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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 10
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 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Segruidad Pública photo
Servicio Nacional de
Guardacostas crewmen help fishing boat captain Rigoberto Pérez
Mora to the Golfito dock after taking him off his Quepos-registered
boat 92 nautical miles at sea. The fisherman suffered an appendicitis
attack.Jungle Jam in Jacó reports sales of tickets have doubled By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Jungle Jam, the music festival that returns to Jacó this weekend, has nearly doubled its pre-sale ticket numbers from a year ago. Celebrating its fourth year with a star-heavy lineup, including Slightly Stoopid, Don Carlos, and G. Love & Friends, the most recent edition of this beachside festival is generating much attention. Eric Freitas, the festival producer, also said he expects more tickets to be sold at the door than last year. Docelunas Resort, which can accommodate about 2,000 people, again plays host to the camping festival, allowing concert goers up-close access to the waves as well as nearby clubs. Tickets are listed at $149 for a standard four-day pass and $299 for a six-day camping and festival pass. The campground will open today, and music begins roaring over the sands on Thursday and will last until Sunday night. Jungle Jam is becoming well-known for its acts playing impromptu jam sessions and on multiple nights. Late night sets begin at 2 a.m. and don't end until the sun rises. During the day, patrons are encouraged to tour Jacó and neighboring attractions to experiencing the country's more unique aspects, like surfing or zip-lining. For those who prefer not to rough it on the campgrounds, local hotel packages are still available. Anti-dengue fines will require action by Asamblea Legislativa By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Health ministry officials will have to go to the legislature to obtain permission to fine citizens who fail to comply with orders to eliminate breeding spots for dengue mosquitoes. That was the word from the ministry Tuesday. Ministerio de Salud officials hope to be able to level fines as part of their anti-dengue campaign, but this requires a change in the law. The fines, it appears, also will cover other health hazards. The ministry also is urging the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes to do something about impounded cars on ministry lots. These vehicles also present breeding spots for mosquitoes, the ministry said. Economics ministry changes its Web site to help consumer By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The economics ministry said that it has revised its Web page to make it better for users. The site contains interactive information with material for consumers. The ministry, the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio, keeps track of prices as well as interest charges. There also are various regulations online. The ministry got help from the European Foundation for Information Society to develop the new site, it said. Our reader's opinion
Shell collecting a dangerto hermit crabs population Dear A.M. Costa Rica: The article on the impact of shell collecting is very appropriate for the environmental threat of shell removal here in Costa Rica. Most notably is the decline in hermit crabs on both coasts. Twenty years ago there were massive numbers of hermit crabs on most beaches in Costa Rica. That number has declined tremendously because of shell collecting by people visiting the beach. The size of hermit crabs have declined as much as well. There use to be a great number of large hermit crabs. Now you can't find one over an inch long. These crabs also supply many other sea creatures as well as land creatures with food. Besides, removing sea shells also removes what some of the beach consists of. Maybe the next time you visit the beach, take pictures of the shells and look at them in an album, instead of bringing them home and stuffing them away in some drawer or putting them out to collect dust. Regarding the article about Mr.Beedle being bitten by a wandering spider. The spider mentioned, Phoneurtia nigrventer is not a resident of Costa Rica. A lesser toxic wandering spider species Phoneutria boliviensis is the species that lives in Costa Rica. So Mr. Beedle was not bitten by the mentioned spider. Part of his description of the effects of the bite resemble the wandering spider but there are usually other signs as well that he didn't experience. The toxin of this genus of spider is a neurotoxin and he didn't have the other types of symptoms produced by neurotoxins. I am truly sorry for his continued problem. Fortunately for others this is a very rare case. I wouldn't be too concerned about possible spider bites here in Costa Rica. There are no known recorded deaths of spider bites here. Most spiders don't bite people or don't inject the venom if they do. So many people blame spider bites to be the bite they got while they were sleeping but never seeing the actual spider. Almost always the bite was from some type of insect and not a spider. It is a waste of energy for a spider to envenomate an animal it isn't going to eat, thus the reason many spiders won't bite humans or waste their venom when they do bite. I would be more concerned about the ladrones (thieves) lurking or entering my house compared to the spiders that lurk or enter my house. Henry
Kantrowitz
Punta Leona.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 10 | |
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| Central American dance group will perform
Sunday |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A Central American dance group, a project of the Instituto Goethe, will perform Sunday at 6 p.m. in San José. This is an organization of young people backed by the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana. German embassies and cultural centers are supporting the group's tour through Central America, Locally support is from the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud, Danza Universitaria of the Universidad de Costa Rica in San Pedro and the Escuela de Danza of the Universidad Nacional in Heredia. The dancers are called the Compañía de Danza Centroamericana y el Caribe. There are 14 dancers from Central America and the Dominican Republic. The performance here will be in the ministry's Teatro de la Danza at 6 p.m. The theater is in the Centro Nacional de la Cultura, the ministry building, on Avenida 7. |
