Ricans have been formally called on to elect a new president and 57 legislators in the February 2014 elections.
The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – elections tribunal – held an official ceremony this morning, Wednesday, starting the political campaign culminating in the general elections on February 2, 2014.
The main enemy of the electoral process is abstention. Analysts say the figure could be the highest ever seen and for such, both the president of the TSE, Luis Antion Sobrado and Presidenta, Laura Chinchilla, are calling on all Costa Ricans to not abstain from voting.
“Our duty as an institution is to listen to Costa Ricans, even those who speak in their silence,” said the president of the TSE, on the topic of voter abstention.
In his speech, Sobrado called on voters to exercise their right with “prudence and wisdom”.
The TSE confirmed that October 18 is the deadline for the registraion of all presidential candidates.
Presidential elections in Costa Rica are held every four years, usually the first Sunday in February and the newly elected president and Legislators take office at the beginning of May. For the 2014 elections, for the first time Costa Ricans living abroad are able to vote.
A spectacled caiman, Caiman crocodilus, sits partially submerged in water. Pesticides are threatening the Costa Rican caiman population. Photograph by John Cancalosi, National Geographic
For more than a week, news media outlets in Costa Rica and around the world have been publishing articles with eye-grabbing headlines that allude to the worldwide popularity of bananas (Musa acuminata et al) as being responsible for the demise of the Caiman crocodilus in our Caribbean coast.
Clever headlines such as “Yellow Peril,” “Crocs Going Bananas,” “Love For Bananas is Killing Caimans in Costa Rica” accentuate a problem that is not being interpreted correctly.
More than two dozen news outlets and science blogs have reported on a single press release about a research study published in the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry journal. Even the Costa Rica Star jumped on the bandwagon of a story too interesting to resist. The basics of the story are well posited by the respected National Geographic News:
Costa Rica is a prime location for banana production. As a key export, bananas play an important role in the nation’s economy. In 2011, Costa Rica exported 2 million tons (1.9 million metric tons) of bananas, valued at over $700 million.
As demand for the fruit increases, so does pesticide use. In the last two decades, pesticide use in Central America has doubled. Costa Rica ranks second in the world for intensity of pesticide use […]
spectacled caimans (Caiman crocodilus) near banana plantations were significantly thinner, and had higher pesticide concentrations in their blood, than caimans in more remote locations.
In Costa Rica, one of the leading environmentalist news publications, El Pais, reported as follows:
Banana Pesticides Poison Caimans
Plague control methods used in banana plantations of Costa Rica are poisoning caimans; even those in protected areas (such as Tortuguero National Park) […]
According to El Pais, some of the contaminants found in caimans’ blood include DDT, which has been prohibited for decades but traces remain in the habitat and make their way into caimans’ tissues and organs, thereby making them sick. Then, El Pais goes on to put numbers to the sizable exports of bananas -about 107 million boxes, almost half of them sold to the people of the United States, who simply cannot get enough of this delicious and nutritious fruit.
A Sharp Journalist Looks at the Issue
Naturally, El Pais and other publications invite to point fingers at the irresponsible use of pesticides and unsustainable farming techniques. There is a problem with this uncritical reporting of science news. Enter Anne Vezina, a prominent science blogger at ProMusa, a site that chooses the tagline: “Mobilizing banana science for sustainable livelihoods.” Ms. Vezina explains what called her attention to the media blitz of bananas vs. caimans:
The first thing that caught my attention was the type of pesticides detected in the caimans: 7 organochlorine insecticides and 2 pyrethroid insecticides. Organochlorines are pesticides like DDT, banned chemicals that are known to persist in the environment and accumulate in the food chain. I had never come across them in relation to bananas, except for chlordecone, but it was not one of the 7. Moreover, while it’s true that the banana industry in Costa Rica is a heavy consumer of pesticides, the intensive spraying regimen for which it is known uses fungicides, not insecticides,
Ms. Vezina actually consulted the research paper, asked questions of the research authors and even went as far as to contact representatives from Dole and Chiquita in Costa Rica. Essentially, Ms. Vezina is using science and investigative journalism techniques that we should all be thankful for. It turns out that none of the pesticides mentioned in the study were used by Costa Rica’s banana industry back in 2006, when the caimans were sampled.
