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The Presidenta’s Televised Message
On national television Thursday, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, explained that her trusted and loyal staff let their guard down and this cannot be accepted, told the nation that she will not be flying private during the balance of her administration and is angry at what has happened, given her record of fighting crime.
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1, 2, 3 Heads Be Rollin’
The first casualty of the “Chorizo Plane” scandal was Communications Minister Francisco Chacón who tendered his resignation on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla’s personal assistant, Irene Pacheco and the vice-minister of the Presidency and Director of the Dirección de Inteligencia y Seguridad Nacional (DIS), Mauricio Boraschi, stepped down from their posh government post.
The DIS is the country’s intelligence gathering service, akin to the CIA in the U.S. or the CSIS in Canada and is under the direct control of Casa Presidencial. The DIS is also the security unit of the president.
All three, according to the Presidenta in a televised address, were responsible for setting up the deal with the private plane used by her, her husband and her staff to travel to Peru on May 11, a plane that we now know is owned by THX Energy, with ties to Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon, who is alleged to have links to Colombia’s drug cartel.
In the television address, Chinchilla said that her near and loyal collaborators let down their guard and “this I cannot accept”.
The Presidenta admitted that in the management of the use of the aircraft there were “serious omissions and a dereliction of duty”.
Now that Chacón and Pacheco are officially out of a job they are talking to the press. And their stories are conflicting.
Chacón said on Tuesday that the arrangements for the THX plane were last minute and he was duped by Morales, who used a fake name. He has since filed charges with the Attorney General.
Pacheco, however, says that the use of the THX plane goes back to March, first used by Presidenta Chinchilla to attend the funeral of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.
At the centre of this scandal is one Morales.
THX Energy on Thursday, by way of a press statement, said that they have no ties to Morales. In Colombia, according to officials in that country, Morales has a clean record though has been or is the subject of numerous investigations, including alleged ties to a Cali drug cartel kingpin. In Costa Rica, where now Morales lives in a secluded community, he has not spoken to the press and there is no indication that he involved in any illicit activity. Morales is a Colombian national and a naturalized Costa Rican by way of marriage (now divorced).
As the days roll and heads fall, the Attorney General has confirmed they looking into the case to determine whether the trip violated the Illicit Enrichment Law.
In her television address, Doña Chinchilla said she “will not” be using any private jet during the balance of her term.
The following is the message of Presidenta Laura Chinchilla:
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An Historical Look Of Avenida Central (The Boulevard)
The building to the left was replaced with what is not the Plaza de la Cultura, the Pops at the foot of the Gran Hotel still stands, so does the Lehman store and the Gran Via hotel, though the name changed recently. Though the photo is not dated, it appears early 1970’s (by the vehicles). If you can shed a light on this, please use the comments section below.
Avenida Central looking west. To the right is the construction of the Banco Central, the building with the Imperial sign would be replaced with what still stands today, La Gloria.
Photos courtesy of Fotografias antiguas de Costa Rica page on Facebook. Give them a like, even post a photo to two.
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Fonseca and Morales Neighbours
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Former Costa Rican soccer player Rolando Fonseca enmeshed in scandal over presidential trip
While former Costa Rican soccer player Rolando Fonseca tries to distance himself from Gabriel Morales Fallon, a report by CRHoy.com paints a different story, both men living in the same gated community, Valle del Sol, in Santa Ana.
This “residencial” is uncommon to most residential communities in Costa Rica, as it combine extreme security and luxury. To enter Valle del Sol you must be a resident or know someone who is, as the security and surveillance cameras are everywhere.
Golf, tennis, swimming pools and around the clock active security keep the residents inside the walls of Valle del Sol secure and lapped in luxury.
CRHoy.com says that while looking for the Fonseca home they ran into the abandoned house of Eliseo Vargas, the former president of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), sentenced to jail for embezzlement. The house sits empty as “it cannot be sold”.
Near the Vargas house the CRHoy.com investigative reporters found a luxurious residence with a flawless facade and four luxury vehicles parked outside which undoubtedly stood out. No gates, no barb wire fences in this community!
Fonseca, since his retirement from playing soccer, has become an important businessman with scores of active corporations in the country.
Around the corner from Fonseca the investigative journalists stumbled upon another house, that of one Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon.
In the driveway of the Morales house sit two late model Porsche Cayanne, fully armoured, and a Toyota Sequoia – also fully armoured – which according to sources is used by the Morales children to and from school.
Morales, a Colombian national with Costa Rican citizenship, owns an island near Cartagena, Colombia, where he constantly travels with his family and Qatar, one of the more frequent family holiday destinations.