 Compañía de Danza
Centroamericana y el Caribe photo
At an earlier performance.One goal of the dance group is to promote the exchange of cultural talent and social integration in the framework of contemporary dance, said an announcement. Two of the dancers are from Costa Rica. |
| Traffic deaths reported to be 11 percent
fewer than 2012 |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Last year closed with 294 road deaths, and highway officials are reporting that the toll was 11 percent lower than the 330 who died in 2012. Some 34 of the deaths took place in December, said the Ministerio de Obras Pública y Transportes. That was nearly a record for the month. The road toll is not complete because the statistics only count |
those persons who died at the scene
of an accident. Those who died later in a hospital are not counted. Still, the ministry said there was a 43 percent reduction in the number of fatalities due to drunk driving with just 22 cases. In all 88 motorcyclists or passengers died in the year as well as 59 pedestrians. That's 50 percent of the death toll. Traffic officials credited various educational programs and traffic police for the reduction. |
| Weather agency warns of approaching cold
front and high winds |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A cold front is expected to sweep into the country tonight and early Thursday, and average temperatures are expected to dip about two to three degrees C. That is not a big deal, but the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said that the front will be accompanied by high winds, perhaps as much as 60 to 80 kph or about 37 to 50 mph. The weather agency warned of falling limbs and other objects. It also issued a warning for light planes that might be affected |
by gusts. Rain up to two inches also
is
expected along the Caribbean coast and the northern zone with some rain
perhaps entering the Central Valley, the forecast said. Overnight temperatures in the Central Valley have been around 16 to 17 degrees C. that is in the low 60s F. A three-degree drop might bring the temperature to 13 C or about 55 degrees F. These cooler conditions are expected to last through Saturday, the institute said. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday,
Jan. 15, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 10 |
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| Two new papers consider growing unpopularity of drone warfare |
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By
the Taylor & Francis Group news services
Two new papers published in the latest volume of "Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict" explore the use of drones in military operations. The articles highlight increasing levels of disapproval of the use of drones in recent U.S. polls and suggest that drone warfare may be leading to an emphasis on tactical wins over long-term strategic victories. Tom McCauley’s “U.S. Public Support for Drone Strikes against Asymmetric Enemies Abroad: Poll Trends in 2013” shows that, while a strong majority of U.S. citizens are in favor of using drones against terrorists in foreign lands, a small and increasing minority are against their use. In contrast, majorities in most countries are opposed to U.S. drone attacks against terrorists. McCauley notes "Should drones’ unpopularity in the United States continue to increase, and their unpopularity in other countries persist, they may well become politically impractical, no matter how convenient and cost-effective the technology may be." Metin Gurcan’s “Drone Warfare and Contemporary Strategy Making: Does |
the Tail Wag the
Dog?” argues that increasing use of drones in asymmetric conflict is
reversing the dominance of strategy over tactics and may be undermining
civilian control of the military. Gurcan notes that while there are a number of advantages to using drones, such as effectiveness at removing key targets and avoidance of friendly casualties, they may also increase the power of extremists amongst civilian populations by creating a siege mentality. He notes that breaking the power of extremists does not rest on the killing or capture of high-value targets, rather it depends on removing their power to intimidate – something that drone strikes cannot do. This article also reveals that concerns about military drones are salient not just for civilians, but even for army officers such as Gurcan. The use of drones in U.S. military operations has increased rapidly in the last decade, with the US annual budget for drones growing from $1.9 billion in 2006 to $5.1 billion in 2011. This development has sparked considerable debate in countries that operate drones and in populaces living with them, and has resulted in a backlash in some audiences. The two papers raise issues about military use of drones that will likely grow in years to come. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 10 | |||||
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| Global recovery is reported led by advanced economies, By the A.M. Costa Rica news services
