 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page |
|
|
|
San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 36
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
|
 |
|
 Ministerio de Seguridad Pública
photo
This is some of the
confiscated cash.Police
locate hidden euros at airport
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two Dutch women failed to make the trip through customs Wednesday because airport police discovered some 85,130 euros in their luggage and hidden on the body of one traveler. The women came from Madrid, Spain, to Juan Santamaría airport. A 35-year-old woman with the last name of Paterson carried most of the cash, police said. A companion, a 41-year-old woman with the last name Lympoa, had a bit more than 7,000 euros in her luggage. The pair face money laundering allegations.  Judicial Investigating Organization
photo
Here is the cover of the
catalogueHere's a
handy book of coke trademarks
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When you are buying cocaine by the boatload, you want to have some assurances that the product is of high quality. So foreign drug dealers have gotten in the habit of impressing a trademark into cocaine packages. For six years, investigators have been keeping track. The impressions can be anything from a simple letter to images of animals, vehicles, Roman letters, stars and figures from the comics. The Judicial Investigating Organization unveiled a catalogue Thursday that contains six years worth of drug trademarks. Officials said the catalogue will be helpful in further investigations. More winds predicted for today By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The weekend will be for kites because there is another high pressure area in the Gulf of Mexico that will be causing winds in the Central Valley. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said that the gusts could reach up to 50 kph (about 37 mph) in the Central Valley and north Pacific with greater speeds in the mountains. The weather institute also is predicting a brisk day today in the Central Valley. Our reader's opinion
Rural 911 service seems uncertainDear A.M. Costa Rica: If you need an emergency service here in Golfito, there isn’t much. I phoned 911, now a couple of times in the past two weeks, first for a robbery, and then for an injury. Now I know that 911 is useless for us folks in rural areas. First the operators, admittedly speak a little English, however as the 911 operators are likely in San José, and have no clue as to what is happening here in Golfito. Second, 911 must not have caller ID, or a readily available map as they asked for my land line phone number, and all of this takes time to explain to someone who has absolutely no idea of where the location is. I phoned 911 twice trying to get an ambulance here, and it still took over half an hour. I got the Fuerza Publica here faster, amazingly, as they were flagged down on the road. And it still took another 15 minutes after the police called for an ambulance. We put a tourniquet on the injured individual, and waited, and waited. We had someone drive to the Golfito Red Cross, and there were three ambulances in the garage, but no drivers available!! They had to call one from Río Claro. Costa Rica makes everything difficult, they must do this on purpose, as a call to 911 should be a simple task, with a prompt response!! When I was robbed, no problem with time, (took about an hour to respond) but needing an ambulance for a person who is bleeding profusely, I needed someone here, NOW. All of this expensive stuff like 911, must work well for you wealthy folks up there in San José. Shame on the CR government for their lack of concern for the rest of the country, outside of the Central Valley. Glenn Klima
Golfito
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Ro Colorado S.A 2015
and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 36 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
|
Expert riders to strut their stuff in Nicoya By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Sunday for the seventh year riders will be doing amazing maneuvers with bicycles in Nicoya. The event is the BMX War Jam that is expected to attract bike experts from France and the United States as well as Costa Rica. The Municipalidad de Nicoya is among the sponsors. The competition begins at 9 a.m, and probably will be finished by 5 p.m., organizers said. The municipality also hopes that the skate park can be built to accommodate the local bike tricksters. |
 Municipalidad de Nicoya photo
This is a scene from last
year's competition. |
| Contract defined for solar owners to sell power back to
utilities |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The utility regulating agency has approved a contract to be used when solar energy producers sell their power to a public utility. The agency, the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos, said eight firms, including the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, are participating in the program. The benefit to residents with solar projects is that the document corresponds to the national laws. Ley 7593 gives permission to persons with solar energy |
generators to
connect with the national grid to sell excess power.