Diggin into Morales’ Costa Rican nationality, the CRHoy.com journalists found that despite alleged ties to a Colombia drug trafficker made public in December 2010, the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) issued Morales citizenship in January 2011.
The citizenship was granted by his marriage to a Costa Rican national who then divorvced six months after obtaining his Costa Rican cedula, divorcing on September 6, 2011, according to public registry records.
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Stupidity? Ineptitude? Or Both?
The question being asked by many today is how could Presidenta Laura Chinchilla be so stupid or she inept in taking a flight on a private jet owned someone with alleged links to the drug trade?
Since Saturday, when we learned that the Presidenta flew to Peru on a private jet owned by a foreign company, the situation had gotten worse with each passing day.
On Monday, the government tried to play down the situation, spinning it from the point of view that this, the borrowing of planes, is business usual since the President doesn’t have her own plane,that the Presidenta would pay for the expense out of pocket and so on.
On Tuesday we learned more to the story that had quickly become a scandal for Presidenta Chinchilla and her government.
On Wednesday, Communications Minister, Francisco Chacón, stepped down taking the full blame for what had happened. and an investigation was underway by the Attorney General’s office into possible violation of the law by government officials and the Presidenta herself.
By Wednesday and This morning, the story had taken an whole new proportion, it had left Costa Rica’s borders and had gonve viral, reaching the international stage.
Quickly the Presidenta’s jaunt made headlines in online news media from Mexico to Colombia to Spain and many other parts of the world, all with one common message, “Costa Rica’s president takes narco flight”.
El Tiempo in Colombia wrote, “the Scandal cost head of Communication Minister and Laura Chinchilla strongman”. In Mexico the Excelsior, said “Chinchilla travels in plane provide by drug tafficker”.
Similar reports of Chinchilla’s narco flight made headlines in Panama (Estrella en Panama), El Economista in Spain, In Peru, Peru21.com and in Nicaragua, El Nuevo Diaro, to name a few.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/internacional/82651.html
http://www.elmundo.es/america/2013/05/16/noticias/1368692112.html
Back in Costa Rica, the leading television news, Teletica, during its noon (an most important time slot for news) aired a live interview from Colombia with Lina Marín who confirmed that Morales does not have any record, but has been the centre of numerous investigations for links to drug trafficking in Colombia.
Politicians like Ottón Solís, former leader of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC) and presidential candidate on several occasions, was direct to the point, “It was a private tour that should be covered personally. They (Chinchilla government) don’t care who gives them a gift and they accept it, because only at a very high level of stupidity does a politician accept such a gift without finding out who is behind it“.
For his part, legislator Luis Fishman, head of the PUSC party and former presidential candidate said, “one would think that at this point in the fight against drug trafficking, that there is a propotcol at Presidentia House to say who can lend them a plane, its is either naivité or stupidity“.
Fishman added “there are mechanisms in place to verify registrations, driver’s names or corporate boards, who have been linked to the drug tafficking, appearing in the system….”.
Solís had another possible explanation, that of Ticos (Costa Ricans) not having malice, quickly willing to trust.
For his part, PLN presidential candidate, Johnny Araya has kept quiet on the subject, refusing requests from the press to provide a statement.
Jorge Chavarría, Costa Rica’s Attorney General, described on live television (during the same noon hour telecast) “there must be a weakness in the Presidential security service”. Chavarria explained how his department was not contact, nor in reality have available the intelligence information to give warnings, etc.
The opposition party, the PAC is calling for the immediate resignation of anti-drug czar and head of the Dirección de Inteligencia y Seguridad (DIS), Mauricio Boraschi.
The DIS is Costa Rica’s intelligence service and in charge of the protection of the president.
Carmen Muñoz, head of the PAC party block of legislators said, “the circumstances surrounding the Presidenta’s trips in a THX plane reveal a structural problem in the direction of the intelligence and state security”.
“Boraschi must go. He lost all authority by not timely detecting such drug penetration in the heart of the Government”, stated Muñoz.
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1953 Poas Volcano Eruption Remembered
Friday marks the 60th anniversary of one of the major eruptions of the Volcán Poás.
The day was May 17, 1953 that many Costa Ricans will never forget. One of those is Don Aurelio Morales, at 94 years of age, remembers the day sixty years ago like it was yesterday.
Then, 34 years of age, Don Aurelio worked the fields around the colossus.
The eruption lasted two years and is one of the majors after the 1934 and 1910 eruptons.
Like Don Aurelio, many old timers remember the day of the eruption with a bit of humour.
Despite that the volcano remains actve, the area residents go about their daily life with tranquility.
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US Embassy Alerts Of Possible Fugitive in Costa Rica
The FBI has issued an alert for Harold Eugene Smith, wanted in suspicion of having raped a girl, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, incest and corruption of a minor.