The global recovery is gaining momentum according to new projections by the World Bank. But unlike previous years, the World Bank says growth in 2014 is likely to be driven in large part by high income countries. Five years after the financial crisis the World Bank says the global economy has reached a turning point led by advanced economies. That’s especially true of the United States, says Andrew Burns, lead author of the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects. “For the first time in five years, high income countries are accelerating. They’re going to be contributing to global growth in a way that they haven’t for some time. That’s going to be good for developing countries,” says Burns. The World Bank projects the U.S. economy will expand from 1.8 percent last year to about 2.8 percent in 2014. Bank chief economist Kaushik Basu expects a similar story in Europe which emerged from recession last year. “The latest estimates show Europe grew by minus 0.4 percent, but we expect this to turn positive, gently positive. 1.1 is not huge growth but given Europe’s difficulties over the last six years, this is indeed good news,” says Basu. Although political instability continues to pose downside risks for parts of North Africa and the Middle East, the biggest question mark remains the impact of the U.S. central bank’s decision to scale back monetary stimulus. But Basu says the effects are likely to be mild because many countries started feeling the impact of higher interest rates after the Fed signaled its intentions by the middle of 2013. “We saw that in South Africa, in Indonesia, in India, where the exchange rate was crashing around. So I feel actually, at one level, a lot of the adjustment has already taken place. So when the tapering actually began as it now has from 85 billion dollars a month to 75, it’s actually not having that much of an effect because part of the effect has already taken place,” says Basu. Growth in China, still the world’s fastest growing economy, is expected to remain steady at 7.7 percent. But Basu says he is most excited about prospects for the sub-Saharan regions of Africa projected to grow 5.3 percent in 2014. Moscow rejects U.S. reporter who has been critical of regime By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
In a move reminiscent of the Cold War, Russia has barred entry to an American journalist who had been living and working in Moscow. David Satter, a veteran foreign correspondent working for U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, says he was notified in December that his request for a Russian visa had been approved. However, he says he was later told by an official at the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he had gone to renew his visa, that "the competent organs" in Russia had decided his presence in the country was undesirable and that he would be barred from entry. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday that Satter was banned from entering the country for five years. The ministry said Satter had entered Russia last Nov. 21 but failed to get a multi-entry visa immediately, as Russian law requires. According to the ministry, he applied for a multi-entry visa on Nov. 26, but his application was denied because he had been present in Russia illegally"from Nov. 22 to Nov. 26. On Nov. 29, a Moscow court ordered that Satter be fined and deported, the Russian foreign ministry statement said. Satter, whose writing is highly critical of what he sees as the Russian government's authoritarianism and corruption, said Tuesday in an interview via Skype from London that he thought the actions against him were politically motivated and evidence that the Russian regime is losing its confidence. "I believe that to a certain extent they understand that the ground under their feet is not as secure as it once was, and they don't want journalists in Moscow who are capable of understanding what's happening in the country," said Satter. Kevin Klose, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty president, said Monday that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had been informed about the action against Satter and lodged a formal diplomatic protest. Satter, who worked as the Moscow correspondent for the Financial Times newspaper in the late 1970s and early 1980s, wrote a book titled "Darkness at Dawn; The Rise of the Russian Criminal State," which was published in 2003. In it, he argued there was overwhelming evidence that the federal security service, Russia's main domestic security agency, was behind a series of bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow and other cities in 1999, which killed hundreds of people. Those blasts, which Russian officials, including then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, blamed on Chechen terrorists, were followed by post-Soviet Russia's second large-scale military intervention in Chechnya. Indian diplomat's lawyers seeks immunity in court By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
A lawyer for Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to throw out immigration and employment charges against her that led to a major diplomatic spat between the United States and India. The lawyer, Daniel Arshack, argued that Khobragade's diplomatic status, granted by the State Department last week as part of a deal allowing her to leave the country, gave her absolute immunity from prosecution, even for incidents that allegedly occurred before her accreditation. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which indicted Khobragade on Thursday, did not immediately comment on the filing. Khobragade, a U.S.-based consular official, was arrested Dec. 12 and accused of underpaying her housekeeper. News of her arrest and a subsequent strip search provoked protests in India and strained ties between the two countries. She was accredited as a member of India's mission to the United Nations Wednesday, one day before she was indicted and asked to leave the country. In his motion Tuesday, Arshack said the State Department's own guidance for law enforcement agencies states that immunity extends to incidents that occurred prior to the granting of that immunity. Thus, he said, the case against Khobragade is a nullity and should be dismissed. If Judge Shira Scheindlin dismisses the indictment, that would presumably permit Khobragade, whose husband and children are U.S. citizens, to travel freely to the United States. Prosecutors had said last week charges would remain pending against Khobragade until such time as she can be brought to court to face them. State Department officials have said they do not believe her immunity is retroactive. In a press briefing Friday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Khobragade would face prosecution if she returned to the United States. “Her accreditation in this case to the U.N. does not remove existing charges,” Psaki said. “In addition, now that she has left the United States, she no longer enjoys immunity.” Auto show displays new vigor in U.S. vehicle manufacturing By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
