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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, March 24, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 59 | |||||||||
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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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Year predicted to be wetter
with earlier seasonal change By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rican weather experts are predicting a wetter than average year. Figures released Wednesday predict 30 percent more rain in the Central Valley and central Pacific with 35 percent more in Guanacaste. Even the Caribbean will be wetter, said the estimates with the Limón Centro area getting 10 percent more rain and the southern Caribbean getting 5 percent. No part of the country will have below average amounts, said the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. For a location like Jacó and Quepos, the predictions are for 42 inches additional rain, some 1,075 millimeters, said the weather agency. 2010 also was a wet year with the central Pacific getting 78 percent more rain than normal, some 2,796 millimeters or about 110 inches. The weather institute also said that the season already was changing in the south Pacific. That is the place where the rainy season ends latest and begins earliest. The agency predicted the beginnings of the rainy season in the central Pacific April 16 to 20. In the Central Valley the dates are April 26 to 30. In the north Pacific, the seasonal change is predicted to be May 1 to 5. In all cases these are earlier than normal by about a week or two. Our readers' opinions
Two solutions for disputeover the Río San Juan Dear A.M. Costa Rica: Now that Costa Rica and Nicaragua have time to sit back and analyze the San Juan river problem and the Hague decision, before they get their hackles up again, I would suggest that Costa Rica show true statesmanship and convene a conference with Nicaragua to make a practical solution to the river problem. For economical reasons Nicaragua needs good shipping access from Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean. The most practical route is through the land strip that Nicaragua has cut in Costa Rica's territory. Granted, I have no idea of proper international protocol or the appropriate way for countries to solve border problems. As a practical person I can see two workable solutions to the problem. 1.) In return for a formal and hard agreement with Nicaragua, that the border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua be the south shore of the current San Juan River boundary, Costa Rica would allow and even participate in the construction of a new canal from the San Juan to the Caribbean. This would allow Costa Rica to charge a passage fee for the bypass route to river San Juan and, in the future, Costa Rica might even consider building a new port for the country. 2) Nicaragua and Costa Rica might consider a land trade. Costa Rica would give up all rights to land north of the land cut by Nicaragua in exchange for a piece of land extending from the Costa Rica border to Lake Nicaragua wide enough to drive or lay railway tracks or both and a lake head area big enough to build a port, also guaranteed shipping rights on Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan river. This would benefit both countries. Nicaragua would have total control over the river from sea to the lake, Costa Rica would gain a port for shipping goods produced in the northern zones to world markets. Both countries could increase their cross border commerce. I my opinion, the Hague Court has proved ineffectual. Costa Rica and Nicaragua can show the world how two mature nations can lead by example by removing this thorn and healing the wounds. John Steward
Charlotte, North Carolina In praise of Barack Obama and his recent Latin Visit Dear A.M. Costa Rica: My congratulations to President Barack Obama for his efforts and actions in Latin America these past few days. It is indeed a pleasure to have a president who focuses on ridding the world of a North African despot rather than providing support to despots and dictators in Central and South America. This President knows that all of us living in the Western Hemisphere are indeed Americans. Kent Carthey
San Francisco, California and Playa del Coco
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, March 24, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 59 | |||||||||||
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 A.M. Costa Rica photos
Real or reproductions. There really is not a good way to find
out without damage. |
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| Sometimes real or fake is in the eyes of the beholders |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The government of México and a French auction house are disputing the authenticity of a Maya statue that just sold for $4.2 million. México says it's a fake. The auction house stands by its sale. The dispute could very well be argued in Costa Rica where many statues and other artifacts claim an ancient origin. And there really is no easy way of telling. In the case of the Mayan statue, México authorities base their claim of falsity to the garments being worn by the statute. They are out of place based on the time period, they said. To prove the case one way or the other involves scientific tests that are not always reliable. Many Costa Ricans have miniature museums with extensive and uncatalogued collections of ancient ceramics. Many of these collections predate the modern laws against private ownership of such materials. Yet, many of the same figures and pots can be found at the Sunday flea market in Sabana Este. Are they stolen? Are they copies? Are they fresh from some unrecorded find? A former director of the Museo Nacional lost her job because her family kept an extensive collection of pre-Columbian ceramics and other artifacts. She failed to report the materials, officials said. Yet the collection may be legal. Museum officials periodically raid a location and carry off pots, figures and even those unusual stone balls that are a |