The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica posted in its Facebook page that Smith could be headed or already is in Costa Rica or Panama. Strange that the post is in Spanish only and not in English.
Smit is considered armed and dangerous. Any information related to Smith should be made to the US Embassy Consular Section in San José at 2519 2000.
More information on Smith is at: http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/cac/harold-eugene-smith/smithspanish.pdf
Smith was arrested in September 2010 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was freed after posting a high bail, but never appreaded back, prompting an arrest warrant issued for him on January 20, 2011.
The October 16, 2012, the District Court of the United States ruled for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania a federal arrest order against Smith, after he was charged with unlawful flight in order to be prosecuted.
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National Register Issues Regulations For New License Plates
In order not to affect the vehicular restrictions policy, the National Register, say it will establish a computerized numerical balance so that it can temporary restrict the choice of the last digit of a license plate.
The policy is ahead of the massive change that all vehicle owners will have undertake to move to the new, more secure license plate.
The change will allow owners, if they want to, choose the numbers or letters on the license plate. To ensure that there isn’t an imbalance – say a majority of owners choosing a 9 and 0 for Fridays as their last digit – the National Register has instituted the policy that will be part of the regulations of the license plate system.
According to the regulations, the “vanity” plate can be processed only once.
Over the next year or so all the “old” license plates must be changed over to the “new” plates, numeric or alphanumeric, have six safety devices which consist of a hologram to the left side of the plate, and a laser flag and map of Costa Rica, a special number in laser on both plates that cannot be altered, and a back light at an angle of 45 degrees in order to prevent counterfeiting.
There new plates are already in circulation, issued to all new vehicle registrations and for replacement plates.
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Costa Rica’s Gays Will Hold A Watch Against Homophobia
Gay groups in Costa Rica are preparing for a watch on Friday in front of the American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), to make a call against homophobia, joining the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Rodrigo Campos, head of the Office of Diversity of the Goicoechea Municipality, explained that he wants a call to attention because in Costa Rica there is disrespect for human rights.
In almost 80 countries around the world, loving someone of the same sex is still considered illegal, at times involving lifetime imprisonment and, in nine countries, it is even punishable by death. And in many more countries still, citizens are denied their right to live according to their preferred gender identity.
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to this issue.
It is not one centralized campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.
The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
The International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia is now celebrated in more than 100 countries, in all world regions and in places as diverse as Australia, Iran, Cameroon or Albania.
LGBTI organizations, governments, cities, human rights organizations, corporations and celebrities have all taken action on May 17th to:
- Draw media attention to the issue of homophobia and transphobia
- Organise events which mobilize public opinion
- Demand attention from policymakers and engage in lobbying activities
- Network with like-minded organizations and develop new partnerships, at home or beyond
- Mobilize existing constituencies and address new audiences
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“USA Visa Style”
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Using the “Gangman Style” video as the inspiration for a campaign of the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica that aims to combat visa scam.
The aim of the “USA Visa Style” is that “no Costa Rican fall into the traps of scammers who promise to ‘help’ illegally obtaining a visa, a job or residence in the United States,” according to its description.
Embassy employees participated in its production and the Costa Rican singer Daniel Castillo. If you look carefully, you will also see some steps dance steps by Ambassador Andrew.
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[Video] “Look, here there is no conflict of interest….”
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“There is No Conflict of Interest” Says Chinchilla
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla said on Wednesday that “it is not up to her to investigate the owners of all services that are provided to the state”, in reference to the private air travel paid for bby THX, a Canadian company, based in Colombia.
The statement came at a press conference of the inauguration of the commuter train service to Cartago.
Chinchilla said, in an angry tone, that “there is no conflict of interest” in the fact that a private company donated its plane for the trip to Peru and she does not know who are the owner(s) of THX and
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Legal experts, however, have a different opinion
Expert lawyer Enrique Rojas Franco says there is a violation of the law.
On Tuesday, the Procuraduría de la Ética Pública (Office of Public Ethics) said it would investigate Presidenta Chinchilla, and the two miniters who accompanied the Presidenta on the trip, Francisco Chacón (Commuications) and Anabel González (Foreign Trade). Chacón and Gonzalez are husband and wife.
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On Wednesday, Chacón announced his resignation, saying he was misled (duped) to the true identity of the owner of the plane and taken sole responsibility for the scandal.
In closing, the Presidenta said she was surprised by the facts and insisted that she paid personally for all expenses related to lodging and meals while attending the wedding in Peru.