U.S. automakers have much to celebrate at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Fueled by growing sales and increased production, the industry has made a dramatic turnaround since hovering on the brink of collapse less than five years ago. Facing bankruptcy in 2009, Chrysler was grappling with the fate of its assets, including the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant where Charles Archard worked. “Me and my wife both worked in the plant," Archard said. "She took the buyout. I stayed there. But there was a 50/50 chance that it could have went bankrupt. I took that chance.” It paid off. Chrysler not only reversed its decision to close Sterling Heights, but also added another shift. At this year’s North American International Auto Show, the company announced that workers like Archard will soon be building a new mid-size sedan at the plant, which will offer job security for the foreseeable future. “And then we found out a billion dollars is going to be put into the plant for new vehicles and everything, so it was great,” Archard said. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who represents the state of Michigan, said the Chrysler announcement is an example of how the U.S. auto industry's success is reflected in this year’s auto show. “We’re back. This auto industry, the home team from Michigan, is back," Sen. Stabenow said. “Today we are seeing not only fuel economy, but great engineering, design, technology.” One example of the change was evident at an event for General Motor’s Chevrolet brand. Instead of showcasing smaller, fuel-efficient cars, the automaker rolled out a new version of the snazzy Chevrolet Corvette, a high performance car that consumes a lot of gas and carries a high price tag. “I think you’re going to find that we definitely are profiling our newest, latest, greatest, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot of emphasis on fuel efficiency across the board,” said Christi Landy of General Motors. In fact, Landy says sales of fuel-efficient compacts like the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic are up 10 percent this year from last year. At a news conference for Chevrolet’s competitor, Ford, CEO Alan Mulally predicted an even greater market for such vehicles. “We expect small vehicles to represent more than half of our total global sales by the end of this decade," Mulally said, "with nearly one third of all of our sales coming from Asia Pacific.” That’s good news for Ford workers. But the state of Michigan, home of the U.S. auto industry, still has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country about 9 percent. While some jobs are returning as the industry rebounds, it's only a fraction of the number of jobs lost during the region’s long economic decline. Obama seeking to rally support in State of Union talk Jan. 28 By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
This year, 2014, will be a busy political one in the United States. President Barack Obama will outline his policy priorities when he delivers his State of the Union address on Jan. 28. In November, voters will head to the polls to elect a new Congress, an outcome with potentially enormous political stakes for the president, as well as for lawmakers from both major political parties. During last year's State of the Union address, Obama enjoyed a warm reception, fresh off his 2012 re-election victory. “There is much progress to report,” said the president. But 2013 proved to be a difficult political year for the president, primarily because of the rocky launch of his health care law. Obama hopes to shift the focus this year to narrowing the income gap between the very rich and the middle class. “In other words, we have got to make sure that this recovery leaves nobody behind and we have got a lot of work to do on that front,” he said. Republicans are expected to continue to hammer away at the president’s health care law this year, said strategist Ron Bonjean. “It is health care at this point. It is the incompetence going on within the Obama administration on how that is being handled.” Slowing the growth of social welfare programs also is a Republican priority, according to House Speaker John Boehner. “The president refuses, and Democrats, refuse to discuss changes to those programs unless Republicans are willing to raise taxes. We are not going to raise taxes,” said Boehner. Expect Obama to highlight some encouraging signs in the U.S. economy and the issue of income disparity, said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution. “How is the economy doing, and that is both jobs and growth and wages. But behind that is economic inequality and the Two Americas issue,” said Mann. Second-term presidents often have trouble regaining their political clout, said analyst John Fortier. “Usually presidents see their popularity ebb away a bit. They are often facing a Congress of the other party or at least part of the Congress, and so the president does not have the ability to work his agenda through the Congress as he did at the beginning of his first term.” Also, Fortier added that political battles leading up to the November congressional elections are likely to dominate this year. “The long-term trend in midterm elections is that they go against the president. I think the big question for Republicans is can they get enough seats to win the Senate?” said Fortier. All 435 seats in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be at stake this year, along with one-third of the Democratically controlled Senate and 36 state governorships. Congressional negotiators reach agreement on budget By the A.M. Costa Rica news services