Another slight red flag raised by the study and the ensuing media coverage thereof was the focus of the researchers on bananas. Ms. Vezina found that it was the researchers’ understanding that agriculture in Tortuguero is limited to the banana cash crop; she knows this is not true, and any Tico or visitor to the area knows this as well. Cultivation of other crops, both organic and massively farmed, takes place in the area, and some farmers might use pesticides and fungicides.
What follows is the most important portion of Ms. Vezina’s findings:
I am aware that by speaking out against this study I risk coming across as an apologist for monocultures and heavy pesticide use. I am not. I did this post mainly to underscore the importance of basing recommendations on solid scientific evidence.
That is not to say that there is nothing the banana industry can do to reduce pesticides in plantations.
[…] there could be a way to grow pesticide-free bananas for export in the humid tropics, except that most consumers don’t want to hear about it. But that’s another post.
We hope that Ms. Vezina and other sharp observers and journalists decide to take a critical look at such issues in the future. Their work is refreshing in this era of catchy headlines and uncritical reporting.
A political impasse at the United States Congress has caused the federal government to shut down its non-essential services, but the Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica remains open for business. According to a communiqué by the Embassy, Social Security payments will continue and assistance in applying for federal benefits is still available.
Social Security and Medicare cards will not be issued during the shutdown, and neither will be income verification letters. For travelers who wish to visit Costa Rica, passport issuance in the U.S. will continue, with one caveat reported by ABC News:
Some passport offices are located in federal buildings that will close along with the shutdown, but for reasons unrelated to passports. The State Department recommends calling ahead to make sure an office is open, before going there to apply.
Embassy and consular services in Costa Rica will continue as well, but for how long?
Because the State Department has leftover money in some of its accounts, embassies and consulates will remain fully operational as long as that money is left. State Department officials said they weren’t sure exactly how long it will last.
Costa Rican citizens planning to travel to the U.S. will also be able to apply for visas during the shutdown, according to the Washington Post:
the State Department is planning to continue processing visas through the shutdown, since those operations [like passports] are largely funded by fees collected.
The shutdown of the U.S. government is far friendlier to travelers this time around, at least in comparison to the previous shutdown during the Clinton administration. As previously reported by the Costa Rica Star, the last shutdown frustrated passport and visa applicants with thousands of applications that were not processed, and which were ultimately delayed.
Mexican comedian Adal Ramones, who quite playfully admits he wants to naturalize as a Costa Rican citizen, got a trifle ahead of the game, saying that if he could vote in the 2014 elections in February, he wouldn’t vote for that “cheapskate Johnny” Araya.
The National Liberation Party candidate’s wife, Sandra Leon, greeted the sally with good natured laughter. Ramones was profiling the “typical student who wants to be President when he grows up.”
Ramones sent the 4,000 in the audience into stitches by suggesting that he would never vote for Araya, even “as class president.” The crowd Saturday at Palacio de Deportes was a sellout. Ramones was on stage for two and a half hours, risky for a standup comedian,
The inclement weather halted the show for 10 minutes, waiting for the riotous rainstorm to subside. (La Nacion writer Gloria Corrales, taking humorous inspiration from Ramones, observed that if the comedian wants to become a Costa Rican he had better be prepared to keep his good humor for the plantina bridge saga, Bailey bridges and the Circunvalacion mess.)
But the would-be naturalized Tico showed his real colors when it came to Mexico’s struggling soccer team. “Now that you guys are in the World Cup, what would it cost you to let us win?” he asked plaintively.