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THX’s Ricardo Morales, A Man Under Scrutiny
Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallón, founder of Thorneloe Energy (later changing its name to THX), is the man behind the loan of the plane for Presidenta Chinchilla’s travel to Peru this past weekend.
In Colombia, Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon, is under investigation for alleged ties to drug trafficking and money laundering. (El Tiempo)
In 2007, the THX founder spoke to the Colombian magazine Revista Colombia about alleged ties to a Colombian drug lord.
“In Bogota, Chupeta has a senior executive with the alias Rimax or Ricardo. Mr. Rimax has executive level contacts that infiltrate the intelligence director’s office of the Police and is kept very well informed of all arrest warrants and extradition of all members of the organization”, Morales told his interviewer.
JuanCarlos Ramírez, known as Chupeta, was a Norte del Valle Cartel leader, who also is accused of drug trafficking and several murders and has been cited as “… one of the most powerful and most elusive drug traffickers in Colombia.
Investigations into Chupeta’s organization (after his arrest in August 7, 2007), investigators obtained reliable reports that Rimax or Ricardo would actually be Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon. Investigators learned that Morales was a renowned businessman and manager of Autocheco Lta, marketer and importer of Skoda vehicles in Colombia, and without a criminal record. Investigators also learned of possible interests in Pexin SA, an oil company based in Cali, Colombia.
In today’s digital edition El Tiempo says that the last time the public saw Morales was at the end of 2008, in between two Swedish models, dressed in red and displaying a late model Skoda car at a fair in Bogota.
Just a year earlier, the entrepreneur denied accusations of intelligence agents who claimed that ‘Rimax’, one of the figureheads of Chupeta, was him.
But his name was on the radar of the authorities since 2003, when El Tiempo revealed an irregular multi million dollar importation of luxury Skoda model cars into Colombia.
Morales’ name surfaced again in February 2009, in the scandal over the illegal use funds of Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol through Fidubogota.
In that case, Morales immediately returned the money, later leaving the country with a clean record, even though his home and Pexin Oil (to which he had alleged ties) were raided by authorities.
The shadow of Morales appeared again in Colombia, in the Ronda 2010, the big award of blocks for exploration of gas and oil, by the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH).
Sources close to the sector told the daily El Teimpo of Morales taking part in the bidding. “There is not link to Morales” is the official word of the ANH.
Although the Morales name is not on paper, there are people close to him that are. El Tiempo names one Sandra Lucia Parra Jimenez. who is named for the assignment of the Putumayo 12, one of the most coveted blocks.
Parra was, until recently, legal representative of Montco Energy, a firm that was left with that block and sold to Arab oil Abby Badwi.
Parra, in documents uncovered earlier this year, is named secretary of Pexin USA, a company incorporated in Delaware (US) by Morales’ mother and sister.
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Chacón: Teletica and Durman Pilots Recommened THX
Francisco Chacón on Wednesday stepped down as Communications Minister following a weekend trip by Presidenta Laura Chinchilla to Peru, travelling on a private jet whose owner
Chacón and his wife, Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez, accompanied the Presidenta on the trip to attend the wedding of the son of Costa Rica’s vice-president Luis Liberman, and a last minute meeting with Peru’s president.
In the press conference announcing his resignation, Chacón explained the Thorneloe Energy (THX) plane was recommended by the pilot of Teletica and Durman Esquivel, since both companies could not lend the government their plane.
“Don Ludwig (Chief of Protocol) contacted the pilots of a company that usually had provided service, they referred us to them,” said Chacon
The former minister, in his story, said that he met with a Gabriel O’Falan on May 8 to arrange for the use of the plane. However, O’Falan actually is Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallón. Chacón said he has filed a complaint with Attorney General, accusing Morales of using a false identity.
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Ingram Micro Mobility Expands in Latin America With New Costa Rica Facility
Ingram Micro, the world’s largest wholesale technology distributor and a global leader in IT supply-chain, mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions, today announced that it is extending the reach of its Ingram Micro Mobility services and solutions capabilities with the opening of a new facility in Costa Rica.
As the largest repair facility in Costa Rica, the facility will further support Ingram Micro Mobility’s growing business in Latin America. Initially, the facility will be fully dedicated to supporting the company’s mobile device lifecycle services, specifically device recovery and technical repair.
The facility primarily serves Ingram Micro Mobility’s partnership with a major U.S. mobile carrier, creating added capacity and efficiencies to support smartphone recovery operations. In addition to creating more than 300 jobs in Costa Rica with the opening of this facility, Ingram Micro Mobility has donated to the local community in the form of services and supplies to local schools and elderly care facilities.