Negotiators in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have reached an agreement on a trillion-dollar budget that would fund the federal government through September, a deal that potentially avoids another government shutdown. President Barack Obama said Tuesday he is very pleased at the accord and urged Congress to quickly pass the compromise. The deal was announced late Monday by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat and the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Harold Rogers, her counterpart in the Republican-controlled House. The detailed spending plan is the result of an agreement reached in December between the House and Senate that would fund the federal government for the next two years. That agreement was crafted in the aftermath of a 16-day government shutdown back in October. The new spending bill eliminates the deep automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, that affected both domestic and military programs last year. The measure includes an extra $92 billion to fund overseas military operations, much of it for the war in Afghanistan. It also reverses a cut in pension payments to disabled military veterans and survivors. The measure eliminates funding for high-speed rail projects supported by Obama, as well as money to allow the United States to meet its commitments to the International Monetary Fund. But Republicans failed to cut funding for the Affordable Care Act, the president's signature domestic legislation, although they managed to trim $1 billion from a public health fund established under the law. The federal government is currently operating under a temporary spending bill that expires Wednesday. Lawmakers are expected to pass another short-term bill that would finance the government for a few days until the new comprehensive bill is approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama. Los Angeles bell refurbished to the delight of local Koreans By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
Over the years, what's known to some South Koreans as the West Coast Statue of Liberty had fallen into disrepair. The Korean Friendship Bell was a gift from Seoul to the American people for the U.S. bicentennial. It's become a source of pride for the area's Korean-Americans. Now, thanks to a team of artisans, the bell has been restored to its former glory. The restoration of The Korean Friendship Bell is long overdue, if you ask Los Angeles resident Angelic Lee. “I’m so happy. Good to see again,” she said. In 1976, to mark the U.S. bicentennial, the Republic of Korea presented the United States with the 18,000-kilogram bronze bell. “Many Korean American immigrants who come here, often tell me, when they feel homesick, this is the place that they think of and come and visit,” said Ernest Lee, a member of the Korean Friendship Bell Committee. Lee says this home away from home for many Koreans living in Los Angeles began to deteriorate after years of winter rains, exposure to salty ocean air, and improper maintenance. Korean Consul General, Yeon Sung Shin, remembers when he first saw the bell three years ago. “The bell was not in good shape. The bell was on the ground," he said. "Disconnected. It was not properly cared for at all.” But thanks to a large donation and artistic support from the Republic of Korea, the city of Los Angeles was able to restore the bell to its former glory. Korean Bell Master Chai Dong-Hey and several South Korean artisans worked on the project for months. “My portion is only a very small portion," Hey said. "After today, the Korean Friendship Bell committee will be responsible for its safety. Each and every day.” For the Korean bell master, hearing the bell ring during the rededication ceremony is personal. “It’s very great to hear because my teacher created it 38 years ago," he said. "And now I am able to fix it. It makes me very happy.” Bells are symbolic in Korean culture, says Consul General Shin. “This is the soul of Korean people. The history of Korean people. Heart of Korean people," he said. "Whatever issues you may talk about patriotism, respect for parents, friendship, whatever this can be symbolized through the sound of the bell.” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made a personal commitment to ensure the Korean Friendship Bell never falls into disrepair again. “We put up some physical barriers for birds. We’ve made sure that there is maintenance that we can have around," he said. "So I feel very confident that we will. And it’s the very least that we could do for the kind gift, a second time, from the Korean people.” The Korean Friendship Bell rings only five times a year, including America's Independence Day, July 4, and Aug. 15, Korean Liberation Day. French president stays mum on reports linking him to actress By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
French President Francois Hollande brushed away questions Tuesday about an alleged affair with an actress and unveiled moves to ease company taxes, cut labor charges and trim France's high public spending to revive a stagnant economy. He called for France and Germany to harmonize corporate taxation and create a joint venture to manage the transition to renewable energy, modeled on European plane giant Airbus. With over 500 journalists packed into the Elysee Palace ballroom for a New Year news conference, the Socialist leader, deeply unpopular with voters, made no mention of controversy about his private life in a 30-minute introductory speech and defiantly stonewalled on the subject for the next two hours. His official partner, Valerie Trierweiler, is in hospital recovering from shock after a celebrity magazine published pictures of what it said was Hollande wearing a motorcycle helmet visiting actress Julie Gayet for nocturnal trysts. “Everyone in their personal life can face trials. That is our case,” Hollande said when a French reporter ventured a coy first question about Ms. Trierweiler's future as first lady. Hollande said he would clarify the issue before a visit to the United States Feb. 9, on which Ms. Trierweiler had been due to accompany him. The president said he had chosen not to sue the magazine Closer for invading