The small solar plant requires approval from the Ministerio de
Ambiente y Energía. The regulating agency also has outlined the steps that are necessary to hook up to the grid. Although there are many steps, most would be taken by firms that specialize in installing solar panels. The regulating agency said that those generating power would be paid once a year for the excess that they put into the national grid. |
| There were just $113,000 in small details that were not
mentioned |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
When the Ministerio de Hacienda outlined the money it would save by purchasing a 5,200 square meter office building, there was a slight omission. A lawmaker, Johnny Leiva Badilla, who is a member of the Comisión de Gasto Público, said that there were a few financial loose ends in the $121.7 million deal. Among these were proposals to spend 23 million colons to remodel an |
office for
the minister, two of what were described as
crystal desks for 12 million colons and a gymnasium for 26 million. The
total was about $113,000. There also were proposals to purchase more than 100 other desks. The ministry said it would save money by buying a building instead of renting the 13 locations in the Central Valley where it now has contracts. |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
 |
 |
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 36 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| Robbery
suspect dies in shootout, but two police officers wounded |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fuerza Pública officers surprised two robbery suspects on a motorcycle Thursday morning in Curridabat. Two police officers suffered bullet wounds and one of the suspects died in a shootout. The events played out near Café Volio de Curridabat when two officers in a patrol car spotted the two suspects who seemed to be dumping items into the street. The Judicial Investigating Organization later confirmed that the items were cell telephones and wallets that appeared to have been robbed from individuals on their way to work. The Fuerza Pública gave this account: The suspects dumped the motorcycle and fled into a lot. Police officer Fabián Herrera Ramírez caught up with one and engaged in a wrestling match to apprehend him. In the brawl, the man, later identified as a frequent offender with the last name of Ledezma, fired and wounded the officer. As he fled, he was confronted by another pair of officers. He opened fire and wounded officer Carlos Prado |
 Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública photo
Police make the arrest of a
second suspect.Portugués. Other officers cut him down. The second suspect was tailed by a police dog named Lyra. He was later identified by the last name of Carmona. Police captured him near the Río Tiribí. That was about 8:30 a.m. Both officers were reported to be critical but stable. |
Here's reasonable medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
|
A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth
news page
|
||
 |
 |
|
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 36 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
|
Venezuelan police grab Maduro opponent Ledezma By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Venezuelan police have arrested Caracas mayor and opposition leader Antonio Ledezma, who the Venezuelan government has accused of helping plan what it says was a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government. Heavily armed security forces, outfitted in masks and camouflaged uniforms, Thursday seized Ledezma after breaking down the doors of his office in the banking district and firing warning shots into the air. President Nicolas Maduro accuses the 59-year-old mayor of being behind a coup, which he says also involved military aviation officers. On the orders of state prosecutors, Ledezma was captured and will be processed by the Venezuelan justice system for crimes committed against the peace of the country, Maduro said. The president said the plan was financed and directed by Washington. A State Department spokesman on Thursday called the accusations baseless and false. President Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, have spoken routinely of U.S.-backed coup attempts, but have provided no evidence to support these claims. The arrest of Ledezma comes almost exactly a year after opposition protests spread throughout Venezuela, leading to clashes between demonstrators and police, killing dozens of people. Ledezma had participated in those protests. The veteran opposition leader's wife, Mitzy Capriles, said she does not know where Ledezma is or if he has been charged with a crime. Opposition leaders denounced the arrest as an attack on democracy. Small protests in support of Ledezma were seen outside the country's intelligence service on Thursday. No clashes were reported. Ledezma was elected twice as mayor of Caracas, most recently in 2013. His powers have steadily been restricted by the federal government. Maduro, who was elected in 2013 following the death of Chavez, has faced several challenges, not only from the protests, but also declining popularity ratings and a shrinking economy. Islamic State tweaking Italy over its proximity By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Islamic State militants are goading Italy on their social media accounts by urging jihadist recruits to go to Libya in preparation for attacks on Rome, saying the strategic location of the conflict-torn North African country is perfect. The online propaganda offensive comes as Italian authorities ramp up security measures to protect landmark sites, outlining plans to put 4,800 soldiers on the streets in Rome and in other major cities. Counter-terror officials say they worry about attacks on newspapers, synagogues and embassies and they are mounting extra security patrols around the Vatican. Italy has been in the grip of growing alarm following the mass execution last week of 21 Coptic Christians by extremists affiliated with the so-called Islamic State on the Libyan shore of the Mediterranean Sea, some 480 kilometers (300 miles) from Italy’s mainland. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has urged the United Nations and Western powers to consider mounting an intervention to halt Libya’s descent into chaos. The North African country is riven by two blocs of competing militias, which are backing rival governments in Tripoli and Tobruk, with jihadists exploiting the anarchy. Islamic State militants appear to be doing everything they can to stoke alarm in Italy. Since the black-clad, masked militants threatened to take their war to Rome, jihadist propagandists have been posting calls for followers to head to Libya rather than Syria, the main draw for foreign fighters. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi last month announced the group's expansion to Libya and urged Muslims to travel there. Many of the participants in what is clearly now becoming a coordinated social media campaign have been stressing the advantages of Libya as a major arena in the jihad against Europe. They are citing its proximity to southern European cities such as Athens and Rome, say researchers with the Middle East Media Research Institute, a U.S.-based non-profit specializing in monitoring online jihadist activity. One IS supporter even argued that the distance between Libya and Italy allows Scud missiles to be fired at Rome, adding a sketch to demonstrate his claim. Another prominent IS supporter uploaded an essay, written in Arabic, entitled “Libya: The Strategic Gateway for the Islamic State,” on why jihadists need to assist supporters of the so-called caliphate in their expansion from Syria and Iraq to Libya. In the document, unearthed by researchers at the London-based think tank Quilliam Foundation, the author outlines the immense potential Libya has for jihadists, arguing that waging jihad in Libya could result in the Western powers being diverted from their air strikes on militants in Syria and Iraq thereby alleviating the pressure on them. And the author identifies the strategic geographic location of Libya, the fact that it “looks upon the sea, the desert, mountains, and six states: Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria and Tunisia.” Further, the author writes, “it has a long coast and looks upon the southern Crusader states, which can be reached with ease by even a rudimentary boat.” He also discusses the ease with which weapons and ammunition can be secured from the large caches of arms that remain in Libya from the stockpiles of the former regime of Moammar Gadhafi. The document provides “a window into the mind-set of a jihadist propagandist and recruiter in Libya, allowing us to better discern the aspects of Libyan geopolitics that are perceived as being of strategic value for IS,” says Quilliam researcher Charlie Winter. Quilliam’s managing director, Haras Rafiq, warns: “The international community must act to help bring stability to Libya before it becomes a new Syria, whether it is for al-Baghdadi’s so-called caliphate or any other jihadist organization.” Of particular concern for Italian authorities are jihadists infiltrating Italy as illegal immigrants and mixing themselves among the thousands of sub-Saharan Africans risking a boat journey across the Mediterranean from Libya. Authorities in Italy are already jittery and since the slaughter of the Coptic Christians there have been almost daily alarms. Wednesday, counter-terrorism police launched a manhunt in two central districts in Rome after it was reported that two men believed to be Libyans sought to buy firearms on the black market and tried to buy bulletproof vests and night vision equipment. “It is possible that the two alleged Libyan terrorists arrived in Italy long ago, and now have decided to act. But it is too early to tell,” an official told l’Espresso magazine. “Meanwhile, we are trying to stop them.” Italian counter-terror officials say they are currently monitoring 50 people thought to have links with overseas jihadist groups. Some are Italian-born, others are foreign residents. But officials say they are more worried about jihadists who are not on their radar mounting lone wolf attacks similar to the assault in January in Paris on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Obama facing a backlash from his summit speech By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
President Barack Obama came under fire on social media for his comments at the White House Summit to Counter Extremism. Conservative media critics, such as Breitbart’s senior editor-at-large, Joel Pollak, condemned the president for failing to mention Islam, radical Islam or anything about the religious ideology they believe drives Islamic State militants. The president had said it is an ugly lie that the West is at war with Islam. In a small sample from Twitter users Thursday, this remark seemed to prompt the most responses from all sides of the political spectrum. U.S. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, quickly responded with the tweet: "The notion that radical Islam isn't at war with the West is an ugly lie." Fox News Channel contributor Katie Pavlich tweeted "[W]e cannot coexist with those who want to kill us. Period." Meanwhile, Canadian Maher Arar tweeted that the summit "should have been named 'Countering Violent Islamic Extremism' bc that's what it's about." Similarly, a tweeter from New Orleans who goes by "Saleem" opined: "What is fascinating to me is pres. obama saying islam [does not equal ] terrorism...yet he has a whole conference on extremism focusing on muslims." The president's suggestion that extremist terror groups focus on trying to recruit Muslim youths trapped in poverty also prompted numerous reactions. Jim Sciutto, CNN's chief national security correspondent, tweeted that Obama, in identifying oppression and a lack of economic opportunity as root causes of extremism, was " laying out a long, long war." Numerous other tweets, most of them right-leaning, suggested the president wanted to give jobs to the extremists. Walmart plans pay raises for many of its workers By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Walmart, the United States' largest retail company and the country's biggest private employer, announced Thursday it is raising the pay of about 40 percent of its workers. Some 500,000 Walmart employees will be paid at least $9 per hour starting in April, and $10 an hour by next February. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Walmart will also introduce training to give low-level employees the opportunity for promotion. Walmart, which operates thousands of discount department stores, has long been a target of criticism from labor groups for offering what they say is low-paying jobs with no benefits and little chance for advancement. The White House sent out a Twitter post Thursday congratulating Walmart for giving its workers a pay hike and again called on Congress to increase the federal minimum wage to at least $10.10 an hour. Former Muslims find help in their own organization By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The gifts were mostly what used to be forbidden: liquor, condoms, even a framed portrait of Arabic calligraphy that read: “There is no God.” The exchange of presents was held at a holiday get-together of Ex-Muslims of North America, a support group for those who have left the faith. It was a lighthearted way of asserting their new found identity, a contrast to the hostility, including threats of death and disownment, that many say they faced after their exercising freedom of conscience in the United States. Changing religion or abandoning it altogether is so common in America that according to the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Survey, 28 percent of Americans have left the faith they were raised in. And while all major creeds have lost adherents, those who abandon Islam can face particular hardships. “We even had a few times when people threatened their own kids that they would be killed,” said Muhammad Syed, a co-founder of the group. Major polling organizations have not published data on how many ex Muslims there are in the United States. But Syed said the organization has expanded since its founding in 2012 from two initiating chapters in Washington, D.C., and Toronto, Ontario, to more than a dozen across the U.S. and Canada. In a separate interview, Mohamed Magid, an imam at one of the largest Washington area mosques and former president of the Islamic Society of North America, said Muslims must accept the fluidity of American faith and heed the teaching, in the Surat al-Baqarah of the Quran, that there is “no compulsion in religion.” “We have people in the United States, who do not believe in God,” Magid said, “who came out of Judaism, who came out of Christianity, and Islam is not immune.” Ex-Muslims is open to all former Muslims, but focuses on atheists who may not have access to the support networks of a faith community. The group invited a reporter to talk to some of its members, under an agreement to protect the identities of those who fear retaliation. Syed said the Internet has made it easier for former Muslims to find each other and encourages them to come out of the closet. “The more people that speak out, the more people that are out there, you realize that there is nothing really wrong with this,” he said. Sarah Haidar, who was born in Pakistan, said that growing up in Texas, she never imagined someone could want to leave Islam. “I thought it was sort of a one-way street. You just found your way into Islam and you stayed there,” she said, adding that people who are pulled in the other direction are afraid to talk about it. “Many Muslims take it as a personal insult when you step out and step away from their religion,” she said. “And I understand why that is, but I think it creates a situation where people are afraid to speak their minds, where dissent is not really respected on any level.” According to Syed, whose parents immigrated from Pakistan, being a former Muslim is not a shield against prejudice. “My name is Muhammad,” he said. “I’ve had people scream at me to go back home, even though I was born here.” He made a distinction, however, between criticizing Islam and having a problem with Muslim people. “Unless this anti-Muslim bigotry is challenged and pushed away, there is no way for Muslims to actually start signing up and pushing back against the problems that exist within our cultures,” he said. Samira Mukhtar, who grew up in the United Arab Emirates, said she became an atheist after moving to the United States and hearing a talk by British-Iranian secularist Maryam Namazi. “You feel safe with these people,” she said, looking around at the others at the party. Magid, who is imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, Virginia, said the Quran talked about people who have changed their faith multiple times and were not put to death. He has challenged Muslims who believe in capital punishment for apostasy. “I’m asking those people, what are you teaching? Are you telling the person, he has to pretend to be Muslim to be safe? What kind of religion is this?” he asked, rhetorically, and added a message for ex-Muslims in America: “Rest assured that I will not allow anyone to harm you.” Academy Awards on Sunday to get attention from world By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Hollywood is gearing up for the Academy Awards, or Oscars Sunday, the highlight of the year for the movie industry. Top contenders at the Oscars include the drama "Birdman," with Michael Keaton as a best actor nominee, and the film’s costars, Edward Norton and Emma Stone, up for supporting Oscars for this tale of a washed-up movie superhero who tries to revive his career on the Broadway stage. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Inarritu co-wrote and directed "Birdman" and is considered a top contender for the Oscar for best director. Richard Linklater is another frontrunner for best director for the coming-of-age tale "Boyhood," a film that was shot over 12 years. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette are Oscar nominees for their supporting roles as the parents of two children who grow from childhood to adolescence. The "Imitation Game" from Norwegian moviemaker Morten Tyldum is another multiple Oscar nominee. Star Benedict Cumberbatch will compete for the Oscar for best actor for playing the World War II code-cracker Alan Turing. The film is based on a real-life story of the people who deciphered the German secret code called Enigma. Keira Knightley will compete for an Oscar for her supporting role. Other major film contenders the include "The Grand Budapest Hotel," a comedy from director Wes Anderson. The Iraq war film "American Sniper" earned an Oscar nomination for star Bradley Cooper. And a story of money, madness and Olympic aspirations, "Foxcatcher," earned acting nominations for star Steve Carell and costar Mark Ruffalo. Julianne Moore is a best actress nominee for her role as a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in "Still Alice." Marion Cotillard is a best actress nominee for her role in the workplace drama "Two Days, One Night," and Rosamund Pike for the thriller "Gone Girl." Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern are acting nominees for the film "Wild," a real-life story based on a woman’s journey of healing and self-discovery. Among foreign-language nominees are the corruption tale "Leviathan" from Russia and the French-Mauritanian entry "Timbuktu," which is based on real events in Northern Mali under repressive jihadist rule in 2012. The film "Virunga" is among the nominees for best documentary feature. It looks at heroic efforts to save mountain gorillas in a national park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The eyes of the world will be on Hollywood on Sunday when the winners are announced at the Oscar ceremony at the Dolby Theatre. Hunt for native species to secure seeds for future By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A flash of yellow catches Heather-Rose Kates’ eye as she drives the highway running through California’s Mojave Desert. She’s scanning the roadsides for a plant that may help secure the future of some of the world’s favorite vegetables. “They’re yellow, and they’re bigger than tennis balls,” she said, eyeing the highway shoulders. “So they’re kind-of easy to spot.” Easy if, like Ms. Kates, you’ve been driving desert highways for nearly two weeks. To a newcomer, it’s all a stark, beautiful blur. The wide-open roads out here run straight as an arrow through flat plains of scrub and cacti, between barren, gray-brown hills. The occasional car whizzes by. “Everyone passes us because we’re looking for squash,” Ms. Kates said. A squash called coyote melon, to be specific. It’s a wild relative of butternut squash and pumpkins. Cucumbers, cantaloupes and many other popular fruits and vegetables are also part of the botanical family. There’s a cousin in just about every cuisine in the world. But Ms. Kates definitely is not collecting the coyote melon for its flavor. “Terrible. It tastes like soap,” she said. And it’s bitter. Really bitter. It’s loaded with cucurbitacin, a chemical that humans bred out of most domesticated relatives of the coyote squash. What coyote melon lacks in flavor, however, it makes up for in its tolerance for drought. While cultivated squash need about 3 centimeters of water per week, this desert gourd gets by on about 18 centimeters per year. Breeding wild coyote melon with its farmed relations could make some favorite vegetables more drought tolerant. That could be useful in the coming years. On a planet growing hotter, the risk of drought is growing for farmers in certain regions. “The world is facing a real challenge in terms of food security over the next few decades,” said Andy Jarvis, who heads a climate change and agriculture program at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. As the population grows in size and wealth, farmers will need to produce 50 to 70 percent more food by 2050. “And to be honest, we’re running out of options in terms of making crops more productive,” Jarvis added. “And so, really what I think we’ve got to do is go back to the wild. Go back to the origins to look for characteristics that we can use to improve our crops.” Life in the wild is a lot tougher than the coddled existence on the farm, Jarvis said. “These things are exposed. They haven’t had the luxury of pesticides and fungicides and so on,” Jarvis said. “They’re out there battling these things constantly,” which gives some wild relatives “very impressive resistance to a lot of the major pests and diseases.” Farmers today are growing sunflowers that can handle salty soil thanks to traits bred in from untamed relations, Jarvis said. Corn plants get help fending off rootworms from their wild cousins. There’s a