“The opening of this new state-of-the-art device lifecycle solutions facility in Costa Rica is an excellent addition to Ingram Micro Mobility’s capabilities to meet the needs of our global customers,” said Christopher Newell, vice president Global Reverse Logistics, Ingram Micro Mobility. “We have added capacity, which we can further expand as our customers’ services requirements continue to grow, while also creating efficiencies within our operations. We chose Costa Rica because of its impressive infrastructure and highly talented workforce. This location also further extends our reach into the important Latin American market.”
The Costa Rica operation is led by Guillermo Araya, plant manager, who reports to Newell.
Source: Market Wired
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[Video] Minister Chacón Resignation, Says He Was “Duped”
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Communications Minister Resigns
Costa Rica’s Communications Minister Francisco Chacón resigned on Wednesday amid the scandal engulfing President Laura Chinchilla, saying he failed to properly screen a man who arranged for her to use a private jet and is under suspicion of using a false identity.
The Attorney General’s office is now investigating flights Chinchilla made to Peru to attend the wedding of a son of Costa Rica’s vice president Luis Liberman, and threw in a meeting with Peru’s president, Ollanta Homala.
Costa Rica has no presidential plane so the president usually flies on commercial airlines or uses aircraft provided by other governments when making state visits.
“Under the circumstances, I feel the right thing to do is resign as communications minister,” Francisco Chacon, who acts as Chinchilla’s spokesman, told a press conference.
Chacón said Gabriel O’Falan, who had claimed to represent a Colombia-based oil company called THX Energy, had duped him when they met before Chinchilla’s trip to Peru.
Mauricio Boraschi, Costa Rica’s anti-drug commissioner, told the news conference that O’Falan was believed to be Gabriel Morales, a Costa Rican citizen born in Colombia.
It was unclear what, if any, link there was between THX Energy and Morales.
“I’ve been the one facing (the press), defending the validity of the trip, saying that the company was legitimate and maintaining that they were free of questionable activities,” Chacón said.
Chinchilla’s office issued a statement late on Wednesday, saying she felt “indignant at the deception Chacón was subjected to.”
“The President … will order actions in the coming hours to ensure such situations are never repeated,” it added.
Costa Rica has an Illicit Enrichment Law, which includes penalties of up to eight years in prison for public officials who accept gifts worth more than a small amount.
“This is a first-class scandal that has shaken the country’s public opinion,” said Congresswoman Carmen Muóoz of the opposition Partido Acción Cuidadana (PAC).
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Brownouts “Normal” For Start of Rainy Season
Ok, here is the scenario: you sitting in front of the television with your favorite novela (Spanish soap opera), heating up tea in the microwave, surfing the web or worse in the shower, suddenly there is a momentary power failure.
This is called a “brownout”, an unintentional (or intentional) drop in the electrical power supply system. While intentional brownouts are used by the power utility for load reduction in an emergency, what you are experiencing lately is an overlod of the electrical grid due to ICE’s inability to provide a constant flow of power.
Get used to it!
ICE has been warning us of the low levels of water in the reservoir due to the unusually dry summer. Or is there something more sinister at play?
Whatever, you should prepare yourself for constant power interruptions and a good time to invest in some type of power regulator to prevent damage to appliances and electronic equipment.
Brownouts can cause unexpected behaviour in systems with digital control circuits. Reduced voltages can bring control signals below the threshold at which logic circuits can reliably detect which state is being represented. As the voltage returns to normal levels the logic can latch at an incorrect state; even can’t happen states become possible. The seriousness of this effect and whether steps need to be taken by the designer to prevent it depends on the nature of the equipment being controlled; for instance a brownout may cause a motor to begin running backwards.
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Bacteria In At Least 8 Patients Has San Juan de Dios Hospital on Alert
The bacteria Clostridium, a genus of Gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the Firmicutes, an organism that produces botulinum toxin in food/wound and can cause botulism, has raised the alert at the San Juan de Dios hospital after eight cases were reported in the last two weeks.
The normal is six.
In 2009, the downtown San José hospital had a similar outbreak. Hosptial officials say the current situation cannot be compared to the 2009, for now there is only an alert for the possible occurrent of more cases.
Moreover, they insist that the bacterium is present in all medical centres.
The hospital activated a preventive protocol that involves isolation of the cases, reinforcing hygiene such as hand washing, disinfection of the affected areas and the restriction of visits to patients.
Hospital authorities say that for the moment the situation is under control.
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Stop Being A “Nini”?
“Nini” is Spanish word to describe a young person that ‘ni estudia, ni trabaja’ … in other words, someone that doesn’t study, and doesn’t work. Just sorta bums around all day, and lives off their parents’ money.
In Costa Rica it is estimated that 12% of those between 15 and 24 years of age are ninis.