his privacy because as head of state he was immune from being sued himself and did not want to create a double standard. He did not deny the reported affair. The French are traditionally indulgent of their leaders' sexual indiscretions, and an opinion poll on Sunday showed an overwhelming majority said it did not change their view of Hollande, who was entitled to privacy in his personal life. Before the embarrassing publication, he had become the least popular French president in modern times, largely due to tax increases, recession and high unemployment, compounded by a reputation for dithering. Hollande sought to erase that image and adopt the clothes of a social democratic reformer as he set out a responsibility pact to cut the tax and regulatory burden on companies in return for commitments to create jobs and boost training. As part of that drive, employers will no longer fund family allowances via payroll taxes from 2017. He promised a further 50 billion euros ($68 billion) in spending cuts in 2015-17 on top of a planned 14 billion this year, saying they could be achieved by making national and local government more efficient while preserving France's generous social model. In first reactions, market economists welcomed the change in tone but were more measured on the content, noting the new moves represented a slight deepening of already planned cuts and that some funding details remained unclear. Ion-Marc Valahu, fund manager at Geneva-based Clairinvest, said: “At least he's acknowledged that there are issues that need to be solved for the economy to recover, but they need to do a lot more to slow down the pace of job destruction. He can say what he wants, but 2017 is a long way to go.” Hollande, who defied street protests to legalize gay marriage last year, signaled he was ready for a new controversy by announcing plans for a law allowing terminally ill patients to end their lives under strict controls. Hollande defended the European Union ahead of European Parliament elections in May and said he would not let Eurosceptics who want to pull France out of the euro prevail. A recent poll suggested the anti-EU far-right National Front could come first in the European election in France, often used to register a protest vote, ahead of both the mainstream conservative opposition and the Socialists. Test to screen older memories is now cheap, self-administered By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
A new study confirms that a self-administered, paper-and-pen test can be a reliable tool to screen large numbers of older adults for possible memory and thinking problems. Tests that evaluate a person’s cognitive functioning, how they think and remember, are not new. But Douglas Scharre, who heads the Memory Disorders Research Center at Ohio State University, says most of these tests require a trained administrator, so they can be expensive. And some people are uncomfortable being asked questions face-to-face when they may not know the answer. “The point was to do a self-administered test so that it would be easy for the physicians," Scharre said. "And the hope was that we could identify people sooner, and then get them evaluated, treated much sooner than was currently being done.” Researchers previously found that the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination test can be a reliable screening tool. In a new research paper, Scharre and his colleagues report the test could be used effectively for mass screenings, such as at health fairs or community events. Giving the test does not require any experts or fancy equipment, just a pen and the four-page test form that asks straightforward questions designed to evaluate a variety of brain functions. “The questions include orientation questions - you know, day and date, things like that. Naming some objects...some calculations,” Scharre said. “Visual-spatial part of the brain: measuring how you can draw things. Plus memory and more...and it takes less than 15 minutes to complete." Scharre stresses that the test is designed to screen for possible cognitive problems among older adults. It is not a test for Alzheimer's disease or any other specific problem. “So, it is not a diagnostic test for any condition. It just sort of measures how you are thinking.” The test is free, and is starting to be made available in other languages, as well as English. Stable spoon compensates for jerks due to Parkinson's By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
One of the biggest challenges for people living with Parkinson’s is the difficulty to feed themselves, due to the shaking tremors associated with the disease. But help might be on the way. A new, high-tech, smart spoon promises to stabilize the vibrations. LiftLabs, based in San Francisco, California, has developed a small device that tracks and compensates for small vibrations and tremors. Anupam Pathak, the founder and CEO of LiftLabs, explained that the technology behind Liftware is similar to the image stabilization feature in high end cameras. “What we have done is taken that same concept and applied it to a handheld device, that would help people with a lot larger jitters," said Pathak. "So somebody with a neurological disorder might be moving up to an inch in magnitude. There is a little computer inside that is running an algorithm, that would basically sense the person’s motion, determine if that was intentional or unintended, and if it was unintended, move opposite to what that motion does.” The result is that the $295 device remains smooth and level, despite the movement of the user’s arm or hand. Food that normally would fly off remains on the spoon. “Being able to see somebody eat on their own for the first time, or even just eat better, has been a hugely impactful thing,” said Pathak. A spoon is currently the only attachment for the Liftware device, but Pathak promises that more attachments - like a deeper soup spoon and a fork - will be available soon. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 10 | |||||||||
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 Sebastián
Condorí, 16. and Valeria Cortés, 15.