hallmark of early south Pacific
culture. Sometimes they need a flatbed truck. Clay artifacts can be dated to some extent by thermoluminescence, which measures the radiation put out when the object is heated. However, there is debate over the accuracy. And delicate statues might suffer major damage from the technique. When the early Costa Ricans made a statue they also used grass and other plant fibers to fortify the clay. Radiocarbon dating can be used on organic materials. That also is a measure of the carbon 14 isotope remaining in the object. That requires destruction of the material, but sometimes plant pieces can be removed without obviously damaging the artifact. Neither of these methods will help when an expat is challenged leaving the country or entering his or her home country with what looks like an archaeological piece. Taking heritage materials from Latin countries is a no-no. Several San José craftsmen produce outstanding replicas of ancient statues. Artisans in the village of San Vicente de Nicoya have been producing pottery for 4,000 years. First for the Mayans and inhabitants of the Valley of México and now for tourists. Archaeologists also applaud eBay for creating a platform where many fake pieces can be sold, thereby taking pressure off the originals. For expats and tourists, however, the best protection is a bill of sale with a clear description stating that the piece is a reproduction. |
| Vehicle contained a flat screen television taken from a judge |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A San José judge was the victim of a home invasion in which crooks took, among other things, a flat screen television. Fuerza Pública officers located the television set Wednesday in a vehicle driven by a man who also was transporting other merchandise. The stop was in San Sebastián in southern San José Centro. |
The judge had reported her loss and
gave officials enough information to identify the television. Many
crimes like this are not reported. Police also recovered three vehicle radios, another television, sound equipment and two speakers, said the Fuerza Pública. The judge was not identified, but officials said that her home had been entered violently. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, March 24, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 59 | |||||||||
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| Inspectors go over an
inventory of alcohol at a warehouse in San Antonio de Desamparados. |
 Ministerio de Gobernación,
Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
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| Three raids turn up suspect liquor that
police confiscate |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Police are continuing to confiscate alcohol that they say is adulterated. But there also are cases where the alcohol tax has not been paid. The Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública said that health officials ordered the confiscation of the alcohol because it was adulterated with ethanol. But ethanol is the substance that gives alcohol its punch. Ethanol frequently is known as drinking alcohol or grain alcohol. Nevertheless, there were three raids Wednesday. One was at a storage location and two were at supermarkets. Participating were officials from the Fábrica Nacional de |
Licores, the government alcohol
monopoly. One raid was at a storage facility in San Antonio de Desamparados where vodka with the brand name Sachetto was confiscated along with guaro carrying the Montano label, said police. Sacchetto is a Anheuser-Busch product distilled in Italy. In Patarra agents located more bottles of Montano and other brands and confiscated some 182 bottles. In the same community at another supermarket the agents located 484 bottles, mostly guaro, said police. Shipments of untaxed alcohol come in from Panamá because of the loose border conditions there. Tax inspectors have problems with other products, too, such as cigarettes. |
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| Web site seeks to shame Heredia customers
of transvestites |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Here's a Web site where those featured probably are not very happy. The site seeks to identify persons who frequent transvestite prostitutes in Heredia by copying down and publishing the plate number. The site said it had 800 Internet visits in the last 22 days. An example of one posting: Attention Doña María: The vehicle plate xxxxxx registered in your name picked up a transvestite Friday in the hours of the night by a man of advanced age. The same parked with the transvestite a kilometer away from the point of pickup. "Know the perverts who are involved with men dressed as women for sexual ends," says the home page title. |
The initial posted on the page Feb.
20 said that Neighbors in the city
of Heredia want to put an end once and for all with the big problem of
transvestites who cause disturbances, crimes, insecurity and dirtiness.