A program called “Empléate” aims, with greater involvement of the private business sector, to ensure the young to receive scholarships and integrate them into the labour market.
The initiative, launched in late 2011 by the Ministry of Labour, supports young people between 17 and 24 who neither study nor work, a group of “ninis” that nearly reaches 200.000 people in the country.
Costa Rica’s State of the Region in Sustainable Human Development Program, in coordination with El Salvador’s Studies for the Application of Law Foundation (FESPAD), found that ninis between the ages of 15 and 25, can be either gender, with 40% being female and 60% being male.
Ninis are often perceived as being lazy and ambitionless, but according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) many have tried and failed to find employment or have left poor working conditions.
In its Global Employment Trends for Youth 2012 report, the ILO warned that the use of temporary contracts for young workers has nearly doubled since 2008 – this means that more young men and women are being used in positions which may last only months and then they spend the rest of the year unemployed.
Connecting education to market needs through partners who are committed to making hiring program participants, is the formula for this project. High rates of unemployment among the young population created the need for the initiative.
Creating solutions for this group rests with the Ministry of Labour, which can foster job creation, but it is the companies that hold recruitment opportunities, says Olman Segura, the minister of Labour.
PS: A “NININI” is a that “Ni Estudia, Ni Trababa. Ni Joven” – a person who “doesn’t study, doesn’t, no is young”.
Source: La Republica
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EDITORIAL: The Presidenta’s “Torta”
The weekend trip that Presidenta Laura Chinchilla to Peru on a private jet has generated many quests that have no clear answers.
What is questionable here is not that the Presidenta travel to a private activity, but how the information of the trip was handled.
The Spanish slang meaning of “Torta”: Commit a Screw Up. There are many other meaning, but we try to keep it clean.
For one, the public was notified of the presidenta’s departure from Costa Rica after the plane had left the ground.
Two, the country’s president is obligated, by protocol if not by law, to notify the Legislature whenever it is not in the country. Clearly this was not the case this weekend, no such notification was given, this confirmed by legislators of the opposition.
Three, why deny that the cost of the use of the plane was funded by a foreign oil company? Then announce that the presidenta will pay for it our her own pocket. And then, “there is no conflict of interest here” when confirmed that the foreign company is footing the bill for what I like to call “Air Chorizo One“.
Four, in her May 1 address to the nation, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla herself promised “greater transparency”. However, this case is a perfect example of the Presidenta not listening to her very own words.
Five, up to now, the only words are from her Communications Minister, Francisco Chacon, who by the way was, with his wife, the minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez, on the plane with the president.
In summary, these are my thoughts. The Presidenta knows she this is her last year of reign and since re-election is not in play, thefore no matter what she does or doesn’t do the people have already had enough of her, so what the ….?
I think we can see more of these kinds of blatant disregard for public opinion and disrespect for the people.
Pura Vida, Mae.
Enrico Cacciatore
Editor of QCostarica.com
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The Legend of Malacrianza: Costa Rica’s Badass, Killer Toro
The sun has not risen yet over Garza, a tiny fishing village on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, but already there is movement. On one side of the town’s dirt road, the tide folds itself over the shore, and a monkey howls from behind the pink blossoms of a roble beech tree. On the eastern side, where pastureland stretches into to the mountains, two men on horseback are gathering the bulls.
Of all the bulls in Costa Rica, the most celebrated and revered is the bull people call “Malacrianza.” Translation? “Badass.”
“Ya! Asi!” one man urges from his horse as he chases a ghost-white Brahman bull from the pasture into a round paddock, where he will be kept with the others until it is time for the show.
Tonight — a Sunday night in March — the townspeople will empty out of the local Catholic church and congregate in a nearby field for an affair held in equal regard. They call it a corrida, which literally means, “run.” What it actually means here is rodeo — and these events largely resemble a typical American rodeo — but some people would call it a bullfight. They would not be entirely wrong.
Continue reading….from the Sbnation.com
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One in five funerals ‘interrupted by ringing phones’
Mobile phones are making it increasingly difficult to rest in peace with almost a fifth of funerals interrupted by obtrusive ringing, according to research by The Co-operative Funeralcare.
A survey of 2,000 people found that two in five people do not turn their phone off during a funeral service and a small percentage of mourners refuse to turn down the volume.
One in 16 people admitted to accidentally receiving a message on their phone during a funeral while one in six said they had seen others trying to frantically turn off a ringing phone.
Examples included the tune If You’re Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands blaring as a coffin was lowered in South Wales and a vicar’s mobile ringing as he gave a eulogy in North Wales.
A separate survey of 170 funeral directors by The Co-operative Funeralcare found that almost a fifth of funerals had been interrupted by mobile phones.
