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A.M. Costa Rica third newspage
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 26, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 60

Depleted uranium becomes new weapon against trade treaty

By José Pablo Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Opponents to the free trade treaty with the United States joined forces Friday with an ailing Iraq war veteran to suggest that the agreement might expose Costa Rica to radioactivity.

The soldier, Herbert Reed, who served with the New York National Guard in Iraq, is the poster boy for possible negative effects by U.S. depleted uranium technology. He makes frequent public appearances.

He was joined by Oscar López, a legislative deputy who opposes the treaty. Reed was here seeking Costa Rican support for an international agreement against depleted uranium. López is the sole representative of the Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusión.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of uranium enrichment, and it is used for shells and bullets because it is more dense than lead and can penetrate armored vehicles.

López told a press conference that depleted uranium could be produced here if the free trade treaty is passed. Since the treaty cannot be edited, he said the only course would be to reject the document completely.

The idea carries a lot of emotional weight in Costa Rica because of the population's aversion to war and war products. The claim is supported by a mention of radioactivity in the free trade treaty within a list of other products.

Reed became ill after he and his unit were stationed in Samawah, Iraq. during July 2003. Others in his unit also showed up ill at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Reed blames dust produced by the impact of depleted uranium ordnance. He was the topic of a lengthy article by The Associated Press in August. Reed and his comrades have sued the U.S. federal government.

The U.S. military rejects that idea that depleted uranium is dangerous in the same way it rejected concerns about the Agent Orange defoliant after the Vietnam war. But no one doubts that Reed is seriously ill.

Trade treaty opponents have tried to fan public fears before when they suggested that a U.S. weapons manufacturer was coming here. It turned out that someone else had used the name of the company here for a Costa Rican corporation without the knowledge of the U.S. firm, Raytheon. The Arias administration seems to have the 38 votes it needs to pass the treaty in the Asamblea Legislativa, so opponents are anxious to find reasons not to do so.

Language training is the first step in being a good neighbor

Cada uno en su casa y Dios en la de todos

“Each one in their own house, and God in all houses.” Though it may sound benignly pious on the surface, what this dicho is really about is bad guests and those who overstay their welcome.

This dicho also puts me in mind of certain foreigners who love to come to live in Costa Rica, but consider themselves sort of perpetual guests here. They come to take advantage of the beautiful surroundings, the climate and relatively low real estate prices, but otherwise remain aloof from the actual life of the country.

These folks are often critical of our political, social, or cultural traditions and complain of the deteriorating condition of the country’s infrastructure. But many of them often don’t even bother learning Spanish! If you think something is wrong and you want to make it better, then you usually have to get involved, and, in Costa Rica at least, learning to speak the local language would be a pretty good place to start.

When I became a United States citizen, one of the reasons I did so was because I wanted to participate more fully in the life of my new country and do my part to help make the U.S.A. a better place. It wasn’t just because of what I thought I personally could get out of the deal.

I have met many U.S. citizens living in Costa Rica, and the ones who get involved in our society, traditions and customs are invariably the ones who have learned to speak at least some Spanish and are therefore also far better at dealing with the problems that arise in the course of everyday life here.

One of these people is a retired fellow I know who lives with his wife in my town of Santo Domingo de Heredia. He started a volunteer project helping to teach English in the local schools. Several days a week he makes the rounds of the elementary schools in our municipality. He gives of his time, his knowledge, and indeed of himself, to help young Costa Ricans master what is undoubtedly their most important second language by providing them the opportunity to practice with a native English speaker.

Now that’s what I call being an excellent resident inhabitant. Also, he finds the work he does with these kids so rewarding. It has brought a new meaning and greater dimension to his life. For while he’s teaching

The
way we say it

By Daniel Soto

English he is himself also becoming more assimilated to life as lived by his Tico neighbors. The culture can’t help but rub off on him a little each time he meets with his students.

So getting involved in Costa Rica not only means business, making a quick buck, or just laying back and soaking up our tropical sunshine. It also has to do with giving back to this country to make it a better place for all of us: citizens, residents, and visitors alike.

Helping to clean up the environment is another project that frequent visitors and residents could get involved in. It was recently reported in the media that the Pacific coast between Tarcoles and Jacó is the most polluted stretch of beach in the country largely because the highly contaminated Tarcoles River empties into the ocean there. This is also a region that is heavily populated with foreigners, mostly North Americans, who often complain bitterly and loudly about the situation. But rather than just griping and grumbling why don’t these alien denizens get serious by forming an environmental committee to work with the government to help clean up the Tarcoles River? After all, aren’t Americans supposed to be famous for their “can do” spirit?

It seems to me better to get up and get involved than to be continually demonstrating the veracity of the old adage in English, which says that fish and houseguests stink after three days. The Tarcoles River may stink too, but there is something that local inhabitants, both Costa Rican citizens and foreign residents, can do about it if they will ban together to get the job done.