Ramones is a great favorite among Ticos who did not even bristle when he called the national All Star soccer team, “baby calves,” for their generally short stature compared with taller European players. Besides being a great admirer of Costa Rica, he has put his money where his mouth is and couldn’t resist a few plugs in his act for his bar that he invested in on La Sabana, La Bodeguita del Medio.
AEROSMITH's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were interviewed on the 97.9 FM radio station in San José, Costa Rica
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/aerosmiths-tyler-perry-interviewed-on-costa-ricas-97-9-fm-video/#G90UZ0ZWHbuMXwkB.99
“We’re Europeans, Leave us Alone”, Tyler tells crowd on arrival at the San José airport Sunday
AEROSMITH’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were interviewed on the 97.9 FM radio station in San José, Costa Rica earlier today.
The rains in San José or at least on the west side area of La Sabana, in time for the AEROSMITH concert tonight at the National Stadium.
Produced by Flevent y Main Event, the Costa Rica concert is part of the band’s Global Warming Tour that began last year, with 60 concerts around the world.
The show tonight starts 8pm, opened by the rock group Akasha taking the stage at 7pm.
Steven Tyler was caught with his fly down (literally) by cameras taking a whizz outside the San José airport Sunday. Photo via Facebook.
Tickets are still available for tonight’s event at Publitickets.com. Prices start at ¢20.000 colones to ¢95.000 for the “fan zone” located at centre stage.
As more tourists from all over the world discover Costa Rica, they are likely to seek products closely associated with our country. Capturing this market is one of the objectives behind the marketing and branding strategy of Costa Rica’s government agency in charge of tourism affairs, ICT. To this end, a handful of firms are finding success on the world’s most popular online retailer.
As it stands now, five brands from Costa Rica are seeing positive results from their experience on Amazon.com. These companies are: Grupo Britt, Get Nuts, Lizano, Natural Sins, and Provehotel. These brands are taking advantage of the massive customer base of Amazon: 188 million and counting. According to a recent report by Leticia Vindas Quiros of business weekly El Financiero, these brands are pioneers in the sense that they are paving the way for others to showcase their Made in Costa Rica products.
In the case of Cafe Britt, a purveyor of fine coffee that was among the first to emphasize the quality of Costa Rica’s high-quality beans and roasts, Amazon represents five percent of its sales /about $300,000 per year. This may be but a drop in the vast ocean of $61 billion in sales for Amazon, but for Cafe Britt it truly opens the door to an international market.
For Natural Sins, a firm that offers unique healthy snacks such as crispy orange thins and coconut chips, Amazon represents 50 percent of its sales in the United States. Just like Cafe Britt, Natural Sins also sells its products using an internal e-commerce strategy, but they enjoy the prestige that Amazon brings to their operations.
Made in Costa Rica Around the World
The Made in Costa Rica concept is still in its infancy, but it is quickly becoming lucrative. One company that has capitalized on this is Florida Ice, the brewery giant responsible for iconic beer brands such as Imperial and Pilsen in Costa Rica as well as Labatt, Honey Brown and Pyramid in the United States.
Florida Ice has actively marketed the Made in Costa Rica concept behind Imperial, and it is paying off in the form of strong sales. The image that is emerging of products made in our country is one of a certain quality. In the case of edibles and consumables, this means fresh and natural ingredients that in many cases entail healthier options. Ecologically-conscious products are also in the purview of Made in Costa Rica, as well as the Pura Vida philosophy.
In the case of Provehotel products, the company is exporting the concept of eco-lodges and other hotels that are friendly to the environment in Costa Rica. Its Eco-Concept, Rain Forest and Natural Essence lines of travel soaps, shampoos and lotions are fondly remembered by visitors to our country.
Get Nuts specializes in treats made from almonds, cashews, macadamia and other candy-coated natural delights. The secret is in the candy coating, which is made from exotic fruits found in Costa Rica. Tourists who visit our malls and multiplazas are likely to be familiar with Get Nuts.