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Presidenta’s Use of Private Plane Prompts Investigation
- Attorney General’s office to investigate if laws were broken.
- Opposition legislators say the Presidenta was duty bound to inform the Legislature of her away trip.
The return home flight aboard the private plane owned by a Canadian oil company may have been smooth and comfortable, the welcome home, however, was not as Costa Rica’s Presidenta Laura Chinchilla came under pressure on Tuesday.
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ot only has doña Laura been criticized in the media, the use of the private plane to attend the wedding of the son of Costa Rica’s vice-president, Luis Liberman, adding in a meeting with Peru’s president, Ollanta Humala, also has prompted an investigation by the Attorney General’s office.
On Monday, from Lima, Peru, Communications Minister Francisco Chacon said that Chinchilla would cover personally the costs.
Back in Costa Rica on Tuesday Chacon, who along with his wife the Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel Gonzalez, accompanied the Presidenta and her husband, Jose María Rico, confirmed the cost for the use of the Jet was paid for by the Colombia-based company THX Energy and that there was no conflict of interest.
“There’s no conflict of interest here. The fact there are companies working with the government to provide, as a contribution, certain services is not new to this administration,” he said, without elaborating further.
However, the Attorney General’s office said it was investigating whether Chinchilla had broken the law by using the seven-seat Cessna 525B Citation aircraft.
The president of Costa Rica has no plane. Chinchilla usually flies on commercial airlines or uses planes provided by other governments when making state visits, Chacon said.
Opposition legislators were not convinced by Chacon’s answers.
In the past, other presidents have been caught taking gifts from private companies, but this was different and far more suspicious, said an opposition lawmaker, Gustavo Arias.
“It’s the way she did everything, from not notifying the Legislature, to the question of why she had to use a private jet from an oil company and not pay for the trip herself”, Arias added, noting that she was required to tell the Legislature about the trip.
Costa Rica has an Illicit Enrichment Law, which includes penalties of up to eight years in prison for public officials who accept gifts worth more than a minimum wage.
THX Energy, which declined to comment on the matter, is funded with Canadian capital according to its website.
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Estación al Atlántico
Rail transport in Costa Rica is under the ownership of Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (INCOFER). The Estación al Atlántico (Atlantic Station) today serves as the San José hub for the commuter train to Heredia. And although trains no longer leave for the Atlantic coast from this station, the name remains.
The station is located at the east end of the Paseo Las Damas, a few blocks from the centre of San José.
Click on photo to enlarg
The station circa 190’s
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Emilce Steller Ramirez: The Art of Helping a Town Progress
By Arianna McKinney/Voice of Nosara
Photo by Pinar Istek
Imagine Samara without running water, without electricity, with gravel roads and no bus service, with no community hall and no clinic and a doctor visiting town only once a month. That is what town was like when Emilce Steller Ramirez arrived in 1973, but in part through her efforts that’s now how it is now.
Serving as treasurer for not one but three community groups, Emilce, currently 66 years old, has been serving the community of Samara for decades, and she was presented with a certificate as Community Leader in Excellence by the Blue Zone Community Foundation in August of 2012 in recognition of her involvement in initiating projects that have benefited the community.
Emilce grew up in Santa Elena of Nicoya, where she attended school through the fifth grade. As a young woman, she went to the fiestas in Hojancha, where she got to know Eduardo Diogenes Villalobos Jimenez, who is 10 years older than her. They married when she was 20 and lived in Maravilla of Hojancha. The couple moved to Samara when she was 27, along with their three daughters. When the girls began attending school, Emilce felt a sense of commitment and soon got involved with the school board and the board of education, helping to raise funds to meet the needs of the school. “I have always liked it and I felt committed because I had my children in school,” she related. “I started little by little and now I have quite a few commitments. Everything one does, one does with pleasure with love of the town.”
The same year that she and her husband moved to Samara, the roadway opened connecting Samara to Nicoya, although it was gravel at the time. They opened a pulperia (small general store) in front of the beach across from the police station, but to bring merchandise, they had to transfer goods on foot across a hanging bridge in Belen and then load them on another vehicle waiting on the other side.
Emilce’s husband worked hard to get vehicular bridges installed, and then the Alfaro bus company sought Emilce out to propose the initiation of bus service between Samara and San Jose. She collected the signatures needed to get approval for the new route, and ever since then she has been overseeing the bus service that brought an increased flow of visitors and tourists to the town.
1977 saw more progress for Samara with the opening of the rural aqueduct, but there was still no electricity so she and her husband would bring diesel from Nicoya to operate the water pump. In 1982, Emilce assumed the role of treasurer for the aqueduct committee and still serves as treasurer of the ASADA to this day.