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2970-2/8/07

From a hotel owner:

'At this time we have a deposit and all looks good!! Thank you for your help, and I must say your paper is impressive, and I had no idea you had such a circulation around the world. Received many inquiries for our hotel for that reason.'

She used our classifieds!

You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE!

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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 26, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 60

State Department official disputes idea that U.S. ties with Latins are frayed

Special to A.M. Costa Rica

A top State Department official takes issue with the conventional wisdom of many media reports that the United States is on the defensive in Latin America.

R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, said last week that he firmly believes the United States has a good relationship with most countries in Latin America.

“Maybe I’m wearing rose-colored glasses” regarding good U.S.-Latin American ties, he said. “But I don’t think so.” Burns made his comments to the Council of the Americas, a Washington business association.

The conventional wisdom is that populism is on the rise and that leftist governments hostile to the United States are becoming the dominant force in Latin America, Burns said. But he said “an objective professional diplomatic view” shows a “lot of positive forces at work” for better

U.S.-Latin America cooperation, despite all the region’s problems and “sometimes differences of opinion among governments that are friendly to each other.”

Burns said the great majority of nations in the Americas believe in democracy, free elections and “some type of free-market system,” although “we all put different colorations on it.”

In addition, Burns said almost all the region’s leaders agree on the need to combat drug trafficking, drug production and international crime, and that global climate change — a problem for which “we are all responsible” — can be reduced through investment in clean-energy technology.

Burns said only two leaders in the Western Hemisphere are at odds with the shift toward enhanced U.S.-Latin American cooperation — Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. Burns called Chávez a “figure from the past” because of the Venezuelan’s moves against democracy that include a crackdown on press freedom.

This Villalobos Brothers investor put up his money with his eyes wide open

By Dennis Rogers
A.M. Costa Rica special correspondent

Investor Terrance O’Brien appeared as a prosecution witness in the Oswaldo Villalobos trial Friday, but his testimony did little to suggest he was an naive victim of fraud.

Most witnesses have come with a similar story. They heard about The Brothers high-interest investment operation from other expatriates or relatives. They thought with 20 years of operation it must be safe or even sanctioned by the government. Most invested the minimum $10,000 or other relatively small sums. The closure Oct. 14, 2002, generally came as surprise and caused significant hardship.

O’Brien heard about the investment operation while standing in line at the Ofinter S.A. exchange house, and was able to invest without the recommendation usually required. He said he only dealt with Luis Enrique Villalobos although he was told that the money to pay interest came from the exchange house’s profits.

When asked by prosecutor Ilem Melendez if he thought the investment was secure, O’Brien said “No investment in the world is safe. But I considered that an investment at about 5 or 10 percent to be moderately safe. This was an investment with a rate of about 30 percent. Such an investment could not possibly be considered a safe investment. But I proceeded to invest nonetheless.”

For O’Brien, the $80,000 he lost was “not the end of my life.” When Ms. Melendez asked what expectations he had from his participation in the legal action, he said “not very much” but that he did hope to gain some part of the Villalobos assets confiscated by the government.

That one witness was the only significant activity at the trial Thursday or Friday. Thursday was dedicated entirely to reading evidence into the record, with a total of only four hours actually spent working.

Friday afternoon’s session had already been canceled, and the morning was cut short as a helicopter began dropping commandos into the plaza between the Judicial Investigating Organization building and the building in which the trial was being held.

The noise of the helicopters, part of a demonstration of law enforcement techniques, made conversation impossible in the courtroom.

Oswaldo Villalobos Camacho and his defense lawyers will get their chance next week because O'Brien was one of the few prosecution witnesses remaining.

Luis Enrique Villalobos, the brother most closely identified with the high interest operation, is a fugitive, but Oswaldo, who was known as the operator of Ofinter is facing fraud, money laundering and illegal banking charges related to the entire operation.

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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 26, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 60

Cricket corruption investigators join case of murdered coach

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

The International Cricket Council says its anti-corruption unit is investigating whether match fixing was a motive for the strangulation murder of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer at the World Cup last week.

Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room March 18 and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. His death came after Ireland knocked Pakistan out of the World Cup.

After days of speculation as to the cause of Woolmer's death, authorities said that he was strangled.

Jamaican police say they are reviewing security camera

video from the hotel where the team was staying. DNA samples were also taken from Pakistani team members. Police say Woolmer's room showed no signs of forced entry, indicating he might have known his killer or killers.

International Cricket Council head Malcolm Speed said in an interview that the ICC's anti-corruption and match-fixing staff is working with Jamaican police. He said the ICC has exhaustive information about bookmakers and betters and if there is a link between the murder and match fixing, the governing body wants to deal with it.

Woolmer, a former England batsman, was South Africa's coach in the 1990s when former captain Hansie Cronje admitted taking money in a match-fixing scandal. Woolmer was never implicated

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A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, March 26, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 60