Lizano products such as Salsa Lizano, hot sauce, refried black beans, coffee, Chiky cookies, and its hand-made chorreador for making coffee the way it is supposed to be made in Costa Rica, are seeing positive sales and a growing interest on Amazon. Made in Costa Rica is still a nascent market, but it has a lot of potential for e-commerce hopefuls in our country.
The Federación Costarricense de Fútbol (Fedefutbol) – the national soccer association of Costa Rica – has been fine US$13,329 dollars by the FIFA for the wave of “gamesmanship” the US team endured from Costa Rican fans on September 6.
The world soccer body found the Fedefutbol guilty of the acts reported to the FIFA Commissioner and Safety Officer.
Rodolfo Villalobos, Fedefutbol treasurer, said he was not surprised by the fine or the amount, saying the soccer federation had expected a monetary sanction.
After the game that saw the United States national team lose 3-1 to Costa Rica’s national team, the FIFA decided to open an investigation into the disrespect shown by the fans towards the visiting team.
The FIFA fine is basically for not controlling the actions of their fans minutes just before kickoff.
Best be prepared, it is October 1 and this is the worst month of the rainy season, more rain falling on us this month than in any other month of the year.
Besides the obvious, what this also means lots of flooding, partly due to the volume of rainfall, but also to the clogged storm drains, creeks and rivers, that are used by many as their personal garbage bins.
Experts urge us to keep a constant eye on weather conditions and the water levels of rivers and creeks, and to take special preventive measures in areas prone to flooding.
As for road safety, slow down, turn on the emergency or 4-way flashers to let other drivers know you are going slow. Be extremely careful with pools of water. No matter how low it may seem on the surface it could be hiding a giant hole and/or clogged storm drain with a MISSING MANHOLE COVER. Using headlights while driving improves your being visible to other drivers.
An umbrella and waterproof shoes are recommended.
Keep an eye in the sky. As a general rule of thumb, if the dark clouds are coming from the East or South it means normal, heavy rain. If from the North or West, prepare for some intense storm that will probably include lighting. High winds that have the ability to raise roofs are also possible during these storms.
The intensity of the storms will also depend on the morning. A bright, sunny and hot morning will bring feirce weather in the afternoon. An overcast morning means the rains are less intense.
In Costa Rica, Couples Use Facebook as a Tool for Espionage.
Facebook is the most popular online social network in Costa Rica. It is extensively used for various purposes, particularly for checking up on romantic partners. This activity that is quickly catching on among couples of all ages. According to a survey performed by polling firm Unimer and commissioned by Grupo Nacion, 16 percent of Facebook users in Costa Rica use the social network as a tool for spying on their spouses and romantic partners.
The Unimer survey used 800 Facebook users in Costa Rica between the ages of 12 and 75. The Ticos and Ticas polled reside in the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM) and are active Facebook users who check up on status updates on a daily or weekly basis. According to Valeria Lentini, Unimer’s lead on this survey, the percentage of people who use Facebook to spy on their partners in Costa Rica has more than tripled over last year.
Online Espionage Daily tabloid La Teja interviewed a young Tico named “Diego” whose girlfriend warned him of her expertise in online espionage using Facebook and other surveillance tools well into their relationship. For that reason, the young man did not allow La Teja to use his real name: He is afraid that his girlfriend would find the online news story that mentions him complaining about relationship quirks.
According to this young man, his girlfriend pays attention to every status update, picture and comment he makes. She is also adept at using a combination of online search techniques and Facebook’s Graph Search beta to find out when he is mentioned by his Facebook friends. According to Diego, this is not the first Tica he has been involved with whose jealously was technologically enhanced by Facebook. To avoid uncomfortable questioning and arguments, he is careful when it comes to using the social network.