When she was 47, they sold the property in front of the beach and built their current house on the corner of the main entrance of town. For five years, she didn’t have a business to run and was able to dedicate even more time to the community. A friend from Nicoya pointed out all of the things Samara was lacking and urged her and others to form an association to tackle these needs. The Samara Progressive Associacion (APROSA – Asociacion Progresista de Samara) was formed on July 15, 1993, and Emilce was appointed as treasurer. They began organizing civic fiestas to raise money for community projects, the first of which was building the community hall. Other projects through the years have included installing sidewalks along the main street, helping to build the Catholic Church (she also serves as treasurer for the pastoral council), fixing up the police station and various projects with the elementary school and high school.
Despite so much responsibility, she also finds time to rest and to spend time with her family, especially dedicating time to her eight grandchildren, four of whom live right next door to her. When asked the secret of 45 years of marriage, she replied: “Be calm and be responsible in the house, think a lot about your children and sacrifice a little. And have a good husband.”
She and her husband have always worked together and always run a business together, she related. Although at times she has gone on trips without him, including to Panama when she was 35, to Ecuador when she was 47 and they had closed their business on the beach. At some point, she said she would like to take another trip, perhaps to Mexico again or to the United States, but at present she said she feels good working for the community, being responsible and knowing that what she does is appreciated.
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Authorities Call Alert For Increase In Short Circuit In The Rainy Season
The rainy season is upon us and typical are floods and leaks. And it also means an increase in electrical short circuits. According to authorities, short circuits are normal during the rainy season, but more so at the beginning of the season.
According to the Bomberso (Fire Department) in 2011 they responded to 1.349 cases, while in 2012 the number of responses increasaed to 1.702 cases.
Fire authorities recommend an inspection of all electrical circuits and to call in an electrician if anything is abnormal. In cases where the homeowner has no experience in the matter, best to call in a professional
Short circuits can result in fires. Damage from short circuits can be reduced or prevented by employing fuses, circuit breakers, or other overload protection, which disconnect the power in reaction to excessive current. Overload protection must be chosen according to the current rating of the circuit.
Circuits for large home appliances require protective devices set or rated for higher currents than lighting circuits. Wire gauges specified in building and electrical codes are chosen to ensure safe operation in conjunction with the overload protection. An overcurrent protection device must be rated to safely interrupt the maximum prospective short circuit current.
In an improper installation, the overcurrent from a short circuit may cause ohmic heating of the circuit parts with poor conductivity (faulty joints in wiring, faulty contacts in power sockets, or even the site of the short circuit itself). Such overheating is a common cause of fires. An electric arc, if it forms during the short circuit, produces high amount of heat and can cause ignition of combustible substances as well.
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14 Men, 1 Woman Make Up List Of Most Wanted in Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s judicial authorities are asking for the public’s assistance to locate the country’s most wanted criminals. A total of 14 men and one woman are being sough by the Organismo de investigación Judicial (OIJ).
The most wanted list includes:
Carlos Fernandez, a Nicaraguan who evaded the execution of his sentence.
Pedro Rivera, Nicaraguan also breached protective measures.
Jose Cabezas with a history of sexual abuse and aggravated robbery.
Mario Muñiz, wanted for aggravated robbery. Armando Gonzalez, who has a pending 10-year sentence for rape.
Charles Espina, American required for sexual abuse.
Mauricio Salmerón with a history of drug sales.
Franklin Navarrete sought for aggravated robbery.
Edgar Monge sentenced to 5 years and with a history of falsifying documents.
Oforji Maduka, Irish sought by international drug trafficking.
Gerson Soto with a pending sentence for aggravated robbery five years.
Ariel Calderon, sentenced to five years in prison for aggravated robbery.
Julio Garcia, who evaded the execution of his sentence.
Nancy Cecilia Araya, sentenced to prison for drug introduced in a penal institution.
If you have information leading to the arrest of any of these people can communicate confidentially with OIJ.
The OIJ list of the wanted: https://pjenlinea.poder-judicial.go.cr/sentenciadosFuga.interface/
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55% Fail Driving Exam
Every month some 10.000 people begin the process of obtaining their drivers license, which includes a written exam and a road test.
According to the Consejo de Seguridad Vial (Cosevi), 55% of the potential drivers fail their road test, this due to a curve that has to driven in reverse. The other reason many fail the road test is as simple as not obeying the road signs.
As to the written exam, the Cosevi figures indicate that a 45% failure rate.
Failing a test is not only expensive but time consuming. To retake the test – written or road – there is a two week waiting period before, and of course the full test fee is payable again.
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