problem, though. Many of the wild relatives are disappearing. “Our agriculture is dependent on these kinds of species that in the wild are going extinct,” Jarvis said. “They’re threatened, and in most cases we don’t have seed collections in gene banks.” Ms. Kates is part of a global effort to collect as many seeds as possible, while they are still available. Local people in Uganda, Vietnam and elsewhere are also being taught to find and save these precious plants. They’re collecting wild oats in Cyprus. Wild potatoes in Argentina. Wild chili peppers in Paraguay. "Careful with those chilies, " Jarvis said. “You have to handle them with gloves. Literally, after being near these things you have to wash your hands pretty thoroughly. Your eyes are red. These are serious business, some of these wild chilies.” In Colombia, they call them “devils,” he added. The seeds will be stored at the Global Seed Vault in Norway and at Kew Gardens outside London. But for Ms. Kates, the road trip has given her a whole new appreciation of her subjects. She spends most of her time in a lab studying how food crops got domesticated. But, she noted, “It’s really only once you’re out here looking at the wild plants, which are where our crops came from, that you get to see what they can do.” |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, Feb. 20, 2015, Vol. 15, No. 36 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
||
|
Special to A.M. Costa Rica
On the same day local advocates celebrate the official release of Guadalupe — a rape survivor who became pregnant, suffered an obstetric emergency, was charged for having an abortion and later wrongfully imprisoned for homicide — sources have confirmed that El Salvador will refuse to issue any additional pardons of other similarly imprisoned women, according to Agrupación Ciudadana. Last month, the congress approved Guadalupe’s pardon by 43 votes, after both the human rights congressional committee and supreme court committee submitted their recommendation for her release. The remaining women, part of a group called “Las 17,” are each currently serving 30 to 40 year sentences. For more than 16 years, El Salvador has criminalized abortion in all circumstances --even when necessary to save a woman’s life — imposing harsh criminal penalties on both women and physicians. The ban has resulted in the imprisonment of countless women who have suffered pregnancy-related complications and miscarriages, who are then charged for having an abortion and wrongfully convicted of homicide. Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights: “Guadalupe’s release should be celebrated as a victory and symbol of hope for women who have suffered under El Salvador’s unjust laws, but instead it marks a day justice is being denied to the rest of these wrongfully imprisoned women. “Seeking critical health care in a medical emergency is not a crime, and no woman should have to fear imprisonment for doing so. “El Salvador’s severe anti-abortion laws are a gross violation of the human rights of Las 17 and women across the country. We stand with our global and local partners to demand the release of all women wrongfully imprisoned under these laws, and long-overdue reform for all Salvadoran women living under their government’s cloud of fear, suspicion, and abuse.” In December, a coalition of non-=profit organizations led by Agrupación Ciudadana and the Center for Reproductive Rights, launched the Las17 online campaign calling for the release of Guadalupe and 16 other Salvadoran women who all suffered obstetric emergencies, were charged for having an abortion and were later convicted of homicide. Mirna, one of Las 17 was released in December after serving her prison sentence before her pardon could be finalized. The remaining 15 women are each currently serving 30 to 40 year sentences. In November, 12 countries denounced the criminalization of abortion in El Salvador as part of the universal periodic review by the U. N. Human Rights Council. In January, a group of United Nations human rights experts called on El Salvador to review its draconian abortion law and pardon all women jailed for obstetric emergencies. “The Center for Reproductive Rights will continue to shed light on the human rights violations faced by women in El Salvador, and we will not rest until the government reforms its laws to respect, protect, and fulfill women’s rights to life and health,” said Mónica Arango, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean. The Center for Reproductive Rights has worked for more than 12 years to expose the consequences that the blanket abortion ban in El Salvador has on the lives of women. |
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW
in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
| Fine Dining
in Costa Rica |
The CAFTA Report |
Fish
fabulous Costa Rica |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A.
2015 and may
not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
||||||
| From Page 7: Bean growers might get some help By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The government's alliance for employment said Thursday it soon will present a plan to help 1,000 bean growers in the northern zone as well as increasing the orange groves by some 10,000 hectares in order to generate 5,000 jobs. The meeting included representatives of various ministries and the private sector. Another plan was to generate jobs in the tourism, agricultural and livestock areas. The details will be presented in coming weeks, a summary said. Another proposal was to revise charges for registering small businesses. Also promoted was telecommuting for public employees. Also outlined was a training plan that has been submitted to lawmakers for action. |