Newspaper reporters Karen Fernández and Andreas Cordero of La Teja interviewed a woman from Heredia whose best friend is also an avid Facebook spy. Her friend checks up on her boyfriend often, and if she sees a simple greeting from one of his former lovers on his Timeline, her jealousy meter goes way up, accusations begin and a lovers quarrel ensues.
Sociological and Legal Issues
Psychologists and sociologists interviewed by La Teja commented that couples should discuss certain things upfront and not dwell why someone does not change his or her relationship status on Facebook to reflect their current romantic situation. This type of online espionage is more prevalent among Latin American cultures than in Europe.
In Costa Rica, Facebook postings and status updates may be introduced as evidence in court. In contested divorce proceedings, for example, Facebook evidence can be used to prove adultery, which is considered a breach of reciprocal fidelity implied in a marriage. Dissolution of marriage by mutual spousal agreement can only take place during the first three years; after that, it must be contested.
In the case of civil unions as well as in romantic and interpersonal relationships, excessive Facebook surveillance to the point of obsession can be introduced as evidence for the purpose of proving harassment or cyberstalking.
Starting today, Oct 1, with only the ‘click of the mouse’ gun owners can register and obtain a legal permit to carry a firearm in Costa Rica.
The primary objective of the online process is to simplify procedures and avoid lines, according to the Ministro de Seguridad Pública, Mario Zamora Cordero and the director of Gobierno Digital, Alicia Avendaño Rivera.
At the same time, within two years, the process will allow authorities to know exactly how many guns there are in the country and in whose hands they are in.
Although the online process begins today, at least for the next month or so, registration can be done in person at the Dirección de Armamento, located in Sabana Sur.
According to Minister Zamora, the ¢800 million colones investment will “improve the controls of an antiquated system, and for the firs time, track firearms”.
Director Avendaño explained that the Sabana Sur office can handle a maximum of 100 people daily, causing large lines and delays in processing permits.
Despite the online process, there are still various “personal” steps that have to be taken by gun owners, like obtaining a “digital signature” (Digital Signature Law 8454) which can be purchased at the BAC San José, Banco Popular, Banco Nacional, Banco BCT and Gobierno Digital offices and a visit to the psychologist for a mental fitness exam.
Current law in Costa Rica allows a maximum of three weapons per person.
Local cable companies on Monday announced that they have to pull the US television channel, NBC, off the air in Costa Rica. The cancellation is effective today, Oct 1.
The order came from the NBC television network, telling Tigo, CableTica, CableVision, Claro TV and Telecable, they must stop broadcasting the NBC signal.
At Tigo (formerly Amnet), ABC was moved down the dial to NBC’s position of channel 22.
Ricardo Cordero, marketing manager told TodayCostarica, that the situation is common in the industry, as local providers must adhere to contractual terms.
According to Cordero, some of the programs and series on NBC are under contract with other broadcasters in Latin America and the cancellation is not attributable to the cable company operators, rather a decision of the source.
Many of the series on US television networks ABC, CBS and NBC are broadcast in Latin America (and Costa Rica) by Sony, AXN, Warner and Universal, among others. In some cases the programs and series are broadcast in English with subtitles, in others dubbed in Spanish.
In recent months the Latin America networks have been broadcasting US network series one or two weeks after first aired in the US.
Take the case of FX and AXN, who carry the popular programs “Dexter” and “Breaking Bad”. FX, last night it aired the final episode of Dexter, one week after the episode aired in the US. AXN, it will be airing the final episode of Breaking Bad this weekend. The series ended its run last week in the US.
The social media was abuzz yesterday with the notice. Many comments seem it a fatal move as channels like NBC, CBS, ABC, TV5, BBC, DW and RAI, for example, are “direct window to high quality programming from the United States and Europe”.
The announcement was made before the media by Fernando Castañeda, leader of Comenenal, and he added that the strike to eliminate legislation that now allows the hiring of foreign health workers, both specialists and technicians, will not be abandoned.