So the site is publishing to shame clients and publish the plate numbers, photos and videos, it added. There are a few photo but no videos. However, the Web site lists a public bus and a school bus that was involved in contact with the transvestite prostitutes. The site does not say who is responsible but does publish letters and tips from readers. Th technique is not new. Even police in the United States have published photos of persons detained for frequenting street prostitutes and sometimes the plate numbers were listed. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, March 24, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 59 | ||||||||||
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| Carbon tax prompts protest in many Australian cities By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Protests have taken place across Australia against plans by the Labor government to implement a carbon tax. Critics say, without a binding global agreement, the proposed levy will cost jobs and damage the economy. Hundreds of people have attended demonstrations in the national capital, Canberra, as well as in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Protesters say they are just ordinary Australian workers and taxpayers who feel betrayed by the government’s plans to put a price on carbon. They insist it would damage the economy and drive up the cost of living by making energy far more expensive. "There is a ground swell of people that have finally had a gut full," says a protester. Another one says, "Since the Labor government has come into this country, the union rules. We just cannot do it anymore. We have no more money left to pay the taxes." However, supporters of the tax believe it would encourage the development of a low-carbon economy and cut pollution in Australia, which is one of the world’s worst per capita emitters of greenhouses gases. In theory, polluting industries would be encouraged to reform because lower emissions would lead to a smaller tax liability. Although precise details are still to be worked out, the government would use the receipts to compensate businesses and households for higher energy bills, as well as funding renewable energy projects to create employment. The protesters have the support of the conservative opposition leader, Tony Abbott. He has led a vociferous campaign against the government’s carbon tax plans. Abbott says that, without a global carbon pricing agreement, Australian businesses would be less competitive. "A one-sided carbon tax, a unilateral carbon tax is an act of economic self-harm," he said. Prime Minister Julia Gillard says that opposition to the plan will not derail it. "Now, I understand there is always going to be a variety of views in the community. We’ll see that on display today, but pricing carbon is the right thing for our nation’s future and that is why I am determined to do it," she said. The prime minister hopes to bring in a tax on carbon next year, before introducing an emissions-trading scheme as early as 2015. She insists that, without these key economic reforms, Australia will be left behind by its international competitors. However, Australia’s economy relies on cheap supplies of coal that generate more than 80 percent of the nation’s electricity. The country’s challenge is to harness abundant sources of renewable energy, including solar, wind and geothermal, cheaply and effectively. Many scientists have warned Australia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and warn the vast island could suffer more severe droughts, storms and floods as a result. Other Australians, including many farmers and some conservative politicians, believe that man-made pollution is having a negligible effect on the climate and the sea shifts in temperatures as part of a natural cycle. Twitter celebrates five years over 140-character messages By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
It has been five years since Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sent out the first message of the social medium, "just setting up my twttr." Since then, the micro-blogging site has grown to more than 140 million text messages of 140 characters or less every day. Users now fire off messages at a rate of about a billion every eight days. In comparison, it took slightly more than three years and two months for the first billion tweets to be sent at the service. It registers nearly half a million new accounts daily. Twitter messages, called Tweets, have been sent by astronauts like T.J. Creamer, politicians like President Barack Obama; earthquake and tsunami survivors in Japan and protesters in Egypt. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, March 24, 2011, Vol. 11, No. 59 | ||||||||||
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Latin American news Please reload page if feed does not appear promptly |
shows visitors' crucial role Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The island of Saint Lucia receives annual tourism revenues in excess of 31 prcent of its gross domestic product while in the Bahamas and Antigua & Barbuda tourists spend the equivalent of 29 percent of these countries' GDP. These three Caribbean nations top the list for the share of inbound visitor consumption in the region, according to data given by the Economic Commission for Latin America in its publication "Latin America and the Caribbean: Macroeconomic Indicators for Tourism." The tourist sector plays a crucial role in many of the region's economies, in terms of job creation and production, as well as currency generation, the commission said. This document shows the economic importance of this sector in a given country and assesses some of its main characteristics, it added. Although for Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, tourism revenues represent 1.8 percent of GDP from 1980 to 2008, for the Caribbean subregion in particular this percentage is 16.6 percent. In Central American countries, the average figure is 5 percent from 1980 to 2009), while for some South American countries (such as Uruguay), the proportion was almost 4 percent for the same period. The commission report presents the main Latin American and Caribbean results of a project to formulate indicators for the macroeconomic analysis of tourism at the world level, which is being carried out in conjunction with the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations. The macroeconomic indicators included in this document, which is only available online, relate to international tourism, which means revenues that a country receives for the export of tourist services (inbound tourism) and the spending carried out by the country's residents to import tourism services (outbound tourism). In most Caribbean countries, indicators for the share of GDP represented by inbound visitor consumption (spending by non-residents) are highly significant. The figures for 2009 show that, in several countries, this proportion is around 30 percent. Meanwhile, about 50 percent of these countries' exports of goods and services would take the form of tourism-related exports, like travel and passenger transportation account in the balance of payments. For Central America, these indicators also point to the importance of tourism for these economies, where inbound visitor consumption represented around 10 percent of GDP in 2009 and about 20 percent of exports of goods and services. |
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James
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