Murdered teens
lauded
as musicians with futures By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two teens found in makeshift graves near Paraíso were musicians and members of a youth orchestra. The pair were murdered. There were reported missing Monday. Friends found the graves containing bodies Tuesday afternoon. The dead youngsters are Sebastián Condorí, 16. who played the flute, and Valeria Cortés, 15, who was a violinist. The Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical provided information early Tuesday about their work in the Orquesta Sinfónica Manuel María Gutiérrez. The pair had great futures as musicians, said Miguel Peña, director of the state musical system. They were described as girlfriend and boyfriend. Judicial investigators are treating the killings as a sex crime. The boy was stabbed and the girl may have been raped. Mexican troops taking over in area vigilantes control By
the A.M. Costa Rica news services
A federal takeover is under way in an area of western Mexico known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Land, where heavily armed vigilantes have taken up a fight against a local drug cartel. Mexico's interior minister, Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, said Monday that government troops would take over security in the region with support from authorities in Michoacan state, where the area is located. The announcement in the state capital, Morelia, followed a string of firefights between the vigilantes and alleged members of the so-called Knights Templar Cartel. The interior minister called on the vigilante groups to return to their activities as citizens and leave security in the hands of the institutions. But the leader of one vigilante group, Estanislao Beltran, said they will not disarm. Masked vigilantes took power in more than a dozen rural communities last year in Michoacan state, arguing authorities were failing to stop drug violence. Opponents and critics claim the vigilante groups are backed by a rival cartel — a charge the vigilantes deny. Until now, government forces had not interfered with the groups even as they spread into more and more communities. Sunday, hundreds of vigilantes seized control of the town of Nueva Italia, reportedly disarming police. The civilian militias say they have now surrounded the Knights Templar Cartel's stronghold of Apatzingan, raising fears of a bloody confrontation. The unrest is posing a major security challenge for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto who took office a little more than a year ago, pledging to reduce drug violence. More than 75,000 people have been killed in the nation's drug war since Peña Nieto's predecessor, Felipe Calderón, launched his crackdown on the drug gangs in 2006. Following the interior minister's announcement, the Mexican attorney general's office said it was sending 11 helicopters and 70 investigators and officers to Michoacan state. Gaudalupe barber shops target of raid for drugs By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Anti-drug agents said they detained two persons Tuesday who are suspected of selling drugs out of two barber shops in Guadalupe. The suspects are 33 and 18, said the Policía de Control de Drogas. In a search of the shops, agents confiscated marijuana and a small amount of crack cocaine, they said. |
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| From Page 7: Dreamliner suffering from more battery problems By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Battery problems have prompted the grounding of another Boeing 787, one year after a similar issue led to a months-long global suspension of the jet's flights. Japan Airlines reported that a mechanic saw white smoke rising from beneath the cockpit of a parked Dreamliner during routine maintenance at Tokyo's Narita International Airport Tuesday. An investigation found one of the eight cells of the plane's troubled lithium-ion battery had leaked. It said a safety valve meant to release excess pressure had worked properly and that it did not catch fire. JAL replaced the plane with another Dreamliner jet, and said it will keep flying its other 787s following routine maintenance checks. The worldwide fleet of 50 Dreamliners was grounded for more than three months last year after battery problems sparked a fire in a parked plane and forced the emergency landing of another. Boeing later rolled out modifications to the battery, but admitted it did not know what caused the meltdowns. The U.S.-based multinational company said the modifications appeared to work as designed in Tuesday's battery incident in Tokyo. |
